The First Tour of 2012 - blog #3 (day 13)
Driving Stats:
Miles Driven - 1505
Average Speed - 46 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 42.6
Driving Time - 32 hours, 52 minutes (1 day, 8 hours, 52 minutes)
So we have recapped the first week of this two-week tour. On Sunday the 22nd, I would return to what may be my favorite bar-type venue in the world: North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock, PA.
The reason I love this place is that people actually come out to hear the music, and even the staff stops to listen, and buy cds and spreads the word about shows. At most bars, the music is an afterthought, with the musicians being put in the corner, competing with any number of flat screen tvs playing any sort of random sporting event that gets most people's attention, even if they don't care about the game.
That being said, there was a Penguins hockey game scheduled for my original show time, so we changed my start time forward a few hours. My wife and Keenan and I headed out early, to catch the majority of the game (the wheel a TV out for Pittsburgh sports games, but put it away when the games are over. I don't know of any other place that would be willing to do that. This place is magical, I tell you...and haunted, but that's another story.
Well, the Pens lost, ending their very short post-season run in what was predicted to be a big Stanley Cup run for them this year. The show went pretty well, but ended up getting a little too crowded - which is great for the venue, but makes it more difficult for me to get listeners' attention. But things still went well. I sold a CD and a shirt, and several familiar faces were in the crowd, including two families who have seen me perform in Ocracoke, NC (an island town that is part of The Outer Banks). It's always really neat to see people in different areas of the country at shows. Speaking of Ocracoke, I've just finished booking shows for the week in July when we will be returning there for the fifth year in a row. It's become a tradition, and Keenan will get his first taste of island life this time around. If you're interested in discovering this spot where you really can get away from it all, consider making the trip when we'll be there! You can check out my official site for the dates.
After the show, all three of us would head to my parents house in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, and would be together for the rest of the tour. I think we rented a movie Sunday night.... um, this one:
It was pretty good. I'd recommend it.
Okay, Monday.... Monday was my first day without a night time show. I played a lunchtime show at a local community college campus. I used to perform at this location maybe once a semester, but it had been years since I had last visited. These lunchtime shows can sometimes be trying. They pay decently, and allow me to still book a night show if I want to, but these students 1) are eating lunch, studying, and socializing and don't usually have live music going on during lunchtime hours and 2) often try to be funny by heckling the performers. This second issue can be more apparent or prevalent when the performer is a solo one. But this visit was a great one - probably the best one at this particular location.
The weather was getting unfriendly by this point, with temperatures in the upper 30s and light precipitation. Two things took me surprise as I was in the process of unpacking my car and bringing things to the stage. The first thing I noticed was that, on the school's promo material for the day's show, I was advertised to be starting at 11 am. In my communication with the school, and in the invoice (and on my website and other online sites), the start time was set for 11:30 am. I arrived at the campus with plenty of time to spare for an 11:30 start, but not for an 11 start. The second thing that I noticed, though, was that the school had acquired a sound system, and it was all set up by the stage. In previous years, I had to set up my own sound system, which takes a good half hour.
So ... now I was in a hurry, but not nearly as annoyed or rushed as I would have been had I still needed to empty my car of my PA system gear. I started performing a few minutes after 11. After the oh-so-funny "Free Bird" request early in the set, things turned for the better. Kids close to the stage actually paid attention, and several of them clapped after the songs (a rarity at lunch shows of any kind). I got to talk to some of them, too, which is also a rarity. If I am unable to personally connect with people in the audience, the show is much less enjoyable, and I feel like I might as well be a jukebox, so this was nice, especially in this setting. I ended up selling 3 CDs and a shirt by the end of the set; I'm happy if just one person is interested enough to pick up a CD at one of these shows.
Tuesday was supposed to be another 2-show day, but I had a late cancellation, due to a change in ownership at the venue. The early show was another lunchtime community college show, at a different campus. This one went more as expected, though I did manage to sell a CD. This is a smaller campus, and the number of people eating lunch when I play here changes each time. I finished playing, and grabbed lunch (the biggest taco salad I have ever had. I didn't finish it.)
It was huge.
Really, really big.
(And Keenan wasn't as close to the edge of the table as he might appear to have been. And his mom's hands were just out of the frame to the left.)
That evening, a bunch of family and friends went out to dinner for my dad's birthday, but also kind of for mine (but it was 6 weeks ago) and my wife's (it's in a little over a week). It was yummy, but I didn't come close to finishing it.
I finished it for lunch on Wednesday, as I did not have a third lunchtime show. I did have two shows, though. The first was an early dinnertime show in the theatre district of Pittsburgh. It is a really great room with good sound, but the time is a little unusual for people to come out (5 to 7:25 pm), so I generally don't get a crowd out to see me. Thus was the case again this time. Some more people started to come out around a quarter to 6, but they weren't really there to listen. Close to 7, I started hearing music bleeding through from the other room, so I ended a tad early, maybe around 7:15. I grabbed dinner there with my parents and wife (and Keenan). I had a late show, so the 4 of them and I parted ways for the rest of the night.
I headed out to Arsenal Lanes, maybe a short 8 miles away. Every Wednesday, they host Rock and Bowl, where you can rock out while bowling. I make an effort to only play my upbeat and rocking material. These shows are pretty cool, because I have absolutely no expectations. People are bowling, after all. I always introduce by asking people to please refrain from bowling while I am playing, just to see if anyone is listening. Tonight's audience was very kind (much nicer than the unusual heckling that I happened to receive in the fall. You can fish through the earlier posts to read about it, if you'd like to.), and I ended up selling a CD, which I consider to be a positive accomplishment when playing in front of a room of bowlers.
I had an interesting drive back to my parents' house late that night, which included witnessing the aftermath of a rear-end car wreck that rendered the faulting party with a horn honk that wouldn't stop, and a reckless driver that decided to use a turning lane to pass three cars, only after driving for a block in the opposing traffic lane. It probably saved him about 6 seconds of driving time.
Okie Dokie.
I'm going to hit the road for the final show of this First Tour of 2012. Then we'll make the long trip back to Nashville on Sunday. Who knows how long it will take with the newest Miller in tow. These past few days have been pretty good, and I'll probably get a chance to recap the final events once we land safely back home.
Miles Driven - 1505
Average Speed - 46 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 42.6
Driving Time - 32 hours, 52 minutes (1 day, 8 hours, 52 minutes)
So we have recapped the first week of this two-week tour. On Sunday the 22nd, I would return to what may be my favorite bar-type venue in the world: North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock, PA.
The reason I love this place is that people actually come out to hear the music, and even the staff stops to listen, and buy cds and spreads the word about shows. At most bars, the music is an afterthought, with the musicians being put in the corner, competing with any number of flat screen tvs playing any sort of random sporting event that gets most people's attention, even if they don't care about the game.
That being said, there was a Penguins hockey game scheduled for my original show time, so we changed my start time forward a few hours. My wife and Keenan and I headed out early, to catch the majority of the game (the wheel a TV out for Pittsburgh sports games, but put it away when the games are over. I don't know of any other place that would be willing to do that. This place is magical, I tell you...and haunted, but that's another story.
Well, the Pens lost, ending their very short post-season run in what was predicted to be a big Stanley Cup run for them this year. The show went pretty well, but ended up getting a little too crowded - which is great for the venue, but makes it more difficult for me to get listeners' attention. But things still went well. I sold a CD and a shirt, and several familiar faces were in the crowd, including two families who have seen me perform in Ocracoke, NC (an island town that is part of The Outer Banks). It's always really neat to see people in different areas of the country at shows. Speaking of Ocracoke, I've just finished booking shows for the week in July when we will be returning there for the fifth year in a row. It's become a tradition, and Keenan will get his first taste of island life this time around. If you're interested in discovering this spot where you really can get away from it all, consider making the trip when we'll be there! You can check out my official site for the dates.
After the show, all three of us would head to my parents house in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, and would be together for the rest of the tour. I think we rented a movie Sunday night.... um, this one:
It was pretty good. I'd recommend it.
Okay, Monday.... Monday was my first day without a night time show. I played a lunchtime show at a local community college campus. I used to perform at this location maybe once a semester, but it had been years since I had last visited. These lunchtime shows can sometimes be trying. They pay decently, and allow me to still book a night show if I want to, but these students 1) are eating lunch, studying, and socializing and don't usually have live music going on during lunchtime hours and 2) often try to be funny by heckling the performers. This second issue can be more apparent or prevalent when the performer is a solo one. But this visit was a great one - probably the best one at this particular location.
The weather was getting unfriendly by this point, with temperatures in the upper 30s and light precipitation. Two things took me surprise as I was in the process of unpacking my car and bringing things to the stage. The first thing I noticed was that, on the school's promo material for the day's show, I was advertised to be starting at 11 am. In my communication with the school, and in the invoice (and on my website and other online sites), the start time was set for 11:30 am. I arrived at the campus with plenty of time to spare for an 11:30 start, but not for an 11 start. The second thing that I noticed, though, was that the school had acquired a sound system, and it was all set up by the stage. In previous years, I had to set up my own sound system, which takes a good half hour.
So ... now I was in a hurry, but not nearly as annoyed or rushed as I would have been had I still needed to empty my car of my PA system gear. I started performing a few minutes after 11. After the oh-so-funny "Free Bird" request early in the set, things turned for the better. Kids close to the stage actually paid attention, and several of them clapped after the songs (a rarity at lunch shows of any kind). I got to talk to some of them, too, which is also a rarity. If I am unable to personally connect with people in the audience, the show is much less enjoyable, and I feel like I might as well be a jukebox, so this was nice, especially in this setting. I ended up selling 3 CDs and a shirt by the end of the set; I'm happy if just one person is interested enough to pick up a CD at one of these shows.
Tuesday was supposed to be another 2-show day, but I had a late cancellation, due to a change in ownership at the venue. The early show was another lunchtime community college show, at a different campus. This one went more as expected, though I did manage to sell a CD. This is a smaller campus, and the number of people eating lunch when I play here changes each time. I finished playing, and grabbed lunch (the biggest taco salad I have ever had. I didn't finish it.)
It was huge.
Really, really big.
(And Keenan wasn't as close to the edge of the table as he might appear to have been. And his mom's hands were just out of the frame to the left.)
That evening, a bunch of family and friends went out to dinner for my dad's birthday, but also kind of for mine (but it was 6 weeks ago) and my wife's (it's in a little over a week). It was yummy, but I didn't come close to finishing it.
I finished it for lunch on Wednesday, as I did not have a third lunchtime show. I did have two shows, though. The first was an early dinnertime show in the theatre district of Pittsburgh. It is a really great room with good sound, but the time is a little unusual for people to come out (5 to 7:25 pm), so I generally don't get a crowd out to see me. Thus was the case again this time. Some more people started to come out around a quarter to 6, but they weren't really there to listen. Close to 7, I started hearing music bleeding through from the other room, so I ended a tad early, maybe around 7:15. I grabbed dinner there with my parents and wife (and Keenan). I had a late show, so the 4 of them and I parted ways for the rest of the night.
I headed out to Arsenal Lanes, maybe a short 8 miles away. Every Wednesday, they host Rock and Bowl, where you can rock out while bowling. I make an effort to only play my upbeat and rocking material. These shows are pretty cool, because I have absolutely no expectations. People are bowling, after all. I always introduce by asking people to please refrain from bowling while I am playing, just to see if anyone is listening. Tonight's audience was very kind (much nicer than the unusual heckling that I happened to receive in the fall. You can fish through the earlier posts to read about it, if you'd like to.), and I ended up selling a CD, which I consider to be a positive accomplishment when playing in front of a room of bowlers.
I had an interesting drive back to my parents' house late that night, which included witnessing the aftermath of a rear-end car wreck that rendered the faulting party with a horn honk that wouldn't stop, and a reckless driver that decided to use a turning lane to pass three cars, only after driving for a block in the opposing traffic lane. It probably saved him about 6 seconds of driving time.
Okie Dokie.
I'm going to hit the road for the final show of this First Tour of 2012. Then we'll make the long trip back to Nashville on Sunday. Who knows how long it will take with the newest Miller in tow. These past few days have been pretty good, and I'll probably get a chance to recap the final events once we land safely back home.
posted by Jeff Miller at 5:21 PM
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