The Bootleg Honeys, a longtime mainstay of the local Americana scene, may have broken up, but two of its members—Karen Joy Brown and Katie Phillips—are still making music and inspiring others to do the same with a new event at Coffee & Moore called the Not So Open Mic, which is only open to women.
Phillips credits Brown for coming up with the concept and the name.
“When I just saw it for the first time, it terrified me,” Phillips said. “I was, like, we can’t say that— it’s against the law. You can’t say that men can’t come to something. But then I thought, because I had the traditional reaction, I knew it was the right thing.”
What’s the rationale for an all women’s open mic event?
“I mean any day you go to an open mic, it’s going to be, like, 98% men,” said Brown, who used to be a high school Spanish teacher before devoting herself to music full-time. “Open mics are supposed to be this venue for people to be able to come into performing in a lower-stakes way. It’s such a great concept, and open mics are so wonderful. But it’s just that they’re normally almost all men, and so it just inherently feels more intimidating as a woman to do them.”
Not So Open Mic, which happens the first and third Sunday of every month, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at Coffee & Moore in Sebastopol, is just getting started.
“We just had our second one this past Sunday, and it was really amazing,” Phillips said. “Every spot got filled. It was like the word got out magically, and people showed up.”
“We’re looking at each other going, ‘Oh my god, we need this. This is amazing!’” Brown said. “And everyone was just feeling comfortable and safe and just playing these killer songs. Some women were, like, ‘I’ve never played in public before’ or ‘I’ve never sang on a mic,’ but they were amazing!”
“It felt really different, like a true community space out of thin air,” said Phillips, who worked in homeless services for 15 years before deciding to do music full-time, right before COVID happened.
It seems to be a pivotal moment for both Brown and Phillips. They’ve started a new podcast series, Supernova Support, and, according to Brown’s website, “are exploring new ways to combine songwriting, singing, and recovery/personal growth work.” The open mic event was an outgrowth of this work.
It was just the right time for both of them to do something different, Brown said.
“You know, we were in a band together. Then the band imploded. We had kids. COVID happened, blah, blah, blah. So what happened was we were still working writing songs, but we couldn’t seem to get ourselves to be able to perform again. It was too complicated and whatever, with our lives. And what happened was we started realizing that us getting together and playing these songs was doing something amazing. We started to realize that being intentional about sharing our songs and looking into craft, working how to get them better was, like, all of a sudden, we were writing these amazing songs, better than songs we’ve ever written before. And we started to realize, ‘Oh my gosh, we want to bring this to other women.’”
The Not So Open Mic is a criticism-free space. A posting for the event, says “The hosts and all participants agree to refrain from critical comments or advice-giving in order to create a safe space for our creativity and craft to grow. Specific, supportive, craft-focused comments highlighting what stood out or worked well are encouraged.”
Brown, who is also a writer in addition to being a songwriter, is certified in a writing technique called Gateless Writing, which she is now applying to songwriting. Brown and Phillips write little notes, in accord with this theory, to the performers at the Not So Open Mic.
“We wanted to bring this to songwriting because we’re about focusing on what is working in the songs and not doing a critique or a takedown,” Brown said. “We absolutely focus on craft and what makes things better, but the foundation has to be this encouragement cycle. That’s what we focus on in the brain: Encouragement. Creativity shuts down when shame comes in.”
Brown said the venue, Coffee & Moore, adds to the vibe.
“It’s just such a down-home little place,” Brown said. “It really makes people feel incredibly comfortable. It’s so cute, and so it just feels different and more accessible, if you’re new, to not have to jump up onto a stage with lights or whatever.”
Phillips emphasizes that the event is open to all women.
“I just wanted to clarify that when we say women, we mean all women, including trans women, fems and non-binary folks who feel comfortable in women’s spaces. Because, you know, it’s an inclusive women’s space.”
The next Not So Open Mic is Sunday, Dec. 1, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, at Coffee & Moore, 6761 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol.
Love this! Thank you for uplifting womxn's voices!