Every Monday at Ginger’s Restaurant http://gingersrestaurant.com in Roseville, the Strum Shop, which sells guitars and other instrument products in the Roseville Square,  holds an open mic for performers young and old to show their skills and develop their talents in front of an audience. Some of the artists are there for the excitement of being onstage and perform solely for the purpose of appeasing an audience. However, other performers have other reasons for showing their skills onstage.

When the owners of the Strum Shop were eating breakfast at Ginger’s, owners Harold and Ginger Gaubert heard their conversation about their small business and established a partnership that has been strong for almost two years now, providing performers with a chance to show off their talents for free. Ever since their partnership started, the bond between two family started companies has been flourishing and their open mic event has become more and more popular.

“[Ginger’s and the Strum Shop] have kind of turned into a little bit of a family. Everyone knows one another,” Harold Gaubert said.

Gaubert said he enjoys seeing musicians develop their skills over the weeks. He truly appreciates the fact that so many performers, young and old, come out to Ginger’s to show off all of their hard work.

The venue provides every musician and singer with a chance to show off their skills in a welcoming environment.

“Ginger’s feels like home. It’s got a wonderful atmosphere, and I just love it,” performer Aaron Vaughn said.

Vaughn was inclined to perform when he visited the Strum Shop and saw a poster for the open mic. Vaughn said he enjoys performing at Ginger’s especially, because it calms him down and provides an escape for him away from the stress he was dealing with in his home when his parents divorced.

“I feel so comfortable, at peace, and a little more at home then when I’m in my actual home,” Vaughn said.

Not all performers are like Vaughn and perform just to release the tension in their life and to have a good time. Some amateur artists use the weekly open mics to test out material for their upcoming albums. And the audience at Ginger’s has first-hand access to hearing the new music before it’s released on album.

Danielle Herreid is the host of the Monday night open mics and daughter of the owners of the Strum Shop. She also performs multiple times a week at Ginger’s and is releasing an upcoming album filled with covers and also some new music. Herreid always tests out her songs at Ginger’s to get a feel for if the song will be a hit or miss, and to generally improve her skills as an artist, singer and musician.

“Ginger’s is an open public forum. Every week is an opportunity to improve your musicianship,” Herreid said.

Herreid has been the host of the open mics since the open mics began, and has always enjoyed the fact that people do not just perform music, but other talents as well.

“We have all kinds of instrument players coming out, we have poets, we’ve had tap dancing people that bring in boards, we’ve had people bring in their own keyboards and play on it,” Herreid said.

You can look for Herreid’s album, “Let Me Introduce Myself,” at the Strum Shop and also purchase her songs on iTunes after Christmas.

Ginger’s open mic provides an opportunity for artists from the youngest to oldest to come to Ginger’s and show off their talents, whether they are looking for a place to try out new material for an upcoming album, or just to make an audience smile. Ginger’s holds open mics on Mondays from 7-9 p.m. To see a full schedule of all of their live music events, visit their website or locate them on facebook.

Herrid said, “Bring your appetite, come hungry, and come to see some awesome local entertainment.”

by RACHEL MARQUARDT