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...so when i am not basking in my newly bestowed status as a Junior Member of this august body, I work as a substitute teacher during the day. This is because I am taking classes at night to be a regular teacher. I got a possible lead on a school that might want me to teach music and English classes this fall. This would be a dream come true.

I just started singing at nursing homes. I don't use a keyboard at all. I make up backing tracks in Band-in-a-box, record them to CD, and play them back on a K-Mart karaoke machine. I like the karaoke machine for its great big buttons and display that I can use without taiking my eyes off my audience. The machine has 2 mic inputs and a reverb effect. I don't use the spaekers on teh karaoke machine. I run from the RCA outs on the machine into a Peavey keyboard amp. 15 watts. 8-inch speaker.
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...Please return to this thread after you have finished rolling on the floor laughing....
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...but seriously. This setup works. The rooms aren't much bigger than my home living room, and the audiences max out at thirty. I could easily fill the room with just my voice and no equipment. All i need is to make the backup tracks sound good, and maybe add a little reverb. This minimal setup fits into a rolling milk crate that I can drag around with one hand. I can set up and tear down in 7 minutes.

Not playing an instrument makes for a better show. There is nothing between me and the audience, so I can walk around, shake hands and talk to each audience member in a whisper between songs. Whether its the music or the personal interaction, they love what I do.

Even though I don't use a keyboard on gigs, I like visiting here because what y'all do is otherwise very close to what I do. I have gotten a lot of great ideas and I thank you for your generosity.

Douglas Wolfe
Sacramento