Nikki Yanofsky at Koerner Hall

So, as long as I have this blog about music I might as well review the concerts I go to.  Depending on who's in town, and where, and how much tickets cost, I seem to get to four or five shows in an average year.  Usually one or two at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa.  Now that's a great place for concerts--it's big enough for the big shows, and far enough away from Toronto so that many artists can play there as well as Toronto.  Yet it's small enough to be way more intimate than the Air Canada Centre or the SkyDome (sorry, Rogers Centre).  Massey Hall in TO is great, as is Roy Thompson Hall.  And the one I just went to for the first time, Koerner Hall on Bloor Street, right next door to the Royal Ontario Museum, is a fantastic place for a concert.

As part of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Nikki Yanofsky played at Koerner Hall on Tuesday, June 25th, 2013.  As you may know, if you know me or if you follow my blog, Nikki is one of my favourite singers.  Thank goodness the concert was on a Tuesday night so it was no problem attending (no show for me on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesdays).  And, even though I've seen her three times before, I would have hated to miss this one.  This is Nikki's "Little Secret" tour, previewing her upcoming, long-awaited album.

Previously Nikki sang from the "Great American Songbook", songs that Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald would have done in their day.  She had a few original songs, and did some newer songs as well, but that was secondary to "Take the 'A' Train", "I've Got Rhythm", and "On the Sunny Side of the Street", for example.  Well, things have turned around now.

She has a new, eight piece, funky band behind her--guitar, bass, drums, two keyboardists, trumpet, trombone and saxophone.  A very young band, though very good, professional musicians.  They sound like they could be backing up Stevie Wonder.

That seems to be Nikki's new direction, based on the album preview.  She is now being co-managed by Quincy Jones, and her style seems to be leaning more towards bluesy, funky jazz instead of the traditional vocal jazz we are used to hearing from her.

Because Nikki is only nineteen, I think it will work.  I hope she has a big hit or two from this album and gets a whole new audience.  It would be nice to see more young people at her shows, instead of all the grey heads she usually sees when looking out.  And if it's not a big hit, again she is only nineteen, and has plenty of time to fine-tune and change.

She performed twenty songs, plus one encore.  Although we stayed and cheered for more she just came out and waved, then the lights came up.  I assume she and her band had nothing else rehearsed.  Personally I would have loved her to sing "Ain't No Way" again, a standout track from (I hope) the upcoming album.  It was so good that the audience spontaneously began to applaud half-way through the song.

If I had gone to see the Rolling Stones and they did seventy percent new material I would be very upset.  But it's been three years since her last album ("Nikki") came out and I was very happy to hear her new material.  I'm not sure I would feel the same way though, if I hadn't seen her sing live three times before.  I did hear a few (just a few) grumbles from the older members of the audience.  She did do some old songs--"Airmail Special", "Let the Good Times Roll" (the Louis Jordan/Ray Charles song), "Jeepers Creepers" (a little funkified), "Relax Max", "Witchcraft", her own song from her last album "Bienvenue dans ma vie", and her best-known  song, the 2010 Olympic anthem, "I Believe".

Nikki is also quite proficient as a songwriter.  Some of the best material from her last album were co-written by her, including the aforementioned "Bienvenue dans ma vie", and "Cool My Heels".  She didn't specify which, if any, of her new songs were written by her, but I would assume many, if not all, were.  I guess we'll find out when the album comes out,  possibly in October.

At the end of the show she came out to the lobby and met anyone who wanted to meet her.  She autographed the photo of us from last summer's show in Huntsville, and posed for a new photo that she'll autograph next time I see her.  Soon, I hope.

We had fantastic seats for the concert, practically sitting on the stage.  Unfortunately though, right near a stack of speakers, and this show was LOUD.  Usually we bring ear protection for rock concerts, but never find it necessary for jazz shows.  But because of the funky, eight-piece band, and our proximity to the speakers, my wife and daughter found the sound level very uncomfortable.  I didn't have as much of a problem, probably because I am older and have some hearing loss to begin with.  And I'll admit, I didn't hear anyone else complaining so it was probably just us.

I have a feeling that there is a lost Nikki Yanofsky album out there.  In the three years since her last album she has done a lot of recording, in London, New York, and at home.  And, since her association with Quincy Jones, in Los Angeles.  I suspect that she recorded a bunch of tracks for an album more similar to her previous album, "Nikki".  These tracks may never be released to the public, now that her direction has changed.  I have no real idea, I'm just guessing.  But if there are any tracks that they are not going to use, it would be nice to find them for free on her website, or for a price on iTunes.  Just a suggestion to Nikki and her management team...

Anyway, if Nikki comes to your area, try to see her.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.  She is a terrific young talent, with a long career ahead of her.  She deserves every bit of fame and fortune she receives, and I'm sure will be considered the equal of Gordon Lightfoot or Joni Mitchell someday.  I hope I'll be around to see a lot of it.

Michael

Passing Our Musical Heritage to Our Children

It's interesting that my daughter will occasionally hear an older song on the radio like, let's say, "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry and say something like, wow, that's an old song, I haven't heard it in ages.  And to me, that's still a new song.  I guess that's because I still mostly listen to the Beatles and Chuck Berry and that sort of thing.  And my daughter is not terribly interested in my sort of music.  I guess I was not different when I was a child.

My Dad loved country.  As a matter of fact, he took me to my first real concert, Johnny Cash.  This was around the time of "Orange Blossom Special", before his TV show.  I don't remember too much about the concert, but I remember seeing Mr Cash again, thirty-ish years later, with my wife.  My Dad also loved Willie Nelson and Buck Owens, a couple of my favourite artists these days.  My Dad had some pretty eclectic taste in music as well, enjoying Dixieland Jazz, James Last, Boney M (yeah, I still have trouble figuring out that one), and lots of others.

My Mom loved Gordon Lightfoot.  My Mom and I met him last year at a CD signing when he put out his Live CD.  He's another of my favourite singers today.  Mom's tastes were a little more folksy, listening to John Denver, Bobby Goldsboro and things like that.

So what have I been exposing my own 15-year-old daughter to?  Well, I listen to the radio constantly.  She, along with her Mother are more TV watchers.  They'll just turn on the TV and find something to watch.  I don't usually turn on the TV unless there is something that I know is on, and I'm interested in watching it.  I tend to listen to the radio, mostly the oldies stations which, in this area, are CKDO and Q107.

And I try to take her to concerts, as many as possible considering the high ticket prices these days.  She's been to see Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Glen Campbell, and Paul McCartney.  Some real legends there that I hope she remembers fondly in the future.  The Rascals are coming this summer, and I'm sure we'll be there!

Am I trying to change her music preferences?  Is there anything wrong with her listening to today's hits on Virgin Radio?

Of course not.  She SHOULD be listening to today's hits, the same as I did when I was a kid.  She's excited by new releases by her favourite artists, same as I was.  But I think it's important to expose her to the whole world, and history of music that's out there.

Stop and think about how great recorded music is.  We are still able to listen to artists long dead, and appreciate what they gave to the world.  Glenn Miller, gone almost 70 years, still leaps off the turntable, or C D player, or however else you choose to listen to his greatest hits.  Elvis died when I was 22, John Lennon when I was 25, yet their music lives on, and sounds better today than when they were alive.

When I was in my late teens I rediscovered the music of the 50's.  Radio certainly wasn't playing much Buddy Holly or Bill Haley in the early 70's and I really didn't know the music that was really popular just 15 years earlier.  But thank you to K-Tel for putting out some oldies albums celebrating the music of the previous generation.

Sure, K-Tel records were pretty bad.  They crammed 25 songs onto a single album, losing most of the fidelity and all the bass.  Pretty much like listening to the music on a little transistor radio.  And, even though most of these songs are two-and-a-half minutes long, K-Tel often cut out a verse, or faded them out early to save even more space.  But it got me reintroduced to the songs, and I sought out better albums of my favourites.

My daughter has heard the songs of my favourite artists all her life.  She doesn't always know who is who, but she knows the songs, and that's enough for now.  In the future she may seek these songs out, or she may not.  It certainly is easier these days than it was in my day.

I've also taken her to some younger artists that she'll be able to see long after I'm gone.  I took her to see Emilie-Claire Barlow and, three times, to Nikki Yanofsky.  In a couple of weeks we'll be seeing her again.  Since Nikki is only a few years older than my daughter maybe she'll be taking HER future children to see Nikki as well.

I know my daughter has a few interesting musical pieces on her iPod.  Quite a few Beatles songs, and some individual songs by Kenny Loggins, Jefferson Airplane, and Bonnie Tyler, among others.

I'd just like to think that, when I'm really old, and after I'm gone, she'll truly appreciate music.  If she still just listens to the day's hits, well, that's fine too.  But I hope she can rock out to "Bohemian Rhapsody" every once in a while too.

Michael

Who Maid Who -- Update

I changed my mind during the tech rehearsal week.  The music which I had put together earlier, and never used, just sounded too dated for this play, Who Maid Who.  It was a lot of 40's music, which really had no reason to be the soundtrack for this play.  So I redid it.

Now it's a lot of more modern stuff, mostly easy-listening and soft jazz vocalists.  I don't go back any further than the 60's, and then just stuff that fits into the mould.  Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Cash are the vintage ones.  Pretty much everything else is from the last fifteen years or so.

The producer, after I had made the new Preshow and Intermission music, called out from the audience and asked me if I had ever heard of the song "Paper Doll" by the Mills Brothers.  Of course, I answered, cued it up and played it from my computer.  "That song would be perfect in this show!" he said.  I hesitated.  "Uh, why?" I asked.  Nothing about dolls, or paper in the show.  Oh, it just would be, he said.  It's from the 1930's, I told him.  Nothing else that old is in the show.  Fortunately the director piped up, "Oh, I like it just the way it is."  Thank you Madam director!  Hey, "Paper Doll" is a great tune.  I just couldn't see any reason for it to be in this show.

And I'm using the cork pop after all.  During a rehearsal I played it anyway, right on top of "Let's Get It On" and the director called out from the audience "I heard it!" so I left it in.  Probably half the audience doesn't even notice, but I do.

I think that's all.  The play is going along tickety-boo, and is getting lots of laughs.  What are you waiting for?

Michael

Who Maid Who

So, the latest play at the dinner theatre is "Who Maid Who" by David Lassig.  It's pretty easy in terms of sound.  I started off with two (count 'em, two) sound effects.  After the first technical rehearsal last night, one was cut, and I now have one (1) sound effect, a cell phone ringtone in Act 2.

The one that was cut was a champagne cork popping.  It wasn't in the script, but right at the beginning the male lead walks in with a champagne bottle, goes into the kitchen, then returns with the bottle opened and two glasses.  I faded the music to play the sound effect (you'd never hear it over the music anyway) then there's silence until he makes a phone call.  Since the director felt the music was more important than a cork popping, she cut the sound effect.

Music was pretty easy too.  The whole play is one, long scene, no blackouts.  So basically, I needed preshow music, something to start the show, something for the blackout leading to intermission, intermission music, something to come out of intermission with, curtain call music, and something for the audience to exit with.

When we did "Prisoner of Second Avenue" earlier this year, I put together preshow and intermission music.  When I got to the theatre for the first technical rehearsal the producer asked me if I had put together some great, groovy 70's music for the show and I realized, for the first time, that the play was set in the 1970's.  Whoops.  I made an excuse, said it would be ready tomorrow, and everyone was happy.  The next morning I did put together a great 70's soundtrack for the show.  

So this show I am using the preshow and intermission that I put together for that one.  It fits, as "Who Maid Who" is pretty timeless.  Cell phones are used throughout, so it's modern times.  And my music is just a mishmash of mostly romantic stuff, again perfect for the show.

The show is a farce about a guy trying to have an affair with a waitress from his favourite coffee shop, but everything goes wrong.  His wife arrives, his parents, etc.  So I needed sexy music.  Top of the show (the one that cancelled the cork pop) is "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye.  Before the intermission I have "Lollipops and Roses" by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.  After the intermission is "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" by Barry White.  The curtain call music is "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, as is the ringtone of the cell phone.  For exit music I have "Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur.  If needed (it rarely is) I have "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye, in case of a particularly slow moving group.

Lights will be a little more of a challenge in this one.  There is a bedroom, a little raised above the stage, that needs it's own lighting.  Most of the time there is nothing happening in there but, when there is, I will bring the lights a little brighter in the bedroom (and dim the other lights slightly) so the audience knows where to look.  It's not hard but it happens quite a few times during the play, which means I'll be needing to pay attention to the script a little more closely than usual.  Oh well, that's what I'm paid for, I guess.

We're running from this weekend to July 7th, so come and see us!

Michael 

Collecting Watches

I blame my daughter, Victoria.  She's the one who started collecting watches.  She had a decent watch, then she bought another one.  Then another one.  I thought she was crazy, until I realized that she was collecting watches she liked.  It had never occurred to me before.

I usually had a Timex.  It would be reliable, and tell me the time for five or six years, until I wanted a new, unscratched one.  But usually just one at a time.

Somewhere in the mid-eighties I won a watch.  A jewellery store was having a promotion where if you added the numbers in your birthday, and it totalled the price of a watch in the window, you won that watch.  I added the numbers in my birthday--23 + 6 + 55 = 84, and sure enough, there was an $84 watch in the window.  I thought it couldn't possibly be that easy, I went into the store, showed my driver's licence, and they gave me the watch.  I tried the birthdays of my wife, my family, her family, heck, everybody whose birthday I knew, and nobody else won a watch.  Anyway, eighty-four dollars was way, way more than I would have ever spent on a watch in my life, but I didn't have to pay for it.  I still have it today.  It's a Lorus, with an analogue dial and an electronic day/date/alarm and time.  It requires two batteries that have to be put in by a jeweller so it will go for years, not working, and eventually I have it serviced and it works again for a couple of years.

When we're at the mall Victoria gravitates towards the jewellery stores and department, and watches.  So I started looking too, and decided I really liked the look of Bulova watches.  And they're reasonably affordable, at least compared to the Rolexes that my daughter is looking at.  I guess she heard me admire a couple, and guess what I got for Christmas?  Yep, a Bulova watch.

A few months later I was on eBay, and happened to punch in Bulova.  OMG, hundreds of watches for sale, everything from a few bucks to thousands.  I browsed for hours, and put in some bids.

First one I got was a 1951 Academy Award model.  After doing my history I discovered that in 1950 Bulova signed a deal with AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science), licensing the name and images of the Oscars for a line of watches.  Two years later AMPAS took them to court, saying the ads made it look too much like Bulova had "won" an Academy Award, and the licence was taken away.  So there's a lot of them out there, but not as many as there should be.  I paid $60 for it, and it keeps perfect time, as long as you keep it wound up.

Man, men's watches were SO MUCH SMALLER in the 50's.  When I'm wearing it, and go to the jewellery counter, it's pretty much the same size as the modern women's watches.  Women's watches, in those days, were TINY!

The next one I got was a self-winding watch from 1966.  It came with the cheapest strap I have ever seen in my life--I swear it comes from the dollar store.  It wouldn't have lasted a week, so I went to the mall to have a real strap put on.  While I was at it, I got a metal strap for the Academy Award model, so it looks more like it would have when it was new.  It's pretty inaccurate--it'll gain a minute every hour, then suddenly start losing minutes instead.  It's a little hard to trust.  I could probably take it to Bulova and have it serviced, cleaned, oiled--whatever they do to old watches.  But I only paid $29 for it so I'm not sure how much I want to invest in it.

Besides, I want an Accutron now.  One of the original ones with the tuning fork in it.  In 1960 Bulova put a tuning fork, and a bunch of electronics inside their Accutron watch.  The world's most accurate watch, they were manufactured until 1977.  A few years earlier another company discovered that quartz was just about as accurate, and a heck of a lot cheaper to manufacture.  Bulova eventually started using quartz as well, and the tuning fork was gone.  If you put a working 1960 - 1977 Accutron to your ear, you don't hear ticking, you hear the hum of the tuning fork.

I've got one on the way.  Unfortunately it is not working.  Original tuning fork Accutrons go for stupid money on eBay.  The exceptions are ones that need repair, are ugly, or have company names or engraving on them. The one I got says it is not running, and it needs a new battery.  I am assuming that, if I put a new battery in it, then it will run.  I hope.  This one is coming from Knoxville, Tennessee, via Nashville and today, apparently is in Miami.  Interesting route to Canada, if you ask me.  Anyway, it's a nice looking watch and I hope it works when it gets here.  $70.

I gotta stop now.  I really don't have the money to have a huge watch collection.  But I'll probably check every once in a while and see what's available and, who knows, I may buy more in the future!

Hmm.  Bulova also makes wall clocks.  And my kitchen clock is a...  Sterling & Noble?  Who are they?

Michael.

Celebrity Encounters, Part 1

Yeah, here's another post with absolutely nothing to do with theatre, sound design, and only a little to do with music.  But I love reading stories about people meeting celebrities, especially if it was unexpected.

I've met lots of celebrities, but usually at concerts, and meet-and-greets.  In other words, when I left the house, I expected I was going to meet a celebrity, and probably had my camera and something for them to sign for me.

I met Randy Bachman that way about 12 years back.  He had just written his book "Takin' Care of Business" and was doing a bookstore tour to promote it.  I selected a couple of Guess Who albums, a BTO album, and one of his solo albums for him to sign, and I bought a copy of his book.  I didn't have a camera with me, as this was before cell phones (for me anyway) or a digital camera that fit in my pocket.  He came off a little bit grouchy during the signing, but he had his guitar and spoke and sang for about an hour, telling stories and singing tidbits of songs.  And this was before he toured doing the same thing, and got the CBC show "Vinyl Tap".

I met Adam West (yes, Batman!) at the opening of a mall somewhere in the west end of Toronto, or Mississauga back in the mid 70's.  I, unfortunately, don't remember a lot of details but my younger brother Dave was a big fan of the Batman series in reruns, and I had been a big fan when it originally ran in the 60's.  I still didn't drive but we somehow talked Dad and the family into driving all the way to this new mall to meet Adam West.  I stupidly didn't get an autograph, and didn't even own a camera at the time, but I met him and shook his hand.  He admired my brother's t-shirt, which I had painted, in the days before you could easily buy superhero shirts in any Walmart.  He even said that next time he needed a new outfit, he'd give me a call.  He was in full Batman costume and I was shocked at how it limited his vision and hearing.  Not very good for a crime-fighter, I wouldn't think.  

My best story is about William Shatner.  In the mid-seventies Mr Shatner was doing commercials for Loblaws ("More than the price is right but by gosh...") and he was, apparently, doing an appearance at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.  I say apparently because I had no idea.  I was at the Exhibition with my two sisters who had gone into the Loblaws display to pose with a cardboard cutout of the Bay City Rollers.  While they were doing that I looked around and noticed Shatner standing there, watching my sisters as well.  I went over to talk with him, mostly about Twilight Zone, as I wasn't much of a Star Trek fan at the time.  He seemed quite happy to have someone to talk to, and reminisced about how much fun Twilight Zone episodes had been to make.  When my sisters were finished Shatner asked me if I wanted an autographed photo and I said, sure.  He signed it "Hi Mike, William Shatner".  I still have it, somewhere in the house...

I met Emilie-Claire Barlow (look her up on YouTube if you've never heard of her) a couple of times, once just before a meet-and-greet at Toronto City Hall during the 2012 Toronto Jazz Festival.  I guess I kind of stalked her--I had heard that she would be interviewed by Jazz FM, which was broadcasting live from Nathan Phillips Square, so my daughter and I went and hung around.  When the interview was finished I asked if she would pose for a picture with me, and she was happy to.  After, my daughter and I borrowed *ahem* a Toronto Star with an article about her in it, and we found her again and got her to sign it.  I had to work that night so I couldn't wait until the actual meet-and-greet, but she was very sweet about it.  Two months later we drove to Picton to see her in concert and we met her again after the show.  I showed her the photo of us in Nathan Phillips Square, and she signed it for me.  She didn't really remember me, but she remembered my daughter, the photographer of two pictures of Emilie and me.

More to come in part two, whenever I feel like writing it...

Michael

Fiddler On the Roof

Well, my sound design was nominated, once again, for best sound in Theatre Ontario's THEA awards last night.  I often call myself the Susan Lucci of Sound Design, as I've been nominated quite a few times, and I've never actually won.  Oh well, some day, and in the meantime, it's nice to be nominated.  I never actually go to the awards, as I'm always working on Saturday nights.

The nomination was for Oshawa Little Theatre's production of Fiddler On the Roof.  It was a pretty easy one for me, as shows go.  As it is a musical, there was a live orchestra so I didn't have to worry about music, just sound effects.  Here's the list:

1.  A Rooster crowing, to start the show

2.  Ambient farm sounds.  Lots of chickens and cows.  A few horses and sheep.  This sound is meant to loop.  Of course, start a little louder, then gradually lower volume until it's there, but not obtrusive.

3.  Crickets.  Meant to loop.  Play softly--it gets pretty annoying after a while, in my experience.

4.  Owl.  I'm not sure if this is a specific cue, or just meant to be played once or twice in the night scene.

5.  1905 Street Sounds.  Meant to loop.  A busy street, before cars and airplanes.

6.  Shattering glass.  MS (director) wanted about 30 seconds worth.  Here's 15, and I think it's plenty.  If he really wants 30, play it twice.

7.  1905 Street Sounds.  Again.

8.  Wind.  Meant to loop.  During "Land I Love"

9.  Ambient Farm Sounds. Again.

10.  Wind.  Again.

These are the directions I sent to the person operating the sound for the shows.  I, of course, am busy at my paid theatre job so I rarely get a chance to work for any other theatres.

Anyway, no real stories here.  Everything came from the Internet, or sound effects CDs.  I had to make the "farm sounds" by layering individual sounds from those sources.  The trick is to make it long, three to five minutes so it can loop without being an obvious loop, and don't lay it on too thick.  Farms aren't generally noisy places, so remember that.  Lots of silences in between the animal sounds.  And, because it is Fiddler On the Roof, no pigs in the mix.

The street sounds were similar.  Horses, buggies, people chatting, dogs barking.  Just make sure there are no modern sounds, airplanes, cars, cell phones, etc.

The cricket sound is one I got from a sound effects CD years ago.  I've used the same one in a dozen shows, as it is perfect.  It is a very clear sound of one cricket.  I usually double it, a few seconds apart, once in the left speaker and once in the right speaker.  Apparently the adjudicator loved it, and made a comment during the adjudication about how good it was.  And never play it too loud or the realism is gone.

Fiddler On the Roof wasn't the only show I designed sound for this past year, but it's the only one I got nominated for.  I wasn't even particularly proud of my work for this show, as it was so easy.  But you never know what an adjudicator is going to think.  Over the years I've had adjudicators praise me, and criticize me, and it means nothing when it comes to the ACTCO awards.  I think the key is to get them to notice you, good or bad, then you have a shot.

I design sound for six shows a year at the dinner theatre but, as we are all paid, we are not Community Theatre and not eligible.  Too bad.  I do some pretty good stuff here, but only the audiences get to appreciate it.

Michael