What a day Saturday was! I had three local appearances to do some music, and each one was just tremendously satisfying. It started with the opening of Saturday Market, where for the 8th or so year in a row, I get to play the opening day Kids set. My friend Kim Still books the stage and she saves that day for me. It's a bit of a tradition at this point, as if to say, here's another year of the market and Rich will do his thing to make the kids and the community happy.
It was a really fun show, but the highlight had to be when a little rain shower came through. I had the impulse to sing 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' as some kind of wry comment on the weather, but not only in that 'ironic' sense. Deeper than that is the idea that if we are singing, breathing and expressing joy, it is a beautiful morning, regardless of the weather. Plus I like that song.
And as I sang it, I got the sense that the shower was passing through, so I said, 'if everybody sings, the sun will come out'. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened, as if on cue. People sang along, stronger and stronger and by the end of the song, it was blue sky up above and a warming sun. After my set, Kim said to me, 'You won't believe how many times that has happened at the market', and she would know, having been on her post for twenty years now. I don't know if other musicians have exhorted the audience to sing and thereby bring out the sun, but that's what I did, and it was a little bit of magic on a Saturday morning.
After the set, I had to pack up and hurry to do some music at the Tamarack Wellness Center, where a group was organizing a 'Family Fun Day' for families impacted with cancer. I was to do some interactive stuff following lunch, and I got to play with Sluggo, who is the mascot for the local minor league baseball team. He's a really talented comic actor and it was fun to interact with him and a group of kids. When I showed up, he had the kids around him shaking hands and being silly. I figured I'd start with 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame', and we did it twice. But the second time, I sang, 'And it's root root root for the YANKEES, if they don't win it's a shame'. Of course Sluggo, with his Emeralds shirt and hat, reacted with unhappiness and got a laugh, so I said, root root root for the Dodgers... The Mariners, and finally the Emeralds, and he was funny and improvisational, and I could see it was going to be a good collaboration.
We used instruments, scarves, creative movement and it was a great set. The kids and parents were delighted, there was a great flow to it all, and everyone was very happy about it, and it's all for a good cause. One of the highlights was making a little parade with the song 'Macnamara's Band'. I like that song for a few reasons. It's a cool melody, perfect for marching, perfect for instruments 'The drums go bang, the cymbals clang, the horns they blaze away...' And there is a part where I have the kids (and Sluggo) play two times on their instruments. Da da da da clap clap da da da da clap clap, da da da da clap clap da da da da clap clap. That little bit of variation makes the whole thing come alive in a dynamic way. It's age appropriate and musical and provides a nice contrast with the straight marching rhythm of the rest of the song. And I especially like using the song because the idea came to me when I was talking to Rosie's dad Everett, a ninety year old former minister who used to lead group singing and dancing (play party games) way back in the day. "before the Twist came in and ruined everything" in Everett's words.
I was talking to him once about music in the older days, and I asked him what were some of the songs that he liked to use with the community. 'I can't remember, it was so long ago', he replied. 'Come on, Everett, give me one song', I encouraged. 'I really can't remember'. 'Come on, one song'. He said, 'well, Macnamara's Band was pretty popular'. I said, thanks Everett, I like that song, I'll learn it'. So I did, and sure enough it's a great song for the community. I love it when I get to enlist the help of other people in creating stuff for the community. Maybe I'll do a post about it sometime. There are lots of examples...
The final piece of yesterday's puzzle was at the Jello Art Show, where I was to have a guest slot in the Radar Angels performance. I sang the song 'Boom Boom' as a country western piece and my character was called 'Jigglin' Willy Johnson'. After I was introduced, my first line was 'You can call me Billy the Yid'. Both names were the result of a Facebook thread which I started to enlist the help of my creative friends in giving me a name to use as a horny cowboy at the Jello Show. It was a very funny list of names that emerged, and I chose those two. :-)
The song itself was a huge hit in the show, and that is so gratifying on so many levels. For one, I wrote the thing, and it's always a thrill to create something that is well received. And it's funny and has something to say, which adds to the feeling of accomplishment. And it's naughty and somewhat risky which ups the ante and adds to the feeling of accomplishment when it comes off right.
The song became a collaboration with dancers Joanie and Mark, who acted out some of the story, and did some comic interpretations of the material. We had very limited rehearsal, but they are great improvisers and dancers and we had a lot of confidence in one another. And there was a drummer and bass player who jumped in halfway through, as per my instructions, to pump some extra energy into the tune, give it an arc, if you will. Everybody, including me, did great, and wow, what a feeling to put a lot of effort into a three minute performance piece and then have it work out really well. The audience gave it a great ovation. I was buzzed to the max afterward.
As always, the Jello Show is videotaped from a good vantage point, and I'm anxious to see if the video person got a good version of the song. If so, I'll post it on my Facebook page and share it with the world. I haven't seen the dancers do their thing as I was focused on the audience, but it felt right and the crowd reaction was great, so I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like.
Now I have a couple of hours to prepare for a little gig this morning at the Unitarian Church where I'm a guest at their kids service about the earth. I'll do a couple of songs and will collaborate with my friend Candee Cole who is the religious education director there and who is bringing me in for the giglet. Candee is funny, and she is the one who came up with the name 'Jigglin' Willy', which I used last night. Oh yeah, the fun continues....
