Wow, looking over my last blog entry I see things really did not go like I wanted them to. Usually since this is more a public/promotional blog I refrain from discussing things that went wrong but since so many things did not go as planned I feel I ought to give some explanation.

To go in order with the items in the last entry, I should start with our band Hot Bag O’ Donuts’ Chicago gig with Songsalive which was scheduled for March 22nd. The gig had to be cancelled because the band ended up not being able to afford to go as a group. It was never offered as a paying gig though we stood to get two shares of the door money. The amount would not have covered gas for one vehicle but the reason for going was to gain exposure to industry professionals who attend the events and at first the band thought they would make a vacation of it but funds dried up and a gig got booked the day after for one of the sisterbands so a weekend in Chicago was out of the question. We decided to postpone our involvement with them until a later date when we have the resources and time better locked down.

Our other gigs at Bourbon Street and the roller derby bout went well though, especially at the derby. We are very much looking forward to doing it again. Our gig with Basement Radio did not go so well, however. It seems my involvement with Basement Radio is doomed. We ended up playing an hour and a half later than when we were scheduled and our sax player had come in from Carlinville and was not very happy about it because she was going to have to leave to get back because of an engagement the next day and as it was she only got to play two songs before having to leave. She decided not to play with us anymore after that because of the lack of professionalism and we were sorry to see her go.

I say my involvement with Basement Radio is doomed because of that and the fact that Flash is increasingly not compatible with Apple computers which has made it impossible for me to simulcast my show on WQNA to BRN any longer. Other performers were upset that night as well because we played an extra song after we were asked to stop. What happened was that after we started a song, the organizer said one more so I did one more after that because we had already started. I also had yet to play our rap-style song which we had prepared for the evening since it was a hip hop show we were playing at. I also knew the band was upset because we had to wait so long to play and the crowd was unfamiliar and not very social with them while they waited and I knew they would be upset if we stopped too early after all that so I finished the set with our rap song. (We only have the one rap song by the way.) The problem was that both our last songs were around ten minutes each . . I shouldn’t have done it but was torn between the organizers who had already upset my band mates and the band itself who I would have to play with at future gigs so I chose the band. We still lost our horn player over it, but I realize that no one intended to cause any problems, they just scheduled way too many people to perform and hopefully they will learn from what happened.

The Access 4 Producers Group has had to postpone any future fundraisers due to a problem with our registration with the Attorney General’s office.  This will hopefully be resolved soon. As it turns out, I will not be portraying Vincent Van Gogh. Due to problems with the script, I unfortunately had to decline. I hope they get it sorted though and that he finds a suitable actor for the part.

The Third Thursday Art Shows will stay at Floyd’s Thirst Parlor for the forseeable future. Thoughts of going back to the Hickox House were encouraged when Norb Andy’s recently reopened, but from what we hear, the House upstairs is currently undergoing remodeling and we are not sure when it will be completed or whether we would be able to show there when it is. We are still looking for other places though and will keep you up to date on the website.

Our band’s gig at the Illinois Brewing Company in Bloomington went very well and we will be playing there again on Friday, May 4th. We are also going to play at Norb Andy’s before then on April 21st.

That about wraps things up. I have been having computer problems lately and It has slowed me down considerably. I have been painting more so there will be new works to show from me at 3T plus I sold a print to a friend the other day (of Lincoln) and a nude at the last 3T plus another print of Lincoln.