Still Here, But Ooftah...

Had a really nice weekend with my family. And a more-or-less two day break from concerns of The Good Doctor. Back into the fire today, where it was necessary for me to use up one of the vacation days I had planned to take for my paternity leave.

Starting at 8:30 am this morning, I:

• Re-tracked and edited a music piece that is being used for a scene.
• Loaded up all the risers for our stage, brought them over to the performance space, and helped affix legs.
• Followed up on advertiser money & artwork.
• Worked through tech rehearsal as actor/stagehand.
• Just got back home (10:15) to re-re-re-track the music piece, cause the cues were still not given to me correctly.

Other, minor little considerations (not so minor, if they fall through, unfortunately) were ever-present in my mind, throughout the day. Christ almighty, but it's going to be an enormous load off my mind when we simply get to opening night (when I know that nothing else can be done) and then an even bigger load off my mind when we get through the first performance, by hook or by crook; just simply proving that we can actually do it.

There's a lot of factors making things more difficult this time around; not the least of which are the fact that this is our inagural production. We literally had NOTHING in place; no past advertisers, no precedent for space, no knowledge of our company preceding us in the community, no lights, no stage, no nothing. Next time, some of that infrastructure will be in place. But there were also some issues with some less-than-perfect delineation of duty. And a tiny, tiny company. It was really a lot for five of us to take on, especially when four of us were acting in the play. I'm going to have to dial it back in the fall, as Sharon gets closer and closer to her due date.

On a side note, if you've not been following Valerie Borey's Good Doctor Blog, shame on you! She invites readers in on a very personal perspective of putting this thing together, often with a more thoughtful tangental take on the different steps of the process; unlike me, who feels like I'm just struggling to keep my hair in. From the recent cast photo shoot, see me; insane & sweaty: 50% because I just finished one of my physically & emotionally draining "freak out" scenes in the play, and 50% because that's just how I've been looking & feeling lately.

Boo-Yah and the One-Upping of T-Clog

My purchase on Saturday.

Friday night we were in a state of near-emergency. Our grass and dandelion forest had gone to seed, and everything was far past our ability to cut with our reel mower. I left a desperate message for Mixdorf to give me the lowdown on corded electric mowers, but then had the inspiration to borrow a mower from a neighbor. We did and, by chance, she had an electric, corded one she had just bought this past year. Using it was heavenly. The ease with which the thing cut our front yard the next day was so amazing; and the cord, so little hassle (relative to the use of a reel mower), that I resolved to run out and make a purchase that very day.

What you see above is our new Craftsman, 12 amp, mulching mower. I spent a decent number of hours on Saturday (prior to the front yard mow) and Sunday (prior to the back yard mow) doing my version of the "20-minute gardener," which was essentially just picking off all the dandelion heads that were at full seed, so that the use of a mower would not just scatter them. I then went through and did what will probably be our last our last first and last pass with a grass catcher till possibly fall (when we may use it for leaves). Lawn looks decent, for the time being; though we may be about due for another round of corn gluten to make sure that we're good on preventing the sprout of seeds that have spread in the past couple of weeks.

God, I hate that I'm sitting here doing "lawn-talk." I hate lawns nearly as much as I hate cars. But what can I do, other than slowly work towards my ultimate goal of "less lawn." Coverage by various plantings of Sharon's are slowly taking up more & more real-estate; and the area under Lucy's new swings will undoubtedly be a dusty, grassless region by mid-summer. Definitely a work in progress.

Suffering From a Level of Stress that Would Make T-Clog Proud

I've been stressing out about the show. But not for the reason one might expect. In addition to learning my part, I'm having to try and generate ad sales, get the word out in the neighborhood through a variety of creative ways, and take on all kinds of logistical concerns most of which have already been considered by our company director, but about which I nevertheless freak.

It's almost like my own personal performance is the least of my concerns, and that just seems crazy.

Yoink!

We're "off book" this week for rehearsal (meaning, we can no longer have script in hand). Valerie, the Camden Civic Theatre dramaturg, blogger, and actor (whom I play opposite in one of my two scenes), has an interesting post on the subject today.

Little Chicky, Growing Sure and Not-So-Slow

We went to our 2nd prenatal appointment this morning. Much relief, again, to hear that heartbeat chugging along, though a little slower and louder this time.

During the first pregnancy, there were all sorts of little things that happened to Sharon, physiologically, that seemed kind of out of the ordinary and like possible causes for concern; however, when we'd go in and talk to the midwife at an appointment, we would be assured that, "Oh yeah, that happens a lot." Basically, we learned a lesson about "expect the unexpected"during these 10 months.

Well, not much has changed the 2nd time around. Now, both time when we've made a little list of things to ask about (should she be "showing" already, and up this high? why would she be feeling extraordinarilly tired all the time? etc. etc.), we are assured, point by point, that these are things that are very common for a 2nd pregancy.

Overall, a very reassuring visit. Excitement continues to build...

Laser Tagged!

I am: in puruit of something elusive, but hopefully taking advantage of all the wonderful and interesting roadside stops along the way
I want: Personally-top of mind-a digital piano. a Goose Island Honkers ale......say that was easy! Globally: peace, social justice, conservation.
I wish: The slow march of social progress could speed up and scrunch the inevitable next 150 years into the next two. That I could make a living in a creative endeavor.
I hate: The president, his friends, and those that do his bidding. Violence and, and those who perpetrate & encourage it. The love of cars.
I miss: being childless (though, do not confuse this with "regret," as it's not that at all). backpacking. my buddies.
I fear: Personally, regret. Nationally, about 31%-34% of the American people. And Globally, theocracy and corporations.
I hear: The fan from my computer. Sharon's shower.
I wonder: how many people will come to The Good Doctor? I guess that could also go under "fear" and "want"
I regret: Too much. It's one of my biggest faults. Mostly, not getting either a geography or natural sciences degree in college.
I am not: going to send you up the river or suddenly turn into some kind of a dick (unless you think I'm a dick already, in which case "I can't win em all")
I dance: When the mood strikes me
I sing: Almost constantly, when not at work
I cry: Lots. From telling Lucy how much I love her, to that infamous episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, I am liable to mist over at any given moment.
I am not always:
I make: music, laugher (I hope)
I write: songs, blog entries & mini-essays, flash fiction
I confuse: many things, sometimes needlessly
I need: the ability to do nothing
I have: non-stop aspirations
I should: not check email & go online so much at home
I tag: how bout this-NOBODY!

CRAZY Busy!

While responding to a question about whether I'd listened to the latest release from the Coalescent Musical CoOp, I realized how many plates I currently have spinning. The sort of situation where other aspects of my life (mainly, home maintenance issues) feel like they can quickly slide into chaos.

I've been trying to squeeze in practice for a set of songs I am playing at a solo acoustic show at Camden Coffee Company tomorrow. I rended my vocal chords a bit last week during theatre practice and their weakened state allowed a bit of a virus to settle in. I've had a minor cold and have been attempting, with some minor success, to kick it enough to give me a proper voice for Friday night. In addition, rehearsal is heating up for The Good Doctor. Next week we are "off book" (e.g. we can no longer use our scripts), so I have been studying my lines by listening to a recording of me playing all the parts in my scenes on the way to and from work. I had rehearsal Tuesday and last night.

But oh, were it only the art itself I had to worry about! It is crucial to our company that we pull off this performance successfully. It's not just about the quality of the show, but how many audience members we get there (we need 60 a night for 4 performances, minimum) and, unfortunately, how many ads we can sell in our program ($1,000 worth, minimum). In addition to trying to gear ourselves up to perform, the company members need to hit the streets and sell ads. Ugh.

All right, all right, I got my hair cut. Are you happy now?

Hell, Yeah!

Wither the Honky Tonk, Countrypolitan, and Outlaw Albums?

Actually, I have a theory.

As a few might know, I've gotten increasingly into pre-1990's country & western music throughout my adult life. But a strange phenomenon prevents me from exploring the various sub-generes to the fullest. The albums simply...aren't...available.

Anyone who takes a particular interest in classic rock n' roll can find the majority of the supergroups' entire album collections in just about any record store worth half a damn; or at least by visiting two or three. For the next tier down, even; one need only shop around on the internet for a little while, if he wants a choice from every release from a particular discography from this style of music.

But country? Good luck. Actual albums from such artists as Don Williams, Don Gibson, Bobby Bare (and many, many others), who may well have sold millions of LPs in their day are conspiculously absent from the entire realm of popular music commerce. What gives?

Well, as anyone who knows much about popular music knows, country music underwent a transformation sometime leading into the 90s. From my perspective, a soul-selling, disturbing transformation to what I would deem an entirely new and twisted type of music, not really related to the original style. Very similar, actually, to the transformation that occured within the once-meaningful and exciting genre of R&B.

Anyway, I would guess the generation of "new country" fans is similar to the bubblegum "dance group" fans in top-40s music; the appeal of music is about the presentation, the style, and the image of the artist as much as the music itself. With today's mini-skirted, supermodel country divas and metrosexual-sideburned male singers with cowboy hats that have never been within miles of an actual horse, there's very little room for the shaggy, ol' bar room outlaws of the 70s & early 80s. Admittedly, some of those artists were projecting as much of a purposeful image as today's artists, but most of them actually lived a pretty rough and tumble lifestyle that would be considered a pretty genuine reality behind the image.

I would further guess that the fan base of these "legends" artists, in their time, did not include as a large a contingent of "music-head" type fans; ones that study, deconstruct, and devour all that was related to their favorite artists, as their rock music counterparts were doing with Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, the Beatles, etc. These fans, likely, drifted into new interests, aged & died, or were never, otherwise, driven to demand any more from the music industry than a series of retrospectives and "The Essential..." collections. If you look around, you can still find some older Willie albums, and some Johnny Cash (who both have worked overtime to try to keep their appeal and sales over the past quarter decade); but that's pretty much it.

It's a real shame, as I scour the www.AllMusic.com discographies of some of these artists and see the long ranks of five star albums and reviews for CDs that simply don't exist. I really hope that this wonderful, lush period of popular music history, post Hank Williams and pre-Randy Travis, is not lost forever; and that, over time, it's unique and often heart-rending beauty is discovered by a new crop of music afficionados. To that end, you go, Best-Of Collections! You're its greatest ambassador.

I invite all who have an interest to check out the Country Heritage station at www.AccuRadio.com. It includes songs in and out of the particular period of music about which I've been writing, but as good a representation of it as any station I've heard.

For Joy Wk 3

In my succession of picking the most beautiful (forecast-wise) day of the week for my Hyland Park run, I went out yesterday. I was actually accompanied by a co-worker who is in his
mid-fifties but has the body of Batman (the comic-book version, not the Adam West version). The temperature was hotter than anything we've seen yet this year, and we were coming off a few days of rain, so certain parts of the run became a wet slog, undoubtedly slowing us down a bit.

My past experiences running with this particular individual have been when I was in active training for one event or another, in pretty prime shape; and even then, it's always been everything I can do to keep up. He's the kind of guy that has historically run year in and year out, three+ times a week. However, he's shifted his focus in the past six months to Pilates, and has only gone on, by his admission, "two runs since October." As such, I was in the game. He set out at a pace I think he is used to from memory, but that he couldn't sustain in that heat. I was game for attempting, having not really pushed myself to the limit so far this year. We ended up having to stop for a couple walks (he asked for the walk, I was more than willing to oblige) along the way. It definitely took a lot out of me; energy-wise, as well as water-wise, but it was nice to "give her" for a change. Variety in one's runs is but one of but many, many of the spices of life.

In talking during the run, I told him of the idea I'm kicking around with Mixdorf in only the most beginning of stages, about doing a three to four day running (probably more like walk/running) of the Appalachian Trail through Massachussetts from Vermont to Connecticut, bringing along only a water belt, one change of clothes, and a credit card; and getting sauced at a succession of brewpubs along the way. The type of thing about which I'm a lot more likely to get all whipped up than him, but perhaps with a little encouragement we could get Mixxy to pick up the torch, as well. Maybe he could take pledges from coworkers to support "Doctors without Borders" or some shit like that.

In any event, yesterday was really good evidence that an endeavor like that is not the type of thing you just pick up and do without some preparation.