Checking In - Great Day, and Evening Epiphanies

Checking In - Great Day, and Evening Epiphanies

Current mood:energetic

Hey there...just checking in with a few things going on in life.

The weather is FINALLY getting a little crisper, and that is a welcome change. I am tired of sweating and running the AC. It is nice to have windows open. The last 2 nights it has been 45 while I am driving home, but I am still in my obligatory uniform of shorts, LOL! Will take more adversity to get me into long pants!

Monday was a great day. A friend of mine with no net access, Bobby, had to sell his car. I am good at that kind of thing so I volunteered my services, and was able to locate a buyer in Georgia who is in active duty with the Navy. We agreed to deliver the car, so that was Mondays chore. It was a perfect day to drive, and the change of pace and scenery was very welcome. There is something cathartic about a nice drive. Got to see a lot of things I havent gotten to see in awhile...it has been awhile since I got to explore Jax and points north and the changes were pretty neat to see.

We got the car there with no incident, but I did get a little nervous as we had some difficulty contacting the buyer right away (we were a little early) and I also noticed that whatever the owner used to clean the car was not the best chemical, and by all rights, in my eyes, the car really needed to be re-cleaned as it was not presenting itself in the best light. In my heart I know there is nothing wrong with the car or the paint, but the film of blecch on the paint and windows was getting me worked up. If we were going to be stuck waiting, I wanted to re-detail the car, but when I made that decision the buyer called and was 20 minutes away, so no go. I was just hoping that he wouldnt be a fussy customer.

He was not. A complete gentleman, and instantly fell in love with the car flaws and all. We completed the transaction and hit the road.

When we got just N. of Palm Coast, called by friend Brett to see if he was working so we could have him serve us dinner (he is a waiter). He had the night off, so we invited Jimmy and Brett to join us for dinner at the Outback. Plenty of time to have a nice dinner, like gentlemen, before I had to go to work. We had a nice meal and converstion, and it was fun to be with my friends outside of a work atmosphere.

Headed back to Bobby's to drop him off, then headed to work to set up. Had a decent little turn out, but a little quiet since it was the post biketoberfest crowd so people get a little partied out. A lot of people left early to get rest, etc...which left us with a little intimate crowd at the end of the night. Another one of my friends, Soozi-Q showed up from Ormond...she never gets out on a Monday, but got off work early and decided she needed a break. That was a good night to do that...she comes to my shows and is an excellent singer, but rarely gets in more than 3 songs a night. This night there were periods of time where it was just her and I on the rotation.

In most situations, I would consider packing up a little early to close since the revenue is light, but I stuck around because it was a treat for Sooz, AND the bartender would have to stay there anyway since she is new and has no key, so I played my full show, ultimately yelling to the people to let me know what they wanted to hear and I would sing it. THAT was fun, and their choices were great! Deep Purple, Yardbirds, Bread, lot of classic rock...and I was all over the place before that. I was pretty much committing myself to only new songs I have never done, and I kept pretty good to that commitment. By the end of the night, I remembered what I loved about karaoke, and what got me interested in the first place.

It seems lately I get a little mentally burned out when I am working when it comes to my singing...either I am suffering allergies and cant make my voice work 100%, or it is so busy I pull myself out of the rotation and dont sing at all, or it is busy and it is requested of me to sing songs that I do all the time, such as Hair, Bohemian Rhapsody or Cara Mia. Mind you I love to sing those, but I dont want to be known as a one trick pony, so I try to shake it up when I can. I usually get 2 songs a night at the Shark, opener and the top of the rotation, and it was generally the rule that I would HAVE to sing Hair. That got real predictable real fast, considering there are probably THOUSANDS of other songs I am capable of singing that the people will never hear. So I have been shaking it up there a bit. Sunday I did Bohemian Rhapsody there for the first time...it took a couple of verses for it to sink in, but by the end the reaction was OVERWHELMING. I cant remember getting so many compliments on a performance there, except maybe the first time I did Cara Mia. This was a great preface for Monday night...having people appreciate the performance, reward you with praise, and generally having fun and pushing the boundaries.

THAT is why I discovered karaoke, and that is what I try to get my singers to experience.

So I was feeling pretty good when I left on Monday. Sometimes you need a good slow night to help get your perspective back on track.

And tonight is show #2000! I am looking forward to seeing old and new friends. There have been a lot of faces across the stage since I started...each one with its own drama, and many of them whose lives have been affected in some way, major or minor, by me or their involvement with my show.

Looking forward to the next 2000! Thanks to you all.