Acoustic Reflections-Scott Balsai

What you will get is a performance that would delight a listening audience as well as a socializing audience. I would play relaxing easy listening mostly original instrumental guitar music and will sing and play familiar covers that incorporate fingerstyle guitar picking similar to what I do with the instrumentals. All in all, it would be an easy listening performance.
I might also tell a few short stories between songs as intro to some of the songs if the environment is conducive to that. My volume would be appropriate to the venue size and purpose.
I would also have CD's available for sale for those who might want to take a little bit of the music with them to listen at their leisure in their car, or home, or where ever. If it's a benefit, I might even include some CD's as a gift to the organization to give away to their attendees as door prizes or to be bid on if there would be a silent auction..

"Acoustic Reflections" is what Scott Balsai calls the compositions he creates on his acoustic guitar. "Each piece," he says, "reflects a sliver of my life, but taken together, they can be seen as musical diary of 'tone poems' which reflect my life as a whole."
Having been born and reared in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from the 1950’s through the 1970’s, Balsai had the fortune of being located in an unusually rich musical milieu. Home of the “Godfrey Daniels” coffee house, Scott had the opportunity to cross paths, both on stage and off stage, with the likes of John Gorka, David Frey, and Steve Kimock, among others. In fact, Scott first learned his way around the guitar neck with some cursory help from Steve while they both were barely out of high school. In the late 1970's, he performed several times at the famous "Godfrey Daniels" coffee house before moving to Idaho.
In 1980 Scott walked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. (A couple of photographs he took while hiking the AT are today part of the graphics on two of his CD's.) He says he did this because he needed to think about what he would do with his life and with his guitar. Then in 1981, pulled by his love for the outdoors, he moved to Pocatello, Idaho where he became an English teacher in the Pocatello School District.
Although he has been retired from teaching since 2011, he says that,"...some of the most ardent and polite listeners of mine have been those students in my classes over the years that I have taught in the Pocatello School District. A few of those English students of mine also became guitar students during the lunch hour. I suppose the best thing I could have done with my guitar for most of my working career was to use it as a teaching tool in my classes, as I did. The apparent effect it had on my students and their learning was, and still is, more valuable to me then anything else I could have possibly done with it."
He hopes that his playing may inspire you too and bring you peace and joy in your life as well. He says, "If this happens, then all of the countless hours I have spent teaching myself to play have been all worthwhile."
Since living and teaching in Pocatello, Idaho, Scott has worked with a few local, and national, favorites such as Steve Eaton and his son Marcus Eaton. In the last ten years or so, he also has gotten to be good friends with such nationally recognized players as Bill Mize and Michael Gulezian, two of his favorite acoustic fingerstyle players. Both of these players have graciously encouraged Scott to become more active in performing out, recording, and getting more involved in the contemporary acoustic guitar scene.
Another influence of Scott’s is Will Ackerman. This becomes obvious when one sees Ackerman’s piece titled “Visiting” listed as number four on Scott’s third CD, Reflections of Maple and Mahogany. This is the only non-original piece out of 15 recordings on the CD. On this recording, one can hear a pleasant mix of Scott and Ackerman as Scott gives his interpretation of this piece. In his textual annotations, he then thanks Ackerman for the impetus for another of Scott’s own pieces on the CD titled “Sunday Visitors”.
Other influences of his include Ed Gerhard, Jorma Kaukonen, Alex De Grassi, Leo Kottke, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Duane Allman, Chris Proctor, Chet Atkins, Norman Blake, John Hartford as well as a host of famous finger pickin’ singer-songwriters such as Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Peter Paul and Mary, Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Jackson Brown, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Jerry Jeff Walker, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Don McLean, John Denver, Eric Anderson, Tom Rush, Steve Goodman, Arlo Guthrie, Doc and Merle Watson, Merle Travis, Clint Black and England’s Tir Na Nog, Amazing Blondel, John Martyn, Ralph McTell, John Renbourn, Richard Thompson,and many others.
Scott presently has 5 CD's. They include four instrumental CD's and one vocal CD with some of his favorite covers.

I usually bring my own sound system and control it myself. But should I get lucky and the venue provides its own sound then I might also bring an AER Compact 60 (as a potential monitor and signal source) as well as a Bose T1 ToneMatch mixer to plug into the house sound system. I also have other back-up sound devices such as pre-amps and DI Boxes should my standard system not work for some reason. I always bring my own mic and stand, but am not opposed to using a house mic and stand.
A carpet under the musician and sound system of some sort can also help with controlling feedback. I generally bring my own carpet, but if the venue is completely carpeted from wall to wall this is also good.
I generally don't do lighting myself, but if there is some at the venue, that is fine.
Stages are nice, but generally they are not necessary. An area or space of about 15 feet by 15 feet for me to set up my gear and for me to sit and play is all that I need.
If I am going to be outside, weather may be a concern for obvious reasons involving electricity. A canopy, tent, or roof of some sort would be nice to keep me shaded from the hot sun or from the rain and to protect my guitars and sound system. If none are available, I can bring my own.
At all venues, I would need a power source with a good three pronged grounded outlet that can accommodate a surge protector into which I would be plugging my gear should I be doing my own sound.