2011 Fall East Coast Tour - blog #8 (end of Tour + 4 days)
Miles Driven - 4393
Average Speed - 45 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 33.5
Well, the longest tour of my life is finally in the books. It began unexcitedly, but the middle and end were very good, with some occasional disappointments.
We finished the last entry at the end of my week of shows in PA. I will probably break up the rest of the tour into at least 2 posts, lest we get carried away with a humongously-long entry here. We'll likely settle for two very long ones instead.
So... Sunday morning, I had to get right out of bed when my alarm went off, hit the showers, pack the car, and hit the road ASAP, or risk being late for my start time at a vineyard in northern VA. I was close to being late, and as I was 5 miles away, one of the managers called to make sure that I was on my way. The vineyard was absolutely packed on this day. "Great!", you would think; but you would be wrong. There are several laws that can be applied to many of the shows that I do. One of them is the musicians' Murphy's Law, which states that the biggest, loudest, and most obnoxious party will undoubtedly be seated as close to the musician as possible (I've shared an instance of this law in at least one other post). Another law is much like the Law of Diminishing Returns. In the music world, keeping all things constant (the venue, its size, the performer, the volume of the music, etc.), and just increasing the size of the audience, most people would think this is a good thing. And, to a point, it is. But there is an audience size that is perhaps like the golden mean - a spot between two extremes - an audience size that is ideal for music listening. On this Sunday, that golden mean was grossly surpassed. It was great for the winery, I am sure; but it was horrible for me. A few people let it be known that they were at least trying to listen, and appreciated what they could hear, but it was just too crazy of an environment for a positive music-listening experience. While I was packing up and getting ready for the second show of the day, the same manager who had called me approached me to ask how I made out with CD sales (I think he expected me to have done really well). I informed him that I had not sold a single CD, and had only made $5 in tips. In 4 hours... I got paid decently for my services, but I fear that this location might be relegated to a "final resort" spot on the booking hierarchy. While I was packing up, I made a little more in tips (largely because someone wanted me to sing "Happy Birthday" to a friend before I hit the road again. And a visitor from Europe who also played guitar put ten dollars in the tips jar (doubling the tips from the entire time there). He didn't realize that this was the cost of one of my earliest 2 albums, so I gave him a copy of my second album.
The second show on that Sunday would be a much more relaxing affair, albeit less lucrative. There is a Sunday night songwriter series that takes place each week in our nation's capital. Pay is low, but they feed performers (a $25 food tab, which I transform into a dinner and a lunch for the following day), and the performance time is usually just around 45 minutes. On good nights, the built-in crowd tips decently and picks up some cds. Unfortunately, on this Sunday night there weren't too many people out, but I got to relax just a bit, eat dinner (I ate a little for breakfast that morning, and maybe an apple and a granola bar during the day), and catch local old-school blues artist Jonny Grave. After my set, I packed up and headed to my DC-area hosts' home. Sunday was a long day, especially after a week of sticking to one corner of Pennsylvania.
Monday was Columbus Day, and I had a show in Baltimore, MD. I usually hate driving in the DC area, but had no real issues during this tour. I didn't really think about it, but my host informed me that most of the area's employed are government workers, and would be off work because of Columbus Day. I left their house around a quarter to 4, and the drive could not have been much better. I actually increased my fuel economy during the drive! This is, of course, unheard of during waking hours anywhere near DC.
The show was not as great as the fuel economy news, though. Mondays are usually tough, but I was hoping that Columbus Day might allow for some people to go out to catch some music. I ate dinner at the coffee shop, and played a couple of short sets. I spent a little time talking to the owner and some of the patrons, one of whom was a young British man named Rowan, who was taking a touring vacation through the U.S. You may not believe it, but he had the same phone that I use! If you've been reading, you will recall that, just 4 nights prior, I had met the only other person in the world (to my knowledge) who uses the LG GS170. I have owned this phone for over a year now, so it came as quite a surprise when I saw the CMU student pull the phone out after my show there the previous week. When I saw that Rowan also had this very same phone, I just about lost it. Of course, I got someone to take our picture as evidence.
Rowan asked me how much I paid for the phone. When I told him that it was free (actually, I was paid 15 cents to get it, but that's a long story), he was not too pleased. He picked it up as a "cheap phone" to use in case of emergency while in the states, and apparently got ripped off somewhere. I think he bought it in NY City, though, so that might explain it.
Aside from the very first show of the tour, this was the worst one. At least they fed me here, though.
I stayed about 30 minutes south of Baltimore that evening, with some old Pittsburgh friends who had relocated. On Tuesday, I would make the drive out to NY City for my one and only show there on this tour. I often play two shows in NY when I go. I think this is because it is usually such a hassle to get into the city that I feel like I need to play twice to make everything worthwhile. I always forget how long the drive is through New Jersey. At least I got my gas tank filled for a pretty low price. I think it was like $3.19(9) a gallon at the time. It may have been a little less. This tour was one of only three or four (over 8 years) during which gas prices did not go up. The national average dropped a whopping 13 cents between the start and the end of this tour, according to GasBuddy.com
Anyway, NY was fun. I got through the Holland Tunnel in maybe 15 minutes (it often takes me 40 to an hour), and found parking pretty close to the venue. A bunch of friends came out to the show (on a Tuesday, nonetheless! I wish more cities were this reliable.), including a couple girls from Pittsburgh who used to come see me play at a music series at a coffee shop several years ago. It was a fun night. A couple of friends offered to pass the tip jar around for me, which was outstanding and super helpful. I made $95 in tips, and sold a CD as a result. The crowd at this particular venue was probably right near the golden mean. The last time I performed here, the crowd was too large, and had grown too large to be won over. But this time, even though there was a pretty high percentage of people who didn't know me, most of them paid attention, and even came up to me to talk during set breaks or after the show. 'Twas good. Thank you, New York.
The NY visit was very short, and that was kind of strange. I drove through New Jersey, and then things start getting car-heavy when I get close to the NJ/NY border and the Holland Tunnel entrance. Then, once into Manhattan, things are usually crazy, with tons of people and cars everywhere. I parked, walked about a block with my gear to the venue, and set up to play. I performed three sets, between 7 and 10 pm, and got to catch up briefly with some friends and fans. Then I had to pack up again, get in the car, drive back through the Holland Tunnel and just about 15 miles away from Manhattan, where I would be staying in NJ for the evening.
The next morning, I would discover that my netbook keyboard had ceased to function. It may seem like a small thing to you smart-phone, iPad-toting, tech-savvy hipsters, but my communication became a bit inhibited at this point. I still had some shows to set up for the tour, not to mention other emailing for future performance dates, and tour blog entries to post. I would definitely have been closer to finishing recapping this Fall Tour if the netbook was still functioning at this point. The keyboard still does not work on the machine, and I will be re-installing the OS on that little bugger sometime soon. But then I won't need it again until the next tour. Argh.
On Wednesday the 12th, I would perform at a venue I had known about for years, but never got a chance to perform at - Steel City Coffeehouse, just west of Philadelphia. I was running a little late for sound check, but they weren't ready to sound check when I got there anyway, so everything was fine. Some venues request the strangest times for load-in and sound check. This one asked me to be there around 5 for a 7:30 show. I think they just assume that most musicians will be at least an hour late for everything...(?) The other band and I waited around for at least a half hour before doing any checking of the sounds. And I was the opening act, so I check last, which meant I waited another 20 minutes before my checking of the sounds began. But it was a cool venue. Turnout was less than stellar - all the people who told me they would be coming did not come out, but 5 people who I wasn't expecting did come out (one of them was a 3-week old baby, so you parents out there who use children as an excuse to stop going out to things, I'm on to you). The band, which was pretty much a local group, and pretty decent, I might add, unfortunately only brought out 2 people. It wasn't the best show for a Wednesday near Philadelphia, but I sold 2 cds and a shirt, and the management really liked what I did, and want to put together a bill for the future that will yield better results. It was still an enjoyable night.
I gotta go. It looks like it will still take at least two more posts before this Tour is fully recapped, my friends.
Average Speed - 45 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 33.5
Well, the longest tour of my life is finally in the books. It began unexcitedly, but the middle and end were very good, with some occasional disappointments.
We finished the last entry at the end of my week of shows in PA. I will probably break up the rest of the tour into at least 2 posts, lest we get carried away with a humongously-long entry here. We'll likely settle for two very long ones instead.
So... Sunday morning, I had to get right out of bed when my alarm went off, hit the showers, pack the car, and hit the road ASAP, or risk being late for my start time at a vineyard in northern VA. I was close to being late, and as I was 5 miles away, one of the managers called to make sure that I was on my way. The vineyard was absolutely packed on this day. "Great!", you would think; but you would be wrong. There are several laws that can be applied to many of the shows that I do. One of them is the musicians' Murphy's Law, which states that the biggest, loudest, and most obnoxious party will undoubtedly be seated as close to the musician as possible (I've shared an instance of this law in at least one other post). Another law is much like the Law of Diminishing Returns. In the music world, keeping all things constant (the venue, its size, the performer, the volume of the music, etc.), and just increasing the size of the audience, most people would think this is a good thing. And, to a point, it is. But there is an audience size that is perhaps like the golden mean - a spot between two extremes - an audience size that is ideal for music listening. On this Sunday, that golden mean was grossly surpassed. It was great for the winery, I am sure; but it was horrible for me. A few people let it be known that they were at least trying to listen, and appreciated what they could hear, but it was just too crazy of an environment for a positive music-listening experience. While I was packing up and getting ready for the second show of the day, the same manager who had called me approached me to ask how I made out with CD sales (I think he expected me to have done really well). I informed him that I had not sold a single CD, and had only made $5 in tips. In 4 hours... I got paid decently for my services, but I fear that this location might be relegated to a "final resort" spot on the booking hierarchy. While I was packing up, I made a little more in tips (largely because someone wanted me to sing "Happy Birthday" to a friend before I hit the road again. And a visitor from Europe who also played guitar put ten dollars in the tips jar (doubling the tips from the entire time there). He didn't realize that this was the cost of one of my earliest 2 albums, so I gave him a copy of my second album.
The second show on that Sunday would be a much more relaxing affair, albeit less lucrative. There is a Sunday night songwriter series that takes place each week in our nation's capital. Pay is low, but they feed performers (a $25 food tab, which I transform into a dinner and a lunch for the following day), and the performance time is usually just around 45 minutes. On good nights, the built-in crowd tips decently and picks up some cds. Unfortunately, on this Sunday night there weren't too many people out, but I got to relax just a bit, eat dinner (I ate a little for breakfast that morning, and maybe an apple and a granola bar during the day), and catch local old-school blues artist Jonny Grave. After my set, I packed up and headed to my DC-area hosts' home. Sunday was a long day, especially after a week of sticking to one corner of Pennsylvania.
Monday was Columbus Day, and I had a show in Baltimore, MD. I usually hate driving in the DC area, but had no real issues during this tour. I didn't really think about it, but my host informed me that most of the area's employed are government workers, and would be off work because of Columbus Day. I left their house around a quarter to 4, and the drive could not have been much better. I actually increased my fuel economy during the drive! This is, of course, unheard of during waking hours anywhere near DC.
The show was not as great as the fuel economy news, though. Mondays are usually tough, but I was hoping that Columbus Day might allow for some people to go out to catch some music. I ate dinner at the coffee shop, and played a couple of short sets. I spent a little time talking to the owner and some of the patrons, one of whom was a young British man named Rowan, who was taking a touring vacation through the U.S. You may not believe it, but he had the same phone that I use! If you've been reading, you will recall that, just 4 nights prior, I had met the only other person in the world (to my knowledge) who uses the LG GS170. I have owned this phone for over a year now, so it came as quite a surprise when I saw the CMU student pull the phone out after my show there the previous week. When I saw that Rowan also had this very same phone, I just about lost it. Of course, I got someone to take our picture as evidence.
Rowan asked me how much I paid for the phone. When I told him that it was free (actually, I was paid 15 cents to get it, but that's a long story), he was not too pleased. He picked it up as a "cheap phone" to use in case of emergency while in the states, and apparently got ripped off somewhere. I think he bought it in NY City, though, so that might explain it.
Aside from the very first show of the tour, this was the worst one. At least they fed me here, though.
I stayed about 30 minutes south of Baltimore that evening, with some old Pittsburgh friends who had relocated. On Tuesday, I would make the drive out to NY City for my one and only show there on this tour. I often play two shows in NY when I go. I think this is because it is usually such a hassle to get into the city that I feel like I need to play twice to make everything worthwhile. I always forget how long the drive is through New Jersey. At least I got my gas tank filled for a pretty low price. I think it was like $3.19(9) a gallon at the time. It may have been a little less. This tour was one of only three or four (over 8 years) during which gas prices did not go up. The national average dropped a whopping 13 cents between the start and the end of this tour, according to GasBuddy.com
Anyway, NY was fun. I got through the Holland Tunnel in maybe 15 minutes (it often takes me 40 to an hour), and found parking pretty close to the venue. A bunch of friends came out to the show (on a Tuesday, nonetheless! I wish more cities were this reliable.), including a couple girls from Pittsburgh who used to come see me play at a music series at a coffee shop several years ago. It was a fun night. A couple of friends offered to pass the tip jar around for me, which was outstanding and super helpful. I made $95 in tips, and sold a CD as a result. The crowd at this particular venue was probably right near the golden mean. The last time I performed here, the crowd was too large, and had grown too large to be won over. But this time, even though there was a pretty high percentage of people who didn't know me, most of them paid attention, and even came up to me to talk during set breaks or after the show. 'Twas good. Thank you, New York.
The NY visit was very short, and that was kind of strange. I drove through New Jersey, and then things start getting car-heavy when I get close to the NJ/NY border and the Holland Tunnel entrance. Then, once into Manhattan, things are usually crazy, with tons of people and cars everywhere. I parked, walked about a block with my gear to the venue, and set up to play. I performed three sets, between 7 and 10 pm, and got to catch up briefly with some friends and fans. Then I had to pack up again, get in the car, drive back through the Holland Tunnel and just about 15 miles away from Manhattan, where I would be staying in NJ for the evening.
The next morning, I would discover that my netbook keyboard had ceased to function. It may seem like a small thing to you smart-phone, iPad-toting, tech-savvy hipsters, but my communication became a bit inhibited at this point. I still had some shows to set up for the tour, not to mention other emailing for future performance dates, and tour blog entries to post. I would definitely have been closer to finishing recapping this Fall Tour if the netbook was still functioning at this point. The keyboard still does not work on the machine, and I will be re-installing the OS on that little bugger sometime soon. But then I won't need it again until the next tour. Argh.
On Wednesday the 12th, I would perform at a venue I had known about for years, but never got a chance to perform at - Steel City Coffeehouse, just west of Philadelphia. I was running a little late for sound check, but they weren't ready to sound check when I got there anyway, so everything was fine. Some venues request the strangest times for load-in and sound check. This one asked me to be there around 5 for a 7:30 show. I think they just assume that most musicians will be at least an hour late for everything...(?) The other band and I waited around for at least a half hour before doing any checking of the sounds. And I was the opening act, so I check last, which meant I waited another 20 minutes before my checking of the sounds began. But it was a cool venue. Turnout was less than stellar - all the people who told me they would be coming did not come out, but 5 people who I wasn't expecting did come out (one of them was a 3-week old baby, so you parents out there who use children as an excuse to stop going out to things, I'm on to you). The band, which was pretty much a local group, and pretty decent, I might add, unfortunately only brought out 2 people. It wasn't the best show for a Wednesday near Philadelphia, but I sold 2 cds and a shirt, and the management really liked what I did, and want to put together a bill for the future that will yield better results. It was still an enjoyable night.
I gotta go. It looks like it will still take at least two more posts before this Tour is fully recapped, my friends.
posted by Jeff Miller at 7:04 PM
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