(April9th,'03--Addendum--just remembered a grave oversight......
While enroute to Superior,I was sitting in the back of the van,
wearing headphones,watching a movie......yes,Constant Reader,we have all the perks...
Greg,Marci,and I were riding together,while Chris and Mickey were in Chris's car.....
they were playing tag along the way,passing each other,holding up hastily written
signs,throwing fruit and gummi bears at each other,generally BS-ing around.......
after a bit I ignored it.......at one point Greg was shifting around in his seat....
I was into the movie......until.....
As we were passing the other vehicle,I realized he was sticking his ass up to window!!
Moonrise Over Minnesota!!!!!  I laughed until I couldn't BREATHE......
....and here I thought he might be a boring guy.......it ain't so,folks!! )

   After we got started,it turned into an ordinary club gig---fine by me,
but the crowd just plain didn't get us--we wanted to sell the Marci show,
and highlight the CD material-- it was over the heads of most.
What they were used to,and evidently wanted,was ordinary club fare...
old country,classic rock,etc----after a few days,we just threw in the towel,
and gave it to them.This is known in the trade as 'Paying Your Dues'.
Also,as 'Paying Your Bills'.
   The best part of the stay in Superior/Duluth was,in a word,GUITARS!!!!
We looked up a music store in the phone book,and went to buy replacement
screws for the pickguard on the Strat--
The guy pegged us immediately as working at Shooter's.....
It seemed like an urban area,but the vibe was more like,say,Joplin....
A small world,if you're a musician.......When I asked the price on a case to
replace the worn-out one housing the Strat,he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
I went away happy.....until the next day,when I picked up the Schecter,at the gig,
and slightly cut my pinky on the pickup mounting ring,ouch! The edge of it had cracked
during the installation(I'm guessing) and it had finally chipped away,with continuos play.
So,I called the store back,but he had no parts---looked up another store,and went
over---they allowed me to do the replacement on the spot,very cool. They also knew
the gig at Shooter's.....the same day,(I think) we went to a small shop about 15 minutes
away,in Cloquet (pronounced KLO-KAY) where I saw a rare bird....a resonator bass!
Anyway, retro-fit mounting meant that I had to re-adjust the pickups,and the results
were pleasing....slightly different tone....That kept me amused for a couple days......
then,on Saturday,I decided to look in a little shop right around the corner from the bandhouse---we had passed it every day,and I thought it was so small,there couldn't be
much going on there.....wrong. It WAS small,but jammed with cool guitars,moldy-oldies
that had weird names,or no names at all....too bad I had spent all my allowance on a case.
The girl minding the store,I learned, had been to the club.....the owner was out of town...
she said he was interested in the Dallas guitar show,so I sent him to Dave Crocker......
he returned a nice e-mail.
   Like I said.......guitars!!
   Guitars is good.........

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