State fair, done. August, done. Summer? Pretty much done. What does that mean for your intrepid acappella adventurers? It means we’ll be on the road quite a bit in September! No kidding! Why don’t I tell you a bit about it! !!!!!!!!!!
Let’s start with next week. Tuesday we head to Menomonie, WI, then the next day we head to Warsaw, IN for a workshop/show there which will happen on the 9th . After which we head towards Indianapolis for a weekend at the Midwest Arts Showcase culminating in a few performances that will wrap up the night of Monday the 13th…..drive back home on the 14th, then back out to Ohio on the 17th (just enough time to do laundry and see the fam), then it’s Pork Festival time with a show interspersed on Saturday the 18th at Vincennes University for Family Weekend, then back to the Pork Festival for 2 more shows on Sunday…..then, time to head for home!
After more laundry and a couple nights in our own beds, we fly out to Florida on the 22nd for a corporate event on the 23rd, fly back on the 24th for a show at St. Ben’s, head to Winona on the 25th for a show at Winona State, take Sunday off, then head to Brainerd for a corporate event on the 27th……..
This, my friends, is how we like to kick off the fall, and it helps get us “in shape” for the upcoming holiday tour, which, crazily enough, is just around the corner! Get your tickets now! Right? Right!
How much do we love talking about chairs? Let us count the ways. Surprisingly, this vlog is actually different than the previous one, though you might not be able to tell at first glance. It’s kind of like the picture game in Greg’s Highlights magazine with the two drawings side-by-side, and you have to study both of them to determine the differences between the two. Yeah, it’s like that.
Guess where we’re going to be next week! That’s right folks, it’s time yet again for the “Great Minnesota Get Together!” Here’s a sample list for what your day could look like at the fair…..
9am-Pass through gates
9:15am-Grab some sort of breakfast food/coffee/shake/slushie/beer and head over to the Bandshell to get your seat for Tonic Sol-fa’s 10:30am set…..
9:30am-get hungry again and send whoever loses rock, paper, scissors to grab some mini donuts
9:45am-call aforementioned “gopher” to also grab a bucket of Sweet Martha’s to give to to the guys after the show (not necessary, but always appreciated! HA!)
10am-start feeling the effects of what you have already eaten/drank…..get a tad sleepy
10:15am-Start digging into the bucket of Sweet Martha’s….
10:20am-Send “gopher” for another bucket since you feel guilty for breaking into the delicious present you had purchased for the guys…
10:30am-Start listening to the delicious sounds of your favorite vocal band (hopefully that’s us, not someone else on your ipod)
10:45am-Wonder if Mark is a real person, or a stuffed panda someone won on the midway….
11:00am-Wonder if Greg eats paint chips
11:05am-Wonder if Jared eats potato chips
11:07am-Wonder what’s in Sweet Martha’s chocolate chips
11:09am-Wonder if Shaun watches re-runs of CHiPs
11:10am-Show over-walk over to purchase Tonic merchandise/talk to guys
11:30am-Time for round two of rock, paper, scissors-send loser for round two of fair food (I suggest some cheese curds, perhaps Axel’s Bull Bites, a corn dog or two….)
11:45am-Time for round two of Tonic Sol-fa……new songs, new hairdos, new outlooks
12:30pm-Find something to do there for the rest of the day, since the best part is now over! (HA again!)
11PM-Head home and sleep/hibernate for 15 1/2 hrs
What do you know about running a business? Everything! Nobody has more passion for your idea than you and nobody has all the answers you crave. And no one will try to do more than you to ensure success. That’s why I’m going over this weeks “finished” column and sipping champagne (did I say sipping? – yes, I did – it’s right there in the earlier part of this sentence).
bemidji show details
order advertising banner
holiday tour poster/postcard
love song cd cover art and song order
midwest arts planning
meeting agenda for Monday
review holiday dvd and cd cover art
discuss media page update
write Christmas song for Blue Bunny
write DVD blurb
review all current project areas and compile task list for review
update task list and prep for Monday meeting
discuss midwest arts materials and prep with Jo
bid and coordinate cover art for Something Beautiful CD
review and update media page spreadsheet with Greg
Line up vocals with Greg and Steve on Tuesday
updates to TSF Fact Sheet and Intro
meeting with CMAB regarding Legacy and grant options
two conference calls with U. S. Bank
conference call with Vicki and Tom regarding pledge/station relations
discussion with Mark on public television program negotiation with Tom
Radio interview for upcoming TSF book chapter
work with Jo on theatre pitch
coordinate with VVG on holiday tour poster and postcard designs
summer series advertising and ticket sales updates
summer series postcard mailing creation, design and prep
draft design for holiday tour web page
follow up with Think Creative and review of new home page content
negotiate terms on CD duplication with VVG
conference call with Blue Bunny on upcoming promotions and holiday tour postcard logo
review festival spreadsheets
Bemidji holiday show discussions with Ron and Ryan
talk with Nicole about possible show/rehearsal in October
holiday tour advertising research
The boardroom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Here you will see the painful side of coming up with comedic bits for our show. This should help you appreciate our suffering for our art, and how it makes us suffer. Art=music.
As some of you may know, I am a fan of good, harmony based music. I know, shocker, right? Anyway, some of the bands that in my mind are always included in this are The Beatles, The Eagles, The Beach Boys, Alabama, and Steelheart. OK, maybe not Steelheart, (however, how that lead singer belts out the high notes on “Never let you go” is beyond me).
Now, some of you may also know that I have two children and I have been subjecting them so some of the aforementioned bands (minus Steelheart.) It’s interesting to note that some of the same music I was forced to listen to as a child (since my parents only ever listened to oldies on A.M. 1320) is now becoming a staple with my own children. I have to admit it’s fun listening to my children sing along with “HELP!” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” while I roll the windows down in the Grand Caravan, and look way too hip.
While these are just a sampling of the groups where my arranging inspiration comes from, it is important that we all get along. I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to end this, so I’m just going to put random good thoughts together. Like puppies frolicking with butterflies, or Mark staring out a window watching puppies frolicking with butterflies while Steelheart blares through the headphones attached to his Sony Walkman.
We need to find an independent producer or up and coming filmmaker to shoot a reality show revolving around TSF. What a crazy career this has been replete with the highest of highs and ego bursting lows. Yet the genuine thrill of what we do lies almost always in the behind the scenes escapades…in the “Rat Pack” like existence we lead. Almost every week I can envision a new episode… This week we sang for thousands of women at 8:00 in the morning and followed it up on a football field in Tilden, NE, where they have a cow chip throwing contest the very next day. We received emails asking for tips on starting a classic rock band as well as writing the music to a fan’s wedding vows. We managed to get pulled over (again), visit with some Special Olympians, work out Christmas production, etc, all the while cracking jokes, pulling pranks, and enjoying what we do. We don’t make cakes or dress in Kiss makeup and we have never belonged to the cast of Saved By The Bell, but I might watch it just to see what happens next.
One of the main questions we get asked during interviews, is “What is something you can tell us about the other guys that the audience might not know?”. So I’m going to let you in on some little known facts about my three compadres.
- If you catch Mark, you will get his pot of gold (minus the gold). If you wrestle Mark to the ground on St. Patrick’s Day in front of the other three TSF members (and preferably a large group of people), he turns into five gold coins. Offer ends soon, so act now!
- Greg is a sedatephobiac (fear of silence). We’re not entirely sure the level of fear involved, but the necessity for noise is prevalent. A recent fact-finding mission turned up a long history of the disease, reaching as far back as his infancy, when he cried for no reason whatsoever.
- Shaun has webbed toes. Fortunately, with his love for all things water, and his time spent at the lake, it has proved quite the blessing. He holds the record at his junior high school for modified dog paddle.
Glad that’s off my chest. I feel quite refreshed, as though a huge burden has been lifted. I think I’ll have some ice-cream.
“Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe”……..to get enough oxygen to live. OK, so maybe that’s not as poetic as the Hollies version, but it still rings true.
But enough of the science lesson for today, let’s talk about summertime shows! They happen to be my favorite shows of the year…..there’s nothing like being outdoors in the beautiful sunshine, singing your heart out on some mega ballad, and watching some guy down a pulled pork pork sandwich like it was his last meal, then wiping his face on his shirt before starting on his ice cream cup.
Seriously though, they are quite fun, and it is always cool to be able to see everyone during the show and constantly be thinking of the next interesting or funny thing to point out in between songs…..or if you’re Jared, be thinking of your next meal, or if you’re Mark, be thinking “where am I?”
No matter what, the outdoor shows are more fun the more people get into them. For example, sometimes people like to dance in front of the stage, or yell appropriate things at inappropriate times, or vice versa, or vice versa versa. Or just versa.
I guess what my friend trying to say is – love is blind.
