Teavolve, January 27, 2010 (archived post)

Jon: These don't work when they're unplugged. Tim: Mine does! Photo (c) 2010 by Celina Taormino.

The Teavolve show was instructive and reminded me that we’re always learning.
I managed to forget my guitar, and the stand for the piano. Fortunately we had headed down over an hour before the show started, and there was plenty of time to head back home beforehand. If I’d been setting up the PA, instead of just sticking microphones in front of things, I might have been in trouble. Not to mention how embarrassed I would have been if the gig was farther from home.

I have learned to make lists!
___ Guitar
___ Amplifiers
___ Bookbag
___ Clarence the Stuffed Octopus
___ Print out list to check off.
___ Rats, I forgot to print out the list. What else is on it?

I forgot Clarence. Fortunately, Lexa remembered him and he was on
hand to slurp out some brains.

We also did not have a monitor, that little speaker that points toward performers so they can hear what they’re playing. I made sure I brought one — I remembered it, knowing that John and Eric from Umbrella Radio did not have one — except I forgot that their mixing board was not powered, and thus my speaker couldn’t make noise when we plugged it in.

Well, we’re in a teahouse at least. I can get a nice cup of tea to relax.

Sadly, the Pu Ehr I ordered was slightly disappointing. I am used to it looking like coffee and having the consistency of stout, but this just sort of tasted like really good tea.
However, Tim let me taste the Albacore tuna off his salad, and I think I might have passed out from happiness for a few minutes.

We got all the missteps out of the way immediately, then, I thought, and indeed the rest of the evening was fantastic. We’ll be uploading some footage from the show soon, and perhaps you’ll hear my play trumpet.

I learned about synchronicity! Okay, not really. I learned more about Smalltimore. (No, not the indie movie. I learned about that weeks ago at the Baltimore Song and Screen meet and greet.)

Celina (Tim’s wife) used to work for the BSA organizer, Teporah. I’m convinced that Baltimore really only have about 250 people in it. Some of them go by different names periodically. Some wear false beards. Or false eyeglasses. Or work two jobs simultaneously. One person is responsible for giving the impression of our having a city council, mayor, and social infrastructure, and they must learn to move at faster-than light speed and to change their gender, race, and body at will. There are fifty-seven musicians according to Mike Garriss, though he may have been high at the time he told me that, if indeed he ever said it, which it’s possible he didn’t because Mike isn’t necessarily in Baltimore. There are seven chefs or cooks, one of whom, Cindy Wolf, runs most of the restaurants and probably runs back and forth between them all day. (The five people on her staff are the remainder of the hospitality industry in Baltimore.) There are ten cops, six firefighters, three criminals, and two salespeople (one nice and one cranky). There are twelve lawyers, which seems like a lot until you realize that there are also twelve clients, proselytizing various suits to the county dwellers. Baltimore once had one million people, but look where we’ve landed.

Cheers,
Jon 1/29/10