It’s no news that Ocean City attracts a lot of people who don’t stay long. At your average bar or club during the season, the majority of people in attendance are going to be tourists visiting from DC, New York, Baltimore, or wherever else they happen to be running away from. That means that unlike a city like DC, where local artists can gain a devoted following of repeat audience members who learn all their songs by heart just by seeing them live over and over again, Ocean City tends to lean towards cover artists, who play songs that everyone can already sing along to. Many of these artists are serious musicians in their own right who have a unique talent for communicating musically with their own particular audience, or thoughtful songwriters studying the work of others while seeking out opportunities to share their own originals. One of the things I hope to do with this blog is go beneath the surface and let readers discover more about their favorite local musicians, no matter what they play. Today, I’m writing about Nancy Micciulla.

Micciulla is a sweet, slightly jazzy singer and guitar player in a style that I have a particular nostalgic affection for — Indigo Girls-style folk-rock with a thoughtful, sensitive tone. I grew up wanting to follow Lilith Fair everywhere they went, so I liked her pretty much instantly. She’s based in Rehoboth, but her gig schedule includes stops at places like Babe’s Lounge in the OC. In our interview, she explained that she learned to play piano as a child, “and then at some point, I figured out that I could sing.” After catching the theater bug in high school and realizing how much she loved to perform, Nancy switched from piano to guitar when she went to college — for no other reason than that “I couldn’t take my piano with me, so guitar was the next logical choice.”

Luckily, the acoustic guitar is a good match for Nancy’s vocal style, and she has done quite well as a musician in the Delmarva area. Despite a wish for more original music venues (one I heartily share with her,” Micciulla enjoys the pace of resort life, commenting that “I find myself thinking and writing a lot about the water and a somewhat relaxing lifestyle.”

Like other local musicians, she is hoping that her current career can translate into more exposure for her original works. While the sunny-natured Micciulla shrugs off the label of “unsigned artist” by pointing out that “I call myself lucky enough to be playing my original music here and there,” and that she is “definitely enjoying” her career, she clearly bigger dreams still ahead of her, encouraged by the strength of her local fan base and the good reception her demo tapes and myspace songs are receiving online.

Micciulla’s songs are not always cheerful, but her attitude is one of joy and optimism. Reflecting on the her local gigs, she says that “it’s so much fun when people are singing along. SOMEDAY they’ll be singing along to my own stuff, but for now, ‘Me & Bobby McGee’ is always a crowd pleaser.”

You can check out Nancy’s music on myspace at www.myspace.com/nancymicciulla, or just head over to Babe’s Lounge at the Blue Ox on March 16th (that’s this Friday!) or March 30th.

Dudes.

The Parrotheads are running an Ocean City Idol competition at the Blue Ox. Like, tomorrow. And they STILL NEED CONTESTANTS.

What is wrong with you people? You could win money for getting drunk and singing at a bar.  And the cover is a whopping $10. It’s for charity and everything! How on earth are they still looking for contestants? Heck, don’t make me do it — I can’t find a note with both hands and a flashlight. But if you all don’t get out there and sing, I will. Trust me, you don’t want that.

Show’s from 7 to 10, by the way. Come on, be a good sport. You can’t be worse than the people they’ve got on the *real* American Idol.

If you frequent places like Babe’s Lounge in Ocean City, you might have heard Wes Davis and his band playing classic-rock covers more than once. The band is composed of veteran Ocean City musicians who got to know each other through their gigs, real homegrown local talent. What you might not know, however, is that as Wes puts it, songwriting was “my first love.” On his new CD,Fire at the Water’s Edge, Davis has poured out his soul in a series of original songs that touch on love, family and spirituality. When I asked him how I felt about the often deeply personal subject matter, Davis responded philosophically: “I’ve always been kind of an open book, so I’m not uncomfortable sharing personal things in my lyrics. I tend to think they’re things we can all relate to if we’re honest.”

Davis says that living where he does — near the water, on the Maryland/Delaware border — has had an impact on his songwriting process. “It’s always been kind of a mystical/spiritual thing for me,” he mused, noting that the title of his album is Fire at the Water’s Edge. “Usually when I’m at the beach I’m working, doing gigs, but I try to stop and appreciate the surroundings and be grateful to be able to work in this area.” And this spring/summer season you will get plenty of chances to see Davis at work. His schedule includes gigs at the Blue Ox on March 17th and 23rd, a couple of dates at BJ’s On The Water, and tons more. According to the schedule on his website, www.wesdavisonline.com, Wes is a pretty busy guy. He is also excited about a new running gig hosting an Open Mic night at Castaways every Monday this summer.

It’s always good to see local talent getting recognized, especially when they have as much fun with it as Davis does. Discussing the life of a beach-town musician, he mentions the mystical beauty of the ocean, the importance of being grateful for it all… and then comments that “having the girls in their bikinis there jamming on the music doesn’t suck either.”

Sometimes even your friendly music blogger gets tired of going out to shows. The driving home at all hours, the cigarette smoke, the standing around waiting for the band to go on, the inevitable drunken jerks in the crowd… and these days a lot of bands out there just don’t know what to do with an audience, anyway. But every once in a while something comes along to remind me of the joys of *being* there, live, for a genuine, unpredictable concert experience.

So I was just looking at the Seacrets calendar for this spring to see what kind of live acts they had coming up, and a listing jumped out at me. March 23rd — The Amish Outlaws.

Naturally, I had to google “Amish Outlaws” (wouldn’t you?), and the search engine turned uptheir website, which you absolutely have to go to, and when you’re there you have to read the “about” section. Even if you are at work. ESPECIALLY if you are at work. This is probably the best band bio I have ever read, including such turns of phrase as “a voice and energy that could stop a train from gorging itself on pastries and salty snack foods.”

I admit that I haven’t actually heard this band’s songs, so I can’t vouch for whether they’re any good. I can’t imagine that they are a *great* band by any stretch of the word. But if I get a chance to be anywhere near Seacrets on the 23rd, I know what I’ll be doing with my evening, and I sincerely believe that you should do the same. These guys could be a total joke surviving on one priceless gimmick, but their website shows a kind of energy and spirit that, in my opinion, are necessary for anyone trying to make a career out of performing. And that nutty, irrepressible energy is what makes it worth it to go to live shows.

I found a video of this folk singer from Shenandoah, Virginia and I have to say I am impressed.

This region has a lot of folk traditions that we don’t really talk about or celebrate as much as we ought to, don’t you think?