Balloch musician Joe Quinn has joked that he’s created a monster after online open mic nights set up during lockdown became a worldwide hit.
Joe, who ran the popular open mic nights at Balloch’s Dog House for 15 years prior to the March 2020 lockdown, set-up online events after finding himself struggling with the lack of live gigs.
And he now has nearly 3,000 members and a worldwide audience – including people from Australia, America, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and all corners of the UK, who tune in and play live.
Joe told the Lennox: “When Covid came I found myself locked in the house, when I’m used to playing five, six, sometimes seven gigs a week and have been for years.
“I thought, if I just sit about, then my voice will get croaky and my fingers won’t work. Lockdown was very difficult. I would say I was on the verge of depression.
“If you speak to my partner, Emma, then she’ll tell you that I was a pain being stuck in the house with. It was hard to come to terms with.
“I decided to try and put a version of the open mic night at the Dog House online. The first one was a bit of a disaster because I didn’t understand the technology.
“When I started many artists did not know how to do a livestream so it was a steep learning curve for everybody. But all you need is a smartphone and you have a worldwide audience.”
After setting up the livestream, which runs between 5pm and 8pm every Sunday on Facebook, Joe has been left staggered by the amount of performers – and fans – joining the group.
He continued: “A few weeks back one act had 48,000 views. In the past two weeks we’ve probably had about 200 new members. I feel like I’ve created this monster!
“I didn’t see the virtual open mics as a way of carrying on performing though. It’s proved very popular though. We have nearly 3,000 members from all over the world.
“I didn’t set out with any ideas or targets for members or countries. I just wanted to play and help other musicians. They had no audience either.
“I also hoped it gave people something to look forward to. I’ve had so many people saying to me that it’s been wonderful and helped to keep them sane throughout lockdown. It’s changing a bit now, but we had two years where we weren’t out much.”
And with live gigs returning, Joe says he is committed to keeping the streaming running too – although an in-person meet-up could also be on the cards for members.
He added: “A lot of full-time artists who weren’t out gigging have come onto the page. Some of them have dropped off because they’re now gigging too much, but the standard of artists has been very high. We’re going to have a big party sometime and see how many people I can get into the Clutha. But I’ll keep the live open mics running too, it’s still growing in members.”
You can find Joe’s page on Facebook by searching The Doghouse Open Mic Lockdown Session.
