I was in Key West last week for Meeting of the Minds. Meeting of the Minds is the annual conference for Parrotheads in Paradise. (Parrotheads are Buffett fans with chapters all over the country.)

I was lucky enough to play every afternoon, Wednesday through Saturday right on the beach! I also did a sunset cruise on Thursday night. I turned my shows on the beach into a songwriters' showcase and invited different performing songwriters from all over the country to come and join me. It was a fantastic week made possible by my L1 systems.

I brought my Model 2 and my Classic and a total of 3 B1's with me. First off, the ability to fit two complete sound systems in a Toyota Camry is astounding! For my shows on the beach, I set up my Model 2 w/2 B1s, my T1 and a mini mixer (Alesis MultiMix 12)

We had a constant rotation of great musicians there all week and the L1 allowed for seamless transitions. At one point, part of a band showed up and we had 5 people playing through 1 L1!!

Some of the people who came to play already use an L1. In fact, one friend was there who bought one of my Classics when I moved to the Model 2. Those who don't own an L1 had tons of questions. It was fun to show people how everything works and how I had everything hooked up.

On the day of my cruise I set up my Classic on the beach. I left that with a friend of mine who finished my show for me on the beach and I brought my Model 2 with me on the boat. The portability was wonderful. I had to park quite a ways away and I brought everything I needed in 1 trip with a hand truck!

I hope to get some more photos but here is one of me (far left) and some friends (John Reno and Troy Allan) out on the beach.

It sounds like we are going to do this again next year. The only change I'll make is to pick up a 2nd T1 and finally retire my beat up mini mixer!

Thanks Bose for a wonderful week in paradise!

Matt

Wanted to attend but just financially couldnt swing it this year.
Looks like ya had a great time!
Rain

HI Matt!

SWEET!

Was AC power available on the beach from somewhere, or did you use a small generator? Just curious. Plus, I saw you had your PorchBoard along as well. Any comments from the beach crowd about your sound? Looks like it was really NICE!

John

Hey Matt,

Thanks for sharing this.

In my neighbourhood it is dark grey and pouring rain. We've just started our winter season and except for variations in temperature and intensity of the rain, we're looking forward to months of this.

I love getting new folks together to hear what will happen.

I love getting new folks together in front of L1®s because you *can* hear what happens.

It would be super nice to be able to do it outside in a setting like yours.

Hey guys!
It sure was a wonderful time.

Rain,
I know what you mean about the financial part of things. I'm lucky. Because my wife is Air Force, I can camp out on the Navy Base. Lodging is one of the biggest expenses for most folks. I'm also lucky to have found a place to play! CD and T shirts sales help too. This is my 3rd year going and it keeps getting better each year. The first year I went with nothing booked but a cruise. I sat in with friends, met tons of new friends and tried the best I could to get my music out there. I keeps getting better every year!

John,
They did have power but a generator would have come in handy as we lost power twice during the week. Once for about a half hour and once for about 15 minutes. I'm told that is common in Key West. Everyone was very happy with the sound. The stage was facing the bar/restaurant that hired me for those days but you could hear us everywhere!

I did have my Porchboard with me and that survived all the beach sand! I tried to play my Porchboard on the cruise and that was difficult. I have used it on a parade float so I figured I could handle it on a boat. Most of the time it was OK but I had to quit thumping and keep my balance when the waves got a little big.

ST,
I hear you about the cold and the rain. It's not too cold here today (67 right now) but it's been cloudy and rainy the last two days. I'm still wearing shorts and a t-shirt but I know I'll have to give that up soon. I just took a shop vac to my trunk to try and get up all of the beach sand. As it gets colder here I'll probably wish I had stayed in Key West!

You sure are right about how nice it is to hear everything with the L1. I have some dear friends that come to see me play quite a bit and they were down in Key West. When we would go and see other act, non-L1 acts, they would say to me, "these people need to get a Bose!" They are die-hard live music fans and they love what they hear through the L1.

Matt

Hey, Matt!

Do you have something behind your Porchboard that you're using to stand on to keep yourself more 'level'?

I've been doing a little experimenting with something to make it easier to stand & play the Porchboard, and your picture reminded me that I need to "finish up" that experiment!

Hi Dan!
I do have a little "stage" that I stand on. It serves 3 purposes: 1) it gives me a bit of elevation and makes me feel like I'm "on stage" even when I'm on the ground. I don't know if it helps at all but I'd like to think that it draws more attention to the show. 2) The top surface is an anti-fatigue mat that makes it very comfortable to stand on for hours at a time and 3) the main purpose, as you mentioned, is to put me on the same level as the Porchboard so I don't have to balance when I play. I switch thumping feet for every song and it really make Porchboard playing quite effortless.

After my very first show with my PB I knew that I was never going to be able to stand and play without some kind of riser. This is my 3rd different one of these and I've made subtle improvements each time.

I posted photos below. It is made of 2' x 4's, plywood and the anti-fatigue mat. Very simple but I wouldn't ever use my PB without it. My big idea for the folks at Porchboard is for them to manufacture a little "stage" like this that doubles as a carrying case.

I keep meaning to build one. I picture it like a flight case where either the top or bottom is totally removable. You'd take the top off, pull the Porchboard out and use the taller section of the case as a stage! Maybe I'll get to it someday but this sure works for now.

Matt

Here's another view:

Looking down:

And here is the "stage" flipped over:

Id have to get used to it.. the platform that is..
HAHA

My crazy arse would step off the back of it (I tend to dance around when playin....) and land flat on my back!!!

LOL!

Looks GREAT, btw,

Hi Matt,

Thanks for posting the pictures of your mini stage.

Do you suppose it would have worked as well with 2" x 2"s all the way around? Maybe then it would be easier to nest the PorchBoard inside for travel.

I have one of the ones that breaks apart for travel. I bet you could rig up something so that the rail with the sensor could be attached to your mini stage.

---

Image source: PorchBoard - Alternate Assembly

Matt, congrats on what I know was a great show and a fun time for all.
Like Rain, I couldn't make it this year either, but I am on the bill for "Stars Fell On Alabama".
I played it two years ago without my Bose and I thought I sounded pretty good...nuh uhh...now I sound lie I'm supposed to.

Keep up the good work and maybe our paths will cross at some other Parrothead event.

My best ----^--leo Dean---

Leo Dean.com

Rain,
I tend to move around quite a bit when I play without my Porchboard. But when one foot is thumping the other foot doesn't have much of a choice but to stand still!

ST,
I'm sure the stage would work with 2 x 2's and that would make it light too. I just happen to have this lumber laying around.

I have pondered the idea of adapting one of the new PB's to attach to my stage and I've even talked with Nadane @ Porchboard about it to get her thoughts. I've basically been lazy about trying anything new since this current set up has been working for me for a few years now.

I guess I could mount some bolts onto the stage and then screw the sensor rail onto the stage much like the pieces of your PB fit together.

I was also curious about how the sensor rail would work on its own. That could make flying with a Porchboard a real possibility. It adds so much to my sound. I hate to go without it.

Hi Leo!
MOTM was a great time! I've heard good things about Stars too. I don't do a ton of sanctioned Parrothead events but I've been playing for Parrotheads for years. Great people and great music fans! I'm sure we'll run into each other somewhere along the line.

Take good care,
Matt

Hi Matt,

Congrats on the fun down at MOTM.

I played for my "The Villages Parrot Heads" last night at Club El Santiago. I asked if any of them that had been down in the Keys heard "Open Road Matt", but I think they may have been too busy drinking to particularly notice.

They have a pretty good sized group show up, chat, drink, dance a bit and cover their meeting stuff. I've been a member and their entertainment for about 3 years here now.

Also lucked out and got a "5 O'clock Somewhere" event over at another club later in the month. Those loosen up quite a bit more then the meeting events.

They all love the sound of the Bose system

Here are some more shots from last week. You know you've got a good place to play when it's hard to find the L1 among all the palm trees!

And the sunset cruise:

Hey OMR. great pics. Gettin Cold here in Canada! So how do keep that beach sand out of the L1 grills? Not to mention sea salt etc. Any problems? Reason I'm asking is I'm some old gear in my closet for outdoor gigs. Haven't gigged with the L1 outdoors yet! Last outdoor gig we did was in a gazebo next to a ball diamond dusted up by 4o mph winds. Cheers!

Hi Brian,
I didn't have any trouble with beach sand in the L1's. I had beach sand on all of my cables and all over all of my cases. I keep the tower portion of my L1 in a Pelican 1750 Gun Case. I could throw that in the ocean and it would be fine!

My L1's have been through all kinds of weather and I've never had a single problem. You should get your L1 outside! I love the way they perform in the out of doors!

Matt

FYI: In reference to open-road-matt's platform above, see another way to 'skin that cat' at this topic about the Porchboard.