Saturday’s Amnesty International event in Alice’s Garden was incredibly hot. Somebody said the high temperature was 35 degrees. And yet, we had a great crowd from nearly the beginning at 12pm all the way until the end just a little past 8pm. As always, Jamie did the work of at least 3 people, moving gear, mixing sound, and generally making sure everything ran smoothly and on time. The result was a huge success that (hopefully) demonstrated to the “powers that be” that (1) this is a great outdoor venue that could be used more effectively for monthly concerts, (2) there is plenty of local talent capable of attracting and holding the attention of an audience/shoppers passing by, and (3) people enjoy outdoor concerts in the middle of the shopping district, even if it means sitting for hours through blistering summer heat.

I will be one of several acts playing at a private party this Saturday, as well as at Feedback on the 17th. See the Schedule section for more info.

About two weeks ago I changed the signal routing of my gear. I now run the bass side of my Stick directly into the preamp of my SWR SM-400S amplifier, then through the effects chain, and to the Expand In section of the Rane SP 13 preamp where it is combined into a mono signal with the melody. This mono signal is then sent to the power amp side of the SM-400S. I think I get a tighter, punchier low end this way than with my previous routing, when I completely bypassed the SM-400S preamp in favor of the SP 13 preamp.

P.S.: Excellent choice, Mr. Kerry.