Thoughts on The Hat

I've been thinking about the response I had at the Santa's Workshop line the other day, and I think it was at least partially the effect of The Hat. At 6-foot-2, I'm a somewhat scary Big Man, and any given kid is in a foreign place (mall or Civic Center park), confronted with a Stranger, and is bound to be a little apprehensive in interacting with me. Mom seems to be OK with it, and the Big Man is playing and singing My Kinda Songs, but still...

But when I put on The Hat, I'm suddenly Something Else. With The Hat on, I'm not a Big Scary Man anymore -- I'm a Character; a Clown maybe; or something from TV. Kids are suddenly completely confortable talking to me, telling me their stories/concerns, asking for songs (sometimes while I'm in the middle of singing other songs!), screaming demands at me ("Play it again!"), etc.

It's magical, and quite wonderful. I'm thinking of wearing it year-round. Or at least whenever I'm likely to be playing for little kids.

Keith at Santa's Workshop - 15Dec2010

What a great night! They re-routed the line to see Santa so that it's on the sidewalk, putting the people too far away if I set up on the lawn like usual, so I moved to the in-between "rest area". I set up so that I could play to the head of the line, but that coincidentally put me right in front of some (anchored-down) park furniture -- a bench, two chairs, and a "coffee table". I didn't realize that parents would allow their kids to come and sit there, right near me, but they did, and what an audience!

And a huge turn-out. It's supposed to go from 6-8, but they obviously can't turn people away, so I was playing until 9 when the line finally played out. It moves quite slowly, so I had some of those kids for 2 hours. I played and played, and they danced and sang along and requested songs, some real, some made-up. Sometimes I'd do a song, and they'd all scream, "Do it again!" Even with several "greatest hits" non-Xmas kids' songs mixed in, it was tough not to be too repetitive, with 3 hours to fill, but nobody seemed to mind.

Lots of cute, cute kids to play for. Most of them dressed up for Santa (and the pictures) -- red velvet with white fur trimmed dresses, sequins, sparkly shoes. And it's so fun to say, "I'm gonna play a song now about a dragon -- a magic dragon..." and have some kids shout, "Oooh! 'Puff the Magic Dragon'!" They're so excited to have guessed it! And I got to enlist kids to "help out" with the "...like a lightbulb!" descant for "Rudolph". Everybody sang along on "Jingle Bells". And there are lots of kids who know a full hand-gesture routine for "Up on the Housetop", miming the words "up", "reindeer", "Santa Claus", etc. I love audience participation!

I did work up the guts to put out the card table with the basket of candy and business cards on it, despite being pretty sure that Mister Cranky-Pants was there. All the candy was gone, though nobody seemed to have gotten the implied, stealth, "tip jar" aspect. But I didn't mind at all -- I had a blast. There was a pretty thick cloud cover that might have meant rain, but really only served to keep it merely cold, not freezing, so I didn't even have to play with frozen fingers. What a great night!

And a good thing, too, since the weather report is for rain all the way through the weekend, probably killing my Spectrum gig on Saturday, and the last Santa night on Sunday. Bummer. Now that I got this great setup (accidentally) figured out, I want to do it again!

K&W at Borders Mission Viejo -- 11Dec2010

That was pretty fun. Due to various complications, I haven't played at the Mission Viejo Borders since May. When I got there, I was reminded of one of the downsides of playing in these no-stage bookshop venues: a lady was completely camped out in the corner where we need to set up, and was steadfastly impervious to my setting up of amps, stands, cables, etc. all around her. We get the same situation at South Coast Plaza, too, where someone is parked there, and we have to gently dislodge them. Awkward.

Anyway, we managed to get going eventually, but I had a lot of trouble getting the sound right. I guess the adjustments that get it working outdoors don't work so well indoors. And it's complicated since there's a tone knob in the guitar, on the pre-amp on the ground, and on the amp itself, all fighting/enhancing each other.

We did get some decent response, and I managed to goad several people into requesting songs. The good part was that, due to the "holiday hours", the store was open an hour longer than usual, so we had time to do more stuff. I sprinkled in several of my more pop-like Christmas songs, and Warren didn't complain too much about it. And, later in the evening, when the requests tapered off, I played through some unusual stuff: "Waiting", "People's Parties", "Landslide", and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", which I've recently figured out how to use the harmony box on, and worked far better than I'd expected/hoped. Demands a bit of fancy footwork, but I guess I'm getting the hang of it. Next up: "The Weight", which requires some really complicated foot-button pressing but sounds great, if I hit it.

We pulled in $19 in tips, which is pretty good for this place. I have a busy week coming up -- The Mission Viejo Santa Claus line on Wednesday and Sunday, Spectrum on Saturday, and the South Coast Plaza Borders on Friday with Warren again. 'Tis the season, I guess...

Keith at Santa's Workshop -- 01Dec2010

This is my third year playing for the families waiting in line to see Santa Claus at the Mission Viejo Civic Center. This year it's a little different -- they took out the stage (which was too far away from the "audience" anyway) and replaced it with Other Activities: cookie decorating and a projected loop of animated Christmas specials (Charley Brown, Frosty, Chipmunks, etc.) with (fortunately), the sound quite low. This was pretty smart, but it turns the lawn behind me into a Destination. It's a little odd to have people milling around behind me while I'm trying to play.

But it wasn't a problem -- this time anyway. The turnout was very small, here on December 1st, and a Wednesday. In fact, I always set up to play to the "middle" of the line, but the line was so short all night that it never even reached back to where I was playing. Everyone could hear me, but nobody was "in front" to see me (and I, them).

So mostly I seemed to be playing for the middle-school girl volunteers that pass out the hot chocolate and wear the Rudolph and Frosty suits. And that's OK. It was almost like a dress rehearsal for the rest of the nights.

I am pretty thrilled to be on the bill with such eminences as Suzanne's Dance Factory and Brownie Troop 367. I'm definitely on my way to the big time now...

There was some email discussion about whether or not I could put out my card table with CDs and a hat. Someone on the Committee doesn't like that because this is supposed to be a "free event". I'm not actually forcing anyone to buy one, but whatever. I have more of a problem that they won't even allow a tip jar. I don't need the money (though it's nice to feel appreciated), but it turns out that if I don't put out a jar/hat, people walk up and try to hand me money. Even in the middle of a song.

So the (possible) stealth solution we came up with was to put a low basket on the card table, filled with mixed peppermint candy and my business cards (which they specifically said I was allowed to put out). We figure that if anyone decides to leave a dollar in the basket in exchange for a mint, I can't stop 'em.

But, since the line never came back that far, that scheme didn't get tested. We'll see how it goes next Sunday.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 26Nov2010

They've been doing construction next to the Food Court for the last month or two, demolishing a big restaurant, with no indication of what they'll put in. Well, it's finally done, and the answer is: nothing. They just paved over the whole place so it's one huge patio connected to the east side of the Food Court itself, and probably tripling the area.

But they didn't equip it with more tables and chairs -- the outside seating area of the Food Court never really filled up, so the idea clearly wasn't to add capacity to it. So all that's in the new area is three new sun-umbrellas with some outdoor comfy chairs and couches, two little vending carts, and empty space. Lots of that.

When I got there, I hunted around for where they put the stage in this new setup, and it was way over at the edge of the Food Court, "behind" (from the Court's point of view) a planter box with big trees in it, facing out into the new area. People in the Court, my usual audience, couldn't even see me. From the stage, there's nothing but brick pavers for miles, until you get out to the new comfy chairs clump, waaay out there. And over to my left, the two carts.

One of which made matters even worse -- it was selling T-shirts with live LED images on them that would react to sound/music. Pretty cool technology, but in order to demonstrate them, she had specially chosen thump-thumpy music blaring out so the display shirts would move. Loud -- really loud. I thought (hoped?) that she was far enough away that it wouldn't be a problem, and it was mostly OK (from where I was standing anyway) while I was playing, but as soon as a song was over: thumpa, thumpa, thumpa. Really annoying. And the space between her and me must have been even worse.

So basically, it's terrible. People wander through the space, and occasionally smile or nod my way on their way past, but there's nowhere to sit, so there's nothing resembling an audience -- even an accidental one a la the diners in the Food Court area. Some folks would take the only option and sit out on the comfy couches, where they could probably hear well enough, but there's no possibility of any kind of relationship -- no point in even clapping, and definitely too far away to shout up a request. Indeed, old Toshiba friend Glenn and family came by and did exactly that, though he did make the trek up and back to say hi, and then again to ask for a few tunes.

And occasionally, someone would come and stand up close, over to the side by the table, and listen for a few songs. Had some families with little kids so I played "Roll Over, Beethoven" so they could dance, and a really nice couple who ended up buying two CDs, and some others. But it took a lot of guts/dedication to do that, so it didn't happen much.

Not to mention, cold. I had brought our bathroom space heater, but of course, I couldn't even tell it was even on unless I was touching the front grill. The readout on top said 48 degrees. And I'm standing there, almost completely still, for 4 hours straight. It gets really hard to play when your fingers are frozen stiff.

Anyway, enough whining. I was upset that I hardly have any gigs there through December, but now I'm glad. All these issues are solvable -- maybe some furniture is on order, maybe someone will tell the T-shirt girl to turn it down, and the maintenance guys will undoubtedly start bringing out the umbrella heaters someday. I just figure that whoever has the rest of the gigs in December can deal with them, and I'll cruise in to all-fixed-up, later on. Hopefully.

Inexplicably, there was $35 in the tip jar. A third of that was the nice lady who bought the two CDs. Not sure when the rest of it came along, but I guess I was playing OK. Or maybe it was just pity for that guy playing guitar up there and turning blue...

K&W at Borders South Coast Plaza – 19Nov2010

Early in the week, I was walking around the parking lots with my electric guitar, and a lady pulled up in her car and shouted, "Do you give lessons?" I told her, "No, but I know a guy who does." I gave her my email address so she could contact me and I could give her Warren's info, but I also told her that she could come see us at Borders on Friday, meet Warren in person, and even maybe discover that the crazy guy who plays guitar while walking around the buildings really isn't crazy after all.

And she actually showed up. She's a big "music fan", and seemed to really enjoy listening to us and asking for songs -- and not just as an "audition" for Warren as a teacher. But she (Lisa) wasn't the only one. There were several people who were joining in, listening and requesting. It was almost like having an actual audience!

But Lisa is apparently a rocker at heart, because she requested almost exclusively the faster songs on the list. As a result, I think it was our hardest rocking gig ever. I don't generally like to play the rock songs on the list, because I think they sound a little pathetic on acoustic guitar with no bass nor drums, but I have a few on there anyway. She asked for all of them, and the Friendly Guy Who Works There came up and asked for "Roll Over Beethoven", too. So we played a lot of fast songs that we seldom play, some that we haven't played for years, and more of them in a single gig than ever before, I'm sure. "Take Me to the River", "Don't Stop Believing", "Daydream Believer", "Peaceful Easy Feeling", the aforementioned "Beethoven", and there was an older guy there who asked for "Dream Lover", and "Teach Your Children", and a nice lady next to Lisa who asked for "Country Roads". Some "harder" than others, of course, but it sure seemed like a lot of *strumming* to me.

And big fun. Lisa and Warren wandered off to talk business toward the end, and set up a date for the first lesson, so apparently we passed the audition -- all good, all around. But do I need to get a tattoo now?

Keith at San Mateo Campground -- 13Nov2010

A guy in my old Indian Princess nation invited me back to play for their campout and I jumped at the chance -- even at the expense of having to postpone a Borders Mission Viejo date to do so. The San Mateo campground is just 17 miles from my house, and has a really nice little amphitheater, with nice benches and a stage and power and even lights.

To make it more fun for the kids (or to buy the audience's favor), I went to the swap meet in the morning and bought 60 tiny LED flashlights, and gave one to each princess. The picture above is half the crowd with their lights.

I started with my greatest hit, "Waltzing With Bears", and a bunch of the girls (and several dads) got up and danced between the stage and the front row. Nobody dances like little girls, aged 5 to 9. And after each song, they all went back to their seats, only to leap up and dance all the way through the next song, and the next...

It was huge fun for me, and all too nostalgic. We did all the hits, including "The Indian Princess Song", with the cue cards. Since there were several dads there that came up and welcomed me, I asked for 3 volunteers for the cards of girls "who have seen this before!", though I think one of the girls that I picked may have fibbed a little, 'cuz she was completely confused. But that was, and always has been (though inadvertently), part of the fun.

It was far too short, because (a) they scheduled in the girls' skits in the middle (though that was fun/nostalgic too), and (b) it got really cold and a lot of the girls just wanted to go back to the tents and go to sleep. I had made up 30 "Bears" CDs, and left them (and a donations hat) out for the guys to take, and 15 of them disappeared. I heard a lot of girls begging their dads for one, only to have the dads tell them that they already had one. Apparently the girls wanted a back-up -- even more flattering...

About a dozen guys came up while I was taking down the equipment to thank me for coming out, and several girls, too -- some of them even without their dads making them do it. A lot of them mentioned how much they missed having the music at the campouts. Me too! Call me any time!

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 12Nov2010

A bit disappointing after last Friday's success -- I guess it really was the nice weather, and last week was *before* the time change which probably helped, too. A lot fewer people this time, and less "connecting" going on, but still better than sitting at home watching TV.

I did have some people listening -- Daleen came by for a while with the dogs, and there were some friendly people along the way, and a pair of teenage-girl Beatle fans at the end. And sometime in the middle, there was a guy looking on my table for a business card (which I'd neglected to put out), needing my email address, saying something about wanting to hire me. He discovered the email address at the bottom of the song list, and insisted that that was enough, and left. I didn't think much about it, until I got an email on Saturday morning, which I'll just quote in full:

---

Dear Keith:

I heard you play at the spectrum today and I just wanted to say thank you very much for playing. I was having such a hard day and I took a very long walk to calm down...maybe a 5 mile walk I would say, and I ended up in the spectrum where you were playing. See, I've been diagnosed with depression and have reoccurring thoughts of suicide, today being no exception, but for some reason hearing you play made me feel so much better. I know it may not seem like a lot to you, but it meant a lot to me. It really makes a difference to people, even if it's just one simple song. Thank you for giving me something worth living this day, and something to keep me going in the future.

I appreciate what you do. You don't have to respond, just thought I would let you know that you make a difference.

---

So... there's that.

Kind of makes worrying about the "take" in the tip jar fade in relevance...

You know, I'm obviously glad to have had a positive impact on the guy's life, but I'm not sure how much credit I can claim, since I was completely unaware and just doing my usual show (which, let's face it, I do for the attention). But still, nice.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 05Nov2010

Somebody has snapped up almost all of the upcoming Food Court Saturdays, so I broke down and requested a bunch of Fridays, 'cuz I thought they'd be better than nothing. But I wasn't expecting there to be many people on a Friday, to the point where I brought out the electric guitar, figuring that I could play around with switching to it while there wasn't anyone there anyway.

But I was way wrong. There weren't many people at first, but, possibly because it was a wonderfully warm evening, people started showing up, and for no apparent reason, there were lots of attentive, appreciative people out there, all night long. I half-expected, after this presumed disaster, to have to tell the booking lady that I'd need to beg off of all those other Fridays I'd booked, but it turned out to be the best Spectrum gig I can remember.

Part of it may also have been that, for some reason, the sound was way better than it's ever been there. There was a new maintenance guy who turned the "house music" completely off (as opposed to just "down"), and there were a lot fewer screaming kids in the fountain, and maybe just a lower general hub-bub of people, or maybe I just had the knobs adjusted different. Or maybe it was because the stage got moved back in front of the ice cream bar store, so I didn't have a wall right behind me, which I now think may contribute to feedback which in turn prevents my being to turn it up as much. Whatever -- I could hear myself far better than I ever have been able to before at this place. That really helps me play and sing better.

So people were staying, and listening, and asking for songs -- it was great. My voice was even better than two weeks ago (when I thought it was "all better"), and I was able to really go for it. While I was setting up, I had asked the maintenance guy when he gets off (11:00), and told him that the last 9-10 hour was generally the best for me, so he didn't need to hurry to come out and get the lights (and shut me down). He heeded that and showed up to stop the fun at 10:30 -- literally leaving several people "begging for more".

One of whom was a guy who was there with his self-professed First Date, and who was trying Way. Too. Hard. When they arrived, they sat down right up front, and he spent most of the songs singing along and expansively miming all the lyrics, for the presumed "benefit" of his date. I don't usually think this of people, but I had to suspect some kind of "artificial courage" was at play.

Anyway, after a while, he came up and asked if I could play "Fire and Rain" and I told him I could play it with both hands tied behind my back. He said that he wanted it to become "their song". I said OK, and started flipping to it in the book, but then, thinking about it, I said, "You know, it's not really a love song." He started squirming a little at that, but then I thought about it more and said, "Actually, I guess it is kind of a love song, but the girl is dead". That got him really squirming and laughing nervously -- I suppose that wasn't the most tact I've shown lately, but I wasn't really thinking. I went ahead and played it, but I'm not sure it'll really become "their song", nor even if there'll be a second date.

So, other than that lapse of judgment, it was a really great night. I guess I'll keep the rest of those Fridays -- even though it is quite a bit tougher to play a 4 hour gig after a day's work. On the other hand, it's a great startup for the weekend. Not to mention the $75 in tips, which is a recent record -- and then there's that great "Stickin' it to The Man" rush 'cuz it's all tax free.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 23Oct2010

It had been raining off and on all week, but it was pretty clear on Saturday. Still, I didn't expect many people to come out, but I was wrong. It was empty for the first hour or so, but it picked up pretty well. At one point it was literally "standing room only", which is hard to do in a Food Court.

It was quite a struggle to get anything going that first hour or two, though. Faced with stone silence at the end of every song, I always end up reverting to a "greatest hits" program, playing just my most crowd-pleasing stuff, just to try to rope somebody, anybody, in. That's the trouble with this venue -- no subtlety allowed. And how many times can I play "Hotel California" in one night?

Actually, that's not true. About 9:00, I usually get some people who've apparently gotten out of their movie and don't want to go home yet. Then I get some real audience, and it's late and moody enough to do some soft slow stuff. That's my favorite time.

But before that, I had a big foreign kid ask for john Denver's "Country Roads". This is another song (like "Something") that I had to include because a song I *like* to do (James Taylor's "Country Road") gets confused with it, and people ask, and get disappointed 'cuz it's the "wrong one". So I did it, and got probably the loudest round of applause of the night. C'mon people! Really?!? Any campfire hack that knows 4 chords can, and does, do "Country Roads". It's so dumb and easy that I'm embarrassed to play it. But it goes over. People like what they like. I guess I'm not really *being* a music snob (I *did* put it on the list), but I'm sure thinking like one. Gotta try to cut that out...

People occasionally take my picture. I assume they're tourists. Nobody takes any video, though (except me, of course). This time, a lady was clearly taking video with her smart phone -- holding it up, horizontally, at me for half a song, then turning around and walking back to her husband. That's odd, I thought.

Twenty minutes later, I spot a guy in the back with a real home video camera, pointed right at me for quite a while. Wow, twice in one night -- weird.

A half hour later, there's a guy off to the side with a full-scale "pro" video camera, on a tripod, aimed at me! What's going on here?!? That one was *really* strange -- not to mention the triple-coincidence. I half-expected him to come up later to have me sign a waiver, but he never did. I wonder if it's for those Spectrum commercials I've occasionally seen, and if I signed a general waiver when I took the gig. Guess I'll have to keep an eye out on the TV.

Anyway, it was a pretty great night, after it got rolling. I'd wonder about talking them into letting me play from 7-11 instead, but I don't have any more gigs there until December 18th, so it's kinda moot. And, presumably, when Daylight Saving ends, it'll all be different anyway.

I've been neglecting the CD manufacturing lately (with everything else going on) so I only had two with me, and they both sold (usually, none do). And though it seemed slow, I ended up with $67 in the jar, so, not bad at all.

I just wish I had the stage presence or knew what to do to get the audience connected earlier. It seems to happen anyway -- usually; eventually -- without my direct influence, but it would be nice to be able to *make* it happen. Maybe I need to play "Country Roads" more...

K&W at Borders South Coast Plaza -- 15Oct2010

I'd only just gotten back from our trip to Japan the day before, so I was a little spaced out and unrehearsed, but at least not too sleepy. The sound was quite loud (inadvertently -- but once you've started, it's too late to back down), but clear and wonderful, as it always is, here.

It did seem more bass-y than usual, so I had to do some tweaking to get comfortable, but eventually was loving it. It wasn't until the very last song that I noticed that I had turned up the amplifier's reverb at last weekend's ill-advised campfire. That's usually off, 'cuz the harmony box takes care of it now. But I guess I had "double reverb", which may explain the odd, but lush, sound.

Had a mother/daughter (or big sister?) pair right up front, right from the start, so we got some participation right away. More than the usual amount of friendly listeners this time.

And my voice was almost completely back on track, finally. I still can't hit the very highest note that I used to have, but it doesn't appear much. And my nice clear tonality is back too, so I'm pretty happy.

Unfortunately, my usually-reliable almost-every-Saturday gig at Spectrum seems to have dried up (I could only book two more until the end of the year!), so just when I finally *can* sing I'm not gonna get much chance to actually do it.

But it was a great night, and it was a thrill just to hear my (functional) voice coming out of the speakers again.

K&W at Borders South Coast Plaza – 17Sept2010

It's been awhile since I've played with Warren, or at SCP for that matter, so it was a fun change. Unfortunately, my voice is still a little messed up, so I had to do most of the songs with my guitar still down-tuned a half step. This has the effect of changing all my guitar-friendly keys into worst-case-scenario keys for Warren to try to play along in. But he hung in there, and called it all "educational", which I imagine it was. Towards the end, though, I figured I was warmed up enough, and there were few enough people there anyway, that I could go ahead and tune back to normal key and give him a break.

As always, not many people there, and during the second hour nobody was paying much attention, but early on we had an Asian couple sitting right up front, definitely there to hear something. They just stared at me blankly when I'd ask if they had any requests from the list that they appeared to be reading, until finally the lady asked for "Rhythm of the Rain", barely understandably.

She had some odd mannerisms -- all through "The Boxer" she held her hands out and twiddled her fingers as if she were (faking at) playing the piano. And through another song, she alternately banged her fists on each other, to the beat, sending the hit-upon fist around in an 18-inch loop to come back and hit the other, sending it on its own loop. Some weird kind of drill-team move, maybe. But they must have liked us, 'cuz they bought a CD on their way out.

Later on, a college girl came in and joined in pretty well -- singing along (to herself, of course) with several of my songs. Her two friends showed up and they all requested a few tunes before they had to leave.

But, as I feared, the terrific acoustics of the place made it very clear (to me at least) every time my voice missed its mark. Fortunately, there was hardly anyone listening, so I wasn't too embarrassed. I probably *shoulda* been, but I'm too far beyond that anymore.

I did get to play my new "Nature Boy" in a quiet mellow setting. Works much better than last week at Spectrum. I don't know how easy it is to play along with, since it's all vague-rooted spacey jazz chords, but Warren seemed to like it in general.

We made $12 to split, which was pretty good considering how few people were there. Obviously, it's not a very lucrative place to play, but it's good to play someplace where I can actually hear myself, once in a while. As opposed to Spectrum where I'm so drowned out by the fountain noise that even *I* don't know if I'm singly badly or not. I guess it's good to have the camouflage while my voice is trashed, but it's a lot less artistically satisfying if I'm actually doing well.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum – 11Sept2010

Well, school's officially started, and the Food Court is pretty dead. Maybe it'll pick up again after all the excitement's over, but every week for the past 3 has had fewer people than the one before. Note to self: If you're gonna have a trashed voice for a 10-15 week stretch, don't do it in the summer next time. I up and missed the best playin' time…

I was hoping, again, to be able to tune my guitar to concert pitch, maybe after a while warming up at a half-step down, but I never really got the impression that I'd get away with it. But it was pretty comfortable singing down the half-step, so maybe I'm very slowly approaching "fixed".

Never a lot of people, but an occasional friendly group to play for. One 30-something couple sat and listened a long time, and the girl unexpectedly and raucously joined in singing/shouting the chorus "Time After Time". That was odd.

I have a section in The Book of songs that I mostly-know, and are there in case someone asks for them, but not on The List 'cuz they don't seem that popular. I occasionally run through them to remember how to play 'em, which I did on Saturday. That was lucky because out of the blue, a guy asked for "If You Could Read My Mind". If I hadn't run through it earlier in the day, it would have been a disaster.

Anyway, pretty fun, even without much of a crowd to play for, and $44 isn't bad (especially considering how few people were there). Next week is South Coast Plaza, and then I'm out for a while for my vacation, so it'll be a while before I'm back at Spectrum.

"Flyer" at Buster's Beach House -- 05Sept2010

It's been years since I've dragged myself out to see Todd and Nancy play. They have a new third member of the band, Kurt, who, coincidentally, also went to Marina, a year behind me. And the guy is good -- really good.

Anyway, Daleen and I sat and watched anonymously for a couple of songs before Nancy noticed me, and started saying that they'd have to have me up there in a while. I never know if that's "cool", for them to bring up other people, but apparently it is. On that chance, though, I brought my guitar, just in case.

It's strange that, the night before and almost every Saturday, I play for 4 hours and it never even occurs to me to be nervous about it anymore -- but Nancy even suggesting that I come up sent me into a cold sweat. Most of that was undoubtedly just unfamiliar circumstances, but part was also my still-not-fully-working voice, made a bit hoarse by the 4 hours of singing the night before. And the fact that my guitar is tuned down a half-step (so I can reach the "high notes"), and I was worried about Todd trying to play along when I'd be in a really odd key.

Luckily for both of us, he wanted to just go out and listen. I played "You've Got a Friend", quite badly. I was nervous, and my guitar sounded funny and distant through his system, and I'm not used to singing into a fixed mic on a stand (I have a "head mic"), so I was completely thrown. I kept thinking, "Who *is* this?", 'cuz I couldn't recognize my guitar, my distracted and bad playing, or my voice.

I tried to snap out of it and just play, and maybe had it partially together by the ending. I thought it was a total bomb, but I got a *huge* round of applause, surprising me a lot. They (the crowd and Todd) seemed to want me to play another one, so I chose "Leaving On a Jet Plane", because (a) it's really easy, (b) my arrangement is unique, and, I think, pretty cool, and (c) I get to put some spin on the vocal. Todd had reappeared, and I warned him not to try to play along ('cuz of the weird key and guitar arrangement), but to definitely sing harmony, which was really great. Amazing to think that the first time we harmonized together was 39 years ago...

That one went way better, and people seemed impressed. Nancy seemed to want me to do "Sweet Baby James" (so they could both sing harmonies), but two was enough, and we might get to it later on (though we didn't).

Of course, it takes me at least two songs just to get warmed and loosened up, but it's pretty cool to play for people who are actually there to hear music, as opposed to my usual gigs where I'm essentially an interruption. I'll definitely have to go back down there, when my voice is better, and sooner than a couple of years this time.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum – 04Sept2010

It's Labor Day weekend, so I wasn't expecting many people out, but it was the opposite -- lots of people, all evening long. It was pretty hot in the day, but a pleasantly warm night, so people seemed to just stay -- it was the most people I've had still-there all the way to the end, ever.

My voice has gotten noticeably better over the past week (finally!), so I took a chance and brought my guitar back up a half-step, so it's only a half-step down from normal pitch. That helped a lot as far as it, and me, sounding really low, and most of my songs were sing-able there. I even felt like I occasionally had enough "left over" to actually *sing* parts of some of the songs, as opposed to just hitting the notes.

Two sleeve-tattooed, black-T-shirted guys sat down at the very front table even before I got started, and, far from heckling me with requests for Ozzy tunes as one might expect, they asked for classic stuff off my list, very politely. Their first request was "Hotel California", which I've been opening with anyway, so that worked out well. Then "Hey Jude", "Help From My Friends", and a lot of others, until finally the girls that they were apparently waiting for showed up, and off they went. Great way to get started, though.

Lots of nice older people out too, quietly hanging around, though most were too shy to request anything (or, as they invariably insist when called out, "You're doing great -- I love all these songs!"). Some couples sat and listened for an hour or more, I'm sure.

And, especially early on, lots of kids playing in the fountain. That makes it crazy and pretty noisy, but I'm starting to think that I have a symbiotic relationship with the kids -- the fountain brings the families out, and my tunes keep the parents less bored, so the kids get to play longer. Especially on such a warm night -- there were kids still playing in the fountain way past dark, with their parents smiling and nodding at me.

Towards the end, there was a cheerful guy shouting great ("Eagles!") and crazy ("Boz Skaggs!") requests. He audibly liked my rendition of "Old Man", so I took the opportunity to play "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" for someone who'd recognize it. Seemed to go over with him, but not so much with everyone else. Bummer -- I'm really liking playing that one. Then, when it was almost 10:00, I decided to play "Nature Boy", just to get it in, but it just completely flopped. Wrong mood and setting -- it still might work at a Borders. I did *not* get the chance (or the guts?) to play Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You", which I had worked up earlier in the day. It plays really well, but it's a bit out of my wheelhouse. But if I get a pack of tweens out there one of these nights, I'm gonna whip it out and blow their minds. Or not.

Anyway, it was a great night -- basically no "down time" the whole 4 hours. That's never happened before. I'm pretty sure I had more tippers (though less actual money), than last week. More singles, fewer fives, but still $55 ain't bad.

I wish I coulda played later, but I had warned the crowd that I'd have to quit at ten, and they apparently believed me and started clearing out at 5-'til. Actually, I can usually play another 10 or 15 minutes before the Maintenance guys show up, but my left-hand fingertips were really hurting, so, since most of the crowd was gone anyway, I went ahead and shut it down just a little after 10.

I hadn't even noticed the pain in my fingers until 9:45, when I looked at the clock and realized that I only had 15 minutes left. Now I know how Wile E. Coyote feels when he's run out over the ravine and doesn't fall until he looks down.

Keith (finally!) back at Spectrum -- 28Aug2010

It's been 10 weeks since my voice mysteriously quit working right (I'm beginning to suspect foul play), but it's been getting slowly better, despite the help of modern medicine.

When you're young and you hurt your knee, you "walk it out" to get back in the game. As you get older, you reach a point where you do the opposite -- immobilize it. Since the doctors were no help, I've been trying to figure out if I should "work out" my voice (by singing at home a lot and/or playing a gig) or if I should take a vow of silence for a couple of months.

I guess I've decided on the former. Most of the warbling/lack of control is gone now, so the main remaining symptom is loss of the high end of my range. Unfortunately, it's not accompanied by a corresponding increase of range at the low end, but the only way I could come close to singing my usual songs was to play them lower by tuning my guitar a whole step down, and hoping for the best with the low notes.

Naturally, this makes my guitar sound growly, and takes away a lot of the "sparkle", but I didn't have much choice. It also makes me sound a lot more profundo -- not a very "pop" sound. Most pop songs are sung by tenors, and I've already transposed them down for my baritone voice. This further-drop takes them into scary-low range, down in Caiaphas territory.

I was hoping that, as my voice warmed up, I would regain some of the high range, but it really didn't happen. Usually I gain about 3 half-steps in the first hour or so, but last night it may have been only one. This is somewhat distressing, 'cuz it may mean that the "work it out" method isn't working.

But it sure was nice to be back up there again, and people didn't seem to notice much. The mostly-high songs sounded OK, 'cuz they weren't too low in the tuned-down state. The medium-range ones sounded pretty funny to me, but nobody threw any tomatoes...

I had forgotten how much *stuff* have to set up, and take down. Or maybe it just seemed like more hassle 'cuz I'd lost the routine of what goes where. I'd also forgotten how much 4 hours of playing trashes my back and knees...

The good news was that they've moved the stage again, almost back to where it started. The little candle/jewelry shop in the middle of the food court went under, so the stage is now right in front of it, using its front doors as a backdrop. This puts the stage "front and center", and it's nice to have a wall behind me, ever since the "hat stealer" incident (q.v.).

Had some nice people there, and got some good reactions (and 66 bucks), especially during the last half hour. I'm starting to wonder if they'd let me play from 7-11, instead of 6-10. I keep having to quit just when it's getting good -- all the 7:00 movies let out around 9:30, and some folks are looking for something to keep the evening going.

But I finally got to play the song I was working (and working and working) on when my voice quit: "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". The "suite" part indicates that it's really 4 movements, strung together. I'm hoping that my dazzling Spanish (born of Two Whole Years of high school classes) in Part 4 keeps people from noticing that I'm entirely skipping Part 3, just 'cuz I can't make it sound like anything on guitar. (Besides, canaries are yellow, not "chestnut brown" anyway, right?) Unfortunately, it's one of the "low, so now even lower" ones, so, kinda not OK until my voice catches up.

I also played my new Obsession Song of the Week, which I'd just really worked out earlier in the day: "Nature Boy". It's from 1947 and very jazz-chord-y, but I worked out a way to play it that sounds pretty good to me. It's OK, I waited until nobody was listening, but it seemed to "work".

Had a young couple come up and ask me if I used to play at the Borders in Santa Margarita. Absolutely -- it was my favorite place to play. But they shut it down, like, 5 years ago. It was flattering that they remembered me -- and Geneva. They asked if she still played with me, but I had to tell them that she's 18 now, and wouldn't be caught dead...

Another couple came up as they were leaving and said that they'd missed me (during my 10-week absence). Also flattering. And a guy asked if I knew "Still Crazy", which, why yes, I do! It's not on the list, but it's in The Book. It's great when that happens. But what's with little kids waving at me during songs? Can't they see that my hands are busy?

Anyway, I'm up again next week, and we'll see if my upper range comes back over time. The "exercise" doesn't seem to have helped, but at least it doesn't seem to have done any damage, either. But I don't want to have to play/sing so low forever...

Geneva Goes Hang Gliding -- 17Aug2010

We finally got the chance to make good on the Birthday Present promise to take Geneva hang gliding. The Present/promise was delivered on her 18th birthday back in December, but we were waiting for good flying weather -- and since summer's almost over and we were on our way out to Palm Springs for a few days' vacation, it was the perfect chance.

The idea occurred to me because, of the few things she's let me read of her Creative Writing stuff, half of them feature "girls with wings". Seemed to be a big fantasy of hers, and this seemed like the closest I could come to fulfilling it.

The hang gliding guy operates out of San Bernardino -- you basically drive up the mountain, jump off, and land back down in the flatlands. The "flight" is really "Lesson 1", and after 2 or 3, you're ready (if you're *ready*) to fly one solo. As much as she'd like it to, it's probably not gonna become a real hobby for Geneva, but it's still more interactive as a "lesson" than just as a "ride".

So, we showed up at the landing site, and the guy took Geneva away for an hour or so, and we finally spotted a tiny white wing up above the mountain. We watched it circle and glide around for half an hour, until they swooped in and dropped right back down, standing up, no running required. Pretty impressive.

She had a terrific time, of course, though afterwards she said that she was getting a little airsick up there. She was too proud to tell the guy about it, though. And despite that, she'd do it again in a heartbeat, I'm sure.

(Click any image for bigger version.)

Keith (not) at Irvine Spectrum -- 26Jun2010

I had to cancel (aka "no show") at the last minute for the first time -- due to a sudden, mysterious, and frankly scary, near-total failure of my voice. I don't have a sore throat, but there's a "sore gland"-like pain in the left side of my neck (though without any swelling), and I simply can't make my voice go up to even slightly-high notes. I aim at 'em, but my voice won't go there. My neck/throat feels "tight" when I try.

I discovered the problem on the way to the gig, singing along with myself (on CD) to warm up. But I never got warmed up. I can't hit high notes, and the medium notes waver radically. I sound like someone who's purposefully making fun of singers -- completely off half of the notes, and all wiggly.

I've never felt (or heard of) anything like it, I have no idea what it is, what caused it, nor when (or if) it'll go away. It's been 4 days as of this writing, and it's just about the same, still, so I cancelled next Saturday's gig already, in hopes that they can book someone else.

I'm considering going to the doctor, but there's nothing to see, and no symptoms to report except the sore spot in my neck, a tiny bit of scratchiness, and "I can't sing anymore".

I can talk fine ('cuz that's lower in my range), but I dunno. Maybe it's Goiter. Maybe it's a "pulled muscle", (though it's not like it happened while I was tryin' to sing a double-high-A). Maybe it's a new, weird, non-hurty Cold. Maybe it's thyroid cancer. Maybe I just slept on my neck wrong. It's really scary, though, 'cuz, like, what's the point of knowing how to play all this guitar if I can't sing along with it? So I guess I'll have to go let the doctor stick some needles in it/me, 'cuz, you know, that's what they do.

K&W at Borders South Coast Plaza -- 18Jun2010

An even more disinterested crowd than usual. I guess it's essentially random -- sometimes there are people who think we sound pretty good, and sometimes there ain't -- but I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth setting up the stuff there.

I guess it wasn't *that* bad -- there was a guy down front who (somewhat reluctantly) picked out a few songs, and a period near the end when a pretty girl in the back (friend of the guitar-playing coffee-guy?) was asking for songs, and actually listening to them when played. But most of the time we were just playing into a black hole.

On the other hand, it may have been just as well that nobody was listening, 'cuz I was playing pretty badly. Or was I playing badly 'cuz nobody was listening...? I set up some video cameras, but didn't bother to start them up until the sun had set behind us, because the video's unwatchable until the glare behind us goes away. (Hmmm. I wonder if that's part of why we can't get any connection going -- nobody can bear to look at us.)

Anyway, I don't think I managed to play a single song all the way through without a huge mistake for that last hour when the cameras were running. But that's OK -- it'll save me a lot of time this week, not having to edit movies together...

Towards the end, a 50-something lady came and was listening, sort of. When I announced that we were almost out of time, she got up and came over to show me a CD she was carrying around, to ask me if I knew any of the songs on it. The artist's name was in a fancy font, and, apparently confused by the lady's outrageous eastern European accent, at first I thought it said "Grace Jones". That seemed pretty crazy, but then I realized that it actually said "George Jones", which was slightly, but not much, more reasonable. She wanted to know if I knew "Picture of Me Without You", which I've never heard of, but figured "Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground" might be a reasonable substitute (plus, it gives Warren a chance to play harmonica). But apparently she'd never heard that one. I guess she's just a George Jones loyalist -- no Willie allowed.

It occurred to me afterwards that I should have attempted to remember and play "Bartender's Blues", which James Taylor deliberately wrote to sound like George Jones, and which George subsequently obligingly recorded. She'd'a probably known that one.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 12June2010

Not a lot of people out there, but I had a great time. It was a little gray out all day, so there were fewer little kids screaming in the fountain, and somehow I could hear myself noticeably better than usual for this very noisy outdoor venue. Was the amp just up louder, or the house music quieter? Dunno, but whatever it was, it sure helps.

Geneva had taken two of my cameras to her Grad Night party, and managed to leave the main one I use for the "close shot" and the audio with a friend. I found this out only an hour before the gig, of course, so I had to just forego trying to take any video this time. I was pretty unhappy with her, of course, but it turned out to be unexpectedly liberating to not have that pressure. I like to think that I'm getting immune to it, but clearly not.

To start with, it saved a lot of time in the set up and tear down. And, since I never start the cameras up right at first ('cuz it takes me a while to get warmed up and playing halfway decent), it saved me having to interrupt the show to start 'em all up. But mostly, I was just a lot more relaxed and able to just "let 'er fly". I don't know if I'm actually better that way, but it seems to me like it, and it's definitely a lot more fun.

There weren't a lot of people, but there was nearly always somebody tuned in, so I had someone to sing for (and, despite the low attendance, made $57). And my brother came by for quite a while, which is always nice. He got to hear my first, very flawed, attempt at a new arrangement of "Over the Rainbow". I worked up (that day) a ukulele-less simulation of the version that was in the season finale of "Glee", which is based on the version by Hawaiian legend Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, heard these days in dozens of movies and commercials.

It's interesting, musically, to me because "Bruddah Iz" rebuilt the chords and melody, but also rearranged (aka "butchered") the lyrics, scrambling bits and pieces of the real words as if he was simply lost but remembered some of it. The "Glee" version puts the words back where they belong, and reworks the chords to be more accurate to the original, while retaining the feeling by using the same ukulele track and rhythm pattern. This makes it far more palatable to me, because I have a hard time deliberately singing it "wrong", with the words messed up so much that the verses don't even rhyme anymore. And it's hard enough trying to remember the "new melody" after singing the original one to my very hard-earned jazz-chord version all these years.

I can play this very-simplified version on my ukulele, but that would require the hassle of (a) bringing it, and (b) amplifying it, so I'm just putting a capo up high on my guitar and strumming in a ukulele-like way. It'll have to do. And it apparently does work out, 'cuz I played it two more times, getting better each time, with good response. Late in the evening, a white-haired gent came up and, without checking the list, asked if I knew "Over the Rainbow". I told him I knew two versions, the classic one, and a new one on ukulele. He immediately asked for the ukulele one, "for [his] granddaughter - she loves that one". I guess that clinches it.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 29May2010

Nice and warm, finally, and well-attended. Unfortunately, the warmer it gets, the longer I have to endure the screaming kids that parents bring to play in the fountain. It's really becoming what we had as the "city pool" when I was a kid. I don't begrudge them getting to "play int he sprinklers" on a warm summer evening, but I wish it wasn't so close to where I'm trying to play.

I did have some friendly people, and some definite admirers. One Persian family was there almost the whole night -- they were there when I got there, and left around 9:00. They didn't interact with me much, but the kids asked for a few songs later on. The ancient gramma, with her walker and brought-along camp chair (so she wouldn't have to sit on the metal ones), had the dad ask me to play Lionel Richie's 80-s hit, "Hello". I only just learned that one (because of it's showing up in "Glee"), so it's not even on the list. They musta heard it two weekends ago, but it was still quite a surprise to get it requested by 90-year-old gramma.

A guy came up and asked if I knew any "Bad Company", but settled for "Hotel California". And another Farsi-lady asked if I knew any "Bee Gees", and settled for "Lucy In the Sky". At least I'm not *entirely* disappointing.

I set up 5 cameras this time, so when one failed (my fault -- forgot to put a memory card in it), I had 4 streams. This time, my mistake was not pointing the lights at myself (it was too hot when I switched them on!), so I'm just a silhouette against the ice cream store's lights. That's OK, I wasn't terribly inspired anyway, and this saves me a lot of time with the video editing software, not having to create any videos. I still have one or two to finish from last week at South Coast Plaza...

K&W at Borders South Coast Plaza -- 21May2010

A pretty good night -- not a lot of overt audience response (as is usual for this place), but some good performances for the cameras, and we sold all 6 CDs that I put out and took home $14 each, so someone must have liked what they were hearing.

The video equipment malfunction trend continued with my not being able to find the memory chips I needed (I found them later -- they fell out of my jeans pocket in the closet), so I had to use the low-capacity spares, which meant more trouble and less video. And I carefully set one of the cameras perfectly straight, but with its adjustable-angle lens inadvertently tilted at 15% off of horizontal. I'm just gonna pretend that it's "artistic", and not a screw up.

The others were in pretty good spots, with pretty good framing and zoom levels, so there's something to work with there, except that the backdrop is a white porous window shade, facing west into the sunset. The first half of the night is radically backlit, so we're little more than silhouettes. This may also explain why no one would look at us until the last half hour...

But I got some decent stuff in the later parts, so I'll be working those up into multi-camera videos this week.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 15May2010

Unexpectedly low turnout, compared to recent weeks. I think it was the weather, which was warm and sunny in the day but turned chilly and windy, forcing inadvertently inappropriately dressed shoppers to go home early.

And those that did show up were unusually subdued. And a lot fewer teens than usual -- Prom season? I played to a lot of dead silence, but there were patches of enthusiastic people, and somehow there was almost $50 in the jar, so I must have sounded good to somebody, sometime.

I put up 4 video cameras this time, and caught some decent footage in several of them. Unfortunately, now that the experiment of "Can I do it?" (meaning, cut several cameras' footage into one, more interesting, video) is over, I'm left wondering "Why am I doing it?"

I suppose each one I've done is a little better than the last, since I'm getting beyond just making it work and into making it "pretty". And I'm getting bolder with the zooming and panning effects, as I see that they really do work. Of course, now I'm probably pushing them too far...

Anyway, I guess each one I do can be a replacement for previous ones, if they are a better performance or video take/edit. I'm compiling them onto a sub-page of my home page, where they could be an "audition page" if some venue would ever deign to enter the modern age and accept a URL instead of a physical CD. So far that's never happened, but someday...

Check out some new videos here.

K&W at Borders Mission Viejo -- 08May2010

Fun, but short! It was the usual (these days) half-full coffeeshop, but we had several friendly faces out there. But after a while, long-lost cousin Vanessa (and family) came by, and really gave us someone to play for. And not too long later, my brother also arrived, upping the ante even more!

I was torn between playing for her and visiting with her, but she had to leave at 9:00, so we reluctantly took a break at quarter 'til. By the time she broke loose and we started up again, we only had time left for 3 songs, 'cuz they close at 10, and it takes at least 20 minutes to tear down. With the early closing time and the rare "break", I think that's the least I've played in years.

Still, all the attention (from Vanessa's family and Roy) had roped some other people who were left wanting more when we had to quit. They asked about the price of the CDs, and were beside themselves when I told them "Whatever you want to put in the jar" -- this was far too good a deal for the Jewish Mothers Club to pass up! I made Vanessa take a pair of CDs, plus a specially-made "Tribute to My Dad" CD that I'd brought for her, but we sold 4 more, presumably a pair to each of the Moms. And did pretty well in the jar, accordingly.

I'd brought a stack of video cameras, and set three of them up to try to catch some decent footage if there happened to be any decent performances. And did, it turned out. My new cutting between several camera approach really makes the videos more fun to watch (if 10 times the work to produce), but it really shows the difference in quality between different brands of cameras! When it cuts from one camera's output to another, you can really see the color and sharpness differences -- although I can minimize it some in the software.

Anyway, you can check some of the new videos out on my webpage. Click the "Videos" tab. The "Hallelujah" and "Let It Be" takes at the bottom are from this outing.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 01May2010

It was a nice warm day, and I had a big "dinner crowd" to play for. And with my voice almost completely cleared up, I had a great run for a while there. But when it started to get dark, a cold wind came up and it was pretty empty for the mid section. And then, again, the "night owls" start to show up at 9:30 and I'm bummed to get cut off at 10.

During the empty gap, I fired up three of the cameras I'd brought, but both Flip cameras flaked out on me entirely. I think one of them had a legitimate excuse, 'cuz I'd neglected to delete any of the old videos and it was full (though I sure thought it would hold more than what was on there). The other one is clearly just broken, 'cuz it records for a while and then just hangs. Last time it got (and then lost) 35 minutes' worth, this time it hung in only a minute and a half. Good thing I (a) didn't pay for them, and (b) know the Product Manager, who'll be getting quite an email later today.

So instead, I ended up running my very short recording time camera which puts proportionately more pressure on me to "get it right", which, of course, causes proportionately more non-rightness. I'm gonna have to abandon that approach, 'cuz I end up with no video anyway, and a bad performance to go with it. If there were no cameras at all, I'd have the same amount of video (none) but at least I'd'a had a decent night for the people in the house.

Anyway, I had fun, as always, impressed a few people, and made 32 bucks -- not bad for a cold, windy night. And I might be able to squeeze one halfway decent song video out of the footage I managed to get.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum - 23Apr2010

A slow but very fun Friday night. I had some kids come by right off the bat, so I got a good start. Most of the night was pretty empty, but even then there were at least a few people really listening and joining in with requests. It got really good toward the end, with lots of people into it. I happened to look around and saw the maintenance guys standing there. Whoops -- I checked the time and it was 10:15 already. Time flies and all that...

The ice cream bar place behind me has a new employee, who came out and asked if I knew "Michelle", 'cuz it was "the best song in the world", and, not so coincidentally, also her name. I do -- or *did*, it's tricky to play, and I haven't for a long time, but I got through it OK. A while later I confused the heck out of a, in retrospect, *different* long-and-very-blonde haired girl by asking her what her *middle* name was. It was Taylor, though she was baffled as to how that was relevant...

The New Song of the Week was Paul Simon's "American Tune", which I've been "learning" for 20 years, but I think I can sing high enough now, and I've finally decided that the way I play it is the way *I* play it, and it's fine. I played it twice, and the second time through it went quite well.

I tried to capture some video, and just to make my life even more complex, I brought 4 (!) cameras: my old standby on its boom on the top of the amp (to my left); my old still camera clipped to the music stand, pointing (theoretically) at my guitar-playing left hand; and two Flip cameras from work, one strapped to the back of the amp, and one on top of the other speaker, to my right.

The first one performed admirably, as always: got great sound and recorded two 1:40-long battery's worth of good video. The other still camera turns out to record at a very low-res 320x240, and it inexplicably gave up quite early, but at least it got something. The Flip on the amp worked OK, but quit (as it's unforgivably designed to do) after an hour, and when I tried to restart it, its memory was full.

The Flip on the speaker froze up after 35 minutes, and when I hard-rebooted it, lost that file. On restart, it ran only 12 more minutes and quit. Massive fail. Luckily, of the three songs it caught, "Carolina in My Mind" was a pretty good take, so I can salvage that, at least. The big problem, of course, is that I can only set the cameras up pointing vaguely towards myself, start 'em up, and hope -- I can't see if they're properly aimed, or even actually working, 'cuz I'm on the wrong side.

Not sure why I had such bad luck with the cameras, but it was probably because I was singing and playing the best I've been for a month or more...

Or the cold. It was plenty chilly out there, and I had some trouble with the more intricate fingerwork towards the end, but at least I wasn't shivering. I made $40.04; half of that was from a guy who had been transmitting me live to a girl on the other end of his mobile video phone (!) for a half-dozen songs, and then bought one of each CD with a twenty. I could see her face on the little screen as he was pointing his phone at me. Is it the future yet?

Keith at Borders South Coast Plaza -- 16Apr2010

Started off really well, with several nice people already in the up-front comfy chairs, including one guy who I've seen before and apparently also remembers me, since he told a cellphone caller, "I'm gonna hang out here a while -- there's a guitar player setting up and he's pretty good".

That gave me someone to play for right off the bat, which helps a lot. And a lot of people heard the little intro speech that it was possible to make, given someone to make it to. So then a lot of people were willing to step up and request a song... Snowball...

In fact, I hadn't expected such participation, and my plan was to play my second-string material for a while to warm up/clear out my voice, and then start the video cameras to record the Good Stuff. But, all the requests were unerringly for the good songs, so I'd already done them all before I got a point where I could start the recording. I also couldn't afford to crash the momentum by stopping playing to start the cameras, so my plan was out the window.

Which made a great night, performing- and fun-wise, but not so good recording-wise. I did manage to get a few decent song takes towards the very end, so not a total loss, but it's more about the moment than the recording thereof. And it was good to have my voice back to near-full strength, after so long.

Keith at Borders South Coast Plaza -- 10Apr2010

We've been playing at South Coast Plaza exclusively on Fridays for over a year now, and I was hoping that this special-permission Saturday would be more lively. I was wrong.

Same usual group of Asian kids studying (or pretending to), and bored, lost, or ex- husbands hanging out in the bookstore for lack of anything better to do. I failed to get any connection started off the bat, and played to stone silence for most of the night. Nice acoustics, though. And no interruptions...

I tried my best to win someone over -- playing my biggest hits, but they weren't interested, and my voice was still pretty clogged up so I wasn't really getting anywhere. After a while, since no one was listening anyway, I took the opportunity to play some new stuff. That's always fun, and good practice.

But finally, the judicious black guy who asked for some great songs last week came in and gave me someone to play for. And as soon as he started clapping, several other people joined in. See? That wasn't so hard!

Unfortunately, he got there pretty late, and with the new early closing time, it was over before it made up for the previous hour and a half.

Probably because his own hair and beard are prematurely white, as I was packing up, he mentioned that he liked the color my hair was turning. I've been thinking that whatever amount of color "dirty blonde" originally claimed is essentially fading out, but he said it looked like it was "turning to bronze". I like that.

I have a new "Flip" digital camcorder on permanent loan from work, and I had an idea -- I set that one up, and also my usual point-and-click camera in Movie Mode, at two different angles, and ran them both for the last half-hour or so. Yesterday, with a lot of fiddling, I was able to make a video of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" that cross-fades back and forth from one view to the other, with a little "Ken Burns" slow zooming thrown in. Makes a far more interesting video. You can check it out on my Facebook page (since my YouTube account got shut down...) http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1393143159307

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 03April2010

Started off crazy, with 3 teenage girls (who I've seen hanging out there a lot) sitting right down front, impatiently waiting for me to finish setting up so they could have me dedicate a love song to the "hot guy" who works in the ice cream bar shop right behind the stage -- despite them not even knowing his name. Not exactly what I'm there for. Between them and the guy who owns the BBQ shop in the Food Court, who, for several weeks running, has tried to get me to hype his shop in return for a free dinner (which I don't need, 'cuz I eat before I get there) -- it's too much pressure!

They stayed for quite a while, until I got my camera out and they leaped out of their chairs. I thought they were gonna get together and pose, but they were really jumping up to run away! I sure didn't expect that these particular girls would be camera shy...

But the night was generally very slow (only $35 in tips). It was surprisingly cold, and I'd only brought my vest, because last weekend it was nice and warm. This was a huge mistake, 'cuz I was freezing and shivering long before it was even half over. I kept telling myself that I could just go home, but there was always just one or two people really listening somewhere out there, so I couldn't do it. I'm such a sucker...

Finally a nice couple came and listened for a while, and after a couple of songs the girl jumped up and suddenly asked "What's your favorite hot drink?" Taken off guard, I said "Hot chocolate", and she said, "I knew it!", and took off. A minute or two later, in the middle of a song, she set a Starbucks hot chocolate down on my table, and then she and her boyfriend waved and left before I could even thank her. That was amazingly nice.

K&W at Borders South Coast Plaza -- 02Apr2010

I usually only play South Coast Plaza on the third Friday (the standing K&W gig there), and this one would normally have been Jim & Warren, but Jim couldn't make it, so I filled in. Maybe I shouldn't have -- my cold had evolved away from the sore-throat phase to the full-of-crud-throat phase, and I had a really hard time singing. It would clear up a little occasionally, giving me (false) hope, so it was kind of off and on.

Anyway, there was a nice lady there right at first who was really interested in hearing us, but she had an appointment to get to, so we tried to play the songs she wanted right off the bat. But there was also a 11-year-old girl there (with her parents) who wanted to hear some songs, so there was a bit of a bidding war going on for our time. That made it fun, and created a good start, but they both were gone too soon, leaving us with the usual only-partly-interested crowd.

There was one guy later on who had a particularly specific set of requests, all great classics that have been on the list for a while, and that I've been neglecting. That was pretty fun, trying to get those de-cobwebbed. Didn't do too bad on 'em, either.

And we must have been doing something OK, 'cuz we made 16 bucks to split, which is pretty good for a Borders gig.

The weird part is that I'll be back there next Saturday (just to have somewhere to play 'cuz Spectrum was unavailable), and then the next Friday for my usual monthly SCP date. An unusually SCP-intensive couple of weeks...

A New Guitar Trick

I seem to have invented a new way to play a guitar. Now, I'm not stupid enough to think that I'm the first guy to find this trick, but in 38 years of playing guitar, I've seen a lot of guys do a lot of different stuff and I've never seen it before. So I've probably only "re-invented" it, but whatever. This won't make any sense at all to non-guitar-players, but if you play, read on.

The trick, simply, is to put a capo on the guitar's second fret, but only covering the 5 highest strings, leaving the bass (6th) string open. (You have to use a C-clamp style capo -- the stretchy kind obviously won't work.)

At first glance, this is very similar to just lowering the bass string by a whole step, which is probably the most common non-standard guitar tuning, called "Drop-D", and well-known to almost everybody. In fact the trick does act a lot like Drop-D, (though up a whole step), and some of what you learn in Drop-D does apply -- especially the big grand sound of the normally-anemic D chord (though it's now an E, because of the capo). In both Drop-D and this trick (which, I suppose, could be called "Drop-E"), the usual D chord (xx0323) with its very weak bass (caused by the two unusable low strings) becomes 000323, with a huge bass end, and great Travis picking potential.

But the beauty of the trick is that it does *not* change the fingering shapes of other chords that use the 6th string. Unlike Drop-D, the G chord is played completely normally: 320003. Same with F#m, or even the alternate bass note of Bm. The only weirdness, and this is very weird at first, is that you have to manually fret the "0" fret of E chords. Em is still 022000, but that bass note 0 requires a finger, because the open bass string is really "-2" (see the picture). So you do have to set the capo back in the fret (unlike the usual practice of putting it kinda forward, to avoid buzzing), so you can fit your finger in beside the tip of the capo.

Since I came up with this, it's been surprisingly useful and I'm using it for several songs now. I "invented" it while working up "Peaceful Easy Feeling", but now I use it for "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lyin' Eyes", "Dear Prudence", "Can't Find My Way Home", and probably a few more that I'm forgetting.

One disadvantage is that, because it relies on the capo to start with, you can't "capo up some more" to get a different singing key. (Unless you want to use *two* capos (one all the way across, and one not), two frets apart.) But it's occurred to me lately that my vocal range is about a third or fourth lower than most (tenor) pop stars'. I very frequently have to transpose popular songs down a fourth (an interval that is very convenient playability-wise on the guitar), but sometimes that's a little too far, so I end up with a capo on the second fret anyway. (Transposing down a third usually results in unplayable chords.) With this trick, I get that same amount of down-transposition (down a fourth and back up two frets), and a big fat bass note on the D chords (actually D shape, E sound) for free.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 27March2010

Had a pretty slow start, but it wound up being a great time later on. And lots of friends turned up. Right as I played my first tune (badly - not warmed or limbered up yet), friends Doug and Melody came by, on their way to see the musical at OCSHA. Not sure how that makes a logical plan, but I'm not complaining. But they had to go after only three songs, and after the initial dinner rush, the place was pretty empty except for a few very bored husbands looking for a place to sit and wait. They're usually far too grumpy by that time to join in at all.

So I played for myself for quite a while (which was probably OK, since my voice was really unwieldy), but then an old high school friend and her mom came by, all the way down from Washington. Having someone to play for makes all the difference, so suddenly it was big fun (and my voice finally kicked in, too). A couple of songs later, along came Daleen and Geneva, getting some dinner before going shopping for a while. And a while after that, Princess friend Jim and his daughter Emily showed up. Wow -- it's been months since any friends have come out.

And, coincidentally (or maybe related?) there were suddenly lots of other groups of people tuned in -- clapping (and hooting!), and actually competing to get their requests into the queue! It don't rain, but it pours. It was Really Happening for a while there. But Sheri and her mom had to go, and since I haven't seen them in 15 or 20 years, I took a break (!) to chat for a while before they were gone for another 20.

Unfortunately, but naturally, that broke the spell, and the best audience I've had in weeks dissipated, but that's OK -- I had a nice half-hour chat with Sheri and her mom, reminiscing about the old Mariner days.

After they were gone, I played a bit more for Jim and Emily, but it was getting late, so they left, too. It was almost ten, and I was about to pack it in, but suddenly some "my age" ladies were there, clapping appreciatively, so I played some more. And then some couples came by (possibly people who have heard me before -- some folks were specifically asking for James Taylor songs), and it was going far too well, again, to quit -- even though it was past time for me to be off the stage. But the maintenance guys have been coming later and later, so I went ahead and risked it, and ended up playing until about 10:40 -- I'm just a sucker for people who are actually listening. And the fifty bucks...

Just before I finally quit, one of the ladies who had been listening came up to put a buck in the jar and tell me, "You haff a fairy nize voize" in her cartoon Swedish accent. That was fun.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 20Mar2010

Another two-gig weekend, and me sick, to boot. But I'm clearing up, and I did fine. And the weather's getting warmer -- and with the time change seems warmer still, 'cuz I'm essentially starting "an hour earlier".

The highlight came early on, when a Birthday Party of 9 (?) year-old girls, all dressed up as the cast of the new "Alice in Wonderland" movie, stopped by to eat some ice-cream bars on their way to see the movie. (Click the pic to see it bigger.) I got my "start" playing for little girls at Indian Princess campouts, so I'm not only prepared to do it, I love to -- and it was a great and easy way to get the ball rolling. They were already excited to be there, having fun in their costumes, getting even higher on the ice cream, and ready to party with half-a-dozen of my kids' songs.

The Birthday Girl was the Mad Hatter, and I was impressed that they had a set of actual twins to play Tweedle-Dee and Dum. I guess they couldn't find any mouse ears for the Dormouse, 'cuz she had rabbit ears like the White Rabbit and March Hare. She didn't seem to mind. And I liked the blue feather boa around the neck of the Caterpillar. Big fun, all around.

And a pretty good night even after they left. No repeat of the way-too-loud background music from last week, even though I'd neglected to send a nasty-gram to the entertainment lady. Guess it wasn't necessary.

The new songs of the week were "Dear Prudence", and "Lyin' Eyes". Both use my new "capo across only 5 strings" trick. I learned "Prudence" before, playing the real, and surprisingly difficult, fingerpicking arrangement, but it was too hard, and too hard on my hands, to be worth it. I suddenly decided that a simplified arrangement wouldn't kill anybody, so now it's both do-able, and quite nice. And I get to kick in the full "choir" in the harmony box for "won't you come out to play", and it sounds awesome.

And just to show how cocky I'm getting, I transposed and worked up "Lyin' Eyes" at 4:00, for a gig that started at 6 -- with dinner in-between. It's normally strummed, but I don't strum so I'm fingerpicking it, and can "pull out" most of the signature lead line in the intro as I go. The trick is remembering where the "thirds" are for each of the chords as they go by, and making sure to pluck them on the downbeats in (or out of) the fingerpicking pattern, so that the harmony box knows how to sing correctly. It's a bit of a lot to remember, while the song is going by: keeping the picking going and hitting those thirds, kicking the box's buttons on cue, and singing the words, all at the same time. But if it was easy, everybody'd do it.

Had several groups of nice people, families and teens, and made $42. Played a lot of kids' songs -- and not just for the birthday kids. I think I did "Puff" 3 times, a new record. But also "Whole New World", "You'll Be In My Heart", "Waltzing With Bears", even "Rubber Duckie", and several more. And got another request for "Teddy Bears' Picnic", which I hadn't played at all for probably a year, but have now played for the last three gigs running. What's up with that?