Bullwhip Blog

Summer Sojourn

Robert Dante — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:45:30 GMT

There are two reasons for a blog to be silent as a sphinx: either nothing worth mentioning has occurred, or so much is happening so quickly there's no time to write it all down.

In my case, it is the latter. Life has been neither quiet nor peaceful of late.

Some marvelous road trips to Memphis and New Orleans gave me the chance to enjoy some vivid images from the everyday and to bask in the warmth of big-souled hosts, and a very brief stopover in Houston let me reconnect with some figures from my oh-so distant past.

I composed a booklet (“Supersonic”) to shine a little light on what Mary and I experience as bullwhip artistes. We waited patiently for the new generation of Dante-designed bullwhips to arrive. We revisited daily the possible ways to retrieve our vitally-needed camper van and grew a greater appreciation for the intrepid pioneers who spent the early part of the 20^th Century drilling dry hole after dry hole before finally reaching the goods that let them add a little silver to their spurs.

On the home front, we've had to deal with avaricious owners and mendacious landlords trying to evict us since January (even though we'd already given notice and balanced the books prior to departing). We finally decided the game was not worth the candle and vacated about the middle of May, staying with friends who threw a life preserver out to us. There was one sleepless evening spent in a Salvation Army men's shelter that gave me a fresh perspective on civilian dormitory life in an overnight prison.

Now we prepare to head out to Maryland for a 10-day camping event, doing whip workshops and demos. On June the 4^ththis idyllic interlude ends, and we return to the state of being homeless in Minneapolis. We do not know how this will pan out, since several projects are coming to a head at the same time and any one of them will solve the problem quickly.

I'd looked forward to 2012 as a year of new beginnings, but I'd forgotten this usually entails major endings to make room for those new starts. So here we are. Next?

Annie Oakley Days 2012

Robert Dante — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:45:26 GMT

A favorite recurring appearance we make is at the Annie Oakley Days Festival in Greenville, Ohio. This year it's on July 27-29.

The days feature fields of vendors, sanctioned shooting contests, knife throwing displays, bullwhip artistry, music, food aplenty and camping in beautiful surroundings. Professional whip handler and author Gery Deer heads the Western Arts Showcase, which includes the bullwhip aspect of the festival.

It's been a pleasure of ours to meet up with other professional whip crackers like Chris "The Whip Guy" Camp at these events. Sometimes, Chris had to miss one because of a conflict in scheduling, but when it comes down to it, we have to take the paying gigs over the ones we might prefer to attend.

This year, it's our turn to bow out. The Redwood County Fair in Minnesota has contracted with us to perform during those same days.

I think the biggest thing I will miss is coming home with the lingering smell of campfire smoke in my clothing. One sniff and I'm back in that other world and time, for a few weeks. So next year - stay tuned, because you will probably see us there, again!

For information, go the Annie Oakley Days website at

http://www.annieoakleyfestival.org/

Vaudeville Show at Mounds Theatre in St Paul

Robert Dante — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:22:13 GMT

A pair of excellent shows yesterday. Weird walking into the Mounds Theatre -- I know I've performed there before, but it was so long ago I do not remember the occasion. I hope it's only because I've been so busy and not because my mind is going (how would I notice?).

Mounds Theatre, well made for the live performer, roomy stage, great seating for everyone, comfy Green Room -- I'd perform there again any time.

Great memories from show: ending right on the money with the music with Mary in the first set; thinking Mona Montague has the best fan technique I have ever seen; being impressed by Cirque de Pole acrobats -- sexy and beautifully choreographed, great execution (the male member of the trio reminded I'd taught him how to crack a bullwhip at Mondo Fest years ago); juggler Warren Hammond, a man who really combines skill with entertainment; clown Biz, who impresses me more every time I see him (there's a lot of talent behind that goofy makeup); and sound person/stage manager Nicky Nickerson, the sort of person you'd like to have in the wings of every live show -- Thanks to all!

(And I just found out we've already been invited back to perform and present at MarsCon next year -- I guess the programmers liked us!)

So Much for Winter

Robert Dante — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:31:58 GMT

Here we are, eve of St Patrick's Day, ready to unleash our stuff onstage at Mounds Theater in St Paul tomorrow (twice). Next week, it's a spring-sweet 2,000-mile run to Memphis and New Orleans to teach the teachers of tomorrow and to meet new friends.

This is kind of a nice point to assess where we are before I put my head back down and dive into the future:

Van is still sitting in garage, waiting for me to produce a pailful of money to purchase a new engine. I'm am able to meet my obligations only by renting a car - dead money,My brilliant campaign to get $10 donations from 210 people was a good idea, but it faltered in the execution - only 10 people responded to my "where's-the-whistle-on-my-life-jacket" plea. These precious people will have their glorious names included in a program I will give away at shows through the end of the year, my way of saying thanks.

My Kickstarter program seems to have slid into a ditch. I thought it might be a way to raise $4500 to mount an hour-long whip show, "Whiporama." One person donated $25, leaving $4475 to go, and since this campaign ends in three days, I don't think there's enough momentum to put me over the top.

The fabulous bullwhip-motif jewelry line I've created with Bryan Johnson detonates ooh's and aah's, but no sales, yet.

And to top it off, I've been functioning this last month without upper teeth - the docs finally threw their gloved hands up and made the radical suggestion. (I appreciate what my father went through with his Irish choppers 50 years ago.) I've lost only a little weight on my yogurt diet, so I must be doing something right. My grandmotherly dentist took impressions last week, so I should be back to beaming beatifically shortly. That show I did two days after the extractions is still a dream, but I am told it was one of our better ones. The roughest part has been trying to speak without F's or V's in my vocabulary, among the no longer mundane things I once took for granted.

Sigh.

I remember that General George Patton said, "Success is how high you bounce after you hit bottom."

In my own experience, the combination of patience and persistence has accomplished things that looked like miracles in hindsight (maybe they were!).

I do have a few more plays left to me, including resuming selling entry-level bullwhips (now that I have my new whipmaker broken in), somehow finally realizing the DVD version of my very successful book, and completing a project (ultra hush hush with nondisclosure agreements and everything) that I've been working on for months which could solve the new engine problem in a single finger-snap instant.

We'll see.

In the meantime, there's tomorrow's shows, then off to Memphis and New Orleans.

And today I saw my first drunk squirrel, apparantly blotto on fermented sap and buds.

I think Spring is finally here.

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

Whiporama!

Robert Dante — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:11:58 GMT

Thirty-day campaign for "Whiporama" was launched this afternoon at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robertdante/whiporama . Take a look!

Goal is to raise $4500 to take show on the road. Highly doable, and the small experiments along the way have been successful, in our minds.

Still trying to get the van out of drydock (you can contribute at www.bullwhip.net), and it is an integral part of this project. We'll see where we are in 30 days. Fingers crossed!

Thanks!
-Robert Dante-

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

The Freedom Mobile

Robert Dante — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:38:11 GMT

Ooh, 43 days since my last post. That's one more resolution biting the dust. But it does give me an excuse to consider at the year so far.

Good shows, for the most part -- particularly the last two, in Winnipeg and at the Parkview Theater in Minneapolis. I am heartened enough to continue moving toward "Whiporama," the hour-long bullwhip show I envisioned near the end of last year. It'll be a new form of an old art.

The speedbump on this journey is that my beloved camper is in the shop with a seized engine. To replace the engine will take some money, so I have been thinking, researching, and making a lot of phone calls.

This vehicle -- a 1974 Type 2 Volkswagen Westfalia -- has been our office on the road, our transportation, our hotel room, and our dressing room. It has allowed us to do gigs we could not have accepted because we would have had to charge an arm and a leg just to cover plane tickets and hotels. In short, it has been our Freedom Mobile.

For now it is drydocked while we've been hunting for a new engine for it. We have found one in Chicago, but that begs the question of how to afford it on what we make. It's time to become creative on many levels.

I have put the word out through my social networks that contributions are welcomed. If 210 people gave $10 each, we'd be back on the road in no time. As of today, nine people have pitched in, which means there are 201 to go. I've even put a clickable link on the main page at www.bullwhip.net.

What can I offer in return? Only my thanks and an acknowledgment in the program for "Whiporama," which will be ready by June. Naturally, if anyone would care to give more than $10, we'll get where we need to be that much faster.

What else can I try? Someone suggested Kickstarter.com. It's a place where you can post your project (like "Whiporama") and if people like the idea, they can send donations your way to make it happen. They've approved my pitch, and the campaign will be up in a few days..

What else can I try? Aha! We were recently paid for a show with the equivalent of our fee in silver jewelry, based on my designs. Top-notch merchandise, not for the faint of heart, any more than we are! These also will be offered publically (and privately).

The new whip maker is still getting the range on what I want in a whip to offer the world under my name, but we are now many steps closer, so I am confident we'll get it.

Surely there's something I haven't thought of. With many irons in the fire, I never know which one will carry the magic.

I'll write here how things are progressing. If you have any new (and legal) ideas I haven't thought of, clue me in, please -- I'm listening, and all my doors are open. Right now, I'm waiting to hear from the remaining 201 friends.

Thanks!

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

2012 - A New Year

Robert Dante — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:12:34 GMT

It's a quiet time for a few weeks, following our New Year's Eve show with Dr Farrago Theatre. We started 2011 doing a show with them, so it seems appropriate that we could close the year out with them. So good to see so many friendly faces: Mia, Chuck, David Walbridge, Johnny Em, and the rest. A breath of fresh air, top-notch talent, and not a diva among them.

The whips will continue to be at the center of my artistic experience off the stage, as much as onstage:

-- new DVD project (ie video version of my book). A few more false starts last year, with the usual frustrations and promising leads turning into dead ends. But at the same time it has given me time to sharpen what I see in my mind's eye, so I still believe it may happen this year.

-- new book project continues to be sketched. There is a need for a book that talks about whips beyond cracking them: history, anecdotes, personal recollections, humor, games, contests, resources, factoids. Something on the subject one can sit and read for the fun of it and that might spark ideas and encourage more original thinking in the field.

-- new jewelry project. Getting off the ground, in discussions with artist right now.

-- new routines. Anything will get boring when you do it over and over again, so Mary and I structure our shows to leave enough room for the unforeseen accidents, unpredictable coincidences and unexpected miracles to occur. We are there in the moment. This means new routines, new stunts and tricks, as well as expanding and sharpening the "Whiporama" full hour bullwhip show concept.

-- new (mumble mumble) project. (Non-disclosure agreement prevents me for elaborating.) More later.

AND there are few other things percolating delightfully right now, just out of the light. It's going to be a rush to throw open the curtains on some of these for the first time!

So there it is. When you stand before a blank canvas, you should boldly dash some color onto it, pierce the silence even if with a single note. As I like to remind folks, Emerson said, "Do the thing and you have the power."

From everything I've seen, he's still right.

Have a great year, my friends. Cross your fingers with me and send us your blessings -- no one ever did anything worthwhile alone.

Best to you,

-Robert D-

The Music of the Whip

Robert Dante — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:26:23 GMT

A few weeks ago, I gave whip cracking lessons to a percussionist from the Minnesota Orchestra (he wanted a real whip crack in the orchestra's Christmas piece Sleigh Ride).

Here's the email I received today:

"I used the bull whip with the orchestra last night. The audience loved it. The conductor (without my foreknowledge) had me go to the front of the stage and do a demonstration after the song was over and I got a great crack! I can't thank you enough.

"So I would like to get a bullwhip for my brother. I will also get him a copy of your book. I have decided people need to crack a whip before they leave this world."

I agree, my friend!

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

Hell On Wheels

Robert Dante — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:48:23 GMT

It been a while since I've written, so I need to catch up, which will explain any redundancies in this missive. And then I need to stay current. That's what I look for when I read someone's blog entries.

Easier said than done.

One difficulty of living in the ever-present tense is that I am loathe to look back over my shoulder. My focus is always on the road ahead, like a motorcycle rider. I prefer to do than to talk about what I did.

So let's see where I was...

The van works well, like a fine timepiece (even though the dashboard clock itself actually does not function – must add this to the To Do list).

Off we go on our Bullwhip Safari, putting down rompy highways to Wichita, Kansas, where it's good to see Steve even under low ceilings, head on to Denver, flashing back on mountain adventures of previous years, caught by torrential rain, flooded out, get rolling again, next gig SRO and grand.

Continue down to Albuquerque looking for UFOs, see none, never knew desolation could be so beautiful, cactus after cactus after tumbleweed, do presentation, see biggest banana split in history (I want one!), then on with side trip to see Mary's old friend Fish, shave his dog, take wrong road, have flat tire, change out, get to Tucson, very flat city in a picturesque way, can't fix tire so buy a new one. Beautiful hosts, amazingly positive weekend except for hotel which charged my own credit card and made me bounce a check because I was trying to make it a cash-only trip. Happily, host made good, would do it again anytime with them, but at any other hotel than the Radisson in Tucson (rude idiots!).

Head over to Pacific Ocean, waving as I spin through LA and point us north to see Indiana Jones' hat and other memorabilia on impossibly steep highway (a real job for the clutch on the Westie), see where whip supplier lied to me about our deal. Will definitely fix that when we return.

Conversation cruising onto Pacific Coast Highway toward San Francisco, fogged in overnight mere feet from dizzying precipice, find nice Buddhist meditation gas station that charged $6 for a gallon of gas (who do you report these people to?) and lied about the distance to the next gas station.

Meet friend Mark in Monterrey, handy friend with a pair of pliers as well as a therapist, reclaim possessions left years ago while on circus tour, at least the non-paper items dripping water did not damage with mold, zip along James Dean Highway under eerie sky full of stars (but no UFOs).

Drop $10 in Reno (felt like a cheap Scotsman!) then discover Salt Flats as Mary adds to the 2,000 photos she will snap, seeing mirages and practice fires.

I see why Salt Lake City is considered beautiful, marvelous hosts there (want to come back!), on to Denver where several cheapos piggyback on supposedly one-on-one time I gave to someone else (who paid), ignore implied insult from SASS-hole (wait until I see some real whip crackers?), decided not to play in that sandbox, and so on to Des Moines, 300 miles from home after a 5,000-mile circuit, where Westie decides it's safe to give up ghost for a while, giving us chance to be rescued by impossibly generous repair shop that gets us rolling again for dimes on the dollar (thanks guys!).

And so to bed at home. Catch our breaths.

The following weekend we wend our way to do Wild West and windy college football half-time show with terrific audience response (see video on YouTube), very pleased with the way we danced together with the whips, hit road again for Kansas gig and home, where clutch cable finally snaps. Three-hour job takes 5 days, waiting for replacement part, etc (picture on Facebook), with Mary's able assistance, back on the road in time to do Dr Farrago burlesque show at Ground Zero two nights ago.

So here on Sunday morning, being my own Boswell, smiling over how well blindfolded newspaper-cutting stunt went at Dr Farrago show, savoring my banana crepes and tea, wondering what to say to St Louis Park Rotary Club at monthly breakfast next Friday, maybe what's it like to be a professional whip cracker with a loving partner, living in a world where being broke and rich is not a contradiction.

Half-time show at St Cloud University

Robert Dante — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:06:40 GMT