Well, dear readers, yesterday I laid down piano tracks for all but three of the new Nudie Musical songs and I must say they sounded pretty good. We’ll do the other three fershluganah songs on Saturday and then Lisa Richard and Guy Haines will do the fershluganah demo vocals on Tuesday afternoon. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too? I still have to adjust some fershluganah lyrics prior to Tuesday, but all in all I think the new songs are all good additions – most of them are plot and character songs and there is one additional production number which involves the stunt c#*k.
Last night I had a brief visit with my fershluganah pals Penny Orloff and Jane Wagner Lassner, both of whom I’ve known since long ago. Penny’s uncle, which I’ve probably already mentioned, was in business with my father, and after she read Benjamin Kritzer her first comment was, “I remember the hanging salami on the porch.” I’ve also gotten several e-mails from classmates.com folks (I’d posted there in a thread about one of the movie theaters mentioned in the book) who bought the book and really liked it. One of them, in fact, worked at the Picfair in the late fifties, so I’m sure I must have seen him there on many a Saturday afternoon.
Well, I have a crazy idea – why don’t we all click on the fershluganah Unseemly Button below because don’t I have excellent questions to answer in a timely fashion (khaki pants and a polo shirt)?
I’ll go into details later, but I do want to remind everyone that I’m doing a fershluganah signing for Benjamin Kritzer (and reading, too) at Barnes and Noble at The Grove (next to the Farmer’s Market) here in Los Angeles, California. It’s on Saturday the 18th, and I do hope anyone in the area will stop on by and say “hey”. Has anyone noticed how many times I’ve used the fershluganah word “fershluganah” already?
And now, without further ado, the answers to your excellent questions in a timely fashion.
Jrand55 asks is there a particular musical staging of a song on film that is perfect in movement, lyric, casting and orchestration for me – one I always like to watch. Several – among the ones I never tire of, that to me are sublime and perfect in every way, shape and form (not necessarily in that order): Pick Yourself Up from Swing Time, Never Gonna Dance from Swing Time (stunning), Fit as a Fiddle (one of my all-time favorite movie musical moments – perfection in every way) from Singin’ in the Rain, the title song from Singin’ In the Rain, Shine on my Shoes from The Band Wagon and the entire Prologue from West Side Story.
Donna asks why do some copyright owners of songs give those seeking permission to use their work in recordings, compilations or works of fiction or non-fiction such a hard time. Well, they can’t give a hard time to anyone in terms of recording if the song has already been recorded. As long as the artist files for a mechanical royalty and pays said royalty, they can record whatever they choose and perform it however they like. In fiction or non, where a few lines of a song are quoted, I don’t think it’s really necessary to get permission – over a certain amount of lines it probably is, but I think quoting for books should not be subject to any permissions – I find it ridiculous.
Craig asks if there will be a CD included with Kritzerland, and if so, can I divulge a few tracks? Yes, there will be a CD and as with the last book it will only be available if the book is purchased through haineshisway.com. Kritzerland is loaded with song references so we won’t do all of them – but there will be at least five or six tracks. The only one I’ll divulge right now, and only because I’ve always wanted Guy Haines to sing it, is Poor Little Fool, the Ricky Nelson classic. Have I seen the film Donnie Darko? I have not, but will check it out.
William E. Lurie asks what percentage of Benjamin Kritzer was actual (based on my actual life) and what percent was made up? I would say seventy-five percent was pretty factually correct (of course, sometimes I embellish to make whatever point I need to make) and the other twenty-five percent was fiction. The new book is probably more like eighty-five percent factual to fifteen percent fiction. Since I’ve stopped producing CDs for the time being (this may change sooner than anyone thinks, depending on the events of the next month) what is Vinnie doing? Vinnie’s been working on some film projects, working with Pro Tools. We’re looking forward to doing more things together soon. If I come across a really long interview on the computer, do I read it off the screen or do I print it out – I think I always read it off the screen.
Pam asks if our Unseemly Chat Room is only available at the scheduled times or if it will be open for peole to drop by. For now, it will only be open at the scheduled times, normally once-a-week. There are various and sundried reasons for this. However, there may be last minute chats scheduled when and if a special guest is available, which is why you must check in here at haineshisway.com often.
Jennifer asks if I can’t understand what’s going on in the French documentaries I’ve been watching (on Jacques Demy) what is so delightful about them? Well, they’re chockfull of rare clips, that’s for starters. Plus, I like seeing Catherine Deneuve anytime, even if I can’t understand what the hell she’s talking about. On the Young Girls of Rochefort documentary, there’s a ton of behind the scenes footage taken from the shooting of the film, and one doesn’t need to understand anything to enjoy it.
Jose asks if I know if the physical size of orchestra pits has gotten smaller through the years, as older shows had bigger orchestras. I do think they’ve shrunk, although I don’t have any concrete information to share. But pit bands used to be twenty-five, sometimes a bit more, and now the pits are fairly crowed at eighteen. Sometimes they put people in other rooms, but this is frequently done so that the mixer can get separation and have more control over his mix.
Kerry asks have I ever beefed up the orchestra for my recordings of shows. Yes – we added seven or eight more strings for The King and I, we added a whole string section for the revival of Dolly, I added orchestrations (by Lanny Meyers) for Hey, Love (originally done with just piano, I believe – we have seven pieces), and I think we added percussion to Little by Little, but I can’t swear it without looking at the album
Michael asks if Jason Graae shaved his chest hair for the cover to You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (Jason has chest hair in a photo from Forbidden Broadway) – yes, he did, on his own – he liked the look of it. In the Lerner, Loewe, Lane and Friends benefit, why are the people laughing during Guy Haines’ song? Because these showgirls kept blocking his face with feathers and balloons and all manner of things. Can I say one or two sentences about the gentlemen who arranged the music for my CDs of Titanic: The Ultimate Collection and Superman: The Ultimate Collection. Well, the conductor is a pal of mine, Randy Miller, who’s quite a talented film composer. The orchestrations were done by the late and the great Donald Johnston who passed away not that long ago at much too young an age. He also orchestrated The Night of the Hunter and he was brilliant and a wonderful person. The same team did a third album you haven’t mentioned, called Monster Mania: Music from the Godzilla Films – it’s almost my favorite of the three.
KT asks how Luckie is doing? Sometimes good, sometimes not. I’m being as patient as I know how, but my friend Penny said that she simply might not be the dog for me. Penny thinks she’s in this servile mode and that in peeing she thinks she’s showing me some kind of servility. Well, poop on that. Well, actually, let’s not give her any ideas. I’ve been taking her in the car a lot, which she loves, but suddenly, for the last three days when I open the door for her to get out (she’s always been fine getting out, no problems ever) she gets nervous, as if I were sticking a fork into her nostril, and won’t come out – when I nicely try to cajole her out, she pees. Last night, she did a little pee in the hallway for no reason when I was walking past her (she reacted to my walking past her as if I were kicking her like a football) so I put her outside in her little area (her first time at night) and I went off to see Jane and Penny and she was out there for two hours. Well, when I got home and let her in, I have never seen her like that – she hated being out there at night, so maybe she learned something finally. We shall see. What is my astrological sign? Out to Lunch. Saggitarius.
Hapgood asks what it is that determines the quality of the orchestration. Why is one really good and another really bad? Well, it’s all subjective, I suppose. But, some bland orchestrators just ascribe the notes to the various instruments without giving much thought to what colors those instruments might actually bring to the music and what’s being said in the song lyrically. Tunick’s orchestrations for Sondheim are prime examples of someone who knows how to choose instruments that get under the skin of the lyric and the music. Listen to The Road You Didn’t Take – putting that weird little insistent nagging motif in the French horn is wonderful writing – no other instrument would have the same effect, and yet it could be assigned to a flute, a trumpet, a harp or anything else. It’s all about color and variety and serving the song, and some simply do it better than others. Why do I call Mr. Mark Bakalor Mr. Bark Makalor? Oh, I don’t know, it came to me in a fevered moment of impropriety and I just did it, willy-nilly and also nilly-willy. What was my most recent stage acting job? And my most recent acting job of any type? Stage – it’s been quite awhile, but, as a favor, I took part in a staged reading of Wright and Forrest’s Betting on Bertie musical back in 1992, I think. The last actual stage play I did was my show, The Good One in 1984. Last acting job of any type – well, if you call it “acting” I did do an episode of the Penn and Teller show I just worked on. And I’ve done the odd thing over the last ten years whenever my pal David Wechter needs someone amusing for something. Did I ever appear in a world premiere play and what is my opinion of the experience? You know, the only world premiere plays or musicals I’ve done were my own (I’ve done LA premieres, certainly, of other things). One of my shows, Together Again, had quite a troublesome birthing, so it was a crazy time – terribly harmed by the fact that I was also appearing in it and directing it. Bad mistake. When will there be more concrete information on Nudie Musical and why have there been no mentions of it on Playbill.com, like other in-development musicals? We were waiting until I finished my first pass. I’m not a fan of too much publicity too far in advance, but there will be a press release about the film and Nudie within the next few weeks.
Td posits that time has stood still for me. Everything is right in my world and I’ve been given a valuable gift. I have forty-eight eternal hours to use or make use of this generous gift. So, what is the gift and what will I be doing with the gift for forty-eight hours. This is the most obtuse question I’ve ever seen. This question is so obtuse that I find myself marveling over its very obtuseness. Let me put it this way: This question is obtuse. It’s obtuse for Bruce although I’m not offering an excuse and will answer it fully to the best of my ability and I shall try to be obtuse in doing so. My valuable gift is a magic wand, and in my forty-eight hours I shall use my magic wand to create peace and harmony for as many who need and deserve it, banish hunger, create nice living spaces for everyone, use it to remove evil evil people from the face of the earth, and generally make the world a better place in which to live. Oh, and I’d abolish income tax. By the way (BTW, in Internet lingo) have I mentioned that this question was obtuse?
Well, dear readers, there you have them, the answers to your excellent questions. For now, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must have supper with Tammy Minoff, I must have a massage, I must write, I must walk around the house so that my dog can think I’m smacking her with a broom handle, I must, in short or long, get crackin’. Oh, and our very own Brent Barrett rang me yesterday – he’s coming into town and we’re lunching tomorrow. Won’t that be fun? Today’s topic of discussion: You are having someone very special over for dinner. What perfect meal will you be preparing them – your favorite and best meal from start to finish, from soup to nuts, from top to bottom, from bottom to top. Leave no details out. Post away, my pretties.