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3 Dec 2016

December 2nd Open Mic

by Corey Heuvel | 0

Wow.. November flew by.. hard to believe it was already time for another open mic last night! It was a successful evening again at Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters where we saw our turnout grow even more this month. Thank you to all who came out to play and listen. This event is way more fun when we get such a diverse range of ages, styles and performances as we did last night. A big shout out to the students over at School of Rock for your support and awesome music. Here are a few photos from the show…

Patrick started off the evening by playing a very psychedelic collection of original tunes.

Greg Bannon showed everyone he’s a fingerstyle wizard on the rise with his awesome arrangement of “Isn’t She Lovely”.

Tori returned with a couple new original songs while also bringing along her friend Kyra to help out on ukulele and vocals.

Charlotte and Emma playing some Green Day and other classic alternative favourites.

Proving he’s not just a guitar player, Eric showed everyone how much he’s been developing his vocal abilities lately as well.

Paul always has some interesting and entertaining song choices, last night was no different!

With a version of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” that no one was expecting, Dan and I may have summoned a demon..

One of the highlights of the night was the Boatyard Boys and their fantastic harmonies on some acoustic classics.

We hope to see everyone out again next month (and next year.. woah..) along with some new faces as well. Thanks again to all who performed and listened. A big thank you to Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters for allowing us to use their wonderful space and providing great food / refreshments. Looking forward to the next one on January 6th!

5 Nov 2016

November 4th Open Mic

by Corey Heuvel | 1

It was another fantastic evening last night for our 2nd open mic at Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters in Kitchener. We doubled our number of performers and it felt like we doubled the overall turnout of listeners as well! We had a few returning performers from last month, but there were mostly new faces who were feeling generous enough to get up and share their music. The next open mic will be on Friday, December 2nd at Smile Tiger once again. Please come join us if you want to hear local music, enjoy some amazing refreshments from one of the best new local coffee shops and have an all around good time!

Here are some pictures from last night…

Tori kicked off the night with a fabulous selection of classic songs including “Imagine” and “Big Yellow Taxi”.

Next up was Eric, who blew everyone away with an epic newly written original song.

Charlotte and Emma played a couple alternative tunes, including “Sleeping Sickness” by City and Colour.

Paul took us way back to our roots with some old blues songs about hopping trains and hard living.

Eric jumped back up this time with his Dad and yours truly for a much needed dose of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”.

A real treat for the evening was Smile Tiger’s very own Hannah and Terri who hushed the room with their gorgeous harmonies.

Next up was Tyson with some impressive instrumental guitar playing and a couple lovely folk songs.

Charlie showed off his old school repertoire with lively renditions of songs by CCR and Bob Dylan.

Tyler accompanied me with his fabulous lead guitar playing on funky songs like “Crazy” and “Superstition”.

Brickhouse staff, troubadour and part-time comic Luke Michielsen performing some of his dazzling original music.

No better way to end the night than the owner of Brickhouse himself, Roger Schmidt, performing a beautiful original piece along with some Bruce Cockburn.

Myself, the three winners of our draw: Dan, Eric, Charlie, and Roger with a celebratory smile for another successful evening!

Thanks to everyone who came out to participate and listen! And a big thank you to Smile Tiger for having us. We look forward to doing it again in December. See you there!

25 Oct 2016

Service and Repairs

by Corey Heuvel | 0

Winter is approaching. Here in Ontario that can mean trouble for acoustic instruments as the air gets dryer. To keep your instrument in top condition, its a wise practice to bring it in once or twice a year for service. This is a great time of year to take action. Just this week I had a student come for his lesson with a guitar that needed several adjustments but he had no idea anything was wrong. That’s why its important to bring it to a repair shop regularly so they can have a look. A professional will check the neck straightness, action height, intonation, and overall condition of the fingerboard as these can all be affected by the swelling or shrinking of the wood when humidity levels change. This will go a long way to ensuring you’re getting the most out of your instrument and that its always fun to play.

At Brickhouse Guitars, an important part of our business is servicing instruments and making sure they’re working at their full potential. A full set-up includes restringing, tightening the hardware, dressing the frets, conditioning the fingerboard, adjusting the truss-rod, setting the intonation, calibrating the nut, and cleaning.

Remember to keep your acoustic instruments in a humidity controlled room when possible, set between 40 to 50%. The next best solution is to keep your instrument in its case with a humidifier. We offer several products here at the store which will help with that.

There’s no sense dealing with unnecessary issues that regular care and maintenance can easily fix. Bring in your guitar, bass or mandolin and we’ll take a look free of charge.

We look forward to meeting you and servicing your instrument.

8 Oct 2016

October 7th Open Mic at Smile Tiger

by Corey Heuvel | 0

Last night we held our very first open mic at Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters in Kitchener. It was a fantastic evening filled with lots of local talent, original music, classic songs, impromptu jams not to mention great coffee and food. We’re very excited to help give local musicians of all ages an opportunity to showcase their skills and passion for music. The next open mic will be held on November 4th at Smile Tiger. Don’t miss it!

Here are some photos from last night…

Father / daughter duo Paul and Charlotte did a fantastic rendition of “Highway of Heroes” by the Trews. Apparently they just threw it together a couple hours before!

Paul decided to stick around a little longer and show off his blues chops.

Next it was Tori’s turn to blow us away with her beautiful voice and interpretation of some current pop hits from bands like ‘Of Monsters and Men’ and ‘Vance Joy’.

Maddison and I played some ’90’s tunes by Alanis Morrisette and the Cranberries.

Madison and Alyssa did an awesome rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. Gorgeous harmonies!

Sarah played a set of original tunes that had everyone captivated. She said she was pretty nervous, but you wouldn’t have known it from her performance!

Jake and I jammed out some old classics, “All Along The Watchtower” and “Pride and Joy”. He showed that guitar who was boss!

Brickhouse’s own Luke Michielsen finished off the night with a bit of Neil Young, Great Lake Swimmers and his original song “Berlin”.

Thank you to all who came out and helped make this a really fun evening of music. A big thank you to Smile Tiger for letting us use their space. I can’t wait to see everyone again in November. Hopefully there will be some new faces as well. See you then!

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