Pretty great. It was Easter Sunday, so I figured there'd either be a lot of people, or none. Fortunately, it was the former. Tom was on The Corner when I got there, but he assured me that he was almost done, so I only had to stall a bit and then take over. And for his final song (the presumably self-written "Dog in a Sweater", whose title reflects all of the lyrics therein), he had me shoot a video for YouTube on his camera. OK, then.
It was nice to play, for a change, when literally nobody else was playing, anywhere on the street -- not even some kid on the other corner hammering away distractingly, as has been all-too-common lately. And in the late evening when the traffic got quiet, it was almost like playing indoors -- imagine that!
Our friend Silly Patty came by briefly, responding, a day late, to my message on Saturday telling her that I would be down there the day before. She needs to check her email a little more often, but I guess she got lucky that I was there both days.
One vacationing family came by for ice cream at 8:30 or so, and, since they basically had me all to themselves by then, really got into the spirit of making requests, asking for "Dear Prudence", "Don't Think Twice", "You've Got a Friend In Me", "Part of Your World", and finally "If You Could Read My Mind" before they wandered off.
Anyway, not as populated as Saturday, of course, but I pulled in $105. I sold two CDs to obviously-foreign tourists (I'm world famous!), and had an almost-unintelligibly foreign guy ask for "any Beatles". He stood and listened for a long time, then asked for a business card and left saying, "I'll call you". Dunno what he'd be calling me for, though -- and of course, he won't call, so I'll never find out, either.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach -- Saturday, 30Mar2013
I don't usually get to play in Laguna on Saturday nights, but Jim had something to do in the evening, so he and Warren started early (which nabbed them The Corner), and I just strolled in and replaced Jim at 4:30 -- a terrific plan, so much so that it felt like cheating somehow.And it was a pretty great night -- the start Spring Break for a lot of people, so lots of tourists and general Saturday Night people out. We got quite a few crowds together and had some fun.
Unfortunately, around 9:00, Ivan appeared and set up right across the street from us, with his very loud amplified reggae and party tunes. He's quite good, and very charismatic with his cute foreign accent and energetic personality, and the too-loud music just *sounds* like a party, so pretty soon he had a bunch of the late-night people around him, having a great time. I tired to compete for a while, but at that time of night, people were more interested in a party than a concert...
Just before I gave up entirely, I was playing "Teach Your Children" and a lady came by with a huge smile, singing along. She stopped and when the song was over, commanded me to "Play me some blues in G! And keep up!" Well, OK then -- and I started playing while she sang in a *huge* voice, no mic needed. It was a little hard to tell where the changes belong -- "the blues" does come in at least two varieties: 8 and 12-bar, but she didn't seem to notice or mind when I was off-base. It was pretty amazing.
After she wandered off, we played another song or two, and then decided to go home and leave it to Ivan. Still it was a very good night, and people must have liked what we were putting out there, based on the $123 (a new street-corner record!) in the jar.
Friday, March 29, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach - Friday, 29Mar2013
I was really looking forward to playing again, with the success of Tuesday night, but when we got there, the guy who had been playing loud instrumental-only guitar down the street on Tuesday (Al Sanchez) had camped out on The Corner. Warren asked him when he thought he'd be finished, but he apparently had no intentions of leaving, ever. So we went down to Acoustic Alley.
The sound is really great there, but there's much less traffic, and the sidewalk out in front of us is much less conducive to hanging around and listening. For one thing, there's no bench, and if you hang around, you're kind of impeding the flow on the narrow sidewalk. Not to mention that there's nobody that's pretty much forced to hang around once they've bought some ice cream and need to sit and eat it.
So, it was slim pickin's. We had a few people brave enough, or impressed enough, to stop, but not many. Some of them decided that the best place to listen from was *behind* us, up the corridor. Oddly, there were lots of families with kids, though, so we ended up playing a lot of kids' songs.
I kept looking out to see if Sanchez was done, and finally around 8:00, I couldn't see him anymore, and when I got closer he was cleaning the money out of his guitar case, so I went back and told Warren that he was done. It was late enough, and he'd been playing so much, that Warren decided to just go on home. I quickly packed up my stuff and rolled down there, only to find that Sanchez had left his (empty) guitar case and amp behind, and Frank told me that he had just gone to buy some batteries. I'm not sure you can "save your place" like that, but I'm not a complete jerk, so I gave up and went on home, too.
So, we really only played for 2.5 hours, while we usually play at least 4 when we're on The Corner, but we only pulled in $19. Compared to Tuesday night's $79, that really shows how much it's location, location, location. I guess Sanchez gets that, too.
The sound is really great there, but there's much less traffic, and the sidewalk out in front of us is much less conducive to hanging around and listening. For one thing, there's no bench, and if you hang around, you're kind of impeding the flow on the narrow sidewalk. Not to mention that there's nobody that's pretty much forced to hang around once they've bought some ice cream and need to sit and eat it.So, it was slim pickin's. We had a few people brave enough, or impressed enough, to stop, but not many. Some of them decided that the best place to listen from was *behind* us, up the corridor. Oddly, there were lots of families with kids, though, so we ended up playing a lot of kids' songs.
I kept looking out to see if Sanchez was done, and finally around 8:00, I couldn't see him anymore, and when I got closer he was cleaning the money out of his guitar case, so I went back and told Warren that he was done. It was late enough, and he'd been playing so much, that Warren decided to just go on home. I quickly packed up my stuff and rolled down there, only to find that Sanchez had left his (empty) guitar case and amp behind, and Frank told me that he had just gone to buy some batteries. I'm not sure you can "save your place" like that, but I'm not a complete jerk, so I gave up and went on home, too.So, we really only played for 2.5 hours, while we usually play at least 4 when we're on The Corner, but we only pulled in $19. Compared to Tuesday night's $79, that really shows how much it's location, location, location. I guess Sanchez gets that, too.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach -- 26Mar2013
We got there a little after 5, and Tom was jammin' away, but he said that he was just about done, so we waited a few songs, and it was our turn on The Corner.It was nice and sunny still, with a pretty good turnout of beach goers, but the first 2 hours or more were pretty lean, with people just rushing by. We did have a batch of cheerleaders come by and request a song (at my insistence), but then disappeared before I even got a chance to play it.
But it's becoming clear that The Good Time is after dinner, starting at 7:30 or 8:00. Unfortunately, if we just show up at 7:30, somebody else will have snagged The Corner. Anyway, we gathered a pretty big crowd, which persisted for quite a long time. Once you manage to get a critical mass, some people leave but others see the crowd and come over to take their place. And I noticed quite a few people that came by, listened for a while, left, and came back later, having apparently decided that we were the best thing going around there.
One guy listened for a spell while eating his ice cream and finally decided to take a look at the list. When he spotted "Hallelujah", he asked for it and put ten bucks in the jar *before* I sang it, saying "I'm dropping a ten 'cuz I *know* that's gonna be good -- the more verses the better!".And a Zealander in a fancy suit (there's something you don't see every day!) stopped to ask for "If I Fell". I had been expecting a slow night so I hadn't bothered to put the CDs out, but he read the sign, and asked for and bought one -- first time *that's* happened. And then he came back later to marvel at why we weren't singing "in a tavern somewhere". I said I didn't know where to find one, but he had taken a card on his first pass through, and said something about how he was gonna find us one and call me. Here's hoping he comes through...
At the request of a friend and my brother, I've been learning Stephen Bishop's 1977 hit, "On and On", after transposing it into a still-awfully-high but more reasonable key. I've really only barely got it working, but thought I'd try it out in real life anyway, to see if it goes over and is therefore worth pursuing. And as half-learned and ragged as it was, it went over great! I think somebody pulled out a wallet and fed the jar all three times I played it. Definitely a keeper.Anyway, we pulled in $79, which is just plain amazing for a Tuesday -- especially since Spring Break hasn't started yet for most places, that'll be next week and the week after, I think. I started the evening thinking it was gonna be a bust, but it turned out pretty good after all...
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 23Mar2013
An unprecedented two Saturdays in a row! Not as cold as last week, or maybe it was just because I was clever enough to wear an extra shirt this time. When I first got there, there were lots of families hanging out around the fountain, but as soon as I started playing, they all disappeared. Was it something I said?
Anyway, it was the usual thing of hardly anybody interested at first, but more and more people stopping to listen as the night went on. At one point I had two little girls out dancing, so I said that I would play a real dance song ("Mister Postman"), and did they know how to do the Mashed Potato? The parents laughed at the question, but I showed them how -- just pick up your heel and "mash" with your toes. The bigger girl (5-ish) just stared at me, but her little sister was game, but was doing it exactly backwards, toes lifted, and twisting on her heel. Close enough (and very cute)!
The last hour was great, with lots of couples sitting and listening, so I stayed until 11:00. I didn't notice it happening, but I was selling a lot of CDs -- 14 of 'em. I sold completely out of the 8 "Favorites" CDs (where usually I only sell one or two). Now I'm gonna have to burn another big batch, but I guess that contributed to the near-record $172 in the jar, so no problem!
Anyway, it was the usual thing of hardly anybody interested at first, but more and more people stopping to listen as the night went on. At one point I had two little girls out dancing, so I said that I would play a real dance song ("Mister Postman"), and did they know how to do the Mashed Potato? The parents laughed at the question, but I showed them how -- just pick up your heel and "mash" with your toes. The bigger girl (5-ish) just stared at me, but her little sister was game, but was doing it exactly backwards, toes lifted, and twisting on her heel. Close enough (and very cute)!
The last hour was great, with lots of couples sitting and listening, so I stayed until 11:00. I didn't notice it happening, but I was selling a lot of CDs -- 14 of 'em. I sold completely out of the 8 "Favorites" CDs (where usually I only sell one or two). Now I'm gonna have to burn another big batch, but I guess that contributed to the near-record $172 in the jar, so no problem!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Keith in Laguna Beach -- 22Mar2013
Friday was a blast last week, so I went again -- it's clearly a better deal than Tuesday, at least until summer.
And it went pretty well, though no Woo Girls this time. I got The Corner at least, and no sign of Tom. April appeared in The Alley after a while, and I could hear her between my songs, beltin' her 40's and 50's torch songs out.
Lots of folks up from Mexico, wanting to take pictures of or with the funny guy in the hat. And one guy who insisted, through his teenaged son translator, that I play "Hallelujah" twice in a row, since he had missed the first verse with his video the first time around. But he bought a CD, and added two more bucks "for the music", so I obliged. I came home with $57 total for the night.
Late in the evening, a guy set up down the street a little way, with an amplified Ovation, slamming away in an open tuning and way too loud with too much treble, sounding as much like a washboard as a guitar. It was an interesting racket from where I stood, but after I shut down and packed up, I walked over to hear what he was doing for real, and it was a *bit* more musical up close, though still some pretty strange stuff -- just slammy-rhythmic guitar with no vocals. He also had this intense glare, like "I double dare ya", on all the time. I don't think that that's the best way to clean up on tips, buddy, but, you know, to each his own...
And it went pretty well, though no Woo Girls this time. I got The Corner at least, and no sign of Tom. April appeared in The Alley after a while, and I could hear her between my songs, beltin' her 40's and 50's torch songs out.
Lots of folks up from Mexico, wanting to take pictures of or with the funny guy in the hat. And one guy who insisted, through his teenaged son translator, that I play "Hallelujah" twice in a row, since he had missed the first verse with his video the first time around. But he bought a CD, and added two more bucks "for the music", so I obliged. I came home with $57 total for the night.
Late in the evening, a guy set up down the street a little way, with an amplified Ovation, slamming away in an open tuning and way too loud with too much treble, sounding as much like a washboard as a guitar. It was an interesting racket from where I stood, but after I shut down and packed up, I walked over to hear what he was doing for real, and it was a *bit* more musical up close, though still some pretty strange stuff -- just slammy-rhythmic guitar with no vocals. He also had this intense glare, like "I double dare ya", on all the time. I don't think that that's the best way to clean up on tips, buddy, but, you know, to each his own...
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 16Mar2013
I picked up an "extra" Spectrum gig due to lucky timing of an email exchange with the booking lady. And it was not only a Saturday; the weather was (or started out, anyway) nice.
So lots of people out, and a pretty good response all night. The teens are back out in force, too -- some groups joining in, and some being far too cool to listen to the dinosaur play. Had some dancing kids (to whom I gave finger lights), and a group of Mexican ladies who wanted to take a picture with me -- even though I didn't have the top hat that I wear in Laguna. And lots of people taking pictures or videos with their phones or sometimes big professional cameras. It seems like, the better I get, the more people want to take my picture. Weird.
I had one group of all tween boys, horsing around and looking at the list and trying to decide which kids' song would be the funniest to ask for. Before they came to a decision, I said, "You know, I didn't come out here to be made fun of", and they instantly switched to respectful, "Oh no, we didn't mean..." mode. I was surprised that that worked so well.
But the best part was later in the evening when I had lots of people stop to listen and cuddle in the unexpected cold breeze. I was freezing, but that (extended) second half is always the best. I had a couple cuddling and slow dancing over to one side, so I started playing all love songs 'til they wandered off.
And there was a big guy who settled into one of the comfy chairs and listened for a long time. At one point, some girls came by and asked for "Landslide", and after it was over he came up and told me something that I could hear little of, and understood less, but apparently the song had some kind of great personal meaning to him -- I caught something about weight loss? Um, OK -- glad you liked it. (And I suppose your explanation of the nonsensical lyrics to that song is as good as Stevie Nicks' insistence that it's somehow about her dad...)
After another half-dozen songs he came up again, and walked past the tip jar to personally hand me a twenty and thank me for the music on his way out. My pleasure.
Anyway, with all the people coming by to hang out, listen, and "extend their dates", that last hour stretched into two and a half when I finally shut it down at 11:30. Five and a half hours is probably sufficient, especially since I'd already played 4 hours the night before in Laguna. I had the recorder running, but most of it is unlistenable 'cuz of the noise, until the fountain shut off entirely at 11:00. I do kind of like my simple, sparse arrangement of this song:
Ruby Tuesday
So lots of people out, and a pretty good response all night. The teens are back out in force, too -- some groups joining in, and some being far too cool to listen to the dinosaur play. Had some dancing kids (to whom I gave finger lights), and a group of Mexican ladies who wanted to take a picture with me -- even though I didn't have the top hat that I wear in Laguna. And lots of people taking pictures or videos with their phones or sometimes big professional cameras. It seems like, the better I get, the more people want to take my picture. Weird.I had one group of all tween boys, horsing around and looking at the list and trying to decide which kids' song would be the funniest to ask for. Before they came to a decision, I said, "You know, I didn't come out here to be made fun of", and they instantly switched to respectful, "Oh no, we didn't mean..." mode. I was surprised that that worked so well.
But the best part was later in the evening when I had lots of people stop to listen and cuddle in the unexpected cold breeze. I was freezing, but that (extended) second half is always the best. I had a couple cuddling and slow dancing over to one side, so I started playing all love songs 'til they wandered off.
And there was a big guy who settled into one of the comfy chairs and listened for a long time. At one point, some girls came by and asked for "Landslide", and after it was over he came up and told me something that I could hear little of, and understood less, but apparently the song had some kind of great personal meaning to him -- I caught something about weight loss? Um, OK -- glad you liked it. (And I suppose your explanation of the nonsensical lyrics to that song is as good as Stevie Nicks' insistence that it's somehow about her dad...)
After another half-dozen songs he came up again, and walked past the tip jar to personally hand me a twenty and thank me for the music on his way out. My pleasure.
Anyway, with all the people coming by to hang out, listen, and "extend their dates", that last hour stretched into two and a half when I finally shut it down at 11:30. Five and a half hours is probably sufficient, especially since I'd already played 4 hours the night before in Laguna. I had the recorder running, but most of it is unlistenable 'cuz of the noise, until the fountain shut off entirely at 11:00. I do kind of like my simple, sparse arrangement of this song:
Ruby Tuesday
Friday, March 15, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach -- 15Mar2013
I thought I'd see how a Friday night looks down on the corner -- should be better than a Tuesday anyway, right?I was worried that we wouldn't get The Corner, but when I got there, there were no other musicians, but there were three Greenpeace kids, trying to talk to people about the whales, tigers, etc. I told one of them that I was sorry to blow them out, but that I was gonna set up and play some music, and he said, "Great! Even better for us!" OK, if you think so...
So I set up and played, but kept it turned way down so they could be heard. Some people stopped to talk to them, but for the hour or so that they were there while we were playing, we made zero tips, and no one stopped to listen. Now, that's not completely unusual for the first hour, but still. People are sympathetic to Greenpeace, but most of them don't want to stop and talk about it...
Anyway, it was fun after that. Silly Patty showed up, and pretended the painter's palette she had bought was a tambourine, while I played "Mister Tambourine Man". She's always fun to have around. But the most fun was when the "Woo Girls" (so called because almost anything causes them to throw their hands in the air and scream "Woo!") showed up.
I'm guessing that they were en route from one bar to another, but the crossing light held them up, and I snagged them by offering to let them choose a song. One of them asked if I knew "Trouble", but she didn't mean the Cat Stevens song that I know, she meant the Taylor Swift one that I don't. But I said that I did know Swift's "Mean", and they were thrilled to dance and sing along for that one. And, of course, when there are party girls dancing, other people stop to join in or at least watch the fun. We had a pretty good crowd, all of a sudden.
I played a few more songs for them, interrupted by one of them being hijacked by a spun-out homeless guy recognizing her as his nurse from the hospital, and she had to call a cab and then pre-pay the driver to have him taken back there, and then convince him that the cab driver was a nice guy and wouldn't hurt him to get him into the cab. Crazy stuff -- and then she was right back to "Woo!".Tuesday, March 12, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach -- 12Mar2013
Warren thought it would be nice to go down on a "no-Tom-Tuesday", and I agreed, since I needed to get the bad taste of Sunday's all-acoustic disaster out of my mouth. But when I got there, Tom was already on The Corner, and reportedly had been for a long time. Apparently he means to make a full-time job of it. Foiled again!
But the Alley was empty, and I managed to bring all the required amplification stuff this time, so I set up there. Warren showed up after a while, and we noticed that Tom had finally left, so I moved down to The Corner. Not a lot of people out at first, but it was a nice night, and it was fun to just be playing, audibly. And with the wireless mic and guitar, I can wander out in front of the speaker to tune the volume and tone and feel good about what I sound like.
Mostly uneventful, until 7:30 or so when a guy came by and was listening with just a little *too much* interest. He actually seemed to be "studying" us -- he didn't/wouldn't request anything, but he took a picture of the song list, and I'm pretty sure he was doing some recordings, too. Not sure what that was about...
Then some ladies sat down to eat their ice cream, and I correctly guessed that the right song to do was "Jet Plane", which caused one of them to loudly sing along. She requested Don McLean, so I got to play my recently-learned "Vincent", which had 'em swooning. And I guess all that attention was contagious, because before I knew it, there was 8 or 10 middle-aged couples sitting and standing around, like some kind of concert or something. (Warren's picture above only captured part of the line-up.)
I ran through all my best, sweetest, most nostalgic stuff. It was a pretty magical half-hour or so. Some of the people were brave enough to pick some songs, and lots of people came over to stuff the jar. I think it may have been a kind of "post dinner" thing -- people wandering home or to their cars, with no pressing schedule.
Anyway, as that started to break up, a couple came up to me and the lady, looking at my sign, asked, "Did you apply to play at the Sawdust Festival?" I said, "Yes, I did, but I haven't heard anything back yet." She said, "I'm on the Entertainment Committee. We're going to decide next week. You'll be getting a call."
Wow. Finally! I've been trying to get into the Sawdust Festival for years, but every time I remember to apply, it's been too late -- already all booked (at least that's what they tell me -- maybe they just think I suck and it's the easiest excuse). This year, I sent an email in January, but there's nothing like having someone actually come by and hear you -- especially since she happened to be there just as the magic was happening!
So, a good night that turned great (especially for a Tuesday!), restored my faith in my viability down there, didn't get busted, possibly lined up a coveted gig, and we pulled in $60 to boot (I don't know who put that twenty in there, but thanks!). I reckon all that makes it the Best. Night. Ever. down there.
But the Alley was empty, and I managed to bring all the required amplification stuff this time, so I set up there. Warren showed up after a while, and we noticed that Tom had finally left, so I moved down to The Corner. Not a lot of people out at first, but it was a nice night, and it was fun to just be playing, audibly. And with the wireless mic and guitar, I can wander out in front of the speaker to tune the volume and tone and feel good about what I sound like.
Mostly uneventful, until 7:30 or so when a guy came by and was listening with just a little *too much* interest. He actually seemed to be "studying" us -- he didn't/wouldn't request anything, but he took a picture of the song list, and I'm pretty sure he was doing some recordings, too. Not sure what that was about...
Then some ladies sat down to eat their ice cream, and I correctly guessed that the right song to do was "Jet Plane", which caused one of them to loudly sing along. She requested Don McLean, so I got to play my recently-learned "Vincent", which had 'em swooning. And I guess all that attention was contagious, because before I knew it, there was 8 or 10 middle-aged couples sitting and standing around, like some kind of concert or something. (Warren's picture above only captured part of the line-up.)I ran through all my best, sweetest, most nostalgic stuff. It was a pretty magical half-hour or so. Some of the people were brave enough to pick some songs, and lots of people came over to stuff the jar. I think it may have been a kind of "post dinner" thing -- people wandering home or to their cars, with no pressing schedule.
Anyway, as that started to break up, a couple came up to me and the lady, looking at my sign, asked, "Did you apply to play at the Sawdust Festival?" I said, "Yes, I did, but I haven't heard anything back yet." She said, "I'm on the Entertainment Committee. We're going to decide next week. You'll be getting a call."
Wow. Finally! I've been trying to get into the Sawdust Festival for years, but every time I remember to apply, it's been too late -- already all booked (at least that's what they tell me -- maybe they just think I suck and it's the easiest excuse). This year, I sent an email in January, but there's nothing like having someone actually come by and hear you -- especially since she happened to be there just as the magic was happening!
So, a good night that turned great (especially for a Tuesday!), restored my faith in my viability down there, didn't get busted, possibly lined up a coveted gig, and we pulled in $60 to boot (I don't know who put that twenty in there, but thanks!). I reckon all that makes it the Best. Night. Ever. down there.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach -- 10Mar2013
I thought I'd go down and see if there was any "nice weather" traffic out on a sunny Sunday, and there was. I was a little paranoid about getting busted again, presuming that, if it was the same Beach Patrol guy and he recognized me, I'd get a ticket instead of a warning this time. So I contemplated just going acoustic, if the reverb-y Alley was free, but brought the amp anyway in case Tom wasn't out on The Corner and I got tempted into risking it.
But when I got there (after a half-hour in a traffic jam caused by the Edison people stringing new power lines down Laguna Canyon Road), I discovered that I'd forgotten to bring the little rechargeable battery pack that powers the harmony box, and the wireless mic and guitar receivers. So I was stuck with an all-acoustic afternoon whether I wanted it or not.
Fortunately, the Alley *was* miraculously free, so I set up there and Warren appeared minutes later. It sounded OK, and I could hear myself pretty well, but nobody, and I mean nobody, even slowed down to listen. It was frustrating, but I was about to make it worse.
Tom was down on The Corner, so we couldn't have played there even if I had had the right equipment, but around 4:30 he came by us, leaving. I decided, since this wasn't working anyway, to go try playing acoustic down there (as I had last weekend after the "bust"), but Warren was due at home so he left.
Which was good for him, 'cuz it was *terrible*. It seemed much more noisy than it had last weekend, and I felt completely inaudible. I played my loudest songs, but was completely ignored. I kept trying, slamming away, but mercifully I was stopped when my parking meter time was up, and I went home depressed.
I guess the only good thing was that, in the whole three hours, I never saw that (or any) Beach Patrol, so I'm feeling a little safer to go down next weekend with the amp and all -- and hopefully, the battery to make it work...
But when I got there (after a half-hour in a traffic jam caused by the Edison people stringing new power lines down Laguna Canyon Road), I discovered that I'd forgotten to bring the little rechargeable battery pack that powers the harmony box, and the wireless mic and guitar receivers. So I was stuck with an all-acoustic afternoon whether I wanted it or not.
Fortunately, the Alley *was* miraculously free, so I set up there and Warren appeared minutes later. It sounded OK, and I could hear myself pretty well, but nobody, and I mean nobody, even slowed down to listen. It was frustrating, but I was about to make it worse.
Tom was down on The Corner, so we couldn't have played there even if I had had the right equipment, but around 4:30 he came by us, leaving. I decided, since this wasn't working anyway, to go try playing acoustic down there (as I had last weekend after the "bust"), but Warren was due at home so he left.
Which was good for him, 'cuz it was *terrible*. It seemed much more noisy than it had last weekend, and I felt completely inaudible. I played my loudest songs, but was completely ignored. I kept trying, slamming away, but mercifully I was stopped when my parking meter time was up, and I went home depressed.
I guess the only good thing was that, in the whole three hours, I never saw that (or any) Beach Patrol, so I'm feeling a little safer to go down next weekend with the amp and all -- and hopefully, the battery to make it work...
Sunday, March 03, 2013
K&W in Laguna Beach -- 03Mar2013
The nice weather was fading back into cold gloom, but we went down anyway. Nice sunset right behind us, though...Not a lot of action, but we did rope in some nice people, including one cuddly couple -- she was a big James Taylor fan, and he liked Jim Croce. Given the choice (and the titles in my song book), I did a bunch of James Taylor...
And the later it got, the quieter the traffic, so I fired up the recorder app in my iPad and got some low-fi recordings. Try these out:
In My Life
Only Exception
Over the Rainbow
Something in the Way She Moves
Sound of Silence
Waiting
You Can Close Your Eyes
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Keith in Laguna Beach -- 02Mar2013
Laguna Beach has an annual "Patriot's Day" parade, (though their long-standing title has been co-opted by the Federal 9/11 day). I thought that if I could get there just as the parade was over, there would be lots of people roaming the streets. And I was right. Unfortunately, the city had apparently called in some extra "law enforcement" for the event.
After about a half hour of playing, an elderly "Beach Patrol" guy came along and, very friendly-like, told me that I could keep playing, but I'd have to shut "that" (amplifier) off. I said, "Oh, OK, but it's pretty hard to compete with the traffic noise and motorcycles and stuff". He said, "They'll be able to hear you!", which is only barely true.
But I dutifully turned the amp off and took off my headset, and off he wandered. I flipped through the book and played only the strummed songs, shouting the words, but it doesn't feel much like music to me. Obviously, I'm harmony-less, but I'm also finesse-less, when I can't fingerpick and sing with some subtlety. I didn't have the guts to turn it back on after he'd gone, 'cuz I figured he'd be back, and about an hour later he did come around again to give me a big grin, and obviously, check up on me.
But, belying my impression of what I sounded like -- and whether or not I "sounded" like anything at all from 8 feet away -- I had people apparently listening pretty much the whole time. I was watching for a "nobody's here" window to pack up and leave in disgust, but I didn't get one for two hours. Or maybe they were just eating their ice cream and smiling at me out of politeness (or the funny hat). Hard to tell.
To top it off, a guy came up and asked me if I had a card, and said I 'had a good sound", and something about being a producer and a studio or something. I'm like, "What -- this?!?". I'm feeling like a Neanderthal out there, banging on rocks and shouting, and he *likes* it?!? Can he even hear it?!? But of course, he'll never call, so I guess it doesn't matter what he heard or thought he heard.
Anyway, I made $21 in tips, presumably entirely out of pity. And of course now I'm all paranoid again to go down there with the amp, though I'm pretty sure the guy was just a "temp" cop, since he obviously hasn't heard of the "look the other way if they're not causing any trouble" policy that the rest of the real cops seem to have in place.
Seems to me like the city ought to have a Maximum Volume law, and not this arbitrary "no electronics" one. There are plenty of modern instruments that depend on electricity to work (keyboards, synths, surf guitar, my harmony box, Warren's lead guitar and effects thereon, April's iPod boombox backing tracks, etc.), and musicians that are responsible enough to play them at reasonable levels (as many of us are doing now). But to have to live under the threat of getting busted for providing the city's citizens and tourists with some entertainment seems uncool.
After about a half hour of playing, an elderly "Beach Patrol" guy came along and, very friendly-like, told me that I could keep playing, but I'd have to shut "that" (amplifier) off. I said, "Oh, OK, but it's pretty hard to compete with the traffic noise and motorcycles and stuff". He said, "They'll be able to hear you!", which is only barely true.
But I dutifully turned the amp off and took off my headset, and off he wandered. I flipped through the book and played only the strummed songs, shouting the words, but it doesn't feel much like music to me. Obviously, I'm harmony-less, but I'm also finesse-less, when I can't fingerpick and sing with some subtlety. I didn't have the guts to turn it back on after he'd gone, 'cuz I figured he'd be back, and about an hour later he did come around again to give me a big grin, and obviously, check up on me.
But, belying my impression of what I sounded like -- and whether or not I "sounded" like anything at all from 8 feet away -- I had people apparently listening pretty much the whole time. I was watching for a "nobody's here" window to pack up and leave in disgust, but I didn't get one for two hours. Or maybe they were just eating their ice cream and smiling at me out of politeness (or the funny hat). Hard to tell.
To top it off, a guy came up and asked me if I had a card, and said I 'had a good sound", and something about being a producer and a studio or something. I'm like, "What -- this?!?". I'm feeling like a Neanderthal out there, banging on rocks and shouting, and he *likes* it?!? Can he even hear it?!? But of course, he'll never call, so I guess it doesn't matter what he heard or thought he heard.
Anyway, I made $21 in tips, presumably entirely out of pity. And of course now I'm all paranoid again to go down there with the amp, though I'm pretty sure the guy was just a "temp" cop, since he obviously hasn't heard of the "look the other way if they're not causing any trouble" policy that the rest of the real cops seem to have in place.
Seems to me like the city ought to have a Maximum Volume law, and not this arbitrary "no electronics" one. There are plenty of modern instruments that depend on electricity to work (keyboards, synths, surf guitar, my harmony box, Warren's lead guitar and effects thereon, April's iPod boombox backing tracks, etc.), and musicians that are responsible enough to play them at reasonable levels (as many of us are doing now). But to have to live under the threat of getting busted for providing the city's citizens and tourists with some entertainment seems uncool.
Friday, March 01, 2013
Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 01Mar2013
Nice weather, and lots of people out. Kinda slow at first, but then a surprising number of people stopped to actually listen for a while, hanging out around the planterboxes or the new comfy chairs. My brother and his wife came by, and probably helped by showing the others that it was OK to move the chairs and to actually pay attention to the music guy.
And it seemed like, the later it got, the more people were joining in, so I ended up playing for five and a half hours, ending at 11:30. The good part about being there so late is that the fountain goes completely off at 11, so it finally gets really quiet. I remembered to turn on the recording app in my iPad towards the end, and once the fountain noise disappears, the recordings are pretty passable. (If these links don't work in the email, go to the actual blog page by clicking the "y7alanzo" the link at the bottom.)
All My Loving
Hello
Wonderful Tonight
I was in the middle of a song, and a woman I used to work with at Toshiba walked up and stood there, holding out her business card. I couldn't take it from her, of course, but she stood there, and stood there, and stood there, looking at me expectantly. Finally she mouthed "Do you remember me?", and I nodded, trying to keep the song together at the same time. So she tossed the card on the table, turned around and left.
After the song was over I said, "I wonder how she thought I was going to take that card from her?", and everyone laughed, but now I realize that she thought I could read her name off of it, which, from 10 feet away, on a business card?!? Not likely. I don't know what her hurry was so she couldn't, say, wait a minute or two for the song to end and actually talk to me, but whatever.
Anyway, good night, good tips, and I'm finally over that cold enough that I didn't even notice it, or have to fight with it.
And it seemed like, the later it got, the more people were joining in, so I ended up playing for five and a half hours, ending at 11:30. The good part about being there so late is that the fountain goes completely off at 11, so it finally gets really quiet. I remembered to turn on the recording app in my iPad towards the end, and once the fountain noise disappears, the recordings are pretty passable. (If these links don't work in the email, go to the actual blog page by clicking the "y7alanzo" the link at the bottom.)All My Loving
Hello
Wonderful Tonight
I was in the middle of a song, and a woman I used to work with at Toshiba walked up and stood there, holding out her business card. I couldn't take it from her, of course, but she stood there, and stood there, and stood there, looking at me expectantly. Finally she mouthed "Do you remember me?", and I nodded, trying to keep the song together at the same time. So she tossed the card on the table, turned around and left.
After the song was over I said, "I wonder how she thought I was going to take that card from her?", and everyone laughed, but now I realize that she thought I could read her name off of it, which, from 10 feet away, on a business card?!? Not likely. I don't know what her hurry was so she couldn't, say, wait a minute or two for the song to end and actually talk to me, but whatever.
Anyway, good night, good tips, and I'm finally over that cold enough that I didn't even notice it, or have to fight with it.
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