leftyjay

Mikeo, You can only do what you can to avoid getting sick. I use to catch the flu every season down here in Florida because people wanted hugs and hand shakes from me. After they touch me, then they would tell me "I've been sick all week, but couldn't miss your performance." Grrrr!!!! And like you, I haven't had as much as a sniffle the past 2 years with masks and social distancing. I set the rules for the audience and me when it comes to close contact. TOUCHING AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. I stay on stage behind my keyboard and mixer table (my gear cubical). But there is always that one or two people that want to come up and talk to me. I tell them "Stop right there. We can talk from a distance just fine. If you want a request, write it down and set it on the front of the stage." So far, so good! I don't judge anybody on how they are protecting themselves from colds, flu, covid, shingles, etc. When things were bad I wore a mask. Never bothered me. In fact, I forgot it was on my face. Only thing was, it fogged my glasses till I bought an anti-fog spray for my glasses. If I was at a store and someone was coming the other way down the isle without a mask, I'd just turn around and back track down that isle when people cleared out. I still carry my little bottle of GermX just in case I slip up and forget what I'm touching. I have shook a guys hand before thinking and immediately reached in my pocket for my GermX, while saying to the guy "No disrespect, but you can't trust anybodies hygiene habits but your own". LOL I'm gigging just about as much as I was before the pandemic. But my prices, like everything else has gone up. People that booked me has never squabbled over price. Things are as good as they're going to be for a while. I'm doing as much as I can to protect myself. I cant afford to be out of work for another 18 months, so I'll do everything I can to keep myself healthy. And people with any common sense understands my situation. Haven't run into any idiots trying to shame me with my health decisions. Stay safe and healthy

yeah, I'm from the extreme northeast corner of Ohio. I lived on Lake rd about 100 yards from Lake Erie. If it gets over 85 outside, I make a beeline from my car ac to the house ac. Guitar playing is difficult for me in the humidity and heat. If i just strummed chords, it would be different, but I need to play all over the neck and my hands get sticky. I'm constantly washing my hands and using "fast fret". I cant use any of my lacquer painted guitars outside. they get real tacky. Oh yeah, since I play on the west coast, we have to deal with Red Tide. You cant play along the beach venues when the Tide drifts in. It's nasty. I much prefer a nice roomy stage and dry, cool conditions, easy stage entrance doors. I carry a ton of gear and don't want to be wilted and wore out before I start. As it is, I arrive 1.5-2 hrs before a gig so i can be setup and make sure everything works. Sit, cool down, and relax for 15-30 minutes, change clothes and get ready to start. I don't have those options if i play outside. I'll show up the last minute and setup just what i absolutely need and start immediately once i'm tuned up. carry 2-3 fans to circulate some air around to dry me off. drink 4-5 bottles of water. I would love 68-75 degrees everyday, but that's not going to happen in SW Florida.

its been a good start of the year with gigs. I've been playing the senior communities. have also been given some dates that the other entertainers couldn't play because they got covid. My main thing is to set up backed further on the stage than normal to distance myself, no hugs, no hand shakes, no mic sharing, and not leaving my cubical of my gear during the gig. Averaging 15-20 gigs/month. The crowds aren't filling the venues, but it is comfortable so not to squeeze everybody in. Outdoor gigs have been quite uncomfortable lately. Florida has been averaging upper 85-90 degrees. YUK! Feels like June/July already. I have one more outside gig on March 18. The rest are all in doors, but the venues are big with nice roomy stages and dance floors. One thing I noticed was the tip jar increase. When you play private parties, you usually get paid good up front, so tips aren't a factor. If you get $30-40 a night, sometimes even less, you're happy. But this season has averaged $150 a night. I've had some big tips of $50 and $100 found in the jar at the end of the night. They wanted to be anonymous because nobody went out of their way to show me their tip. All I can guess is that the people are glad to be out and listening to music again. So i've been able to live mainly on the tips and bank the checks. Too bad the season slows down in April. I need to make up for 18 months of not gigging and 2 surgeries that slowed me down. Still happy to see a somewhat normal gigging atmosphere.

I've had a couple Covid gigs fall into my lap. I have one for Saturday. I do play in doors. I take in consideration the stage is big or high so I can move back 7-10 ft from the front. I don't leave the stage once I get setup. I definitely don't hug or shake hands with anybody. If someone comes up to the stage, I talk to them from behind my keyboard and rig to make distancing easier. It's worked well so far. I've had all the shots (Covid vax, Booster, flu). I bought some of the BinaxNow home tests. I just ordered the free tests from covidtests.gov. I've done all I can do to keep my gigs going. I tend to think the senior parks are more likely to be Vax'd. I play in the 60 and over communities. But I'm sure there are a few that don't want to follow along. So I stay distanced from everybody there and I dont share my microphone with anybody. I just lost another buddy I played music with back in the mid 1980s. Great bass player and a golden voice. But, he didn't believe in Covid or the Vax. He contacted Covid mid October. 90 days later, he died of Covid in the hospital. They gave him all the meds (Remdesivir, and antibody cocktail) plus a ventilator. His anti-vax buddies came in daily to see him slowly dying. They posted on his Facebook "please pray for Tim". But alas, he didn't make it. I hope all his friends learn from this, but I doubt it. This marks number 5 on my Covid death list of musicians I use to play with. None were Vax'd.

Thanks Charlie, Been doing my solo act for 35 years (since 1987). Was a keyboard player in my bands, but could play guitar too. There was always plenty of guitarist, so I never had the need to play guitar. BUT, when i decided to start my solo, I worked on getting my guitar licks back. So, between learning how to sequence my tracks and then play 85-90% on the guitar, I got my pickin' back. For that NYE party, I brought 4 guitars, one lap steel, and my keyboard to give people a variety of sounds and music. They paid me big bucks. I'm not gonna skimp on them. I'll give them everything I have and more. As for getting the crowd into my music, I'm able to improvise my tracks and pick any song at any time, so no song list is needed. No time wasted between songs, and watching the crowd reaction to keep up on what they want. And to know when its time to change things up. I've made nearly 1000 tracks the last 35 years. Question is....which 45-50 songs do i need to play for this crowd? Every song I sequence can be adjusted on the fly (lengthen, shorten, speed up, slow down, change key, vamp the solos so i can play extended leads. I've got all this in my keyboard so i can make changes as i play. Most solos using tracks (waves. mp3s) cant adjust anything. They are tied to the song without the ability to edit it while the song is playing. This really gets the crowd going when you can extend a song and let them party to it. Its like being in a band and jamming on a tune that everybody is dancing to. Funny...that video had "Celebration", "Brick House", "Mony Mony".....Haven't need these songs for years, but that was what worked that night. SRV songs always goes over if you get the right tone on the guitar. I play 11 of his tunes. Always a hit when I play any of his tunes. I try to sneak in 3-4 a night.

I am very surprised that I haven't had more cancellations with the current omicron variant spreading. I lost 2 big parties for late January and early February, but booked 2 new venues for March and April. I cant go another big season without playing, so I did everything I could to protect myself (vaccine, booster, flu shot) and if I get sick, at least I wont be worried about it's severity. I even picked up some of the good Binax Now home covid tests so I can test myself if I feel lousy. Then I'll call the venue and cancel. If they can do it to me, I can do it to them. Worst scenario, I'll be off for 7-10 days, just like when i get my yearly sinus infections. I would normally struggle through a few weeks of gigs feeling terrible and lower the keys on songs 2-3 notes till I have time to rest for 3-4 days. In 34 years as a solo, I've only cancelled a gig 2 times. People booked me 2 years ahead and I felt obligated to play their date no matter what. But with the pandemic and all the cancellations, I'll just cancel and not worry about the party. Life goes on....

somebody at the party sent me a video they did with their iphone of the party. Of course, they got all the quirky songs I played and didn't use my better material, but they show the crowd having a good time. He suppose to dropbox me all the raw footage so I can check out everything. Maybe he took footage of songs I played that I'd like to hear. https://youtu.be/d88mE3MkT0M

Sorry to hear that Shaster. Down here in Florida, the Canadians came down, but they are very cautious in the venues. I played a Christmas eve party. Normally, there are 180 people (40% Canadians). This year, there was 60 in doors and the Canadians wanted a tent outside so they can be at the party, but they sat outside the door. Made it difficult for me since I didn't see them outside. They would come in and dance to the song, then go back outside. Crazy! Tonight, we had 381 paid people at the party. There were Canadians that ran the party. Still smaller than I'm use to for that venue, but still a great party. It was wild all night. Always a crowded dance floor. One thing to mention....Not a mask anywhere to be found. But the crowd averaged 65-70. I'm sure nearly all were vax'd. One thing for sure....I'm out of shape. I haven't played 2 nights in a row for 20 months. I played an Elks club last night and this NYE party. My voice held up just fine, but my body is wore out. Got stiff just standing in one place for 4 hours. Had a hard time bending over to unplug my cables and pack the gear. It will be better once I get back into the swing and get back to 3-4 nights.

I'm hoping everybody is getting back to gigging. Things aren't quite where they were before the "S" hit the fan, but there is improvement in acquiring gigs. People have called for bookings and the season looks good. I'm sure the bar scene wasn't hit as bad as the private party gigs. I was off 17 months. But now, the private parties are back to booking me. Since I play the senior venues, I have less to worry about on if everybody is vax'd or not. NYE I'm playing the biggest RV resort in Florida. It is in the center of the state. They normally book me for 3-4 parties a season. Normal crowd is 400-500 (in doors). Don't know what to expect this time. Will be kind of crazy if there are that many for NYE. Luckily, there is a big, deep stage in this venue. I wont be right up against the crowd. But I will be in the room with them for 4 hours plus setup/tear down time. I doubt I'll mingle around. I play dance break music on my spare laptop so to keep the floor full. Normally I just throw it on auto-pilot, but NYE is different. You go the extra mile to satisfy so you will get the gig again. Probably just stay on stage and keep busy. Want to wish everybody a great gig and a fantastic and healthy 2022.

i have 4 copies of my thumb drive, plus the files are stored on a laptop with a ssd drive. Believe me...I have backups of backups of everything. If you don't, then you're not taking your gigging seriously. I've had plenty of issues over the past 30+ years. You learn how to correct those issues. For some reason, musicians want to set up in 5 minutes and make only one trip to their car and be setup. That's is why there are venues paying the same as they did 30 years ago. You need to show them you have more to offer. Give them something to talk about. Show them you're better then all the others (unless you know you're not better LOL) Show them you're taking the gig seriously. The people will notice, and better venues will hear about you, and better gigs will come...

I have my yamaha keyboard workstation. It basically plays everything I need behind me. It has a thumb drive with the sequences saved on it. I can access any song at any time, and I have made well over 1000 backing tracks. I also have a digitech vocalist pro rack harmonizer that is midi'd to the keyboard so when i play a song, it also plays the correct notes to harmonize so i dont have to turn it on and off all night. set it and forget it. Just sing the song and the harmony will be there when i sing. I still love using this keyboard because i can adjust stuff on the fly. play different versions of songs just like a band. lengthen, shorten, long lead solo, tempo, key change, etc. I also have an old "windows vista" laptop that I carry with me to supply the break music (mp3's) and i also saved 600 of my main songs on it as a "just in case" safety precaution. I have never hooked that laptop up to the internet, nor have i ever let it update. It has worked perfectly since 2009. I made a mistake one time between christmas and new years to update a laptop and it dumped all my break music at the New Years Eve party. Luckily, i saved the music on my home pc and had my girlfriend bring me a thumb drive to load back into the laptop. But that took nearly 2 hours for her to go home and get the thumb drive and get back to me at the party. In the meantime, I played 2 1/2 hours straight till she got the music back on my laptop. I was lucky that night. I also now carry an ipad (actually 2) with my 600 mp3 tracks and 50 of the regular break song (line dance) stuff just in case. come to think of it, my iphone also has the songs too along with lyrics if needed, (never use them) i can remember lyrics once the song kicks in. So....yes have backup everything just in case. I carry 2 Bose L1 Model ll with 4 B1 subs. One is usually needed I also have 2 Alto 12" speakers with 800 watts for other rooms i may need to fill. plus tripods 2 mics enough cables and power cords for any situation I only carry one mixer, but have 3 more at home. And a lighting system that is midi and the songs have light schemes programmed, so its another set it and forget it. when the song ends, it defaults back to one main light on me between songs. So, i love to use my keyboard because it controls the lighting on my backing tracks, plus cues the harmony as when to kick in and out. oh yeah, a nice rug to setup on. This makes 34 years of me doing my solo act. Learned a lot over the years

I went with a workstation keyboard that allows me to sequence full songs and separate the sections to I can arrange the songs on the fly. I tried a Tyros 5. It's a little too automated for my needs. I suppose I could use an arranger to create my own tracks, but there is so much auto arrangements installed, you would eventually get lazy and use those ready made fills to get by, falling into a same sound as others trap. I wanted my arrangements to sound unique. The workstation was the way to go for stage solo gigs. I use the arranger section for typical 3-4 chord songs (usually oldies because they are so short) I make an intro, a verse, a chorus, bridge, ending. There are 6 parts that can be saved to each arrangement. Then i can arrange the song on the fly, but it is still my sequence from start to finish. I use a Yamaha MOXF6 and have well over 1000 songs stored and ready to play from a thumb drive. 34 years of sequencing for my solo act and recording studios have made me pretty good at making tracks. I am mainly a guitarist that likes to play lead, but all the years I've spent making my own tracks, I've became a decent keyboard player too. I play guitar about 85% of the time on the gig. I throw in piano tunes when I want to change it up. Typically, I use drums, bass, piano, strings/organ and the sax/horns if needed. I usually use 4-5 tracks tops. My main reason I decided to go with a workstation over an arranger is because of the sequenced song can be split up into parts so I can arrange any song I make on it. If I don't touch a button, it plays the song as originally sequenced. If I want to change the arrangement on stage, I can do that on the fly. Very useful when the crowd gets into a song and is up dancing. I can decided to lengthen the song to keep it going just like a band. I do use a digitech vocalist pro harmonizer rack that does my harmony, but i dont have it follow chords to decide the harmony. I play the notes that i want it harmony to sing. If I dont play a note, it doesnt harmonize. That means, I dont have to turn it off and on all the time. Once you put the notes on the track, the harmonizer follows those notes. Perfect harmony. set it...forget it. Really great when playing difficult harmonies that dont follow the chord structure. There is also no loading time between songs, so no pauses between songs, which keeps the party going. As a backup, I have an ipad 6 that I've recorded 500+ of my keyboard songs on. Just in case....but i cant edit those songs or use the harmonizer. It will do if my keyboard takes a dump on stage. nice to be prepared just in case...

Glad you got to play a gig. I suppose to start back up on Sept 9. Just waiting for the Dr to give me the OK. My last Physical Therapy will be Sept 6. I think my shoulder is doing great. Probably should practice my old songs since I haven't sang or played them since March of last year. Only been playing the new songs I put together while I was stuck at home (132 songs). My 2022 gigs are 2/3 full. People called me to get back the bookings they cancelled last year. Just don't want to end up having them cancelled because people aren't getting Vax'd. I personally don't have any sympathy or patience for anti-vaxxers. After I was vaccinated, I gave everybody else all summer to get one too. If they haven't got one by now, they are on their own. If you physically cant take the vaccine, you shouldn't be out in public. But if you're not Vax'd, please don't come out to my gigs. I made a sign that I will be using... (If you are not vaccinated or wearing a mask, stay away from me) Hopefully we'll all get back into the swing soon like we were before this ClusterF*** took place.

Its a start Shaster. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for us musicians. My bank account cant wait to see an actual deposit. Still waiting to play my first gig. Been shut down since march 2020. Ended up getting neck surgery in the fall since I wasn't gigging. Was all set to return in March 2021. Got my vaccine shots, then....my shoulder gave out on me. Been getting quarterly shots to avoid surgery. But, it finally got bad enough, I gave in and got the surgery June 1. It was a complete reverse shoulder replacement. I now have no rotator cuff tendons. Its just my bicep and deltoid muscle doing all the work. Problem is, it was my fretting hand. I can play cowboy chords, but moving up and down the neck is rough. I'm a lead guitarist. It will take time to get my riffs back. 12 weeks of PT. That'll push me into late September. So I've started booking for October on. October will be just 5-6 gigs to get me back into the swing, then November will be 18+ gigs per month thru April. I've got some groupie friends that will help me move my gear for a while till I get stronger and regain my motion in that arm.

Surgery went as planned. Amazing how they can completely rebuild the shoulder with steel and plastic and you walk out in less than 2 hours. After the block wears off, you don’t even need the sling. I remember just 10 years back that this procedure would take hours to complete and you would be in the hospital for 3-5 days. Recovery would take 4-6 months. I’m scheduled for therapy 7 days after surgery so they can get my arm moving and the muscles strengthened. They said 2 weeks and I should be able to drive. I’m already using the arm quite a bit. They want me to use it Sure, it’s sore. But it was really sore before surgery The only difference is, I know it will get better every day. I can already get my arm in position to fret the guitar. If I didn’t have the swelling, I could probably play. But I’m planning on returning to gigs in August-September. I want to make sure I’m completely able to perform and carry the gear.