I’m just here to say goodbye. I’ve tried every which way to create a new website, blogsite. give up. The WordPress people either can’t or won’t help. So, this is it. It’s been a nice 12 years. Y’all take care and stay mighty.
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43 responses to “No Post Today”
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I will miss your posts for sure! If you start another site at another host, and wp includes my email with this comment, please email me a link to any new sites.
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Nah. Not worth it anymore.
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I’m sorry to hear you’re leaving WP, but I get it, it’s not the easiest platform (anymore) to both operate and navigate. Please stay in touch if you do move to another platform.
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The camel’s broke today when the morons at WordPress sent me to a site to help me. It doesn’t exist. Enough.
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Marina, send me your email… I’ll tell you stories from the road.
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That’s awful. Don’t go!
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Mr. Ray,
I’m very sad to hear this, but also respect your decision. I know you had many frustrating experiences with this platform, and can understand why you don’t want to waste any more precious time. It has been a real honor to follow your work for the past 9 years. I hope you and all your dear ones continue to take care and stay well during the ongoing uncertain times.
Best wishes from Japan.LikeLike
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Can’t like that, but I understand you very well … oh, I will miss your posts! Keep safe and well, and who knows, what future brings, maybe new ways … best wishes from Vienna! Silvia
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Actually, I am REALLY VERY SAD …
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So sad! We will miss you!
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God bless you Ray…you have a beautiful heart and appreciate all you have shared…never give up on this gift God has given you , praying for a return to a platform that will work in Him Amen. Thank You for giving of yourself it has not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated, ❤ a friend Lisa
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That’s very kind. Thank you so much.
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Hello Ray, I lost your site for awhile and just happened to come across it today to find that you are leaving. You have a very unique photography skill that creates beautiful works of art. Doing what you love is most important. Time is precious and sounds like music is keeping you busy as well. I do love listening to music, I don’t like to be tied down to any platform on the internet. I use the cheapest version of everything, if it craps out I will say good by to it also. Take care Ray, Enjoy life to the fullest.
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Thank you so much for your kind words. I am working on another way of displaying my work because just like the musicians with whom I work, “I like playing for people” and these days commissions are far and few between. This platform is really good. You’d be surprised how many huge names use it as their base but they have their own programmers who do the work. WordPress has made design so complicated that I can’t do it. My music life is management. I have two well known musicians who are touring in the summer. It’s going to be sporty. 🙂
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That sounds like fun getting out there and playing music, music makes people feel good and smile which is needed these days. Yes, all those fancy web sites are run by people who can whip them up so fast and stay on top of them, that is their job while the artist goes out and enjoys their craft. I don’t like sitting in front of the computer, I finally have it down where everything is simple for now. But technology changes so fast anymore. I will be going through your post now that I have found it to view your photos while it is still up. Once you stop paying for it, it disappears I have found out from others web sites that are just gone.
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Oh, I don’t play music. I manage musicians who have the joy of making magic. My job during tour season is to act as the coordinator between the booking agent, the promoter, the venue and my musicians. I’m not a tour manager which can be a hellish job because as the ones who work for me say when they wake up in the morning they wonder oh is going to mess with them. But, I do get to go for never ending tour bus rides and see the same show repeatedly.
That’s how I earn my living.
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I see, that sounds like a very busy job. Very interesting as well, lots of traveling.
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Busy and tiring. If we play, let’s say 90 shows, we don’t stay out continually. We usually play for about two weeks and then we go for about ten days. The first two days are spent sleeping and doing the laundry. Once we start another leg, we are on a tour bus which is comfortable. We have lounges, a galley, bathrooms with showers, and… bunks. We rarely actually spend the night on the bus. We stay at hotels.
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Wow, that sounds impressive, must be a pretty good size band. What type of music is it?
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Both are singer songwriter bands, but one — the money maker — is a jazz trio. The other is sort of country inflected. But, there is support staff and crew. Once upon a time, we had way too many roadies (they carry stuff), but those days are over. Now, roadies are vetted and work in whatever region they like so we pick them as we go. That cut about 12 people off the traveling crew. So, for instance, the jazz trio are three plus me and the tour manager and an instrument tech and a sound tech. That’s seven and we have eight bunks.
The other group has one more traveling crew so they fit nicely into their bus.
Obviously everybody has to get along and we do.
These summer tours are not going to be happy things. We have to travel in a bubble. We get off the bus and head straight into the hotel or venue. We cannot go out for meals. Room service only. Normally, we invite guests backstage. They are usually friends who we don’t get to see everyday. It’s a way to keep in touch. We can’t see them. They can’t come to our rooms. Normally, if we are walking past a group of fans and they stop us for a selfy or autograph we do that. Now, we have to walk past them masked up. My musicians are touring because they like to play for people. But, it’s no better in the audience. They have to be vaxxed or tested and be able to prove it. They are supposed to mask. They are supposed to social distance so in some cases we can never sell out because there is an empty seat every other seat. Imagine this. You and your husband come out because you like our music and you can’t sit next to each other. How happy are you going to be? I have to worry about that.
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I am surprised they are still doing that. I don’t listen to the news much or watch TV much, but I guess I thought things were settling down with all of that. We have been on the road now for 8 months, we decided to travel around the US this year. We are both retired and have planned this trip for a long time..But we don’t go to places like you do, occasional restaurants is all and I have not been seeing much with all the old protocol. I can see why you worry about attendance. How cool though you are traveling like that.
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I think you should listen to the news. It could save your life. The Chinese closed Shanghai completely. Hong Kong is closed. The UK is getting ready to close. Philadelphia just reinstated mask rules. Virginia, where our farm is located cases have risen by 49% just this month. OA2 is now in New York.
This is not going away anytime soon. I doubt it will ever go away entirely which means we have to learn to manage it, as we are trying to do.
We do this for a number of reasons. While our road crews are small, we do have office staff. If we stop working as we did for 2 1/2 years they don’t get paid or eat. Luckily, both musicians were very productive during lockdown so the office folks worked.
If there is another surge with OA2 it will put a lot of people out of business.
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Thank you for the information Ray, stay safe out there, people need music I think. I love listening to music, of course the stuff I grew up with is my favorite. I often wonder when I see the big pretty busses out on the road if they are singers or some band traveling in style. 😊
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We will do our best. If one of us get sick everyone gets sick.
What kind of music do you like? I think I mentioned that one plays jazz and the other plays sort of country.
Traveling in luxury is relative. After a few days of living with 8-10 unrelated adults and sometimes very young children, things get a little odd. It’s not like you and your husband. You like each other.
These busses are driven hard. Some have 500,000 – 1,000,000 miles on them meaning they break down at the worst possible time.
💪💪💪 that means stay mighty according to Mary Chapin Carpenter
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I love the old classic rock and now I love it when I hear songs from Johnny Cash, and songs from my teen age and college years, 60’s and 70’s, just because it reminds me of the fun summers when we would drive around and listen to cassette tapes with the windows open and a warm breeze blowing in. But I do enjoy all music. I can imagine the bus ride for all of you. We travel in a 28 ft class A, just the right size. With 2 dogs and a cat. 😊
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I think all of us like music from that era. It’s what we grew up listening to. Johnny Cash, now that’s not fair. 🙂 In my world he’s a founding father. Whenever I hear him play live and comes out and says, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” in his deep booming voice, chills run up my spine. Your description of cars and breezes makes me smile. I have no idea how you listen to music, but if you can listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s, “The Dirt and Stars.” The closing song talks about what you said. The entire album is one of her best, maybe because she writes from her life experience and she’s 64 so it’s sort of about all of us. Yes, she’s one of mine.
I’d rather have your bus, but at least a driver comes with ours. 🙂 We have Ralph the tour poodle on one of our buses. He’s done it for most of his life. When it’s time to board he waits by the door and barks. If you don’t start boarding, he walks up to you and barks. He waits until everybody is on board then he gets on and waits at the top of the stairs for me. Once I’m on he heads for one of the lounges where he claims his place.
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Nice, I will look her up. Yes, Jonny Cash has a unique voice and Patsy Cline, that was my grandfather’s favorite.
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She had a lot of fame in the 1990s when she won four Grammys in a row for being Best Country Singer. She’s retreated some, but my job is to bring her back to a controllable level. Of course, the pandemic got in the way but she was nominated for Best Folk Artist in the Grammy’s that just passed. She didn’t win. She played a career spanning album to an empty venue, live streaming and recording it. Just her and her guitars,
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I like that song, The Dirt and Stars, I just looked it up on You tube and checked out her you tube channel, I put videos on You Tube as well and music is a big part of every video. She has 47 thousand followers but hasn’t put anythinng on her channel in awhile. Is that something she does or you or another person. How does that work.
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I usually post for her. If you notice the last posts were made in 2020 during the height of the lockdown. We were casting about for things to keep her in her fans eyes. In Nov 2020 she streamed and recorded live from Wolftrap with no live audience. That might be there. But, there is every episode of Live From Home in which she played from her kitchen or living room. Let me take a look. I’ll be right back.
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All of Songs From Home are scattered among live fan videos. Most of Dirt and Stars are there. One Night Lonely is not because we put a hold on since I moved he to another, better record label.
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Thank you Ray, I will be listening to more of her music, I have it saved now. I am curious, do people by music still, I see actual records are back in the store. I love the days of having a stereo, but of course it is gone now.
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She’s fun. She is one of the smartest people I know.
Here’s what happened. Streaming pushed out Cds like Cds pushed out vinyl. Streaming quality got better and pushed out Cds. People who truly like audio quality started a trend toward vinyl. Then it caught on with the general public. It will never be more than 5-10 % of total listens, but it’s solid.
Two points.
It is very expensive to make records which is why you see so many pre-orders. After all, we don’t want to print 5,000 when you only sell 500.
Today’s technology changed how vinyl is made. In the old days musicians had to put the best songs at the start where the needle dropped. Today, the running order is determined by the musicians. Technology improved.
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Amazing how things have changed. I don’t stream anything, I don’t have enough internet for that. But it sure seems the way of the future, even with movies. I see new movies out that look good but they are only on Netflix or some thing like that. But I am to busy to watch all those anyway. I have a bunch of dvd I can watch over and over. 😊
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It’s the way of the world now. And, even that’s changing. Facebook is already trying to move life online via Meta. It won’t work.
BTW, Netflix develops and makes their own movies. One of Mary Chapin’s sisters is the VP in charge of that.
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Just Virginia and two music tours. The tours are the usual thing. Moving to Virginia is our last move.
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