This one will be of no interest to anyone except theatre people, and tech people specifically, so you have my permission to tune out now if you are not one of those.
Self Help by Norm Foster opens tonight. I certainly hope it's better than last night's preview. Lines were forgotten left and right, pages (literally) were skipped, messing up an entrance, etc. And, we have an audience for the preview. Technically, it's a dress rehearsal, and it's rarely perfect, but this one was so far from perfect that I felt really, really sorry for the audience who actually do pay, a donation to charity, to attend.
Anyway, it'll be right eventually. Tonight, I hope. We'll see...
So, I finally went ahead and used a recycled Preshow and Intermission for the first time. I previously used the same music for "The Butler Did It", about four years ago. No one noticed, and I didn't think they would. It's just soft, instrumental jazz, actually off one of those CDs you see at Walmart or the drug store, where you push the button and hear selections.
The theme of the show is, as you would imagine, self help. I needed music that would be strong, confident, successful, inspirational, etc. The show starts with "There's No Business Like Show Business" since, in the opening of the play, you can see that they are struggling actors, just trying to make a living. I found a great piece of music on the Internet called "Smash of the Titans, Underscore" for their theme music as self help gurus. I use the same piece of music in 3 different places: beginning and end of Act 1, Scene 2, and the top of Act 2 as the curtains are opening.
At various places in the show I am using "Money" by Pink Floyd, "Accentuate the Positive" by Paul McCartney, and "I Got My Mind Set On You" by George Harrison. Curtain Call music is "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. Exit music is "Try Try Try" by Nikki Yanofsky and "High Hopes" by Frank Sinatra.
Stuff had to be recorded for the show as well. I recorded two lines myself, the actors' five minute warning, and the "places please" announcement in the first scene of Act 1. I had my wife record the introduction to the self help seminar. That was a bit of work: I start with audience hubbub (from the Internet), then my wife starts and the hubbub dies down. As it does, a drumroll starts. As she's saying their names the applause starts, then cheers. I used two different sound effect clips for that. When the intro is over there is a cymbal crash, and the Smash of the Titans music starts. The actors come out and call for the music to stop. I put in a needle scratch sound for that. There's also a dog barking, a couple of times, and I just used a clip already in my computer, that I probably used before.
I decided it would be easier to record the intercom conversations from the kitchen rather than hook up a mic backstage and do it live. In three separate places in the script the Intercom is used from the kitchen and I knew it would work better as a sound effect. For one thing, it frees the actor, we don't have to set up the mic, and I can do the processing in advance, and it sounds the same every time.
Lighting is pretty basic. When the play opens they are in their dressing room, backstage. Rather than do it on the stage, we have them set up in the audience, right at the front so we had to have a special light cue for that. The seminar scene is done in front of the curtain, so we have just three lights devoted to that, which are also incorporated into the regular lights, for the rest of the show on the stage.
Well, that's about it, I think. Come see the show, if you can. But maybe wait a week or two until the cast learn their lines, okay?
Michael
Way back, in my first post, I mentioned a Facebook friend who complained that there was no music for her today. Everything was autotuned, and therefore terrible, and not for her. I argued with her, at the time, that there was still lots of good, new music out there, but you weren't going to hear it on hit radio (in Toronto, that would be CHUM-FM, Virgin 99.9, the Flo 93.5, etc) or on oldies radio (Q107, AM740, Oshawa's CKDO, etc.). So what do you have to do to hear new music?
Well, forget radio. That's no help at all. I do love radio, and I almost always have one on. Right now, as I type, I've got Q107 in the background. And I listen to all the stations I have listed above. But you won't find a lot of new, adult oriented music on those stations. Surprisingly though, you may actually hear some Michael Buble, even on the hit stations.
So, Michael Buble is the first one we'll mention. He sings songs from the "Great American Songbook", which means, as near as I can tell, the same songs that Frank Sinatra once sang. Songs written by Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, George & Ira Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael, etc. But Michael, as well as other similar singers perform a lot more than that. They will also do original, new songs, and cover hit songs of the last few decades in their own style. And that is what hit radio is picking up on. Great, let's expose young people to other forms of music, which they may enjoy or even prefer. Matt Dusk is a similar performer, in age and style. He just put out an album featuring the songs of Chet Baker but he has many more which are very similar to Michael Buble's mix of oldies and new songs.
I especially love female singers, and I'd put Nikki Yanofsky and Emilie-Claire Barlow into the same category. Nikki is taking an agonizingly long time to put out her third album but, once she does, I'm sure it will be worth waiting for. Nikki has an incredible voice and, for a nineteen-year-old, she knows her stuff. She covers a lot of old jazz songs as well as rock songs. And she writes a lot of her own material too. Emilie-Claire Barlow's latest album is totally in French, even though she is a Toronto girl. It's still pretty good, even if you don't speak a word of French. Her previous album , The Beat Goes On, was all 60's hits, done in her easy-listening, light rock/jazz style.
Susie Arioli sings the same kind of songs, except her songs feature Jordan Officer, an electric guitar player, as prominently out there as she is. Makes her sound totally different, in a good way, from the others. And, while we're talking about different, I'll bring up Alex Pangman, who likes to do things old style. Her 2011 album, 33, is all songs from 1933 recorded when Alex was 33. Both artists have recorded many albums in the last decade or two, and are worth seeking out, even if you can only find them on iTunes.
Although all the above artists could easily be put in the Jazz section of your record store, don't let that scare you. All could just as easily be put into an adult-contemporary section, or a pop section, if such sections exist at the record store. Most have Rock, Jazz, R&B/Rap, and Classical, and that's about it. So you'll find lots of great stuff in the Jazz section, even if they have no business being there, it's sometimes the closest thing.
I guess I should mention old Rock stars that are still around, and still making music for an older generation. Rod Stewart is still out there, and doing the American songbook songs. As I don't care for Rod's voice, I'll let you discover that on your own if you like him. Paul McCartney put out an album last year, My Valentine, which includes some of his new songs, and some old ones. Now that's a great album, and worth the Grammy it received this year. Bryan Ferry put out a similar album in 1999, As Time Goes By, which you may enjoy. Last year he put out an instrumental album, The Jazz Age, which is quite an interesting project. He recorded his own, and Roxy Music songs, in a 1920s style. Which would be fine, well and good, except he made it sound like it was recorded in the 1920s. Mono is fine, I don't mind that, but they used an equalizer to take all the fidelity out of it. I can still listen to it, and enjoy it, but it ticks me off that it could sound great, and doesn't. It's fine if it WAS recorded in 1920, but it wasn't.
John Fogerty, from Creedence Clearwater Revival is still around, making great music, as is John (Cougar) Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen and Gordon Lightfoot. Their music still sounds pretty much the same as it always did. The only difference is that radio doesn't play much of them any more, except the old stuff. Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, together and apart, still fit into this category. From the Guess Who and BTO these guys still do good work apart, and magic when they get back together occasionally. Brian Wilson, from the Beach Boys, recently redid his lost album from the 60s, Smile. I'm sure it would have sounded quite different in the 60s, but it's still good. He has also put out albums featuring the songs of Gershwin and Disney. With mixed results, in my humble opinion, but no denying the man is a musical genius.
If you watch Smash! on NBC/CTV Two, there is lots of great music there, most of which has been released on soundtrack albums. And two great singers who have also recorded their own CDs, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty. Katharine had a couple of solo CDs in the 2000s, and Megan just released her first CD, It Happens All the Time. Buy it at Target, if you can, because you get two extra tracks. In a similar vein you'll find Glee, but I'll have to say it makes a better TV show than music. Lots and lots of auto-tune in all their songs so if that's a deal-breaker, stay away from Glee soundtracks.
Perusing the CDs I have purchased in the last few years I find Renee Olstead and Thisbe Vos, both Great American Songbook-type artists for the most part. Cowboy Junkies, I have listened to on and off since the Trinity Sessions in 1988. If you've never heard of them, you would think they're country but they're really not. More like Folk/Rock, but certainly with country influence. My wife loves Blue Rodeo, in the Country/Rock category. Rita Wilson (yes, Tom Hank's wife) put out an album of oldies last year. She has a pleasant voice.
There's Norah Jones, of course. Ravi Shankar's daughter, who sings mostly original songs in her Country/Jazz/Rock style, kind of like Linda Ronstadt at her most laid-back. She's put out five albums since her debut in 2002.
Broadway shows still put out soundtrack albums, and there's no auto-tune on those. Wicked is one of the more popular ones today, and there's Kristin Chenoweth, who appears on lots of other soundtrack albums and also puts out her own albums of new music. If you have another favourite Broadway musical, check for the soundtrack album.
How about the music that the kids listen to? Is there anything worth looking at there. Well, yes. Some of these people can sing, and don't need auto-tune. That doesn't mean they don't use it though, as they sometimes use it on purpose to get that sound. I don't know why they would want to sound that way, but I guess they grew up with it, and it sounds natural to them. Anyway, Ke$ha CAN sing, but she uses a lot of auto-tune. Artists who don't use too much (or possibly not at all?) include Pink!, Carly Rae Jepsen and Taylor Swift.
 |
| Carly Rae Jepsen |
If your tastes go towards Country there's probably a million bands and singers I haven't mentioned. and I'm sorry, I don't really know too many of the artists so you're on your own there. The only ones I know are the ones who also have hits on the Pop charts. I've already mentioned Taylor Swift, but there's also Lady Antebellum and lots of other country artists out there.
So I hope that's a little bit of help. I'll probably think of a dozen others as soon as I post this, and I'll put their names in the comment section if I do. And you too, dear reader, if you have a favourite singer or band that is still making new music that you think others might like, let us know.
Until next time,
Michael
Yes, I know this has nothing to do with sound, music or theatre. But it sucks and I have to vent somewhere.
They closed my favourite restaurant last week. The Whitby Hooters, just down the street from my house. Heck, I could walk there if I wasn't so lazy. But now it's gone.
I ate there last Tuesday. Lunch, about noon with Samantha, my favourite waitress serving me. I sat there for about ninety minutes, read the paper, played some Angry Birds on my Playbook, chatted with Samantha and Courtney, and just watched the people come and go. I left about 1:30. Less than three hours later, so I've been told, the owner came in and told everyone to finish their beers and leave.
I know Hooters is famous for the pretty girls in the skimpy outfits. And sure, that was one of the attractions. But it was more than that--I don't drink alcohol but I loved the bar atmosphere at Hooters, almost like the TV series Cheers. You could just walk in and sit wherever you wanted. The girls didn't try to seat you unless you stood there looking lost. Loud music, lots of TVs, and lunch.
And I thought the food was great. I ate lunch there usually once a week. They had great lunch specials, $6.99 for boneless wings (really breast meat cut in the approximate shape of wings), a burger or a chicken wrap, with fries or soup, Monday to Friday. $11.28 with a bottomless cup of Diet Pepsi, and tax. Leave four or five bucks tip for the waitress and I had a nice break once a week for fifteen dollars.
The Hooter girls became my friends over the years. My daughter joked that they were just being friendly for a bigger tip, but that wasn't it. I was nice and respectful to them, I knew most of their names without looking at the name tag and they were good to me in return. Practically every girl working there started pouring a Diet Pepsi when they saw me.
I think it really sucked the way the owner closed the place too. It would be one thing to let the place close, as usual, and just not open in the morning. But he went in at 4:00 and started removing things and clearing out the fridges and stuff. And this was the first any of the staff, including the manager on duty, heard about it. Girls on duty, girls coming in for their shift at 5:00 being told to go home, the place is closed.
Okay, it wasn't always busy. What restaurant is? But I really only went at lunch time, and it was steady enough, I think. And if you went for dinner it was hopping. Especially on all-you-can-eat wing day, and whenever there was a major sporting event on the TVs.
I guess it's expensive to run a restaurant. And I suppose you need to make a profit--it's not enough to break even for all the trouble it is. And it must cost a lot of money for all the staff, the cable and the TVs everywhere you look, and the wireless Internet, and gas and electricity, etc. So I guess that's business.
But it still sucks. There's no other restaurant within a two minute drive where I would have the same experience. Even a twenty minute drive. I guess not until I get to the next, nearest Hooters, in Downtown Toronto. But they'll never get to know me there the way everyone knew me in Whitby. And it's a forty minute drive there, and forty minutes home again. Not to mention the gas. I don't think I'll be going there too often.
Oh well, nothing lasts forever. I had six years there, and now it's gone. Maybe I'll lose a little weight? But I've lost a happy place.
Michael :(
You may have gone to one of those big shows downtown. There's usually an orchestra, even for non-musicals. Thanks to the musicians' union, who ensure that recorded music is not used in the big, professional theatres. Things are quite different in my world.
I worked for the last 22 years in community theatre. And, for the past six-and-a-half years, in dinner theatre. Both have their similarities, and their differences.
Community theatres do dramas, comedies, mysteries and musicals. The musicals almost always have live musicians, although I have worked on musicals that had only one guy with a keyboard. Or just a trio or quartet. Dinner theatres do mostly farces and comedies, with the very odd mystery or musical.
Farces, comedies and mysteries never have an orchestra in community or dinner theatre. In community theatre almost everyone is a volunteer, but not the musicians. Nice union they've got, eh?
In dinner theatre, everyone is paid. The actors, the director, the stage manager and yes, even the light and sound guy(s). So, musicians, four extra guys to pay? No, it's not in the budget.
So that's where I come in. I select the music for the preshow, the intermission, the curtain call and the exit. And usually whenever the lights go out between scenes. In the background in party scenes. And lots of sound effects.
I like when a show has a theme, because I can choose music to that theme. Shows that are set in the past are great, because you can play the hits from that time period. The show I'm doing right now is called Prisoner of Second Avenue, by Neil Simon, and it's set in the early seventies. So I chose a window of 1968 to 1972 and all the music I am using is from that time period. I try to intermix the music that you hear all the time on oldies radio (California Dreaming, Lookin' Out My Back Door) with hits you don't hear so much these days (Cry Like a Baby, Gypsies Tramps and Thieves).
Even if the show is set in the present it may have a theme. Especially in farces there seems to be a lot of shows about doctors so I'll usually use Bad Case of Loving You, Good Lovin', Doctor My Eyes, etc. The first two are especially great for the curtain call, which has to be an upbeat number. If it's about love, well, there's millions of songs you can use. If there's marriage you can always use Love and Marriage by Sinatra.
Speaking of Sinatra, he's my best friend when it comes to choosing music for a show. Frank recorded so many songs you have one for just about every situation. The Beatles are a close second.
And then there's sound effects. As far as I'm concerned, if you can make the sound on stage, don't ask me to do it. It's not laziness, it's that sound effects just never sound real. For one thing, they're coming out of the speakers on the sides, or above the stage. Sometimes you have to have effects for atmosphere--crickets chirping, thunder, traffic. But a ringing phone or a door bell sound fake coming through the speakers.
There's lots of sound effect records (CDs) out there. And now, lots of websites where people upload their own sounds. These are all very helpful. Sometimes you find the perfect sound, and use it. But most of the time they need a little tweaking. And sometimes you just have to record your own. I have a microphone and a mixing board that plug right into my computer and I am frequently carting the whole thing somewhere to record some sound for a show.
I still do sound design for community theatre once in a while, if I can fit it into my schedule. A few years back a theatre was doing The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie and asked me to do the sound. The producer then said it was an easy one--all the sounds that were needed were listed in the book. Specific music, BBC News Reports, etc. I told them they didn't need a designer, they just needed someone to go fetch all the music at the record store. The big downtown music stores, not the Walmart. I just didn't have the time.
But I did a little research and discovered that the publishing company that sold the scripts and the rights to the show also offered the sound plot on CD for $75.00. I told the producer, it was added to the budget, and we ordered it right away.
It wasn't perfect. They must have lost the rights to a few pieces of music and they were missing from the CD, replace with similar public domain stuff. I found the original pieces the author asked for on the internet and we used them. But the sound effects, and the fake BBC stuff were perfect!
A couple of years later the dinner theatre also did the Mousetrap. Ha, I already had the CD, although legally we were probably supposed to buy another one. But we didn't and used the same one and again, it was perfect. I wish I could have said the same for the show, which is not one of my favourites...
Thank goodness I can use a computer for sound, even at this antiquated theatre. The light board is a relic from the 1970s, back when the theatre first opened. It still works, so it's staying. It has no memories, and only two presets. While the lights are up for one cue I can set the next cue on 24 channels. When I go to that cue I can set the next one on the other 24 channels. It can get pretty tough when there are a lot of light cues. Fortunately, farces and comedies don't usually require much, just lights up and lights down.
But sound is much more complicated. I, fortunately, never had to use vinyl records at the theatre. When I started we were using cassette tapes. It worked pretty well most of the time.
CDs were nice when they first came along. But at first you still had to use tape as well, since you couldn't make your own CDs. Sound effects worked so much better on CD though, when you could find the perfect one on CD. Then, when you were able to burn your own CDs we were finally able to get rid of tapes.
Now I don't even bother with CDs, except for backup and archives. All my sound is done on computer now. I found a really nice theatre sound programme, SoundCueSystem from Australia, that works perfectly. You can run multiple cues if necessary, you can programme sounds to run on one of your keyboard keys if you want (just touch the "T" and get the traffic sound, for example). Sound cues automatically advance to the next cue, you can programme cues to start automatically, you can adjust volumes, fade in and fade out, etc. It cost me $100 but it was worth it--I've been using it for about seven years. They tell me there's a free programme for Macs that is just as good, but I don't know. I use Windows, and I'm quite happy with SCS.
I do have an archive in my home of all the shows I've done, since I've been able to burn my own CDs. It has come in very handy. In twenty-some years I've done the same shows a couple of times, and I can usually use the same sound plot in most cases. Sometimes a different director has different ideas so there may be a few changes but basically, it's the same. And, if I need something specific, like a gunshot, or a helicopter for example, I can find it in a show I've done before many times. If I remember which show.
I really have to start taking advantage of the preshow and intermission music that I've previously used. It seems I make a new one every time, and I really don't have to. No one, but me, is going to remember that I used exactly the same intermission music five years ago.
I'm about to begin the sound work for "Self Help" by Norm Foster. I've had a bit of recording to do--there is some business with an intercom that I've decided to record rather than hook up a microphone backstage and have the actress do it live. This frees her up from having to do something when she's not required on stage, and I can play with the sound and make it sound like it's coming from an intercom. Plus there's a couple of swear words that get cut off (for comedy effect). I had the actress say the swear words so I can cut it off exactly when the script calls for--I think it will sound better that way. As well there's an announcer that I had my wife do. Usually I'm the voice for all these things, and I think the audience is beginning to recognize my voice. Especially since I do the announcement before the show--you know, shut off your cell phone, etc.
The play is set in the present, so no help there. It's about a couple of con-men who work as motivational speakers, and that's not a whole lot of help either. My wife has suggested "Walking On Sunshine", and that'll work for the curtain call anyway. Any suggestions?
Anyway, I'll have more to say about theatre in the future I'm sure. If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you.
Michael
