Ground & Pound Soundman saga

Met with the Staff today to deliver the new mixer ( They were SO happy) and discuss the Summer event , and as a result of that fruitful meeting I'll be running the sound on Friday /Saturday nights at least until the regular bands and staff learn the ropes .

Lots of fun ... my first "Official " night is tonight. Bringing a keyboard and a persian rug to round out the stage.
 
Greywolf said:
Met with the Staff today to deliver the new mixer ( They were SO happy) and discuss the Summer event , and as a result of that fruitful meeting I'll be running the sound on Friday /Saturday nights at least until the regular bands and staff learn the ropes .

Lots of fun ... my first "Official " night is tonight. Bringing a keyboard and a persian rug to round out the stage.
Click to expand...
Your knokin' it out of the park Greywolf! Way to step up!!
 
Silly me, forgot to check the current monitors ..which are active .. they had XLR connections ..Mixer ...Speakon/ /1/4 " oops.

So back to the order desk and snagged a pair of JBL JRX212 monitors and a pair of 25' Speakons.. it will be good for next week show ..

The show was a bit slow , but I did manage to get 3 1st timers up , and they did ok and are coming back due to the support !
jrx212_front_z_vert_medium.jpg
 
ARGH ...Free Shipping is a mixed blessing ..Sweetwater indicated delivery today, then tuesday , now thursday ... geez . Misses this weeks gig window although they will be here for the weekend show. I let them know after many years , they would no longer get my business.
 
Greywolf said:
ARGH ...Free Shipping is a mixed blessing ..Sweetwater indicated delivery today, then tuesday , now thursday ... geez . Misses this weeks gig window although they will be here for the weekend show. I let them know after many years , they would no longer get my business.
Click to expand...
They'll show up tomorrow! Either way, you'll get some candy, right?
 
Greywolf said:
ARGH ...Free Shipping is a mixed blessing ..Sweetwater indicated delivery today, then tuesday , now thursday ... geez . Misses this weeks gig window although they will be here for the weekend show. I let them know after many years , they would no longer get my business.
Click to expand...

Sounds like they didn't get their shipments when they expected.
 
#8 went great , got a new poet up after a bit of encouragement and a deal if I did one first he'd get up. Mine went well and even got an applause.
I wrote it after the recent slew of artist passings ( Beck, Lindley , Shorter) :

The loves we've lost as the seasons change
to think of Life without them seems so strange
What was once the sunshine of our lives
Is now a spirit shining bright
lighting up the eternal night

They have not left us , never doubt
The love they shared is all about
In their music and their deeds
They sowed in us the eternal seed

So carry on with that treasure
let it grow inside!
Nurture all the love they gave
Give it light, don't let it hide

jt 3/6/23



One new artist that was AMAZING , she'll be back ! We ended the night with the usual jam, I broke out the Dobro and played slide .. that got lots of grins and really loosend up the jam. Next week is the last of the pre Summer Challenge nights .. the word is getting out slowly and it gets more fun every week.
 
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Woohoo , new PA is up and AWESOME !! Quantum leap better in sound , testing the mike ..I could hold it at arms length and still sound crisp and clean .. . The nice + is we can now use the old PA for the outdoor patio .. big smiles all around. The JBL's really shine

Had the first performance throught he PA and I can best describe it as completely natural sounding, it is so transparent it just sound like a louder version of the performer , being able to add reverb to each channel independently is really nice . I used a spare SM58 to mic the guitars that didn't have a DI worked like a charm. ( the SM57 was out on loan)
 
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#9 was a huge success , 11 artists played , a few new amazing gems uncovered , everybody loved the new PA.

The summer challenge starts next week , and we've already found one artist to book for an acoustic night.. It is quite magical to see the artists find their voice and grow in such a supportive environment. Most find out , once you get over the nerves it's as much fun as you can have with your clothes on .
 
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One of the joys of running the PA 3 nights a week is getting to work with so many local acts. Meeting booking agents, and building the music community into more of a network after the Covid ravages is a blast.

I think it's finally dawning on the neophytes , that Open Mic's are really auditions for future gigs, all over town. It's always interesting to see who drops by to peek in on the latest talent.

I love it when they ask if I know anyone to fill gigs, after 25 years in the local scene there are a few ... and it's growing all the time

What started out as a one night a week drop in Jam for me with some dear friends has blossomed into something much bigger and after 5+ years of retirement it feels amazing to be a part of it . I'd retired from Lutherie when Covid hit , save for some long sidelined personal projects.

I've been meeting with Artists during the week and consulting on sound and instruments. Several are interested in new instruments from the shop an I'm busier than I've ever been .... karma is a wonderful thing .. it may take years , but positive energy and deeds do provide happiness in time
 
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It's been a great joy watch the local talent hone their craft over the last 11 weeks. We've already found 3 artists to book , which oddly was the goal of the summer long challenge. ( to find 1) We've had a full roster ( 11 artists) for the last 3 weeks , and finally managed a decent Jam at the end , which has been a tradition we ran out of time for lately.

I'm always tweaking and learning from everyone how to make it better . What doesn't work : rigid time slots and order , the newbie stage fright is always an issue , and people are relatively clueless about how their onboard controls or sound in general works.

Fortunately after a few decades as a Sensei, I've learned to be firm but gentle ..
Repeat after me grasshopper
2 Songs , Tune up BEFORE stage time and always :

VOLUME OFF / Plug in VOLUME OFF/ Unplug
 
It has been fun ,if occasionaly frustrating. Doing a dozen quicky sound checks a night for rookies is a growth experience for everyone.

However, running the sound for Friday and Saturday nights bands has been a blast . I got invited to sit in with my favorite blues band ,next time they are up. They heard me playing out on the porch post sound check, pre performance.

They are by far the easiest band to work with sound wise , all in my age group ,( we were joking about our medicare cards) been playing for 40 + years .. serious , old school and professional. I rarely take artists up on their offers , but I've reached a point that I decided to jump in an enjoy it . Here's a sample ... playing with my mentor Bill Hart
 
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last night was a WAY different show .. we had Healing music by a pair of local artists... I sipped my tumeric ginger tea and blissed out ...
 
Well 3 months in we've manage to book 4 new artists ! The hard work is paying off. Like Neil Young sings .. I'm just a miner for a heart of gold (singer/songwiter) . It has been such an inspiration , thankfully stagefright is a thing of the past and hepling others overcome it very rewarding.

One of the speedbumps for me is I rarely get to play anymore as I"m busy juggling a dozen artists/ sound checks a night and the pre show set up has been my time to play .. before the crowd shows up . I love it , usually only a few Coffee folks and no distractions. The Boss always smiles , and asks me when I'm going to play ... I gently remind her it's not my task .

So as I'm practicing on the patio after the sound check , she strolls by and I mention the new PRS Tonare Ricky Skaggs.. and told her I bought it specifically to play at the Cafe' .. she said " WELL ... Now you HAVE to play ..... busted in the nicest way .

So in the tradition of my mentor and predecessor Bill Hart , I'm just going to start the night off with a short <10 minute instrumental and snatched this lil back up helper .. Can't play my conga's and guitar at once ...

it is a TOTAL blast to play with . I've had other drum machines and they were all quite boring ( I was a drummer for over 20 years) this little gem allows you to add each element and then vary the different choices within it to go along with the overall beat . The small speaker is ok for straight acoustic

 
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I just read through this thread. Congrats on your journey Mr. Greywolf, it's really inspiring. I'll be back for more updates.
 
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