I recently lucked into a Takamine G-335 12-string in a well-timed eBay bid.  I’m very happy with it, but sitting down? On stage? This will not do. But there’s just the one strap button at the butt end, and I’m not tying a strap to the headstock; that maybe looked cool on Elvis. Maybe.

I’d been meaning to put strap locks on my Strat, which would leave me with a spare strap button or two.

So:

And then…

Safety first…

Et voilà.

It is at this point that I realize I don’t yet have a strap for this guitar.

So close…

If more than two people ask me about something I’m using, especially if it’s more than two people at one show, it seems worth the time to write it down.

It may look like my friend Brian is paying close attention, awaiting the moment when he’ll add some more harmonies. Actually, he’s looking past me, at my iPad, attached to a nearby stand.

It’s held there by an IK Multimedia iKlip mic stand mount. There are a number of products that do this job; this is the one I happen to own, and it does its one job very well.

So why is it there? I know folks who run GarageBand onstage this way, but in my case, it’s just lyric sheets and/or setlists. So when I need a memory jog on a new song, the occasional cover or (as sadly happened last night) when I blank on an older song of mine, it’s right there.

There’s any number of ways to get those lyrics on there, but like any good nerd, I lean toward plain text files. Something I can edit on any machine I own, view on my phone if need be, etc.

The app used for viewing the songs is GoodReader. I like that it will read almost anything I throw at it, but especially like the way it syncs with Dropbox. I have a “Lyrics” folder on my laptop:

and I’ve told GoodReader to sync that folder and its contents. If I add a new song to that folder, it will automatically be mirrored to GoodReader. Tap a song, and off I go:

If I’m feeling particularly grown-up and professional, I’ll “star” some of the songs ahead of time, and let GoodReader show me just those songs as something approaching a setlist:

That’s it. No more binder of lyrics for me, and I’m pretty happy about it. I do recommend putting the iPad in airplane mode before your set, to avoid the temptation to tweet mid-song.

“Disappear”, “One Man at Best”, “The Great Unknown” and “Mind of Its Own”, live at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

“Disappear”

“One Man at Best”

“The Great Unknown”

“Mind of Its Own”

All four songs are from my album “Acrophobe”, available for purchase (CD or download) at music.paulroub.com.

Had the pleasure, last Saturday, of joining Michael Stock in studio on his Folk and Acoustic Music show. This is one of the songs performed therein.

And… uh… sorry about the sunburn. It didn’t look that bad on the radio.

“A Little Bit Wiser” is $0.89 at Amazon MP3 - proceeds will go towards sunscreen and common sense.

(or any gate, really)

Have one of these in your backpack:

Bonus points: lend it to a Dad whose two Disneyed-out kids both want to watch videos on their run-down iPods. That guy bought me a coffee.

I was lucky enough to get one of the Acer 1420P convertible tablet/netbooks at Microsoft PDC 2009. Yesterday, the AC adapter died. Since this isn’t a model that was sold through normal channels, different find-your-adapter sites give varying answers as to what might work.

I picked up a Rocketfish Universal Adapter today, since one of the tips appeared, through the packaging, to be a match. Works like a charm, laptop is fully charged, and I have a bunch of other tips handy when something else dies.

You’ll want the MT32 tip (included), by the way.

From: Name Redacted <nredacted@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: The Domain: OpenMicNight.com

Using your ISP-given email? Always a good sign of a reliable business.

Paul,
Hello, my name is redacted. I am representing the owner of the web domain OpenMicNight.com and we are interested in selling the domain.

A web domain? How wonderful! Oh, but… what if I wanted email, too? Is this one only for the web? Is that why you’re using the SBC address?

In a keyword search for “Open Mic Night” on Google your website came up as a related listing,

I’d expect so. openmikes.org is generally the first hit for things like that. Good job finding it!

So I wanted to see if you had any interest in purchasing the domain?

So I could have the second slot, too? Also, that’s not a question. It’s more of an 80s movie SoCal kid making a statement, if you throw a few “likes” in there.

I am contacting many different parties that have an interest in the name, or spend money on marketing and ads for these specific keywords.

“Dear SEO Douchebags: …”

A response either way would be appreciated.

Wait, either way? What were my choices? Is this a way? I’m doing this one.

Thank you for your time,
Name Redacted

That was so nostalgic. Domain speculation. Because people type URLs into address bars these days. All the time. That would serve me better than years of content, trust, legitimate inbound links…

Oh, there’s more!

Name Redacted, Nredacted Web Development
Phone: 555-55B-R549 Email: nredacted@sbcglobal.net

Wow, no hesitation at all throwing around the temporary email. And no web site, I guess ‘cause you’re selling your only web domain.

Hey, for the kids, can we get some authentic, silly, psuedo-legal spewage?

This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information.

You don’t know? Dude. Read it over once before clicking Send.

If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based on this message or any information herein.

Can I delete it? Because that seems like taking an action. Is asking that taking action?

Also, how do I know if I’m authorized to receive this? What’s the chain of command? I’m pretty sure my boss won’t care, and the dog’s utterly ambivalent. I’ll ask Twitter in a minute, I think. Gestalt authorization.

If you have received this message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete this message. Thank you for your cooperation.

“Error” is slippery here. I certainly didn’t want to, or try to, receive it. And it doesn’t seem to have had the intended effect, but you got both my email and my first name right. “Whose error”? That’s what I’m trying to ask. Now I’m wondering if that should have been “who’s”. See what you’ve started?

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

I like the heartfelt stammer of the doubled “P”. I did consider the environment. Turned off lights in the next room, in fact. And now, I guess, I have to print the email. You did say “p-please”.

Less “hack” than “life support”.

I’ve had the same Peaches record crates since sometime in the early 90s.

They’re not exactly built of reinforced steel, and at this point I’m afraid they’ll cave in.

Do I have any scrap plywood that might be useful?

Yep.

A well-spent 10 minutes. I feel better. Now to alphabetize them…

As has been mentioned here once or twice, part of the funding for my CD came from people who, in return for their donation, could require me to record a home demo of any song they chose. I could not say “no”.

The results have been amusingly… mixed. I may or may not release them into the wild.

A few of those involved actually chose songs they liked, rather than those that would make me regret my decision. My friend Michelle was extra-nice and asked for a Dylan tune, “Things Have Changed”. I threw it together in about an hour last week; the lead guitar in particular is just me warming up and deciding “yeah, that actually feels good. Done.” But people have said nice things about this, and I don’t have new originals in the pipeline just yet, so…

Here’s me, sitting at my desk, singing “Things Have Changed”:

Things Have Changed.

So I had this goofy idea. And I had a friend, Mark, who was capable of putting that idea into action.

That was last week. 7 days later, this shows up:

I love that the guitar is recognizably mine. This just makes me happy.