FARMERS MARKET POST-MORTEM...

I think we did good at the Manzanita Farmers Market. We had a pretty attentive audience (we tested—with a few of my songs, and one collaboration—the claim we’d heard that nobody really listens to the music, and indeed, they do listen), and an appreciative one, too. I’m sure it was a factor that Jane, Kathryn and Candice are all well-known in the community (I don’t know how much that was true of the other groups that have played there)—but we were good, too. The mix of four completely different styles—to the point where the audience doesn’t know what they’re going to get next—definitely keeps people’s attention.

The show included eight of my songs, including “Earwigs in the Eggplant,” which had been written with the Farmers Market in mind. The audience appeared to like them all.

Nice that we were able to do a 3-hour show and not be playing everything we knew. We could do our best, instead (yes, 3 hours of “best”—we had come rather a long way since we started this, this past spring). We got tips; as soon as I set up the Ugly Orange Bucket with its “Tipping Is Not A City In China” sign, folks began putting money in it. And we got paid, too.

We may have made history of a sort, as well: we are, I believe, the first group ever to play the Farmers Market that was asked by the Powers That Be to turn UP our volume (“too loud” has repeatedly been an issue here)—and I got to tell them we couldn’t, because we had deliberately brought our smallest speakers, knowing how concerned they were about loudness and all. Before we’d finished packing up after the show, I was approached by one of the Powers, asking if we could play there next year. If the band is still together then, sure.

Is that an issue? ‘Fraid so—but we’ll have a meeting about it, before the afterglow of the gig has completely faded, and talk about it. The band’s got both the “too busy” and the “personality conflicts” problems, which are the two main reasons bands break up; on the other hand, there’s sentiment for keeping things together, because we are good together, and have come a long way in a very short period of time. We’ll see what happens.

We could use a better, more professional PA system. Good speakers, for sure—I think the little speakers I have on “Alice” the ‘puter at home are better than the ones we’ve performed through. I’d envision the kind of speakers it takes a hand truck to haul around (and I know a musician who’s got a set he’s going to sell). I worry about the mixer, too—that thing has got to be 40 years old, and early Japanese audio equipment was primitive—and the amp, which is only a 2-channel, forcing all control to be run through the mixer. My druthers, if I had druthers, would be a complete 8-channel PA amp. I don’t know what one would have to pay for one of those.

I have figured out a gizmo to prevent singers from getting too close to the microphones (when they get too close, those uber-professional mikes that everybody but me has tend to distort). In the studio, they use the pantyhose-over-a-coathanger barrier (pantyhose over a coathanger is the poor man’s version—studios pay lots of money for something that looks nicer), but one doesn’t want to use that in performance situations because it blocks the singer’s face. But just the wire frame—without the pantyhose holder, even—attached to the microphone should work as a keep-your-distance thing. I’d like to try it.

For now, more work to do: two Deathgrass performances to organize, the Rocktoberfest Sept. 17 and the railroad centennial Oct. 1—and in both cases, I’ve got some stuff to record to assemble the setlist CDs. More video from Deathgrass’ performance at the Wheeler Summerfest to process, too. And jobs to apply for—I still have hopes of being employed again.

Joe