A Good Day

Normally any day that requires me to be awake at 5:30 AM so I can be in downtown Chicago for a Blues Brothers gig at 8:30AM would not find me making any claims to having a good day. Today was a good day.

While I'll never figure out the mindset of a client that wants the Blues Brothers singing and dancing at 8:30 AM for a bunch of people who are just as tired as I am, I always appreciate the work. I can pay a bill or two this week.

After getting home, returning a few calls and e-mails and taking a much needed nap I found myself at day's end having to type up three contracts for new gigs, two of which are in early April, (a tough time to fill - YAY!) and the potential for about three more bookings in April. So THAT definitely made me a little happier.

Lately, I haven't had a whole lot to feel good about with regard to the business. Today, coupled with the relative completion of my promo DVD project, was just what I needed. When thinking of something to post I remembered a nice thank you letter I received a couple years back. The little things make you happy in this business. Getting gigs when you need them is high on that list. Getting thanks is also up there.

The scans found here are from a nice handmade letter some students at the Leyden Special Education School made for me after doing a show for them. It is so cute, and you know I don't find most things kids do as cute. Leyden school does a great job of educating special needs children of all ages and they have been kind enough to have me out there a couple of times to perform.

A lot of performers won't even try to work for such groups. I like working more than not working so I take damn near all requests. With these groups I always try to provide the best show possible. These schools rarely have big budgets, the students can be very challenging to work for, and let's face it, some people just don't know how to act around these people. I just look at them as an audience and I do my show. Easy as pie so far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, I thought I'd share these scans, tell a story or two, & correlate them to the good day I had. While I have your attention I may as well link to a column I wrote about performing for just this type of school, "Good Show". "A Good Day"..."Good Show"...Seems, uh...Good. I've been told by the lovely and infinitely more talented writer, Marjo Moore that this is one of her favorite written works from me. Since she knows way more about this stuff than I ever will I am proud to have written it.