Canoes. Kayaks. Kids. Pizza. Beer. Folk Music. Outdoors. All good.

I had a great time Saturday at Canoe & Brew, first kayaking 12 miles down the Susquehanna, then playing an hour of Paul Loomis songs, canal songs, and sea chanteys. I don’t often get to sing the line “one year they got a steamboat all the way to Nescopeck” just hours after navigating around Nescopeck Falls (which were, with the low river level, pretty wild). Spending five hours on the river with your audience also gives a rapport that most shows don’t have. So thanks, everyone!

Reverse angle. Note minimal gear.

Guitar not in kayak, disappointing many fellow kayakers.

Up next? This Friday, October 2, from 6-7:30pm, another no-microphone no-amp show, at the Antler, 24 E. Main St., Bloomsburg. There will be music all over Main St. from 6 to 9pm.

Lastly, no one ever seems to talk about album sales, so I will. When I made Dry Ridge, my first album, in the summer of 2004, I felt the moment someone who was not a friend or relative bought it, I could consider it a success. I spent $250 on recording and production and $300 or so for 100 discs. A few years later, I ordered 100 more. That CD came out in spring 2005, and in the ten ensuing years, I have sold 99 copies, many to family and friends. But also many to people I don’t (or didn’t yet) know, so it was a success.

I recorded and released Yuspe in 2009, spending more on recording and ordering more CDs. I still have hundreds, but every one I sell is (now) all profit. Yuspe has sold 94 copies in 6 years, even though I gave more away to family and friends.

I spent more time and money (and had lots of help from fellow musicians) on World Famous in Bloomsburg, and have benefited from Jeremy dePrisco’s marketing ideas. So WFIB has sold 96 copies in 10 months, with even more given away – especially to family who bought one or both of the first two.

Which will reach 100 first? I’ve been wondering for months, and didn’t think the three would get this close together. You can affect the outcome, you know…

{Note added October 15: Two days ago someone bought copy #100 of World Famous in Bloomsburg. Adjusting for population, I think that makes it Double Platinum in Bloomsburg.}