Don is absolutely correct in that VARIETY is one of the prime, key ingredients to putting on a successful show. It really makes no difference where that show is, a smoke filled bar, nite club, upscale restaurant, retirement community, assisted living center or nursing home. The individuals at each location all want the same thing - they want to be entertained!

Case in point. Four years ago, when I cruised down the Intra-Coastal Waterway to the Florida Keys, I ran into a problem in Myrtle Beach, SC - Hurricane Sandy. Yep, that gal came right up the coast, and thousands of us southbound cruisers had to find adequate shelter and find it quickly. Marinas, at least most of those that were well sheltered, quickly were filled to overflow capacity. I was fortunate in finding one that had a single slip remaining that my boat would fit in. I took it and gladly would have paid any fee they charged. This is where I met Roger and Sandy, fellow cruisers headed to the same place I was. Roger was very forthwith, talked with the marina manager and told him that he knew one of the best musical entertainers in the business and that he was pretty sure that he could get that person to perform at the marina restaurant that evening for a modest fee of $150.

The marina manager told Roger that he already had a blues group booked for the evening, but would ask them if they would mind if I performed while they took a break. The blues group agreed. I wheeled my gear from the boat down the dock to the restaurant, which was on the second floor overlooking the ICW and there was no elevator. Consequently, I had to haul that gear, with Roger's assistance, up a high flight of stairs to the outdoor deck where the stage is set up.

The blues group, a duo, consisted of a guitar player and a harmonica player that also sang. Every song pretty much sounded the same, and while they started with about 15 couples on the deck for dinner and music, after about 30 minutes, they were down to 6 couples at most. After 40 minutes, the singer announced that they were taking a break, and a damned Yankee from Maryland would provide music while they were on a break. Well, I fired up, did my usual routine, and by the time I got to my third song, the deck was packed to capacity. I had about 50 people on the deck, they were dancing, drinking and ordering meals. The manager told the blues duo to take an extended break, which turned into nearly 2 hours before they came back. They thanked me, I packed up my gear and unloaded my tip pitcher and Roger helped my get my gear back to the boat. I returned to the deck to get a Margaretta with Roger and the deck was nearly empty.

The following day, the restaurant owner/manager, Rose, came to my boat and thanked me for last night, and then hit me with a real shocker. She said they would provide me with free slip rent and dinner each night I performed if I would spend the entire winter there. Winter in South Carolina's top resort city would have been nice, but it still gets too cold there for this old man. She said the crowd really enjoyed what I did, especially because I provided more variety than anyone that had ever performed there in the past 5 years.

I can say with a fair degree of confidence that Don Mason, Eddie Shoemaker, Donny Pesce, Uncle Dave, Fran Carango, and several other forum members provide a wide range of variety in their performances. And, I am equally confident that they interact with their audiences more than the vast majority of performers, which also makes a huge difference.

Sorry for the rant on this subject, and I didn't intentionally mean to hijack the thread,

Gary