Yeah, yeah, technically
Artist's Retreat ‐
Staycation
2024 spills over
into the new year, but we're gonna keep this simple and not fret
over silly, minor points. I think
Artist's Retreat ‐
Staycation
2023 spilled over
into 2024, too. So, big deal.
Meanwhile, last evening into early this morning, I recorded the
second MIDI
strings part and another percussion part, this time double bass drums,
for the winter season song. The recording of both was planned, though
I wasn't sure exactly what MIDI instrument voices I would use. It
took me a while to find the right string voice because I needed
something that would blend well with the instrumentation that was
already there.
I had some hope that I would record an instrument solo during this
session, or at least start working one out, but I have yet to find
a MIDI voice that speaks to me as right for the song as it's shaping
up. I could do a bass guitar solo, using my new
DigiTech Bass Whammy Pitch Shift Bass Pedal,
but that wasn't in the plans for this song, and, believe it or not,
it doesn't seem like the right choice for this song. I'll probably
put a bass line in it, but even a solo where the bass has a traditional
sound to it doesn't feel right for this one.
I'm starting to have a strong affinity for my little winter season
song. What started out as a kind of experiment, a game of sorts,
has become more substantial or relevant to me. This whole concept
of taking a traditional song and reinventing it has yielded an
attractive result; well, one that I'm liking, anyway. In fact, as
I said, or at least alluded to, in another blog post, what I have
now is far removed from the song I used as the springboard. Mine
really no longer bears much resemblance to the other, if any.
Late night New Year's day, I added a double-bass drum part, another
MIDI
voice from
Logic Pro X.
Then, still in the Logic Pro MIDI world, on into early morning on
the Jan 2, I arranged and recorded the solo, a cello. The added
percussion and the cello solo brought something new to the song;
they engendered the new affection I'm feeling for the work. I wasn't
displeased with the song beforehand, but when I listened to playback,
I heard the whole recording with a different ear.
Yesterday I pulled out my
Epiphone Viola Bass,
which, if you notice on the left, happens to be the bass featured
in the "K.L. On Bass" icon. I worked out a large portion
of the bass line for the song, but I still have a lot left to work
out. At this point the bass part is rather bland and I will change
that. There are sections that need to be simple and straightforward,
but I also want to have some nice counter-melodic spots and some
good bass fills and I've hardley begun to create those moments.
Bottom line, once again I am OUT OF PRACTICE ! The last time
I played any of my basses, which was both this Viola bass and my
Epiphone Embassy Pro,
was when I wrote and recorded the theme music for the
promo trailer
for the
Dayton Theatre Guild
production of
Wednesday's Child;
that was in the late autumn of 2023! So, once again I have to
reacquaint my hands and my mind with the frets of my guitar.
Yes, I have gone more than a damned year without even pulling any
bass out of its case, much less doing anything close to woodshedding.
It's really pretty shameful and why I don't get to call myself a
"bassist" ‐‐ "bass player" is
barely justified. Needless to say, I wasn't ready to record the
bass line yesterday. We'll see if it can happen today: maybe, maybe
not....
Also needless to say, I haven't gotten to the vocal, or possibly
vocals, yet. I do hear a melody in my head but I don't think it's
what will end up in the song, at least not as it is. In a word, what
I hear at the moment is pretty unimpressive, one might even say
boring. At least it's not at all based on the melody of the traditional
song I used as the springboard for this song, so that's the right
idea. But other than that, what I end up composing when I get to it
needs to be far more interesting than what's holding the place in
line in my head right now. I'd love to have it created and recorded
before this artist's retreat ends, but that's tomorrow night, and I
don't see me getting there. For one thing, not only will I probably
run out of time, I'm also feeling a little congested so I may need
to get that cleared up first.
The view out my front door, late morning today. It's
not easy to tell, but there is snow fall in
the photo, but the flakes are fine. They've been
falling for quite a while, though, so....
Last evening my little
staycation
retreat technically came to a close and today I was supposed to
back in the world of
the rent-payer.
However, I get another day off from the rent-payer because of the
heavy snow we are experiencing in all of the
Ohio Valley,
so Artist's Retreat ‐
Staycation
2024 may have
gotten a one day extension; and since it's late morning and still
snowing, that potential extension might just expand to two days. But
eventually I'll have to go back to work, and sooner than I'd prefer.
Well, at least I don't hate my job, but I gotta tell ya, were it not
for the size of my debt, I would be a retired guy and the
"artist's retreat" would be the normal state of things.
But I do have that debt and I am not retired, so
the retreat will soon be over regardless of weather-related extensions.
The retreat has not been as prolific as I had hoped and planned, but
I knew I had put a lot on the agenda, and these days I am doing what
I can to not stress about things. These days I see many things to be
stressed over, so I adopted a
breath-deep-&-chill
attitude about whatever artistic progress I made or did not make
over the last fifteen and a half days. And there was a lot on the
agenda that did not get done, that I didn't even get to.
There was no movie editing. There are two DV movies at the top of
that list. First, there's a performance of Campaigns Inc. by
Will Allan,
which I had shot during the run at
The Guildfor Will so he could see the production of his play mounted
in his home town; he could not get to Dayton from L.A. because he
works for the
Los Angeles Dodgers
and they were in the
World Series,
so he couldn't get off work. The Dodgers were up against and reigned
over the New York Yankees,
by-the-way. Obviously Will knows I shot the footage, since I needed
his permission, and he's probably wondering just exactly when he'll
get the damned
final cut!
I also have footage I shot three years ago for a
music video
for one the pieces off my first album to be released,
Virtually Approximate Subterfuge.
It's the instrumental, "Cozy Anxious Chaos."
There are a couple other miscellanies DV movies to edit together,
but they are lower priorities.
The few people who frequent, or at least sometimes visit, this blog
‐‐ those people affectionately known as "you five
regulars" ‐‐ may know that I have two full albums
on the back-burner that need
mixing
and/or mastering.
One of them is an album of
ambient music,
which only needs to be mastered, actually: remastered. This
remastering could be done in less than an hour, so don't
ask me why I didn't get to it during the retreat; clearly it was
a matter of not being focused on it. I was so honed in on the
2025 Music Adventure
that it missed my radar screen. Same for the other album project,
which I recorded in the mid-eighties; that one needs both mixed and
mastered. It also needs a bass guitar line recorded for one song,
and there are a couple others that don't have a bass line that I'm
considering adding such to.
I also had intentions to get back to the manuscript for my
full-length play.
I haven't worked on it for months now. During this retreat I did
do a little bit of work on the
story bible
for the characters who inhabit the universe of the play. Yet, even
that was not a significant amount of work.
If you didn't already know, the artistic focal point of the retreat
has been the new music project (er, um, "ADVENTURE"),
and all of that focus has been on the winter season song that
was intended to be completely done, with a music video up on
my YouTube channel
on Christmas Day.
It became more of a project ("ADVENTURE") than I'd
originally conceived, and taking the new direction derailed the
December 25 deadline. There was some hope for it to be finished by
the end of the retreat, but that was a pipedream, too. It'll surely
be mixed and mastered before winter is up, or it can be. But now
I'm considering holding off any sort of public release until
whenever the album is released, which may or may not be in 2025.
To catch anyone up, the song is loosely based on a traditional
Christmastime
song, that people associate with the holiday but actually is a song
for the winter season. Using the lyrics and the chord progression
of the original as a template, I have significantly reinvented both
elements and I now have something completely different. Thus far,
I've laid down twelve tracks. I should point out that two of those
tracks are the stereo signal from my
Legato III piano,
set on its PAD
voice. Most of what I've recorded are
Logic ProMIDI
voices: some sort of percussive voice, or some sort of string voice,
all played on my
M-Audio Oxygen Keyboard.
Read
this past Saturday's blog post,
above, and you'll read me whining about being terribly out of practice
on the bass, because, well, I don't practice. But I still managed to
work out a bass line that I am happy about. It works, and honestly,
it works quite well. It'd be great if my chops were better, even
if they were up par with how they've been at various times in the
past. That way I could have thrown in a a fancier fill here and there
that's at an elevated skill level. But the song doesn't call for
virtuoso work from someone like
Geddy Lee
or Flea,
or Paul. It's probably much better that it's a simple part; that
probably serves the song much better.
I did not employ my new
Bass Whammy Pitch Shift Pedal
for this song. However, I did run my bass through my
Bass Chorus Pedal.
I also hooked my
Super Octave pedal
into the daisy-chain, to get an octave note doubling below, but I
ended up turning that pedal off. It's a great effect, but after only
a few minutes of playing, I recognized that it's not the right effect
for this song. I also could have used the Whammy the same way, but
I didn't pull it out because it's a new toy and I need to acquaint
myself with it, and I didn't want to take the time Saturday night.
It would have been time wasted, anyway, since I nixed the effect.
I have neither fully worked out, nor done any recording of, any vocals
for the song. As written before, I have the idea about the melody
but it's not developed. I do know that there will be more than one
vocal part; I have a solid concept for the vocal arrangement. I did
not work on it yesterday because, again, referring to Saturday's post,
I was still a little congested yesterday and my throat was a little
bit scratchy. I wanted those issues gone before I sing. especially
that budding sore throat. I also had quite a bit of back-logged
housework to attend to, still do. Yesterday was mostly about that.
So, though Artist's Retreat ‐
Staycation
2024 technically
ended last night, it may have ended about 1:30 yesterday morning,
when I was wiping my Viola bass down before closing the lid on its
guitar case. During the day, yesterday, I could have worked
on some arts thing not related to music, or related to another music
"ADVENTURE," but, seriously, some of my housework was
terribly overdue, some still is.
But since I'm likely to be in the apartment the rest of the day,
that extension may happen. Some artsy thing is not unlikely to be
accomplished, and, if so, it's a reasonable bet it would be at least
the start of this vocal work, because my voice seems to have rallied
some today. I'll probably at least test my voice out.
I should probably note that though not much related to
Artist's Retreat ‐
Staycation
2024, if
at all related, I also did do a few things pertaining
to Dayton Theatre Guild
business. The big one was that a couple days back I went to
the theatre to make sure the sound system in the
tech booth
was put back to the correct configuration after the last
show closed. A temporary system was set up for that show.
Also During the retreat, I've done a certain small amount of
producer's
and sound designer's
work for the next Guild show,
Tracy Letts'The Minutes.
1) A RAISIN IN THE SUN
by Lorraine Hansberry
Performance dates: August 22-September 9, 2025
Auditions: July 7 & 8, 2025
[4 women, 6 men (& moving men)]
Set in Chicago's South Side in the 1950's, this is about the divergent
dreams and conflicts in three generations of the Younger family: son
Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis, and
matriarch Lena. When her deceased husband's insurance money comes
through, Mama Lena dreams of moving to a new home and a better
neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans:
buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of
medical school. Hansberry's portrait of one family's struggle to
retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless
document of hope and inspiration. It was the first play by an African
American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize.
2) DIAL "M" FOR MURDER
by Frederick Knott
Performance Dates: October 10-26, 2025
Auditions: August 25 & 26, 2025
[1 woman, 5 men]
Tony Wendice plots to murder his wealthy wife, Margot, for her money
by hiring a criminal to strangle her, but his plan goes awry, forcing
him to manipulate the situation to frame her. But Margot engages a
clever, quick-witted detective from Scotland Yard who uncovers the
truth, leading to a suspenseful climax where Tony's guilt is exposed.
*Season Extra) LIGHT SENSITIVE
by Jim Geoghan
Performance dates: December 5-14, 2025
Auditions: October 13 & 14, 2025
[1 woman, 2 men]
Thomas Hanratty, lifelong resident of Hell's Kitchen and once the
most dangerous white cab driver in New York, was blinded eight years
ago in a drunken accident and is fading into a routine of self pity
and alcohol. His bartender and only friend is moving to Vermont with
his girlfriend, but finds it difficult to abandon Tom. He recruits
a slightly handicapped volunteer reader who battles her way through
Tom's shell. By the second act, they are falling in love. His buddy
returns with tales of his "Christmas from hell" in Vermont, and doubt
arises as to who will hold the number one position in Tom's life.
3) MARY JANE
by Amy Herzog
Performance dates: January 30-February 15, 2026
Auditions: December 8 & 9, 2025
[5 women]
Mary Jane navigates both the mundane and the unfathomable realities
of caring for Alex, her chronically ill young son. She finds herself
building a community of women from many walks of life, and dealing
with all of life's realities. Mary Jane is Pulitzer Prize finalist
Amy Herzog's remarkably powerful and compassionate portrait of a
contemporary American woman striving for grace. It ran on Broadway a
t the Manhattan Theatre Club during the 2023/2024 season.
4) I LOVE YOU BECAUSE
Book/Lyrics by Ryan Cunningham; Music by Joshua Salzman
Performance dates: March 27-April 12, 2026
Auditions: February 2 & 3, 2026
[3 women, 3 men]
This musical from the mid-2000's is a twist on Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice. A young, uptight greeting card writer's
life is changed when he meets a flighty photographer. Along with
their eccentric friends and siblings, they learn to love each other,
not despite their faults, but because of them.
5) THE BEACON
by Nancy Harris
Performance dates: May 22-June 7, 2026
Auditions: March 30 & 31, 2026
[2 women, 3 men]
Beiv, a renowned artist, has left her suburban Dublin home for a
secluded cottage on a rugged island off the coast of West Cork,
Ireland. Here, there is no escaping the rumors of her shadowy past,
and Beiv lets everyone see right in because she's having an extension
made to the home, and many of the walls are missing. She and her
visiting son have a chilly relationship at best -- and there is also
the question of whether Beiv really did kill her husband. This play r
an Off-Broadway with a limited run, and closed in November, 2024.
In what ended up being a one-day extension of
Artist's Retreat ‐
Staycation
2024,
last Monday evening I started to really attack the composing of the
lead-vocal melody line.
Remember that I've had the basic idea for the melody but wanted it
to be more interesting than what was popping in as my instinctual
reaction to the instrumentation. I haven't recorded the vocal yet
though. I still had a bit of congestion and sore throat Monday, so
my vocal ability wasn't up to snuff, for one thing. I also wasn't
yet satisfied with the melody line. I'm still not.
Monday was the last time I worked on the vocal line, at least
directly. I have since further conceived of the vocal accompaniments,
including a rough idea of a multi-part harmony arrangement for the
end of the song, as well as others for some of the transition bridges
between verse and chorus and chorus and verse. I've also done more
tweaks to the lyrics.
I'm not sure when I'll get back to recording on this song, but my
plan is sometime during this week. I have theatre stuff drawing my
time and attention away. Plus, my voice/throat is still not in the
best shape, and the single and low double-digit temperatures outside
haven't been an aide.
Another thought is that since I'm leaning more and more toward not
releasing this to the public until the album is released, (i.e.:
as a song on the album as its first exposure), I may put it
aside and go back to do more work on the first song started for
this new musical venture. Maybe I should pull out the
Embassy Pro
and start playing with my new toy, the
DigiTech Bass Whammy Pitch Shift Bass Pedal,
which absolutely will be utilized on that first song started.
Director Melissa Kerr Ertsgaard reports that she is pleased with the
progress of rehearsals.
Though I wouldn't label the project dormant, I have not directly
worked on either song that has been started for the new album for
a little while.
What I have done is given various musical elements of both
some thought. I've thought a bit about the approach to the vocals
for the winter season song, both the lead vocal and supporting vocals.
I don't have any plans to add any further instrumentation to that
one, either; once the vocals are wrapped, the recording sessions are
wrapped. And until I have eliminated, or at least greatly tamed, this
chest congestion and sore throat, both that have been at minor levels
for a few weeks now, I don't want to tackle the vocal work.
For the other song, the first one I started, the one that is an
expansion of a piece of
scene transition music
I composed for the DTG
production of
Wednesday's Child
by Mark St. Germain,
I've been making decisions about the bass line. But, no, I have not
pulled out a bass yet to work on the line. All the bass work on that
will be with the
Embassy Pro,
by the way.
Also, a few days back, I got an idea for a new song and have one
little segment of lyrics written.
HEADED TOWARD OPENING NIGHT
‐‐ & TICKET RECIPROCITY WITH DPH:
The production has done a soft entry into
tech rehearsals.
There was a dry tech
last Wednesday, without the cast. Then Thursday and Friday most
elements of tech were incorporated during the
rehearsals,
including the soundwork.
There was no cue-to-cue rehearsal,
the available cues were just introduced to the cast during the
Thursday full run.
The cast, by-the-way, is really delivering. Some performances are
already exceptional.
The soundwork is pretty much done, and was by the Wednesday dry tech.
A few sound cues have been cut, based on the mood of the moments
where they were to be executed. And, of course, volume levels will
adjusted and adjusted, then adjusted again, all the way up the moments
after Final Dress,
I'm sure. I don't know that it's likely, but more sound cues
could get cut.
Ticket Reciprocity
‐‐ A really lovely thing that has started to spring up in
the Dayton non-professional theatre
community is a practice of ticket reciprocity between two or more
theatres.
The theatres offer a discount, usually $5, to any audience
member who brings a ticket stub or some other proof of attendance
at the current production at the partner theatre. It's a great idea
and for this production,
The Guild has paired
up with Dayton Playhouse's
production of
Avenue Q.,
which opened this past Friday.
Following is the text of the DTG blurb about the partnership:
Been hangin' out on Ave. Q? Or are ya plannin' on it? Or maybe
you're gonna check out that crazy town council meeting in the
middle-America town of Big Cherry. If you go to one, you can
save five bucks when you then come to the other.
Bring the mounting of THE MINUTES, at Dayton Theatre Guild,
a ticket stub from your attendance at the Dayton Playhouse
production of AVENUE Q, and we'll give you $5.00 off
your purchase of our ticket.
And if you haven't yet been to AVENUE Q. when you see THE
MINUTES, we'll give you a slip to verify your attendance with
us and you'll get $5.00 off your AVENUE Q. ticket.
Puppets with an edge on the wrong side of the tracks and
peculiar small town folk keeping some kind of secret....
come visit them both.
Maybe at least one of you five regulars might recall that I used to
be more open and transparent about what shows I planned to, and did,
audition for. In recent times, I only note what I've been cast in.
No sense writing about when a director did not want me for a role.
I will say I have my eyes on a few productions next season, and the
odds of me going out for them are pretty high. I have months and
months and months to put some study and prep in on all of them; I
can even do it all at a leisurely pace.
It'll be interesting
to see if I DO spread the prep out over this luxury space of time
rather than procrastinating till the eleventh hours for each show...
One of the roles I plan to audition for will have at least two other
actors I know of who will be big competition if they audition, and
either is more likely to be cast than I. It's not that I think they'd
do a better job than me, it's that I know the climate of local theatre
and that both are favored for such a role. I'm still auditioning
though. I'm more than welcome being wrong about the odds.
I may also throw my hat in to direct one of the shows that has a role
I'm interested in. If I do that and end up directing it, I obviously
would not audition, nor would I cast myself. In my mind that's
tacky. Well, I guess there are circumstances where it's not
tacky. But in most cases it seems to me a pretty lame vanity move.
Plus, it's a task to act in a project when you're directing it,
especially if it's the
lead role
or a substantial
supporting role.
Another fine production at The Guild launches tonight. Once again,
if you're local or will be in the Dayton, Ohio area between now and
Feb 16, you should check it out.
MOVE OVER GEDDY LEE
‐‐
YEAH!...RIGHT!
(snicker, snicker):
For a few weeks now, I've been battling some chest congestion and a
minor sore throat, and in the last several days the congestion has
spread to my nasal cavity. So, for a while, I've put off all the
vocal work for the second song that I've started for the new music
venture, that being the winter season song. Other than the vocals,
I don't have plans to add anything else to the arrangement. When I
finally lay the vocals, the sessions for this song are over, which
I think I've written before.
In the meantime, I've returned to the first song for the project,
the one that is an expansion of a short piece of reoccurring
scene transition music
I composed for the production of
Wednesday's Child
by Mark St. Germain,
mounted at DTG
in late 2023.
This weekend, I started the bass work. I used my
Embassy Bass,
running straight into the
24-Track recorder.
I worked on the bass line with a daisy-chain from the bass to the
recorder that had my
Overdrive/Distortion
and Super Octave
pedals in between. I got the basis of the bass line composed on
Saturday and honed it a bit yesterday. I'm not sure I am finished
creating it and thus far what I've composed will take some woodshedding
for me to execute well, which I don't think is a bad thing. Writing
a part that's a little bit beyond my current skillset is a great
way to grow as a musician ‐‐ to be honest, in this case,
I'd say it's a way to get back to a level I once was at, because I
am more than confident there was a time in my life when playing well
the line I'm creating would not have been a challenge at all. But,
hey, any step forward is a step forward, evcen if it's recovering
ground.
I'm not sure when I'll be ready to record this bass line; I'm hoping
I can do it Wednesday evening, but that may not be realistic. My
evenings today and tomorrow are occupied by the auditions at The Guild,
in the role of
producer,
so the most I'll be able to do is spend maybe an hour or less right
before bed rehearsing what's been composed, and maybe tweaking it
a bit. Though tonight is a bit iffy; I'm calling in sick to work
today and likely spending much of the day conked out in bed, so I
may not even be at the auditions tonight, though I'm going to make
the attempt; I'm hopping a few hours of rest will work for me. At
any rate, I'm not sure the bass work will be in shape to record on
Wednesday, neither in terms of a finished arrangement of the part
nor my ability to play it with the finess it should have.
There will be at least two more parts played on the Embassy bass too.
I will record a chorded rhythm part and I have a concept for that,
something new for me, though I doubt it's anything that has not
been done before. I also will finally start playing with my new
toy, the Whammy Pitch Shift Pedal,
to lay down the lead solo, and maybe some more chords. I did what
I call "faux lead guitar" work on the
Virtually Approximate Subterfuge
album, by playing a bass solo on the upper parts of the neck, then
bumping it up an octave during the
mixing
process; the point in getting the bass whammy pedal is that one of
its key features is that it will bump the octave in real time as one
is playing ‐‐ convenient for the studio and essential if
I ever play live and decide to not hand over a faux guitar
solo to the actual guitarist, though there are ones I absolutely
would hand over.
I still do not have lyrics for this one and still only a vague idea
of what they might end up being about. And the subject matter
will potentially change, providing that my warrior-muse queen whispers
a brilliant alternative into my ear.
The cast is two males, two females. If you're seeing this in time,
(i.e.: before auditions close on Feb 4, 2025) there's a permanent
link not far below that will take you to the current DTG
audition specs.
The cast is two males, two females. We are especially interested in
reading more men, but more women would also be good. If you're seeing
this before auditions close tonight, there's a permanent link not
far below that will take you to the current DTG
audition specs.
For the record, this animated png is capturing
probably only about the first fourth of the run
section I'm practicing in the image. I also play the
D and G strings, but that's not shown in the image
sequence. At the risk of seeming terribly
self-involved, I think it's still a cool image.
I wrote in the last entry about this venture how I was doubtful
I'd be ready by last night to record the bass line for the first
song started from the new album sessions, and I was 100% correct.
I already knew I was likely not finished composing the bass line;
as it turns out I am farther from completion than I knew at the time
of the
Feb 3 post.
I also wrote that I was going to have to step up my musicianship
some to skillfully execute the bass line as it was already composed;
I underestimated that, too.
Last night I worked on the bass line, both rehearsing what I've
thus far created and experimenting with that composition. In terms
of the arrangement, I like where I'm going with the composition but
I'm not fully satisfied; what I have is not an exact fit to the
mood and feel I want for the music. And, as I've previously
written, some of what I've come up with so far is a challenge for
me to play at my current skill level ‐‐ which, as I've
also already written, is below the abilities I had in an earlier
time, when I was playing no less than an hour or two every day of
the week, at least on average. Last night I upped the game with
some modifications of runs in certain sections of the song.
I had to run those sections a bit to get anything close to smooth
performance. I'd then run the whole song and it was a sloppy mess
each time, though the last several times, less so. During the day,
today, in my head, I've come up with variations on the runs that I
know will be a challenge when I give them a try tonight. But I'm
going to push though, goddamnit and master these runs.
I am determined not to get impatient then wimp out and go with
something easier for the sake of expedience. If it takes me a few
sessions, or a lot of session, to get this whole bass line as I want
it to be, and to be able to play it well from start to finish, then
however many sessions takes is how many will happen. I've decided
that's the creed for the whole album. It's why I'm putting off the
vocals for the other song that's been started: I'm not doing those
until my voice is in shape to perform the vocals at the higher level
I want.
Back on my bass playing, Sunday evening, as I was working out some
of the more difficult bass runs in this first song, I took a break
and posted the following to facebook:
What I have in common with
Geddy Lee:
1. sometimes I have a bass guitar strapped around me
2. I rarely use a pick when I play
3. I know how to keep my bass in tune
4. that's pretty much it.....
One of my theatre friends, Abby, who is also a musician and often
plays the bass herself for musicals, asked if I didn't also sing while
playing. I replied that I did in my youth, but in these recent years
all I've done is record, where I sing on tracks after recording
all the instrumentation. So I'm not sure I can sing and play some
of those bass lines at the same time ‐‐ at least not
without the kind of woodshedding I'm currently doing. I then wrote:
"I'm actually composing a bass line for a new recording right
now, this very day, and I'm keeping in mind the fact that I may
someday be singing it and playing at the same time. So I'm going
more for the
Tina Weymouth
route of a simpler but effective bass line, at least during the vocal
sections ‐‐ *as if any of my bass lines are as highly
technical and complex as Geddy's!" That's basically still true.
The challenging stuff I'm working out is in instrumental sections
of the piece. The bass lines during the verses are much simpler.
By-the-way, I am not equating my playing-level to Tina's,
but if I were to catch up to either Geddy or Tina, I'm gonna get to
Ms. Weymouth WAY before I get to Mr. Lee.
Yeah, I am taking my time working on things for this "2025
Music Adventure," which may mean that, as well as having
technically began in 2024, it very well may spill over into 2026.
But I intend for there to be much growth creatively and as a musician,
and, hell, as a vocalist ‐‐ I can get back at least
some of that vocal finess from my youth.
One last note: that line I'm running in the animated png, above,
was pretty damned sloppy, if I recall, so it probably looks more
impressive than it was.
THE CAST OF CHANCERS:
The next Guild show
has been cast. The
auditions
Monday and Tuesday for this didn't have the biggest turnout, yet
there were multiple good reads for every character. Without this
being some sort of phony, diplomatic lip service, I can honestly say
that not one audition was bad. So several actors who gave good
auditions didn't get cast, which is always a bitter-sweet situation.
THE BASS LINE THAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU BETTER:
The bass line for the first new song is still the game "in the
music room," as it were. It's been the focus all week. The
composition of the part is at something like 98% complete. Any
changes will be to add variations to the difficult sections to make
them more musically interesting. First, however, I have master
playing the damned sections; and I have to get to a point where I
can play the whole bass line, from start to finish with smooth
proficiency; then I'll start tweaking the difficult sections
with some variation.
In my rehearsals of the bass line I've been running the whole song,
with each run still being a clumsy mess because of those difficult
sections, and that sometimes I completely blow. It's been gradually
becoming less of a clumsy mess, but it's definitely a prime
example of "Progress, Not Perfection." I've also spent
time woodshedding each of the difficult sections, just running each
of those repeatedly, then moving on. Again, improvement, but in
relative terms. The mountain is a mile in front of me and I have
trudge one-hundred yards. One-hundred yards is good; it's a lot. But
there are 1660 yards left to go. That's how I feel. And here's the
reality check for me:
For
any really competent, seasoned bass player, these sections would
not be a challenge. I have a pretty big ego, but I'm
not delusional.
One other little tweak I've made is that in certain parts of the
song I'm turning the
Overdrive/Distortion pedal
off, though I'm leaving the
Super Octave pedal
on, although I've pulled back the intensity of the low octave
addition to the bass sound. It's there and it effective, but it's
not as pronounced as it was. It's now a more subtle, deep flavoring
to the color of the bass tone.
Another thing I've realized over the last several days is that I
need to do at least a partial
setup
of my Embassy Pro bass.
The intonation is a bit off. The octave fret notes are slightly out
of tune with the open strings, so the notes are slightly out of tune
with each other in different areas of the neck of the guitar. I
need to address this, and it's on my agenda for tonight. It's been
a while since I've done any setup on the Embassy, or the
Viola Bass,
for that matter. It was during the COVID shutdown, I do believe. I
mostly remember how to do it, but there are also a couple good
How-To YouTube
videos that will be helpful. I certainly want to get this addressed
before I record the bass line, whenever the hell I'll be ready to
do that! Won't hurt to do a little setup work on the
Viola Bass while I'm at it, either.
On another front of this song, I have written one stanza of a verse.
At the moment I have it positioned as the first stanza of the second
verse, because it seems like, or feels like, it's a followup to a
main idea that will be established in the first verse. That idea is
still a bit vague but it's starting to come into focus. Right now
it appears that the working title might become the official title,
and that the vague, original concept for the song will remain, to
be focused and refined.
I'M NOT A GUITAR TECHNICIAN, I JUST TRIED IT AT HOME:
I worked on the partial
setup
of my Embassy Pro bass
last night, but ran into a snag. I couldn't get the E string
intonation adjusted. The screw on the
bridge
would not turn far
enough for me to get the octave E (at the twelfth fret) to flatten
down to a perfect octave. I believe the
truss rod
needs adjusted, too, and I am a bit reluctant to tackle that. I'm
considering taking the bass to an experienced guitar technician.
I may call some local guitar techs, or guitar tech services, and
at least get some price quotes. I might also spend a bit of time
with the plethora of How-To
YouTube
videos, as well, and maybe give a fuller DIY setup a try, including
adjusting the truss rod. The good news is that the Embassy's
intonation is overall better, but it's not really where it should
be. And I should check the intonation on my
Viola Bass, too.
After I abandoned the intonation adjustments, last night, I
rehearsed the first song's bass line. I'm glad to report I'm
gaining ground on those difficult sections, still have a ways to go
to get to smooth proficiency, still some sloppiness and stumbling.
But it's getting better!
And back at that proverbial ranch, more lyrics have been written
for song 1, which solidifies the workshop title as the official title
for the song. The three stanzas of the first verse are now written.
And that original stanza, written over the weekend, is staying in
the second verse, at least right now, but has moved down in the verse.
LEONE, CLEM, UPTON, CHARLIE,
THE ROOSEVELTS, ET AL, WILL, THE ACTORS & THE CREW, AND ME:
Once again I'm playing catch up to get this "little"
essay out into the ethernet. The show closed last October 20 and
we're almost a full two months into the new year as this finally
gets posted. What can I say, the plate gets a little cluttered from
time to time (oftentimes). It was mid-November, 2024 when I begin
to write this. When the show opened, and before that, it was already
clear how painfully relevant the story of
Leone Baxter
and her partner, and eventual husband,
Clem Whitaker,
et al, is to present-day American politics. That relevance was one
of the reasons this play was considered for October of 2024 on
The Guild stage. Now,
for me and millions of others ‐‐ we Americans who stand
against fascism, have a righteous moral compass, and command
some measure of wisdom ‐‐ the pain of that relevance is
torturously agonizing. Baxter and Whitaker have a low-key culpability
in this deep-gray American world being ushered in, especially Leone.
As our playwright,
Will Allan,
noted in a Zoom session with our
cast and crew, Ms. Baxter is one of the most important politcal
minds of the twentieth century, and yet, very few have ever heard
of her. I would add to that, that she is also one of the most
unfortunately important political minds of the twentieth
century. Her contribution has been to the detriment of a healthy
democracy.
But much of the above discussion is far beyond the scope of this
post mortem.
This essay should focus on the production, itself, its execution,
its process, and with an emphasis on the successes and failures of
the director.
First, though, I should give well-deserved credit to Will Allan
for his great, well-written script. It's intelligent and funny and,
as alluded to above, terribly, even horribly, germane to present times.
Between the well-written script and my wonderful cast, this was not
a difficult production to direct. The biggest challenge was
blocking
the damn thing, as is always the case on our three-quarter
thrust stage.
And my biggest personal critique of my directing here was the blocking.
There were places where various parts of the audience got cheated
for too long of periods of time, during various scenes. At least it
was different parts of the audience at different times rather than
one section getting cheated all through the show. Though I wouldn't
say the blocking was horrible, it was definitely the weak link of
the production. Blocking on that stage is always a tricky proposition,
and as familiar with that space as I am, as a director I am yet to
achieve what can be called total mastery of that particular issue.
I had one of the best SMs in the local theatre community, Shannon
Fent. She's been doing it for a while and she knows her stuff. Red
Newman gave me a lovely, if simple,
scenic design;
I think a far simpler design than would have been to his liking;
but he worked within the parameters of the restrictions I put on him
and gave me as interesting a set as he could under my restraints.
Though there was again no need for anything terribly elaborate, the
lighting design,
by Marjorie Strader was perfect for the show's needs. We got the
usual well-researched
costuming
from Carol Finley; as well, we got more well-done
dramaturgy
from Heather Atkinson and Sarah Saunders to meet our period
properties
‐‐ including Heather's great find of a prop movie
projector. Scott Madden was our
producer.
cameo appearances in the propoganda film that was
shown during each performance:
David Williamson as Real Person 1
Heather Atkinson as Real Person 2
Ryan Hester* as Foley Operator
Donny Dorko Spelvan as Reporter (on screen)
*) The movie was shot before most of the
actors for the live stage performance had been cast. Ryan
was not cast yet as Hatfield, and at that point, had no
plans to be in the production on stage.
I'm not going to bother singling any of the cast out because everyone
was on top of their games and gave the script and the production
what was needed from them in a stellar manner.
Sarah Saunders ‐
sound tech
(her other hat for the show)
The run crew:
Emma Allington
Sandy Lemming (her other hat for the show)
Abby Williams
In fact, the whole cast helped with stage-hand work, at various
points during the performances, helping the run crew
strike
and place set pieces
and props.
That's quite common in theatre productions, and I love how the actors
are more than willing to do such so-called "grunt work,"
even in professional productions;
although on an Equity stage
I believe an Equity actor
is only allowed to if they are exiting from the previous scene (i.e.
can help strike a set piece or prop) or will be in the scene being
set (can move something on). I once brought a set piece on stage
at a LORT theatre,
when I was in neither such scene, but I'm an
EMC actor,
so that union rule doesn't apply. At any rate, I love the spirit
of teamwork and collaboration involved here. Yet, as a director, I
would prefer that my cast didn't need to have such responsibility.
Go figure. But, for me, during this show, it was about the practicality
of how many crew members we had measured against what human resources
some of the scene changes needed ‐‐ enter: "team
work."
As most of you reading this may know, our playwright, Will Allan,
is a native Daytonian, and he was thrilled that his play was being
mounted in his home town. He had every intention of flying in from
the west coast for a performance. We were even planning on a
talkback,
probably after the Saturday, October 19, 5 p.m. show.
However, Will's citizen job, his "rent-payer," is with
the Los Angeles Dodgers,
and they were on their way to the 2024
MLB World Series
against the New York Yankees.
He works in the PR department, so getting
vacation
time off was simply not going to happen for him. By the
way, if you're not already aware, the Dodgers won the series.
In order to keep him from completely missing out on the home-town
production, I offered to make a DV movie of one of the performances,
for which Will readily granted me permission to do; and why wouldn't
he? As it turned out, I shot that Oct. 19 performance that would
have been the likely day of the talkback. I did a
four-camera shoot.
There were three cameras in the booth\ ‐‐ one placed on the
stage right
part of the booth window, angled to POV the shot up to the
up left
corner of the stage area, one positioned exactly oposite of that,
and one centered in the booth to catch more of the centralized
action on stage. That third one was actually capturing the monitor
image of the stage we always send to the
greenroom
and lobby TVs during performances. I sat in the audience,
up stage right
of the thrust, to get better shots of particular scenes or parts of
scenes where actors were facing in that general direction, especially
at key moments.
Now all I gotta do is sit down with the five-some hours of footage
and edit the show together for Will. And gee, it's only been almost
four months since the show closed!
I have at least migrated all the footage onto an external harddrive
and have looked through it to see that I have good footage. But I had
a weird experience when I was migrating that footage back in October
or November. Three of the four cameras that caught that Oct. 19
performance were, as explained above, in fixed positions on tripods
in the tech booth. Only one camera was moving positions during the
show, the camera in my hands. Yet, as I was looking at the footage,
there were
shot setups
on some of those stationary cameras that were contrary to the setups
for this shoot. It was a WTF moment for me, for sure. My first
thought was that maybe the
booth techs
had messed with the setups for some reason, even though none of the
three cameras were in either of their ways. But that didn't seem
likely for a couple of reasons: first, neither of them would do
such a thing, and second, some of the setups could not achieve such
angles from the booth. Then it dawned on me: these setups were
footage from the show's
promo trailer.
I hadn't deleted that footage, from
Tech Week,
off the cameras! Thusly, "WTF!" became "DUH!"
My DOH!
moment with the DV footage aside, my take is that the DTG production
of Campaigns, Inc. was a success and added to what has thus-far
been another stellar season for the theatre. I am most happy with
the work of my cast and crew, and I'm most-ly happy with my
work as the director.
I've thrown in my hat to direct at The Guild next season; we'll see
soon if I get to put that director's hat on again in 25/26.
Directed by Melissa Kerr Ertsgaard
Produced by K.L.Storer
The Minutes is a dark comedy. It had its premiere at the
Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago in 2017, and moved to the James Earl
Jones Theatre in New York City in 2020. This play takes a hard look
at the inner workings of a city council meeting and the hypocrisy,
greed and ambition that bubble to the surface when a newcomer to the
small town of Big Cherry starts to ask the wrong questions. Why is
someone on the council mysteriously missing? What happened to all
those bicycles? Is there something going on with the city's finances?
What's the deal with the available parking space? And why are the
minutes from the last meeting being kept secret? Sometimes the
"history" we've been taught isn't the true "history"
at all! Part Parks & Recreation, part Twilight Zone,
this powerful, resonant, and funny portrayal of democracy in action
proves that everything you know can change ‐‐ it's just a
matter of minutes. After all, the smallest towns keep the biggest
secrets.
Maybe I'm being a tad self-critical here but here's a progress
report, with an emphasis on the lowercase "p," in terms
of the bass line I've been working to master. It's getting better,
yet I am most certainly still heavily entrenched in the
"
progress rather
than Perfection" zone.
It's seems akin to a rather slow boring of hard wood. As I worked on
it last night I felt I was doing better with it, but I am still not
at all close to being ready to lay the track. There are still trip-ups
and fumbles of those two challenging sections. First of all, I have
not mastered playing what is already created for those sections.
Second, I cannot get to the variations I want to add until I have
mastered them. And the variations will throw another roadblock to
having the whole bass line mastered, though I hope not a very
difficult roadblock, just a minor slowdown.
One thing I could do is piecemeal the bass line in the recording
session by recording these more difficult sections as stand-alone
performances, where I
punch them in and out.
I did that with the bass line for
"Cozy Anxious Chaos"
on the last album,
basically because some of the muscles in my hands, especially my
right, plucking hand, didn't have the stamina to play the bass line
all the way through the song. It was the last thing recorded for
the album and I was impatient to get the sessions wrapped. But I
do not want to punch in parts of this bass line for this song. I
want to play the damned thing from start to finish with smooth,
accomplished proficiency. And though there are absolutely no plans
on the horizon for this, I'd like to be able to play all my
bass lines to all my songs in live performance in front of
an audience ‐‐ if there are lyrics, then while singing,
too.
And I want to again emphasize for the few of you readers who may be
returning, I'm not trying to master some intrinsically-fantastic,
virtuoso-level bass work here. You don't have be
Flea,
Geddy Lee,
or Tony Levin,
etc., to play these sections successfully; you just have to be a
moderately accomplished player; and you have to be better than I am
at this moment. And also as I've written before, I'm pretty sure I
was accomplished enough to play this stuff in my youth. But
whether I'm woodshedding to regain lost ground or to journey into
unchartered territory, this is my current task for "2025 Music
Adventure." So, onward I trudge.
The seating chart in this image is a screen capture
from last November, so I am highly doubtful many,
if any, of those unclaimed seats are still available.
The yellow dot within the red circle IS my
seat, if you hadn't figured that out: Row D, seat
7, thankyouverymuch.
Just four days away now from seeing
Helen Hunt
at The Goodman Theatre
in Harold Pinter'sBetrayal,
along with Ian Barford
and Robert Sean Leonard.
I'm headin' Chicago way on Friday and seeing the show Saturday night.
This'll be my first excursion to Chicago, for theatre or otherwise,
since before the COVID shutdown. My last trip was to see
Jen Silverman'sThe Roommate
at steppenwolf,
starring Ora Jones
and Sandra Marquez,
directed by Phylicia Rashad.
By happenstance, I actually ended up directing that one at
The Guild,
as an on-line, screen/stage hybrid during the lockdown, with Melissa
Kerr Ertsgaard and Linda Donald in the cast. It wouldn't be hateful
to direct a Guild mounting of Betrayal, either. But then, it
would probably be more satisfying to be on stage as Robert ‐‐
'cause let's face it, I have aged out of playing Jerry in anything
but a poorly-cast production. But I'm a bit off the topic, now....So,
I head northwest on Friday and I sit in the audience at The
Goodman on Saturday night.
I hadn't rehearsed that troublesome bass line for a few days, and
won't get to it while I'm on my
mini-vacation,
so I put some time in last night. Gladly I can report that I played
it last night better than I ever have before, but I am still not
at the place where I can record it. But, you know?: ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ progress.
COUNTDOWN TO CHICAGO, PART 2:
Besides seeing
Helen Hunt,
et al, in Betrayal
at The Goodman
tomorrow night, on my little weekend
vacation,
I plan to finally get back to
The Art Institute of Chicago.
I've not been there since the summer of 2014 ‐‐ almost
frickin' eleven years ago! I still won't be able to spend as much
time there as I'd like. I'll only have Saturday there, though I
intend to get there at the opening and stay until closing. But you
really need to spend at least two days there to take it all in,
maybe more.
I could do that, go back on Sunday, but instead I believe I'll go
to the Field Museum,
which for those who don't know, is a museum of natural history. If
my wallet would allow, I'd also head to the
Sheed Aquarium,
right next to The Field, but alas, the budget is already about as
tight as it can be for this trip; plus, I'm not sure there'd be
enough time on Sunday to fruitfully visit both.
JUST HOW LONG OF A DISTANCE IS THIS DAMNED PLATEAU?:
My "progress
rather than Perfection"
state with this frickin' bass line I'm woodshedding seems to be in
limbo. I have reached a plateau and it's as if the incline to the
next level is about as far away as the south border of Texas is from
the north border ‐‐ it's 800 miles, by-the-way.
I don't seem to be progressing with these trouble spots, especially
the one section. It's rough and fumbling; it's been rough and
fumbling. I realize I missed a few days of rehearsing, during my trip
to Chicago last weekend, but still, the lack of progress is bothersome.
Maybe there is progress, but if so, of late it's been microscopic.
As I've written before, it's not as if I've composed some difficult,
complex lines in these sections that require a
Jaco Pastorius
or Geddy Lee
to execute! I'm fighting discouragement and focusing on "plugging
along."
I will admit that my rehearsal last night was a little better,
but that's a relative measurement; if we keep with the north to south
Texas border analogy, then last night was a forward gain of maybe a
foot or two of that 800 miles, maybe more but not much more. And for
the record, the short little movie up over on the left, shot last
night, makes me look good, but believe me if there was audio, you'd
hear that there are a series of serious clunkers going on in that
bass work.
Though woodshedding this confounded bass part will still be a daily
routine until I conquer the little bastard, I'm going to work on
other instrumentation for the song, too. I need a sense of real,
measurable progress on the song, and getting back to actual
recording sessions is seriously needed. That's going to start
happening later today. I haven't decided yet whether I'll get on
the chorded bass part I'm planning (the rhythm guitar part, or
parts) or the
MIDI-voiced
sax part, with a solo during the first musical bridge, the bridge
with a bass line I can currently handle. At some point, there'll be
the faux guitar solo ‐‐ my first employment of my new
Whammy Pitch Shift Bass Pedal,
which I've yet to play around with. There will probably be entries
here of me bitching about "progress
rather than Perfection" working out that "guitar solo,"
too.
It might not be bad to get a finished set of lyrics sometime soon,
as well. I did work on them a little bit yesterday. I didn't
add anything but I did rewrite some of the lines already written, a
bit of punch-up, if you will.
I've been wearing my
producer
hat a little bit lately: welcoming and playing my part in orientating
some new crew
members, and dealing with budget allocations, etc.
I've also started to delve into some
soundwork,
mostly focusing on the curation of the music,
preshow,
intermission,
and
production.
I listened to a lot of potential music on the drives to and from my
mini-vacation,
as well as otherwise. There are specific parameters for the artists
and the music, a mutual meeting of the minds between myself and
Director
Marjorie Strader.
AND MORE SOUNDWORK:
To be honest, there's not a lot to do for the
sound design
for this one. Some of you may know I've already designed the sound
for this last summer for
FutureFest 2024.
There may be a little bit of tweaking, but for the most part there's
little to do for this. But I have began delving into it.
Couldn't have the discipline to resist getting some
merch ‐‐ my Goodman cap and my Art Institute
t-shirt that features
Edward Hopper'sNighthawks.
You five regulars and anyone else returning from recent visits will
know that last weekend was my
mini-vacation
in Chicago, where last Saturday I spent most of the day at
The Art Institute of Chicago
then the evening attending
The Goodman Theatre
production of
Betrayal.
I have a ton of photos from the Art Institue to process and post,
as well as some narrative about my day and evening. It's probable
that some of the art I photographed this time I also photographed
last time I was at the Institute, in 2014; a few I'm sure about and
actually retook those photos on purpose. I could have taken five times
as many pics, but I restrained myself. I hope my post about the trip
is coming soon.
Of course, if you've spent anytime at this blog you may be aware that
"COMING SOON!"
is more or less a relative term....
It's appropriate that I find most of the bass line for this song
I'm working on to be a reasonably adequate version of
Tina-Weymouth-inspired
work, because as I think of my "progress" on mastering
that bitch section, what I hear is
David Byrne's
voice saying: "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same.
as. it. everwas...." It's not EXACTLY the same as it
ever was, but remember in the last blog post when I wrote about a
"forward gain of maybe a foot or two of...800 miles?"
That's definitely the same; though I'm not sure "a foot or
two" is accurate; I think maybe more like a few inches.
But, goddamnit I am going to play that line as
it should be played! I guess the "silver lining"
in this grayish cloud is that I've been making time to practice on
my bass pretty much every day.
This is currently what the word document of the
lyrics looks like. Full disclosure: there are full
lyrics for the first verse, but those will stay
under wraps until the song is released.
Also in the previous blog post, from last Saturday, I wrote of plans
to work on other instrumentation for the song. I know that the
first instrumental bridge will feature a sax solo that I'll do
using a sax voice from
Logic Pro
on my
Oxygen 61 Keyboard.
I know I'll also add at least one chorded bass part, as rhythm
guitar, where I have a re-tuning idea I'm going to try that involves
the use of my
capo.
And I will also finally take advantage of my new toy, the
Whammy Pitch Shift Bass Pedal
to play a "guitar solo" during the second instrumental
bridge ‐‐ the bridge with that M-F-in' bass line that is
the current bane of my bass-playing existence!
As I wrote the last post, my hope was to start at least some of that
other instrumentation later in the day on Saturday. I have not gotten
to any of it. Between woodshedding to master that frickin' trouble
section and the obligations of some theatre work, I simply didn't
fit any of these musical goals in. Neither have I done any more work
on the lyrics.
I have, however, given some thought to the musical composition of
some of these parts, especially the "sax" part and the
"lead guitar" part. I've thought more about what the two
will be doing during the verse sections, but I've consider at least
some elements of the featured solo sections, too.
S.O.P.:
I'm still pluggin' along with some
producer
work for
preproduction.
A crew member
had to drop out due to an unexpected change in availability, so I'm
in the midst of filling that position again. Doing other stuff, too,
like nagging some
company
members to get biographical info and/or
headshots
to me by the looming deadline, as I start working to gather the printed
program
information and get it to our program designer, Wendi Michael, in a
timely manner. I also continue the
sound design
for the show, curating and harvesting music for
preshow,
intermission,
and
production,
in consultation with
Director
Marjorie Strader.
ON THE BRINK OF TECH:
Opening Night
for this one is just around the corner, next Friday.
Tech Week
starts tomorrow night with probably a
dry tech
and definitely an actor-less
cue-to-cue.
There will likely be a cue-to-cue with the actors, too, during
this coming
Tech Sunday,
but this "Tech Friday" will definitely shorten the day
on Sunday.
ANOTHER SIX INCHES, OR SO, FORWARD ON THE PLATEAU:
Still trudging along with this troublesome bass section of the song
I am currently recording, or am supposed to be recording,
and would be if I could wholly conquer this bass line! Last night
I came probably closer to a satisfactory performance of the whole
bass line, from start to finish, than ever before, but it was still
far too lacking.
I ain't there yet.
But there's "progress," at least: about a half-foot on
that 800-mile journey on this plateau I'm traversing.
I'm also trying to correct some things in my fretting technique,
dealing with how I position my fretting fingers. For one thing I
have a natural tendency to hang my pinky finger out rather than
keep it close in on the fret board *(see the pic above). I
do at least utilize it as a fretting finger, but I can play more
efficiently if it's not hanging away most of the time. That's going
to take some training on my part, because it is my natural
tendency to let it pop away. It may be the physiology of my hand,
but I think it's something I can alter with some work. I also am
starting to work on keeping my fretting fingers from being too
scrunched together, to keep them a bit more spread which makes it
easier to fret different notes, especially those not right next
to the previous note played.
I OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES.....maybe ‐‐ (probably):
Along with some other local actors, I've just been made aware of a
casting call
for a local
indy film
which I assume is a
short-subject film,
but may be
feature-length.
Whichever, the call is for
day players.
The call asks for a
DIY video audition,
which, for those who make the cut, will lead to a
callback
and an in-person
screentest
for the producers.
I'm seriously considering this since there's a role for which I may
just meet type.
I haven't done any screen acting since
I was in The Tooth Man Cometh,
which was shot ten years ago this coming summer, only months before
my heart attack.
SAME OL' S.O.P.:
Just movin' on with the stuff that a
producer
at The Guild does,
which producers at most if not all local
non-professional theatres
do: getting the content of the
playbill
together and submitted, and reminding those spending money on the
show to get me receipts and to be mindful of their budgets. Now that
I think about it, the producers in
professional theatre
deal with these things, too, especially the budget stuff. I'm also
happy to report that I was able to fill that vacant
production crew
spot with someone who comes with a good theatre résumé.
I believe I am done harvesting the music for the show. I now have
some processing to do. There's also the curation, the deciding
what music goes where: what will be
production music,
what will be
preshow
or intermission
music. I also had to get one unique, script-specific
sound effect;
that's been acquired and processed. The rest of the minuscule amount
of sounds needed for the show are already in my
sound library.
Yesterday was, of course,
Tech Sunday,
and it went off quite well, with a comprehensive
cue-to-cue
then a
full tech run.
In terms of tweaks to the sound design that was brought into this
reprise production, yesterday I decided to add more
sound cues
beyond the additions Director
Sarah Caplan requested on Friday. This full production needs
scene-change music;
last summer there were no
set pieces
coming on and going off, and there was narration of relevant script
directions being read. For the most part, I've just used all the
preshow music,
but I did have to curate a few additional songs, but they're all in
keeping with a certain idea of the show, as is the preshow.
Yesterday, before I headed off to
tech rehearsal
for The Cure at
Dayton Playhouse,
I pulled out the ol'
Embassy Pro
and put in some time on that bass line. I tried something
that helped. During that bitch-of-a-challenge-for-me section, I
just slightly changed some of the notes, and consequently a subtle
bit of my fretting. It helped greatly. I'm still not at the point
where I can play the whole bass line well enough to record, but I
gained more ground last night than I have for a while.
I could consider this slight changeup cheating, and I don't
want to cheat. I want to conquer the beast. I want to use this
"ordeal" to become a better bass player. And I would
feel like I'm cheating if it weren't for one thing: the alteration
has made the bass line better in that section. Something had been
lacking in that section, aside from my crappy execution. The
rhythm-and-flow was broken. Also, something was disjointed or
unsatisfactory about the totality of the notes. Some of what was
bothering me certainly was due to my bad bass work in the section,
but not all of it.
The slight alteration has more than slightly improved the line there.
It now fits the feel I'm going for in the section whereas it was
somewhat deficient beforehand. Interesting how a small change can
make a big difference....Is
this some kind of Hallmark Channel life lesson, or something?
LAST SOUND DESIGNER CAPS FOR 24/25:
I'm on the verge of taking my
sound designer
cap off for this season. I have two shows to wrap in that capacity
then I am out for the remainder; not that there's a lot of the season
left to go. But I have turned down a few approaches. But, I do have
two rather easy ones left to finish off:
Tech Week
continues for The Cure. It's possible, maybe even probable,
that I am done tweaking the
sound design
for this show. But, Tech Week ain't over and so my adjustments may
not be over. That is why, as sound designer, I do like to be at every
tech rehearsal,
or as many as I can make, if not all of them. I did adjust the volume
on two production songs,
last night. They both might demand further tweaking from me tonight.
The show opens this Friday, by the way, and runs for two weekends.
The harvesting of music for this one is finished, as far as I know.
Now I'll be stepping up the sound work all around for the show. It's
getting time to decide what songs end up in the production
and what is relegated to
preshow
and intermission.
I have ideas.
It's about time to fire up Show Cue System
and write the sound cue programing for this one. But it's not exactly
going to be a long and intense process:
A really fine production opens tonight at
Dayton Playhouse
featuring some top-notch performances. I recommend the show as
more than worthy of your time and hard-earned money. This show
mark's Sarah Caplan's debut as a solo-director
and she has much to be proud of. Kudos to all involved.
The cast of players:
Heather Martin as Joan
Jared Mola as Matt (& others)
Chelsea Jenkins as Nancy
Mikki McKenzie as Amanda
Andrea Wintrow as Annette
Audrey Albers as Dagney
Remember how I wrote in the last post that I was maybe done tweaking
the sound design
but that it was still
Tech Week?
Yes, well, the second part of that came into play. Ms. Caplan decided
she wanted a couple
production songs
swapped out and that was dealt with yesterday.
ANOTHER TECH LOOMING ON THE HORIZON:
Showing weekends
Mar 28-Apr 13, 2025
Tickets on sale...
Tech Sunday
for
Chancers
is only nine days away. My theatre focus now turns fully to the
soundwork
for this. I still haven't started the cue program file for this in
Show Cue System, but
that's highly likely to happen this weekend.
![BETRAYAL, by Harold Pinter, with Helen Hunt at The Goodman](Betrayal_at_Goodman_trip/Betrayal_at_The_Goodman-icon.png"){kind=icon}
