Roughly two and a half years ago the owners of The White Crow Conservatory asked me to help them promote their business by way of my podcast. I agreed and have been doing that ever since.  As a result, The Open Mike Cafe became a vehicle for the live shows I recorded at the White Crow rather than what it started out to be - a show to promote great unknown artists. My efforts to promote the White Crow included driving the two hours from Detroit to Saginaw at least twice a month at my own expense to host a monthly singer/songwriter showcase and also an open mic as well as other shows and fundraising events. I also bought weekly radio time at a station (WCXI) in Fenton, Michigan in an effort to promote these events; the White Crow owners as well as their performers were frequent guests on the radio show during this time.

Recent disagreements between myself and the owners of the White Crow - disagreements both professional and personal - have led me to rethink my relationship with them.

Professional reasons include but are not limited to taking money for a recording project and not completing the work.

Personal reasons include but are not limited to charging my credit card almost $500 for an instrument that I paid cash for, and a statement White Crow owner Donald "Ziggie" Zeitler made in my presence that AIDS was retribution against homosexuals and that all "faggots" should be lined up and shot. (We do, of course, live in America where everyone is entitled to their opinion. But this kind of rhetoric is not only offensive to me as it would be to most people, it also has no place in a business where small children are taught music.)

As a result, I've decided to sever ties with The White Crow Conservatory and to return The Open Mike Cafe to its original intent: promoting great artists from all parts of the globe and not just those performing at one particular venue. This was not an easy decision to reach as I've invested considerable time, money and emotion into the White Crow over the last two and a half years and I truly wanted to see the place prosper.

With regard to WCXI, I've decided to continue on with my show there. It will continue to be a weekly show broadcast on Saturdays from 2-4 EST. The folks from The White Crow Conservatory will no longer be joining me at the station, nor will they be hosting a show in the 3-4 PM timeslot as they have in the past.

If any of you are interested in coming into the WCXI studio and playing some live songs (acoustic instruments only), feel free to contact me and we'll set something up. Once we get things set up, we'll be recording and videocasting these live shows as well at theopenmikecafe.com

Peace to everyone.

Mike Stephens