Music dominates today, but responding to requests, here is a picture of the crab legs referred to y’day. Stone crab or blue crab, something like that. Because I cannot cook it, I rarely eat this type of seafood. For instance, I did not know it comes already cooked. Did you? The crab legs are the black-tipped thingees between the shrimp. According to my reliable source, there are only two places to get really fresh seafood in Miami. My other question is how do they manage to get the crab legs all the same size?
Today may be musical history for me. After several hours of work on the shop bench, the "live" Karaoke software passed all the tests. I packed it up and went to Jimbo's to put on what turned out to be the best single act show of my life. Bear in mind I am quite aware that in Jimbo's, I have a trained audience so I am careful not to assume anything. At the same time, the results cannot be explained as sheer novelty. It really was a fantastic performance.I'll run over the important details which I'd like to preserve in case I've actually stumbled across something here. There were some Karaoke people in the audience who figured out something new was going on and really liked the concept. They came forward with lots of useful suggestions, one being to move the monitor back closer to the stage. Many things went wrong, such as the laptop overbalancing my music stand, the computer monitor being brighter than the standard Karaoke TV and a much longer delay (up to 45 seconds) between each tune.
The best arrangement for now is to place the monitor beside me on stage. This gives the act the resemblance of an extra band member and encourages the hoped-for sing-a-long atmosphere. And sing they did. Nothing like it anywhere that I've ever seen. Don't misinterpret what I mean, because I've seen plenty of concerts and shows with crowd participation. But only for one or two songs all night long. My audience became part of the show.
As predicted, it is hard not to sing along. There were some strangers in the room that took considerable interest in what was happening. Actually, anybody who looks very closely at the screen can see me scroll between the tunes but that will just confuse them worse (because it looks like an ordinary menu list). The success can be gauged by how every person in the buiding as turned around facing the stage all night long. That alone is a milestone. Instead of getting up on stage at Karaoke and making a fool of yourself, you can now do that sitting right where you are. Ha!
This was just the pilot show, a proof of concept you might say. I already have a list of equipment I'd like to change and I've also noticed the computer plays back a better dymanic range than your standard DVD player. I have not yet begun to get new ideas with all this. Since only a third of my music is converted to the new standard, I played some of the easy listening tunes I keep for mellow shows. Hmmm, give them a microphone, the lyrics and a little coaching and these people will sing anything. Double hmmm.
Some technical improvements are already on the way. For example, I will change the displayed words from Karaoke-like sentences to all simple phrases with rarely more than five words per line. Singing should not be a speed-reading contest. I will experiment with some kind of counter on screen to bring people back on queue after a musical silence, such as the "Romeo and Juliet" part of the tune "Fire".
Less important are changes to the song list. I am no longer self-limited to danceable tunes. The sky is the limit now. Everything goes. Nor do I decline to play repeats, something I was staunchly against before. A twenty dollar bill changed my mind on that, the tune was "You Don't Have To Call Me Darling". Those Neil Diamond tunes were a damn good call, and I've evoking material I haven't played in decades. Stuff like Greenbaum's "Spirit In the Sky" and I sense another shift toward country music. Note, I draw a distinction between country and country rock.
In all, I have good reason to be pleased with the results. I'm even a little surprised how everything went according to plan, something rare with such complicated projects. My weekends can often be determined by how successful my performances go, and Pudding-Tat will be eating lobster tomorrow. Maybe those teen years I spent conducting the junior choir before I was old enough myself to join it may pay off after all. Nobody could sing then, either, and I managed.
Okay, you get another picture, you been good. This is the view from the cafeteria on the tenth floor. Life is better a few hundred feet above street level. This condo is across from the Convention Center and the sharper-eyed can spot the pretty girl sunbathing. Nobody in the pool. Ever. It is like balconies out on the west coast. They are an out-dated status symbol and in many cases have become so small even that is questionable. Some Seattle condos have balconies only three feet wide. They are great for storing bicycles, another thing that never gets used. Portland, however, is a different story. That’s the Portland in Oregon.Return Home
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