Brief

Rodeo Season has Officially Arrived!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Winter was long. With a miniscule amount of Rodeos in the North-East, I've filled my time with random events: monster trucks, ice motosports, etc., and have been awaiting the official big start of my Announcing Season.

It started with a 15 hour road trip to the Tar Heel State of North Carolina. Quite the haul, but filled with adventure as per usual.

I've heard numerous stories about West Virginia, and as I shared my "knowledge" crossing the State Line, I seemed to been lead astray by the look of the nice properties and quantity of high-end automobiles. We later realized that as there is minimal snow, there would be minimal rust from Road Salt. There were lovely wild flowers everywhere. And then...we stumbled across what would lead to the perceptions...

Inline at a food stop in the Mountain State, I heard what I thought was a horse heaving. Spinning on a dime and expecting to see some sort of a Wild Beast, I got her in my sights...the Buffalo Gal. No, not the kind of Lady that they sing about in Westerns; she was a lady the size of a Buffalo, coughing from the bottom of her Torso, with the flem flying through her Esophogus, and echo-ing in her Gullet. Had we not have been awaiting our order, we would have bailed. You would think that would be it for the pretty miss, but nay, there's more. She turns and yells to her son, "Y'all -um- want-um chock-ho-lat, or vain-eye-la?". He couldn't understand her becho, so, Daddy turns and yells across the restaurant, "yeeeahhumm seeeeummmm chock-eeee-hum or hammm-eee-lllaammm". The young lad came up, and spent another minute in thought; though we're not sure whether he was deciding on his preferred ice cream flavour or trying to decipher what his parents had so eloquently asked of him. They selected Chocolate on his behalf.

When our order was ready, we had it switched "to go" and ate outside on the trunk.

The journey ended by 2:30am, when we finally settled into the hotel in Lumberton, NC.

Breakfast opened our eyes to the true Southern Hospitality. At the Waffle House, every time I took a sip of coffee the waitress would come by to ask, "more coffee for 'ya?" We were welcomed by almost everyone in the Restaurant, and got a lesson on Robeson County. Great morning!

We ventured out to the Bull Riding grounds Friday afternoon. The Event was produced by Diamond H World Class Rodeo Productions, a truly family affair. The first person we met was Miss Katherine, the Matriarch of the Family and the Company. She oversees the Rodeo company, but spends most of her time managing the Tractor-Trailer Merchandise Trailer. Most tack stores would fit inside of their "Streets of Loredo Western Store" mobile unit, and I helped hang T-shirts while I got an overview of the way they run their shows and events, along with the history of the Company.

From there we met the rest of the crew, including Production Manager Darryl Watson. Every single person either welcomed us or thanked us for coming. As we approached show time, Bobbi mentioned how amazingly organized everything was, and it truly was a turn-key operation that was one of the most stress-free environments to be a part of.

The Clown was introduced to me as "The Prince of Dirt" JoJo Bradley. He was excited to get into his first performance, but we could tell that he was a little nervous. During mic-check I was a lil' aggressive on the one-liners, which may have sent him a little more into the freaky zone, so, I spent some time with him before the show. We went over his acts and a few of his jokes. I shared my experiences from my first performances as a rodeo clown with him, and I think I made up for mic-check fever.

The Show was on a fairgrounds with 2 other events. A Pow-Wow, a Carnival and an Xtreme Bull Riding. It was confusing for people pulling in, as each event was exclusive of the other, and our crowd wasn't what it could have been the first night, but, for their size, they were very responsive.

We capped the night off with a trip to Hardee's.

My Saturday morning started with a jolt as I scalded my surprise sunburn on my scalp. The high-80 degree weather in the Sunshine and the lack of a hat all the previous afternoon had done numbers on me. So, by the time we made it to the grounds, we decided to simmer in the shade to avoid the sun, and to enjoy the lazy-hazy afternoon. Colby Yates was blasting, stories of the night before were being shared, and then I almost fell out of my chair. This one Rider, whom was painting a story of womanizing ways, had his cell phone ring, and he said, "Got a Bite" .... Hahahhahahaha. Even as I write this out I'm giggling.

Show number two had stronger numbers in the seats, and they were even more responsive. JoJo the Clown was strong, and it appeared to be his 20th performance as opposed to his second.

Following the show we said our goodbyes, all with handshakes and hugs, and expressed our excitement for when we'd see each other again in a few weeks.

The weekend wasn't just filled with new acquaintances, though.

A long-time friend from Canada "Face-booked" me when they saw that I was venturing to North Carolina, as she too was in the State this past weekend. Her man and her watched the show, and we went to Cracker Barrel to catch up on old times.

The journey home proved to be more exciting that the trip there.

We left at 8:30a, and stopped an hour later at J-R's, a massive discount warehouse. It was there that I found my new travelling partner, "Timmy", a large puppet.

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The next few hours were filled by Bobbi getting "Timmy" to get truck drivers to honk, followed by "Timmy" and I putting on shows to motorists stuck in traffic. Ummmm-yeah. Imagine cussing the driver in front of you, only to turn to your right to see a puppet waving and shaking his head at you. Even the most irate threw "thumbs ups" our way.

Two "driver errors" and four "navigational errors" later, we found ourselves practically on the front lawn of the White House. We treated ourselves to a complimentary tour of Washington, DC. The Monument, The Pentagon, The Congress Building or Supreme Court (can't remember, I was looking for D Street...) and more. Every time we would get a route plotted on the GPS, we'd find a street closed for a Bike Race or something. Oh, and Washington, DC is not on the way from Lumberton, NC to Erin, On, if you weren't sure.

Fortunately though, it does take us by another "Timmy"-friend of mine, Timmy Johnson, so, we planned a lunch, and introduced the two Timmy's to each other.

It was a great way to officially start my season, and now I'm all fired up for another year of travels and adventures!

National Coalition For Best Practices for Show Animals Steering Committee

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

As you may be aware, I've been invited to join the National Coalition For Best Practices for Show Animals Steering Committee. This organization is overseen by The Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (C.A.F.E).

If you haven't heard, there is a Bylaw in front of the Markham Town Council which would effectively eliminate an abundance of activities involving animals: Show Jumping, Racing, Cattle Showing, Rodeo, and more.

The Coalition's short-term goal is to overcome this objective, with a long-term goal of creating materials and assorted workshops to efficiently address issues like Markham's in the future.

In the interim, the Coalition needs your help.

We're asking for Support letters from anyone that would be affected by this bylaw.

To read more about the Coalition and the Bylaw in question, visit: http://www.canadian-fairs.ca/ps_animals.html

At that site, you can also download the support letter, however, we?ve created a more efficient and simplified way for you to voice your encouragement and support.

Click to: http://www.joescully.com/cafe/jsdc to fill out a support letter in a matter of seconds. Simply fill out your contact information, and the Support Letter will be written and submitted for you, and within a fraction of a second, you?ll have a copy in your e-mail.

We need these letters ASAP, so, if you could find a minute or two before April 14th, that would be greatly appreciated.

Also, feel free to forward this to anyone else you think could be affected by an impending bylaw such as this... we want Town Council to know that not only do we care about our own Animals, but we care about all animals involved in Show, and are vocal in our cause!

That link again is: http://www.joescully.com/cafe/jsdc

Thanks in advance,
Scully

Spree of Destruction Tour Finals... with assorted disasters...

Saturday, Nov 24, 2007

In January of 2006, I had the privilege of announcing a Pennsylvania High School Rodeo at the Farm Show (massive trade show) at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA. The arena building seats over 9,000, and it was filled for the entire 9 hours (2 x 4.5 hour performances). After completing the big show, I made it a goal to return to the awesome venue again.

In January of 2007, I began booking with numerous producers, contractors, committees... and identified Dave Martin as one of the guys that would be a definite prospect... being so reknown and based in the North-East. In March, I booked his Finals at Harrisburg.

I even traveled to Harrisburg in April to watch one of his shows so that I'd be prepared to "his way" of doing shows...which is very unique.

Since booking the event, I've been counting down the days... all 240+ of them.

The weekend finally arrived, and Bobbi and I departed.

Arriving in PA late Friday night, things were good so far.

Saturday morning, I needed batteries for my wireless mics, and Bobbi needed Shampoo. After inquiring about the best place to obtain these items, the front desk recommended Walmart... 7 miles or 20 km away.

I slept in a lil', jacuzzi'd. F-booked. Atleast an hour had passed, and no Bobbi. I called.

"Ooh. I'm lost."

I proceeded to give her directions over the phone, courtesy of the computer.

Then, it was like Deja Vu. That sick feeling you get when someone drops the call...

"ok, I'm turning left"

screech... honk... smash... eeek... tone from a phone button.

"ummmm...? What happened?"

Car accident.

The next hour was filled with calls to almost everyone I know...and the event sent me a limo to pick me up...with one catch...3/4's of my gear is still in the trunk of the crashed car.

Bobbi showed up thanks to a ride from the Fire Chief... I grabbed the gear, and off I went.

The Limo Driver's brother was the Original Marlboro Man. Fun trip, great stories.

I got to the event, and sound checked. All good again.

Then, I plugged in "old faithful", or Laptop #2, the Stats and Sound Effects Computer.

"windows cannot find /system32/somestupidfile"... no dice.

Frantic call to my computer guru, and we determine that the laptop is toast.

Next, I call my friend from Maryland who's picking up Bobbi from the hotel.

"Hey guy, you've got some shopping to do".

They swing by the grounds, grab my ATM card, and head to a bank machine, then Best Buy. Back with the Laptop, I open it up. VISTA!!!!

We tried to recover the files with a $60 USD hard drive reader... no dice... that stupid sunglasses guy from the commercials decided he wanted to take a piss on my hard drive or something...

Now, it's like 3 hours before the show, and the project went as follows:

The show went off, and no one could tell that it was prolly the worst day of '07 so far...

The crowd was massive, and they turned away well over 600 people. So, 9,000 Pennsylvanians, approximately. There were empty seats, but, I guess pre-sales or something... idk.

Party, late night breakfast.

Wake up... oh, yeah. We don't have a car.

The only place that would rent cars in the State Capital on a Sunday was the airport. And the news was better...you can't drop it off in Canada.

So... $50 cab ride to the airport, pick-up the rental car, then go all the way back to near the hotel to get the stuff out of ol' smash-up. Plus a stop at a grocery store to get boxes.

The tow truck guys says that the car is definitely toast.

All the way to Buffalo we go. We drop the car and the girl takes the keys. We call our ride, Bobbi's dad, who's still over an hour away.

So, I ask to not return the car yet, as we rented it for 24 hours.

"No, we can't. We hit the button. We'd have to rent you the car all over again."

Seeing that about about to throw down, they try and find me a cart... they return... cartless.

"Sorry, sir. We couldn't find them. They rent them over there for $2."

The manager couldn't even shell out after their little mishap... I was a lil' more angry.

So, we piled up the $2 cart with: weekend luggage, rodeo sound equipment, a year's possessions from the car, and up to Arrivals we trekked.

Homeland security loved our vagabond look, but left us alone.

After din-dins at the Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls... we made 'er home, at 1:30am...

The trip was a mess...but atleast the show was solid, I guess!

Behind all the Glitz and Glamour of Rodeo Announcing

Monday, Oct 8, 2007

750' of Power, XLR, Euro and Speakon cable... all shiny! "Bulls, Blood, Dust and Mud"... gets covered on PA equipment. On a Sunny Thursday, I cleaned all 750' of cable, stands and cabinets. yummy!

the water following the project was just a lil' dirty

and there was a lil' residue

Apparently...there's a Rodeo here? Maine Blog Continued

Thursday, Sep 27, 2007

So, the first event was an IBR Bull Riding, and I rocked it as hard as I could go...except I didn't know any of the contestants... like, maybe 1. They were all Brazillian... Renalto, Flavio, etc. and the clown pointed out to me after the 5th Spanish joke that they spoke Portugese, not Spanish... ooops, my bad, who knew??? In the am, I tried to get online on the wireless, and needed the code. I called the front desk, and she offered me a cod.

"Lady, it's a lil' early in the morning for Fish, don't 'ya think?"

"No, a cod. For the Internet"

I walked to the front, excited to see Bill Gate's Internet fish, and she handed me a Card. Who knew Card and Cod meant the same thing.

Maine'rs are pretty cool people, though.

I've been rollerblading all over the town we're holed up in. The first day I went 5k or 3 miles, the second I went 10k or 6 miles, and the third I went 6k or 3.4 miles... all with good times. Everyone says good monin', and I say good morning. I take Lucky the wonder dog, and I have to stop and describe her breeding, like I know what it is. She's been crossed with about 50 different breeds as I keep making it up. Our last adventure was following a monster rain fall, and the paths and roads were sliiiicccck! I kept sliding like I was on ice, yes, I looked like Bambi. I think Lucky was giggling a lil'.

The old addage, "most accidents happen closer to home" is so true. Crossing the highway back to the hotel we made it halfway across as a guy pulled out of a driveway and pinned it; I had to do a 180 stop and got my one blade stuck in a crack in the road for a millisecond... and just about went flying backwards into moving traffic. I almost either died or ended up in an US Hospital with no Insurance... either way, I guess Lucky was my Lucky amulet.

I've done a ton of Touristing things... I ate Lobster and drank Shipyard Pumpkin Head Ale. I don't know which tasted worse... but I finished the beer, and only had the claws of "Carl" the Lobster.

We went to a Ska Bar... the only jammin' joint on Monday night. It was so small that guys had to signal when they were going to "make a move" on the dance floor. This guy kept marching in circles, waved, then did a round house kick. Fun times... good night to wear the ol' cowboy hat out. We found a Karaoke bar after that and watched drunken Maine'rs sing Classic rock. Safer by a lil'.

We went to frame a sketch some crazy guy gave us during the show, but that was going to cost $400.00, so, we're stealing the frame from the room...

And we went looking for a Laundry mat at 2 am... got back at 4am... they're closed... that's after trying 16 in 5 different cities.

My roommate has fallen asleep with his laptop 3 of 4 nights...

Tonight it's Chicken Barbeque at the Rodeo, and out on the town. I THINK there's a rodeo sometime soon, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do at it. I can't remember if I'm the Bull Rider or the Bareback Rider... or the judge or something... I hope it doesn't cut into my rollerblading!