25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 11
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 5
TIME: 1
WHERE: Washington
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Double post here because I didn't have time to post this morning.
There is not a lot to report, other than I'm exhausted. Thoroughly. I was up till just before sunrise, slept for about 3 hours, woke up, chilled for a bit, and then went to the Washington stop for an hour, made 5 bucks, went to rehearsal, a zombie, and came home to go to sleep
However, on the way home - I decided that if a stop was open, I would play for a bit. So i made rounds to Grand and Chicago, but they were both full. and Really - thank heavens they were. I wouldn't have been worth much of anything, and would have been angry I wasn't sleeping. :)
Today set me back in a huge way - I didn't plan it out. So I'm going to cram some numbers tomorrow to figure out how to make this work.
For now - I'm so tired I can barely think.
Goodnight Dreamers -
Ryan
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 10
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 10
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 93
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 9.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 85
TIME: 4
WHERE: Monroe, Grand
CD's Sold: 3
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Today was a half day off because I don't have rehearsal tonight. Which means I had the morning and early afternoon to get some things done.
Like this ham.
It got cooked
And then it got sliced, and put in this huge - freaking Tupperware. POOF.
And Sunday night, It'll go into 3 bags to be frozen and eaten for the rest of the month.
Pretty pumped about Ham Sammiches.
And those boots? The Bugaboots?
Bought them - with two pairs of 70% Merino Wool socks.
They'll be here on the 26th.
AND I found a Vet for my hedgehog Filbert, who seems to be not eating as much, and has been losing weight for about a month. - SO I set up an appointment for him on Monday to go figure out how to get the lil guy healthy again.
And - All this Laundry?
It got washed and folded.
POOF.
Still haven't found those 3 socks though....... Pretty sure they're under the bed - and its way to cold to go fishing down there. ^
^
CHECK OUT THAT DOLLAR THOUGH? -----------------------> ^
Jackpot!
Now I get to go play guitar for 4 or 5 hours, and then go drink wine with a stellar cute girl, and listen to Connor Garvey's live album - "Before The Meteors (live)" - I just found him yesterday - and - he's blowing my world. In half. He's blowing it in half - He's that good. So, check it out. You'll love it. I'm bobbing up and down to "The Bird" as I type here.
................................. I just deleted day 9 somehow. I mean - I know how I did it. Some copy and paste issues mixed with Blogspot's auto save feature.
Oh dear. Alright. gona try and recreate that quick. Damnit.
Ryan
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit
So I'm still recovering from deleting day 9. But I have an idea to turn a terrible thing into a great thing. I'll get to that later. For now - About the subway today.
I think the world did me a solid today. I was so furious when I left the house - I could barely talk. Besides screaming. :)
So I strolled down the lake, and watched the waves breaking up the ice that's been forming the last few days. And it was lovely - like it always is. The sun was setting - and it was perfect. did alot for my mood.
And then the subway.
I spent an hour at Monroe, made a solid 10 dollars from the regulars I see there. from 5 - 6. Then I rolled over to Grand and some awesome stuff started happening.
I just started singing the balloons off songs. If you didn't know songs have balloons, they do, and I was singing them off them. Quite remarkable. With no regard to how hard I was singing. I was angry - and I was singing it out.
And people noticed - I was making money - like crazy. Like I haven't made in a long, long time. People were buying CDs, I had 3, and they were sold in 15 minutes. People were clapping. It was incredible.
Enter Allison and Tyler - There was a really late train, and a good stack of people formed. And these cats were crazy about me. Crazy. like whistling, and clapping. They bought a CD for 10 bucks, and just smiled, and smiled, and smiled. It was like I made their night. And they made mine.
This is when I ran out of CD's and 2 other people asked to buy them tonight. Goodbye 10 dollars. Worst thing ever - Turning away money because I ran out of CD's.
Enter Mom of drunk college kids. About 15 of them. You could smell the booze on their breath all the way down the platform like this cloud just circling them. Laughing, yelling - having a wonderful, Perfect Friday night. The platform is pretty packed at this point, and I yell,
"This song is for everyone on this platform under 25 years old! I started playing "Anthem" a song I wrote last year that is just what it sounds like - an anthem of youth. And the whole glob of kids came over - They kept talking - But I was playing for them, and they were converging for me. I was the background to their Subway ride that night. I prolly made like 8 bucks from just that group alone. And when they wake up tomorrow - Maybe they'll say -
"Remember that dude in the subway who played that song, and we all went over to him? That was freaking wild dude."
I hope they do - I hope they do.
Ryan
Edit
So I'm still recovering from deleting day 9. But I have an idea to turn a terrible thing into a great thing. I'll get to that later. For now - About the subway today.
I think the world did me a solid today. I was so furious when I left the house - I could barely talk. Besides screaming. :)
So I strolled down the lake, and watched the waves breaking up the ice that's been forming the last few days. And it was lovely - like it always is. The sun was setting - and it was perfect. did alot for my mood.
And then the subway.
I spent an hour at Monroe, made a solid 10 dollars from the regulars I see there. from 5 - 6. Then I rolled over to Grand and some awesome stuff started happening.
I just started singing the balloons off songs. If you didn't know songs have balloons, they do, and I was singing them off them. Quite remarkable. With no regard to how hard I was singing. I was angry - and I was singing it out.
And people noticed - I was making money - like crazy. Like I haven't made in a long, long time. People were buying CDs, I had 3, and they were sold in 15 minutes. People were clapping. It was incredible.
Enter Allison and Tyler - There was a really late train, and a good stack of people formed. And these cats were crazy about me. Crazy. like whistling, and clapping. They bought a CD for 10 bucks, and just smiled, and smiled, and smiled. It was like I made their night. And they made mine.
This is when I ran out of CD's and 2 other people asked to buy them tonight. Goodbye 10 dollars. Worst thing ever - Turning away money because I ran out of CD's.
Enter Mom of drunk college kids. About 15 of them. You could smell the booze on their breath all the way down the platform like this cloud just circling them. Laughing, yelling - having a wonderful, Perfect Friday night. The platform is pretty packed at this point, and I yell,
"This song is for everyone on this platform under 25 years old! I started playing "Anthem" a song I wrote last year that is just what it sounds like - an anthem of youth. And the whole glob of kids came over - They kept talking - But I was playing for them, and they were converging for me. I was the background to their Subway ride that night. I prolly made like 8 bucks from just that group alone. And when they wake up tomorrow - Maybe they'll say -
"Remember that dude in the subway who played that song, and we all went over to him? That was freaking wild dude."
I hope they do - I hope they do.
Ryan
Thursday, January 15, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 9
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 9
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 118
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 8.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 7
TIME: .5
WHERE: Lasalle
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Ah hell.
Its day 10 - I' deleted this post from yesterday somehow while I was working on 10.
This was such a good post.
All about 2014 - and how I was feeling about the last year and the one man band in Peach and setting goals and OAT and youtube and racing around for 90 minutes to EVERY stop on the subway and finding a spot at lasalle and Charlotte giving me a 10 spot. . and. Oh lord.
and I'm never gona get it back. I can't recreate that mood yesterday. It was such a good post. I can't. Theres no............ damn it.
You ever get so frustrated that you can barely think? That you can't---
I'm screaming - I'm screaming in my apartment right now.
Eff it - I'm gona go play.
1-17-15
SO I've decided, that the best way to handle this day is to turn a terrible thing, into a really good thing.
So I'm just going to post really incredible things here. For the rest of the month. Things that make me happy - Stories that happen. Just really great stuff.
And I'm going to start with this video - Its from last summer in Portland - This guy is looping - And he's sensational.
It makes me happy every time I listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pXKm-7SNKo&feature=youtu.be
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 118
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 8.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 7
TIME: .5
WHERE: Lasalle
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Ah hell.
Its day 10 - I' deleted this post from yesterday somehow while I was working on 10.
This was such a good post.
All about 2014 - and how I was feeling about the last year and the one man band in Peach and setting goals and OAT and youtube and racing around for 90 minutes to EVERY stop on the subway and finding a spot at lasalle and Charlotte giving me a 10 spot. . and. Oh lord.
and I'm never gona get it back. I can't recreate that mood yesterday. It was such a good post. I can't. Theres no............ damn it.
You ever get so frustrated that you can barely think? That you can't---
I'm screaming - I'm screaming in my apartment right now.
Eff it - I'm gona go play.
1-17-15
SO I've decided, that the best way to handle this day is to turn a terrible thing, into a really good thing.
So I'm just going to post really incredible things here. For the rest of the month. Things that make me happy - Stories that happen. Just really great stuff.
And I'm going to start with this video - Its from last summer in Portland - This guy is looping - And he's sensational.
It makes me happy every time I listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pXKm-7SNKo&feature=youtu.be
Ryan
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 8
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 8
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 125
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 9.00
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 2
Days off this week - 0
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 44
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe - Blue
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 19, Low 14, Current 15, feels like 4
Think happy thoughts - Like sunshine - And rainbows. And sand so hot you can't stand in one place.
Alright - I'm typing as fast as I can - Its 11:28 - I had a morning with Joel Collins, who I hadn't seen in ages and ages but it ran a little late, so I'm typing like a Tasmanian devil.
French toast is a beautiful thing. Why have I not made a slice with my scrambled eggs every morning? Its just the most simple addition ever.
At anyrate - Joel came over, we ate french toast, drank coffee, watched Star Trek and talked about old times in college. All the good things. And now I'm off - gona check in at Jackson and Washington today to see if I can nab a spot. Should be able to get a solid 4 hours in if I leave in the next 15 minutes - which - if I stop making mistakes and having to hit backspace 20 times - Can happen.
EDIT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today had a bit of a different feel to it. I cruised to all the spots today. Checked in at Washington, Jackson red and blue and kept cruising eventually ending up at Monroe on the Blue line. The thing that was so different - was that I knew every performer I ran into. And they knew me - And we were all talking spots and recommending things to each other - and none of the really crazy or weird folks were out today. Just a handful of good people. It was my own little ragtag community.
I'd never played at Monroe and the Blue line before and some fun things happened today.
When I got there - a fella named AL, was just singing to the air. Not asking for tips or anything - and he said, "You comin in? You Playin?" and proceeded to give me the scoop on the spot. Where to stand, how traffic would roll in, the times when people were gona show up - Big guy just took me under his shoulder and I could tell he was getting a lot from telling me all these things that I mostly knew already. So I let him. :) I did not, however, have any idea where to stand on the huge platform though - so that was very, very helpful - and saved me time, and lots of moving my case back and forth.
1st of all - the day started with a 5 spot dropped by a lovely woman named Tracy who said, " I really love good music down here." So - Thanks Tracy - I think it's pretty good too. :)
At the same time - I ran into Charday - Prolly butchering your name there girl - but it was loud - and hard to hear. :) She gave me a buck, works for the CTA, told me she loved my voice and friend-ed me on Facebook on the spot.
So I just started out the day feeling loved - wanted - and that - You know that doesn't always happen - so its very sweet when it does. Thank you two.
Lastly - A lady, wearing ear muffs walked up around 4 pm. I was playing Heart of Gold by Neil Young - and she pulls out this wad of dollar bills. And it looks like a stack - like a huge, the most one dollar bills I've ever seen anyone carry down in the subway. And they're tied up with this rubber band. She takes it off, takes out like 2 or three dollars, and then tosses the STACK into my case. - It hit with an audible THUD. I could hear it. Actually hear it. I've never HEARD dollars hitting my case before. And I shot out this, "Thank you" and she was already turned around and walking away - and she didn't look back. It was Fourteen Dollars. one. four. The most one dollar bills I've ever gotten from a single person at one time.
Who knows why she just walked away. That seems to happen a lot when people know they're dropping a lot. Anything more than about 8 dollars. Its like people know they're doing you a huge thing - and they don't know how to handle their own generosity. Or are embarrassed by it - or something. Or don't want other people to know it was them who just made this musician's day. Which, is an interesting problem. Almost every person, save a very special few, that have dropped me 20's, have dropped them, and turn around. Some smile - some don't.
People are all different - But I think we're all good at heart. Even the crazy ones that I'm terrified of. There's good in there - there has to be - Or I have to seriously rethink who I am. Because believing there's good in everyone, is just as important as there actually being good in everyone.
I had a very remarkable experience walking through the Daley Center from Lake to Washington today. I realized I was exhausted. I've been leaving around noon, and getting home around 11:30 for what seems like forever - And - its really only been 8 days. But what i realized - is that I am doing things that I love - and I'm furiously passionate about - all day - Playing, writing music, and then going to rehearsal at Filament - And when you do things you love - It takes - a lot - of energy. And you get home at night - and you just want to lie down - but you can't - because there's a blog to write - and you LOVE that too - And when you finally get into bed - you smile yourself to sleep - because in the grand sense of it all - This - is what people dream about - every day. And i get to live that. Every day. And - how - cool is that? How incredible. How lucky.
I never dreamed I would be this man today. Something like him, assuredly. But this? Heavens. I'm not that crazy.
It's time for bed - I have a Youtube channel to make tomorrow morning.
All my love - Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 125
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 9.00
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 2
Days off this week - 0
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 44
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe - Blue
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 19, Low 14, Current 15, feels like 4
Think happy thoughts - Like sunshine - And rainbows. And sand so hot you can't stand in one place.
Alright - I'm typing as fast as I can - Its 11:28 - I had a morning with Joel Collins, who I hadn't seen in ages and ages but it ran a little late, so I'm typing like a Tasmanian devil.
French toast is a beautiful thing. Why have I not made a slice with my scrambled eggs every morning? Its just the most simple addition ever.
At anyrate - Joel came over, we ate french toast, drank coffee, watched Star Trek and talked about old times in college. All the good things. And now I'm off - gona check in at Jackson and Washington today to see if I can nab a spot. Should be able to get a solid 4 hours in if I leave in the next 15 minutes - which - if I stop making mistakes and having to hit backspace 20 times - Can happen.
A Days Rations
It sounds like I'm in a war - when I say it like that.
TODAY - GENTLEMEN - WE GOTTA FIGHT! FOR THE RIGHT! To PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
in the subway. <Thank you Beastie Boys>
Also - I've been thinking about boots - A lot. About boots that will change my life. I got a recommendation from Christian Libonatti - about Columbia's 200 Gram Bugaboots - And - I believe - In the next few days - If I can find the right sale online - I'm going to make my first major purchase of the year.
I had a check come in, very very late, from a gig I played back in December, so there's a little extra cash, and I think its time for my feet to stay warm. I think I owe it to them. They work hard.
So - Behold
Columbia's 200 Gram - Stout Cedar - Bugaboots
LOOK AT THOSE! AREN'T THOSE THE SEXIEST, MOST WARM THINGS YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE??????????????????
OK! I'm out the door! Later daters!
Ryan
EDIT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today had a bit of a different feel to it. I cruised to all the spots today. Checked in at Washington, Jackson red and blue and kept cruising eventually ending up at Monroe on the Blue line. The thing that was so different - was that I knew every performer I ran into. And they knew me - And we were all talking spots and recommending things to each other - and none of the really crazy or weird folks were out today. Just a handful of good people. It was my own little ragtag community.
I'd never played at Monroe and the Blue line before and some fun things happened today.
When I got there - a fella named AL, was just singing to the air. Not asking for tips or anything - and he said, "You comin in? You Playin?" and proceeded to give me the scoop on the spot. Where to stand, how traffic would roll in, the times when people were gona show up - Big guy just took me under his shoulder and I could tell he was getting a lot from telling me all these things that I mostly knew already. So I let him. :) I did not, however, have any idea where to stand on the huge platform though - so that was very, very helpful - and saved me time, and lots of moving my case back and forth.
1st of all - the day started with a 5 spot dropped by a lovely woman named Tracy who said, " I really love good music down here." So - Thanks Tracy - I think it's pretty good too. :)
At the same time - I ran into Charday - Prolly butchering your name there girl - but it was loud - and hard to hear. :) She gave me a buck, works for the CTA, told me she loved my voice and friend-ed me on Facebook on the spot.
So I just started out the day feeling loved - wanted - and that - You know that doesn't always happen - so its very sweet when it does. Thank you two.
Lastly - A lady, wearing ear muffs walked up around 4 pm. I was playing Heart of Gold by Neil Young - and she pulls out this wad of dollar bills. And it looks like a stack - like a huge, the most one dollar bills I've ever seen anyone carry down in the subway. And they're tied up with this rubber band. She takes it off, takes out like 2 or three dollars, and then tosses the STACK into my case. - It hit with an audible THUD. I could hear it. Actually hear it. I've never HEARD dollars hitting my case before. And I shot out this, "Thank you" and she was already turned around and walking away - and she didn't look back. It was Fourteen Dollars. one. four. The most one dollar bills I've ever gotten from a single person at one time.
Who knows why she just walked away. That seems to happen a lot when people know they're dropping a lot. Anything more than about 8 dollars. Its like people know they're doing you a huge thing - and they don't know how to handle their own generosity. Or are embarrassed by it - or something. Or don't want other people to know it was them who just made this musician's day. Which, is an interesting problem. Almost every person, save a very special few, that have dropped me 20's, have dropped them, and turn around. Some smile - some don't.
People are all different - But I think we're all good at heart. Even the crazy ones that I'm terrified of. There's good in there - there has to be - Or I have to seriously rethink who I am. Because believing there's good in everyone, is just as important as there actually being good in everyone.
I had a very remarkable experience walking through the Daley Center from Lake to Washington today. I realized I was exhausted. I've been leaving around noon, and getting home around 11:30 for what seems like forever - And - its really only been 8 days. But what i realized - is that I am doing things that I love - and I'm furiously passionate about - all day - Playing, writing music, and then going to rehearsal at Filament - And when you do things you love - It takes - a lot - of energy. And you get home at night - and you just want to lie down - but you can't - because there's a blog to write - and you LOVE that too - And when you finally get into bed - you smile yourself to sleep - because in the grand sense of it all - This - is what people dream about - every day. And i get to live that. Every day. And - how - cool is that? How incredible. How lucky.
I never dreamed I would be this man today. Something like him, assuredly. But this? Heavens. I'm not that crazy.
It's time for bed - I have a Youtube channel to make tomorrow morning.
All my love - Ryan
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 7
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 7
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 109
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 7.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 29
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 16, Low 4, Current 18, feels like 6
The lake is frozen Pals. Just - Frozen.
Let it be known that on this day, the seventeenth of January, two thousand fourteen - that Lake Michigan, is Frozen.
I haven't had the pleasure of walking down to it yet - but when I woke up this morning, the lake was white - which, is not a natural color - for a lake.
It's been really awesome watching it happen. 3 nights ago was when it started, and if you looked out at night, it looked like parts were cloudy - like there was smoke, trapped on the surface. Just this tiny layer of slush, not even hard ice, was swirling around. There were no waves. I mean not even a trace of waves. It was like I was looking at a duck pond where there was no wind. The water was like glass, it was foggy enough that I couldn't see the Hancock tower from the pier by my house, and it was snowing - so it was quite. Quiet in the way only snow can make it.
The next day waves came crashing in, shooting over the pier, slamming into the ice banks, breaking up all the ice, sloshing it around, throwing it on top of itself and then last night, it refroze, and snowed on top of it. I bet its a spectacular site. I'll have a picture of it for you later tonight.
I came very close - this morning - to waking up on time, but when push came to shove, my body demanded 8 hours, and I relented. Which means I'll only get 4 hours in the subway today because I've got to spend some time on this British accent for Peach before I leave.
Also - NEWS~!
BOOKED A GIG FROM THE BLOG.
YES FOLKS - THAT'S RIGHT.
CITY NEWS CAFE in PORTAGE PARK has been following the blog and has asked me to come play from 12-2pm on 1/24/15 and to see if I can bring MO, the Violinist I met this week. I don't know if he'll still be in town, but, I'll give him a holler later on today.
Farewell! Off to turn this Grasshopper into an English Gentlemen.
Ryan
EDIT -
One day I'm going to play for 5 hours. 1 day out of this week - I played for 5 hours. One day. - Well - Definitely room for improvement there. It is really hard to get out the door in the morning. To get up early enough - and then actually leave when I need to. I feel like it should be less difficult? Who knows -
Either way- Some really fun stuff happened today.
I started out by walking down the beach so I could see this Magic -
5 Foot Ice banks that have built themselves about 20 feet into the lake - and then frozen snow and Ice almost as far as the eye could see. Terrifying.
Monroe was empty when I got there so I laid out my gear and went at it. It was a pretty solid 10 dollars an hour the whole way. Fairly void of anything super special happening - until THIS
And lastly, my roommate, Nathan Scheetz happened to come into the Monroe stop on his way home from work and recorded this snid-bit of a video of my latest song - "Giant's", which is about my Nephew, Kyler.
You see, I went to my sister's place in South Dakota with my parents for Christmas. My sister has 2 boys: Kyler - 5 and Carson - 2. And - I just love them more than I've ever loved any child - ever. I've never connected with kids - like these two boys. Its pretty wild. At any rate - Tiffany, my sister, set up my bed in Kyler's bedroom. So when he woke up the first day - POOF - there was uncle Ryan. So he jumped into my bed at about 5 am and just started being the adorable kiddo that he is - I must have convinced him to let me sleep a tiny bit more - and then at 8:47 I sent Nathan Scheetz this text,
" Well. its 847 AM. since 720, I've been a giant. Squashed countless hedgehogs and polar bears, been in several line rating competitions, jumped over rivers of lava, killed 20 bad ninjas with poison, found a stolen refrigerator and held a Mass Conference of Planes." - It was, undoubtedly the best morning of the trip. Perhaps, ever better than Christmas morning - which, is a story in and of itself. :)
So, it took me a couple weeks to figure it out - but - I finished it in the subway 2 days ago when Smokey was filming me. Here's the 1st verse, and almost the whole chorus of that song.
That - is it.
All in, all out, all stories accounted for. Adding to the bucket - one day at a time.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 109
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 7.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 29
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 16, Low 4, Current 18, feels like 6
The lake is frozen Pals. Just - Frozen.
Let it be known that on this day, the seventeenth of January, two thousand fourteen - that Lake Michigan, is Frozen.
I haven't had the pleasure of walking down to it yet - but when I woke up this morning, the lake was white - which, is not a natural color - for a lake.
WHITE.
The next day waves came crashing in, shooting over the pier, slamming into the ice banks, breaking up all the ice, sloshing it around, throwing it on top of itself and then last night, it refroze, and snowed on top of it. I bet its a spectacular site. I'll have a picture of it for you later tonight.
I came very close - this morning - to waking up on time, but when push came to shove, my body demanded 8 hours, and I relented. Which means I'll only get 4 hours in the subway today because I've got to spend some time on this British accent for Peach before I leave.
Also - NEWS~!
BOOKED A GIG FROM THE BLOG.
YES FOLKS - THAT'S RIGHT.
CITY NEWS CAFE in PORTAGE PARK has been following the blog and has asked me to come play from 12-2pm on 1/24/15 and to see if I can bring MO, the Violinist I met this week. I don't know if he'll still be in town, but, I'll give him a holler later on today.
Farewell! Off to turn this Grasshopper into an English Gentlemen.
Ryan
EDIT -
One day I'm going to play for 5 hours. 1 day out of this week - I played for 5 hours. One day. - Well - Definitely room for improvement there. It is really hard to get out the door in the morning. To get up early enough - and then actually leave when I need to. I feel like it should be less difficult? Who knows -
Either way- Some really fun stuff happened today.
I started out by walking down the beach so I could see this Magic -
5 Foot Ice banks that have built themselves about 20 feet into the lake - and then frozen snow and Ice almost as far as the eye could see. Terrifying.
Monroe was empty when I got there so I laid out my gear and went at it. It was a pretty solid 10 dollars an hour the whole way. Fairly void of anything super special happening - until THIS
This is a coin pouch that two girls left. They walked up, almost meekly right as a train was coming, and set it down in my case. They were on the train almost before I could thank them and toss them a demo. A coin purse. A COIN PURSE. and not only that but a COOL COIN PURSE. and it had like 4 bucks in change inside it!
So now - the purse is absolutely priceless and is immediately on the list of the most amazing things I've ever been given while busking, including but not limited to: An entire lunch - Sandwich, chips, apple, and a slice of cake from Mitch at the Monroe Redline last year, A warm Smirnoff Ice from a drunk woman coming out of a rock concert in Louisville, Kentucky, and the sole of a shoe - from someone so sneaky I didn't even see the drop it - In Iowa City, Iowa.
And lastly, my roommate, Nathan Scheetz happened to come into the Monroe stop on his way home from work and recorded this snid-bit of a video of my latest song - "Giant's", which is about my Nephew, Kyler.
You see, I went to my sister's place in South Dakota with my parents for Christmas. My sister has 2 boys: Kyler - 5 and Carson - 2. And - I just love them more than I've ever loved any child - ever. I've never connected with kids - like these two boys. Its pretty wild. At any rate - Tiffany, my sister, set up my bed in Kyler's bedroom. So when he woke up the first day - POOF - there was uncle Ryan. So he jumped into my bed at about 5 am and just started being the adorable kiddo that he is - I must have convinced him to let me sleep a tiny bit more - and then at 8:47 I sent Nathan Scheetz this text,
" Well. its 847 AM. since 720, I've been a giant. Squashed countless hedgehogs and polar bears, been in several line rating competitions, jumped over rivers of lava, killed 20 bad ninjas with poison, found a stolen refrigerator and held a Mass Conference of Planes." - It was, undoubtedly the best morning of the trip. Perhaps, ever better than Christmas morning - which, is a story in and of itself. :)
So, it took me a couple weeks to figure it out - but - I finished it in the subway 2 days ago when Smokey was filming me. Here's the 1st verse, and almost the whole chorus of that song.
That - is it.
All in, all out, all stories accounted for. Adding to the bucket - one day at a time.
Ryan
Monday, January 12, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 6
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 6
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 78
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 5.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 27
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 2
Temp: High 26, Low 9, Current 20, feels like 5
I feel like as long as we're in the double digits - we're golden.
I'm having a hard time this morning. Little overwhelmed with everything. Subway. Peach. Spoon River. Weather. Sleep. Groceries. Its stemming from having a rough time yesterday. Getting a tiny amount of sleep Saturday, barely any money in the subway and then - really - not being able to STOMP on 1 and 3, and ACCENT STRUM on 2 and 4... ... ... ... ...
I'm working on a production of James and the Giant Peach with Filament Theater that opens February 11th. We're writing this song - that has foot tambourine on beats 1 and 3, scratching on the guitar throughout, and then accenting strums on 2 and 4 - and IT. IS. SO. HARD. I'm impatient with it. I should just be able to DO it. It's so simple. Infuriatingly simple. We worked the song for about an hour yesterday and I just can't get it yet. And - you know - there's a month. We have a month. I have 29 days to learn how to do it so I shouldn't be getting all upset about it - but - MAN - Grinds my gears.
So I'll keep working. slowly but surely, right?
Today is one of those days where I could just sit inside, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Tombstone pizza, and watch Star Trek: Next Generation until the cows come home by themselves - Which, my farmer friends tell me, they seldom do.
Days like today - I want to cower - I want to hide and pretend they're not happening - I'm not sure why they pop up. But I think its when I get overwhelmed. When there's a lot to do. Too much to do. When I can't focus on the day-to-day the hour-to-hour and can only see the massive big picture.
So the only thing to do, is just get the Huckleberry out the door. And start doing.
So I'm gonna burn 5 CD's. And get the Huckleberry out of here -
Stay Warm Chicago -
Love Ryan
EDIT:
I made it through the day. That - is a success.
If I take out CD sales - it means I made approx. 5.67 dollars an hour today. with them, I made a solid 9. So I'm gona hang on to 9 while I try and figure out why a made so little money today. I also - made about 6 dollars in change, from the looks of it. - But I don't count the change. I just put it in a jar as a failsafe at the end of the month.
I played from 2-5. A solid time of day. Maybe it was because it was Monday? Or perhaps Monroe is going dry. That happens after a while. Everyone that would give you money, has given you money, and they need a break from you before they'll toss more.
I don't know - - - -
I played through Every song on my list today though. I have a list - that is wildly incomplete. There are 50 songs on it - half covers, half my stuff - and I'm missing about 15 songs. You know what that means?
I have FIFTY songs - in my head. That's crazy. I've thought, that sometimes - Its hard for me to remember things down the road, because all my memory is filled up with songs - but - I don't think the mind works like that ;)
The awesome part about this day - was when I got to rehearsal for Peach. We do this thing called "Check in" when we get there, and "reinforce" when we leave. Check in, is where you tell the group anything you want - in order to be present in the room. You can let go of something, say your excited about something, just talk about your day - whatever you want. And Reinforce, is where you talk about what you want to - Reinforce from the day. haha.
So today at Check In I said,
" I just want everyone to know, that its been a really weird day. I'm feeling real weird, but I'm choosing right now - to have an incredible rest of my day." And then I did.
Groucho Marx has this great quote that I attached to the bottom of my emails as a signature about 5 years ago -
I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.
Groucho Marx
When I read that for the first time - It changed the way I think about things. I can't always do it - but Happiness, in a large part - Is a choice. At least for me it is. It took me getting to rehearsal, recognizing i had a chance for a restart, and choosing to do it - But its the best I've felt in 36 hours - So, it worked. It really did. So thanks Groucho. That quote seldom lets me down.
its 2 am. The combined efforts of the "Single track work" on the redline, a late night, emergency shopping trip to Jewel because I was completely out of food, Racking a gallon of homemade Mead, and writing this blog have kept me up 2 hours past when I should have gone to sleep. Necessary tasks I suppose.
Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Don't let any Doctor Seuss monsters bite.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 78
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 5.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 27
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 2
Temp: High 26, Low 9, Current 20, feels like 5
I feel like as long as we're in the double digits - we're golden.
I'm having a hard time this morning. Little overwhelmed with everything. Subway. Peach. Spoon River. Weather. Sleep. Groceries. Its stemming from having a rough time yesterday. Getting a tiny amount of sleep Saturday, barely any money in the subway and then - really - not being able to STOMP on 1 and 3, and ACCENT STRUM on 2 and 4... ... ... ... ...
I'm working on a production of James and the Giant Peach with Filament Theater that opens February 11th. We're writing this song - that has foot tambourine on beats 1 and 3, scratching on the guitar throughout, and then accenting strums on 2 and 4 - and IT. IS. SO. HARD. I'm impatient with it. I should just be able to DO it. It's so simple. Infuriatingly simple. We worked the song for about an hour yesterday and I just can't get it yet. And - you know - there's a month. We have a month. I have 29 days to learn how to do it so I shouldn't be getting all upset about it - but - MAN - Grinds my gears.
So I'll keep working. slowly but surely, right?
Today is one of those days where I could just sit inside, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Tombstone pizza, and watch Star Trek: Next Generation until the cows come home by themselves - Which, my farmer friends tell me, they seldom do.
Days like today - I want to cower - I want to hide and pretend they're not happening - I'm not sure why they pop up. But I think its when I get overwhelmed. When there's a lot to do. Too much to do. When I can't focus on the day-to-day the hour-to-hour and can only see the massive big picture.
So the only thing to do, is just get the Huckleberry out the door. And start doing.
So I'm gonna burn 5 CD's. And get the Huckleberry out of here -
Stay Warm Chicago -
Love Ryan
EDIT:
I made it through the day. That - is a success.
If I take out CD sales - it means I made approx. 5.67 dollars an hour today. with them, I made a solid 9. So I'm gona hang on to 9 while I try and figure out why a made so little money today. I also - made about 6 dollars in change, from the looks of it. - But I don't count the change. I just put it in a jar as a failsafe at the end of the month.
I played from 2-5. A solid time of day. Maybe it was because it was Monday? Or perhaps Monroe is going dry. That happens after a while. Everyone that would give you money, has given you money, and they need a break from you before they'll toss more.
I don't know - - - -
I played through Every song on my list today though. I have a list - that is wildly incomplete. There are 50 songs on it - half covers, half my stuff - and I'm missing about 15 songs. You know what that means?
I have FIFTY songs - in my head. That's crazy. I've thought, that sometimes - Its hard for me to remember things down the road, because all my memory is filled up with songs - but - I don't think the mind works like that ;)
The awesome part about this day - was when I got to rehearsal for Peach. We do this thing called "Check in" when we get there, and "reinforce" when we leave. Check in, is where you tell the group anything you want - in order to be present in the room. You can let go of something, say your excited about something, just talk about your day - whatever you want. And Reinforce, is where you talk about what you want to - Reinforce from the day. haha.
So today at Check In I said,
" I just want everyone to know, that its been a really weird day. I'm feeling real weird, but I'm choosing right now - to have an incredible rest of my day." And then I did.
Groucho Marx has this great quote that I attached to the bottom of my emails as a signature about 5 years ago -
I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.
Groucho Marx
When I read that for the first time - It changed the way I think about things. I can't always do it - but Happiness, in a large part - Is a choice. At least for me it is. It took me getting to rehearsal, recognizing i had a chance for a restart, and choosing to do it - But its the best I've felt in 36 hours - So, it worked. It really did. So thanks Groucho. That quote seldom lets me down.
its 2 am. The combined efforts of the "Single track work" on the redline, a late night, emergency shopping trip to Jewel because I was completely out of food, Racking a gallon of homemade Mead, and writing this blog have kept me up 2 hours past when I should have gone to sleep. Necessary tasks I suppose.
Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Don't let any Doctor Seuss monsters bite.
Ryan
Sunday, January 11, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 5
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 5
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 45
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 3.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 35
Actual: 16
TIME: 2.75
WHERE: Jackson
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 31, Low 22, Current 30, feels like 26
It felt almost like summer today. Minus the 3 inches of snow that fell.
Today was supposed to be a day off - And, I'm still counting it as one so that I could catch up with this goal a bit. Also - at under 8 dollars an hour - it barely counts as a day.
I thought I had rehearsal at 2pm today, and as I was leaving, I sent a text to a cast mate who informed me it was at 6 - So - I headed down to play. I don't play the weekends very often anymore - so I'm flying blind whenever it happens. I don't know what stops are good, when they're hot, cold, or abandoned - But Jackson was open - So I figured I'd hang out and find out - and - Now I remember why I don't play Sunday afternoons.
Half the reason I stayed was because I knew I just needed to put in hours. Because this month is as much about laying down 25 hours a week playing as it is the money. Just to prove to myself I can do it.
Kind of a weird day from the start - The train I got on, had 3 people on it with no pants on. One mid twenties gay dude, one Old as hell man, and one mid twenties girl. I asked the gay dude what was going on and he said, "Oh nothing - I just forgot my pants." The old dude next to him offered, "I HAVE A D D." The girl was silent. No answers. Just an odd train full of pants-less people. hmm.
I met Charlie, a 15 or 16 year old bucket drummer kid about half way through my set. He said he just got off the megabus from Detroit. He and his buddy went up just for the day to play for the crowds going to and leaving the Monster Truck Rally at The Lions Stadium. Apparently it was worth his while. 30 bucks for a bus ticket, and made a bucket load of cash. I don't know how they didn't freeze to death up on the streets. But I guess they're moving a lot, with the drumming and all. All in all a nice kid. Said he'd been playin the subway since he was 3 feet tall. And I believe him. He was a good kid.
Smokey - and killer nice black dude with a video camera came up and taped me working a new song, "Giants", that I'm writing for my nephew Kyler. He gave me his number and I talked to him later that night. Said he's gona work on the video tomorrow and will be able to get me a DVD, so - Keep your fingers crossed for that. :)
Remember Mo? I didn't really give much info about him, so I'll catch you all up - but first - check out him playing violin with me at grand yesterday.
I'm pretty tired. I've been staying up far, far, far too late. It just struck midnight. So, I'm a minute late in posting this - but, it can still count I think. :)
Quick - before I go - On my way home, I walked up the beach and down to the pier in a snowstorm and 4 inches of snow - Turned around - and saw this -
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 45
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 3.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 35
Actual: 16
TIME: 2.75
WHERE: Jackson
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 31, Low 22, Current 30, feels like 26
It felt almost like summer today. Minus the 3 inches of snow that fell.
Today was supposed to be a day off - And, I'm still counting it as one so that I could catch up with this goal a bit. Also - at under 8 dollars an hour - it barely counts as a day.
I thought I had rehearsal at 2pm today, and as I was leaving, I sent a text to a cast mate who informed me it was at 6 - So - I headed down to play. I don't play the weekends very often anymore - so I'm flying blind whenever it happens. I don't know what stops are good, when they're hot, cold, or abandoned - But Jackson was open - So I figured I'd hang out and find out - and - Now I remember why I don't play Sunday afternoons.
Half the reason I stayed was because I knew I just needed to put in hours. Because this month is as much about laying down 25 hours a week playing as it is the money. Just to prove to myself I can do it.
Kind of a weird day from the start - The train I got on, had 3 people on it with no pants on. One mid twenties gay dude, one Old as hell man, and one mid twenties girl. I asked the gay dude what was going on and he said, "Oh nothing - I just forgot my pants." The old dude next to him offered, "I HAVE A D D." The girl was silent. No answers. Just an odd train full of pants-less people. hmm.
I met Charlie, a 15 or 16 year old bucket drummer kid about half way through my set. He said he just got off the megabus from Detroit. He and his buddy went up just for the day to play for the crowds going to and leaving the Monster Truck Rally at The Lions Stadium. Apparently it was worth his while. 30 bucks for a bus ticket, and made a bucket load of cash. I don't know how they didn't freeze to death up on the streets. But I guess they're moving a lot, with the drumming and all. All in all a nice kid. Said he'd been playin the subway since he was 3 feet tall. And I believe him. He was a good kid.
Smokey - and killer nice black dude with a video camera came up and taped me working a new song, "Giants", that I'm writing for my nephew Kyler. He gave me his number and I talked to him later that night. Said he's gona work on the video tomorrow and will be able to get me a DVD, so - Keep your fingers crossed for that. :)
Remember Mo? I didn't really give much info about him, so I'll catch you all up - but first - check out him playing violin with me at grand yesterday.
Isn't he Great?
He rolled up, and said he had a spot at Chicago later on, but wanted to jam for a couple tunes. So he laid his case down and we went back and forth for about 30 minutes. He said he's traveling around right now. Town to town, show to show. That sort of thing. We may get together for a bit next week to jam some more. I'll keep you updated.
Its been a long time since I've played with a fiddler. A few years actually. the last time was Max Perkounkov in Iowa City, who, changed forever the way I play "Trash Barge" - He was the kind of guy who could follow you in anything. Just - all ear trained and incredible. Mo was a lot like him. :)
I'm pretty tired. I've been staying up far, far, far too late. It just struck midnight. So, I'm a minute late in posting this - but, it can still count I think. :)
Quick - before I go - On my way home, I walked up the beach and down to the pier in a snowstorm and 4 inches of snow - Turned around - and saw this -
The prints on the left are mine. - And as I turned around - I noticed - no one walks in a straight line. I don't - and neither did the guy who crossed this patch of land before I did. Little detours. Little lefts, rights - but, just - always forward - forging on.
I made 16 dollars today. I just realized that. haha. hahahahhahah. I'm laughing - at my computer - 16-dollars-a-day. hahaha. If you haven't read the very first post on this blog - go back and read it - it'll fill you in.
I was upset about making so little money today - until right now. 16 dollars a day. Every day is different. Ups - downs - lefts and rights. But I guess if I keep walking? - I'm gona make it home.
To footprints that show us the way - Cheers -
Ryan
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