Thursdays

Three gigs so far at Dixon Place, three completely different nights.

Night one: Ellie and some old friends popped in, true Dixon Placers from way back. I came in ready for covers and they requested my own songs, a pleasant surprise. Bill and Hil came and Alison as well. It was a perfect starter evening, the downstairs show was lightly attended and the night felt personal and special. I love playing for friends.

Night two: The last weekend for the show playing downstairs, and they had a great crowd. By 7pm the lobby already filling up, I dug into it on the electric. I left a copy of the book out and got two requests, Mister Green Genes, Zappa, and something else. I kind of chewed up Green Genes, first time playing it in public, but got a positive nod from the requester. Ramped up the song energy as the crowd gathered and then the room emptied out for the downstairs show leaving three older gentlemen at the bar. I took a brief break then came back with the baritone uke, which they liked. By 8:30 all wrapped up. Decided to play some house music from the ipod for the crowd exit, which matched the main show and was cool.

Night three: Packed house downstairs, which means packed in the lounge. The first set was fun and efficient. Jim Takacs came by, a really pleasant surprise, as well as 3 film students from Montreal I'd met earlier that day at work. When the crowd thinned out I got to chat with everybody. The downstairs show was short, or the time went fast, but suddenly the crowd let out and hit the bar. Really loud, energized crowd. I grabbed my uke and hit a few of my more high energy tunes, and then switched up to electric and just sang into the crowd, they were like a great fresh wave. They were not about me but I felt with them. Loud, drinky, good. I got to crank up the Princeton a bit for the first time and leaned into the mic. Lately I've been fearful for my hearing, conservative. It was a great relief to be in a loud room, grinding out some stupid and fun songs. Secret Agent Man. Coconut. And some cooler stuff as well, Sunny Side Of The Street. Really good night.

This Thursday I suspect I'll be joined by Randy Hudson, really great guitarist, has played with Bongwater, Zorn, founding member of New York Ebow Quartet. Should be fun.

I'll be at:

The Lounge at Dixon Place

161 Chrystie Street

7pm until 10, more or less

Every Thursday

No hat, but I may pass the cover

9 days out

Moonlit night at sea by Mary Rasure

Opening next week and all is well. Some highlights of the past couple of days.
- I heard Bill Tost sing Yonder tonight and it made me weep in the good way.
- Sadrina and I tried When I Find You in another key, and it really sprung to life.
- Doug and Alison and I worked on Bless The Creatures and chose to err on the side of beauty.
- Michael not only nailed the guitar feel for It's An Adventure To Talk To A Stranger, he improved it.
- Last night we ran the entire first act and the wheels came off of the bus only once, where a tricky guitar handoff did not go unnoticed.
- Got to see some projection art by Mary, I've included my favorite above.

The Director Must Have A Ship!

And this is the lumber with which I will build it! (Expect the ship to resemble a crate.)

How The Show Is Like A Child

The show is hungry.
It's favorite foods are actors, music and a good story. It must have clothing, toys (props & scenery), housing (a theater); things that enable it to play and develop and grow. It must have a gun and a sword and a rubber fish.

The show cries.
It wants another song, more dialogue, rehearsal time and time off from rehearsal. It must have the banana tree but is anxious the bathtub filled with water - the best idea I've ever had - will fall through the floor. It demands a play space as big as a theater. When it is unhappy, it lets me know.

The show keeps me up at night.
Worrying, planning and interpreting strange dreams that sometimes wake me.

The show naps.
It can't always be busy.

The show learns to walk.
Yesterday the actors started to become the characters all by themselves, which made the parents proud.

The show delights.
The singers made some amazing harmonies in the first group vocal rehearsal, which was like having eaten all of it's vegetable without being prompted.

The show acts out.
It craves attention, puts on cranky-pants and behaves irrationally. I can't allow the show to set the agenda! I am stern, I must be a grown-up! I cajole and negotiate and strive to give it things that are good for it. Sometimes I try to make it happy just because that makes me happy.

The show needs love.
And I need to love it.

5 Questions for Bill Pace

Photo by Hillary Bradley

1. What is your role in South?

My official title is "director", but I also like air traffic controller because I see an important part of my job being that everything on-stage flies clearly, cleanly and beautifully ... while also making sure there are no mid-air collisions.

2. What is the show about?
For me, SOUTH is learning that finding the truth about yourself goes beyond just locating who gave birth to you.

And that you can't trust over-caffeinated monks.

Or stinky ship cooks.

But you can trust cannibal lesbians!

3. What music have you listened to in the past week?
Oh man ... if I tell you, I could be banned from this musical! Oh well, here goes:

Street Sweeper
Nashville Pussy
K'naan
Nine Inch Nails
The Vacation
Supersuckers
Bon Iver
LA Guns
The New Pornographers
The Toxic Avenger Musical (seriously!)
Devi
The Donnas
Jay Rock
Heartless Bastards
Cracker
Mad Science Fair
Oh, and some guy named Carmen Borgia.

4. What other gigs do you have going on lately?
Too many!!

Screenwriter
Screenwriting & Filmmaking teacher at New School
Program Advisor for New School
Screenwriting consultant
Videographer
Running Open Caption screens for deaf groups at theaters

5. Who is your hero and why?
Hmmm ... right now I'd have to say Pres. Obama. First off, just the fact that we have an African-American president with an Arabic name is just amazing beyond belief! But beyond that, he was asked not to run yet, to wait and let Hillary have her turn while he gained more experience in the senate, but he wanted the presidency, went for it and made it happen, all while doing so in a very classy manner. On top of that, he said he represented change and since getting in office he is proving himself to be just that.

And the fact that he's a fellow Illinoisan don't hurt either!

5a. You may change the questions.
What about the answers?

The South Fan Page on Facebook is Here.

Back East

It's midnight and my nerves are jangled
Down the jetway at a Batman angle
They strap us into narrow seats
And feed us trays of runny eats
And jet our sorry asses back east

Back to the land of subway rails
Where oven summer heat prevails
People sweat on rooftop decks
The new arrivals curse and wreck
Their taxis in the traffic back east

In the west the weather's nice
And everybody has a car
All the people like themselves
Just the way they are

We're flyin' down the BQE
The driver breaks some laws for me
It's great to be in old New York
My baby called in sick to work
To spend the day with me back east

From the CD, "The Red Circle Line" by Carmen Borgia

Heading South

So, I went and wrote a musical. It's called South, it's set in 1860 and is about a young sailor's search for his parents. It's a grown-up nautical yarn wherein we meet pirates, filthy townfolk, well-adjusted lesbian cannibals, an over-caffeinated monk, a curious dealer of religious artifacts and...well, I wouldn't want to spoil it.

Last week we got mostly cast and then had our table reading on Sunday. I played guitar and sang the songs, which felt like a bit of a celebration. It was marvelous to hear the script out loud with the real people. This show has been in my head forever, and for it to spool out into the room was not only flattering and fun, but also a relief to hear people read and respond to it. When I heard the first ripple of laughter at what was actually a laugh line, I started to strum a little easier. Of course, we've got a lot of work ahead to make it happen, but I call this a great day.

Really excellent cast and crew, here come the credits! Alison is doing the cool worldly ladies. Sadrina Johnson is playing Arabella, the disgusting cook's spicy daughter. Robb Sherman is Wheeler, the questing Sailor. Bill Tost is Captain Spar, the aging commander of the similarly aged ship Worthy. Bill was in the Fantasticks in it's original run for years and is an amazing dude. He's so venerable he doesn't even have a web page! We've got Doug Skinner as Pym, the itinerant merchant spreading faith, or at least articles of it. I'm playing the monk with the coffee problem and music directing the lot. We're still looking for Hurley, the cook, so anyone who would like to play a disgusting person and sing an entire song about a bone should give a call.

It's being directed by Bill Pace and choreographed by Kriota Willberg. I've worked with both of them on other projects and it's always been a hoot. Jenny Rose is my co-producer, a veteran of many a fringe festival show, and is helping me to understand exactly what the heck I am doing.

We're doing the show at Dixon Place in NYC in June. It's going to be fun and challenge to get back into a theater and mount a show.

Them's the basics, details to follow I'm sure.

Valentine's Day Top Five

5. Wake up at 9.
4. Exquisite apple raspberry tart thing for breakfast.
3. Nap for 2 or 3 hours.
2. I'd rather not talk about this part.
1. Battlestar Galactica season 4 on the web.

The Shopocolypse

Photo swiped from Rev Billy without permission - forgive me!

I saw Reverend Billy's show yesterday at Dixon Place, an entertaining and emotional event. I'm quite honored to say that I've known him for many years, from before he was the Reverend, even.

Reverend Billy, who occupies the mortal container that is Bill Talen, is the Minister of the Church of Stop Shopping. His activities are portrayed in the recent Morgan Spurlock documentary, "What Would Jesus Buy?". Billy evangelizes an anti-consumerist creed that worships the small in favor of the large, the personal in favor of the commercial and the local as the best angel of the global. He preaches against the evils of the big box and the brand name. He holds particular distaste for those corporations that cultivate, at great expense, a veneer of social awareness and sensitivity to the needs of the individual when in fact they are entirely motivated by the same thing that drives all large businesses: profit.

The afternoon service was a simple event. Upon arrival I found a bare stage in the center of a beautiful new theater steadily filling with audience - parishioners. The setting couldn't have been more elemental; a blank back wall, no drapes or curtains. At stage right loomed a serviceable upright piano, a digital keyboard and an electric bass on a stand. There was a nice basic ceremonial vibe, like a clearing in the forest or a revival tent.

The show was exceptional on a few levels. First off, the choir rocked hard and excellently. I attended a Church of Stop Shopping event a few years ago, it was meaningful and fun, and the choir was very good. But the choir in 2008 is just plain slammin'. Directed by James Solomon Benn, the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir is the backbone of energy and spirit for the proceedings. I didn't get an actual count, but maybe 20 members drove the space throughout the event. A fine variety of spectacular singers traded solos, from ripping gospel to sweet ballads, setting up the point of view and attitude.

I was treated to a song of cronyism in the boardroom, another encouraging the shunning of Walmart and one exhorting the gathered crowd to stop shopping. As the various tunes resonated throughout the theater, the Reverend clapped along on the sidelines, stamping his feet and uttering an occasional well-placed "Halleluja".

Once the tone of the service had been thoroughly established, Billy took the stage and delivered a measured and thoughtful sermon. He covered topics that ranged from Jdymytai Damour, the minimum-wage temp worker trampled to death by overeager shoppers at the black Friday opening of a Long Island Walmart, to the pre-Christian meaning of Christmas as a winter solstice fertility and survival rite. One might think that this sort of thing would feel, um, preachy - or at least guilt inducing. The genius of Reverend Billy is that he is able to provide a sense of uplift and humor to a message that is normally associated with dour funlessness and resignation. Reverend Billy has dedicated many of his years finding ways to bring satisfaction and even triumph to simple personal acts like visiting a public park or shopping at a local business. And when the inevitable moment arrives in the show when someone in the audience - or choir - is caught with their Starbucks cup mid-sip, Billy bows his head humbly and intones, "We're all sinners here." This is a fight we're in together.

I don't pretend to have the answers to the ills of the world, and I suspect that even if the solutions turn out to be simple in theory, they will be tortuously difficult to bring to reality. I can say that when I've felt a little down, a brush with Reverend Billy always pulls me up or at least makes me feel I may point myself in the right direction. If you've got a bit of worldly malaise and want to get it cured up, you could do a lot worse than check out The Church of Stop Shopping.