Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because I must be up at dawn’s crack to announce the final two Kritzerland releases of 2014. And they are: The world premiere release of the soundtrack to the hugely popular 1979 film, Breaking Away. The film is basically scored with classical music as adapted by the great Patrick Williams, who was nominated for an Oscar for it. But, he’d first written an original score that had only a couple of the classical bits in it. In the end, Peter Yates, the director, opted for 90% classical and Williams ended up adapting more stuff and saw most of his original score thrown out. For this release you get it all – all the classical pieces and all of Williams’ original dramatic score cues. Most of the latter are in the bonus section, but we’ve taken the liberty of putting a handful of them into the score presentation because they work so wonderfully there and it makes for a better listening experience. Here is the cover. Don’t wait too long on this one – this movie has a humungous number of loyal fans.
Our second release is a reissue of the old Bay Cities album, Classical Broadway, which I produced way back in 1992, just prior to my starting at Varese Sarabande. The CD is concert music by four of Broadway’s best composers – Cy Coleman, John Kander, Harvey Schmidt and Charles Strouse. The music is surprising and delightful and entrancing. The artists include well known soprano Carol Vaness, and pianists Seth Rudetsky and Harvey Schmidt. The album has been completely and freshly remastered and the sound is much better and more pleasing now. Here’s the cover.
Yesterday, I slept about eight hours, got up, answered e-mails, got back into bed and was the laziest boy in town. Then I got up again at about eleven-thirty. I did some work on the computer, and then I moseyed on over to our very own Grant Geissman’s home environment to meet the new member of the household, Baxter, their new puppy. Since I was the first to meet their last dog, Tucker, it was only right that I be the first non-family member to meet Baxter. It was my strong suggestion that they get a new dog right away, because otherwise getting through the holidays without Tucker would have been very difficult. Baxter is the same kind of dog (a springer spaniel, I think) and is adorable. He’s very skittish and shy of strangers, but I got him to eat a treat from my hand in short order. He’s playful and fun and a wonderfully wonderful addition to the Geissman household.
After that, I picked up no packages and no mail (I hadn’t gone on Saturday and thought there might be something, but alas, no), then came home. I did a bit of work at the piano, then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched the first forty minutes of Judgment at Nuremburg, a Stanley Kramer film, written by Abby Mann and starring an incredible cast of players, including Spencer Tracy, Maximillian Schell, Richard Widmark, Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland and an amazing array of character actors. I’ll have more to say about film and the transfer when I’ve finished it today.
Then it was time to gather up my friend for dinner at The Smoke House. I haven’t seen said friend in close to two decades, so it was really nice catching up with her and hearing what’s been going on. Dinner was, as always, stellar – we both had prime rib. She started with a wedge and I with a cup of clam chowder. Of course we had some garlic cheese bread, and for her side she had a baked potato and for mine I had creamed spinach. Conversation was sparkling, and we laughed and laughed and just when we thought we could laugh no more, we laughed again. After, we came back to my house and chatted for a bit longer and I gave her a copy of There’s Mel, There’s Woody and There’s You, since she was around for some of what went on towards the end of that book. I took her home, and then Kyra Da Costa came by and picked up three And the World Goes Round CDs to give to her family for Christmas. We got all the last-minute stuff shipped out over the weekend and the last of it will go out this morning. Also, the Christmas lights that the helper had strung and which were causing the breaker in the living room to completely shut down after about thirty seconds, are finally working thanks to her solution of getting a thing with a power surge protector. Once we plugged that in and then plugged the lights into that, everything worked splendidly.
Today, I shall be up at six in the morning to announce, then I’ll probably go back to bed. Then Heather Hoppus and daughter Jenna Lea Rosen are coming by, with a boy in tow who’ll be doing the January Kritzerland show. I’ll hear him sing the one song he’s definitely doing, and then after I hear his voice, I’ll choose his second song for him. Then we’ll go have some lunch. Then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll hopefully print out a LOT of orders, and I will relax and begin my vacation by making more book notes for the new novel and doing some work on the monologues I’m writing for the new show.
The rest of the week will be more of the same. Wednesday night is, of course, our annual Christmas Eve Do, so there will be a lot of chopping and mincing and preparing to do for the Do. On Thursday I attend Cissy Wechter’s Christmas Day partay, and I’ll also hopefully see the Darling Daughter.™ Then I just relax and do whatever I damn well feel like doing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, announce, visit with Jenna and her mom and the boy who’ll be doing our show, hopefully pick up packages, hopefully print out a LOT of orders, eat and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What were the highlights of your 2014? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall arise at dawn’s crack.