Well, dear readers, I had a most marvelously marvelous dinner with Muse Margaret and her ever-lovin’ Richard last night at their cozy home. I arrived at six and we chatted before dinner and as always the chatter is hilarious, irreverent, and we rail on about everything, especially the idiocy of what goes on these days. That idiocy, if you must know, had reached epic proportions this year. Dinner was my favorite Margaret meal – that Ritz cracker chicken thing she does – absolutely yummilicious, plus some rice pilaf, some tomatoes and avocado in a vinaigrette, and one piece of corn bread, all great.
After dinner we took a walk and that was very nice. When we came back we had our dessert – Margaret made a very chocolaty chocolate cake and it was most excellently excellent. We talked a lot about Margaret’s daddy, the great Dave Willock, especially his appearances with Jack Benny. All in all, a splendid time was had by all.
Prior to that, I got almost eight hours of sleep. Once up, I answered e-mails, had telephonic conversations, and then went to the piano and continued working on the song I began the day before, the one in Ab. I had one idea for the bridge, musically, but it didn’t feel right for me, so I banged my head against a wall for a while, but nothing really came to me. Instead I went to the computer and wrote the third verse, and fixed a couple of problems in verses one and two – just the perfectionist in me.
I did some banking, picked up one little package, then came right back home. I went back to the piano and worked on the bridge but I still didn’t like anything and was therefore unable to even contemplate what the bridge lyric would be. Then I listened to the recording I’d made to make sure I remembered everything correctly and suddenly I heard what was obviously just an improvised bridge and I really liked it – hadn’t even remembered I’d done that. So, I took that idea to the piano, finessed it, then went back to the computer and wrote a lyric – that took a while but I roughed it out and I knew the ideas were right but that the execution was a little raw. Then I moseyed on over to the dinner.
When I got home, I played through the song with the new bridge, finessed a few things, and smoothed out the lyric, then sent it to Doug, who loved it. The fact is, I’ve been trying for three decades to write a song with this title and I’ve never been able to figure out how. But I asked Doug for a certain kind of scene and he wrote exactly what I hoped for and I knew this song would work perfectly if I could just figure it out, which I couldn’t – until I came up with the cute tune and that gave me the way into the lyric and once I had the first few lines I knew I was on the right track, even though I set up a rather crazy rhyme scheme that I then had to be true to with no cheating, which I was. So, that’s another song down and now I mush on to whatever the next one is. Have I mentioned what the show is we’re working on?
Today, I must write the commentary, another set of liner notes, and figure out exactly when we’ll announce the two new releases – after that announcement, it will be at least two weeks until the next one or two. I have a lunch meeting, hopefully I’ll pick up some packages, then I have a work session for the Kritzerland show, then more work and at some point I’ll finally relax and perhaps watch something.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals, more writing, more work at the piano, more prepping new release announcements, then on Saturday we do our second singing workshop at the Group Rep – we’re doing these so I can work with their folks and get the lay of the land, since the majority if not the entire company will be comprised of company members, save for some kid performers. Then the following week is the Kritzerland rehearsal week and a brand new month.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write commentary, write liner notes, figure out our release announcement date (this week), have a lunch meeting, hopefully pick up packages, have a work session, work at the piano, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a lovely dinner with the Muse and her hubby, and happy to have finished a new song, which, when you think about it, has been thirty years in the making.