Every week, the NEPA Scene Open Mic attracts all kinds of artists from across Northeastern Pennsylvania to Union Vapors 570 in Dickson City on Mondays and The V-Spot in Scranton on Tuesdays.
Solo musicians, duos, and full bands of all musical genres, stand-up comedians, poets, actors, dancers, magicians, and more take the stage to show off their talents to local audiences and those watching the live streams at home. To provide the best original acts with an additional platform, NEPA Scene shines the Open Mic Spotlight, a Q&A that details more about them and how they arrived here.
Born on Long Island, New York, John Kresse has lived in NEPA since he was 11. Now 30, the singer/songwriter brings his mandolin to open mic nights to create folk rock, pop, and punk music that he describes as “a cacophony of nonsense played by one dude on some old-timey sounding instruments in a new-timey sounding way.”
NEPA SCENE: Tell us a bit about your background as a musician.
JOHN KRESSE: I started playing guitar when I was 10, though I remember writing lyrics as a young kid. Most other instruments (bass, drums, mandolin, little bits of piano and ukulele) I learned throughout my high school years, with mandolin being the foundation for octave mandolin, tenor banjo, and mandola, which are the instruments that I play more frequently these days.
NS: What inspires you as a songwriter?
JK: I’ve always been interested in studying the elements of music that make people tick, whether in an engaging way in the sense that folk and punk styles inspire widespread participation and calls to action, or in an emotionally relative way, in the sense that artists like Queen and Billy Joel have tugged on the heartstrings of millions of people across the span of decades. I like to draw elements from all styles of popular music, some basic silly love songs, some abstract verse, some big-thinky, some no-thinky – all valid parts of the human experience that deserve to be screamed from the tallest towers and the deepest wells.
NS: What do you enjoy most about performing live?
JK: Establishing a connection with the audience. Simple as that.
NS: Does getting on stage come easy to you or does it make you nervous each time?
JK: There are definitely aspects that get easier each time, but there’s always some degree of nervousness. It all depends on the variables of each individual performance.
NS: How did you first hear about the NEPA Scene Open Mic, and what made you decide to come out to it and perform?
JK: I probably saw about it on Facebook after moving back to the area around 2017 and wanting to be more involved in both the local happenings and playing music in general.
NS: What have your experiences at the NEPA Scene Open Mic been like?
JK: Peachy every time. Love the community behind it, which is as persistently engaging as it was the first time I came around.
NS: What music have you released publicly, and where can people find it online?
JK: My most recent singles have been released as John Kresse and His Band. There are four singles under this so far: “Wake Up,” “No. 1 Cadaver,” “Rack ‘Em Up,” and “L4D.” I also have two singles under Auroroboros, “People Suit” and “Drusilla,” and a self-titled EP under the name Damned Dirty Derelicts, which was recorded with several friends from high school. All of them are available across all streaming platforms.
NS: Who are some of your favorite local artists that you’ve seen, and what are some of your favorite local venues?
JK: Two that come to mind include Pucker Up!, who I first saw at the NEPA Scene Open Mic, and Purple Lung, some of the members I’ve known since high school. I’ve also always loved Cabinet and their splinter groups since first seeing them for myself at Peach Music Fest in 2014. There’s really an obscene amount of hidden treasure in this area.
For venues, obviously I have to say The V-Spot, because atop this wonderful open mic they also host a variety of live entertainment daily and have wonderful staff. I’m also thankful for the wide array of local businesses that provide venues for the local punk scene.
NS: What are your other interests outside of music?
JK: Other than attending concerts, festivals, and local shows (or really any kind of local art based activities), I also enjoy reading, snowboarding, hiking, and rollerblading.
NS: What creative projects are you working on currently?
JK: Currently, I’m in the “inspiration seeking” phase of the creative process, whether exploring other small towns or natural beauties or just taking in everyday life. Mostly I try to just live every day with an open heart and open mind and, if I’m lucky, there are moments where I can take something in and reflect it back in some form half as beautiful as the moment itself.
NS: Do you have any goals for your music?
JK: I can’t really say whether or not I have any sort of endgame. The idea is simply to take part in something bigger than one’s own self, to build bonds in a community that demonstrate how we are all stronger together because of the little things that make us all unique, and to show that the simplest tiny things that we do in life can make somebody’s day and, in turn, make our world a better place for all we come into contact with. I realize this is a bit of a digression from the question, but sometimes it’s as simple as a passing smile or a line in a song. Life is a shared experience, and art is the tool we use to build the foundation of unity.
Photos by Rich Howells/NEPA Scene
