Down At The End Of Lonely Street

Things are quiet these days. The tourist season here starts in April, when the city sponsors "Quilt Week", an international show of homemade comforter art. Starting in May, they close the six blocks to the river every Saturday, after 7PM, and have singers and bands play until well after dark. It unofficially ends with the annual charity barbecue. This year, thousands from all over America swarmed in for a taste of everything from funnel cakes to frozen pickle juice (ugh). But after the last week in September, this place can be a ghost town.

Now, the challenge is finding work when the pickings are slim. My Friday gig had all of six people in for the 2 1/2 hours I worked last week, and one of them was an off-duty employee. The week before, it was two. The manager's not happy; he closed the kitchen at 8PM (they start dinner at six) and sent everyone home early. Just him, the bartender and me. For those two weeks in total, I didn't make more than $20 in tips. I hope I can afford my rent increase.

My British friend Barry tried to get something going last Saturday, but to no avail. All the places that booked live entertainment already had their talent in place. I'm gonna have to scramble for some holiday action. Ironically, lots of people want to have live music, but they can't afford to book decent bands. If I can get some technology my way, maybe a laptop with MIDI capabilities and a multi-timbral synth, I can program some backing tracks to play along with; not just covers of other people's songs, but my own originals as well. They'll hire a one-man band, and not even blink at my price -- it'll still be cheaper than a 4-piece.