Friday, March 17, 2017.
Goofing Up The Premiere With A New Style Of Singing.
Mary Ann stays busy getting more guests on the radio show for the next few days. We are finding an effect, something I already know, but haven't taken advantage of: if we have a viable conversation on the air, it will persuade other listeners to call. If it's just me talking, we get few other callers. Simple as that.
But today I am broadcasting from the Cool Water Ranch, where a number of urgent projects await me. It seems like my workload has been doubled lately, but I can't complain about that.
I am pressed so hard this afternoon that my choices for lunch are either to skip it (but I won't be able to have supper until after the NPAS concert tonight, and I haven't eaten all day.) Or I could get something quick. I wind up at Lee's Hamburgers in Covington.
I haven't had a Lee's burger in a very long time. They seem to have remedied my main complaint about their burgers: they were long grilled over a fire that not hot enough to put the classic Lee's crust on the outside. While there's plenty more room for crustiness still, it's better. Now I move my attention to their buns, which are no better than the mass-market hamburger joints. Either toast it or get a crustier bun. Good example: the buns used by Zea on the other side of the same parking lot.
After the radio, I nap, iron my tuxedo, and head over to the Furrmann Center for the show. I'm among the first to arrive. We run a few pieces, but everyone seems to feel confident.
And the show does play well. Until Carol E. and I sing "I Won't Dance." I'm two thirds through the song when the next word is nowhere to be found in my brain or mouth. I automatically shift to the radio solution: I begin ad-libbing. A line or two later, I reach a familiar point in the melody, and I roll back into the song, finishing with no problem.
I get a lot of comments in the green room afterward. I don't know whether they are kidding me when they say they thought my goof was planned. No way I would I do that on purpose.
The high point of the show is undoubtedly the duet supplied for us by Sara Cage and Alfred Harper. They are two students of Alissa Rowe, our director, and they are both brilliant. Two incredible voices.
The concert drew a pretty good house, and the evening ends in a congratulatory mood. People are still telling me how inventive I sounded. I feel terrible about it, and I'm sure I'll never get another solo or duet or trio as long as I'm still with NPAS.
I beat Mary Ann home by only about twenty minutes. She still doesn't know we have a concert. She asks me why I'm changing clothes. She doesn't see that I'm getting out of a tux. I wonder if she's suspicious about my funny stuff like this all week long.
Lee's Hamburgers. Covington: 104 Lake Dr. 985-898-3440.
