The First Tour of 2012 - blog #1 (day 4)
There is a new driving stat to introduce to my regular blog postings. That stat is Total Driving Time. This will probably be a depressing stat for me. I know that I often drive for more time than I perform during most tours, but this stat will make that fact more obvious. The new car keeps track of this stat in the instrument cluster, which I guess is kind of cool. I don't know... whatever. I realized, as it occurred to me that I had a new driving stat, that I could have easily figured out the driving time by simply dividing my miles driven by my average speed. Oh well.
Driving Stats:
Miles Driven - 964
Average Speed - 58 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 44.5
Driving Time - 16 hours, 36 minutes
The Tour began on Monday in Dayton, OH. The drive is a long one - about 340 miles. I prefer to not drive more than 3 hours on the way to a show, but sometimes it's necessary, as in this case. For some reason, I could count on zero fingers how many good shows I've had in Kentucky so far. Oh wait, I take that back. I just remembered some shows from years past - a really good show in Bowling Green at a place that closed shortly after I performed there, and some decent shows in Hopkinsville, but when they stopped paying, it didn't make financial sense to return. It's not that I haven't looked or done shows in the Bluegrass State, but I just haven't found anything worth returning to. If you live in KY and want to throw me a bone, I'd be grateful.
The venue I performed at was recommended by a fan/friend who was putting me up that night. The people who run it are pretty easy to deal with, and the compensation is decent. The time for music was scheduled from 8 to 11 pm, and I was told that I could get one opener if I wanted to. Long story short, I did find someone to perform as an opener, but he showed up about an hour late. I was actually plugging my gear in and was about to start without him as he walked in the door. He had a bunch of extra things to set up and plug in, and was taking a while to set up, so a manager came up to tell us to get things going, as it was past 8:30 by this time (he was supposed to start at 8). The artist I got to open said that all the places he plays are cool with people starting late. I was already pretty annoyed before he said that, and I told him that most of the places I play expect music to start when it's advertised to start. I wanted to tell him more than that; for example, that he would likely not be welcomed back to many venues if that was the attitude that he took when it came to doing shows. Not only did I not end up telling him that, but he started giving me advice about how to present myself and how to book shows. Maybe he will read this and get the message here, rather than from another venue that gets turned off by his tardiness.
All of this of course reflects poorly on me, but I did my best to insure the powers that be that I did not know the opening act personally, and that I had no control over his timing. I already have another date booked here for my Fall Tour, but I was a little bit afraid that they were going to say that they'd rather not have me back. All this worrying was unwarranted, however, once I began playing. The staff seemed really into it, and once the night was over, they asked me to come back any time. I thanked them, and told them that I would do my best to get a local opener the next time around.
This is why I usually don't do shows with other acts on the bill, unless it's at a bona fide music club, or unless I know the other musicians personally. I've had numerous requests from artists through the years, asking to join a show that I've set up. I usually say no, running the risk of seeming like a jerk. But I think that I will be keeping that policy.
Anyway...all things considered, I guess Monday was actually a good night, even though I was slightly nervous for much of it. I ended up selling a few CDs, too, which I'm always happy with on any given Monday. And when I arrived back at my hosts' place after the show, this was what my fuel economy meter read:
(The meter on the new car actually reads a little high. This is just like how the Malibu Maxx behaved. It seems to me that this should be illegal, but I guess the car manufacturers' argument would be that the reading is not an exact calculation. It seems that the new car is off by about 5 to 7 percent, and I take this into account when I report my driving stats, by subtracting 6 percent from the mpg result that my instrument cluster displays.)
Tuesday did not involve a 6+ hour drive, which was nice. I returned to a non-profit coffee shop in Cincinnati, where I had played twice previously. I have come to know a few people on the staff, and it's a great, welcoming place. I arrived early to set up and eat dinner there. As I was getting ready to sound check, someone I knew from the internet walked in. No; it wasn't Al Gore. I had "met" a fellow looping guitarist about a month ago, and saw that he lived in Cincinnati. I told him about the show, and he said he'd make it out. It was pretty cool that he came out, and kind of weird to see someone in real life that I had only previously seen on his YouTube channel.
So Tuesday was a pretty good night, too. Mondays and Tuesdays are probably the hardest days to find good gigs, so I am thankful for how these ones went. One of the owners, after buying a cd, gave me some gas money to boot, which I was not expecting.
Wednesday was a pretty long day. I hit the road about 20 minutes later than I wanted to, and had a 320-mile drive to Mercyhurst University in North East (near Erie), PA. I was expecting to increase my fuel economy, but I lowered it by having to drive faster than I wanted to. I try to drive close to or under the speed limit on the highway, in order to maximize the fuel economy. On Tuesday, however, I did somehow manage to increase my fuel economy, even though I drove through a decent amount of traffic on the way to Cincinnati.
The show at Mercyhurst was okay. I really can't complain, though, because it almost didn't happen at all. It's another long story, but someone who wasn't authorized to book the show decided that he was going to go ahead and book the date with me. He didn't tell anyone else that he had done this, and to top it off, he apparently quit a couple weeks before the show was supposed to happen. To his credit, he did tell me that he quit, so I knew that it would behoove me to contact someone else to be sure that everything was okay. It turned out not to be okay (ie, no one else at the University had any idea that the show was even lined up), but the student activities coordinator is such a high-quality human being that she told me that they would make the date happen, because it wouldn't be okay to cancel it after the work I had done to set it up. I am very thankful that she is charge, because most venues would not take the same stance.
The nature of the show was changed - it was originally going to be more of an actual show, in a small theatre on campus. But it was changed to a dinner time performance in their dining hall. These types of "shows" almost always end up the same, unfortunately - none of the students really pay attention, and no one claps after songs or comes up to check out CDs. Aside from a couple walk-bys of the merch table, the only person who came up to look at CDs wanted me to be giving them away. He asked very loudly if they were free. Eh. But I really can't get away with complaining about this show. A couple of students helped me load and unload gear, and I did give each of them a CD to say thanks. If only he stuck around to help me carry gear...
A good friend of mine who I hadn't seen in years came out, and I got to catch up with him shortly after I was done performing, but then I had another drive - about 2 1/2 hours - to my parents' place near Pittsburgh. The Penguins are doing poorly in the first round of the NHL playoffs, and I was hoping to catch the majority of the game during the drive. I couldn't get a good signal for about 45 minutes, though, and I thought that I'd only be able to listen to part of the third period. But it turned out to be a very high-scoring game, and I was able to listen to more than half of the second period along with the final one. The Pens beat the Flyers by a football score of 10 to 3. It's only the second time that the Penguins have scored ten goals in a playoff game.
I arrived at my parents' house shortly after the end of the game.
And now it's Thursday. I have my first show in Pittsburgh of the tour tonight, and have to pack the car.
Driving Stats:
Miles Driven - 964
Average Speed - 58 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 44.5
Driving Time - 16 hours, 36 minutes
The Tour began on Monday in Dayton, OH. The drive is a long one - about 340 miles. I prefer to not drive more than 3 hours on the way to a show, but sometimes it's necessary, as in this case. For some reason, I could count on zero fingers how many good shows I've had in Kentucky so far. Oh wait, I take that back. I just remembered some shows from years past - a really good show in Bowling Green at a place that closed shortly after I performed there, and some decent shows in Hopkinsville, but when they stopped paying, it didn't make financial sense to return. It's not that I haven't looked or done shows in the Bluegrass State, but I just haven't found anything worth returning to. If you live in KY and want to throw me a bone, I'd be grateful.
The venue I performed at was recommended by a fan/friend who was putting me up that night. The people who run it are pretty easy to deal with, and the compensation is decent. The time for music was scheduled from 8 to 11 pm, and I was told that I could get one opener if I wanted to. Long story short, I did find someone to perform as an opener, but he showed up about an hour late. I was actually plugging my gear in and was about to start without him as he walked in the door. He had a bunch of extra things to set up and plug in, and was taking a while to set up, so a manager came up to tell us to get things going, as it was past 8:30 by this time (he was supposed to start at 8). The artist I got to open said that all the places he plays are cool with people starting late. I was already pretty annoyed before he said that, and I told him that most of the places I play expect music to start when it's advertised to start. I wanted to tell him more than that; for example, that he would likely not be welcomed back to many venues if that was the attitude that he took when it came to doing shows. Not only did I not end up telling him that, but he started giving me advice about how to present myself and how to book shows. Maybe he will read this and get the message here, rather than from another venue that gets turned off by his tardiness.
All of this of course reflects poorly on me, but I did my best to insure the powers that be that I did not know the opening act personally, and that I had no control over his timing. I already have another date booked here for my Fall Tour, but I was a little bit afraid that they were going to say that they'd rather not have me back. All this worrying was unwarranted, however, once I began playing. The staff seemed really into it, and once the night was over, they asked me to come back any time. I thanked them, and told them that I would do my best to get a local opener the next time around.
This is why I usually don't do shows with other acts on the bill, unless it's at a bona fide music club, or unless I know the other musicians personally. I've had numerous requests from artists through the years, asking to join a show that I've set up. I usually say no, running the risk of seeming like a jerk. But I think that I will be keeping that policy.
Anyway...all things considered, I guess Monday was actually a good night, even though I was slightly nervous for much of it. I ended up selling a few CDs, too, which I'm always happy with on any given Monday. And when I arrived back at my hosts' place after the show, this was what my fuel economy meter read:
(The meter on the new car actually reads a little high. This is just like how the Malibu Maxx behaved. It seems to me that this should be illegal, but I guess the car manufacturers' argument would be that the reading is not an exact calculation. It seems that the new car is off by about 5 to 7 percent, and I take this into account when I report my driving stats, by subtracting 6 percent from the mpg result that my instrument cluster displays.)
Tuesday did not involve a 6+ hour drive, which was nice. I returned to a non-profit coffee shop in Cincinnati, where I had played twice previously. I have come to know a few people on the staff, and it's a great, welcoming place. I arrived early to set up and eat dinner there. As I was getting ready to sound check, someone I knew from the internet walked in. No; it wasn't Al Gore. I had "met" a fellow looping guitarist about a month ago, and saw that he lived in Cincinnati. I told him about the show, and he said he'd make it out. It was pretty cool that he came out, and kind of weird to see someone in real life that I had only previously seen on his YouTube channel.
So Tuesday was a pretty good night, too. Mondays and Tuesdays are probably the hardest days to find good gigs, so I am thankful for how these ones went. One of the owners, after buying a cd, gave me some gas money to boot, which I was not expecting.
Wednesday was a pretty long day. I hit the road about 20 minutes later than I wanted to, and had a 320-mile drive to Mercyhurst University in North East (near Erie), PA. I was expecting to increase my fuel economy, but I lowered it by having to drive faster than I wanted to. I try to drive close to or under the speed limit on the highway, in order to maximize the fuel economy. On Tuesday, however, I did somehow manage to increase my fuel economy, even though I drove through a decent amount of traffic on the way to Cincinnati.
The show at Mercyhurst was okay. I really can't complain, though, because it almost didn't happen at all. It's another long story, but someone who wasn't authorized to book the show decided that he was going to go ahead and book the date with me. He didn't tell anyone else that he had done this, and to top it off, he apparently quit a couple weeks before the show was supposed to happen. To his credit, he did tell me that he quit, so I knew that it would behoove me to contact someone else to be sure that everything was okay. It turned out not to be okay (ie, no one else at the University had any idea that the show was even lined up), but the student activities coordinator is such a high-quality human being that she told me that they would make the date happen, because it wouldn't be okay to cancel it after the work I had done to set it up. I am very thankful that she is charge, because most venues would not take the same stance.
The nature of the show was changed - it was originally going to be more of an actual show, in a small theatre on campus. But it was changed to a dinner time performance in their dining hall. These types of "shows" almost always end up the same, unfortunately - none of the students really pay attention, and no one claps after songs or comes up to check out CDs. Aside from a couple walk-bys of the merch table, the only person who came up to look at CDs wanted me to be giving them away. He asked very loudly if they were free. Eh. But I really can't get away with complaining about this show. A couple of students helped me load and unload gear, and I did give each of them a CD to say thanks. If only he stuck around to help me carry gear...
A good friend of mine who I hadn't seen in years came out, and I got to catch up with him shortly after I was done performing, but then I had another drive - about 2 1/2 hours - to my parents' place near Pittsburgh. The Penguins are doing poorly in the first round of the NHL playoffs, and I was hoping to catch the majority of the game during the drive. I couldn't get a good signal for about 45 minutes, though, and I thought that I'd only be able to listen to part of the third period. But it turned out to be a very high-scoring game, and I was able to listen to more than half of the second period along with the final one. The Pens beat the Flyers by a football score of 10 to 3. It's only the second time that the Penguins have scored ten goals in a playoff game.
I arrived at my parents' house shortly after the end of the game.
And now it's Thursday. I have my first show in Pittsburgh of the tour tonight, and have to pack the car.
posted by Jeff Miller at 4:55 PM
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