Do you get excited or do you break out in cold sweat when you hear the word "open mike?" Tom Heany has some great advice on how to prepare yourself for bearing your soul in front of an audience.

Here's a cool idea: Openmikes.org is an online database of Open Mikes occurring in the US and Canada. You put in your city, state or zip code, select a search radius, and bingo - a list of church basements, coffee shops, and bars that invite you to bring your guitar, your songs, your poetry, your jokes - whatever you have - and share them with an appreciative and mostly forgiving audience. The list includes links to the venues and directions from Yahoo! Local Maps.

If you're one of those people who hears the words "Open Mike" and says, "Sign me up! I'm ready!" then read no farther - you get it already. If, on the other hand, those words leave you cold - nervous, twitching, get-me-out-of-here, cold-sweat cold - relax a little, have some chamomile tea and think about it for a minute.

One of the hard parts of playing guitar, or any instrument for that matter, is finishing a song. Starting a song is easy - you memorize the words, figure out the guitar part, and play it over and over for weeks. Usually that will get you 90% of the way. But that last 10% - finishing the song - is not so easy. Finishing means getting the song ready to perform.

When the song is finished, you don't stumble or slow down at the hard parts. Your arrangement is complete, with an intro, an ending, and a little variety in the verses; you might even have a few words of introduction. You know all the lyrics so well, you could sing them to an audience of nudists without getting distracted. When you play the song, it comes out the way you want it to come out, just about every time. That's finished.

One of the best ways to get a song finished is to perform it for someone. The spotlight, the audience, the microphone, and above all the deadline can help you focus your practicing on that last 10%. And now we're back to open mikes.

Of course, not all of us are so squeamish about playing in front of others. Open mikes are more than practice tools. You stand on a stage; everybody in the room listens to you; and then they clap and cheer when you're done. Who gets to do that besides us? It's a rare pleasure, easily forgotten when you're practicing your scales and arpeggios. For people looking for work as performers, open mikes offer experience, exposure, networking opportunities, and, most precious of all, audience feedback.

They're not all the same, so it's worth checking the venue's website for guidelines. Do you get 10 minutes? 20 minutes? 3 songs? Can you use electric instruments? If so, do you have to use their amps? Do you have to show up an hour ahead of time to sign up? Do you get a time slot, or do they select names out of a jar at random?

Is there a preferred style or theme? Some open mikes are strictly for folk music; some allow music and poetry, but no comedy, or music and comedy, but no poetry. Some are strictly for singer/songwriters. San Francisco's "Three Dollar Bill Cafe" has Queer Open Mike night. These are details you want to get right.

There are some common sense rules of etiquette for open mikes, which seem to be broken often enough that venues feel they have to post them on their websites. Here are a few:

- Be tuned up and ready to perform when your turn comes, or you will be bumped to the end of the list.

- Do not play your instrument or rehearse your singing anywhere in the club.

- When your name is called please go to the stage as quickly as possible.

- We ask that you not add harmonies, sing loudly, or play instruments during another musician's performance unless specifically invited to do so by the performer currently on stage.

- THIS IS NOT KARAOKE - While we welcome all vocalist to sing a-cappella or with a self produced pre-recorded track - singing along to a store bought CD is not what open mike is about.

As for me, I have two songs almost finished, and one 91% there - I'm almost ready!

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