Deep Ellum tagged posts

I was advised to back away from PyroPlasticFlow for a bit in order to get a new perspective on things
Video has always been a close second in my life so I decided to start actively seeking Video/DJ gigs
After the last few months, I can honestly say that musicians and DJs are no different when it comes to the level of acceptance
And, just like there are a million jealous, competative hack bands out there, so are there DJs
Club owners are still all the same (for the most part)

My initial gig was doing “Modern Retro” for Desi Rae at the Fallout
I decided that the Halloween season would be best for me to spread myself around so I started scouting places to do my stuff
Jow Virus gave me a pretty solid yes but held me at arm’s length for a fair amount of time (that’s just the way dealing with th...

The last few weeks have been productive
A few weeks ago, I decided to get off my ass and pull my drums out on the street in Deep Ellum
Laziness was one of the factors that kept me from doing it but the biggest one was fear of all the negative variables that were swirling in my head
Would the cops hassle me?
Would someone try to rob me or start a fight? (this is Ellum)
After getting out there and doing it, I saw that none of those fears were correct
Not only that, but I never would have thought that I could play drums for 5 to 6 hours
My recent drumming-stamina issues have been a huge issue and I succeeded in adapting my playing for the long haul
I have an idea where I want to take this and will address it in a sec

Speaking of drumming stamina issues, I have isolated two of the main causes ...

Last night’s street drumming was as lucative as the last, plus I had my own show to watch across the street
The evening started off at 7:30 pm when I showed up at “MY” spot and found a parking space about 50 yards away
SCORE!
The meter even had 40 minutes on it
Unfortunately some kid with an acoustic guitar was in “MY” spot and he was not very good
Worst version of “Last Dance with Mary Jane” I ever heard
I sat in the van and glared at him for about 15 minutes when he got up and walked away
That’s when I pounced on “MY” spot
I managed to get up and running around 8pm

Last week’s street kit was designed to be as muffled and quiet as possible because of my anxieties over police hassles
Last week’s positive cop experience gave me lisence to bring a much better sounding drumkit with a full sna...

My negative experiences with busking in Minneapolis were pressing heavily on me as I lugged my gear to Deep Ellum to claim the spot I had scoped out
I was worried about the noise of the drumkit
I was worried about getting a ticket

I found a parking spot very close to my spot
It was around the corner but not so far that I would have to spend more than 15/20 seconds with my eyes off my equipment
The parking lot across the street wanted ten dollars
I asked one of the businesses next to the spot if they would allow me to plug in an extension cord for future electonic drum explorations but they were afraid of getting a ticket from the city (which is fair)
I REALLY need to figure a way to get portable power on the street

I set up and started playing at about 8pm and it didn’t take long until Tur...