Back in the seventies, after college, I traveled with a friend, Mike Duling, performing a two man comedy show with guitars, shoulder length hair, and half-baked songs and stories. Pre-comedy-club days, we performed at Holiday Inns, resort hotels, Playboy Clubs, Vegas lounges and just about anywhere someone would have us. I can’t go into detail here, but thank God my kids didn’t decide to go on the road.

After Mike and I disbanded, I worked as a solo, playing nightclubs around the country, working with the Grand Old Opry on a tour through Canada, playing with Rick Nelson, Ray Charles and other acts, and generally acting like an immature 24 year old until I was almost 30. Mental age today…still an immature 24 year old. I’ve performed for audiences in Italy, France, St. Barts, The Bahamas, and all over the United States. Sometimes I was the featured act, sometimes I just sat in with the boys.

But now, music has taken a back seat to writing, even though I put out a Cd several years ago and still write songs. I take the guitar to some of the book signing tours and play a couple of funny ( and serious) songs about the writing life. But once a year I actually play a three hour nightclub set at a place called the Main Street Bistro in Lima, Ohio.

I’m not sure why I do it. To keep in touch with the entertainer side? To feed my ego? They call it Key West Night, and the theme is tropical. Beach umbrellas, oversized inflatable Corona bottles, tropical drinks and seafood dishes are everywhere. I do a couple of Buffet tunes, some of my own stuff, I pick on the audience, do some slightly rude material, bring some friends up who do a couple of numbers, sing some ballads from my earlier years, and generally act like these people are in my living room. The Bistro sells out, there’s standing room only at the bar, and the three hours go by quickly.

Once again, I’m 24 years old, flirting, showing off, making an ass of myself and having a ball. Being an entertainer is much like being a writer. You can act like a kid and it’s perfectly acceptable. I’ll be at the Bistro this Friday. If you want to go back in time, If you want to be a kid again, come on down.