Announcement
Considering how well yesterday's shows went, I'm doing another set sometime Sunday afternoon, and probably another collaborative set with Life In Balance. I'll probably be playing at 1 or so, with the collaborative improv at 2 or 3. If you're planning on coming to the Expo, drop by on your way to the hyperbaric chamber or a workshop or something. (No, I've not tried the hyperbaric chamber, although some people have mentioned they were trying it. As for me, I need less pressure on me, not more. I need to get into the vacuum chamber or something.)

It'll be an echoey set of guitar and percussion samples, plenty of looping, and probably some backwards stuff. Who can resist backwards audio? Not me, that's for sure.

The Pittsburgh Expomart, 105 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville Mall, Monroeville, PA. Just off Rt. 22. More info, including downloadable PDF Guide and Speaking Schedule can be found here: http://www.wholehealthexpo.com/

Report
Something of a letdown from yesterday. I was fighting a cold, but revived enough to show up. I stopped for some espresso to take in with me, and realized that the Expo Mart is designed in such a way as to prevent convenient traffic flow for this purpose. I ended up leaving the mall complex and coming back in from the other direction, but I was in the house before 12:30.

Steve and Ami were already playing, so I thought I'd set up as quietly as possible. While I was laying out the gear, one older gentleman approached and asked, "What's the point of all this?" He seemed to indicate the music. "Are they selling tapes or what?" So I directed him to the merch table and sold him one of the Life In Balance CDs. He said a few disparaging comments about the people playing yesterday (um, that'd be us, Pops), but I figured what the hell, it was nice closing a sale for them. He was followed in quick succession by a few women who were interested in what Steve and Ami were playing, so I sold two more by the time they were done at 12:45.

Apparently, that level of positive interest was unusual for today. They'd been approached several times by pushy, aggressive people complaining about the volume level, even though what they were doing was actually very gentle. I wasn't selling anything, so I did a set from 1 to 1:30, which was very consonant and probably ok, but not memorable at the moment. If anything, it was raw material for something else. I did a bit more live looping, and if nothing else, all these sets in a row are helping me learn to navigate the pedalboard I've set up. With the volume this low, though, it's hard to tell what's actually happening with the sound at times.

During a break, I sold another copy of the set from yesterday, and then spent a lot of energy on some potential customers who ultimately bought nothing. Steve started playing some solo keyboard and flute, so I went over and joined in on processed uke, a combination that ended up being very nice. Again the volume was so low that it was hard to figure out exactly what effect the processing was having, but at least I could hear the uke acoustically. I recorded my side of the improv, but Steve's copy of Live crashed after 20 minutes or so, as it tends to do when global recording is enabled. Still, a very nice mix.

After this, we hung out at the merch table, and Steve and Ami made a few more sales. We got a complaint from one woman who had wanted to see us play at 3, when here we'd just ended. Uh, you did hear us, if you were around anywhere. But she was upset that we didn't stick to the schedule, and instead gave Steve and Ami an hour of downtime before their workshop. One woman came up, started asking questions, and grabbed the quartz crystal bowl on the table a couple times, which is rather troubling--people don't always know what these cost (a lot), and often don't know how to handle them. While this woman seemed reluctant to buy any of the Life In Balance CDs, asking if we had a tape she could hear to preview their work, it turned out that my $5 price point was more attractive to her, and at Ami's suggestion, she bought my Circuits of Steel tour CD (with the sets from Chicago, St. Louis, and Muncie). It was quite interesting to watch this all unfold.

While Steve and Ami did the workshop, I hung out with the merch and the gear, and not much happened apart from my taking the chance to pack up, although the woman who complained about scheduling came back to make the same complaint again, and another woman's pre-toddler launched a quartz crystal at one of the Life In Balance CDs, cracking the jewel case and causing a de facto sale. Steve and Ami finished up the workshop and started packing up their gear, and shortly after that I was on the way home.

Overall, a down day from the first one, but still, a chance to sell a couple discs, hang out, and get more comfortable using the MIDI pedal board.