Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
August 1, 2013:

IT IS AUGUST

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it is August.  Can you believe it?  July flew by, like a gazelle driving a Nash Rambler.  Does anyone still drive a Nash Rambler?  Those who’ve read my first memoir know that I did, briefly – it was owned by my then in-laws.  It was an amusing car in certain ways and much more attractive than this thing I see people driving called the Smart Car.  Here is the type of Nash Rambler that I drove until we got our first car, a Toyota Corolla.

1956NashRamblerSuperSedan-b

Isn’t that an amusing car?  But what’s really amusing is that I’m talking about a Nash Rambler.  I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you read the words Nash Rambler as part of a daily thing called notes or a blog?  Nowhere, that’s where. But enough about the Nash Rambler – it’s August and it is my fervent hope and prayer that August will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful.

Yesterday was a fine little day.  I got just eight hours of sleep exactly and I really wanted to get nine or ten.  I got up, answered e-mails, printed out some orders (we’re getting low on Preminger at Fox), had a telephonic conversation and then went and had a patty melt in a very crowded Jerry’s Deli – no figuring THAT out, since it’s been empty as can be for the last week.  Then I picked up one little package and not one of the overdue ones.  I came home, did a three-mile jog and then buckled down, Winsocki and wrote some damn liner notes, which I finished and got to the designer.  That took most of the afternoon.  And then I watched another twenty minutes of Once Is Not Enough – it’s really the best way to watch.  There was a nice Lesbian scene with Alexis Smith and Melina Mercouri, and now Mr. David Janssen has come on the scene as a Norman Mailer-like novelist.  It’s utter trash and actually some of the worst utter trash ever – hard to believe it’s written by one of the writers of Casablanca, but there you are.

The engineer got home earlier than expected, so I drove over there and got to his place about 6:45.  We dove right in and ended up doing five songs, which was my limit.  That only leaves us six to do next Monday.  As always, it was tedious and painstaking work and even infuriating at times, but the joy comes when you play back the comped vocal for the first time and it sounds great and all of a piece.  Then you forget all about the hard work part.  Sometimes you make further adjustments, but mostly it’s there.  The songs are really wonderful and Lanny’s charts, even in the very rough mix we’re hearing when we comp, are stellar.  I am especially obsessed with his orchestration of my song, which is just unbelievably beautiful.  Sandy sounds great and the album is going to be pretty wonderful, I think.  We’ve decided that John needs to mix in the studio not his house.  Speakers will be better, and so will the room and environment, so that’s what we’ll hopefully do.  The plan is for us to finish the vocal comps, hopefully on Monday, and then the following Saturday he will have a full day of mixing and a half-day on Sunday.  He should be able to get everything to his liking in that amount of time.  Then I’ll come in and spend a half-day or even an evening session, finessing the mixes until I feel they’re perfect.  Then a week later, Lanny will be back and we’ll do one short evening session for him so he can offer his two centimes.  I don’t think he’ll have much to say, just little adjustments here and there – that’s all it usually is.  And that will be that.

Meanwhile, I’ve tried to book a flight to Washington and have had no luck whatsoever.  It’s very frustrating – there are either no seats for me (I must have an aisle seat or I don’t fly) or no non-stop flights with seats or the prices have doubled.  I’ll keep trying and hope that a seat frees up at some point soon.  If not, I’ll have to do things via Skype or iPad or whatever.  That’s not optimal but if it’s what has to be it’s what has to be.

After the comp session I came home and ate some snacks – cheese and crackers, low-cal candy, and some dried apricots was about it.  It took care of my hunger pangs.

Here’s a song of mine – we included it on the BK Rarities CD we gave to people who ordered the first memoir online.  This song was written for someone’s wedding.  I didn’t even know the people getting married very much – they were friends of my cousin Lori and her husband Zachary.  Since I had no idea of what kind of gift to buy, I wrote this song for their wedding, recorded it, and gave it to them.  I think they liked it and I hope they’re still married.  I really like the tune of this one and the lyric is simple, as it should be.  I think it should become a wedding staple, frankly.

23 Truly Married

Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep.  I’ll try to jog in the morning, then eat, then hopefully pick up some packages (especially overdue ones) and then we begin our Kritzerland rehearsal at three-thirty and it goes a little later than usual.

Tomorrow, we may have a little extra rehearsal for our replacement singer, but otherwise I’m just taking it easy since this is a working weekend.  Tomorrow is our stumble-through and then I’m sure a couple of us may go get something to eat.  Sunday is sound check and show and it looks like the darling daughter and her friend might be able to make it, which would be fun.  I think we’re getting close to a full house.  Monday we’ll finish comping and then the rest of the week is busy.  I think there might be a book fair the following Saturday.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, and have a rehearsal.  Today’s topic of discussion: If you could bring back any musical, what would you revive and who would be your ideal cast?  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland and welcome in the month of August, and it is my fervent hope and prayer that August will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful.

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