Walking At The Zoo

The quartet provided some musical encouragement to those participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk-a-Thon at the Clevelend Zoo on Sunday. It was the earliest performance that we have ever done. We had to be there by 7:30am, so my alarm was set for 5:30. That took me back to the days when I had a job.

It was very rainy during our drive to the zoo, but the weather improved and it turned out to be a nice day for the event. We sang a bit at the registration tent, then moved on to a good spot on the walking route. Everyone had to pass by us and we were at the top of a hill. Many people stopped to listen. Some just wanted to hear us and some used us as an excuse to catch their breaths after climbing the hill.

There were several thousand walkers, plus other entertainment groups. There were a couple small combo bands, a high school marching band, a strolling accordian player, jugglers and us. Our location kept us from having to compete with what the other entertainers were doing. That was good because if it's quartet vs marching band, then we lose.

Here are some pictures, where you will notice that we were not the only visitors from "out of town". Our tenor, Dan had gone on ahead when the 3-man quartet picture was taken. On the left is Gary Young who filled in for our regular bass, Jim. Jim was spending a couple of days in the hospital for observations and adjustments to his pacemaker. Gary is also now the bass in Mike's quartet The Summit Chordsmen.

(click on the collage to make it larger)

It was a great day and a very worthy cause. See, we don't always sing at casinos and racetracks.

It's Almost October

Next week, we go camping near Shelby/Mansfield. It's the last rally of 2009 with the Cardinal Gulfstreamers, our RV club. And that means it's time to winterize the bus and start thinking about the trip to Florida. Then we'll be seeing little guys like this one again.

Murder In Farmville!!

Farmville, VA that is. The town is the site of Longwood University. Police found four bodies at the home of an associate professor of sociology and criminal justice. They arrested a 20-year-old man as he tried to get on a plane back to his home state of California. His name is Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III. Mike always comments about how people with three names seem more likely to commit murder or try to do so. A guy with four names and a Roman numeral should be kept under 24-hour surveillance. My FarmVille doesn't appear to have any criminal element, but one of the rabbits has kind of a shifty look.

Balloons in Ravenna

Every September, the town of Ravenna (next town to the east from Kent) holds their Balloon-A-Fair. It's a two-day festival with many activities, food concessions, etc. We usually go by to see the hot-air balloon launches. That's what we did this evening.

The traffic was really moving at a snail's pace as we got close to the location. We just found a place to park in time to see most of the balloons (about 20) inflate and launch. Then, since the wind was pretty much blowing to the west, we followed many of the balloons as we drove home. The last photo shows one that was visible from our driveway. (Click on the picture to see all five)

balloons

The Last Rose Of Summer?

I Hope Not.

Clear Choice On The Radio

Yesterday, 9/16, the quartet traveled to Beachwood for the "taping" of Marty Conn's radio show on WHK, 1420 AM. Marty is the entertainment booking agent that hired us for the weekend job at Presque Isle Downs and Casino.

His show is recorded in the same building where he has his Cleveland area office. The location is just off Richmond Road, not far from Tri-C East where Mike works. It was an interesting experience. They did two, one hour segments that will air at 9:00 pm this Sunday, 9/20. We sang three songs during the first hour and two more for the second hour. I don't know if all them will actually make it onto the finished show.

They have three pre-recorded interviews that are supposed to part of this show also. One is with Les Paul, the inventor of the electric guitar, among other things. Then there is a talk with Jay Leno, and another with someone from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. How we will fit into all of that remains to be seen (or heard).

In addition to the 1420 AM location, the show is also available online. The link to Marty's Webpage is shown below.

http://www.martyconn.com/banddetail.php?recordID=187

The specific link for the radio show online is:

http://www.martyconn.com/thisweek/currentweek.mp3

The Casino Circuit

As you read in the last post, we stopped for dinner last week at Mountaineer Resort and Casino. We were on our way to a gig. Well, this weekend, we will be singing our barbershop songs at Presque Isle Downs and Casino in beautiful Erie, PA.

We just got a call last Saturday from a booking agent who was looking for a quartet to sing between races on both Saturday and Sunday night this weekend. He wants the traditional look so we will be sporting the red vests and bow ties with garters on the sleeves and straw hats. Sweeeet Adeliiiiiiine.



We get four complimentary rooms at the nearby Days Inn (the wives are going), dinner at the buffet, and then, of course, we get paid. It should be fun and a little change of pace from our typical gigs.

If you want to check one of the many websites of the person who booked us, here is a link:

http://www.martyconn.com/

Ramblin', Gamblin' Quartet

Clear Choice did a one hour show for the Hickory High School Alumni Association last night, in Hickory, PA. The only downside was the 2 hr. drive each way. We broke up the drive to the gig by stopping at Mountaineer Resort and Casino in WV. That allowed us to eat at the casino buffet and play the slots for a little while before continuing our journey.

The location of the show was in the old Hickory High School building, which stopped being a high school more than 35 years ago. It is now owned by the local city government and has been transformed into a very nice theater. There is a two-level stage, comfortable seating and great sound and lighting systems.

We got to try the kind of wireless mics that are attached to your ear. They worked well and we even had a sound man who kept everything balanced during the show. The community theater (Oldschool Players) put on high quality shows (Man of LaManca, Bye, Bye, Birdie, Fiddler on the Roof, etc.) We were told that the mics we used cost about $900 each and the group has 14 of them, plus 6 more that attach to a lapel. Not bad for a town with a population of about 500.

All in all, it was a great trip. We had fun singing, the audience was very receptive and at the casino, one of the employees asked us to sing for some of the kitchen and waitress staff. We did a couple of songs. The lady took one of our business cards and said she would pass it on to the people that are in charge of booking entertainment for the casino. Maybe we will become a lounge act.