By Elysia Bryan

Every Friday night in Toronto a young upstart stands in front of a mic and has a chance to be heard. This is due in part to Intimate & Interactive, an open mic night started by host Tika Simone this past summer. While upstart may be the term now used to describe the featured artists, the hope is that I&I will bring them the exposure and media awareness to prepare them for stardom. Simone spoke to Sway via email, about her latest endeavor.

What inspired you to start Intimate and Interactive nights?
I’m an idea person. Definitely not an executor. Initially, DJ Lissa Monet and I were looking for a venue to have a weekly club night (I MC with her on weekends) and we came across a venue. The venue didn’t give us a club vibe, it gave us more of a lounge/open mic type feel. We started planning the night together and Lissa had to pull out last minute due to scheduling conflicts and I was forced to continue. I’m glad I did. She really helped and assisted in inspiring and fueling the idea.

Not many people are aware of this but I’m a musician. I have been for years. Before I was on the MTV Aftershow, I played violin for 13 years and was planning on auditioning for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Things shifted once I started doing MTV. I realized that there wasn’t a proper outlet for many young artists in the city. I also noticed that there was a lacking in media training in many Toronto artists as well. I just took initiative and attempted to draw awareness by having a headliner booked every Friday. It was extremely daunting but eventually it worked out.

You have a different headliner every week. What is the audition process like?
The audition process is no joke. The auditions happen each and every Wednesday between 5&8pm [unless specified.] The first 3 Wednesdays of the month are preliminary auditions with my assistant [Savannah Re] and technical singer [Owen Sound.] Once the artist sees them, they get the opportunity to meet with me on the last Wednesday and I approve it.

The three elements that we look for are music, performance art & media. So, performers have to sing/rap their song, answer a few questions, and we pretty much tell them on the spot whether or not they’ve gotten through. Even if they haven’t, I tell them why and refer them to vocal trainers or tell them how to improve. I try not to let anyone go away empty-handed. As a matter of fact, quite a few of the artists that weren’t chosen come out anyway just to watch performers and see how they can improve within their own craft.

How has has the exposure from the open mic nights affected the artists involved? Have there been any big musical moments so far?
The exposure is always great. People are constantly networking at I & I. What I’m able to draw is media, so I bring that element to the table. We’ve had some incredible nights so far. I & I was the first to feature Silver/Solitair’s new music/sound and now he’s blowing up. We had an amazing night with KJ, Wolf J McFarlane & Blake Carrington.  And I & I was also the first to feature The Airplane Boys after the release of their video “Sleep.” We hit capacity that night with almost 300 patrons in attendance. I would say that they are a duo to look out for, for sure. We’ve also had many “silent” celebrities pass through like Fefe Dobson and Jully Black. It has been nothing short of a blessing.

What’s exciting to you about music in Toronto now?
Music in Toronto has finally found it’s originality. It’s character. It’s sound. I feel over the past 10+ years, we were trying to establish our idiosyncrasies within this music industry and the sound here is finally making sense. I find that people in Toronto can perform like crazy, but a lot of the times it’s not the same energy you feel on a track. People are taking mastering much more seriously. There isn’t a day where I’m not blown away by what we have here and how far we have come. So much talent. I’m proud I was able to do this and I sincerely hope I can continue for awhile.

Intimate & Interactive OPEN MIC
Each and every Friday
November 5th — TRIXX Live alongside the Roast of Tika Simone @ TOTA LOUNGE 592 Queen St. W
November 12th, 19th & 26th we move to our new home at SUBA! 292 College St.