A new venue for open mic aficionados in West Windsor is now accepting registration. Opening night for West Windsor Arts Council’s monthly open mic is Friday, December 9, at 7 p.m. at the arts center on Alexander Road. Headlining acts include musical acts presented by High Gain from High School North, Emission from High School South, and Dylan Fruh from High School North. Tickets are $5.
The teen coordinator of the event is a member of High Gain, Robert Grueneberg, a sophomore. “Last winter I attended an open mic night at the arts center and was impressed with the facility and the event,” he says. “My mother and I explored volunteer opportunities with Kay Kalawar from the West Windsor Arts Council, who presented me with programs that would use my musical interests, including taking over the teen co-coordinator position for the monthly open mic series.”
Grueneberg has been working with WWAC and volunteers to get the new series of open mic nights up and running. The first includes a variety of local talent, including Grueneberg’s band High Gain with Grueneberg on lead guitar and vocals, Dave Smith on rhythm guitar and vocals, George Algarin is on bass guitar, and Daniel Grueneberg on drums. Visit www.reverbnation.com/highgain for more information.
“As long as I can remember, I’ve always been into music in some form or another,” he says. “When I was a young child, I always listened to various children’s artists such as Raffi.”
His parents gave him his first acoustic guitar when he was two. He then took piano lessons until he entered middle school, when he became interested in the electric guitar. “As I studied both instruments for a while, it became clear that I had a knack for the electric guitar and decided to focus on the one instrument,” he says.
“As I grew older, I branched off into some pop music and then as I approached middle school, was introduced to Eric Clapton,” says Robert. “From that point on, I became enthralled with his music and my love for blues-rock developed from there.”
After performing at the Community Middle School talent show he caught the performance bug and began to perform at Grover’s Mill Coffee Shop in the Southfield Shopping Center. His first band, called The Trouble, included his brother and some neighborhood friends. They performed at Brewster’s Bar and Grill, High School North’s Battle of the Bands, the Lend Some Hope Benefit Concert, the West Windsor Arts Center winter open mic night, and the spring coffee house at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church.
“My favorite style of music is blues and blues based rock,” he says. “I have developed my playing style based on my love of blues and blues based rock. The guitarists that influence me most are Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Gibbons, and Buddy Guy.”
His guitar teachers include Gerry Rosenthal, a member of Big Wake; Paul Plumeri, a member of Blues in Disguise and the Paul Plumeri Blues Band, and Joe Vidala, a successful area guitarist. “I have taught myself many songs and licks by ear and have spent an extensive amount of time experimenting with different effect pedals, sounds, and techniques to further my innovative, unrestricted playing style of guitar,” says Grueneberg.
He also studied guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston over the summer. “It was a great learning experience, and I met a lot of great people, including Dave Smith, a high school junior from Manhattan, who currently plays in my band,” he says. “I also studied at the Princeton School of Rock.”
At North he participates in stage crew, primarily working on lights or sound. Throughout elementary and into middle school he studied Tae Kwon Do and earned his 1st degree black belt. His newer interest in fencing has spurred formal lessons at the Princeton YMCA for the past three years. His focus is on foil.
His parents are David, who works in advertising and marketing at CitiBank; and Anita, who has been a past president, treasurer, and volunteer for West Windsor-Plainsboro school district PTAs, and volunteers for other charitable organizations. His brother, Daniel, 13, is in eighth grade at Community Middle School. Also a musician, he has played the drums for four years and is the drummer in his brother’s band. The family moved from Somers, New York, nine years ago.
His parents are also musically inclined. David sings and has participated in Beth Chaim Congregation’s choir. Anita played the piano throughout her childhood.
“As well as playing music, I love to just listen to it as well,” says Grueneberg. “Music has always been something I’ve been able to identify with for as long as I can remember.”
Open Mic for Singers, Comics, Poets, and More, West Windsor Arts Council, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor. Friday, December 9, 7 p.m. Performers may present three pieces with a 10 minute limit. Featured performers are Dylan Fruh, Emission, and High Gain. Future dates include Fridays, January 6, February 10, March 2, April 6, May 4, and June 1, all at 8 p.m. Register online. $5 cover. 609-716-1931. https://openmicsignup.weebly.com/
