June 10, 2008
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1 How did it become Wennsdee already?
2 It's been a fun week for me. Monday I got to go to Santa Cruz all day, and yesterday I spent the entire morning getting sound to an area that has no electrical outlets.
3 Took all morning.
4 Brand new state-of-the art Shure mics, wireless and wonderful.
5 Except when you need 'em.
6 Some of you folks from '91 might remember when we did Little Shop, and some of you from '97 might remember The Show, which had some Little Shop tunes in it. Little Shop of Howooz. Before I forget, I think Santa Clara University is staging Hair as we speak. Ah, no time, no time. But YOU could go! Anyway, I digress. The topic: wireless mics. Little Shop. '91. Needed wireless in order to do the Show.
7 I had to go all the way to Oakland to pick up some Nady mics so we'd have wireless, because you can't do that show without them.
8 I remember trying to amplify everyone, but the mics kept making some horrid noise, and they would bustle and crack and make huge humming noises.
9 I THINK the problem was that they eat up batteries like crazy.
10 I just kept acting like a complete horse's ass (wittle ol' ME?) and screaming at Ponch to make it all work.
11 To this day I don't know what caused the mics to do that, but they did stop and the Show went on without them ever doing that during a performance.
12 But the rehearsals were pretty stressful. We practically LIVED in the Theatre for the entire Spring Break, going down early in the morning, working on sets until mid-afternoon, having a dinner hour where we'd all relax, and then get back to working until 11 p.m., sometimes midnight. Sound familiar?
13 It WAS fun because we had all these neon bar signs set up outside like a small bar (those rumors are untrue I tellya! ; ) <--------strange little sideways winky guy) and marshmallows that we often referred to as "scuds" when on fire and launched great distances.
14 But we had put SO much into the show, and when those wireless started cackling, hissing, and making huge buzzing noises, it was just tense.
15 Fast forward to yesterday.
16 Karma.
17 I had miraculously brought electricity from almost 100 yards away, running extension cords from our main stadium up some stairs, across a path and out to the baseball field, where I hooked up this amazing Shure wireless system.
18 Brand spankin' new.
19 Last week it had gotten broken in by a school hip-hop group, who just kicked it into high gear wid it.
20 Worked like a champ. The whole school applauded and went crazy.
21 The musicians felt awesome after they blew everyone away, including me.
22 But yesterday I had hooked it all up again and this time it started in.
23 "Okay graduates...I...one...to say. Any...this...not walk on...so...and...or else..."
24 {{{{BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ}}}}
25 Little Shop, Little Shoppa Howooz oh! Oh Oh Oh!!!!!
26 Shing-a-ling.
27 Didn't work. No matter what I did. Kept buzzing and making obnoxious clunking noises.
28 I figured it was Heidi.
29 My computer clicked earlier this morning, so it may have been.
30 I got a straight wired mic working, so the grad rehearsal worked, ultimately, but I was pretty humbled. I was crowing like a rooster when I got around all odds and brought the electricity to an area no man had ever brought electricity before.
31 I was a GAMER man.
32 Until the thing decided to embarrass me and all my hubris.
33 And I SWEAR to you it was the exact same punking and thumping and noises that had happened all those years ago.
34 Anyway, life is for learning.
35 And one thing I learned was this: you ain't EVER all that.
36 Haha.
37 Anyway, I'll finish the week and give the DN a good Summer send-off.
38 Whoa!
39 The Giants' game just did a brief film of Turn Back the Clock Day, 1991. Got it? Just talked about Little Shop.1991. I was just number 19 in a restaurant, and my change was 91 cents. And electrical has been acting up on me lately...hmmmmm...
40 Heidi is a gamer.
41 Peace.
~H~
http://www.xanga.com/bharrington
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