I pick up a few community gigs like this from the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, an organization that promotes health and community awareness in various neighborhoods in Bethlehem. Tonight was a film night – a Spider-man flick – with a giant inflatable screen erected on the basketball courts. I was part of the pre-show festivities, so I set up my chair and bag of instruments under a tree and started playing. It was hot.

Cesar “Spiderman” Cordova.

Bit by bit, kids and parents came over, picked up an instrument or puppet and we interacted. For the next hour and a half, I mixed it up with folks and we had a good time. Spider-man came over and played tambourine as well. He was actually Cesar Cordova, the ombudsman at Marvine ES, a genuine super hero in my book who serves this community well.

It was a small gig, but part of what I do in this microcosm of my home town.

I’ve been a regular part of this family series near Sinking Spring for a couple of years, thanks to Lisa DeLozier, the Parks and Rec coordinator. It’s been moved around to several sites and tonight was supposed to be in a more neighborhood park as opposed to the rural park. Unfortunately, the weather called for showers so we moved to the council chambers in the township building. I’ve played here before but it was funny to perform in front an austere council forum with black leather chairs and microphones.

A last minute change of venue always makes it tough for attendance so tonight’s show was light but we had a critical mass of kids, parents, grandparents for good personal interactions. A father and son with his friend showed up early, and we recalled my playing for his son’s birthday a year ago. It was nice to know someone right off the bat. Folks filtered in and off we went. As I played, I tried to engage the son’s friend but succeeded only in driving the boy nuts. He went from uninterested to hanging his head to moving to the farthest part of the room to leaving the room altogether. I figured that the show was  too juvenile for his tastes and didn’t like me nudging him to get involved. I apologized to the father for perhaps pushing too hard. I had hoped to talk to the boy afterwards.

Otherwise, the small crowd warmed up quickly and we had a good time with Tutti Tah, Names to the Animals, Giants, Peanut Butter, etc. Lisa’s two-year old granddaughter Evelyn was a particular delight. She was familiar with my material, especially Bear Hunt, and she lit up when she recognized it. The whole room delighted in her joy, her dancing and her laughter. Funny how the youngest child leads us all in these situations.

During Bear Hunt (and an approaching violent thunder storm), someone’s cell phone went off with a flood alert, perfectly timed in the course of the song. So, we added “flash flood alert” to the routine and it was a hoot. Seize the moment!

We ended up with the puppets, scarves and rhythm instruments scattered all over the council chamber. I actually sold a few CDs to some folks, including a woman’s family who was a teacher at a kindergarten center near the Daniel Boone estate that I played annually for a while. It was a particularly good gig that we both remembered fondly. Evelyn’s mom purchased the Peanut Butter CD with Bear Hunt on it.

Lisa helped me pack up and load up my car now that the rain had let up. There were some fierce downpours on the way back, but I felt pretty good about the evening, though I wondered if I could have handled the young boy better.

Update: I emailed Lisa, thanking for her support in booking me consistently, and told her about my concerns with the lad. She emailed me back. Here’s her message:

“I talked to the boy while he was sitting in the hall. I asked him if he was alright, and I told him I was very sorry he didn’t enjoy the show. He nodded, and it seemed to make him feel better. As he was leaving, he waved to me and smiled which made me feel like he was okay, and possibly, a little apologetic.

I think what you did was fine – it is difficult to know how people will react or what may be going on in their lives in that moment. Also, he may never have been to an event like this, and it could have taken him by surprise. I’m glad he waved and smiled as he was leaving, he really did give the impression that he was fine, and again, maybe a bit apologetic for the way he had behaved – growing up is quite a process.

I am always happy to have you come out to Family Fun Nights – your shows have an elusive and magical quality. It’s as if this is the first time you’ve sung your songs and you help the audience to be as delighted with the songs as you are. Also, you present the attitude to your audiences that there is no place you would rather be than spending time with them and singing your songs.

I always enjoy your interaction with kids and their parents and how you so easily develop a rapport with your audience – that is quite an important gift and it is what makes your shows memorable! It is your genuine interest and respect for kids that is so evident – the kids pick up it and so do their parents.”

That’s mighty nice, Lisa.

It’s always nice to pick up a Monday evening gig, especially on my birthday. I’ve had a long history playing for the kids and families at this site, and often out on the lawn, so I was excited to have this chance again. It was a spectacular evening, sunny and in the 70’s and food, face-painting and an interactive art project were part of the festivities. And, for good measure, for the first time, the church community was invited to share the fun with the independent pre-school families. That made for a nice mix of adults and kids on the lawn.

I was asked to use my small sound system so that the music would create kind of a sonic blanket for the event and that turned out to be a good thing. Even though I aimed my music at the few kids and families in front of me, the school folks thanked me for lending a musical presence for the whole crowd gathered. Normally, when I play to few folks in my immediate area, I hope for a bigger audience so I can feed off that energy. As it turns out, the energy works in a more subtle way. That’s the lesson I learned today.

I haven’t had a lot of kid work this spring, so it turned out to be a good way to get my repertoire back in shape for some upcoming gigs. I was rusty on a bunch of lyrics so I now have a better idea of what I need to work on. Paid practice! It was a good two hour session with some very nice moments of the kids dancing and the young parents watching their kids be kids.

I used to live out in these parts, outside of Emmaus and near Shimerville. The rolling hills and stone barns and houses still call to me. I’ve done Christmas Eve family shows here as well as worked with the preschool that uses the basement of this church many times. Tonight we gathered for a preschool open house in the sanctuary. Young families came in and most of the kids came up front. It was nice to see familiar faces among them, and they were familiar with me. I knew this would be good. When the kids start conversations with me before the show, that’s always a good sign.

There was dancing from the start, especially with the younger kids and the older kids were chiming in with animals for Down By the Bay. Some of the new, shier kids that came in late started feeling their oats and move up from the pews to join in.

I did my scarves routine that I had done with the preschool a month or so ago and it was nice to debut the material in a performance situation for the first time. It worked well in this situation. Good to know.

I spilled out the bag o’ instruments towards the end, and the kids all dance and played. The parents and the staff at the preschool ate it up. So did I. I do have the best seat in the house.

I went downstairs for ice cream sundries and sat with some of the kids. This is the part I really like. I had a great conversation with one young family of three daughters and their mom. I got the backstory about their favorite song I’m Gonna Tell and how they would sing it to each other around the house, driving their mother nuts. I said, “Way to go.” All during this banter, the youngest girl was eating her ice cream and not taking her eyes off of me. I commented to the mom that she was flirting with me. It was quite an interesting moment – that guy playing music is sitting right here with us!

I packed up with the check (again, no CD sales), glad to be part of this small rural community.

I was asked to do a special half hour set for the LV Music Teachers Playathon at the LV Mall on Saturday. It was hoped that families of piano students as well as the general public would come out to my show, stick around and hear some of the kids do their pieces on some very fine baby grands at three locations in the mall.

This is an association of private instructors and this was a good opportunity for their students to play in public and I applaud their efforts. That’s why I immediately accepted the offer, regardless of the pay a month or so ago. The agenda was spread over two days, from 9:30 am until 5 pm, so it was somewhat exhaustive.

This staging area faced Victoria’s Secret and a vaping store. Perfect for a kids’ show. The local piano provider John Zeiner & Sons provided three great pianos for the event and I applaud him. John does it consistently for many local arts occasions like today. Good on him and his store.

I got set up a little before 1 pm, chatting with a harmonica player who asked if I knew any Tom Petty, Stevie Ray Vaughan, et al, (“no”) followed by the inevitable question, “Well, what do you know?” I saw that coming. It’s really hard to explain what I do to other musicians. So I gave him a download card of my Troubadour CD. That’ll baffle him.

I started early, since there were only a few folks there, including several of the board members, and eventually, several familiar faces showed up. I was working one precocious lad pretty hard (the only kid in the audience at the time) and that was fun (though, he started to get a little too friendly, going for my guitar. There’s alway a certain point with some young boys…). Towards the end, there was one three-year old girl Naomi, who charmed us all by joining in, singing along, clapping, etc. Everyone picked up on her energy, especially the event sponsors.

It was a mall, after all. Folks drifted by, others looked on from up in the second story, some of whom were listening in, reacting and dancing. I made a point of pointing them out. I had a small but responsive audience – grandparents, a few students waiting for their time later on and some curious folks. I was requested to do Baby Shark from some fans, and we did All God’s Critters, Peanut Butter, Down By the Bay, I Wanna Be a Dog, Tutti Tah, Giant and a few others.

Susan, the woman in charge of the event who had initially contacted me, was disappointed in the turnout. She expected that there would be lots of kids, families, students in attendance. I was simply glad that there were people there at all. I am quite aware that I do not have any kind of public draw. I tried to assure her that the culture has changed drastically in the last decade. Families put in their time with their kids, listen to their recital pieces and then split. Folks do not hang out in malls for the community connections. I did thank her for giving all these kids the opportunity to play on a great piano in a public space. That is where she should hang her hat.

I was paid well, and I was glad to support these teachers who make such a difference in budding musician’s lives.

I made a point to say that my musical journey was started with seven years of piano lessons, at the behest of my mother. The process opened up my mind and ears to playing music, becoming aware of the science of the keyboard and provided me some tools that I still use today. I quit lessons in seventh grade (I’m sure I really disappointed my mom) the very week that Mr. Hummel, my classical music teacher, got me a boogie-woogie book. I still kick myself for that decision.

But, here I am, a professional musician.

I am always thankful for work, as long as it doesn’t become work. It was borderline on Sunday. There is a big family festival at Arts Quest called Peeps Fest, sponsored by our local confectionary industrial complex – Just Born Candies. Held at the megaplex entertainment center here in town, it is two days of family-friendly fun and frivolity. I’m glad they have me play on one of the days, with multiple shows. I usually swap 45 minute sets with a magician and there is an extremely fluid crowd for the whole session.

Today, I was signed up for four sets starting at 10 am and ending around 5 pm so it’s was long day. I loaded in at 9:30 am, wandered a bit trying to find the site (thankfully not in the usual “mall” situation in the Commons) and headed up to the more acoustically fit performance space on the second floor. Arts Quest does a good job retaining qualified sound techs so things were ready to go when I got there and I settled in quickly and comfortably for my 10 am show. Praise the good sound man!

I always enjoy being the sacrificial opening act of the day. I get to play stuff I don’t always do in front of a ‘real’ audience. Besides I have the attention of the volunteers who are on hand, who are listening and waiting for the chaos to begin. You know, these folks have to listen to me for seven hours, too, so I enjoy engaging these good people. There were some chairs set up in advance and it seem to be a much better place to perform than in the past. So it begins.

There was no one in the seats. So, the first set involved encouraging a young girl with her grandparents to sit and listen to my music. This is the hard sell. I did the hard work of breaking down her pre-teen inhibitions, work with the grandpa and grandmom and gradually involved her. It was the major task of the first set. They all did fine and I gave them Peanut Butter as a token of our time together. One down, three to go.

The magician was Eddie Ray from the Reading area. We had worked together several years ago and he was a welcome sight. Over the last couple of years, I had traded sets with a rather loud and abrasive magician (yes, aggressive patter is part of the schtick) but Eddie had a much more palliative approach. Still, the presentation nature of particular festival room is the yin/yang of music and magic, so Eddie packs the place for a bang-up show and then I regroup with my more subtle approach, engaging on a different level and  certainly at fewer decibels.

Chaos

My next two sets were pretty frustrating with scattered families engaging with the various activity stations .around the room (and through the whole the building!). Here, it was really hard for the families and kids to maintain focus for more than two songs, and I worked hard to maintain connections with everyone. I plowed through. There were great moments throughout the sets and many magic moments were savored.

It was particularly weird that families and other folks appropriated the audience chairs in order to sit and rest a little while the kids were doing the rounds. I had to reclaim the space as an ordered performance space, and it affected what I would have wanted as a stage. But, chaos rules the day.

The last set was surprisingly the best, mostly because the throng had left and several fan families showed up. It provided me the energy to finish strong, able to acknowledge kids, parents on a personal level. That’s where I show up for work.  It was a good but tough gig. I do not do “Mr. ShowBiz” gigs very well (witness the magician/musician crowds) but I do the small stuff well.

There was no check waiting for me at the end. Damn.

Peeps for sale.

The whole affair is a rather mind boggling commercial circus. Yes, I am very glad to be included every year, and get paid well for it. But, the cultural aspect is tough to distill. There is so much going on! And perhaps, that is what upsets me most (besides the $$ effect). Live Music was only one of six things going on in this room alone. I had become a consumable entertainment cog in this system, and I had to compete with other teaching arts: science, graphic arts, sports, and other viable educational concerns. Yes, a big creative space was a grand idea for this festival, but was a carnival situation. Strange, very strange, upon reflection.

I was particularly beat after this gig. Understood.

Christkindlmarkt is Musikfest’s large Christmas tent affair near Steelstacks. It runs for several weeks with artisans, food, beer and music in several heated tents and outdoor venues. I’ve been fortunate to play it every year though today was the busiest gig I’ve had. It was the Saturday closest to Christmas so folks were out in force.

I had two one-hour sets at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm. Since I had the first set of the day, I got there in relative quiet and set up. I gotten to know the sound guy over the years and he had it all in place for me. We got a good check and then the doors opened.

I play on a large stage in front of a large area of tables. Most folks come to get something to eat before they return to browsing the merchants. I do notice those folks who are listening and I get a smattering of applause here and there. I do take time to chat with the folks from the stage, engage the kids, sing some holiday songs as well as play some mandolin tunes. It’s a good exercise of my holiday material.

I particular like having the kids come up and grab an instrument from my bag. There were several great moments, especially with a young girl dancing with scarves with her mom and well as another girl who just wanted to dance. I have some fairly straight ahead Christmas gospel rockers that fit perfectly as dance tunes.

During my break, I recognized a boy, his sister and their mother as they came up to me. They were a family that had seen me here several years ago. The boy loved to come up on stage with me and play tambourine. It was great to see them again and got the kid to pose for a picture in my chair. Big smiles.

It is a bit of a meat market, but it’s the Christmas season and people are out and about in very good spirits. The music helps set the stage for family and friends gathering, out on the town, and, after all, this is the Christmas City.

I played really well and I got to play some of my favorite arrangements of  classic carols, obscure ditties, crank up the mandolin and play some kids’ and Troubadour songs. I had just enough songs to fill two long sets of holiday music. It was a great way to finish up my Christmas season.