Maxing out at about 105 degrees here in Salt Lake City, it's apparent summer is in full swing. As is my music personally, and music as a whole in my awesome city.

Today I played at In The Venue in downtown Salt Lake. Its a cool mid sized warehouse club. I performed to a crowd of probably no more than 100 people. Definitely not a bad turnout but honestly I prefer performing on larger stages to many more people. Unfortunately I still don't feel like my Midi Stick setup is quite stable enough for live performance through Ableton, so I just went with using a second normal Midi pad controller. I also bent the crossfader on mixer somehow. Overall great crowd, good tunes, but that was only half of the day.

As I went home at about 5. :00 (It was a really early show) I realized today was the Utah Arts Festival, which isn't but a 5 minute drive from the venue I was just at. I'd been super stoked about this event for quite a few months, not just for all the visual artists, sculptors, and what have you.... but for one musician in particular. A musician who just happens to be one of the best Stick players in the world, and one of my biggest inspirations...

Bob Culbertson

Yeah, today Bob Culbertson was at the Utah Arts Festival playing the Stick, and I had already missed half the day of the festival. I ran home, grabbed a few things and headed back downtown. After about 45 minutes of wandering the festival, dazed, tired, cutting through crowds of thousands of people, I was sure I had missed him. However a glimmer of sonic hope floated through the air as I was about to call it quits and head back home to rest. I suddenly realized I was hearing Stick music somewhere in the endless forest of vendors and artists.

I found him playing to way more people than were looking at paintings. I just watched, and listened for a while until the crowd started to disperse. Of course then I went and introduced myself, we chatted for a few minutes about the Stick, he asked me how long I had been playing and I bought his new CD (which is absolutely fantastic). Finally however I asked if he would sign the belt hook which I took off of my Stick earlier when I went home. I shook his hand after he signed it, stayed for a few more songs then headed back home. Anyway though here's kinda how my day went...

Played a solid show at one of my favorite clubs

Met the one and only Bob Culbertson

Now I have Bob Culbertson's signature on my Chapman Stick.... and I am never, EVER, going to sell it.

With all that being said I'll probably have some new music coming out here in a month or two, of which at least one track uses the Stick heavily. Until then I'll be staying busy practicing the Stick and producing a lot.

Congratulations on a great day; is your camera damaged in some way?

OK, I discovered the stick at the 2015 Utah Arts Festival. My wife and I were poking around and stumbled upon this beautiful sound...we honed in on it and saw (who I NOW know was Bob Culbertson) playing the stick. I had no idea what instrument he was playing, but somehow remembered his name. When we got home I started googling for him and discovered 2 things...what he was playing, and that he indeed was one of the premier players of the stick. Now I wish we had returned and camped out in front of him! Since then, I've been obsessed with the stick.

I'm a software engineer that plays keyboard, sax, hammered dulcimer and recorders. I don't actually want a stick...I NEED one. My scratch built sailboat that I built when we moved here from Seattle is likely going to be on the chopping block soon to fund a stick.

Good report Toxin. Its cool you got out and did a gig ( i realize yer fairly new to the Stick) so thats great man!
Blows me away that folks dont realize they're listening to to greatness ( Bob).......look at that pic.....everyones turned the wrong way.....
shame on them.

cheers,
kev

Welcome, Russ! Feel free to post an introduction thread so that others can find you.