K&W at Java Joe's, full gig -- 26March2008

A pretty good start, I think, for our first shot at this new (for us) venue. Unlike the Open Mic the night before, we got to use our own equipment, which, along with there being far fewer people there making noise, made the sound way better. I could hear what I was doing, and that's always a good thing.

There were probably 15 people overall, which is as good as many of our Borders nights. But the difference in atmosphere made it better just because people in a coffee shop recognize musicians as part of the scene, not an interruption, so they were more inclined to listen and join in.

With fewer people, and it being less "new", I was far more relaxed and was able to do a pretty good job of it. Gary of "Acoustic Conversation" was there the whole time -- he either really liked us, or had nothing better to do. He took some pretty good pictures for us with Warren's camera, asked for a few songs, made nice comments about some of them, was impressed with some of the selections on the list, and sang harmony from out at his table on a few of them.

Which, in retrospect, was probably an overture -- and one that I was too dense to recognize. At the open mic the night before, all the guys were automatically "honorary members" of each other's bands. And I'm sure my list of "hits of the 60's and 70's" lines up at high percentage with Gary's, so I’m sure he can sing the harmony just fine. Maybe the first gig was actually a little early anyway, but next time I'll definitely be open to the suggestion -- and prepare for it by having the other mic ready. And getting Gary up there will also be a good indication that we're being inducted into the club. It's actually flattering that he seems to think that we're "club material" already.

Another thing I noticed, and I can't believe I was so dense not to notice on Tuesday, was that they serve wine (I didn't see any beer, which is probably a good thing). There's a sign near the door that says that minors aren't allowed inside after 7pm. This, of course, makes all the difference in the nighttime attendance. We've played coffeeshops around here, and it's hard to get people out, 'cuz, duh, coffee is for mornings. With the Starbucks phenomenon that's changed a lot, but it's still not what people "my age" think of to do at night.

Anyway, Chuck the owner seemed pleased with us, enough that he went ahead and booked us for the next set of gigs. He apparently thinks we can join the ranks of the "headliners" that fill the place on Friday and Saturday nights... eventually. And once we have "a following", which he thinks we're certain to do, and apparently in only two more outings. So, we're booked for two upcoming Thursday nights, and then the first open Friday coming up, July 20th.

Along with those, and according to Chuck's wisdom, we will also (try to) play each of the preceding Tuesday night Open Mics, based on the "preview and hype" philosophy that appears to be working there. You play your three songs and repeatedly announce when you're playing next for people who like what they're hearing. I think maybe we ought to go play another one before real gigs start, too (April 15th?) -- just for the practice, exposure, and to keep the connection alive. Not to mention the fun and camaraderie.

When we were all done, Gary came up and threw two bucks into the big "tip pail" that Chuck has up by the stage, and so did the nice lady he had been talking to most of the night. That was all the tips we got, but Chuck had the coffeegirl make up two "take-out" packages full of pastries and muffins (that would be "day-old" anyway), and he put ten bucks under the rubber band of each of them for us. That was really nice of him. He also insisted that we take sodas with us "for the road" on our way out. It's strange to be treated like they actually *want* us there...

K&W at Java Joe's, open mic -- 25March2008

Amazing. The place was pretty much jammed the whole night. We got there during act number 4 or 5, and we were 8th or so. Turns out that, unlike the Gypsy Den Open Mic nights we've been to, the Java Joe's Open Mic is mainly the headliners of subsequent shows, previewing and hyping the upcoming gigs. At the Gypsy Den, it's all amateurs, trying to get a little stage time. There were a few beginners at Joe's, but mostly it was established bands, and recombined versions of them.

They're all old friends up there, and are happy to sit in with each other in any combination for percussion, backup vocals, or whatever. It's really just a big Music Party on Tuesdays. We were The New Guys, but they're all very friendly, and we met a bunch of guys that basically have the same "hobby" that we have. Neal, the guy we met the other night at Brea Downtown was there and recognized us like we were old high school buddies. We met Gary of "Acoustic Conversations", the band Daleen and I had seen at Brea DT last summer which prompted us (K&W) to get our gig there (with, hopefully, more to come). Also Mark, possibly the last holdout of the bunch that still stoops to play at Borders -- the rest of them have abandoned it in frustration and disgust, a perfectly understandable reaction to the way we're treated. And a nice guy named Patrick, and the "sound man" Scott, who "hosts" the evening, and brings all the equipment.

It's a big happy "club" really -- one I wouldn't mind belonging to (if not for the long drive...) (OK, even with the drive.)

We got to play three songs, which we had agreed upon on the drive home last Friday: "Desperado", "Fire and Rain", and "Let it Be". These are pretty clearly our "greatest hits" with audiences at Borders, and we've played them a few jillion times so we should theoretically have been able to pull them off even under pressure.

Pretty close.

Problem was, on top of nerves, the sound was pretty awful, from where I was standing anyway. Apparently, although I couldn't hear myself hardly at all, we were perfectly clear for the audience -- which is a chilling thought, since I had to just abandon hoping to know what I was up to and play (and sing) by faith. That's really hard, and scary, and especially, dangerous, 'cuz you don't know if or when you're making mistakes. You can almost play guitar by feel, but it's pretty tough to sing that way -- you have to be able to hear what's coming out, and adjust on the fly.

Anyway, although I couldn't tell, we appear to have done all right. Since it's a big party/reunion for the attendees, there's a lot of chatting and laughter going on in the room, even when the established guys are on. But we had some people tune in, and got a really warm response, generally. The owner (Chuck) seemed happy with us, and the other "club members" we talked to afterwards all said nice things. We seem to have "passed the audition".

Keith (solo) at Costa Mesa -- 22March2008

Interesting night. When I got there, there was (almost) nothing but men, sitting and reading or working on computers. I thought, "This is gonna be a tough one", but almost right away, a few guys were pretty impressed, and started paying attention and requesting songs. It's always gratifying to manage to break people out of what they came there to do (read and drink coffee) and get them into the music.

After a while, another guy came in, alone. He *really* liked me. He was, right away, clapping loudly and telling me "That was *excellent*!" and stuff like that, after every song. Wow -- pretty cool. Except...

There was a table next to him with 4 guys having a (pretty loud) Smarter-Than-Thou, Bible argument/discussion. I was just ignoring the frequent outbursts and loud talking, but Mr. Fan wasn't having it. He started off with some loud shushing, and when that didn't work, started in with, "Hey! There's a guy trying to *play* up here!" The Bible Guys, to their credit, ignored him for quite a while, but finally gave up and left.

Then he started in with the same treatment on the two ladies at the next table over who were studying for their Real Estate license exams. I don't know why they had to do it quite so loudly, but Mr. Fan launched into them, too. I kept trying to tell him "Oh, it's OK, I've had worse" and "I'm used to it" kinds of stuff, but he wanted "these people" to "show some respect!". Problem was, he wasn't doing me any favors -- it was mortifying to me for him to be making such a fuss.

The other problem with having a superfan is that he was monopolizing the setlist. He'd be yelling out his next request before the previous song's last chord had died out -- leaving no opportunity for anyone else to make a request, or for me to play one of the newer songs that aren't on the list yet. I had to stall him off a few times and specifically ask other people if they had something they wanted to hear.

Like the little group of "punks" that came in. The pink-haired girl with the dual-pierced lower lip and huge chest tattoo wanted to hear that punk classic, "Rainbow Connection", and then "Puff, the Magic Dragon". That was the Sex Pistols, right? Or was it Black Flag?

K&W at Yorba Linda -- 21March2008

Eventful night. We left early so we could drop by "Brea Downtown" to see if we could find out anything about why we're not getting any response from the lady that books the entertainment there. I figured that if nobody was there setting up, it didn't really tell us anything, but if there *was* somebody there, we'd at least know that it was still happening, and maybe find out more.

As it turned out, a nice guy named Neal was setting up, so Step One confirmed. We talked to him, and he says the incommunicado Linda is still in charge, but she's usually easier to raise on the phone, not email -- so I guess Warren will start trying that. With any luck, we'll get another shot at that place.

Then, on to the Yorba Linda Borders. It's pretty nice when the coffee girl lets out a little "Yay!" when she spots us coming in. We clearly, at minimum, suck less than whoever else she might be expecting.

As we were setting up, a little girl in "Heelies" zipped over to me and asked if I was "from the YMCA". She hadn't, but her dad had recognized me from the Princess campouts. Not sure why somebody in the Mission Viejo YMCA program was hanging out at the Yorba Linda Borders, but he never came over. Nice to be recognized, though.

Otherwise, a pleasant, normal night. Until later, when seven 12-year-old girls came in. They were having a fun time, pretended to dance for a while, and then went over to the counter to buy some hot chocolate, etc. I've been learning "Hey There Delilah", which is a pretty popular new song, so I started playing it, thinking they might recognize it, which proved to be very much correct. They all perked up and came flying over to sit in the comfy chairs up front, many of them singing along. Then they noticed the song lists ("We get to request songs?!?"), and started asking for kid songs: "...Friend In Me", "Rubber Duckie", "Puff", "Over the Rainbow", etc.

They were pretty fun to play for, generally polite, except they didn't seem to have the attention span to actually listen all the way through the songs that they'd asked for. They probably didn't really need those lattes and cappuccinos they were ordering.

After that, we went to check out a place called "Java Joe's", which we'd heard about off and on for a while, and keeps popping up on other local bands' schedules. It's just 3 or 4 miles down the road from the Yorba Linda Borders, so we decided to drop by and see what was up. If it turned out to be as lame as the local coffee shops we've tried to play at, we could just drive away.

We got there at 10:55, and the place was *jumpin'*! A three-piece band (drum set, acoustic guitar, and conga, with three-part vocals) was jammed onto the little stage, and 15 or 20 people were down front, dancing! Another 15 were sitting and talking, either inside or out on the sidewalk where it was quieter. Amazing.

We watched for a while and decided we were definitely "in". So we found the owner (Chuck), and Warren just blurted out, "We want to play here!", to which the Chuck said, "I *want* you to play here!" We all retired to the relative quiet of his office, and he signed us up for the very next Tuesday's "Open Mic Night", where we can play 3 songs, and hype any other appearances, including the also-booked Wednesday night full-sized gig. My head's still spinning...

The bad part is, only 3 days to "prepare" -- the good part, only 3 days to worry. We've gotten all-too-comfortable playing at the various Borders stores, there's no fear left -- it's not like anybody's actually listening. But this place is an actual Music Place. People come there to (a) drink and talk, and (b) listen to live music. On purpose. That makes it quite a bit different.

K&W at South Coast Plaza -- 14March2008

Not a lot of people there, but we almost always had somebody listening, so it was OK. While we were setting up, a pair of ladies sat down up front, and were watching intently, clearly waiting for us to start. They listened closely for several songs, asking for favorites, and clapping appreciatively. After a while, they had to leave, and the older one (the mom?) got a fiver out of her purse as they were packing up, and asked, "Where's your tip jar?" This being the (only) store that's told us that we can't have a tip jar, that was a tough question. I felt like I couldn't blurt out "We're not allowed to have one" over the microphone, but we kind of fumbled around awkwardly for a while and settled on letting her drop the fiver on the extra speaker over next to me.

Then, to top it off, she asked, "Do you have CDs?" We are, of course, not allowed to sell CDs anymore either (well, we are, but only "through the store", which is far more trouble than it's worth). I said, well, yes, I have some in the suitcase here, and got one out and handed it to her. She asked how much it was and I told her that she'd already paid for it (with the fiver). But she didn't want to let it go at that, and fetched out 2 more dollars to drop on the speaker. Awkward. Having a tip jar seems a little needy and tacky to me, but not having one turns out to be worse. People want to be able to show their appreciation, and you have to give them a way.

We had a gap for a while where nobody (appeared to be) listening, so I played some new stuff I've been working up: "Hey There Delilah", Tom Waits' "I Hope that I Don't Fall In Love With You", and Roy Orbison's (via Chris Isaak) "Only the Lonely". I don't usually learn (i.e., obsess over) three new songs in one week, but they ganged up on me, what can I say?

After a while, a couple that we've seen there before dropped into the comfy chairs up front and wanted to hear some James Taylor. Apparently, the guy is learning guitar, and wanted to watch me play some of those. I pointed out that James is a much better (trickier?) guitar player than he's generally given credit for, and the secret to playing his stuff is to have 35 years of playing under your belt. Not to be too discouraging, but just strumming the chords doesn't work with 95% of the James songs.

And then after they left, my brother and his wife came in. While they were there, another guy requested some Gordon Lightfoot. This is the same store that I got two Lightfoot requests last time. Fortunately, right after that I went home and learned his Biggest Hit, "If You Could Read My Mind", so I played it, and did pretty well, considering I just learned it.

But then Roy wanted "10 Degrees and Gettin' Colder", another Lightfoot song he knows I play, so I did that, which spun me off into some other songs in that "Drop D" tuning: "Can't Find My Way Home", "Four and Twenty" and "Five O'Clock World".

We played well past the "2 hours" maximum, but we know that place is friendly, and we ran into the nice manager on the way out and talked to him about it and he didn't have any problem. He loves us. I'm sure we could, and probably will, appeal the No Tip Jar rule with him and he'd let us do it again. Or maybe we'll just put it out next time and plead ignorance/forgetfulness if called on it.

K&W at the Santa Ana Zoo -- 02March2008

Well, apparently it *is* all happening at the zoo. Or most of it anyway...

We played the relatively-new "Family Farm" section of the Santa Ana Zoo, for its 56th Birthday Weekend. There's a nice stage back there, between the chicken coop and the goats, and they even put out some chairs to make a little "audience" for us. Assuming people came and sat in 'em, of course.

It's kind of hidden back in the corner, and we were dreading either no traffic at all, or people we wouldn't know how to play for. But it turned out to be almost entirely young families with infant to about 7-year-old kids. Kids that young usually don't actually know any particular songs (I've had that experience before, with the Indian Princesses), but they can sometimes be fascinated by guys-with-guitars anyway, so it can still work.

We had one little boy whose dad kept dragging him away, but would show up again a few minutes later. We had small families with parents glad for the chance to sit a while. And we had a few teen volunteers who thought that we weren't half-bad, and asked for a song or two.

What we *didn't* have was 5th grade tough boys asking for ACDC or "Smoke On the Water" to pump up their macho cred. We were half-prepared for that ('cuz we see that a lot when we play at elementary schools), but fortunately we didn't have to deliver.

We played about half kids songs, and half up-tempo rock or country-rock. We started right when the zoo opened so we didn't have much traffic right at first, but it got better as time went on. We play the grown-up songs when there was nobody sitting down so folks were just wandering by, but then when some kids would sit down, I'd play something for them, to see how long I could keep 'em.

One set of parents set their little 2-year-old boy down and kind of danced around next to him, clearly encouraging him to dance, too. But he just stood there, frozen solid, entranced, but immobile. I quickly switched to the "How can you *not* dance" classic, "Twist and Shout", but he just stood and stared, a statue of a boy. It was funny 'cuz his parents were so convinced...

The management seems to have liked us, too, and wants to put us "up front" next time -- an area right at the entrance and exit that was occupied by the model railroaders for the birthday bash. That will be a better place to play, no doubt, 'cuz everybody comes through there, twice, and the concession stand with its picnic tables form a captive audience.

There's a little electric train that carries 15 or twenty passengers around the place, and it could come by directly behind the stage we were on, every 3 or 4 songs. It was fun, 'cuz suddenly an audience would appear behind me, but briefly, and I was always in the middle of a song. So I'd spin around and sing and smile at the train people, but it was tricky 'cuz I was suddenly without my chords and words book. But I apparently know those songs better than I think I do, 'cuz I never messed up while the train was there -- though I screwed up plenty of times while I was staring right at the book.

So, despite the wind, we had a pretty good time, so I guess we'll be back there for "more fun" a time or three. But Warren's not too fond of playing kids songs, so it may end up to be me, solo, pretty quick. We didn't put a tip jar or guitar case out this time (the money would'a blown away anyway), but Warren asked technician Steve about it afterwards and he said it's totally OK. And, out front, where there's lots of what Steve calls "stroller moms", it may turn out to be lucrative.

Keith solo at Yorba Linda -- 29Feb2008

Nice night. Kinda quiet, but it got better, as they usually do. A friend from work, Tony, came by with his two little kids. The boy (5?) was too shy to react much, but the little girl (3?) really liked "Rubber Ducky". Walked up and asked me to play it again 5 minutes later in her tiny little voice. They didn't stay very long, but it was nice to have somebody from work actually hear me, finally. Not that he's the first, but pretty close.

Also, an old Indian Princess friend and his daughter dropped in right at the beginning -- I have to imagine just by coincidence. He bellowed out "Play 'Dancing With Bears'!", so I did (except it's "*Waltzing*"). The may have listened to one more song, and left. Other plans, I suppose.

My wedding couple were there, too, again. She asked for some of the songs that she wants me to play at the wedding (in July), but I think we're pretty squared away, except for how long "Something" runs versus how far she has to walk during it. I'd hate to have her hit the altar in the middle of the second verse. I'll have to figure out how to gracefully quit at various points in the song, before I get there.

I played right up to 10:00, but it turns out that they close that store at midnight, so I played a little more, until I was getting paranoid because of our recent troubles on that account, and quit at 10:20-ish. There was a guy who seemed to be the manager-in-charge for the night, and he thanked me graciously as I was packing up, so I don't think I made anybody mad. (He had, in fact, dropped some money in the jar earlier on -- it's strange when the staff does that...)

As I was walking out the front, which is pretty far from the café where I was playing, the front desk girl called out "Thanks for playing for us!" That was pretty sweet.

Keith at Costa Mesa -- 23Feb2008

A very quiet night. People seemed to like the music, but it was one of those "don't break the silence" vibes that keeps people from clapping -- except one guy over in the comfy chairs and a young lady at one of the tables with her boyfriend. She clapped after every song, but she never once looked at me -- odd.

I kept trying to tell myself that if I wasn't there playing, I'd probably be at home either watching TV, or playing in the bedroom, and nobody'd be clapping there, either. So to just enjoy being out, and consider it a rehearsal. It's actually just plain more fun to play through the amp, and especially to sing through it, with the reverb and all. I tell myself that, but it still bugs me when I get to the end of a song and people just sit there, silent. Even if it wasn't me up there, I'd still consider it pretty rude. Poor boy up there giving it what he's got -- toss him a bone!

Anyway, the total silence makes it easy to hear myself, which makes me sing and play better 'cuz I can tell what I'm doing. And my voice was finally back to normal after my cold, and I was completely in control again -- even (only?) I was amazed at what I could hit/do. That's a great feeling.

And since I was (apparently) just playing "for me" anyway, I took the chance to play some of the less common/popular songs, "Down On Yourself", "Jersey Girl", "Under the Boardwalk", etc. Some of that stuff is just great fun to lean back and belt out.

A lady sat down at one of the tables at 9:40 or so. I quit promptly at 10, and when I went out to collect the song lists, she asked me if I played "events". This time, I had the presence of mind not to hedge or dodge, and just say "Yes!" She works at (?) an art gallery in Long Beach (!) and she thought they might want to have me come play for something or other, an opening or show or something -- she didn't give any specifics. She isn't actually in charge of it, but she was gonna suggest me to the lady who is, so I gave her a CD to take, and told her to email me if it worked out. As of this writing, that was 4 days ago now, so I'm not holding my breath.

But, apparently I wasn't playing "for myself" after all -- I need to remember that: despite the No-Response, people really are (or may be, anyway), listening. Kind of reversed the whole evening for me -- even if she never calls.

K&W at Mission Viejo -- 16Feb2008

Not as good as last time at MV, but pretty good. I think the basic difference was that last time I "had their attention" somehow, and this time, some, but not so much. Pretty good fun, nonetheless.

The sound was a pretty big problem, almost all the way through. My guitar was either mysteriously disappearing, or getting swallowed up by the ambient noise; the usual grinders and blenders, but, I think, mostly the general din of conversations bouncing right around the place. "Live room", I guess. Makes a big difference between "getting their attention" and not, 'cuz it'll affect the amount of conversation you have to play over. It's a good place to play because it's close to my house, and close enough that there's a chance some friends may come out (only one did, this time), but it's definitely the worst sound environment we've played at.

I kept playing with the controls for my guitar, but it's hard to figure out what to do when, during the previous song, it was both too loud and too quiet. I kept tweaking the tone, but I think in the end I was (unknowingly) trying to find some kind of tone that would cut through the noise. I got somewhere close, and just proceeded on faith, but later on when it got emptier and quieter, the guitar sound magically wasn't a problem anymore.

As a joke, I made some stickers for my guitar to make it look like a "Guitar Hero" controller. A few people "got it", but most people didn't, and seemed to think it was some kind of remedial guitar. So I've taken them off. I thought it was a pretty good joke, myself, but on the other hand, they'd occasionally throw me off and I'd grab the wrong fret, oddly enough. I guess I'm too used to a completely blank fingerboard.

One guy who definitely didn't "get it" was a friendly but kinda loopy guy who came to sit right down front, and proceeded to sing, loudly, along with every song he knew. I ended up trying to find songs that would entertain everybody else, but that he wouldn't know, but he's in some kind of songwriter/singer club, and he knows lots of songs. Finally Warren leaned over and shushed him, multiple times, until he figured it out. It's cool that he was having fun, but (a) the people around him, I think, wanted to hear me, not him, and (b) it was confusing to me to have him singing the songs differently than I do, and fumbling for the words and screwing me up.

One high point, though, was little Garrett (maybe 3?) and his dad that came in and sat right down front. The kid apparently plays "Guitar Hero", so he recognized my guitar, and he wanted to dance and "air guitar" while we were playing. I enlisted him to make train noises with the shaker while we played "Jenny Dreamed of Trains", and he did pretty well. I started conspicuously tapping my foot to try to get/keep him on beat, but he saw that and tried to imitate it, which along with the shaker, overloaded his coordination and almost made him fall over. It was really cute, and the rest of audience was enjoying watching him, too.

Keith (solo) at South Coast Plaza -- 15Feb2008

Mostly uneventful, quiet, pleasant night. Bill and MaryJane came and stayed a long time, and that's always really nice for me. I dug into the "Dad's CD" section of my book, 'cuz I knew they'd remember those songs.

A young couple came in and, for no apparent reason, hung out in the aisle of books to my right for most of the night, sitting on the floor. He was skimming books, she was sketching. The guy asked if I knew any Gordon Lightfoot, meaning, apparently, "If You Could Read My Mind", 'cuz he hadn't heard of the 4 or 5 songs that I know or knew -- not that I could'a played 'em anyway, except "10 Degrees and Gettin' Colder", but he didn't know it, so I didn't bother. He enjoyed my "Simon and Garfunkle" songs, though, so, close enough.

But 20 minutes later, a 40-ish guy came in and sat down in the comfy chairs with a book, and after a while he looked up and asked if I knew any Gordon Lightfoot! Too weird. I said, "That guy just asked me that!", but they didn't know each other. He didn't know "10 Degrees" either. Guess I'll have to go learn "Read My Mind"...

No drama at all over the tip jar or CD rack. I was hoping the "real manager", an older guy who's *very* friendly to us, would come by so I could say "Shame about that tip jar rule" and see if he said (a) "Yup, it's a shame", or (b) "Oh, just ignore that rule!", or (c) "What tip jar rule?". But he didn't come by, and when I tried to go see him at the end of the night, he was way too busy with customers.

The Lightfoot fan's girlfriend over in the aisle asked me as I was tearing down if I "had a tip jar or something". I told her I did, but that I wasn't allowed to put it out anymore. I told her that it was OK, though, I'm not in it for the money. Frankly, it made setup and teardown a lot simpler, not having to put all that stuff out there. But it is nice to be compensated at least a little, and, as Warren always says, it's a nice form of feedback about whether or not you're doing anything right. We made $18 each at Mission Viejo the next night. That pays for a couple of the next week's lunches...

One odd thing -- towards the end, a nicely-dressed 20-something black guy came in, sat down and was pointedly listening. To the point of "studying" me. I'm not sure why -- he didn't seem to be a guitar player picking up tips (I can usually recognize those), and he didn't have any particular questions or requests. Oddly, he wasn't in a hurry to take a look at the list, even after I pointed it out to him. And after a while, he asked if he could take my picture (with his phone). Huh? I said, "Sure, send me a copy", but I wonder what he wanted a picture for. Sometimes people seem "too interested" and hang out to the end, and then ask us about how to get a gig like this -- but he left, kinda suddenly, a few songs before the end. If he hadn't been so slow to grab a list, I'd be wondering if he was with the RIAA or something, gathering evidence.

No picture in my email yet, either...

K&W (-W) at Yorba Linda - 08Feb2008

(This was supposed to be "Keith & Warren" but turned into "just Keith" when Warren called in sick. Hope he's well enough to play Mission Viejo next Saturday...)

A quietly appreciative crowd this time, I guess. I couldn't seem to raise much of a reaction from the readers and studiers that were there when I got there, until the last half hour or so when some more demonstrative ladies came in and were requesting James Taylor songs. Which, of course, I was happy to oblige.

They were friendly enough, most people were willing to state a song preference, but just not very loudly. One of those "feels like it ought to be quiet in here" nights. It's that "library ambiance". But, at the end, there were 27 bucks in the tip jar, and the front check-out counter lady came over specially while I was tearing down to tell me that "a whole lot of customers told me how much they liked your music", so they were liking it, just not showing it so much.

I put the tip jar and CD display out, bold as you please, and nobody said a word. Apparently, the enforcement of the tip jar ban is a matter of local management discretion. And the management loves us there.

Last Friday at Tustin, a 20-something lady and her boyfriend sat and listened for the last hour or so, asking for some songs and generally being right there with me. That was great, but at the end, she came right up and asked me if I played weddings. I said that I haven't, but certainly could, and she could send me the particulars by looking me up on the website address on the card.

Now, when Warren and I started playing at Tully's 6 (!) years ago, I thought that this might happen with some frequency. It's a brilliant way to find a band for your party -- anonymously visit coffeeshops and if the band sucks or is inappropriate, you just leave -- nobody the wiser, and nobody's feelings hurt. But, so far, it's only happened, what, twice? Maybe we "suck"...

Anyway, since it so rarely happens, I didn't put much stock in it, but she really did email me, and we've gone back and forth on the details and price, and, lately, the songs she wants, so it appears like it's really gonna happen. July 26. She wants to walk down the aisle to my odd, fingerpicked version of the Beatles' "Something". I'm not sure how good a marching tune it is, but that's kinda cool.

In fact, all but one of the songs she's picked off my list are, ahem, "retro". Now, it's true that, if you pick songs from my list, you'll end up with 99% "old songs", but she's requested for me to learn some others that aren't on the list, and they're seriously retro, too; "Time in a Bottle" and "Longer"!?! All these songs were written before she was born! I can't tell if she hired me 'cuz the wedding's retro, or if the wedding's retro 'cuz she hired me.

K&W at South Coast Plaza -- 02Feb2008

Despite an entirely tepid audience, we had a pretty good time. Since I couldn't seem to raise a reaction at all from anybody, I decided that I might as well make it fun for me (and hopefully, Warren) so I played through a lot of the "still working on these" songs, and the songs that are the most fun for me to sing and/or play.

I watched a guy pick up and buy one of my "Dad's Songs" CDs, so I figured I ought to sing a few of them, despite Warren never having played some of them. So we did "Lemon Tree" (which I've been doing quite often lately, and am thinking of moving onto The List, 'cuz it really "works"), but also "I Have Been a Rover", "Try to Remember" and lastly "Four Strong Winds". They all went really well, even though I hadn't played most of them for a long, long time.

I was "in good voice" again, and was playing pretty well, too. I may just be getting better, so even "the hard ones" aren't that hard anymore. Must be the two half-hour walks that I take everyday at work, with my electric guitar and headphone amp. I'm getting a *lot* of practice. Anyway, since hardly anyone was really listening, I also "pulled out all the stops", vocally, and had fun just wailing on the songs.

As we were packing up, though, the presumed store manager (or night/assistant manager) came over and informed us that the policy was changing (again), and not only would we have to sell CDs "through the store" (handing over 40% in the process), but we wouldn't be allowed to even have a tip jar anymore. This is getting pretty ridiculous -- they almost seem to be actively trying to get all the musicians to walk away. What's next? All gigs must be preformed standing on one foot? We have to pay them? "Gee, that's a real pretty little guitar you got there, pal. It'd be a shame if something was to happen to it..."

Anyway, I didn't hear anything about this policy-change the night before in Tustin, so this may be applicable only to this one store's over-zealous manager (shame, since it's our favorite store to play in). But even if it's real, permanent, and county-wide, I'll still keep playing there. It's degrading to be treated so badly by the management, but just to have a place to play for people makes it worth it. I'm not there for the 6 or 12 or 20 dollars -- I'm there to play, and I'd do it even with no tips and no CD sales. I may have to think twice about the further away of the stores, though. It costs me 10 bucks just to drive out to Yorba Linda or Brea and back, and it's nice to at least have a chance to break even if the tips come in. We'll have to see how it goes at Yorba Linda next week...

Keith (solo) at Tustin -- 02Feb2008

Big fun! When I got there, there was a *very* familiar-looking little girl and her dad. I thought that maybe they were Indian Princess acquaintances, but it turns out that they had seen us play at the late-lamented Santa Margarita store, almost 3 years ago, as reported in this blog post.

Little Paige (she's 12 now) is just as charming, bold, and sassy as she was back then. She was there with her dad and her two "BFFs", a pair of look-alike sisters. The three of them had matching headbands and purses. Too cute. Her dad was actually there to see the band that was playing on the outdoor stage, just outside of Borders, but was waiting in the café until they started up. He went out there when we could hear them playing, but Paige and her friends stayed inside with me. They wanted to hear some Bear songs ("Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "Waltzing With..."), and some Beatles. It was great to have a clear way to get started, and they're a great audience, bustling around me, asking questions, and taking pictures and videos of me with their cell phones.

Later on, my brother and his wife came by, and happened to "steal" the girls' chairs, since they were up by me taking video. When Paige complained to Roy, he told them that he was my brother, which they didn't believe until I nodded (mid-song) to confirm. Then they were all instant pals and had some conversation as I tried to go on singing.

Paige's dad eventually came and took them away, and I think one of the sisters bought a "Bears" CD (Paige already has one). Later on after Roy and Keri had left, I looked over at the not-very-conveniently placed tip jar, and it looked like there was only one dollar in it. But at some point, somebody got up to put some money in it, and the rest of the room must have finally noticed it, 'cuz suddenly lots of people were up there buying CDs and filling the jar. Usually we don't sell any CDs at all, sometimes 1 or 2. This time, I sold 6! I set out 4 of each, and all 4 "Live" CDs sold, and 1 each of the "Bears" and "Tribute to My Dad" CDs. This was the first time I'd brought any of those, having only recently decided that I did some pretty good work on that one, and some people might prefer that era of songs. Apparently so. I made $33.56 in tips -- I think the little girl just gave me all the money she had, including $1.56 in change.

Towards the end, I looked out and noticed that there were several groups of people standing and listening. The café is pretty small, so they run out of places for people to sit pretty quickly, so standing out in the store is the only option. Other than just walking away, of course. It's pretty flattering when people will stop their shopping and stand there listening for a while.

Overall, great night. Originally, it was supposed to be a K&W gig, but Jim had to drop out of the J&W gig at South Coast Plaza the next night, so I took that one over for him, leaving Warren the option of one or the other, and he chose to leave me solo at this one. You just never know when it's gonna be great or lame, 'cuz it's almost entirely dependent on the audience. We're pretty much the same every time, it's the audience reaction that makes all the difference.

Keith (solo) at Costa Mesa -- 25Jan2006

Pretty mediocre. Not many people there, and those that were, weren't very interested in what I was up to. So I just struggled through most of the night, except finally a young guy and his girlfriend came over, and he was *totally* into it. He said he was a guitar player himself, and played some James Taylor songs, and wanted to hear (and watch) me play some. So that was fun, until he couldn't stand it anymore and said he "had to get home and play some guitar!"

Later a nice older lady and her daughter wandered over, and she clearly really liked me, too. She not only clapped at the end of the songs (which, when you're the only one doing it, is hard enough), but made nice comments, too. Then she spotted the CDs and sign. She studied them for a while and apparently made her decision, and said she'd have to go out to the car to get some cash. And off she went.

20 minutes later, I had decided that she was just spoofin' me, but she finally reappeared and put some money in the jar and took a CD, sure enough.

The Cranky Girl was there, running the café almost single-handed since she'd lost some staff lately (gee, I wonder why someone wouldn't want to work for *her*). I think she was OK with me this time though, 'cuz I asked her where she wanted me to set up. She pointed out a wouldn't'a-been-my-choice spot, but I set up there anyway -- just to let her feel in control. I forgot to take a break, but I did quit right at 10:00, so hopefully I didn't invoke her wrath...

I'm "For Sale"!

To cover the costs of the extra art classes, the High School of the arts where my daughter Geneva goes requires (a) some tuition of course, and also (b) an annual donation of "an item worth $50 or more" that they auction off at the big ritzy "Gala" fundraiser/show each Spring. Last year, Daleen made some kind of gift basket, but this year, she decided that we should auction off a "Live musical performance by Keith Comer". We put down that I'm "worth" $200 (!), and sent in a set of CDs, and some pictures of me singing.

Click here to see the auction.

The Items are posted alphabetically, and mine is titled "An Evening of Entertainment" so I'm on the first page (of 11). Third row, second column.

The auction went live last night, and, as of right now, there's already one bid! 75 bucks! Most of the stuff hasn't even been bid on yet. It's nice to know that I'll at least not go un-bid-upon. Feels a little weird to be "up for sale", though. I'm also hoping that, considering "An Evening of Entertainment", that the lady that bid on me read down a ways and understands that I'll be singing and playing guitar, not, um, other things...

K&W at Yorba Linda -- 19Jan2008

Well, as badly as last week went, this week was terrific. We had a pretty fair amount of audience rapport going, pretty early on, 'cuz I somehow managed to start right out with an announcement. That's usually hard to do -- too hard, so I don't. I guess it's basically impossible if nobody is looking at me when it's time to start. If somebody, anybody, is, then I can talk right to them, and of course everybody hears me -- I'm the guy with the mic. I always tell myself that I'll just do the first song "cold", and then people will be looking at me so I'll make the startup announcement after that. It's a nice idea, but that hardly ever happens either.

Anyway, my cold isn't gone yet, but it was sufficiently out of the way that I could sing. I got pretty dry after an hour or so, but I had some cough medicine with me, so I took a small swig of that. Subsequently, I was singing like I've never sung before. Totally clear, and easier up to the high notes than, literally, ever. I hate to attribute it to the medicine, but it's hard not to.

Also, I was thinking clearer, or faster, than usual, too, so all the "hard parts" seemed not-so-hard. I seemed to have more bandwidth than usual, and I felt like I could really pay attention to the singing -- and could try, and get away with, anything I wanted to -- and still not lose track of the guitar parts. It was pretty magical, frankly. The neo-hippie/cyberpunks used to swear that pseudoephedrine (a decongestant) was also a synapse-aid that makes you think clearer, so it's hard not to attribute the mental clarity to the medicine, too.

Anyway, it was a great night -- lots of requests, and a (much better) run-through of the newest song; James Taylor's "Never Die Young". We barely made any tips, but would have done even worse if not for...

As we were packing up, a little 2-year-old blonde was staring at me from the back of the café. I waved at her, as I am wont to do, to see if she'd wave back. Her mom watched to see if she would, and they ended up coming closer. The amp was off and I had taken off my headset, but I still had my guitar strapped on. I walked over toward them, and was asking the little girl if she wanted to dance, and her mom was making encouraging noises at her, so I sat down on one of the comfy chairs to be down at her level and broke into my in-process "Twist and Shout / La Bamba" medley, just acoustic, with her kind of bumbling around and turning some circles out in front of me, clearly enjoying it. The mom must have thought that that was pretty fun too, 'cuz she dropped a fiver in the jar when the dance was over and we went back to packing up after some bye-byes.

Keith solo at Mission Viejo -- 05Jan2008

Well, I hate to say "Triumphant return", but it kinda was. The last time I/we played the Mission Viejo store was exactly 51 weeks ago, last January. We didn't know it at the time, but we got black-listed after that show, though we still don't know why. It could be that someone complained about the 15 or 20 Trailmate friends that showed up and kind of disrupted the place. It did seem kind of tacky, but how am I supposed to control my "fans"? Or it could have been my inability to hide my displeasure with the contingent of loud, rude, "regulars" who park down front in the comfy chairs, and hold boisterous conversations, making it hard to play for the people who'd like to hear the music.

Anyway, somehow, I got booked back there (probably one of the booking guy's frequent mistake/oversights -- this it the first one that was in my favor, though). First happy surprise: no regulars. Or at least, none of the noisy rude ones. I may have recognized one of the nice older ladies, but she's one of the quiet, supportive ones.

Second happy surprise: the manager was "Sally", a sweet little red-haired lady who's always loved us -- particularly because she's a huge James Taylor fan. She was thrilled to see me, told me confidentially that all the bands that "they" have sent in the last eight months have been "crap", and was, of course, totally unaware of our black-listing. She said she'd email the District Manger first thing Monday and get that fixed.

Third happy surprise: she'd come up with a new "stage" setup. Instead of putting us out in the main aisle of the store, facing into the café, but with our back to the books, she cleared a space over against the windows, so I could face into the whole store and not have distracting traffic behind my back all night. Better sound, too. And, if the Regulars had shown up, the comfy chairs were as far away from me as possible, rather than right in my face.

Even better, the process of her announcing that "the entertainment is here" and that the sitting people would have to shuffle their tables back to clear me some room, while, you'd think, somewhat annoying, was a good introduction that got the audience ready to accept my presence. This is hard to describe, but *very* useful, in terms of getting "into" the room and getting connected to the audience.

My cold, which had almost undone me the night before, was under control, so I was singing pretty darn well. I was somehow ultra-hyped-up, though -- nervous about the "new" setting, or needing it to go well, or caffeine mixed with cough medicine, or a combination, I guess. I was pretty spun-out and ragged the first half-hour or so, but settled in and did OK for the rest of the night.

I actually had most of the room involved -- almost competing to get their requests in. One of the coffee girls spent her break listening and requesting Willie Nelson tunes. A girl to my left with lots of books and a laptop, usually a recipe for someone who will *not* be involved, asked out of the blue if I knew "Lemon Tree". This is a very unusual request from a 20-something college student, and it was amazing to be able to say yes, since I'd learned it for my "Dad's Album". Of course, I don't play it very often, and it's way trickier than it sounds, but I pretty much nailed it anyway.

My buddy Ralph from Indian Princesses showed up with his daughter, and his wife and her friend. Also, our neighbor Patty came in with two of her kids. Playing in a place that's near enough for friends to come by is why I want to get "back in" to this store. I was afraid to send out a broad notice since my cold was getting so bad I was afraid I'd either have to cancel or play/sing badly, but hopefully it won't be another year before I play there again.

One more anomaly -- the website said that I was starting at 7:00, so I did. Usually, that means that the store closes at 10:00 (and stores that close at 11 start the music at 8), but at 9:30 or so I asked the Willie-fan coffee girl what time they closed, and she said, "11 o'clock -- you have time to play 'Pancho and Lefty' again!" So I did, of course, but it also meant that I ended up playing from 7:15 until 10:30 -- pretty long to sing on a trashed voice. (Made 40 bucks, too, and on only one CD sale -- and with the tip jar in a pretty inconvenient place. I'd expected to come home empty-handed!)

Anyway, great night, big fun for me, Sally seemed *very* pleased. Sang nearly every song I know, and some I barely do. Limped home with trashed voice, fingers and knees -- but worth every bit of it.

K&W (-W) at Tustin -- 04Jan2008

We were both pretty sick, but although Warren couldn't make it, I decided that I had to at least try, if only to see if I could pull it off, so I'd know whether or not I could make it to the important re-introduction to Mission Viejo gig the next night. With enough cough medicine, I actually managed OK, and although I had to abort two songs due to uncontrollable coughing fits, the small audience seemed to be sympathetic.

As I was tuning up, an older guy saw my sign and asked me if I knew a guy named "Don Comer". I said that that was my dad's name, and he told me that he had worked with him back at McDonald/Douglas. That was kinda fun, and he sat and listened appreciatively for a while.

Mostly uneventful, otherwise. Pretty small turn-out, 'cuz of the rain and all, I guess. Had a young family come by and the dad asked to hear "I Don't Want To Live On the Moon", a Sesame Street song I learned a long time ago, but nobody's ever asked for -- I think I even dropped it from the K&W list, just for the space. But it's a great kids' song, though I don't think his 7-year-old daughter had ever heard it...

Keith at Brea -- 17Nov2007

Well, I suppose it's only fair that the best gig we've had in a long time (Brea Downtown last week) should be followed by the worst gig I've had, probably ever. My own fault, though -- I shoulda known better than to accept Geneva's offer to come along and take some video of my performance. I always fall apart when I know the camera's watching me, I just didn't expect to fall apart so badly. Luckily for Warren, I was solo.

I knew I wouldn't be able to relax at first, so I did several songs without the tape running. But it didn't help much -- as soon as the camera *was* running, I started making huge mistakes in every song.

Fortunately (?!?) it didn't matter anyway, because I had wired up an external microphone to the camera, hoping to get only the amp's output, and none of the talking, crashing and grinding of the coffeeshop. This turned out to be a big mistake, because the mic caused a loud buzz/hum on the audio track, all the way through. I tried to use some audio software to remove the buzz, and that works, except it makes what's left sound all weird and ring-ey.

So, it was pretty much lose-lose -- I didn't get any usable video, and the customers got a bad performance.

Consolation prizes: some usable still shots snagged from the video (above), and a pair of nice conversations with Geneva in the car, up and back.

To be fair, the big mistakes in each song, while too embarrassing for me to want to keep for posterity, were probably not always noticeable or deal-killing to the general customers. I made $24 in tips (and gave half to Geneva), so I must have done something right. And probably 4 or 6 of the songs on the video would have been usable if the sound hadn't gotten so trashed.

One older dapper oriental guy apparently tuned in during "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", and came and stood to watch for a while (he was just shopping, not hanging in the coffeeshop). He asked Geneva for the name of "that song with the 'million years' in it", which she didn't know, so I told him. He listened for a few more songs, and then asked if I would play it again (while depositing some tip money), so I did. Musta struck some kinda nerve with the guy, 'cuz he smiled big-time all the way through it.

Anyway, I think I know what I did wrong with the mic and camera, so I could try again sometime, but it'll be a while before I get stupid enough to do that to myself again. (Oddly, having the video running at Brea Downtown last week didn't bother me. Maybe that's the way to go...)

K&W at Brea Downtown -- 09Nov2007

The city of Brea recently refurbed a street in the old section, turning it into an entertainment and shopping district called "Brea Downtown". There's two big Edwards theaters, and a lot of ginchy shops and little groovy restaurants. It's still a real street, and there's a wide corner area with a strange fountain where they let bands play. We sent in a CD back in the summer, but never heard back. When Warren pinged her on Nov 7, she said that she had the 9th open! Awful short notice, but we jumped at the chance, even though we were already booked at Borders Tustin that night.

We've never played out on the street before -- and it's a little strange that we were so excited to do so, considering that most street bands would love a chance to play *indoors*, at, say, a Borders coffeeshop. But we're in it for the experience, and we were thrilled to get a non-Borders gig, regardless of where.

It was a blast! Of course, it was noisy, and it's always hard to "fill" an open space. Warren had a lot of trouble at the beginning just getting some kind of sound out of his guitar that sounded like what he expected. But we had lots of people strolling by, and that's always fun. I was really intimidated at first (fear of the unknown, I suppose), but I felt right at home after just a little while.

At first, we had lots of little kids, and because they were outside and on the sidewalk, they were completely uninhibited about dancing up a storm. That was fun for all of us, and their parents tended to hand them a dollar to put in the open guitar case we had on the ground (traditional!). I noticed that a lot of the kids thought that throwing money in a case was pretty fun, so they went back to dad for more, again and again. For some of them it was almost like feeding a meter.

Later, of course, we had more grown-ups, and a lot of them threw a buck in, too. People would walk by and drop a buck in the case, without even slowing down! They only heard half a verse, but put a buck in anyway! We ended up making $50 in tips. Not a record, but way up there, and not bad for a cold night in November.

It was interesting, though, because the audience dynamic is so different. At Borders, we have people who were there when we got there, and still there when we're leaving. Here, almost nobody was there more than 10 minutes, and most were there for less than one whole song. We could probably have gotten away with only knowing 3 songs (though that'd been pretty boring for us). I was anticipating having to really step up my "talking game", but it turned out that I needed even *less* "patter", since there really wasn't anyone there between songs -- there was hardly anyone to bother to introduce the songs *to*. Took a bit of the pressure off.

It also made it so we could repeat songs, when requested, since the audience was in constant turn-over. We did "House at Pooh Corner" three times. And when people would notice the song sheets, they'd usually ask for one, and be gone. If the next guy asked for the same song, no problem.

Artistically, it was a disaster. The mix was terrible. Although I didn't mess with the relative volumes from the settings that seem to work at Borders, it was pretty vocal-heavy. It was hard for my guitar's microphone-pickup to "hear" cleanly enough for the tuner, so it was hard to tune, and hard to stay in tune with the cold and damp seeping in. My hands got pretty cold, which makes them a bit stiff -- I can still play OK, but I tend to reach for something and the stiffness makes me get there a little late, or not quite get there at all, meaning missed strings, and missed notes. Not that anyone could hear them anyway...

It's a lot more distracting than Borders, too. At Borders, when I look up from my book to do the audience-contact thing, usually there's nobody even looking back at me -- they're all involved in their books. Here, people walking by have nothing else to look at, so they look at us. (Unless they're studiously *refusing* to look...) But when I looked up at this gig, there were all kinds of people, and cars, and kids, and dogs, and cops, and pretty girls, and teenagers dancing (!?!), and a firetruck -- it's distracting! Hard to keep my place and keep the song intact. I'm not used to there being so much variety and motion "out there".

Daleen and Acacia came by and got some pictures (above, and more at: http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/480787/) and video. None of it turned out very well, the sound was bad, and the video was stymied by the bright backlight from the store behind us. Daleen had brought the dogs, too, and seemed to have fun chatting with the inevitable dog lovers that came by -- so at least she wasn't as bored as usual.

Acacia took most of the video, and did a bit too much zooming in and out, 'cuz that's fun. She also sang along with the songs that she knows (like "House at Pooh Corner" and even "South of the Border" a little), which would be upsetting if it wasn't so darn cute.

Anyway, best gig in a long time -- not in terms of good music, but in terms of having fun ourselves, and passing some along to lots of happy friendly people.

There's no more openings until January (when it'll be even colder!), but the manager, failing to hear any feedback (which she claims is a good thing since people only call to complain), has invited us to play at their Tuesday afternoon and evening "Farmer's Markets", which, by the pictures on the website, looks to be just this side of a Church Bazaar -- mostly "crafters" along with the locally grown fruit. But we'll happily give it a try, just for the variety!