When I got there at 3:30, Tom and Tommie were hanging out on the Ice Cream Shop corner, not actually playing, but "taking a break", and preventing anyone else from setting up there. So I went over to the Fingerhut Gallery corner and set up there, where I could watch to see if the Tommies packed up. Which they never did, though they took several long breaks. It bugs me when they hog the corner but aren't actually playing. Uncool.
Anyway, I was just there to experiment with the drum machine, which actually works quite well, though it's a bit of a production to get a song queued up. Before every song, I now have to: get the right capo setting and get tuned up on the guitar, find (or check for) the right harmony box preset and make sure it's in the right starting condition, get the drum app up on the iPhone, find the right tempo, find the right pattern, make sure it's Stopped ('cuz choosing a pattern also starts it playing), get the wire to the amp plugged in, hit Start, and quickly start playing, on the cue, at the right tempo.
And after all that, it's a bit tricky just to play along with it because I'm not really used to being held to a rigid tempo. It's even worse when the motorcycles come by and drown out the drums and I unexpectedly have to keep the pace by myself and hope I'm at the right spot when the drums become audible again.
But I'll probably only end up using it on the fast songs, which can use the drums to improve their dance-ability, and won't suffer too much from the rigidity of the robot drummer. Though I found a really nice pattern for "You've Got a Friend"...
Anyway, right after I got started, some college-age kids came over and were totally thrilled with my stuff, and were telling me "You're great!" in some strange accent. I asked, and they were from Kazakhstan. Quite a distance to come just to hear me! I also had a guy take my picture, and then explain, "Memories to Brazil." Indeed.
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Laguna Beach... Crossroads of the World!
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