February 8, 2012
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1 Let’s hear it for Prop 8 finally being put away.
2 How embarrassing.
3 I watched a documentary about The Who in which Roger Daltrey talked about how completely weird he thought America’s treatment of black people was when he was a kid.
4 He was born into a war-torn Hammersmith area of London. He was born during a World War II air raid. As a kid, he lived in near poverty like most of the people in that struggling area. Blacks and whites were equally poor, but Daltrey remembered being shocked that Americans had rules that blacks had to sit in the backs of buses, and had to use separate bathrooms. In the documentary Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, Daltrey said he thought those sorts of laws in America were barbaric. He absolutely couldn’t wrap his head around it.
5 That’s pretty much how I have felt about the ban on gay marriage. Really? It’s 2012 and the “land of the free” still won’t let two people who are in love marry?
6 Some day we will be just as embarrassed about Prop 8 as we should be about our ridiculous delays on slavery and on civil rights. If we are the “land of the free” we had better walk the walk.
7 I’m still amazed that marijuana isn’t legal. I guess it is legal in many ways, but what a ridiculous ban. Who cares if someone wants to smoke a joint now and again? Its a lot safer than people who get hammered on booze. Anyone who wants can get weed anyway, so what’s the big deal?
8 Okay, I’m going a bit off here, but last night I was thinking a whole lot about the “land of the free” that finally has liberated everyone who should have been liberated anyway. The gay marriage ban was finally declared unconstitutional.
9 Duh.
10 What we ought to spend our time doing is getting together an enormous class-action against the alcohol and tobacco industries for attempted genocide.
11 Moving on, Part the First: Sorry.
12 I’m sure I have alienated and pissed off half the people who sneak a peek at this nonsense.
13 Don’t care.
14 I’m right; you’re wrong. It’s as simple as that.
15 Neener, neener, neener.
16 You don’t like it, wrtie your own stupid thing.
17 I still claim I don’t write this thing anyway. Some punk ass possessed moron writes this. I just have to sign off on it.
18 This greatness was thrust upon me.
19 What sensible human being would spend each middle-of-the night writing foolishness that causes people to occasionally have their oatmeal go through their noses?
20 I’m nothing. Who cares what I have to say?
21 I am, however, a self-delcared Yankee Doodle Dandy.
22 I will not apologize for advocating freedom. Freedom is the theme of today’s DN.
23 Moving on, Part the Second: Whew. Feisty.
24 Uh, yup?
25 Okay, enough of that.
26 I’ve been out of it lately. Did some guy named Sanitarium just beat down some guy named “Mitt” in some Republican WWE Wrestling Mania match or something?
27 I’ve been too busy really to read the news, let alone report on it.
28 I’ve also been having a blast lately.
29 Something about having my life threatened has turned me into a guy with a cliched new lease on life.
30 Yesterday, for example, I had to blow off a Grease audition to attend a union rep meeting after school. I was supposed to be both places at once. At around five o’ clock, a couple of students from the Grease auditions came in to get me. They mumbled something about “tech”. I gave them the five-minute sign, finished the meeting, and went into the theater.
31 Turned out it had nothing to do with Grease. Those auditions had already ended. The students who came and got me had a dress rehearsal for Thursday night’s Red Cross talent show, and they wanted me for a sound check. Someone somewhere had emailed me that I had volunteered to perform.
32 Yesterday afternoon I got an email saying I had supervision at this thing. At first I thought the thing was last night. Too many dates. I wish I could have had this many dates when I was in high school.
33 <rim shot>
34 Anyway, within seconds I found myself up in the booth talking sound with techies.
35 They asked me what I was going to sing. I said without hesitation, Fly Me to the Moon.
36 I handed them my iPhone, which has the karaoke version. They handed me a wireless mic.
37 A rock band was doing a screaming sound check of some Led Zeppelin song on the stage. When I used to run talent shows, rock bands were always a delicate situation.
38 During talent show rehearsals, rock acts have a tendency to feel they are somehow entitled to an hour sound check, while everyone else will check for three to four minutes. Rock bands tend to see themselves as headliners.
39 If there is more than one rock band, the first one to get to the organizer of the event will “volunteer” to perform last. It’s easier that way, as there isn’t equipment out during dances and things.
40 The person running the show usually agrees to this, because it is easier on them to put a rock band on at the end of a talent show.
41 The issue becomes this: they could be the lousiest band in the world, but they have made themselves the headliners. Other bands get pissed because now they have to “open” for the other band.
42 Random Sidebar: <The clock radio is playing I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Sinatra, as I write this. Isn’t that cool?>
43 Back to the Theater: So I was in the booth while the band on the stage rocked the house. I could see the director of the talent show losing a little patience, because other acts were showing up at designated times and being put on hold.
44 I was in no hurry. I enjoy rock, but I also understood the situation. They thought I might be annoyed at having to wait for the rock band to finish. I wasn’t annoyed at all; in fact, I rather enjoyed the music.
45 I also enjoyed that I was going to be an easy act to get on and off the stage.
46 So they had my iPhone all set, and I held the wireless mic. I had worn my usual coat and tie to the rehearsal. The kids in the booth were really worried that I might be annoyed by the delay. One techie said, “Do you need anything else, Mr. Harrington?”
47 My response: “Ya got a hat?”
48 Moving on Almost, Part the Thoid: My parents were both Sinatra fans. I grew up listening and loving Old Blue Eyes. In 2009, when my Mom was ill, I learned eight Sinatra songs, and practiced them every single day after school. I had a microphone and speaker in my classroom. After around an hour of grading papers, I would take an afternoon break and go through the tunes.
49 I gained a huge respect for how amazing a singer Sinatra was. There’s a reason he is famous. I could almost match him note-for-note in the first half of each song, but what made this guy incredible were his finishes. I would try to match him on lines like, “Please be truuuuuue, in other words…in…other words: I love…beat beat…you!”
50 I could never touch the guy. And even though I could match him note-for-note, his control of his head and chest was simply incredible. The guy had a velvety voice. And no way could I finish off a song the way he could. Not in this world, not in the next.
51 Moving on Almost, Part Four: The kids laughed at the hat comment, which made me laugh too. I worked my way down the stairs and went to my bag. I had a classic Sinatra hat stuffed in there. I pulled it out, put it on, and swaggered to the stage.
52 I was actually frightened. I wanted that rock band to play forever. My cough, while on the wane, was still very much tickling my throat, and I was certain that I was going to choke. The stage manager, a patient young lady, came up and gave me my entrance instructions. I told her that I would do whatever they needed. I had told the techies that their cue for the music was my pointing to the booth. I was pretty confident for a guy whose voice has cracked and crackled for almost a month.
53 I stayed calm, even though there was a theater full of talent much better than I.
54 The stage manager finally gave me my cue. I walked to center stage, and the lights blazed into my eyes. I said,”Hi.” Character foil to the rock band. I put my left hand in my pocket and pointed to the booth. The music blasted, sounded awesome. I road that wave and sang better than ever. Magic moment.
55 The entire theater moved down to watch me, and I broke into a mild smile. Somehow my voice worked. There were catcalls and whistles. Ya gotta love it. I was elated that my voice had made this miraculous comeback.
56 The stage manager wanted me to do it again with the music quieter. I said, “Why the heck would you wanna do that? They’ll hear my voice.” Mild laughter. I did a second take with the music quieter and my cough settled back in. It was a bit more gravelly, but nobody noticed. I was still on key, but the power wasn’t there to clear it.
57 It was okay. When it was over, I asked the stage manager, “Need anything else?”
58 She seemed dazzled. “No, that’s great! Thank you!”
59 “So I could go home now?”
60 “Oh, sure, fine. Thank you Mr. Harrington.”
61 It was fun. I guess I came off as a bit of a hero after the rock band. In a way, it wasn’t fair, because I really loved hearing the rock ‘n’ roll.
62 I gave a smile and a wave. It was one of those rehearsals that just works. We had a few of those over the years.
63 I remember one talent show years ago when we had some relative of Carlos Santana on our stage. They began playing a set of congas.The beat was the same beat as Sympathy for the Devil but with an awesome Latino flair. I strapped on my twelve string and dashed to the stage. I put a mic in front of my twelve, and began playing the simple chords. Within seconds, several other musicians jumped on the stage, all from different bands, cultures and generations. Everybody joined in. Singers crowded around mics.
64 In no time, I had this massively talented band backing me as I stepped up to the mic. “Please allow me to introduce myself…” and we were off. The entire Theatre chimed in with choruses of “Woo, woo!” Classic.
65 I also remember Ponticelli’s band doing U2′s Where the Streets Have No Name spot on. I was in the wings on that one, but the entire opening synth was loud and amazing. Astonishing.
66 Two others, and then I’ll go, I swear.
67 One was the golden era version of Bohemian Rhapsody. As I recall, Shawna Fleming did the voices perfectly, and Ponch brought the band. Abolutely amazing. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
68 And finally, the dress rehearsal where we all did side two of Abbey Road. We worked the harmonies for hours, and finally nailed it. The Theatre almost lifted and floated away that evening. Our live performance the following night lost it a bit, but that dress will live with me forever.
69 It’s fun to be living again. Last night was an utter blast, exactly the same.
70 And my voice told me that I was alive, and ready to enjoy escaping the shackles of grading, and of being owned.
71 I was liberated.
72 That’s how this DN started. It began with freedom, and it will end with freedom.
73 This is officially the longest DN ever.
74 Maybe it is appropriate that it is.
75 To freedom. Salud.
76 Peace.
~H~
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