Well, dear readers, is this month really coming to an end in a few days? How did that happen? It just boggles my already boggled mind. I remember when a year seemed an eternity. Now it seems like a fortnight and I don’t even know what that is. Well, there’s nothing to do about it. One can only go with the flow or, at the very least, flow with the go or vice versa or even versa vice. Time marches on and that’s the way of the world and all one can do is be an observer in the passing parade or of the passing parade if you don’t like being in parades.
Yesterday wasn’t a bad day at all. I did make the decision to move the signing up one week to April 12, since Jews and Catholics decided that their holidays should happen back-to-back. Is it any wonder that I will have no part in any religion that can’t be consistent? Where was I? Oh, yes, I moved the signing up by a week and now I’m sure that everyone will tell me all about how that’s the ONE day they can’t attend the signing. And when they do tell me that, I will just turn into Ralph Kramden and say, “To the moon!” I didn’t get quite enough sleep, then got up and did my morning ablutions. I didn’t have much time for anything else since I had to be at LACC at eleven for a quick look at what the set designer was thinking. He showed me a “virtual” look at it on his computer and he also had a little model with him. He’s really been clever about the space in our black box theater and I was quite tickled with what he’d come up with. I guess I’ll say that the first thing I asked for was for the set to be in black-and-white like the cartoon panel. And that looks really good. It’s very cleverly done, with a couple of different levels and a place for our onstage band to live. I made only a couple of suggestions for additional set pieces and asked for one piece of stairs to go away to allow more playing room on one of the levels.
That only took about fifteen minutes, and I then headed back to the Valley and went and grabbed a cup of soup and a sandwich. In addition to grabbing them, I also ate them, which I thought was very clever of me. I then found out the Kritzerland show is about ten chairs away from selling out, which is lovely. A few of the LACC kids are coming, so that will be fun.
Then we had a Sandy and Lanny work session. We ran the two songs we just got lead sheets for, and those will work very well. One of them is her favorite of all we’re doing. We then played through everything – we’ve got nine songs so far. As soon as they left, I actually got another lead sheet, so I spent time proofing that and then sending those fixes so they could be implemented. Then I went and picked up one lonesome package, then came back home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched the first half of episode two of season two of Sherlock – The Hound of Baskerville, a fun updating of that classic tale. I’ll finish that today at some point. After that it was time to mosey on over to the engineer’s house to begin mixing the second session’s material for And the World Goes Round. We only did four songs (there was much less material to record the second day), but two of them were doozies and required so much surgery it wasn’t even funny, although we were laughing throughout the ordeal. The surgery, of course, involved out trumpet, trombone and reed player. Thankfully, on one of the songs we had two other takes banked and the other song one other take. We sometimes had to go note by note, grabbing the good notes from the other takes to make a perfectly played phrase, but by the end of it, we’d pretty much salvaged and saved two numbers I could have sworn would have to have had the horns replaced. That kind of surgery is just slow going and it will continue this evening, although I’m hoping we can get through more than four songs.
After that, I stopped at Gelson’s and got a few teriyaki drumettes and some low-cal cheese and crackers, which I ate when I got home. It hit the spot and I don’t think was too damaging, calorie-wise. Then I caught up on e-mails and other stuff.
Today, I have to type some lyrics in the morning so I can get Mr. Lead Sheet man two or three more songs to work on. Then I have a production meeting at two for about forty minutes, then I’ll come right back and eat, hopefully pick up some packages, and then it’s another night of mixing.
Tomorrow is more of the same without the mixing. I was going to try and see a show, but it’s just too much of a drive in Friday traffic, so I’ll stay here and get things done. The weekend will hopefully be restful because next week is going to be very busy with Kritzerland rehearsals, getting books shipped (if they arrive in time – the helper leaves town for seven days on April 2), a meet and greet for the Abner cast, more Kritzerland rehearsals, prepping a new release, a stumble-through and then sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, type lyrics, attend a production meeting, hopefully pick up packages, eat and have another mixing session. Today’s topic of discussion: When you were growing up were there any religious holidays you most looked forward to, and were there any you dreaded? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall arise and continue to go with the flow because there is no stopping the onwardness of time.