Another month?

NOT another month!!!???

Wow! Where did June go?

Hang on… I gotta' go look………

Lemme' see…. June…… oh, yeah! A couple of weddings, four TV commercials, three video projects, two deadlines for newtekpro magazine, one "Spilt Milk" gig and a haircut. That's where the month went. Not to mention Jane has been working nights and so I haven't been getting a lot of sleep. We moved Robert's baby bed with the "bars" out of his room and he now has his new "little boy's" bed where he can get out by himself, presumably to go to the bathroom all by himself. Only what he really does is wake up around 2 or 3 AM and slealthily makes his way into the master bedroom where he carefully crawls up into bed with me and then I wake up an hour later with his little feet jammed into my back.

On June 15th my band, "Split Milk" made the annual trek to Nevada, Missouri for the "Bushwhacker Days" Festival. Last year we played a street concert on the town square and opened for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. This year when we were contracted for the gig the promoters asked us if we would like to headline this year's event. We said "Sure, for Headliner Pay" with a chuckle. Guess what? Yep! And we were treated like royalty. The town square of Nevada is really a beautiful and clean park-like setting. The court house has a huge clock tower. At last year's event the weather was miserable. When we arrived last year to set up it was already drizzling. By the time we were to play a large thunderstorm moved through the area. Fortunately, we were protected (for the most part) by the stage, which was covered, and an awning over the front of the stage. However, the attendees weren't so lucky. Many people planned ahead and brought umbrellas but many others ran for the protection of the storefront awnings around the square.

The Sound System vendor was well-prepared. He had the monitor position located in the back of his equipment truck facing the side of the stage and the main console FOH position was covered with a large tarp mounted on poles. The entire PA system was covered with black plastic. And the weird thing was we played with all that plastic covering the speakers and it still sounded pretty good, all things considered. A one point I looked up as we were playing and a wicked bolt of lightning and immediate thunderous report occurred right over our heads and directly behind the clock tower. Images of "Back To the Future" flashed into my mind and I started looking around for the Delorean. It was an evening to remember.

This year was totally different. It was a beautiful day (the yearly storm had occurred the previous night and rained out the entertainment) and as we started setting up people came from out of the woodwork carrying their lawn chairs. Concession stands had been set up all around the square and the smell of BBQ, popcorn, and funnel cakes was in the air. A small midway with rides and a ferris wheel had been set up in a large parking lot one block behind the square. The town was PACKED! There were at least a thousand people there. We started our set immediately following the local talent show and played to a capacity crowd throughout the evening. Everyone was smiling and cordial. Kids asked for autographs.

Lord, I've changed my mind. Forget about my dreams of being a big star. Just get me booked on a county fair and festival circuit and I'd be happy all the rest of my days. H-m-m-m-m-… I wonder if it's too early to book "Bushwhacker Days" for next year?

Another reason for my lapse in "News From The Woods" is that my publishers have been assigning more and more writing chores to me. Not that I mind. Hey, anytime I can write something and get paid for it I'm up to the task! Advanstar Press pulled the publishing plug on "NewTekniques" Magazine a couple of months ago and in effect, gave a relieved editor a way out to continue the forum in his own way. For the past two or three issues Advanstar kept pulling back and cutting each issue back in content, in effect diluting each issue to only the bare bones. It was becoming pretty pitiful, but when they decided NOT to continue the magazine it opened the door for editors Dick DeJong and Molly Dinkins to pick up the pieces and carry on.

The "Phoenix Rising From The Ashes" is now called newtekpro and it has truly risen above the mark of the former publication. The premier issue has a glossy, hi-tech feel to it and the layouts are both mouth-watering in graphics but also meaty in content. The first issue is no less than 96 whopping pages and I'd bet it was EXPENSIVE to print and deliver. For the past month I have been slaving over a hot word processor as senior editor Dhomas Trenn cracked his whip just over my head to produce something truly awe inspiring. I wrote a very comprehensive three-part article on microphones and voiceover techniques, conducted an interview with Walter Williams, the creator of Saturday Night Live's "Mr. Bill" ("Oh, Nooooooo."), and even did a software review of Sonic Foundry's award-winning ACID PRO 3.0 music sequencing software.

Even though I was intimately familiar with the subject material in each article by the time it was all said and done, when the first issue arrived here at home I was stunned by the professional layout and the sheer size of the thing! Opening it up to my articles and review revealed pages rich with graphics (which I had supplied but had no clue how they would put it all together) and screen grabs. The Mr. Bill interview had all these nice cartoon-like primary colors behind the text and there were images and buttons and icons of Mr. Bill's World placed all throughout the piece. With the text and graphics so professionally joined it looked like someone else had writen the article. I had to sit down and read my own words to believe it. It just goes to show you what can be done with good artistic taste, expert editing, and professional publishing. Even my wife commented that the magazine looked "really special" and she doesn't even read these things.

And just as I was about to wonder how we would be able to keep this pace up for the second issue I got email from dhomas and Dick instructing me on my next assignments.

Well, I hope I can fit in another News From The Woods in the near future, but I have to go back now to my writing for the next issue, as the deadline is all too near.

"Get out the whip, Dhomas !"

Back to CCS Home Page