preparing

by Steve Eulberg

Lucky Joe's Sidewalk Saloon, in Fort Collins, Colorado, is one of the places I began honing my craft of performing in live venues at the end of the last century.

As soon as church was over in the morning, I would phone in to get my name put on the Open Mic list for what I hoped would be the prime time after the weekly Acoustic Open Mic began at 9 pm every Sunday Night.

Sometimes I was "lucky" and my name was earlier on the list, so I could listen to a few of the other players, play…