Keith at Laguna Beach -- 27July2012

I wasn't really thinking about going down to Laguna again already, but my wife and daughter decided to go see the new dance movie, and there didn't seem to be much point in sitting home alone…

There were less people out than on Tuesday -- maybe they were all at home watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. But there were still plenty enough people to make it fun, and I brought home $63 in tips.

But the best part was the nicely-dressed lady who came up and stared at my song list for a while, but declined to make a request off of it. Then she told me that she worked across the street at "Chico's", and that they had loved my music and had turned off the in-store radio so they could listen in better. And she had decided to come over to give me a dollar, and say so.

First off, I was horrified to hear that I was loud enough that they could listen in from a store across the street and down one. I guess the crate that the amp is in restricts how loud it seems to be to me, while letting sound fly out the front at unimaginable volume. I'll have to check into that…

But second (and of course I was too dim-witted to think of this while she was still there), it occurred to me that, if they liked me that much, maybe they'd let me perform in or in front of their main-drag store on Art Walk night, next Thursday. When I thought of this, I wanted to go over and ask her, but it was closing time (7:30) and I think she had come by on her way out, and also I couldn't wander off and let someone else snag my prime spot. So now my challenge is to find her again and find out what she thinks of that idea, before Thursday.

K&W at Laguna Beach -- 24July2012

Another great night on the corner in Laguna. It's tourist season, so there's lots of people out, and lots of them are up for the "authentic Laguna Street Music experience. Or hungry for ice cream -- not sure which.

We had lots of listeners, and collected lots of tips, but the clincher was when my sweet lady doctor finally made good on her promise to come see me play sometime. She lives somewhere nearby in Laguna, so she came by after work, though that proved to be almost 9:00. The good part about that was that she had us pretty much to herself by that point. She brought two cute daughters, who she kept sending up with more and more money, and I'm pretty sure that she contributed about $50 of the evening's record $125 take, all by herself -- though, even without her participation, we were already breaking the record. Not bad for a Tuesday.

K&W at Laguna Beach -- 21July2012

Warren’s other music partner, Jim, had to leave early from their usual Saturday evening gig in Laguna, so Warren invited me to come down and take Jim’s place around 5:00. Since that pretty much guaranteed our having the prime “Greeter’s Corner” stage for the evening, I jumped on it.

It being a summer Saturday, there was lots of competition, across the street in both directions. Of the two, the worst was the jazz sax with drums on the ocean side of PCH. If that guy ever landed on a recognizable tune, I sure never caught it. Fortunately, while I was playing, it wasn’t too loud to deal with.

Otherwise, it was a pretty normal evening. Lots of people out, mostly zooming past, but plenty of folks slowing down to take notice, too. And lots of people buying ice cream and settling in on the benches to eat it, constituting an audience whether they want to or not. Fortunately, most of them seem to become interested, and my "pick a song from the list" methodology helps to drag them in.

No trouble with the cops about the amplifier use, and $75 in the jar -- so a good night, any way you look at it.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 20July2012

A much slower night than the Saturdays have been, but still fun. The official "shift" is 6:00 to 10:00, but it really seems pointless to start at 6 on a work night -- there's nobody out that early. Of course, it works as a warm-up period for me, so maybe it's OK. I can get those initial jitters out of the way, get my voice and fingers warmed up, and be fully in the swing by the time the real traffic starts up.

It was opening night of the new Batman movie, so I assume that a lot of the people zooming by were on their way to the theaters. I saw a lot of Batman T-shirts. Maybe that accounts for some of the lack of traffic, too.

Not a lot of little kids out at first, but a Kid Dance Party started up later in the evening. After a few songs, I climbed down and sat on the edge of the stage for a Mom Picture Party with a bunch of the kids around me. Then I brought a little girl (maybe 4 years old) around to sit between my knees, lifted the guitar up over her to sit in front of both of us, and let her strum (with a little help) while I handled the chords and sang "Twinkle Twinkle". She was a little baffled by all this, but her mom was thrilled.

It being a Friday, and Spectrum being literally across the street from work, I invited everybody to come over and see me. As expected, no one did, except the one guy who I *didn't* invite, because he lives in Colorado, who had just flown in (with family in tow) for the week, was looking for a restaurant, and accidentally came upon me as I was setting up. He said they'd come back by afterwards when I'd be playing, but, as expected, they didn't. Oh well.

Anyway, it's kind of nice playing at this stage, 'cuz the people who settle in on the planter-box benches are clearly there to listen to me, unlike the food court where they could just be there 'cuz the chairs are comfy. It's gratifying when people are strolling past, get caught up in a song, find a place to sit, and stay for a while.

The day before, I'd stopped at the Goodwill Store and bought some really great "working" cowboy boots. I know it sounds silly, but wearing cowboy boots makes me "braver", and I felt quite a bit looser up there singing and dance/shuffling around in them. Not to mention that the soles are nice and flat and click the harmony box's buttons a lot more reliably than my hiking boots' too-textured soles do.

There was $93 in the jar, just about half what the Saturdays have been. I also didn't sell many CDs this time, except for the three that went to a set of little kids whose mom was too busy with her phone call to police the fact that they were taking one each. But that's OK -- they helped clean out the really crappy colored CD cases that I shouldn't have bought and have been embarrassed to be selling anyway.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 14July2012

Not as many people out this time. They might have been scared off by the hot muggy days before this one, but it was actually quite nice. So I played to a steady but small stream of people, and never even got a kid party started. But there was always someone to play for, and I had fun.

At one point, a family showed up with three kids who had seen me there before, and remembered my songs. The two-year-old came up and mumbled something that I managed to decode as "Twinkle Twinkle", and the older daughter wanted to hear "Woody!" (which meant "You've Got a Friend in Me" from "Toy Story"). It's great to have "fans".

It didn't seem like very many people were coming up to ask for songs but apparently there were, because I sold 15 CDs and there was $180 in the jar. Sometimes even the nights that felt just "fair" were actually "darn good".

Keith in Laguna Beach -- 08July2012

I went down at 4:45 and played for a while in the Acoustic Alley hallway, and did OK, but it started to get really thin around 6:30, so I figured it was dinnertime, and that ought to apply to me, too.  So I packed up, thinking I'd find some dinner and come back and play a little later.

But I don't know the area at all, and just started walking towards the ocean, when I ran into Steven who seems to be down there a lot, so I asked him where I could get a burger.  Being vegetarian, he didn't exactly know, but knew of Johnny Rockets, and thought there was another burger place "further down".  So I started walking north, and had decided to just do Johnny Rockets and get it over with, but it was jammed.  Giving up on that, I started walking, looking for this other place.

And walking, and walking.  Dragging the roller-crate, and with my guitar strapped on my back.  I kept walking, thinking that it would be a shame to give up if it was just on the next intersection.  And then I thought that I might be able to get back to downtown on the free shuttle, so I figured I could go further.  And further.

I never did find it, and there weren't any return shuttles, either.  And somewhere along the way, my clip-on guitar tuner got knocked off, so I had to walk *back* for a quarter of the route, thinking I might remember where I had hit something.  Never found that, either.

I ended up having a gas station muffin and a bottle of Mountain Dew for dinner, sitting on a planterbox in front of a hotel, watching the cars go by on PCH.  A career high, it wasn't.

And when I got back to the street, there were people already set up at the main and secondary corners and the hallway, and it was 8:30, so I just admitted defeat and went home.  I guess they can't all be winners...

Keith (and Warren!) at Laguna Art Walk -- 05July2012

Susie had another friend's band in her "Twig" shop this time, so I decided to go see what Art Walk looks like downtown. Coincidentally, Jim was out of town, so Warren (and the traditional Jim & Warren setup spot at Greeter's Corner) was available. I wasn't sure I'd be brave enough to set up there on the "Main Stage", nor brave enough to fire up my clandestine amp rig in so public a spot, but I was determined to try -- and when I got there at 4:45, there was no one else playing at all, so I really didn't have any excuse.

This was the same spot that I had played at with Warren the very first time I went down there. And at which we got busted for using amplifiers when the kid working in the ice cream store that we're right in front of called the cops to get rid of us so he could crank his indie-rock radio station. I've been paranoid about amp use ever since.

So I got set up and started playing, and a nice man was sitting on the bench, listening and clapping, right away. After a few songs, he said, "You could play louder!", but I explained that I wasn't technically allowed to have an amp at all. He said, "But the people like it", and I said, "That may be so, but the cops don't". He said that the cops don't really come by, and I said, "Even so...".

He got up and said, "Well, if you need any water or ice cream, let me know", and wandered back into the ice cream shop, since (it turns out), he's the owner. Talk about irony! The owner of the shop I'm most afraid of bothering, asking me to turn it up...

And I kind of did. As the foot and car traffic got louder, I had to gradually turn it up to compensate. (And then as it tapered off toward the end, I never did turn it back down, and seemed pretty brazenly loud by 10:00.) Around 10:30, my battery pack gave up, and my feet, back, and fingers weren't far behind, so the concert was suddenly over. As we were packing up, the two cars and an ATV full of cops screamed up, lights flashing, and were rousting some kid for something. I asked Warren, "Was he using an amp?"

Lots and lots of traffic, but most folks seem to be on their way somewhere, and loathe to stop, even when they exclaim, "I love this song!" or start singing along as they speed by. That's kind of frustrating. But some people stop and listen, and it's kind of fun trying to find the formula that'll stop more of them. I'm actually finding that it's the nostalgic "crooners": "Over the Rainbow", "Homeward Bound", "You've Got a Friend", etc. that work the best.

Early on, the young families are out, and when I spotted the little girl with the Little Mermaid sweatshirt, I fired up "Part of Your World", to much delight. And one dad asked for "Rainbow Connection", but his little girl was more interested in how the guitar works than the song itself. I crouched down, mid-song, so she could get a closer look, and she interjected a well-timed strummed-chord flourish while I was fingerpicking further back.

But mostly we were overshadowed by the bluegrass kid who had a standup bass player with him and set up on the opposite corner. They sounded *really* good, and were novel and exciting, and pretty much stole our thunder, and rightly so. If I hadn't'a been playing myself, I'd'a been over there listening, too.

We cleared $58 anyway, which is a new street-playing record, and pretty good considering the lower-than-expected turnout due to the gloomy weather, and the bluegrass distraction. And it was fun, and a good confidence-builder for me to play with the amp for 5 hours without getting busted once.

And, after we packed up, street-regular Peter fired up Steven's guitar for an impromptu Neil Young jam, with the motley crew of Laguna People that was still around so late. I don't do/know a lot of his songs, but I joined in with the ones I do, and faked the ones I don't. I learned that when looney-tunes people (like "Wiggles-Like-A-Glowworm" Sara) decide that they know the lyrics better than you, you'd best just let 'em have it their way.

But it was a School Night after all, so at 11:00 I was very glad that I'd paid the two bucks for the parking meter two blocks away at sea level, and went home.

Keith at Laguna Beach -- 04July2012

They were predicting 100,000 people to turn out for the 4th of July fireworks, but the gloomy weather stunted that number. But I went down anyway, hoping it might burn off.

So I got there at 2:00, very early, for fear of the traffic and parking. Traffic wasn't bad, but I did end up parked at a new record height up the hill. At this rate, after a few more gigs I'll be hiking in from a parking spot somewhere in Long Beach...

So early, nobody else was playing on the street, so I set up in Acoustic Alley and played without the amp at first, but I got brave enough after a while and got much better responses with a little volume and harmony. Still, the afternoon crowd seems to always have somewhere to get to, and a lot of people rush on by. Except the group of 8 or 10 teens who happened to be going through the corridor when I hit the "Na na" ending of "Hey Jude" and loudly joined in.

So around 5:00 I thought I'd go find some dinner, and play some more later. But I got roped in by Steven, who was playing at Greeter's Corner. I finally had my clip-on tuner, so I was able to down-tune a half-step to match his guitar, and play along much better.

Unfortunately, he sings higher than I do, so I could play along, but my trying to add on some vocal harmony to his songs was pretty tough. And he's much younger than me, so we don't have much overlap of songs we know -- except Beatles. But even there, since he strums, he does stuff like "Hold Your Hand" and "Day Tripper", while I do "If I Fell, "Let It Be", and "In My Life".

But it was fun anyway, trying to keep up and add something useful, although he wasn't making much headway with the (far larger) throng passing by, either. It's hard to explain, but he seems to be "just playing", and people don't stop to listen the way that they do for me. I think I sound more like a "performance" and less like "just songs". Or something.

Anyway, I hung out with him for a while, but it wasn't really working so I left to test out some other location options. I set up at the weird green spiral art-bench, and didn't really expect much -- I was just trying the spot out. But although the crowd was much thinner, many more of them slowed down or stopped to listen (and tip). It was weird. And nice.

But tomorrow was a work day, so I gave up at 8:30, after a group of young girls with patriotic paint on their cheeks stopped to help me sing Taylor Swift's "Mean" while a mom took a dozen pictures. That's always fun. I meant to try to snag some of the massive exodus after the fireworks, but they weren't scheduled to even start until 9:30, so I gave up on that plan.

There was a surprising $27 in the jar when I got home, and five English pennies, for some reason. Back again tomorrow night for Art Walk!

Keith at Laguna Beach -- 30June2012

Well, I found a cheap roller crate thingie, and successfully rigged up a battery powered amp with harmony box inside it, so I was obliged to take it down and try it out in Laguna.  My minimum set of stuff fits in there perfectly, with just enough room for the required bottle of Mountain Dew.

It worked out quite well, actually, with the wireless mic's receiver at the bottom of the crate with its antennas already extended, and everything pre-connected except for the harmony box, which has to be outside so I can step on its buttons.  I velcro-wrapped its four cables into a nice collected umbilical, so I just have to roll up to where I want to play, pop the top of the crate, unload the music stand and book, CDs, tip jar, standup sign, and harmony box, feed the umbilical out and plug in the 4 plugs, run the separate guitar cord out, turn on the amp and battery pack, put the top back on, and arrange the "merch" on it (further disguising its real purpose), strap on the guitar and wireless mic, and start playing.

Hmmm.  It may sound like a lot, but compared to the setup and teardown of my usual Real Gig rig, it's a dream.

It's tricky, though.  In a standard gig, I can assume that nobody can hear the acoustic sound of the guitar or my voice -- that all they hear is what's coming out of the speakers.  With this "close-proximity" sort of gig, people can hear me directly as much as I'm willing to crank the sound coming out of the amp.  So, they're hearing the guitar and the main vocal from two places (directly and the amp), but the harmony vocal created by the harmony box is only coming from the amp.  This make it really tricky to get a proper mix between the three components, and it took me quite a while to get something that I think was working well (though it's hard to tell since I'm so close to the sources of two of them).

And at first, it was kind of moot -- I got there at 4:45, when there were no other players out yet, so I got into Acoustic Alley, where I don't really need an amp at all (though I do like the enhancement of the harmony).  I set up without the amp at first, played a few songs to get comfortable, and then fired it all up.  But because it was a summer Saturday, there were a bunch of junior police(wo)men out directing traffic, and one of them seemed to think that right out in front of me was a good place to keep the cars moving down Forest Street.  She probably couldn't hear me at all most of the time (especially when the ubiquitous Harleys came by), nor was she probably at all interested in my amplifier transgression, but I'm still pretty paranoid about it, so I stashed the clandestine gear and played acoustic for a long time until she was gone.

The passers-by seemed pretty disinterested though, this time.I got only a few people to stop and listed for a while, but lots of people gave me a smile, and that's close enough to keep me playing.  By 8:00, I was starving, so I packed up and ate some trail mix as I rolled down to Greeter's Corner to see how Jim & Warren were doing.  They were just packing up, too, and another guy (Tom) was in the wings, playing already in anticipation of snagging the "main stage" there.

But it occurred to me that the main reason I had gone down there remained unfulfilled -- how would this new rig work out on a noisy, non-Alley, corner?  So I went down to the other end of Forest, and set up on the corner there, which has a pair of resting-place benches for people to hang out on.  It was getting late, so the traffic noise was abetting some, and a lot of the shops were closed so I was feeling less afraid of getting some shopkeeper mad enough to call the cops on me.  So I cranked it up a bit, and pulled in quite a few tips (for a new-record total of $41), and got some people to stop to hear a few out of the "on their way home" crowd (including a quite-drunk sing-along lady and her long lost friend, and the Russian couple who wanted to hear "Ho-tyel Cal-ee-for-nyah").  Apparently it *does* help to be actually audible.

By 10:15 though, the crowd had thinned and I decided that I needed to be closer to the action down at PCH.  But Tom was still going at it on the Corner, so I went on around, intending to go on home, but there was a little alcove off the sidewalk on the side of the art gallery, and since they were closed, I pulled up and sang a few more.  But even with the amp, the PCH traffic is pretty obnoxious, so I gave up at 10:45.

Besides, six hours of pretty continuous playing is a bit much, even for me.  Next time I'll try to show better judgment.  The new rig was quite a bit easier than my usual setup to drag back up the cliff, but I was still near-dead by the time I got back to my car.  I could try to find parking nearer to Forest Street next time, and take the $2 for the parking meter out of the tips, but it's the most exercise I get all week...