I took about 30 monkeys out to the Vienna VA coffeehouse he played at about a year ago, and maybe 50 or so to the last Birchmere concert in August, passed them out and suggested the best moment to throw them. Each time, the throwing worked just fine, although the timing was a tad chaotic. This time I brought just over 100 monkeys ‘n’ things, and about two-thirds of the people got the timing right.

The whole point of the exercise was to create a Flying Tip Jar — there was a safety pin on each plushie, to which you could attach money or a friendly note. The animals are simply the vehicle by which the tips are delivered. My dream was that if the idea caught on, people would bring their own plushies to his concerts, and as the audience size got bigger, the effect would be an impressive plus for JoCo’s income.

Bottom line — when an artist supports his fans, I think the fans should figure out new ways to support the artist.