Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
July 13, 2008:

THE POINT

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it has come to my attention that it is Sunday. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you find such information? Nowhere, that’s where. We keep you up to date and informed, like CNN (Celia’s Nice Noodles? Calling Nanette Newman? Creepy New Nuggets?). Or, “Give us twenty-two minutes, we’ll give you the world,” like KFWB (Kimmel’s Fine White Brie? King Farouk Wins Bagette? Kindly Financier Wants Babe?). I have lost my point. I had a point, but I’ve lost it. The point is kaput, gone with the wind, goneski. Therefore, I will mush on, sans point. Who needs a point anyway? Points are very overrated. Speaking of overrated, yesterday was a perfectly nice day in which perfectly nice things occurred at varying times and places. For example, I got up. That was perfectly nice. I did an early two-mile jog right after she of the Evil Eye arrived. Then I showered and toddled off to a notes session with Kevin and Sean at nearby Panera. We were there for close to two hours, going over very specific things, both performance-wise, and overall feel-wise. It was a really good session. During my jog, I finally figured out what was bugging me about one of Sean’s solos, and whilst jogging I completely rethought the song’s set-up patter, and also completely rethought the arrangement of the song. I finally got it to mean something, and the new layout and arrangement of the song will really help. Sean (and Kevin) were both really happy with what I came up with, so I’ll send along those changes to the musical director and he can fix up the chart. It’s really going to make all the difference in the world for both Sean and the song, because the set up now let’s Sean have a reason and a purpose in singing the song, and the song has context and meaning, whereas up to now it was just presentational and Sean singing a song. That’s all I’m concentrating on now – making the show less presentational and more personal, while keeping all its laughs and fun. Basically, focusing on the guys and letting some of the numbers resonate personally with them. It’s what the show was lacking, but I didn’t really realize it until Friday morning – the personal touch, the heart. We’re on the right road to getting it now (I threw in some quick stuff for the run-through, but now all that will get written properly). After that, I shipped a few packages, then headed over to the Burbank Marriott hotel for the Hollywood Collector’s Show. The usual entrance was blocked off, so I went around to the side entrance. The parking lot was a zoo because they’ve ripped up half of it, so there are half the parking spaces now. And it’s not that the show’s attendees were using all the spaces – it was mostly the hotel guests. For a Saturday at 12:30 the show was sparsely attended. Oh, there was a steady stream of people, but nothing like even the smaller crowds I’m used to seeing. I think the economy and air fares have taken their toll, and I also think that after all these years of this show happening four times a year, that people are just burned out of seeing basically the same celebrities over and over. In today’s show, the only real heavyweight name was Celeste Holm and, sadly, she had virtually no line at her table, just occasional people stopping by, which was how it was at every table. Some celebs just sat there, with no one visiting or buying. There was a reunion of some of the Grease movie people, and they seemed to do okay, although five years ago they would have had lines out the door. The film’s director, Randall Kleiser, sat at his table the entire time I was there, with nary a person in sight. I hung out with Barry Pearl for a while, and saw my pal Annette Cardona (Cha-Cha in the film), and had a nice little chat with Eddie Deezen, who is always so nice to me. As I wandered around, I saw George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, Dorian Harewood, Catherine Hicks, Amy Dolenz, Robert Easton, Rod McKuen, and many others (although a lot less celebs than normal). I chatted with my old friend Candy Clark, and my old school chum, Harrison Page, and I spent a little time talking to my new chum, Bridget Hanley, who was there with Druxy. I spoke to some of my dealer friends, too, who were all bemoaning the bad turnout (I gather Friday was even worse). There were, in fact, many less dealers this time around, because, I’m guessing, it’s no longer worth it to make the trip or pay for their table. I always have a good time at the show, but I think it’s time for its presenter to rethink what he’s doing. If it were me, I’d immediately go to twice a year – that way I could bulk up on the celebs and get a lot more dealers in the room. I’d also forget Friday and go back to Sunday, which, I gather, is what’s going to happen come October’s show.

After the show, I came home and listened to some new CDs – a whole slew of new titles were left for me yesterday, and I’ve got a few days of good listening ahead of me. I was also given a book at the show, called Richmond 9-5171 – that was the number of the Olympic Auditorium in LA, and home to the great, golden days of wrestling, which is what this book is about. In the introduction, the author tells about the first match he saw at the Olympic when he was a young teen – and I was there for that match and remember it vividly. Those of you who’ve read Kritzer Time, know that I loved going to wrestling and went every Wednesday night, because my father got press seats (one of the wrestling big-wigs frequented my father’s restaurant). I sat in the first row and I loved every minute of it. And for those who haven’t read Kritzer Time, well, don’t you think it’s time you met Benjamin Kritzer and read his trilogy o’ books? They’re all available at www.kritzerland.com or amazon or other online bookstores. The copies at Kritzerland are, of course, signed. And books ordered there come with a CD of songs featured in the books (a CDR until I get pressed copies). But enough about me. In any case, I was also given a DVD filled with kinescopes of wrestling matches from back then. The quality was awful, as was the sound, and there was only one or two that were broadcasts of the Olympic Auditorium matches, but I did get to see my beloved Freddie Blassie and The Destroyer, but sadly there was no Tricky Ricky Starr, ballet dancer and wrestler. It was fun watching, though, and yes The Destroyer did his fabulous figure-four leg-lock.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I have the feeling there may just be a point waiting there.

I was wrong – there is no point anywhere in this section. I hate when that happens. But, let me tell you about today – today I’m going to jog, and begin recording some songs from The Hostage, or as much as I can remember of the songs from The Hostage, and I shall make some tuna pasta salad for my meal o’ the day, but I also intend to keep catching up on my CD listening – at some point I may watch a motion picture.

Tomorrow, I have a morning work session with Mr. Grant Geissman – I’m finally comping the vocals of the singer we recorded several weeks ago. We’re having three short sessions this week. Tuesday, I have a tentative afternoon meeting and it’s an exciting one, IF it happens. I probably won’t know until that morning. The rest of the week is filled with work sessions and meetings – and jogging.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, record some songs, then just relax and smell the roses or the coffee or the tuna pasta salad. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we? And maybe some of them will even have a point, which is more than I can say for these here notes.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved