Duffy Cured?

Probably a year ago, our dog Duffy was diagnosed with nerve sheath cancer, which was showing up as a lump on the front of his neck. He's 10, and the doctor said he had probably a year to live, and that cancer treatments for dogs are just like cancer treatments for people -- just as painful, and just as expensive. We reluctantly decided to just let it go, and not run him (and our budget) through the suffering of trying to postpone the inevitable.

But when Daleen took him in for a checkup two weeks ago, the doctor was surprised to find that the tumor had grown out, and not in like they "always" do. And that meant that we might be able to just cut that thing out of there and be done with it.

Unfortunately, with Duffy it's not that simple, 'cuz he has a doggie equivalent of hemophilia. But they gave him some plasma to kick up his clotting, and cut the tumor out yesterday, and it seems to be pretty OK. When we picked him up yesterday evening, he was good and ready to get out of that scary place, but he seems perky and good. His neck's all shaved, of course, where it's supposed to be his big fluffy ruff, but it'll grow back.

We're not out of the woods yet, 'cuz there's a risk if internal bleeding (especially in Mr. Hemo Dog), so we'll have to keep an eye on him -- and keep the puppy away! But if that snagged all of the cancer, I guess he's "cured". We sure didn't expect *that*!

Borders Mission Viejo -- 24Jan2009

Much more fun than last week, which isn't saying much, but a pretty good night. The audience started out pretty shy, but warmed up as we went along, and towards the end a foursome showed up that were so friendly that Warren assumed they must be friends of mine.

It was the first outing with my new guitar pickup, and it was a little tricky at first, but I think it's gonna work out. There are new controls to mess with, and the issues of the combination of the controls on the pickup versus the ones on the amp to work out. But it sounds quite good -- at least it doesn't have the "quack" of my old under-saddle pickup. It has two ways to boost the bass, which, even when lightly deployed, gets me bass response like I've never had before, and reminds me of James Taylor's sound (which is, obviously, a good thing). And there's an indescribable "clarity" that was both amazing and occasionally threw me off.

I'm sure I'll be able to work out a good set of settings, and get used to the sound. There is some occasional bass feedback that I'm sure I can cut if I re-insert the extra "DI" box, but I was trying to simplify. And another old related problem came back -- because I'm not using the soundhole plug (though I did try it for the last hour), I can hear my guitar, quite well, directly. This leads me to believe that it's louder than it really is from the speakers, so I end up with the guitar too quiet. Warren pointed this out, but I'm not sure how to solve it -- even if I know, intellectually, that I have to turn up more, it's hard to perform when, from my point of view, the vocal is being drowned out by the guitar. We'll have to work on that, somehow.

Daleen and I had dropped by the Irvine Spectrum last Saturday, partially to "check out the competition". The kid that was playing there had a quite big "tip jar" that was really a flower vase -- and it was plenty full. We've had a few (but not enough!) nights where the jelly jar that I use has been jammed full, so it occurred to me that it might be discouraging people from tipping, if they see that we've got "plenty of money" already. We had also gotten advice from old friend Jessica Ching that we should have a "huge tip jar", and she may be right that making the tip jar more visible would make a difference.

So I found a flower vase like the kid's, and tried it at Mission Viejo. Didn't work. We still only made 8 bucks each. And transporting a big glass vase is a hassle. But maybe I'll try it again at the next Spectrum gig (on Valentines day!), and see what happens.

Acacia happened to be hanging out with an Indian Princess friend that night, and her dad brought the girls out to Borders for a while. I only saw Acacia flit by when they got there, and wave bye-bye when they left, but it was nice to have Kevin there, clapping loudly.

There were also two young guys there, looking like shaven-headed "cholo" gangsters, though not quite so tatted up. After listening for a while, the big guy asked for "Love Me Tender" (Huh?!?), and later on, "Dream Lover" (double Huh?!?). His smaller friend was a big James Taylor fan (?!?), and asked for "More James", and then specifically "Going to Carolina" (sic), and sang along with gusto. Like Buck Owens said, "You can't never tell".

I'd recently reconnected via email with old Toshiba friend Jeffrey Friedrichs, who's "back in OC", and said he'd try to come out to see us. But unless he was disguised as a 90-year-old Chinese lady (or a cholo), I guess he couldn't make it.

One disappointment -- I had worked up "Hey, Jude" during the week before, but I was having so much fun at the end that by the time I remembered to check the clock, we were way over so I knocked out "Golden Slumbers" and we were out of there. I'm even more unsure than usual that it'll "work" in person, but I'd wanted to try it out and see how it went over. Next time, I guess.

Adventures in String Changing

After I installed the new pickup in my guitar, I was putting on the new strings. I usually do that sitting on the bed, 'cuz it's easiest to hold the guitar with it standing on the floor between my knees. Anyway, I had 4 strings installed, and the tools and 2 remaining new strings are spread out around me on the bed, when Bonnie and the "puppy" Annabelle (she's now bigger than either of the two adult dogs) come romp/tussling in, as they do constantly, unless they're asleep. They look just like that comic strip "fight" where it's just a spinning dust cloud with hands and legs sticking out of it.

Anyway, they tumble around for a while, and take off again, romping down the hall. I try to get back to work, but when I look for the next string, there's one missing. I look around the bed, next to the bed, under the bed. Spreading the search out -- bathroom, hallway. Turns out it's on the floor in the office, at the plumb other end of the house.

Jeez. Only in my house do you have to hire security just to change your guitar strings...

New Playing Opportunity?

There's a new little wine-bar near our house that reportedly has live music in it. Daleen and I peeked in on Saturday night, and it looked like it might be fun, so I dropped by to talk to the owner last night. I had to wait 20 minutes or so as the owner was putting together an order for an indecisive lady who was hosting a party or reception, and needed lots of hand-holding choosing wine for the party itself and as gifts.

When I finally got to talk to him, he acted like I was on his front porch trying to get him to read a pamphlet about my personal savior, so I'm not really expecting this to go anywhere. He has a standup sidewalk chalk board out front that claims "Live Music Tues thru Sun", but when I asked about that he admitted that he doesn't really have anyone on Tuesday and Wednesday (and maybe Thursday?). I said that I'd prefer to play on either Friday or Saturday nights, and he said that he already has someone on those nights, affirming when I asked that those guys are booked indefinitely. I'm surprised (and dismayed) that people are giving out "every Saturday from now on" (or, in the Food Court, "every Friday in March") commitments. I would never have the temerity to even ask for such a thing...

Anyway, I left him with a CD and a card, and he said he'd listen to it and get back to me -- though it didn't feel like he actually would. I think I'll try to compose a follow-up email to him today with some of the details/qualifications that I was too tongue-tied to relate last night. (I really suck at interviewing.) It seems awfully degrading to have to be begging some guy to allow you to work, for free, at his tiny little place. Part of "The Dues", I guess, though since I'm not expecting to "go" anywhere, I don't know what I'm paying dues *for*.

K&W at South Coast Plaza -- 16Jan2009

Well, after the great night I had last week, this was pretty disappointing. It was really dead the whole night, and the few people who were there were mostly uninterested, and completely quiet.

But, as I've said before, playing to nobody is still better than not playing at all, and I tend to take the opportunity to play new stuff that I'm not entirely sure is gonna work, which is fun. Unfortunately, and oddly, for the fist time since I can remember, no new songs were lodged in my brain forcing me to learn them this week. So I had no completely new songs, but there's always the big stack of kinda-new ones to play with.

We did have an occasional friendly face. Two ladies were looking for a place to settle down with their coffee and snacks, and I happened to be in between songs, so I gave 'em my traditional, "No extra charge for the comfy chairs down front!" line, and dragged them in. They were good about it, and asked for a few tunes, but didn't stay long. And at the end we had a couple of old guys (you know, my age), who really liked our stuff, but it was closing time so they were only there for three or four songs.

Actually, Dave was supposed to come by too, but, of course he didn't. Every once in a while, he asks if I'm playing this weekend, which, since I play almost every weekend, I usually am. Then he acts like he might come out, but he always cops out at the end. I don't know what the problem is, but I also don't know why he bothers to pretend like he'll show up when it never happens. This time, he called me that morning to warn me that he "might not be able to make it", because his wife's uncle was sick. C'mon Dave -- really? You're going with "sick uncle"? You can do better than that.

And he did. At 5:00 he called to tell me that there had been a computer virus outbreak, and he'd have to stay by the phone, just in case. That's much better.

Anyway, we'll assume that the place was empty 'cuz it's a three day weekend, and look forward to next week. I'd hate to have to give up on Borders entirely, but that was hardly worth the effort to drive out there. Especially with the Spectrum Food Court calling my name...

Keith at Spectrum -- 10Jan2009

Wow -- one of the craziest gigs, ever. Started out with a lot of people already there, including lots of kids. I like kids, and am used to dealing with kids, so that was fine with me. There was one little boy, 5 or 6 years old, who was really interested in my stuff, and kept jumping up on the stage to play my guitar (I always hold a chord or two and let kids strum a bit), and running around with his brother and big sister (though they were much more subdued). At first is was kinda cute, and I expected some embarrassed and apologetic mom to appear and gather him up pretty soon, so I was tolerant. But it went on and on, and his mom, finally realizing once or twice, would take him away -- but he'd be back just a few minutes later. Definitely not Parent of the Year.

It became a running joke between me and the audience -- me putting up with the interruptions, and letting him strum the guitar one more time, and trying to keep the songs going while the kid was running around below and behind me, threatening to trip on the wires, and playing with the knobs and switches on the electric guitar which was sitting behind me on a stand (about which, more later). He'd run off and let me do a song while he played in the fountain, then show up again to jump onstage, strum my guitar a few more times, then gone (using my padded guitar case down front as a landing spot), then back during the next song to mess with the electric guitar again. I managed to keep the chords and words together, regardless of what the kid was up to, but it was a challenge.

It really went on a long time, and some of the adults in the audience were starting to wonder if these kids didn't actually have a mom in attendance, but finally, she reappeared and took them all away. I swear she called him "Shaggy", but maybe it was something Persian that sounded like that. He was cute, and not really destructive (he never *actually* tripped on a wire, just came really close, and never *quite* managed to knock the electric guitar off the stand, though that was pretty close too), and he never directly interrupted a song, but, wow, that was tough on the concentration.

Anyway, overall there was probably two or three times more people in attendance than the previous couple of shows -- the much-warmer weather obviously helping. For a while there, every table was full, with some folks sitting on the planter-box benches as well. I've never seen it "sold out" before. There seemed to be waves: families with young kids at first (there for a cheap dinner at the food court itself), then older people and couples (possibly hanging out after a dinner in one of the real restaurants), then finishing out the night with lots of teenagers in roving packs.

Those can be problematical, of course, but I managed to strike a balance of fulfilling the (girls') honest requests, and ignoring the (boys') "funny" ones (they tend to ask for "Puff, the Magic Dragon", etc., thinking that they're being oh-so-clever). But I think the boys started to realize that the old guy wasn't half bad, and stopped trying to start up some fun at my expense. There was a table with three boys at it that weren't part of the big group, and they were genuinely asking for James Taylor songs. And then a Jim Croce song, one of which, by luck, I had just (re)worked up. And I had a sweet little Asian girl nearly swooning over any and all of my Beatles songs. When the pack of 20 or so kids showed up, and the boys started (loudly) dragging chairs over to sit smack-dab in front of me with their "Entertain me, I dare you" attitudes, I thought I was in trouble -- but I managed to turn it around and we all had fun.

Earlier in the week, it occurred to me that, although I can't use my electric guitar when Warren's with me because then the two guitars sound too much alike, I should be able to use it when I'm out solo. So I brought it this time, expecting to have a nice empty plaza to test it out on. But it never did get empty, so I just kept playing the acoustic until the very end, when Geneva and her friends (and Acacia) were there, and I wanted to try it out (and show it off) for at least a song or two.

So I switched over and played my newly-rebuilt ultra-minimalist "Wicked Game", "Come Together", "The Wind Cries Mary", and my now-standard closing song, "Golden Slumbers". They all worked out pretty well, except, oddly enough, "... Mary", which is the most "electric" song of the bunch. I guess, since I'm *not* Hendrix, that it requires a Very Different approach, and doing it on the electric made it Too Close, but, of course, lacking. It needs to sound like a "Hendrix Unplugged" version.

Anyway, there are probably other songs on my list that could be done on the electric, and I think it was successful enough to keep experimenting with it -- especially in outdoor settings. If nothing else, it keeps the challenge (and therefore, interest) level up for me. And it's nice to have *some* kind of variation in The Sound, though the changeover time is prohibitive to do it more than once or twice a night. I guess I'll have to have a little electric "set" in the middle with 4 or 5 songs, then back to the acoustic to finish out.

So -- interesting, crazy, extremely variable, challenging, and very fun, night. I sold one or two CDs, and made $58 in tips -- still not enough to want to hand $50 back to the Spectrum people, but darn good. At one point I looked out and realized that there were several groups of people sitting at the tables, without any food, and with all the people wrapped around the "far side" of the tables so they were all oriented towards *me*. They were listening to me, *on purpose*. I don't often get that impression from more than a few people at once. There's usually one or two people per night that are clearly Listening, and they're what keeps me doing this, but this was 10 or a dozen people, at the same time. Wow.

K&W at Spectrum -- 03Jan2009

Cold, but fun. They brought out an umbrella heater as promised, but it had to stand behind me, so although my back was toasty, my hands kept freezing up. I could warm them between songs, but they'd get cold again before the song was over. You can tell it's pretty cold when your breath turns to fog as you're singing.

But it was still fun. Not a whole lot of people, of course, but enough to play to most of the time, with occasional bursts of quite appreciative folks. And in the empty spaces, I got to play the new songs I've been working up during the vacation.

One of which is "Come Together", which I worked up a few years ago, but it's kind of silly even in the real recording, so I've been to embarrassed to play it. But there was literally nobody there, so I thought I'd do it for fun, and naturally some people show up and plop down to hear it. Turned out to be a couple of twenty-something Beatles fans, and they seemed to think it was pretty cool. So, I played several more Beatle songs for them -- the ones that aren't embarrassing. Perfect timing -- I guess I'm on some kind of Beatle kick lately, 'cuz I've also worked up "Hold Me Tight", "If I Fell", and "The Night Before".

The oldest thing that happened, though, was when this sullen punk-boy strolled up and dropped what turned out to be fifty cents in the jar, and took a CD. Warren commented, "You never know..." as he walked away, but then he stopped about fifteen feet in front of the stage, and threw the CD at the ground as hard as he could, shattering the case and sending plastic pieces everywhere. I guess you really do "never know".

Apparently, he figured be was making a stinging social commentary, but I was already pretty aware that everybody doesn't like the same music that I like, so it didn't bother me much. Actually, I thought that be should have been grateful that we made it so cheap for him to impress his friends with his grand gesture.

Anyway, pretty fun. I hope they keep the Food Court free to play at even later in the year when it gets warmer. They're threatening to charge a $50 set up fee, but we're not really prepared to lose money on the deal, although, with better weather we'd get more people, and would probably cover it. But still. Playing for free is one thing -- paying for the privilege to seems a little usury.

Disneyland -- 02Jan2009

I wanted to go to Disneyland one last time before they de-Christmas it, including the newly-re-opened Small World Holiday. The kids had made other plans, and are, incredibly, burned out on Disneyland, so Daleen and I went without 'em.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a surprise cold snap day, and we froze to death. The crowds were not-too-bad. We did Small World first, and then wandered into the re-done and re-opened (for the zillionth time) Sleeping Beauty's Castle. They've added the floating-in-space video technology that they're using in the new Finding Nemo-ized Submarine ride to have short loops from the movie in the little alcove scenes. Pretty cool -- and I'm still totally mystified about how they do that.

We also went over to California Adventure to see the "What we're up to" exhibit where they're showing off the plans to rebuild big chunks of the park. It's pretty neat, but I'm a little concerned that they've fallen into a habit of adding "Lands" that are purely based around a single movie. They already have "Bug's Life" Land, and they're adding "Cars" Land. They never did that in the old Disney days -- a Land had some kind of generic theme, and featured attractions tied to that theme, whether or not they tied into some sell-able Disney property. There was no "Tom Sawyer" plush as you got off of his island. And no character tie-in for the Flying Saucers or Mission to Mars...

But the character-fication of Disneyland has been intensifying for years now. In the old days, they could build a ride just to be fun -- rides were just rides, not vehicles to sell more branded merchandise. But now, every ride has to have a (or several) character tie-ins.

Anyway, we also went on Daleen's favorite ride, "Soaring Over California", and the new "Toy Story Mania" (more characters!). The lines were kinda long, and it never warmed up much, so we came on home in the afternoon. It was kinda pleasant, without the kids...