There’s a new open mic in town

By Dion Nizzi
Reader contributor

The Tuesday night out options in Sandpoint just got a little more entertaining.  Rick Price and Mark Remmetter have put together a monthly open mic night at MickDuff’s Beer Hall beginning Tuesday, November 10th and continuing the second Tuesday of every month. The evening starts at 7:00 p.m.

After playing together casually for 25 years, the duo started playing a few open mic nights at The Pearl Theater in Bonners Ferry and eventually ended up playing on a regular basis at venues here in Sandpoint.

“We started just playing casually in each other’s living rooms, and we thought we were getting to the point where we wanted to do more,” said Price. “Open mic nights really gave us an opportunity to get better and have more fun with it.”

It just seemed like a natural progression for the two to start up their own event.

“We thought it would be a good idea to put together another opportunity to add to the entertainment choices in town,” Price said.

They’ll be performing as the duo “Crooked Fingers,” a name that came from their working life background.

“Mark and I have similar hands,” he said. “We both work in the trades. He’s an electrician, and I do carpentry and contracting work, so over the years, work and arthritis have given us similar hands … crooked. It fits us.”

Price’s son Devin, a ukulele player and luthier, will also be playing. Price describes his son’s style as “reggae ukulele,” so the night indeed promises to be eclectic.

Price and Remmetter play  a mix of rooted Bluegrass music, both traditional and modern as well as some country swing and even a little Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“Our music is all over the map, but we’re mainly rooted in bluegrass,” he finished.

The event will follow traditional open mic standards. The evening is open to any music style and sign-up sheets will be available for playing blocks. Musicians are encouraged to sign up when arriving. Crooked FIngers will open the evening playing a short set and will then open the stage up to additional performers from the sign-up sheet. Musicians should expect to play a three-song set before the next performer starts.

The opportunity will be there for additional sets as the evening winds down, and of course, it’s likely that pure jamming opportunities will come around as well. Amps, microphones and sound will be available for a quick plug-in and acoustic sets are certainly welcome. For more information, you can email the duo at [email protected].

MickDuffs just seemed like the perfect location for the duo to begin hosting their event. The plan is to have the one Tuesday night a month idea develop into a couple of times a month.

“We’re encouraging people to bring a dish and make the evening a pot luck,” said Price. “We think that’ll give the night a real home town feel.  Just people coming together, hanging out and sharing food, drinks and entertainment.”