Well, dear readers, the nightmare is over. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, the Low Speed Internet nightmare is over. At eleven o’clock yesterday morning, Mr. Time Warner Man arrived. Before doing anything, he tested the signal directly from the cable and pronounced it really strong. He then hooked up the new high-end modem and had it working in seconds. He told me to try a website – I tried this here website and voila – no jerkiness loading and everything moving so fast it was amazing. Then we went to the speed test site and tested the speed. The fried old modem’s speed was an appalling 0.26 – I was told anything under a 10 was a joke and positively primitive. The speed of the new modem? 26! Cookin’ with gas, baby. But the real test was going to be You Tube. I went there, it loaded instantly and I went to that Three Friends video, clicked on it and it played so fast and straight through with no stops, no stutters or hiccups or buffering – it was, in a word, fantastic.
He left and I called Apple and did the update for the Time Capsule because I wanted them on the phone with me just in case. First there was a new version, so I uploaded that – the old modem would have caused that update to take forty minutes or so if it did it at all – the new modem did it in about forty seconds. Then we did the firmware update. The Time Capsule then restarted and about a minute later it had found the modem automatically and that was that. What a pleasure to finally have my High Speed Internet back and speedier than ever.
Prior to that Mr. Sprinkler Man came and he’s going to be replacing several sprinkler heads come next Wednesday. After all that, I did a three-mile jog, finally got approval for the packaging of Monday’s new release, so that’s on its way to the printer now, picked up no packages, and merrily played on the Internet, whizzing here and there like a speed freak. I had several long telephonic calls, a visit from Richard Jones, and I prepped the eBlast for Monday’s announcement. Then it was time to mosey on over to The Gardenia to see singer Robin Spangler doing a tribute act to the three Linda Ronstadt/Nelson Riddle albums.
I met my new pal Jessica Gaynes there (daughter of my old pal Ed Gaynes) and we supped. I have to say, the salmon was as good as any salmon I’ve had anywhere – just a terrifically fresh and well-prepared hunk of fish and I ate it all up. Jessica also had it and enjoyed it. Miss Andrea Marcovicci was sitting next to us, so we had a nice chat until her dinner date arrived. I knew a lot of people there, so that was fun, plus Jessica is fun, too. Then the act began.
It was the first time Robin’s done the act, so I’m sure she’ll be honing it. This kind of act, no matter how well done, is always a little baffling to me – but that’s just my cabaret sensibilities. I always want the act I’m seeing to have really personal connections to the singer, even if it’s just a tribute act, and this one could use a little more of that. She’s a beautiful woman and the songs are certainly classics. She had a four-piece band, which is HUGE for the Gardenia – piano, bass, drums and guitar. After that, I came directly home – well, not that directly since they were doing road work on Laurel Canyon – after sitting in that crap for five minutes I pulled a U-turn and took Nichols Canyon home – there was no traffic there at all. So, all in all, a perfectly pleasant day.
Continuing our Kritzer songs, there’s the second to last one from Kritzerland – this song is the heart of the second book, which is about Benjamin’s only close childhood friendship that doesn’t end well. You’ll know the song right away – it was a favorite of mine as a youngster. Vocal is by Guy Haines, and the track is arranged by Grant Geissman and me.
Today, she of the Evil Eye will be here early and I’ll go do a jog. I was thinking about going to the Hollywood Show but it’s such a schlep that I just don’t think I want to. So, I’ll probably eat something, hopefully pick up some packages, and then I have a two-hour work session with the musical director of the Kritzerland show. I have some liner notes to start, too.
Tomorrow, I’m just going to try to relax, although there’s a party for author George Clayton Johnson at Mystery and Imagination Books, and I may go attend that for an hour or so. Next week is busy – announcing our new title, prepping the title that follows that, finishing liner notes, making a show order and writing the contextual commentary (I’ve been really liking getting that done really early so I can just finesse it at my leisure over the next three weeks). Oh, and I’m happy to announce the cast of the August Kritzerland show, which is called The Music Men – The Songs of Meredith Willson and Gene de Paul. Our cast includes Allen Everman, Ashley Fox Linton, Jane Noseworthy, Charlotte Mary Wen, and Robert Yacko, along with Justin Jones, Bruce Merkle, and David Zack – the latter two fellows have appeared in several Outside the Box episodes in the ensemble), and our very special guest star, the beautiful and amazing Sue Raney. And maybe a couple of surprises, too. And then the East Coast Singer arrives and we meet the day before we start recording her new album. I have other meetings and meals, too, then on Saturday it’s day one of the session, Sunday we finish the band, and Monday and Tuesday evenings we do the final vocals. And somewhere in there we’ll have a day of rehearsing her Ira Gershwin show she’s doing in August. So, no days off until after the session is complete.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, eat, have a work session, and either relax or see a show. Today’s topic of discussion: Who are your favorite female singers of the 1950s and 1960s? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland after posting these here notes via the new and improved High Speed Internet. Here’s another What If clip in honor of doing the show nine years ago – and I should mention, of course, the costumes were done by Amy Adams – yes, that Amy Adams – this one is what if Alan Menken and Howard Ashman instead of writing Beauty and the Beast, had written Phantom of the Opera instead? And it goes something like this.