Edinburgh's original open mic night

Rob St John

in his own words

Describe your first OOTB

It was in the halycon days of the creaking Waverley. We'd been told of a mythically "good" open mic night, where there was good music, encouraging crowds...and shock horror....nobody singing 'wonderwall'. We weren't dissapointed. I think we may have all been drunk, and certainly billowed up the stairs and into that little room with more than a little noise. I don't remember a thing about playing, but Rob Waters and I sang a few songs.

Which OOTB performers really rock your boat?

Jason Wringe, for certain.

Who is the funniest person you ever met?

Rob Waters...Big Jim...a tie between them.

What's the worst, nails-down-a-blackboard musical experience you've had?

Easy. Two gigs for the Beltane fire club that I played at the Bongo Club. Why? Crap sound, no soundman, millions of rude, daft, pilled up uber-hippies wearing nothing but body paint and a look of holier-than-thou disdain, mashing into my microphone. Why I went back to play again, I'll never know. The second time, the PA even cut out after 10 minutes. Fortunately I still got paid.

What do you think is your best song and why?

I have a song which is over 10 minutes long. It's like Pentangle and King Crimson coming together to form a super-super group. I like that one.

What's your favourite song of yours?

I once wrote a song called The Ballad of A Flat Minor...an ode to may favourite key. The first line was "What do you get if you throw a piano down a mine?". Lyrical genius.

What's the best OOTB performance you've seen?

Pablo (My Kappa Roots) a couple of times...Emily Scott as well.

Your favourite song(s) of all time ?

The Hexx by Pavement, If by Pink Floyd, Dominoes by Syd Barrett, A Whiter Shade of Pale played by King Curtis, Bloodflow by Smog

The consumer question: album, book or film you've enjoyed recently.

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Who do you fancy at OOTB?

My girlfriend.

at OOTB

(Mar 2006)
Here is a genuine talent.  From the first few seconds of his playing you can tell that this is a real guitarist.  His vocals are reminiscent of Roger Waters in early Pink Floyd material.  He received a big round of applause for a love song that was full of hope.  This was important as the temperature in the pub had reached the point where penguins would be twisting their beaks in a pointless yet poignant attempt to turn up the thermostats. Of course no penguins were involved in this part of the evening, they were all in the bar fridge trying to keep warm. Rob played a second song called ‘Lullaby’ with an interesting guitar tuning – a sweet love song that showed how he can deliver sensitivity and melody. ‘Autumn’ was Rob's third piece.  He said this was the one where he was’ most likely to f… up.’  But he didn’t, and gave us a song that had some clear and evocative playing with great finger-board tapping and vibrato. 'Streetlights’ This is a poetic piece. After yet more tuning exercises Rob gave us a warm song with a classical style accompaniment with several tempo changes to add to the mood.  One of the evening’s best lyric lines was Rob’s  ‘Ones with the most to say, speak the least’.  Great stuff!

(Sep 2006)
Now to be honest at this point I nipped out for a fag but when I came back in I found a pallid young man on stage who was in possession of an incredibly long and nimble set of fingers, plucking out his heart and soul to astounding effect. The vocal was whispering and ethereal, the song meticulous and yet seemingly effortless. “My God… that’s not… Nick Drake… is it?” I stammer to Tommy Mackay. “Nope… it’s Rob St John” he says.