Plattsburgh's Music Scene is Growing

New open mic event at "Krazy Horse" in downtown Plattsburgh

Story and photo by Steven Cox

It was about three and a half years ago in late January. All the mics were set up, the drums were carefully positioned, and the list was full. “Welcome to open mic at Maggie’s, my name’s Rob, first up we have…” This was the introduction that was given by the host of the event, Rob Inconstanti, or as other people knew him, Inky.

Inky was a student at SUNY Plattsburgh who enjoyed playing and listening to music. Starting back in 2006, he started hosting an open mic event at Maggie’s Bar & Restaurant in downtown Plattsburgh. Originally, this event was going to be held at the downtown hangout Monopole, but other factors intervened with the plans. Maggie’s was a small “venue” but had a homey feeling that made playing up on stage a little easier. Going along with the small bar came a small sound system. “I remember first starting out, we had to plug mics in through the guitar amps because I didn’t have a PA system yet,” said Inky. Besides the mics not having a mixer to get plugged into, the rest of the equipment was all there. There was a small drum set, a bass amp with a bass, and a small Fender guitar amp with a guitar to play on. Of course, if you wanted to jam with two guitars, you would have to bring your own amp down or else you weren’t going to be heard.

"I remember first starting out we had to plug mics in through the guitar amps because I didn’t have a PA system yet."

For the next two years, Maggies was the spot for Tuesday night jamming. Every week you could go down there and hang out with the same group of people that would swing through to catch a beer and a tune. Known by many as one of the spots to visit while downtown, it didn’t come as a surprise when they got shut down this past summer. Even though this was a letdown for Inky, it didn’t set him back for that long. “I heard Maggie's got shut down and I was trying to find another place that would host the event…two weeks later I landed Krazy Horse for Tuesday nights.”

“Having Krazy Horse as the new host for the open mic was a tremendous improvement. The sound system that the place has alone is worth several thousands of dollars,” says Inky. To go along with that, he had a new and improved entourage of gear himself. “Over the years I just started investing more and more money into my equipment…all together I probably have about four drum sets, a new guitar amp, several vocal mics, a bass amp, a professional mixer, two very good PA systems, and a few instruments to go along with the set up.”

One of the regular visitors to the downtown open mic scene, Ryan McDonald (guitar player), says, “Everything about this place is better than it used to be at Maggie’s… That is, except for the line at the bar because of all the people that come here now.” The “new” crowd has definitely improved. It’s kind of expected when the new space is double the size of the last. The stage is also double the size. “If the lights were turned off and they just had the colored lights on the stage, I would feel like I’m at a real show,” says Matt Dotson, guitar/bass player, and a weekly visitor to the downtown scene, not to mention a chair member of the on-campus music event at SUNY Plattsburgh called “Coffee House.”

"If the lights were turned off and they just had the colored lights on the stage, I would feel like I’m at a real show."

The new open mic event at Krazy Horse is definitely a scene that could attract a new crowd of music enthusiasts. It has all different styles of music and local bands such as Eat. Sleep. Funk. and many others that come down on a regular basis to keep the music flowing.

Even though Inky has been running the event now for several years now, he had to leave it behind him. He is currently pursuing a new career in the big city. The new host for the open mics at Krazy Horse now is going to be the guitar player from Eat. Sleep. Funk., Shawn Parrotte. Music always has a chance to expand into bigger and better things, and maybe that is what we will see in the future in Plattsburgh.

Have you ever headed down to Krazy Horse in Plattsburgh?