There are a couple of shifts happening in the open mic scene in Phnom Penh.  This week sees the restarting of the Noisy Chili Thursday night open mic to be hosted by Initial G, with the timely installation of extra gear on stage – amps, drums and more.  Here’s hoping, like any good open mic, it settles into a good place for musicians to meet and bands to form.  Note: to get an overview of current open mics in the city including Lone Star, Lola Music Lounge, Lost Bar and Tacos Kokopelli, keep an eye on the Phnom Penh Open Mic Facebook page.

A quite different approach is being taken at Bat Muk Yu Beer Garden on Bassac Street (corner of Sts 21 & 308).  Beginning this week, Monday Night Live  will be hosted by Adam Marsland, who recently moved to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap.  LengPleng sat down with Adam to find out what’s in store.

“There will be a different musical theme every week,” Adam says.  “After my opening set, a pre-planned group of musical guests will sing songs within that theme.  It’s similar to events that I did in Los Angeles, and it’s also similar to stuff that’s been done by other people here in Phnom Penh like the 1973 and forthcoming 1974 tributes, and it seems like a good thing to revive.  My hope is that Monday nights become a gathering place – the audience will hear something a little more organised and curated than your standard open mic, but still with the communal vibe of people getting together, and bringing new people into the fold.”

The first outing, on 28 October, will be sixties pop.  “Which means anything that isn’t hard rock, to keep it out of the Iron Butterfly/Jimi Hendrix realm,”  Adam says.  “That material isn’t going to work in this acoustic format.  The following week will be the seventies, and that can be any song from that decade, no restrictions.  After that I want to do a night entirely of Elton John songs – everybody’s got a favourite Elton tune, and I know a lot of that material already.  For example, somebody that’s always wanted to do Someone Saved My Life Tonight and has never had a chance.  We’ll go from there – more specific genres or eras or artists, I’ll let what happens steer the boat.”

Tell us about the format for the second half of the night, the guest performers.  “A singer will give me an shortlist of four or five songs and I’ll pick two of those that will fit with the rest of the night.  If they would like me to join them, I will prepare my parts on guitar or keyboards or harmony vocals, so I know the song properly instead of just guessing.  I’ll make a setlist and off we’ll go.”

I guess we should ask why a Monday?  “There are so many great open mics in town already, but not on aMonday, and for people that work in the service economy – bar owners, bartenders and the like – Monday is their night off.  And there’s plenty of passing foot traffic on Bassac Street any day of the week.

“I want to play Bassac Street myself because I want to be able to play for the local Cambodia audience more – I haven’t had a chance to do that much yet.  I did a show in Siem Reap last month for a local crowd, and it was one of the best responses I’ve ever got, and video of it went a little bit viral around the country.  In my opening sets I’m hoping to showcase some Khmer singers and do some Khmer songs myself.”

Can you tell us a bit about your background in music?  “I’ve done so many things it’s hard to be brief.  I’ve done everything from busking on the street all the way up to running a record label, being a session musician, and everything in between.  I grew up in a small town and there wasn’t anybody that liked the kind of music that I liked, so if I was going to be able to perform it I had to learn to play it myself.  Once I started getting into production I couldn’t always get people to get the sound I wanted, so that took me to a higher level of playing.”

Performers that are interested in participating in upcoming shows can get in touch on Messenger/Facebook – include some audio or video link so that Adam can hear you singing, assess where your strengths are and what’s going to fit.

Highlights for the first outing – you’ll hear Ariane Parkes, Kevin Sysyn, Will Canuck, Scott Bywater, and a couple of people from outside the scene that will be new to everybody.  Some of the sixties acts that will be featured are Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Monkees.

Alongside the Monday Night Live Open Mic at Bat Muk Yu Beer Garden, Adam is also shortly launching a piano bar night on Tuesdays at Little Susie.  His solo shows this weekend are Friday at Noisy Chili, Saturday at Tropico, and Sunday afternoon he’ll be poolside at Villa Grange.   Friday night he’ll be fronting Shake 79 at Oscar’s on the Corner.