Well, dear readers, the birthday bash and concert were fun and I think everyone had a good time. I really didn’t know all that many people there, frankly (there about fifty). I left to mosey on over there at around three-fifteen, got four blocks and realized I left my cell phone at home. And it was like panic time and I was almost ready to turn around when I thought to myself, “Myself, what IS this?” People didn’t know from cell phones until the end of the 1980s and really not until the mid-1990s – somehow we all got along just fine without them. But I was like having a bad reaction and then I just got on the damn freeway and forgot about it. My goodness have we become slaves to our devices. It’s really incredible. They’re like a part of our anatomy. We pick up our cell phone and suddenly we’re like Sweeney Todd – “At last my arm is complete again!” I think every thinking human being should set aside one day a week as a no cell phone day. Once I got to the place, it was so nice to never look at it, and I never even missed it.
We did our sound check, made adjustments, sang and played through everything and we were all set to go. I brought Robert Yacko in to do it, and one of our women was from last year’s show, Maegan McConnell, and we had another female singer named Mariana Ramirez. And we also had a flutist, Sara Andon, who’s been making a name for herself in concert halls all over the world, working with Varese Sarabande a lot. So, that was fun.
The birthday boy was first – I’d asked him to just introduce me, but he likes to yak first and that he did – for about fifteen minutes, exactly like last year. But once the show began we were off and running. It was a tribute to the music of Ennio Morricone. I veered from my patter instantly, because in his fifteen-minute prologue he kept using an expression he’d heard – “Use it or lose it.” So, the first thing out of my mouth was, “Use it or lose it – I lost it about ten years ago so I can’t use it.” That got a nice laugh and on we went. I actually veered from the patter more than I usually do, just because they were responsive, and that’s always fun. But the biggest laugh of the night, which EVERYONE thought was off-the-cuff and a mistake, but which was absolutely written and planned was when I did the Orca, The Killer Whale introduction. I began by saying, “1975 was the year Jews took the world by storm.” Then I kind of looked at my paper (and they were already laughing) and then in classic Jack Benny, I said, “JAWS, sorry, 1975 was the year Jaws took the world be storm.” That laugh was really loud and really long, my favorite kind. I felt the program was a couple of numbers too long, but I do think it came in at around an hour and ten minutes, which is fine. The flute playing was beautiful, the singers did really well, and I kept it all hopping. We had many lovely comments after. I really do think I only knew three people out of the fifty, which was weird. I knew a lot more last year.
I left pretty quick after we finished – I hadn’t eaten all day, and I didn’t really want pasta. So, I stopped at Popeye’s on the way home and got two chicken breasts. They were out of biscuits and were willing to give me a third piece, but I told them they didn’t have to, and I was actually glad they didn’t have the biscuits. I came home and devoured both breasts in short order. They were really good.
Prior to all that, I’d gotten nine hours of sleep, then just relaxed and did some stuff on the computer. At some point I began a jog, but I was really not into it, so I just went a few blocks and came back home.
Today, I’ll relax until it’s time to mosey on over to LACC to do the second musical theater workshop, which I’m looking forward to. And it’s great that Alby Potts will be there to play. I’ll stop at the mail place to see if there are any packages. I’m thinking about playing one of the three songs I’ve written for the new revue – IF I do, I have to decide which will be best as a preview. We shall see. After, perhaps Alby and I will go have a meal somewhere – I’ve been craving Astroburger, so maybe that’s what we’ll do, or maybe just House of Pies up the street.
Tomorrow I have a lunch meeting and a lot of other stuff to do. And do send all excellent vibes and xylophones for packaging approval because I have to get the thing announced – it really should have been announced this morning. The rest of the week is meetings and meals, then a Thanksgiving Do with Barry Pearl and his ever-lovin’ Cindy, and then I’ll try to relax over the weekend, because then it’s our Kritzerland rehearsal week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, hopefully pick up packages, do a musical theater workshop, and eat. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite film scores of Ennio Morricone – just Google him if you don’t know what he wrote – there are over 400 titles and my guess is you probably know many of them. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I will pick up my cell phone and exclaim, “At last my arm is complete again!”