It ain't perfect

Hello In There

A little of the hair of the dog. Allie actually sat in with us in the early Rhubarb days when we were doing open mics. There are videos- mostly bad. She played piano at Boulevard Music for our three song set and came to the Fountain Valley fiasco. (It was a community stage- all you had to was sign up- the stage was a mile away from everything, the sound guy took an hour to set us up and we played to three people and it was lousy sound. My good son came and video taped us- standing with the sun behind us- so you couldn't see us at all. As I'm writing this, the group of them (all 23-24-25 are playing cards in the kitchen, -they don't hang with us if there is a better offer. I left at 21 and called home maybe once a month. When I was around, I was preoccupied- wish I had known.) But that's the way it goes. She likes 40s jazz songs. I'm playing folk and bluegrassy stuff. I wouldn't mind having them in the mix- but it ain't their thing. The tall boy bear is really a good guitarist. 

Two of the three

The McNay in LA / Long Beach




The McNay in Paris

The other one is here, I just got to go get a shot of him taking up the couch.

Thanks for asking

NoHo Done for the Winter

Played from 6 to 9:00 pm tonight at NoHo Dine Out Fridays. Had a nice crowd. Four Trucks. The weather reports say that we would have a low tonight of 46 degrees. To LAers it felt a lot colder than that. At 8:30 pm, my fingers were not playing well. I go now, fully expecting to be there by myself. I set up for the whole group and they show up. It still amazes me some how. Why would these people follow me into a jungle of cold and foggy nights? Betsy reminded us that it was 110 in the shade in West Covina where we played one Saturday. We did good. They like us. I book us every other month. Its a long way to go. This was another of my creating a venue. They weren't having music because they didn't have our music. No covers. We did fine without them. ASCAP has been calling her, the organizer says. I suggested she just buy a entertainment license for a couple of hundred. A weird guy showed up with his recorder to play with us- as if we were going to rearrange our lives to let him play. We were all nice to him, but it was a little annoying. I felt sorry for him, he was obviously a little nuts and lonely. Christmas is next. We play the 30th and have a jam here at my house on New Years Day. Come by if you have an instrument.

I, of course, was not a headliner

Just got in. The Acoustic Lounge at the Viper is about the size of the Cinema Bar. Very close. Had a nice crowd of twenty or so. They just kept me on. Did almost an hour I think. Nerves, but I warmed up. The pretty girls telling me they liked me helped a whole lot. The bartender sang Dirty Old Town with me. The main stage upstairs was a little bigger than the Tripp where we played a week ago. Maybe I could book Rhubarb in the big room. You all would come to Hollywood on a week night, right? One song had me grabbing at my thumb pic slipping off in the middle of it, but other than that...

LINK

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Vnt7euRF5Pg&vq=medium\\\

There is this guy in some city south of me- Hermosa Beach or in Long beach I think. He is the best of guys. He would organize jams at his place because he couldn't get away because he was care giving to his mother's problems. He really loved and still loved the music. Anyway, he just sent this out to all of us.

God, if he does exist, god bless

Three Gig Weekend

We played Westchester First Fridays on Friday night from 6 to 9 pm Wet and foggy and on the wrong end of the street- singing against the recorded music the trucks were playing and their generators. Everything ended up soaked. The play books, the instruments and sound equipment. After it was over, we still stood around and took pictures of each other with our cell phones. Nancy kept coming out on Betsy's phone as a washed out blurry angel.

The next day we played a craft fair in Long Beach from 11:00 to 4:00. Just four of us. They loved us. We got $50.00 in tips and the organizer gave us $100.00. The vendors all were applauding us. Raul sang- the guy in the Santa hat. Craig came late. Two or three friends showed up. 

 

My daughter came and did a mini-set so I could video her for putting up to Youtube so I can get her some gigs. I'll put the videos up here.

Sunday night another 4 person version played at Tripp, a club in Santa Monica. Really nice set. The sound was good, we were good - the very first decent club show we've done.

On ward and on ward

Boy was I out of my depth

The House of Blues last night

So, the info sheet and agreement I got said to show at six and set-up and sound check at 6:30 and I go on at eight. It was made out that I was the opening act for the headliner. 45 minute set. I show up at six. They are setting up the "house band."  The info said you could rent the house band to play behind you. Which I didn't intend to do. The two lady singers that did rent the house band played each a half hour set. Generally lame jazz songs, although the second one was a little better because it seemed there were a couple of original songs in her set. My sound check was just plugging in my banjo pick-up to make sure it worked. There was a kid there, probably about 18, that turned out to be booked for the same slot as I was. 

(Also, always introduce yourself to the sound guy, learn his name and make friends. He's the one that came over to tell me about the situation with the double booking.) So the kid and I get together and figure out that we will each get a half hour and I'll go first. 

Nothing at all from Ace, the promoter, about this. Earlier on, I asked him if I was getting my 45 minute set, and he said if everything goes smoothly. Then, at eight, when I'm supposed to go on, he puts a sax player in front of me for a song. 

I get my half hour. There were about 60-70 people in the room. All standing, I had practiced all week singing to an empty chair. No empty chair to be seen. A wall of people in front of me. One of my friends leaves because of the noise level and the crowd. The applause was cool, this great roar after each song. 

So I'd recommend staying away from Ace Michaels Entertainment. While the paperwork did say they would only guarantee a 15-30 minute set, this was not the way it was presented on Craig's List. And I do believe I have an email confirming my 45 minute set. It's also apparent, you get better treatment if you hire the house band, but they were just old jazz musicians. The guy double booked me and the kid in the same slot and he brings this dude on in my time to do one number. Real unprofessional.

The after party with my friends, They took the cotton candy home to a brother.  

My New Toy

It acts like spoons. Actually I'm getting good it -been practicing

What I've Found

The little girl I hoped would have a decent and good life is married to a ass who has a rap sheet 30 arrests long. Theft and MJ possession and driving under and all the petty crap of real stupidity. There is nothing fucking I can do and I don't want my life pulled into this crap. This is certainly not Kansas any more!

We will even autograph 'em

The new Rhubarb Meringue Pie Tshirt. It has the pie with white letters on the back.
Available Here:

http://www.cafepress.com/rhubarbmeringuepie

The fallacy of Booking Agents

So this came in yesterday. in response to a email I sent on 10-25. 2 1/2 weeks - he was busy. But obviously not busy enough to look at the links I provided. I answered his questions.

We're all 22, we live in a barn in the valley and we're a heavy metal rap band and we can bring 1000s of people if it a 4th of July firework event.


Hello,

 We do have dates available to local and touring bands. All members of every band must be 21 years of age or older and the band must be able to draw at least 10-15 people at a minimum. Unless you are based more than 100 miles away. In this case we still expect you to promote the show and get as many people out as possible to see your band (no one wants to play for no one). The payout policy is each band receives all of their individual draw after the first 10 heads. On a $5 cover a draw of 20 makes $50, draw of 30 makes $100 and so on. Unless again you are on a tour in that case you would make your entire door draw for your band. We also do free entry shows at our discretion. In the event we do a free show no pay will be offered. Each band submission has to include answers to the below form questions:
 1. Are all of the performers 21 or over? 

 2. Where are you based out of? 

 3. What type of music or genre is your band? 

 4. How many people could you get to come out and see you perform? (we need to know what to expect, please answer honestly it will help us book you on the right show) Thanks for the inquiry, please let us know if you would like to proceed.

Mac- 562-277-0075
www.facebook.com/dosdiasbooking www.facebook.com/h1pro
www.facebook.com/worldfamousdh Mac McGarvey
Dos Dias Booking 562-277-0075

From: Dan McNay
To: dollhutbooking@gmail.com 
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 4:16 PM 
Subject: Interested in performing at your venue 

We do bluegrass and folk and a little country western as well as original material. We've been performing at the Melrose Trading Post, the Brentwood Art Fair, at Long Beach & Manhattan Beach venues as well as Anaheim & West Covina. I've attached links here as a sample of the music. 
http://www.youtube.com/user/danmcnay?feature=watch#p/a/u/0/Fvszqu4hGeY 
http://youtu.be/pzpBN2fIu3I http://youtu.be/cRuHoHPvsXo 

Please forward this to the correct person if this would be handled by someone else. I'm the banjo player in the band. 
www.myspace.com/573140880 
www.facebook.com/pages/Rhubarb-Meringue-Pie/157829137633097 
www.dan-mcnay.blogspot.com/ 
Dan McNay 
310-448-8215 
310-337-7229

Nice Apology

So this was what I got in response. Nice apology- no gig however.

Hi Dan,

I understand you were upset about the day time gig thing. I want to truly apologize. I actually thought it was bad for the performers because they do not have an audience to play to so we thought it would discourage them all together to performing at the shop so we were actually thinking about you as well as the Coffee House. Also I though the Saturday night would be more lively, more audience, so more fun to play to. I think you are very talented and I really appreciate you. In regards to the water, I will make up for that by giving you several waters for free. I am under a lot of pressure in the shop I just took over 2 months ago and very much in the red (as you see the customers are very low) so sometimes I do not think straight.

Art

Apparently they were little

So, I answer a ad on Craig's List - a Coffee House is looking for musicians, so I answer, We all want to do Coffee Houses- if you're over 50 anyway. So on the basis of me videos she invites me to come do a Friday night. I go- there are no regulars- the only people there are the 3 people I bring in. Deadly. And by the way the temperature on their little stage is twice what it is in the rest of the place. I'm sweating off and melting and they don't open the frigging door. They, of course, don't understand that because they have never sat up there for two hours. The girl behind the counter is nice- Chelsea (my daughter's name) I tell her- in roaring excitement- subdued of course- that I just booked into the House of Blues and I'm jazzed- she asks 'is that something important?'  So she seemed to like the music and suggested that I come back on Sunday and try in the 11-1200 time because they have more people coming. OK. Mellow place. I can practice. The second time its only the three ladies I bring in. I manage to open the frigging door- so the people passing by CAN HEAR THE MUSIC- and GET INTERESTED. There was actually a Dad and his little boy hanging around for a little while. So ok, I'll try again. I take a day off work about 4-5 days before and drive around the neighborhood and put about 25 posters, thinking I'd work up some foot traffic. They seemed nice. The owner doesn't talk much- I liked Chelsea. I imagined they were a couple trying to make a go of it. I suggested people go over and do their open mic. Nancy and Judy went and both said there was no one there. So I do it again. Actually had a group that came in and applauded my songs and a couple of ladies that wanted me to stay over because they hadn't gotten to hear what I did. The owner made me pay for a frigging bottle of water and wouldn't let me open the frigging door- because there might be flies. There are no flies in that area of LA- the exhaust kills them. Anyway, so I swallow being offended- it was like $1.25 or something- I make a lot of money in my real life- but it was really hot up there again. And if the music can't draw air then it can't do anything.
So I was figuring out when I could go back- my daughter, who has a hell of a voice is moving back to LA and I thought I could get her this venue- but here's what I got:

On 11/13/2012 5:08 PM, Self wrote:
We aren't doing day time gigs anymore, but you can come by for open mic this Saturday if you want. It starts at 7. We have a couple other people who might show, but given people are flaky you might luck out and have the stage. Hope to see you! -C.Combs

On Nov 13, 2012, at 3:08 PM, Dan McNay wrote: 
Chelsea, I'd love to come back on Sunday Nov 25th- say from 12:00 to 2:00 pm?
Thanks Dan McNay

I emailed:
Chelsea, 
 I wanted to let you know that I was trying to help you guys out. I put up posters all around the neighborhood before my last time there, trying to draw people in. I can make 20-40 in tips playing the farmer's markets. The fact that your owner made me pay for a bottle of water and I have yet to make any tips there at all, makes me question my own sanity. I suggest you treat any other performers you get a little better. I won't be back and I'm not referring any one else there. 

 Dan 


Maybe I'll send her the blog too.

Shame.

twenty five years ago

This was from the trip when I brought Diane back to meet her. 1924-2012. A hell of a life

And What Do We Have Here?

Friday evening we are playing Westchester First Fridays again. We set up the band down at the corner near the table and at the end of the row of food trucks. We don't have a generator and so I run an extension cord from us up along the sidewalk about twenty feet and then across the street to meet with the cord loaned by our benefactor which plugged another twenty feet away in front of her shop. I bought this extension cord so I could string Christmas lights across my large house. This food truck event is cool, because there's a big audience with lots of people and we have people listening. And we get the average in tips. I keep trying to get it going with out truck events, but it's not exactly working. I'm trying to plug the band into the truck event public media thing and find other crowded venues like this one. I'm beginning to think this is the way to go rather than try to get us into clubs and coffeehouses where they expect you to bring an audience. You can't do that unless you you have already built an audience somewhere.

And I'm beginning to get an inkling of how the truck thing works and if I'm right, I may just be able to plug myself in anywhere, but I need a generator. What happens if the band just shows up at a truck event where there is no live music and just sets up and plays?

We Got Listed On The Calendar! - I'm Joining

THE LINK:  Folkworks.org

WELCOME TO FOLKWORKS

FolkWorks is the source for Folk/Traditional Music, Dance and Storytelling and other related Folk Arts in the greater Los Angeles area. In the tradition of our print publication which was published from January 2000 to July 2007, we continue to release our columns bi-monthly. (For those of you interested, you can view the archives in PDF format.) FolkWorks welcomes your input. If you have ideas for topics that you would like us to cover or just general feedback or questions, email us at folkworks@folkworks.org).

FolkWorks is a 501(c)(3) organization that is supported by our members (this could be you) and a handful of advertisers who are important and relevant to our readers. We treasure our writers and editors, all of whom are volunteers and hope you like what you find in these pages. Thank you all for the encouragement you have given us over the years. If you have ideas for topics that you would like us to cover or just general feedback or questions, email us at folkworks@folkworks.org). If you have ideas for topics that you would like us to cover or just general feedback or questions, email us at folkworks@folkworks.org). BECOME A

FOLKWORKS MEMBER - it's tax deductible! You may use your Credit Card at to join online. Or you can send a check to: FolkWorks PO Box 55051 Sherman Oaks, CA 91413 FOLKWORKS

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A Nice Version of One Of My Songs

What We Missed

This is the gig I turned down for Friday night. Think they'll miss our two songs?

The other one

There was another come-on from a guy that promised bookings and great things. Turned out he was setting up auditions - 5 of them- in fact around LA and all these bands were supposed to appear and audition for him. I assume he will take you on if you audition and are willing to pay him for his services. My band doesn't do auditions- it's pure silliness. Especially, when you can get booked on the basis of your YouTube videos.

 

Come ons and wheeler dealers

So, there's a listing on Craig's List in LA for a event featuring new and upcoming bands. I send in my band's stuff. The guy calls me. They are doing a big thing in a banquet hall in a couple of weeks. They want to book bands (for free, of course). They have a Clipper player coming to shake hands. The guy says he likes our band, but he wants to see us in person. I tell him we are playing for 3 hours over at the Westchester Triangle the coming Friday night. It's three minutes away from where his venue is. He says he'll come see us. We performed. No one showed up to introduce themselves, so I figured he came, maybe, and didn't think we were a good fit. So the following Monday there's another ad up on Craig's List for a similar kind of thing, but it was worded differently and didn't discuss the details, so I put our band info in thinking it was a different thing. The same guy calls me. We talk and he says to come over to the venue the next day to meet and look at it. I go. Its a couple like the picture above and they are there renting the hall. They have a teen age looking kid with them that is a DJ. We look at the hall. It is apparent that the guy does not know what kind of music we play and perhaps did not listen to the links at all. I tell him what we do. It's a nice big room with a stage. I tell him we will only come if we get an hour set. But we will rent the use of our sound equipment for the event if they are interested. The woman tells me she has not heard our music and asked me to send the links again. I hear nothing for a week and 1/2. Then I get this message at 11:00 on a Sunday night:

 HI DAN THIS IS -----------; I MET YOU AT THE PROUD BIRD RESTERAUNT, ABOUT THE ---------- MEET AND GREET, VARIETY SHOW ON THE 26TH, IM NOT SURE IF MY HUSBAND EVER GOT BACK WITH YOU OR NOT BUT WE DID VIEW YOUR LINKS AND LIKED YOU GROUP. ARE YOU STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE 26TH? IF SO CAN YOU CONFIRM WITH ---------. THE SHOW IS AT 8PM. IT HAS TAKEN SHAPE WELL SINCE WE TALKED THAT DAY. IT IS A VARIETY SHOW, DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SO MANY GENRES OF MUSIC REPRESENTED. PLEASE CONTACT ----------- (323)XXXXXXX, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PERFORM. I WILL ATTACH AN EVENT FLYER.

THE WEBSITE IS ----------------------. (which is a pin-up site) IT SHOWS A FEW OF THE ARTISTS THAT WILL PERFORM THAT NIGHT. WE ARE ASKING EVERYONE TO PREPARE ONE OR TWO SONGS. TO PERFORM. YOU WOULD BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO PERFORM. ALSO CAN YOU PERFORM THE FASTER SONGS OR MORE UP BEAT SONGS IN YOUR SET. AS SOON AS YOU GET BACK TO ME I CAN LINK YOUR SONGS/VIDEOS ONTO THE SITE AS WELL. P.S. HOW MUCH WOULD YOU CHARGE US TO USE YOUR MICROPHONES AND SPEAKERS SHOULD THAT BECOME NECCESARY? THANK YOU

I emailed back saying we wouldn't participate if we couldn't do an hour set. But I was still interested in renting sound equipment to them (thinking that if they wanted that, they might agree to an 1 hour set. This was the response:

OH, OK I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND, PLEASE FORGIVE NEGLIGENCE IN CONTACTING YOU BACK SOONER. IT IS MY FAULT I THOUGHT THAT IT HAD BEEN TAKEN CARE OF AND DID NOT CHECK. IF WE DO NEED TO USE YOUR EQUPMEWNT I WILL HAVE ROBERT CALL YOU BACK A.S.A.P.

Not a peep.

Here I Am

Here I am.

Lots and lots of music

Rhubarb at Westchester First Fridays channeling our inner Old Crow Medicine Show. Really played three days in a row with Ed here. The band did this and then went to the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair and played on the main stage:

And then Ed and I played Melrose Trading Post Sunday morning. This last one is one I wrote. The banjo was a little too loud and my voice a little low- but what are you going to do.

Did discover a thing you have to do at a bug stage with a sound guy who's never heard the band, you need to announce who's going to solo in the next number- so he will give them the sound they need. The first fourth of Betsy's banjo solo wasn't because the sound guy didn't realize that's what we were doing.

I got a comment about Amish folks being referred to as Nazis in a previous post- I just thought the picture really summed up the attitude of these web Folk calendar people because I know that they are all 70 and still polishing their Peter Paul & Mary vinyl. 

Folk Nazis

I've been trying to get the band's booked gigs up on Folk Music Calendars on the Web, Nothing happens. So I emailed two of them. A guy from Folkworks.org finally responds saying they don't post Farmer's Markets because there are too many of them. He doesn't bother to address the fact that we are on the Main Stage in Manhattan Beach for a major yearly fair. Or the main stage at the Brentwood Art Fair.

The second one I got was from this woman - you can only find her if you type Alive & Picking into Goggle- why do I bother?

"Hi: please provide the telephone number for each venue at which your group appears, in order that the listing can be verified before we publish it. Thanks! "

 -----Original Message-----
From: Dan McNay To: mkaldin Sent: Tue, Oct 2, 2012 4:07 pm 
Subject: Folk Band Schedule 

Hi, I was wondering how we can get on your schedule of events? 
 Thanks 
 Dan McNay 

Like I'm trying to get up a fictitious listing so people can show up and look for us in vain?

Our Grandparents

 I was playing old Carter family tunes on YouTube and realized that I had my own old photos from the time when Maybelle was having the girls. This is my Grandfather holding my father. My Grandmother was a small town flapper of sorts. That's my Great-Grandmother and Great Aunt and Great great Uncle there. They were on a picnic on the farm. My Great-Grandmother lived into her nineties. I visited her when I was 19. She told me about how my grandmother here was a drug addict. My Grandfather ended up a famous drunk in my hometown. He's in my book. I loved the hopeless old fool.

Done with the first draft

Well, Daydee had her baby tonight. And the first draft of the book is done. About 58K in words. A lot of work ahead to do. Need to develop a entire sub-plot about her relationship with Sara, the bad guy's ex-wife that I didn't know was there until about half way thru this draft. I need to plan out and insert the stages of her pregnancy throughout and tie each section to each stage. There's a whole lot of under developed dramatic stuff to work on. And to find. Stuff to cut, I'm going to try to make this one as commercial as I know how to do, Gonna go for stripped down style, so even a dummy can read it. I went back and looked. I started it in March 2011- so there's a year and 1/2. The last one took me three years and it was twice as long as this, but I wasn't playing in a band every week back then. Gonna print it out tomorrow.

Cheers.

'The Author'

Listen To The Mocking Bird

It took me a while to load up this one here- there was some weirdness with the blogger software. It kept loading up the prior embed notation for the first one I put up. Weird. Anyhow, I've probably spent a year off and on rewriting the lyrics to this. The only part that's the same is the chorus. Hope you like it.

We Out Grew It

We out grew it. How many folks you know get written into a folk song?

At Sonny McLean's on Wilshire on Thursday night. The kid letting it hang out there.
It was great fun. A big noisy pub with football on the big screens and people eating and drinking

Come on over tonight

Rhubarb In Black & White Photos by One of the Bears

These were all taken in the last couple of weeks at the Melrose Trading Post and Westchester First Fridays

Mama Don't Allow

On 9/12/2012 5:15 PM, Hailey Villaire wrote:

Hi Dan,

We are a division of a community college.  We do not have any “venues” per say to perform in… was there a class you were interested in teaching?

Hailey

From: Dan McNay [mailto:mcnay@mosis.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2012 8:43 AM
To: Hailey Villaire
Subject: Re: Band interested in playing for tips

Hailey,

This email was listed as a contact for a swap meet at your location.

Dan McNay

On 9/14/2012 10:02 AM, Hailey Villaire wrote:

Dan,

 This is the correct email for the Swap Meet, however the Swap Meet isn’t a venue for services or entertainment.

 Hailey

From: Dan McNay [mailto:mcnay@mosis.com]
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2012 10:08 AM
To: Hailey Villaire
Subject: Re: Band interested in playing for tips

Halley,

I was trying to contact someone to see if they were interested in have us come perform. I've had good luck booking us in places where they've not had entertainment before. Is there someone to contact to discuss it?

Thanks

Dan McNay

Dan,

While your zeal is respected, there is no way the Swap Meet would be able to accommodate a band.  Services, including playing for tips, as well as soliciting of any kind is strictly forbidden.  We are a buy-and-sell swap meet only.  I apologize for any inconvenience. 

Best,

Hailey