Uncle Mike's a place where musicians come to jam

It is hard to describe just what kind of venue Uncle Mike's in Portales is, but many musicians who play rock music in a band in eastern New Mexico have performed and jammed with others there.

The owner, Mike Morrison, who is a drummer, calls it a "live music venue," which about sums it up.

"It's a place to have bands and musicians play," he said, but other performers, including poets and comedians, have mounted Uncle Mike's stage, according to Jason Jouett, who seemed to be in charge on Friday evening when Morrison could not be there.

Uncle Mike's is not a night club. There are no alcoholic beverages served. There is a small snack bar in the back, a refrigerator with cold drinks and a Keurig coffee maker with coffee and tea pods, all offered free of charge, including the show, but with donations always welcome.

The musicians who perform also play for free at Uncle Mike's, Morrison said.

Uncle Mike's stage, however, is outfitted with a professional drum set, microphones and mic stands, amplifiers and speakers and a keyboard instrument. There are rows of chairs for an audience, along with small tables outfitted with candles.

"I got help from some real pros" to set up the stage and sound system, Morrison said. "I was over my head. They jumped in and helped me."

Morrison founded Uncle Mike's in 2021 "on a gamble," he said. After six months on the square in downtown Portales, Uncle Mike's moved to its current location on C Street in September 2021.

"This was the place I wanted all along," Morrsion said. The current location has enough space for a roomy stage and an audience of maybe 50 listeners.

It was intended to be "a place to hear and play live music, and there wasn't much of that around."

Uncle Mike's, however, has become a place where musicians meet, jam, and often emerge as new bands.

"That was not intended, but I'm glad it turned out that way," Morrison said.

Admission, snacks and beverages are free, but donations are always welcome, and when crowds are adequate, there might be a raffle in which musical instruments –moderately priced guitars and on Friday, an electric ukelele – are given away.

Morrison said the raffles are currently an experiment.

Phillip Vigil, a bandmate of Jouett's and controller on Friday of the myriad knobs and controls of the sound board in the back of Uncle Mike's, said "It's amazing to see the people who meet here."

Jouett recounted some history of bands, current and former, and of who was in which band during what time period with Uncle Mike's as the meeting ground.

Over time, band members have mixed and matched and more often than not, the first encounters between musicians who would later merge into ensembles occurred at Uncle Mike's, Jouett said.

One example is Jouett's current band, called "Tomorrow Holds Maybe."

Three of the current band members were at Uncle Mike's on Friday to help out where needed and perform as desired. Vigil and Jouett were joined by Cory Moore, their bass player. All of them have been in other bands, and all said Uncle Mike's was where their bands were formed.

Friday night was an "open mic" night, meaning the stage was open to all comers, and not just for music.

On Friday, the lineup included singers, singer-songwriters, one comedian, and a contingent from Loving High School.

The surprise of the evening was the arrival of the Loving students with their choir director, Rafael Salcido-Reyes. They had made the three-hour drive to Portales to allow a few senior choir members to audition for placement in Eastern New Mexico University's vocal music department.

First up Friday was Kasey Carpenter of Clovis. He sang some numbers by himself, strumming chords on guitar and in clear voice. Then he then called up his daughter Kaiah, 12, whose singing voice demonstrated a power beyond her years.

John Muir, an Air Force retiree in his 60s who is a regular, performed some songs written by folk singer Harry Chapin and, as is allowed in the experimental atmosphere of a musicians' hangout, abandoned a couple songs half-way through. That happens with works in progress.

Jouett and Vigil performed singer-songwriter sets of original songs.

While Jouett was singing, the Loving contingent appeared. Reyes, the director, signed up himself and student performers.

After Jouett and Vigil had completed solo sets, Antonio Campos of Clovis, who calls himself Big T, tried out some comedy routines. The audience of fellow performers laughed to demonstrate encouragement as Big T told stories about his time in the U.S. Marine Corps and reflections on family life.

Then, with a karaoke-type background track, Reyes established his credibility with Las Vegas nightclub-style polish and professionalism with both voice and movement on some old-school pop hits.

His example served to inspire some attempts to cut loose by his student performers. Loving High seniors Cadence Harkness and Dalen Bennett pushed the envelope of their range and improvising skill, usually with great success.

Breanna Martinez of Clovis, sang a credible version of the Roberta Flack hit "Killing Me Softly," as interpreted by 1990s hip-hop and soul star Lauryn Hill.

As the evening wound down, Reyes gathered with his students to perform a medley of 1970s and 1980s hits that the full Loving High Choir intends to sing in concert.

At the end, Reyes said, "You should hear that with all 50 voices."