CANADIAN TALENT WEARS A UNIQUE INSIGHT

Sunday, July 25, 2011: CANADIAN TALENT WEARS A UNIQUE INSIGHT

I'm always fascinated to talk with actors or musicians after a performance - the wind down, the honesty, the inside on the performance.

This week, I visited Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto and Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario to see a couple plays.  One was Russian "A Month in the Country" at Soulpepper and the other was Shakespeare's "As You Like It" in Stratford.   Both plays were exceptional and a unique experience for me - one: to see a Russian play brilliantly acted and two: to see Shakespeare performed at the world renowned Stratford Festival Theatre with my daughter who is an actor and a student of Shakespeare.

 

After the play "A Month in the Country" at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto's Distillery District, we met with actor Jeff Lillico who played the young Russian tutor Belyaev and the romantic interest of the character Natalya played by Fiona Bryne.  The Weekly Eye called the performance "a revelation ... a truly invigorating experience" with a five star rating.  Jeff is now enjoying the performance run.  A Russian play is intense.  So much of what we see onstage in the characters is unspoken, so much is expressed in "what lies underneath and in the spaces between".

  

Jeff was masterful onstage - so was the entire cast.  He thoroughly enjoys his time at Soulpepper  Just last month, he was awarded a prestigious Dora Award for his acting in "The Light in the Piazza".  Next month, he begins rehearsal as Romeo in Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's production of "Romeo & Juliet".  Jeff Lillico is an actor who does his homework - he travels to research characters, he reads and  expresses it honestly onstage in character.

After the performance of "As You Like It" at Stratford, we talked with actress Andrea Runge who plays Rosalind.  The Toronto Star reviewed, "Ms. Runge has proved herself a sparkling leading lady, a mooning and mischievious Rosalind."  Andrea is originally from Regina, Saskatchewan - a girl from the prairies.  She is rooted, knows what she wants and gets it done.  I like that.  And I also enjoyed her sincerity and honesty  in easy conversation after the show.

Canadian talent wears a "unique insight".  We can embrace that proudly!

AMERICAN FOLK SONG ROOTS

Tuesday, July 20, 2011: AMERICAN FOLK SONG ROOTS

As I researched through the songs and the artists with roots in the American Folk Songs of the 60's and specifically roots in Greenwich Village, I ran across some great songs.

 

Songs from the Forest Gump soundtrack including: "California Dreaming" (Mamas and the Papas), "For What It's Worth" (Buffalo Springfield), "Mrs. Robinson" (Simon and Garfunkel), "Let's Get Together" (The Youngbloods), "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (The 5th Dimension), "Turn, Turn, Turn" (The Byrds), "Everybody's Talkin'"(Harry Nilsson), "All Along the Watchtower" (Jimi Hendrix), "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" (Pete Seeger), "Runnin' On Empty" (Jackson Browne).

A 10 CD set from a Time Life collection titled "Flower Power" includes the songs: "Leaving on a Jet Plane" (Peter, Paul and Mary), "Daydream Believer" (The Monkees), "Both Sides Now" (Judy Collins), "Blowing in the Wind" (Peter, Paul & Mary), "Amazing Grace" (Judy Collins), "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Joan Baez), "Here Comes the Sun" (Ritchie Havens), "We Shall Overcome" (Joan Baez), "Hair" (The Cowsills), "Monday, Monday" (Mamas and the Papas), "It's Getting Better" (Mama Cass), "Mr. Tambourine Man" (The Byrds), "Summer in the City" (The Lovin' Spoonful), "White Rabbit" (Jefferson Airplane), "Stoned Soul Picnic" (The 5th Dimension), "Daydream" (The Lovin' Spoonful), "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (Bob Dylan), "Creeque Alley" (Mama and the Papas),"Somebody to Love" (Jefferson Airplane).

At the end of the week, I'll experience the sights and sound of Greenwich Village - Bleecker Street Records, Cafe Wha?, Washington Square Park, the Blue Note, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex ....

WHEN YOU KNOW "CHANGE IS GONNA COME"

Sunday, July 11, 2011: WHEN YOU KNOW "CHANGE IS GONNA COME"

I've been reading Bob Dylan's "Chronicles".   Rolling Stone magazine reviewer Mikal Gilmore says that it's "a remarkable achievement, and like Henry Miller's best personal writings, it is a story that open up the times that it portrays, and then reveals the possibilities of the human spirit."

Dylan was way ahead of his times - certainly "the times they were a-changin'".  Malcolm Gladwell talks about the "tipping point".

  

Dylan expressed the tipping point in "Chronicles": "Sometimes you know things have to change, are going to change, but you can only feel it - like in that song of Sam Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come" - but you don't know it in a purposeful way.  Little things foreshadow what's coming but you may not recognize them.  But then something immediate happens and you're in another world, you jump into the unknown, have an instinctive understanding of it - you're set free.  You don't need to ask questions and you already know the score.  It seems like when that happens, it happens fast, like magic, but it's really not like that.  It isn't like some dull boom goes off and the moment has arrived - your eyes don't spring open and suddenly you're very quick and sure about something.  It's more deliberate.  It's more like you're been working in the light of day and then you see one day that it's getting dark early, that it doesn't matter where you are - it won't do any good."

He got it - he saw things that others didn't see.  He watched, he listened - he didn't just "react" - Dylan was there when it happened.

THE MUSIC AND MUSICIANS OF GREENWICH VILLAGE

I've been researching more about Greenwich Village in New York.  This was the place in the 60's where musicians lived and shared ideas, listened to music and created the newest sounds of the day.   The heart of folk music was Greenwich Village and the heart of the heart was Washington Square Park.

Here's a list of musicians who lived and performed in Greenwich Village during their early music careers  - it's the who's who of some of the greatest influences in American folk music.

The Mamas and Papas (California Dreamin’, Monday Monday)

Dave Van Ronk (known as the Mayor of MacDougal Street)

Bob Dylan (Blowin’ in the Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin’)

Barbra Streisand (released her latest disc at a performance in the Village in 2009)

Peter, Paul and Mary (If I Had a Hammer, Where Have All the Flowers Gone)

Simon and Garfunkel (Sounds of Silence, 59th Street Bridge Song, Mrs. Robinson)

Jackson Browne (Doctor My Eyes, Runnin’ On Empty)

James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine (Fire and Rain, You’ve Got a Friend)

Eric Anderson (Thirsty Boots)

Joan Baez (Diamonds and Rust, We Shall Overcome)

The Velvet Underground (Lou Reed, John Cale, Nico, manager: Andy Warhol)

The Kingston Trio (Tom Dooley)

Richie Havens (Motherless Child also known as Freedom - sung at Woodstock)

Maria Muldar (Midnight at the Oasis)

Odetta (The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement)

Tom Paxton (his songs are recorded by most popular Village artists)

Phil Ochs (American protest singer/songwriter)

Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now, Chelsea Morning, Woodstock)

Ian and Sylvia Tyson (Four Strong Winds, You Were On My Mind)

Laura Nyro (writer of hit songs for The Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night)

Pete Seeger (Turn Turn Turn, Goodnight Irene)

Rambling Jack Elliot (mastery of Woodie Guthrie’s music and big impact on Dylan)

Nina Simone (jazz and civil rights activist)

Jimi Hendrix (one of the greatest electric guitarists in rock history)

John Sebastian (Do You Believe in Magic, Summer in the City)

Fred Neil (Everybody’s Talkin’)

The groups that were spawned from Village roots now affect a larger audience – in festivals, in major centres like San Francisco, in Canada through the early influences of Ian and Sylvia and Joni Mitchell, in major rock groups like The Byrds, The Loving Spoonful, The Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night, Gram  Parsons, Stephen Stills, Buffalo Springfield, The Monkees, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash.

INSPIRATION IN GREENWICH VILLAGE

Sunday, June 20, 2010: INSPIRATION IN GREENWICH VILLAGE

I'm currently planning concerts for the upcoming Revv52 season and a time away in Greenwich Village New York for inspiration.  Greenwich Village is vibrant.  I was there twice last year - just briefly - but this time I want to settle in for a week and take in the music, the clubs, the buzz on the streets and the people. 

 

One certainly can hear world class artists performing in the clubs like the Blue Note, The Village Gate, The Village Vanguard, The Bitter End, Cafe Au Go Go, Cafe Wha, The Gaslight Cafe, Lion's Den and the Comedy Cellar.  You'll also hear performances on the streets as an observer wrote, "One night in November we were cruising down Bleecker Street when I heard a street musician playing guitar. The voice sounded familiar...which was interesting. I stopped to look and guess who it was! Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. I gave him a $10 and he played a song for my wife. He was very friendly and polite. I told him I was a fan and asked if I could get my $10 back...he smiled and said "Son, this world is rough and if a man's gonna make it he's gotta be tough". I guess that meant I wasn't getting my $10 back."

 

Artists who performed in the clubs of Greenwich Village during their early years include: members of the Mamas and Papas, Rambling Jack Elliot, John Sebastian, Odetta, Jose Feliciano, Fred Neil, Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Eric Anderson, Joan Baez, The Velvet Underground, The Kingston Trio, Richie Havens, Maria Muldar, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone ....

This time in New York, I'm going to relive some of this history and hunker into the Village for a spell.

Comments are welcome.

EXCELLENCE BEGETS EXCELLENCE

Sunday, June 13, 2010: EXCELLENCE BEGETS EXCELLENCE

I recently talked with a restaurateur from an exceptional restaurant who explained to me that he uses only the best ingredients.  I watched the Tony Awards from Broadway tonight - one of the very best places to see a musical.  I visited the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in London where I viewed some of the most beautiful art ever painted.

My grandfather purchased only the "best".  His purchases proved to be excellent investments.

As an artistic director and as an educator, I've always sought to work with the best.  Years back, when we performed the production of "Grease", I asked Didi Conn (Frenchy from the MGM movie) to work a rehearsal.   When I looked to understand more about British comedy and theatre, we took a busload of actors to the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary and talked with visiting actor/musician Dudley Moore.   For Gospel music, I visited churches and music directors in Los Angeles and worked with musicians who performed with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.  It helped us further understand the call and response style, R and B and Pop.  I attended the little Gospel church in Amherstberg, Ontario where black slaves found their freedom at the end of the underground railway and travelled to Motown in Detroit to check out the place where that groove started.

To be unafraid to learn from the best and to be around the best with an appetite to learn is a great place to be. 

 

Excellence begets excellence.

Comments are welcome.

PERFORM

Sunday, June 6, 2010: PERFORM

In the Creative Class yesterday, singer/songwriters shared their new songs with each other in a positive, supportive environment.  The class is a good place to "try things out" before taking to the stage.   Other songwriters in the class as well as Neil MacGonigill and I give constructive feedback about the songs and the performances.  These artists take to the stage next Sunday at 4 pm at the new Ironwood in the Inglewood neighborhood of Calgary.

 

A question was posed about whether one should wait and hone one's skills to the utmost level before performing in venues.  My answer - get out there and perform.  I remember the response of business guru Tom Peters (In Search of Excellent).  It was Ready, Fire, Aim - get out there and do it and fix it along the way.  That was what Pink Floyd did when they toured the music for the album "Dark Side of the Moon" for a full year before settling in the studio to complete the record.  The other alternative according to Tom Peters is: Ready, Aim, Fire.  The problem with that approach is that the music industry changes so quickly - what works today might not work tomorrow.

 

Prepare and rehearse but perform regularly.  Watch early career video of performers like Sting, Elton John, Peter Gabriel - because they are great artists - they continually improve - like a fine wine.  No competition at this level - its all about the art form and creating art.

 

Perform!

Comments are welcome.