Bullwhip Blog

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

5,000-mile Safari Successful

Robert Dante — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:05:00 GMT

Wow -- the little Westie took us 5,000 miles to a series of workshops, demos, presentations and shows across the Southwest with only few problems: suffering one little breakdown (thanks to the mechanics at Gary's in Des Moine!), getting a flat tire in Arizona, being caught in a flood in Colorado, being fogbound overnight at Big Sur, and having a clamp needing to be tightened in Monterrey, California (thanks to Mark Shuler, a handy man with pliers as well as bullwhips!).

The 12-day tour was called a Bullwhip Safari because a safari is a journey of both exploration and hunting -- and I was doing both. I saw parts of this country that amazed me and humbled me; Mary took 2,000-plus pictures; and I was able to track down old friends and to make a lot of new friends.

Woo in Wichita was a superb host with a basement full of a strange sea creatures; in Denver the enthusiastic folks treated us to a marvelous after-workshop meal; in Albuquerque, I saw the biggest banana split I'd ever seen in my life; in Tucson, I was most grateful my hosts Jefferson and Lois had more integrity than the Radisson Hotel there and helped the weekend turn out to be a true treasure in time; we stood on the shore of Monterrey Bay and looked out to where the USS Macon met its end (on Feb 12th all those years ago, coincidentally my own birthday but not quite as many years ago); we sailed the Great Salt Flats and met the truest salt of the earth in Salt Lake City, dear folks who reminded us why we enjoy doing this; we saw the amazing stone colors of Wyoming's mountains, the high plains and the sky full of stars at every turn, every night. Wow!

We'll probably do something like this again next year. We're already looking forward to it, and this time I hope we can include the Pacific Northwest!

Thank you to the many people who made this a memorable time. I hope it was as good for you as it was for us.

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

Bullwhip Safari Sept 13-23

Robert Dante — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:03:24 GMT

I've gotten the orange Westie ready to fly by changing the oil and filter and filling the gas tank. We'll pamper her valves and change her plugs when we get back to Minneapolis.

Intrepid Mary and I are almost set to travel through 5 states on this tour, doing workshops, demos and presentations, and selling bullwhips, DVDs and books. I'm calling it a Safari, because I do feel like I am combining hunting with exploring.

The precise dates are posted on Bullwhip.Net, but here's the overview: Wichita KS, Denver CO, Albuquerque NM, Tucson AZ, Salt Lake City UT and then Denver CO a second time.

We have the sink working, but not the fridge or stove. (When the lion tamer goes into the cage, he takes on only one lion at a time!) The radio has not been repaired, so the Westie's dual carburators will be the only on-road music I will hear. It has been sweet music so far.

Here's the poster:

I'll try to remember to post as I go on the road. It's a long, long way to Tipperary!

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

Souvenir of Annie Oakley Days

Robert Dante — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:28:07 GMT

You May Have Seen Us On the Road

Robert Dante — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:05:14 GMT

We dropped ballast and set off on I-94 toward the Atlantic Ocean. The route took us through Wisconsin down into Illinois. Kentucky was particularly beautiful off the interstates, and Mary spent much time shooting photos out the window.

The camper was comfortable as a cabin for our overnight rests, but I see we need to get the right wiring to do electrical hookups. I was surprised to see that most of the camping grounds now offer cable TV. There were very few campers like ours, a throwback to the hippie era. Most of the new models were hotel rooms on wheels, and many sported same-height US flags. I'd swear there were a few permanent residents in these vehicles at some of these places.
And so down into South Carolina.

Just below Columbia, the morning of our gig, the camper died. Would not start. Oil leaking. Called AAA, got us towed to Mt Pleasant and made the show with 30 minutes to spare. Bigger turnout than we'd expected, and we'd be hard pressed to find a more appreciative audience. Mary particularly like seeing kids in Indy hats cracking little whips along with us.

Since we were not allowed to sleep in the camper because of local ordinances, we took a hotel room within walking distance. The next morning, after researching the options on the Internet, we had ourselves towed to RPM Motors, owned by Rhett Mathisen in N Charleston (you can reach him at 843-469-6288). Rett is a young guy, a bright straight shooter, beaming with good health and good humor, and his little shop was inherited from his father, who'd worked only on VW's. It took less than two minutes for us to realize the gods had been generous and sent us to precisely the person we needed.

Rhett pulled the engine, replaced seals, repaired a plug, changed the oil and tuned our baby. The price was amazingly good (enough that we broke even except for the hotel bills). The main regret is that we did not get the chance to dip our toes into the Atlantic.

The road to Ohio was a joy, the VW purring like a sewing machine, or a biplane. Folks did not seem particularly upset that I kept our speed between 55 and 60mph. Some of the kids passing us smiled and waved their joints at us. In rest stops, youngsters several times came up to us as if we were an ice cream truck and asked if we had some marijuana we could sell them. We were quick to let them know they'd come to the wrong people. Even the beer I drink these days is O'Doul's, a nice non-alcoholic brew in bottles.

Before long, we were sailing through seas of corn across Ohio. The target was the Annie Oakley Days Festival in Darke County, Ohio, where I'd meet up with Gerry Deer and Kirk and Melodee Bass, and Elk. Rich Hoffman also was there, with Richard and Donna Best and The Brothers.

Sitting around the campfire with them would have been reason enough to go, but I wanted Mary see these friends for herself. She'd see there is a family/tribe of people out there, and we greet each other even after long absences warmly as if the conversation was paused only a few minutes ago. The smell of campfire smoke once again permeated my clothing with the scent of dreams for weeks afterward.

Dear Kirk and Melodee agreed to let Mary face one of her rare fears by having her stand at the knife board while Kirk threw a pattern of knives around her. She is a trouper! The whip activities took place in the Coliseum, misspelled for decades. Here I met Luke Taylor, 16 years old, and who learned everything he knew from watching You Tube videos and using self-made whips. I was impressed.

The five shows we did were short (as Gery had requested) and we made sure there was some variety between them. Audiences were small (local politics with three local groups trying to lay claim to being the official Annie Oakley Days host).

A great weekend, then back to our home base of Minneapolis. Total of 2700 miles traveled, averaging 22 miles per gallon. Met great people on the way -- it seems that simply driving an orange Westie gives folks permission to share reminiscences.

More than that, the thing was actually fun to drive. We'd paid $2500, and put in a grand more to make her sea-worthy (so to speak), but on the road we met a fellow who offered us $6,000 for her. His business card showed his offer was genuine - he had a business that restored collectible automobiles, and he said he had 60 vehicles on his lot. He wanted our Westie to be number 61.

Ah, but does freedom have a price?

Well, we politely and sympathetically turned his offer down, and he said he understood. I think he did.

Copyright 2011 Robert Dante

Zoom Zoom

Robert Dante — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:48:28 GMT

It's an odd (but satisfying) feeling to drive around a neighborhood in a vehicle that evokes grins and waves more than an ice cream truck does.

My new/old vehicle is a blast from the past -- a 1974 Type 2 Volkswagen Campmobile. It's a little daunting at first to be sitting out ahead of the front tires, but you quickly get used to it. There also is something gratifying about having a manual transmission, feeling the gears shift smoothly.

As would be expected from any 37-year old vehicle, a little rehabilitation is required. After blowing a tire on the freeway drive home immediately after buying it, I replaced the tires. Much better ride, much less stressful. Now we work on the brakes.

We've cleaned the interior, and with the exception of the subsonic horn, everything else seems to be working well. Except for the radio. And the refrigerator.

And yes, finances were a factor. With a lot of what we've earned on the road going to transportation and hotels, I figured this might actually save money. We'll see soon enough, I guess.

In the meantime, Zoom Zoom!

A Few Haikus

Robert Dante — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 01:48:08 GMT

This past memorial day, I spent some time at a retreat in Pennsylvania, giving classes and decompressing. It also afforded me the chance to have one of my rare face-to-face visits with my beloved brother. During the time, I could tell I was starting to relax, because I began composing a few poems. Here are five.

Memorial Day
Depthless night glitters with
strewn stars, fireflies --
my fingers glow

Drunk Again
Pollen-heavy bee
clambers over jungle gym
of grass

Nude Brook
Waterfall-smooth hair
flows over shoulders of stone,
laughing

Summer
Kids twine legs, thighs,
bellies smooth, eyes soft --
even the trees sigh

Clam House
Over coffee, clams,
we talk of Father,
shadows crawling