The count so far:

• 3 ears of corn at the fair
• 1 giant State Fair brownie (plus some mangled extra brownie bits that one of the other performers scored)
• no deep-fried cheese curds or cream-puffs yet… I’m not sure what my problem is.

I saw the first night of the Shoebox Tour (sponsored by threadless) last night and it was really, really good.  Of course there were the expected first-night minor problems, but all in all it was an amazing show.  I really like the casual feeling that the guys created, and the Japanese guys are incredible.  Do everything you can to get to one of their shows.  I can’t wait to see it again in Pittsburgh.

I saw these guys last year too.  Maybe next year I’ll have the patience to actually talk to them and find out what the story is here.  That HAS to be heavy and hard to pull.

Today is the start of the Shoebox Tour!  I hung out with the guys last night as they were rehearsing, and I’m REALLY looking forward to the show.   It starts at 7:00 tonight at the Nicolet High School theater here in Milwaukee.  It goes to Madison WI next for a show on Sunday night, and then off to Chicago on August 14th.

We do love our cows in Wisconsin.  Look closely and you can kind of see the one black cow.

The tally so far:

• 2 ears of corn
• 1 giant State Fair brownie

No cream puffs or deep-fried cheese curds yet, but that will come with time. The Shoebox Tour is coming to town in a few days and I plan on making the Japanese guys eat State Fair food until they are sick.

I did a little interview with Mark and another guy (whose name I forgot, sorry) for the Nickelodeon show Slime Across America. I did some yo-yo tricks while they asked me questions, and at some point Mark asked me if I wanted to have a dance-off with him. I didn’t want to at all, since I can’t dance, but I said, “Do I EVER!” So the other guy did a little beat-boxing and we each got 5 seconds to dance. I won. Of course I had the upper hand since the producers said I could do some yo-yo tricks as part of my dance.

The show is what they called an “interstitial” which means that it is a short show that is shown between other shows. If they use the footage of me, it will be aired on July 26th. The problem is that it’s not a show that will be listed in TV Guide, so I’m going to have to record the entire day of programming on Nickelodeon. I’m pretty excited about being on the show, so I really hope they use the footage of me.

My buddy Marcus Monroe walked by as they were interviewing me, and got interviewed too when I was finished.

I was hanging out with some of my New York City pals: Sean Blue, Marcus Monroe, Paris, and Sean’s non-juggling buddy Herman, who turned out to be a cool guy despite that fact that he’s not a juggler. Ithaca was really hard to navigate for most of the out of town guests, and we got lost every time we went anywhere. It was not awesome.

The show was on Saturday night, and was really high caliber. It took place in a former top quality theater that has been converted into a lecture hall on the Cornell campus. I understand that a university probably needs a lecture hall more than a theater, but as a performer it was really hard to look at what obviously used to be a great theater, and was now just a shadow of its former self. It still had the orchestra pit, but the new wall was only six inches back from the edge of the pit, and there was no longer a backstage. Strangely, there was a brand new greenroom with a bathroom, but that was it.

My sets in the show went over great, and the show went very smoothly. Thomas Dietz, from Germany, was the headliner and we had a whole slew of other great acts. See more (and download the poster!) here: http://rso.cornell.edu/cjc/festival/performers.htm

I was hired to perform at the Zoo by the Milwaukee Zoological Society for their annual Memeber’s Kids Nights. Each year they keep the Zoo open late for three nights (Tues, Thurs, and Fri.) so the members can come and enjoy the Zoo without all the non-member riff-raff getting in their way. It’s a really nice event. It’s evening, so it’s not so hot, the crowds are entirely managable, and they have special things like entertainers and free pickles. This is something like the 6th or 7th year they have hired me in a row. I really like this gig, and I know that someday my luck has got to run out.

The shows went as well as could be expected considering that we were in a basically undisclosed location due to the rain. Normally I perform in the outdoor theater that they use for the Bird of Prey Show. In the time I have worked there I have performed solo, alternating with a ventriloquist, and this year I’m alternating with a sound effects guy in his 80s named Wes Harrison. He’s awesome.

In general I always try to get to a show about an hour ahead of time. It’s not as critical to have that much time if I’ve done the show before, or if I know in advance that they are really organized, like for a library show. On the other hand, gigs like Summerfest, or the WI State Fair require that I get there several hours in advance because there is a lot more ground to cover, and I can’t drive right up to my performing spot.

After my two shows were finished at the Zoo, I headed back to the car in the rain, and let the dog out for a very brief stretch before we headed off to Lynn’s house. At this point it was about 8:45 and I was starving, so I stopped at good ol’ Taco Bell for a Crunch Wrap Supreme with beans (no meat). Taco Bell and Subway are the saviors of the travelling vegetarian who’s in a hurry.

Lynn was already asleep when we got to her house, but that didn’t stop Vader from going up to her room and licking her until she woke up. Lynn and I are on nearly opposite schedules. I’m a night owl, and am usually up until 1 am or so, and Lynn usually is up at 4:30 am, 5:00 if she decides to sleep in. It can be a bit tricky, but it’s worked out so far. One side effect of being a performer is that you get pretty good at changing your sleep schedule. I read for a bit and went to bed.

As usual, Lynn, Vader and I were out the door at 7:40 am to go on the dog walk with a bunch of other dog owners. I usually wait to eat breakfast until we get back, when I am fully awake. By 10:00 I was reading in bed, and well on my way to a nap. Today I don’t have to work, but tomorrow I will have to leave for the Zoo at about 5 pm. The plan for the rest of today is to write this article, and go practice juggling with my buddy Marcus Monroe in a raquetball court. Tonight Lynn and I are going to eat her awesome marinated mushroom and green pepper sanwhiches, and watch the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still.

I will leave Milwaukee Saturday morning to head home, with a brief stop in Chicago to pick up some of my wife Lenore’s artwork from a gallery there. I get to be home Saturday and Sunday. We have some friends coming into town to look for an appartment, and then on Monday I am off to Portland for a week for the International Jugglers Association annual convention where I will practice, learn new tricks, network, socialize, sit around, and be the MC for the Cascade of Stars Public Show. After that I will be home for a few days before Pierogiefest in Whiting IN on July 29th.

Vader travels with me whenever I am going somewhere dog friendly for a few days. Mostly that means Lynn’s house in Milwaukee, but he comes with me when I go to my Mom’s house in Madison WI, to my friends Jeni and Adolfo’s house in Green Bay WI, or to my sister-in-law’s house in Geneva IL.

That’s pretty much how I live when I’m working. Winter is less busy, and there is more doing stuff around the house, doing office work, seeing friends, going to the dog park, and working on computer projects. I hope that this was interesting for you, if not, then you are not the audience I wrote it for. ;)

After my shows at Summerfest today, Vader and I head off to Madison for a few days since my brother Kent and his new fiancee Lissa are in town. I’m really looking forward to it.

Instead of using the now dead in-house PA, I just hooked up my portable battery-powerd PA and we were off and running. I got one of the best cheers I’ve ever gotten at Summerfest when I announced that “Summerfest may not have power, but I DO!” It was followed closely by a woman saying, “You must be the Cool Yo-yo Man!” “Yes I am.”

Right after I finished my set, my ventriloquist friend Wayne Francis, pointed out that out of the 75 acres and 10 major stages, I was the only powered act on the entire grounds. As it turns out, he wasn’t exactly right… I was one of three… all variety acts. After my set I let the Dance School use my PA for their big public showing. Without me they couldn’t have done their show at all. That’s right, a juggler, a magician, and the yo-yo guy SAVED Summerfest! Maybe now the big dogs will once again see the value of having us there, but somehow I doubt it. Don’t worry though, I’m going to milk this for all it’s worth… and then some.