Last Monday, which Lin said was an off-night, around 20 people gathered to watch two obviously inexperienced bands get much-needed experience playing on stage. Most present were members of the bands or their friends. The second act, three mullet-coiffed guitarists, a synth player, and a singer in black tights and a foam-front trucker hat who called themselves Aurora (極光), exuded confidence and had brought along an agent and video photographer.
The singer and bass player were good, but the guitars were weak and everything was drowned out by the discordant trumpet sounds emitted by the synthesizer, which were louder than the rest of the band and often sounded out of tune. "They probably got together for one purpose: to get famous or to make an album. So they're trying to go from the outside to the inside."
Lin has seen dozens of bands like this. He said most break up in a couple of years. "To succeed you need to have a passion for the music. You need to spend a lot of time on your instrument, writing good songs first, and finding good members who can communicate, become like family. Then you have to rehearse a lot."
Joanna Wang seems to be following this formula. Now 18, she's performed at six open-jam nights over the past two-and-a-half years, released an EP, and has an album scheduled to come out next year. Interviewed Wednesday night after a performance at Riverside that saw her play acoustic guitar and cover jazz classics and rock songs, Wang said she enjoyed performing at open-jam night because the atmosphere "isn't uptight."
"Depending on my mood, I actually prefer open-jam night because there's no pressure. There's no audience you need to please," she said. "You really don't need to call and make an appointment. You just have to stand in line and wait your turn. You go in there thinking there's not going to be an audience. You just go there to be in your own spotlight. That's what open-jam is about."
RSS