Well, I have had to completely rethink the idea and that took some time. My original idea was pretty good but not achievable. If you look at the other great ideas that have been floated here and how difficult they are to realize you will see what I mean. Look at the calendar efforts and how hard Alison is working to get people to send her photos. Look at the simple idea of connecting the two Mudcat gatherings by computer. It was a nice Idea but we couldn't quite bring it off.As a result I think this will succeed but only if we organize it properly and depend on a minimum number of people. They have to be dedicated to making this work. A lot of you signed on to the thread saying you liked the idea. How many of you are truly dedicated to making a world tour work? I have compiled the list but now is the time to volunteer for specific tasks.
Here is what I have come up with.
There are not enough of us to get a chain of concerts together. That might work over a short stretch, say from Maine to Delaware but the distance between 'catters tends to spread out beyond Delaware or Virginia. However Bert's idea was pretty good. What we need is a banner that can be part of each concert. That way we can set up a series of Mudcat World Tour concerts with the banner as the backdrop. The banner can then be shipped to each promoter for inclusion. If we use the right material in the banner then participants can sign it before they pass it on.
With that we can start. The first concert will be at the next FSGW. Concerts will need to be scheduled after that date. We need volunteers to schedule concerts after that date. Preferred featured performers will need to be Mudcatters but double bills will be permissible and even encouraged. If you can get a big name to participate all the better but the purpose is to show off the talents of our members and raise money to support the Mudcat and the DT.
Here are the volunteers I need to hear from.
For the FSGW I need someone who can contact the FSGW organization and set aside time at the gathering for the Mudcat concert.
For the other concerts I need people to volunteer to promote and organize concerts in their areas. Please note this is a world tour. Our brothers and sisters overseas can and should participate. I will coordinate all the concerts. My only rule of thumb is to leave time enough between the concerts to allow the banner to travel to the next concert.
And finally I need someone to construct a banner. It needs to be large enough to be seen on stage but small enough and light enough to be shipped without too much hassle. I think it should be small enough to fit on the wall behind Max in the radio studio when we finish this gig.
So, now it's time to put your money where your mouths are. Who is in with me?