Hi Kids!: The reason I got into being a Musician/Performer was to entertain the audience. Even though I've been featured as a "Bluesman" or "Folk Singer", my shows were always rehearsed with elements of Comedy/Monologues, jokes etc. After all, I grew up with heroes like Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Sid Caesar, Ernie Kovacs, Sammy Davis Jr., Myron Cohen, etc. So for me, it wasn't just "go in and sing my songs, and if a string breaks, come up with something witty." It wasn't about selling beer, it was about showmanship, a complete performance. Whether the audience was one guy on a rainy Tuesday night who paid to see me, or onstage in front of thousands, the goal was still the same, entertain. After you do this for over 40 years, your collection of one-liners grows into a library. I've never really had to "put-down" or engage in any war with an audience. That's not why I'm there. So the one-liners/"patter" were an integral part of the show, and many were spontaneous, but then became "part of the arsenal". So you get things like going into a new club and getting introduced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Bob Ryszkiewicz..." Blank stares and the sound of one hand clapping. I say, " Well look, I've never heard of you either..." Or the song you sang just did not go over, I would say, " O.K. The Score, Audience 1, Bob 0..." Laughs...But this allowed me to provide a show that was hopefully unique, where I could do a traditional blues, an original, a ballad, a joke and keep things moving along seemlessly. Whether this made me "less authentic" or not, I frankly don't care. While I respect traditionalists, I focus on being an innovator. What excites me now, after all these years, is that I feel vibrant, I am recording new material in my studio, new sounds, and finding new audiences all over the world with the internet. Life is good. bob