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Rusty Cage (Alt-Country Acoustic Trio)

Field Value
Status Active
Type Personal / music

Description

Alt-country acoustic trio formed 2024 in Shoreline, WA: low-volume covers and originals for patios and small stages.

Key features / assets

  • Web: rustycagetrio.com
  • Cross-promotion: terracain.com — tie originals / recordings / narrative to the band push (links, posts, email handoffs as you define the split).
  • Social: Facebook page (posts, media, gigs)
  • Booking: Handled directly (Darcy) — not using the former Cloud Run booker.
  • Email: rustycagetrio@gmail.com — manual checks via gog CLI; daily inbox summary runs as a grok.com scheduled task on Darcy’s Grok account (Gmail connector) — 2026-05-10 (no longer Crusty/OpenClaw). See projects/crusty, Grok-Brief.
  • Set list: raw/Rusty Set List/Rusty Set List.md (~40 songs + keys); live charts in Songbook Pro (personal library + sets)
  • Harp mic (2026-06): custom clip-on harmonica mic (SM58 cartridge, 3D-printed shell, inline pot, XLR) — build write-up · OpenSCAD source → projects/music-production#harp-mic-clip-on-harmonica-mic-2026-06

Goals & ops

  • Cadence (2026-05): ~two gigs per month + full-band rehearsal every other week (steady rhythm vs one-off hustle).
  • Repeating gig: McMenamins Anderson School (Bothell).
  • Recent / upcoming (2026): Fri May 1 — Anderson School (played); Sat Jul 25 — Third Place Commons (Lake Forest Park).
  • Gig hunt since 2026-03-06: PNW venues (see source notes: gig-venues-pnw.md, Seattle north ~20–50mi / LFP); outreach drafts in flight.
  • Immediate next — one original: Finish Caterpillar Dream — mix/master + one release video — then cross-promote terracain.com and the trio (site, FB, show intros). Queued after that: Tangerine Sky, Technology (DAW notes in raw/).
  • Still parallel: press kit, cold emails to venues, FB + site upkeep.

Next steps — Caterpillar Dream recording + video (2026-06)

Scope (narrowed): One track, one video — ship Caterpillar Dream before picking up Tangerine Sky or Technology. darcymenard.com hub evolution stays parallel / light (don't block the drop).

Recording

  • Finalize mix/master for Caterpillar Dream (DAW notes in raw/).
  • Release-ready: consistent alt-country production (Neil / Willie / Cash lane).

Video (1–2 weeks)

  1. Reuse workflow: 90s clips + iPhone selfie + Grok Imagine visuals + remixes (cf. Feelin' the Rhythm).
  2. Caterpillar Dream: simple lyric video or terracain-tied narrative; harmonica/guitar in Tesla or home (low-volume trio aesthetic).
  3. Post: YouTube (@darcymenard), band FB, Spotify. SEO: alt-country Seattle, originals.

Distribution & promo

  • DistroKid / existing Spotify artist page.
  • Gigs: debut at Anderson School or Jul 25 Third Place Commons; ship FB/email capture (QR + stage ask) — see Reminder — Facebook signups.
  • Release → terracain.com + band site + channels.

Queued (after Caterpillar Dream)

Cadence

  • ~2 gigs/mo + rehearsal every other week; set list in raw/Rusty Set List/.
  • rustycagetrio@gmail.com digest via grok.com scheduled task (not Hermes).

Reminder — Facebook signups at gigs

Problem: Need a better mechanism to capture FB (page) interest while playing live — not just “we have a page,” but a low-friction path after the set (QR to like/follow, printed short URL, email list that feeds announcements, or a one-sentence stage ask + visible code). Decide the single default channel (e.g. FB follow vs mailing list) so stage patter stays consistent; test it once at the next show and iterate.

Set list sharing — Songbook Pro (2026-06-13)

Goal: Share lyrics, chords, and song form (verse/chorus/bridge markers) with bass, drums, and occasional accompanists — covers and originals alike.

Yes — Songbook Pro already supports this. Three tiers:

Approach Best for How
Songbook Pro Groups (recommended for Rusty Cage) Bass + drummer + core band — live sync, offline on gig day groups.songbookpro.app → create org → invite members → copy personal songs into shared library → build sets on web or app. Read-only / Editor / Admin permissions. One subscription covers the group (~$4/user/year, 21-day trial — pricing); members don’t need Solo licenses. App v23.0.17+ → Settings → Advanced → enable SongbookPro Groups.
Solo file share One-off handoff, no subscription yet Export set as .sbp (Share from set menu) or songs as ChordPro; recipient imports into their Solo app. No live sync — manual re-send on updates.
PDF print/export Guests who won’t install the app Set menu → Print (full charts) or Print Overview (running order only) → Save as PDF (Android) or share from print preview (iOS). No public read-only link.

What bandmates actually see: ChordPro-style charts — chords inline with lyrics + section headers ({c: Verse 1}, {c: Chorus}, etc.) for form. Guitar-forward, but bass reads chord roots; drums follow section labels (add {c: Intro}, {c: Outro}, tempo/tags as needed). For originals, author sections explicitly when building charts.

Suggested rollout:

  1. Start Groups trial → org e.g. “Rusty Cage” → invite bass + drums as Read-only.
  2. Migrate current set from personal Songbook Pro → shared library (app: add from personal library; or ChordPro import).
  3. Audit originals (Caterpillar Dream, etc.) — ensure every song has key + section structure not just chords.
  4. Occasional accompanists: invite as Read-only member or email PDF / ChordPro zip before the gig.

Not built-in: Drum notation, Nashville numbers-only view, or a public URL anyone can open without the app — if that becomes a recurring pain, a small web export (ChordPro → static HTML) is a separate project; Groups likely covers the trio first.

Tech stack

  • Static/marketing site, Facebook; no active Cloud Run booker.
  • Songbook Pro (+ Songbook Pro Groups when rolled out) — set lists, chord charts, band sync.

Raw sources

  • raw/projects.md (compiled 2026-04-10 from USER.md / MEMORY.md / context)
  • raw/Rusty Set List/Rusty Set List.md — performance set list (titles, artists, keys)

Known issues / notes

  • Source mentions external files (gig-venues-pnw.md, learning-plan/*) not present in this repo; link or copy into raw/ when available.