UPDATES...

A day off? Not really; I have a partially-assembled computer upstairs, a partially-pruned fruit tree outside, a dryer and washer full of laundry, and places to caulk on the siding all reminding me that there is in fact plenty to do. I just haven’t done any of it. I’ll get to play music tonight in Garibaldi for the first time in a week, which will be nice; I have managed to play six out of seven nights this past week, and it definitely improves my playing—I noticed at the Tsunami last night I was able to play guitar well enough (and consistently enough) to get folks’ attention.

Charlie can film the puppet show June 17. We can have video! I want to re-record the “Cinderpiggy” theme song, “My Happily Ever After,” though, to make it a little slower; I think it’ll sound better that way. (I also want more time for the rolling of the credits.)

And once the video’s done? It goes on YouTube, of course, but what I really want to do is incorporate a “play this video” link on the Arts Center’s Website. It would be good to have “play this video” links for every performance event the Arts Center does. Coming up in late June is a concert by jazz guitarist John Stowell (he’s performing with a guy from Sweden), and there’s another open mike at the beginning of July. The Arts Center has been very good about filming things; next step is to do something with the films.

Do we have filmed (or filmable) performances on a regular enough schedule so we could ask for time on the regional cable TV channel? We might. An hour a month, perhaps? We’ve got “in the can” (with titles and credits added, and converted to DVD) the junior high school’s “Y-Stars” after-school drama group’s performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and that’s about an hour; the May open mike at which the Tillamook Community Chorus performed “Stephenopera Malheurensis,” Jim Nelson’s endangered plant ballad, and The Impromptus (now 45 Degrees North) debuted, might have an hour’s good footage, too. Do I know how to do this? Only in part—but as I’m fond of telling folks, “I know people.”

Half my playing-music nights lately have been practice with 45 Degrees North, and it’s starting to pay off. A lot of the material is starting to sound really good. We’ll take two nights off before playing a 2-hour set Saturday, but one of those nights (Friday), the crew is going to come down to Garibaldi for some experience playing in front of (and with) other people.

Poster’s done, I think, for the Ilwaco gig. Ideally, it’s adaptable to other gigs. One wants a promotional icon of sorts that gets repeated constantly and is instantly recognizable—so when people see a poster, they’ll say, “Oh, those guys! Where are they playing now?” Need a poster for the Pine Grove Potluck performance June 21, and one for the Rainbow Lotus performance June 26; we’re also playing Saturday, June 11, in Nehalem (in the courtyard in front of the dog grooming place), but that’s officially a practice—we’re just going to be practicing in public, in the middle of town, on the main street. (The fact the newspaper published an announcement is irrelevant.)

The Big Week—actually, a Big Couple Weeks—starts tomorrow. Thirsty Lion Tuesday night, a job interview (of sorts) Wednesday, puppet show Friday (and we haven’t practiced with the stage yet), Ilwaco on Saturday, Pine Grove Tuesday, and the Rainbow Lotus performance Sunday. A good five meetings I need to be at during that time, too. And when do I find time to put new strings on the guitar?

Joe