The World of Stuff .com

In the spotlight

On Saturday, I was in a talent show with my friend Evan. I’ve talked a little bit about how I ended up being in it, so now I’ll explain how it actually was.

I couldn’t really find the place. I mean, I had directions, but it was in a part of campus I had never been to before, and I had to navigate my way through a maze of buildings. But I knew I was in the right area when Evan showed up with his ukulele. Eventually, we found someone who showed us where the auditorium was.

The Facebook page for the talent show had us listed as “Evan and Jordan [sic]” and then just “Evan and friend” for whatever reason. But we decided to be introduced as “Evan and Jordon.” Meanwhile, the other acts started to show up, including Sweet City Action, an indie trio that I think I’d heard of. We introduced ourselves to one another and chatted a bit, I think. They let us borrow one of their amps, so we went with them to get their equipment from their cars.

Finally, it was time for the show to start. It was lightly attended, which was kind of a shame because there was some great talent. First was an all-female student a capella group doing a few songs, mostly new hits but also my sister’s favorite jam, “I Want to Break Free.” They were good.

And let’s see, there was a dance troupe, and maybe some others. And then it was time for some sweet Sweet City Action action. They were doing folksy-type stuff, I think is something other than what their name would imply to me. But still, they did some good songs and I was impressed by how multitalented each member of the group was. During their set, they played guitars, bass, piano, violin, melodica, pots and pans… did I miss any? It was a fun set.

Then it was our turn. I had decided that I wouldn’t need the huge tube amp I had lugged all the way from the parking lot, so I decided to use my own little amp that I brought. It seemed to be a good choice. After setting up, we were situated on the stage to do our own song, a song I wrote five years ago. I thought back to the last talent show I was in and how everyone ridiculed me for staying still on the stage. So I shifted a bit, but I think it was also due to nerves.

As I was playing, I realized that I was holding the pick sideways and that there was nothing I could do to fix it short of stopping the song. It’s possible to play holding your pick the wrong way, but it’s harder and less pleasant. But I persisted, shuffling here and there, looking around, and trying not to get too close to the mike, which was pretty sensitive.

Before I knew it, I was done with the song. For a brief moment, silence. I stepped back and said “Thank you guys” before the small audience applauded. Then we got our stuff off the stage and sat with Evan’s girlfriend while enjoying the last act, a Hispanic duo from Tampa. They had the longest set by far, but it was good stuff.

Then the show was over, and there were free burritos for everyone. I had my share. I got several comments about the song being good, which I appreciated. Evan helped Sweet City Action take their stuff back to their cars and I, not having anything to carry, just chatted with them. One of them, I found out, plays the bells in the bell tower some days. You can take a class to learn how.

So, that was the talent show. No video, unfortunately. In a way, it was nice to play in front of an audience, and I wish I could do it some more if I had a band that would want to play my songs. And then we could record stuff too. Just what I always wanted.

Yesterday, I quietly launched RTS-SMS, my text messaging service thing for buses in Gainesville, after getting permission from the company that tracks the buses. I’m interested in seeing how popular my service can get with as little promotion as possible on my part. But I think I’ll start plugging it soon.

Because there was football yesterday: here’s a fun little video about how they draw the yellow first-down line on the screen.