Buskers Magic

Two things have been taking a front and center position in my life lately, Cellini's book, The Royal Touch, and a Master Class being given here by none other than Gazzo. The former happened innocently enough. While attending LVMI this year, I was on my way to breakfast with friends, when we bumped into a fellow that none of us knew. He was certainly 'on' however, and trying to polite, we invited him to join us. It turned out our new table - mate was Kozmo, the guy who brought us the Cellini DVDs. I've maintained sporadic contact with him since the event, and found out that he had a supply of Cellini's book, and was currently unemployed due to the loss of his intended venue, New Orleans. I figured that it would be good karma to spend my money with him, in hopes that it might help him either find a new venue, or feed his family. Either decision was a good one, right? I got the book almost overnight, and at a great price, too. The book is exactly what I hoped it would be, a series of lessons and memories from the man himself. It is a fun read, sprinkled throughout with humor and drama. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
This past spring, (or was it early summer?) I began to read the glowing reviews of the Master classes that Gazzo did on the east coast. I read nothing negative, and one thing really impressed me. I don't work 'blue,' so I figured Gazzo would not be a class I would be interested in. It turns out, from the people with whom I came in contact, that Gazzo helps you be a better YOU, not a better Gazzo. A brief translation: bigger hats. Now who among us doesn't need to make more money? So, I just wrote an e-mail, asking if there were any plans to come west with the classes. It seemed like a reasonable question, but the result was more than I'd expected; I became the point of contact for Gazzo's Seattle Master Class. That wouldn't be a problem in itself, but for one thing. You guys who do this regularly know this, but I didn't. I got a snotload of people who instantly wrote me, positively drooling with interest. I remember thinking, "Wow, this sure seems easy enough." When Gazzo's people let us know it was time to count heads and send on the down payment though, crickets were chirping and tumbleweed was rolling down the deserted streets of Gazzo West. So, I had to do the cyber version of knocking on doors, and while I expect it will be close, we'll be lucky to hit the lower number (10) that they had hoped for, rather than the higher one (15), which I was SURE we'd hit. Yeah, right. So, now I am not an innocent virgin to the promotion game, but I cannot forsee a reason that I would do it again.


Mark