Sal Raciti and his guitar “Betsy” closed Friday’s open mic with a number of covers and original songs. Photo by Mike Gervais

By Mike Gervais
Register Staff

6-26-2008

Bishop’s favorite mom and pop sandwich shop, Raymond’s Deli, is cooking up a music scene and night life for residents.
Since receiving its beer and wine license last month, Raymond’s has begun opening its doors Friday and Saturday evenings, serving dinners and inviting local musicians to stop by and supply the mood music.
“It’s a glimmer of night life,” said owner Dennis Raymond during last Friday’s open mic session, which drew dozens of spectators and more than 10 musicians.

As diners sampled the deli’s new dinner menu in the dining area of the restaurant, residents of all ages and walks of life gathered near the rear entrance to hear the musicians play their 15-minute open mic sessions.
“This is great, it starts out and there’s a 13-year old with a guitar and a commercial on Nickelodeon, there’s a guy in a kilt and the last act is Sal with a three-foot tall mohawk and Fiddlin’ Pete opened up,” Raymond said. “You wanna talk about diverse? What more do you want?”

Young Willie Allen, at just 11 years old, was a sensation at Friday’s open mic at Raymond’s Deli. Photo by Mike Gervais

As the open mic night progressed Friday, the music was as hot as the food. Diners who stopped in for a bite to eat found themselves elbow to elbow with local youth and their parents listening to a variety of sounds, from the original blues tunes of Cole Citrenbaum (the aforementioned 13-year-old TV commercial star) to some of Scotland’s favorite songs performed by Bishop resident Sean Alexandré in full Scottish dress, kilt and all.
The evening’s performances ranged from cover songs of popular and classic rock music to original compositions.
Raymond’s Deli began inviting musicians to perform weekend nights when it moved to the former Kava Coffee location in April of 2007. Since that time open mic nights have been sporadic.
“The caliber of the acts is getting better and we’re getting more acts that are willing to play,” Raymond said, noting that the first open mic the deli hosted nearly a year ago saw only six people sign up, “and now that’s doubled.”
And the artists at last week’s event showed spectators what kind of talent the Eastern Sierra has to offer.

Young Willie Allan, an 11-year-old guitar player, formerly of Bishop, came from Los Angeles to perform in front of friends here at the Raymond’s Deli open mic.
As soon as the youngster started her set, featuring popular classic rock songs, visitors who were hanging out outside or eating dinner towards the front of the restaurant made their way towards the stage.
By the time Allan finished her performance, the stage area of the deli was standing-room only.
A further display of the diversity of the talent in and around the Bishop area was the performance by Alexandré, who took the stage with his guitar and stories and songs from Scotland.
“We’re going to do a lot more music stuff,” Raymond said. “We are trying to do a lot of local bands, but if I can bring in some fresh talent from out of the area, I will,” he added.
The eatery’s music scene is gaining traction in the community, and enjoying a growing reputation as a music-friendly haven in Bishop.
The first shows featured a couple local acts and lasted about two hours. But as word spread, Raymond has been able to net a couple bands from the Tahoe area.
“It’s a music scene (here at Raymond’s), it’s not just one type of whatever,” said Raymond. “I want to get some punk, some country, there is a lot of interest in this, and not just from one group.”
But to get regular performances playing in Bishop, Raymond said he will need the help of the community.
“The community really doesn’t know what to think about it yet, it’s all kind of new,” he said, “but I want everyone to know this isn’t a bar, it’s a restaurant and now we’re dealing with music and it’s all really low key.”
These low-key performances are going over well with many community members, who are happy to see local youth hanging around a Main Street eatery rather than heading out to the boonies to throw a party.
“If these kids are hanging out here in a controlled environment, they’re not out there getting drunk, and the cops have been real cool about it, they drive by and make sure everything is cool,” said Raymond.
If Raymond can continue drawing quality acts and interested crowds during the monthly open mic sessions and concerts at the deli, he hopes to one day record a live album that could be played locally.
“Before I was in the deli business, I was a sound guy, I did that for years,” he explained. “One of my goals would be a live at Raymond’s Deli album that could appear on the local radio.”
The next performance at Raymond’s Deli will be a show tomorrow by local rock trio The Kanes, beginning at 7 p.m.
Bands and other artists interested in playing at Raymond’s should give Raymond a call at 873-7275 – and be sure to have a sample of their music ready for review.