Forever Alleluia

 My college choir friends and I said goodbye to our beloved conductor today.  Professor Joseph Huszti inspired the lives of many people under his baton, and the ceremony showed it all. 

The pianist played "Come, Come, Ye Sons of Art", a tune familiar to those of us that sang in the annual Madrigal Dinner fundraiser, as King Henry and his court would enter while singing the song.

The introduction by JH's brother-in-law was reverent and witty at the same time.  Just like Jo was: reverent of the music we created together, and full of "Huszti-isms" that so many folks remember.  It set the tone for the rest of the speeches.

One of Jo's conductor colleagues recalled being in Jo's choir, and told stories with themes familiar to what we all experienced with Jo, and what an honor it was to become his friend.

My friend John, now an accomplished and renowned choral conductor himself, invited everyone to sing "O Schone Nacht" by Brahms.  Before we sang, though, he told us that when JH was in hospice, John visited him and said that he needed to choose the music for his memorial.  JH said that he didn't want a memorial.  John said, "I don't care.  You won't be there."  JH, realizing that we needed closure, picked the three songs that everyone was invited to sing along.  In the announcement of the memorial date/time, the songs were listed so we all could be prepared for today.  There was also music available in the lobby in case we forgot it.  John wisely asked his choir to join us so that there would be someone actually singing without crying, just to keep us all in tune.  When he said, "If you are able, please stand and join us in singing," I looked around the sanctuary and saw that at least 90% of people in attendance were ready to sing.  There were probably about 200 people in attendance.  It was not surprising, but still very moving to see how many people were present and ready to sing for Jo.

My friend Vicki started her speech about Madrigal Dinner by reciting the Crier's opening speech, and fittingly ended with his goodbye that he would recite at the end of the evening.  She told the former court members to refrain from singing after her speech, but all of us had to really resist from starting "Stille Nacht".  I loved the impression she did of Jo during one particular rehearsal when he was clearly disgusted with what he was hearing as he had one hand on his forehead in SMH pose, and the other conducting the choir while not looking at them.

One of Jo's music projects was founding "Men in Blaque", a men's chorus that started with his students and now includes alumni and others in the community.  One of the original members talked about how much Jo loved rehearsal because of the collaboration we shared.  

MIB sang their signature song, Biebl's "Ave Maria".  This is one of my favorites, as you can probably tell whenever I post Pacific Crest playing this, their corps song.  MIB's rendition is beautiful, and I cried right along with some of the guys as they wiped away their tears.  They also sang "Bright Morning Star", which they chose because it ends with the lyric "Oh how can I be lonely?  My friends are all around me.  Their loving arms surround me.  Day is-a breakin in my soul."  I talked to conductor Andy later and he said that he was just glad that his arms couldn't cry because it was really tough up there.  

Jo's nephew spoke of his uncle's love for all of the Cleveland teams and spending time with him at Bonnie Brae farm with their elks.  I loved hearing that while we all talked about "Jo and Melinda", he knew them as "Melinda and Jo".  Jo's wife, Melinda, was like our choir mom.  She became an expert on the Henry VIII history and designed and created many, many Madrigal Dinner costumes through the years.  She accompanied us on all of our choir tours.  She remembered all of our names.  She was a wonderful lady, and none of us doubted their love for each other.  When she passed a couple of years ago, we all felt for Jo and their daughter, Heather.

A woman from Jo's Bakersfield College choir told us about Jo's first choir tour as a conductor.  It was an amazing story of how they became the first American choir to win first place at the Eisteddfod in Wales, and met the Pope and President Lyndon B. Johnson.  Heather even gave LBJ a kiss on the cheek at the White House!  I learned later in the day that Melinda wrote a book about the experience, and picked up one of the copies available to those in attendance.    

John led us in singing "Esti Dal", a Hungarian piece due to Jo's heritage.  My first choir tour included a trip to Hungary to participate in the Bela Bartok Choir Festival in Debrecen.  We sang different Hungarian songs, but I'm always happy to sing some Magyar for Jo.

We then heard from Jo's daughter, Heather, whom was very grateful for all of our support of her and for our love of Jo.  She told us to think of what Jo was like in our rehearsals, then try to apply that to being his daughter and hearing him every day, which was hilarious to us.  She even said that they're probably watching the ceremony right now and Jo is writing notes as to how it could have been better.  "I'm pretty sure I'll be getting that list soon."  

John led the RCC choir in a goodbye song that was beautifully done, and sounded like it was very difficult to sing due to the chords and all of the nuances of the piece.  Typical John.  :)  He told me later that it was our choir tour to Spain that made him decide to be a choral conductor, as he helped Jo assist a Russian women's choir to learn American Barbershop.  Hmmm...and I remember that as the tour where John and I got drunk a lot.  Perspective.  The choir was wearing t-shirts with "Huszti" on the back like a sports jersey, with the number 19.  I asked John about the significance of 19, and he said that was the number he chose at baseball camp. 

Richard gave a final blessing before the final group song.  Anyone that sang with Jo learned to sing Randall Thompson's "Alleluia".  It means so much to me that it is my favorite song in the whole world.  I looked at the music this morning, just to make sure I hadn't remembered anything incorrectly.  But I didn't even open my folder to look at it for the event itself.  As I'm sure it happened with many people today, the first notes took me to that beautiful place that we all reach when we sing this song together.  My voice forgot that I wasn't 20 years old anymore and I sang my heart out, remembering the dynamics, and making sure to follow my friend Buddy as he conducted all of us through the tempo changes.  I somehow got through the piece without sobbing, but I did need to really breathe during a rest at one point because I needed to gather myself together.  Those last 4 alto notes closing the piece were like a last tribute to Jo musically for me.  I don't know if I'll ever get to sing it again, but if I do, I will dedicate that last "Alleluia" to him.  Jo taught me how to *feel* music.  Anytime anybody says to me that they could see that I brought emotion to a song, I attributed it to him.

The service ended with "Come Come Ye Sons of Art".

The reception was really nice as they had tables set up representing the many facets of Jo.

Heart: MIB Valentine's Concerts
Elk:  Bonnie Brae Farm
Cleveland Guardians Baseball
Madrigal Dinner Medallion

Madrigal Dinner

The Boar's Head

Jo's Costume

List of Choir Tours

  Music was available for us to take, as well as the aforementioned book.  There were also baseball cards of when Jo got to go to baseball camp with the then-Cleveland Indians.

 They had buttons of different Jo eras, and the first one I got was of him and Melinda.  Then they had a lot extra so I was able to get one of each of the rest of the designs.  

I wore my Knights of Christmas medal
from Madrigal Dinner as my tribute to Jo.  

It was great to see my friends, albeit under unhappy circumstances.  We reminisced a lot, and some of us continued the conversation at an impromptu dinner afterward.  

It was a good day, made possible because we love Jo so very much.  Below is what I wrote for Jo while he was in hospice.  Heather was able to read all of our messages to Jo when he was awake and lucid, and sometimes he would tell his own story to her.  I appreciate that she and others close to Jo knew that he would want to hear our individual thoughts for him.  It did help with the closure so that we all felt comforted in knowing that he was aware of what he meant to all of us.

______________________________________________________

Hi, Jo.

Ever since the day I met you, you've made my life better.  I was a nervous freshman the day I met you to audition for choir, which I had never done before.  You checked my range and said I was a first soprano.  I told you that I was a good sight reader but not so much while singing.  So you had me sing Alto, and now I can sight sing with the best.  I've made great friendships with fellow Happy Altos Kristina Engel, Shannon Hartigan because of that decision.

Some of my greatest memories of traveling on choir tours are thanks to you, even the day after a bunch of us were drunk in Spain and the next day on the bus, you said to all of us: "I have one word for you: 'Moderation'."

But probably what I owe most to you is my gratitude for the love of music.  I had just returned from a choir tour in South Korea, and wrote a paper for a psychology course for my Master's Degree.  My professor, a musician himself, told me, "Sherry, it looks like you need to make a decision.  Will you focus on counseling or music?"  I got down on my knees and prayed to God for guidance.  I could have done both but still needed to work for pay.  Should I give up something and still work at my State job?  That week, I received 3 phone calls for opportunities to sing, and you were one of them.  I finished my degree, kept my job with the State, and took all 3 opportunities. I never regretted my decision.

Just recently, when you asked me to join Women in Whyte, I told you that I didn't know if my voice was up to it anymore.  You told me that I needed to exercise those muscles again.  And again, you were right.  I may not be 100% or even 80%, but I'm better and happier than I was before that one piece of advice.  

You have been one of my champions and I love you for that.  I will always, ALWAYS cherish singing with you, the friendships I made because of you, and the things I've seen on our travels because you believed in me.

Thank you, Jo, for your wisdom, your honesty, and your love for all of your "kids".

With much love,

Sherry

Sherry, Melinda, and Jo at
Jo's 80th birthday celebration in 2016.

 

The Influence of ONJ

Back before karaoke became a thing to do at bars in the USA, my family friend gatherings included a karaoke session once the Yabut family got a machine.  Soon, we had a karaoke machine, too, which was probably the time I stopped playing the piano regularly to accompany myself when I felt the need to sing a song.

Growing up in 70s and 80s, my singing idol was Olivia Newton-John.  While others were praising "I Honestly Love You", my favorite was "Please, Mr., Please".  I always was a torch song kind of person, I guess.  That one was never available for me to sing, though.

The song that I actually sang, which became my standard, was "Hopelessly Devoted to You".  It was my song.  The family members knew to just queue it up whenever they saw me get up to sing.  Yeah, I sang other songs, too, but this was expected of me, and I loved singing it, especially when I hit that high note well at the end of the song.

Mercifully, I grew up at a time where cell phones were not a thing yet, so there isn't any video for me to show you.  I know there's video out there somewhere, but I'll just spare everyone from whatever I sounded like before I had formal vocal training.  :)

Naturally, that was my favorite song from "Grease".  Then ONJ went on to the film "Xanadu", and I sang all of those songs over and over again, too, just not on karaoke.  I loved all of those songs, and even sang the Gene Kelly parts.  As weird as that movie was, I could probably sing along to those songs today and still know all of the words.  My favorite out of that album was "Suspended In Time".

I wasn't so much into her newer stuff, but I did like "Twist of Fate".

Here's a video of her concert from 1982.  I'm going to watch this in its entirety today.

I remember being heartbroken when she first announced being diagnosed with breast cancer.  She lived through a few scares of that, and remained strong, which is probably why, even when I didn't listen to her new music, she was still that idol for me.

My idol is gone now, but I will never forget how much I wanted to be like her.  At the very least, I wanted to be Sandy.  :)  

Rest in peace, Olivia Newton-John.  Thank you for keeping me Hopelessly Devoted to You.

Somebody to Love

I was going to attend "Day of Days" today at Universal CityWalk, but needed to run an errand in the morning, so I wasn't able to do so.  Instead, I saw "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Dolby while it was still available in that format.

• Nice instrumentation of the Fox Fanfare!  I was all smiles while it played.
• I didn't know that Freddie Mercury was a designer until today.  Well, that explains the outfits.
• Rami Malek's portrayal of Mercury was incredible.  Loved it.
• I tried to figure out who was playing Deacon for the entire movie, because I recognized his face.  Then I saw his name in the credits and realized it was because I know his face as a child.  Joseph Mazzello of "Jurassic Park", you are all grown up now!
• The scene with Mike Myers was great.  I loved the reference to kids not wanting to sit in their cars, banging their heads to "Bohemian Rhapsody".  Dude, that's WAYNE saying that!  Party on, Wayne.
• Oh, Mary, I feel your pain.  I cried through that whole scene, probably because it hit too close to home.  
• I cried a lot during this film. The first time was when the audience was singing "Love of My Life".  I'm glad the band talked about how that felt, because I have always wondered what it must feel like to hear thousands of people singing your song back to you.  I've always been amazed by anyone that can write an original song.  That is the height of creativity to me.
• I absolutely enjoyed the making of "Bohemian Rhapsody", especially the editing with the rooster crowing.
• "Who even is Galileo?"
• "It's America.  They're prudes in public and perverts in private."
• "You look like an angry lizard."
• "I am the lead singer, not the leader of the band."

I'm glad I saw the movie in Dolby.  The drum beats made my chair shake.  I really enjoyed the film and will probably see it a lot when it gets aired on TV.  Now I need to get some Queen CDs.  How is it that I don't have any yet?!?!

She Is Rich in Beauty

I went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall last week to watch Gustavo Dudamel conduct the L.A. Philharmonic for Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet".  This was my first concert to watch in the WDCH, and my ticket was only $20.00, so I was very excited!

I arrived early so that I could take the free tour of the hall, which is open to all ticketholders of the evening's show.  The guide showed us examples of Frank Gehry's different architectural decisions, such as his wanting to expose the structure as much as he could. 

All of the walls are curved, not straight.

 If you are able to walk up the five flights of stairs, you can also walk around outside the top of the hall.

 Lillian Disney loved gardens, and there is a garden that has been established as a State park, so anyone can enjoy it, not just concert goers.  The garden includes 6 types of trees, which all bloom at different times of the year so that whenever you visit, you'll see a tree with flowers in bloom. (One of the tour participants said that the lady who brought all of the trees to the hall saw trees in the gardens of people's homes, and asked if she could purchase them for the concert hall.)    There is a beautiful sculpture made of Delft porcelain called the "Lilly Rose".  Lillian and Walt collected items made of Delft porcelain. 

Closer look at the porcelain

Much of the architecture has elements of water / fish.

One of the only paintings in the hall,
with the blue as the Pacific Ocean

Fish shape above the third level walkway

After the tour, I ate a sandwich from one of the bars, and enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc as I listened to a talk about Prokofiev and the music being played tonight.

My seat was behind the orchestra, where the LA Master Chorale would normally sit during a performance.  I was really happy to get my seat because I'd be able to watch the maestro's facial expressions as he conducted the orchestra. 

   I was also in a great position to see the "french fry" pipes of the organ up close. 

 We were also behind the percussion section, so I could see some of the instruments that are normally blocked from view by the rest of the orchestra when you watch from the traditional vantage point.

Triangles of different sizes!

I was also in a great position to see the "french fry" pipes of the organ up close.  

I was in Orchestra Geek Heaven!  Even more so when the musicians took the stage, the concertmaster guided them to tune with each other, and Dudamel turned around to face them.  

I am familiar with some of the main themes of "Romeo and Juliet", although I had listened to it in its entirety.  I had also never seen the ballet (I've only seen "The Nutcracker").  The setting for this ballet was very interesting because the dancers didn't have a traditional-sized set, due to the orchestra taking up most of the stage.  The dancers also did not dance throughout the evening; instead, they danced through the major portions of the story, like the ball when R&J meet, the balcony scene, Romeo's fight with Mercutio, and the death scene.  (Oops!  SPOILERS!)  Rather than the traditional tutus and tights, the dancers wore more contemporary clothing, like flannel-looking outfits and modern street clothing, along with sneakers.  I figured it must be difficult to point one's toes in sneakers.  

At one point, the side doors opened, and a smaller ensemble played music from the wings of the stage.  Actually, I think it happened at two points, but I only noticed the music the second time.  I saw the doors open, and thought the dancers would enter the stage, but they didn't, so I guess that was the first time the small ensemble performed.  

An actual cameraman appeared on stage, and when he backed up into the wings, the dancers followed, and video was shown above me (behind the orchestra) and above the sound booth for us to see the dancers continue to dance in the backstage area.  It was amazing to see how they used the different areas of the WDCH for the dancing.  I was most impressed with the balcony scene, as Juliet led Romeo from behind my section into the garden where we had toured earlier. 

Where part of the pas de deux took place

The pas de deux was made even more gorgeous because of the beautiful natural scenery of the garden and the amazing architecture.  It was like the hall itself was a character in the ballet.  I loved it!  The death scene was appropriately performed by the dancers in the area below the stage as Romeo danced with a presumed-dead Juliet.  It was kind of odd but sad as she was lifted up like a rag doll.  Romeo brought her back to the stage and killed himself, then when Juliet woke up, she danced a beautiful solo and we got to see her facial expressions during bits of it, which was a nice touch.  

I recognized some of the musicians from seeing them perform at the Hollywood Bowl, like the trumpet soloist and the violin soloist from the John Williams concert.  I delighted in seeing the bow used in different ways, not just with the horsehair side, but also with the wood, as well as pizzicato.  I wished that I was the one playing all of those beautiful runs, difficult as they probably were.  I smiled when the percussionists got to play the triangle and the snare drum and the tympani...OK, every time they played.  

I was very aware that due to my seat almost straight across from the conductor, people in the audience could see me and it made me try to stay alert, even in the sleepy parts.  I was glad when the family seated next to me left at intermission because I don't know if they were aware of the people seeing us nor did they seem particularly educated about how long it takes to perform a ballet.  I wished that the women in front of me hadn't left because I needed to cover my legs lest I flash the audience if I uncrossed my ankles. This would have been OK had it not been hot due to the lights beamed on the orchestra. Whew, I was warm!

I had a wonderful time and look forward to the next time I get to experience a concert in the hall.  Maybe from a traditional view...but I'd be happy to see it from that same seat, too.   

Bravo!

“I have more care to stay than will to go.” -- Romeo, Romeo and Juliet

PusherPix 09/25/16

PusherPix
Sunday, September 25, 2016

Selfie with my college choir conductor and his wife.  We celebrated his 80th birthday today.

Ferdie at the Fourth

Rockapella in Laguna

Show #4
Sunday, August 21, 2016

Laguna Playhouse

Laguna Beach, CA

I was really tired and got to choir rehearsal late, but at least I made it to the church before Mass started.  Afterward, I made way back down to Laguna Beach.  Linda had originally planned to join me, but her kitty is sick, so she needed to stay home, and arranged for Ferdie to pick up her ticket at Will Call.  I parked in Lot 17 and texted the Posse that I was there.  I got on the trolley, and who should get on but KP herself, totally ignoring me.  So I hit her on the arm.  No, I didn't hit her hard, but it made her notice me!  She was with her friend Cindy, whom had taken her to her second Rockapella show, and was the teacher next door to her at school for a while.  When we arrived at the Playhouse, we relaxed on the upper tier of the Playhouse courtyard while we waited for our friends.  But they didn't get there that early, and we wanted to go inside and freshen up before sitting in our seats.  That's right, front row again!  This time I was in seat A-104.

With the little fake lighthouse on the hill 

Weff arrived just before the first song.  Phew!

Sun Brothers

L-O-V-E
I love it when Scott plays his "trumpet" and the air from his lips makes his hair fly up.  

Ooh, they were dressed in their Sunday white shirts and Scott was wearing my favorite tie!

Alamo
This song has been in my head for 24 hours.  This song has a train, and tritones during the "Toot toot"s, as well as the "choo choo", like in Rockapella's arrangement of Jailhouse Rock.

Ferdie's here!  YAY!  

Rockapella

Rock Around the Clock
They sound much better today.  I don't know what was up with the sound mixing yesterday.  Got a smile from Mitch.

Jailhouse Rock
Oh, those mic stands are too far to keep JT in jail.

Scott:  "I recognize some friends down here."  That's us!!!

Dancing in the Streets
Great move, Cal!  Pitch pipe assist from Scott to get Mitch going.

Just My Imagination / Imagine
Jeff came back on to the stage and applauded Calvin after the song (he rests off stage for this one).  Scott's hair is all wonky.

Satisfaction / Cupid
Jeff Evs' favorite part is the audience participation.  (He does not agree with this statement).

Mitch:  Warriors fans, maybe next year.
Scott:  Probably next year.
Mitch: Probably.

Moon River
I wonder what Elliott would sound like singing the lead on this song.  It would be in a lower key, but I think his smooth voice would sound really nice.

Paper Doll
Jeff's facial expressions during the call and response with Bryant are hilarious.  He also kicks when Bryant sings "I'm through with all of them".  Mitch acts like he's riding a bicycle at the end, like they're the Dapper Dans or some such thing.  Wendy said that Mitch has Flirty Flirty Eyebrows.

Blame It On The Boogie
No collision today, but they were really close to it.  Hi, Bryant!

<Intermission>
Ferdie said that he was a little nervous because he didn't have time to pay for a parking permit at the lot.  I've not seen anyone giving out tickets, but I have seen patrols.  I don't know if they're checking, though.

Intermission Smiles

Used Ta Be My Girl
Calvin sang at Wendy.  She pointed at herself, like "Who? Me?"  Calvin nodded.  
Mitch, after "Can't beat her cooking", sings "Yum Yuuuuum" while patting his belly.  

Scott got applause after saying, "Prior to becoming the legendary vocal act we've become..."

Commercials
The tenors are having way too much fun up there.  

Scott felt coffee vibes from Susan.  It was Wendy sending the vibes!  He's doing it wrong.

Susan is a consultant.  She could give consultation regarding a good cup of coffee.  
Scott:  I hate coffee.

Stand By Me
Susan augmented the lyric a bit, instead of singing, "Oh I won't be afraid", she sang "I'm afraid."

Mitch took some very loud steps to the front of the stage before singing, "I know you want to leave me..."

Ain't Too Proud to Beg
OK, Susan was awesome.  She shared some shoulder action with Bryant, and she slapped Mitch's butt!  YES!!!

Macklemore
Mitch is a very old young person.

Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego
Scott motioned that there is still some air under his butt when he was squatting down.

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World (off mic)
Someone in the audience started to rustle their plastic bag, and it kept on going.  During the quietest part of the show.  Scott heard it, kind of looked around, saw me giggling, and smiled.  Then the stage lights started to shift and change colors (not a part of the show), and they were loud, too.  He looked at me again, and I felt like I was in church, giggling behind my hymnal so that the congregation wouldn't see me.  What made it more like church was the fact that Ferdie was sitting next to me, because he was one of the people with whom I sang and hid behind hymnals at St. James.

Meet and Greet
I mostly just took Paparazzi pictures of the guys talking to the Posse.  I wasn't able to get my camera out in time for Ferdie and Calvin's discussion, so they faked another one for me so I could take this shot.  Thanks, guys!  It looks so authentic!

As I was saying...

They were all getting excited about Disneyland, partly because it would be a Cheat Day from their diets (for Cal, Mitch and Bryant).   Bryant said that his meal plan was churro, turkey leg, churro, corn dog, churro.  He saw that I was taking candids, and proceeded to unbutton his shirt for the camera.  Yeah, because I didn't already think he was a manly man BEFORE that happened.  O.M.G.

I love Wendy's expression!

Wendy gave Jeff some brownies, which he had said he enjoyed from last week.  The look on his face was priceless, he was so excited.  He even asked me to take some pictures of him with his phone.  I'm amazed he trusted me enough to hand the phone to me, but I guess he figures I'm not going to do anything crazy in the 30 seconds I had it in my hand.  I love that he posted them on Facebook.

He's so excited!

Mitch asked where his goodies were, and was all appalled that JT got something when he actually made an order.  I informed him that I was bringing his goodies were coming next week, and that those were from Wendy.  I guess he isn't being as good about his diet as he portends to be.  

Where's my stuff?!

Scott and I discussed the weirdness with all of the plastic rustling during the last song.  He figured that somebody really wanted to get their stuff together to leave.  I told him about Ferdie and me hiding behind hymnals in church.

Talking about the guys having a Cheat Day at DLR

We said goodbye to the guys, and to KP and Cindy.  Weff and I decided to eat at Rasta Tacos.  Ferdie was still worried about his car in the lot, and went there to pay.  Then he took the trolley and didn't get off where I told him to, and rode around for a while before he finally met us at Rasta Tacos.  I had the Surf n Turf (shrimp and carne asada) and it was quite yummy.  We all took the trolley back to our cars.  Look how cute we are on the trolley!

After saying goodbye, I decided to meet Glenndy at Disneyland, so I lounged with them and watched the magic picture at our booth.

Such a fun weekend of 4 shows!  I'm not going to be able to concentrate at work this week.

Next up:  Show #5

Make My Wish Come True

Frankie Avalon

Lewis Family Playhouse

Friday, June 3, 2016

Rrrrancho Cucamonga, CA

Remember when my friends and I took a road trip to Reno and on the way home, Cindy asked if Steve Dorian would sing "Venus" at our house concert?  Remember when he actually did? Then an amazing thing happened:  Frankie Avalon got booked to sing at one of our favorite venues, the Lewis Family Playhouse.  It was destiny.  We HAD to go!!!  

Linda picked me up after work, then we picked up Cindy and drove to Rrrrancho Cucamonga.  We arrived pretty early, so we ate dinner at Lucille's.  Awww, memories of secret stuff that happened that really isn't that much of a secret anymore but this is a really long sentence, isn't it?  The food was yummy.  Cindy was going to take some of hers home, but we weren't sure if the venue would allow us to take the container into the theater, and we didn't have time to take it to the car, so she left it there.  That's a shame, because she said it was good.

Our seats were in the back row of the front orchestra section, smack dab in the center.  Thank you for getting us such awesome seats, Wendy!  My ticket was her birthday gift to me.  :)

As the theater went dark, we were treated to some scenes from Frankie Avalon's film career.  The band started to play, and I thought the drummer looked a lot like Frankie.  Then FA himself took the stage.  

I didn't write notes during the show, so this set list is from our memory, and is probably incomplete.

Beach Blanket Bingo 
Medley of Beach Blanket films

• We were shown snippets of each Beach Blanket film, with a special mention for Annette Funicello.

Beauty School Dropout

• I cried.  I couldn't believe that I was actually seeing Grease's Teen Angel sing this song in person!

The drummer turned out to be Frankie's eldest child, Frank.  He grew up with KISS as his influence.  Frankie kept showing us his impersonation of Gene Simmons and the tongue.  Frank had a drum solo later, and it was quite impressive.

Dinah

Bobby Socks to Stockings

Gingerbread

Venus

• This had me squealing like a teenager in the 60s...but maybe not that loud.  I was SO excited as soon as I heard the intro, and said, "CINDY!"  I was so wishing that Steve was there to witness it with us.  Frankie Avalon, singing his signature song, LIVE.  My heart was happy!

Doo Wop medley

• Including Earth Angel, You Send Me, and Goodnight Sweetheart

The guitar player was Don Everly's son, Edan.  Yes, of the Everly Brothers!  Frankie sang a medley of Everly Bros songs with him, with Edan singing his Uncle Phil's part (harmony).

Everly Brothers medley

• Bye Bye Love
• All I Have To Do Is Dream
• Wake Up Little Susie

Yakety Yak
Witch Doctor
Good Old Days 

• Written by a couple of kids that sang for Frankie after a show.

The Brady Bunch

• Frankie said, "Remember that show 'Eight is Enough'?  Eight is a LOT."  He and his wife had 8 kids within a span of 10 years.  He showed video that Frank Jr. edited that showed each child after they were born, interspersed with pictures of Frankie's wife, pregnant with another child, in the same maternity dress. Frank, Jr. had Tiger Drums.  Linda wants them.

Tribute to Frankie's friends

• Ricky Nelson (we can't remember what song he sang)
• Elvis, whom had to have lunch with him in his trailer because they couldn't leave the lot due to his popularity - Jailhouse Rock and Blue Suede Shoes
• Bobby Darrin (his NYC roommate) -- Mack the Knife
• Bill Haley (with whom he also toured)-- Rock Around the Clock

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E

Frankie closed with his favorite saying: "If you feel like you're at the end of your rope, hold on tight and hang on."

The show was lots of fun!  A girl in front of us kept turning to watch me and Linda.  APPARENTLY, we were quite entertaining.  Her parents explained to us later that she has autism and really enjoyed seeing us.  Aw, sweet.  We are a sight to behold!

Afterward, we got in line to meet Frank, Jr. and Edan.  Frank talked to Cindy about their hair and his curls.  I told Edan that my college roommate and I used to sing his dad's songs all of the time, with me singing the harmony.  He asked me to sing with him, but not an Everly song.   He asked me to sing "Amazing Grace", then he was impressed and told me, "You're in the band."  OKAY!!!  We took pictures with them and they signed our CDs.

Frank, the Girls, and Edan

That was a lot of fun!  The whole "Venus" thing has gone full orbit, and we were happily pleased.

Thank you for a great night, Cindy and Linda! 

Harmonic Journal 12/22/15

Harmonic Journal 
Tuesday, December 22, 2015

"Come, Ye Sons of Art" by Henry Purcell, as performed at the UC Irvine Madrigal Dinners

Bloody Drums

Today I went to the AMC Theaters Best Picture Showcase, Day 1.  The first film was "The Grand Budapest Hotel", which I had already seen on TV, but it was nice to see it on the big screen.  

The first new film to me was "Whiplash".

• It's a movie about musicians.  How could I not like it?
• J.K. Simmons' character, Fletcher, is an a**hole.  Simmons is fantastic as this character.
• How does anyone think that girl has a big chin? 
• "I'M UPSET!!!" 
• I might need to get this soundtrack.
• I love musicians, even obsessive ones.
• "Not my tempo."  
• I couldn't tell if he was rushing or dragging, either.
• Why all the shots of little details, like the spider?  Was that meant as an "attention to detail that artists experience" thing, or did it mean something else?
• I honestly didn't know that drummers play until they bleed and need ice, like dancers practice until their toes bleed.  I've never done that with any of my instruments.
• Dude, that is a messed up thing to do to a guy's hope and career.
• Zildjian stuff!
• Oh, that's where I know Miles Teller!  Divergent!  He actually does play the drums, and is playing on some of the soundtrack.  Very cool.
• Paul Reiser, where have you been?  
• Was that a 14/8 time signature?  Crazy.
• That is a long-ass drum solo.

I really liked this movie, even though I wanted to wring Fletcher's neck.  

Show of the Century

Rockapella in Reno

Day 3

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Sammy's Showroom at Harrah's

Reno, NV

I actually got some sleep due to being so tired from the previous day.  As we were getting ready to go to breakfast, our hotel room phone rang.  I figured that it was Karla because our room was already adjoined with Wendy's, and she could just walk through the unlocked door.  Dodie answered the phone, and this is what I heard her say.

Dodie:  Hello?  Yes...what?  Fred wants to know if we want to go to breakfast?

Sherry: SAY YES!!!  Wherever he wants, just say YES!

Dodie:  I think you should talk to Sherry.

So I took the phone and talked to a very excited Karla, telling her to just say yes, we're ready, and we'll be downstairs in 2 minutes.  It turns out that Fred called Karla and told her he was her wake-up call, and asked what we were doing for breakfast.  Wow!  I made sure that he had wanted all of us to go and not just her, but APPARENTLY he welcomed the company of 3 women because he's a man.  :)  So we met Fred outside the elevators on the first floor, and he asked where we should eat.  One of the two places was already on a list that we were contemplating, and we said that we thought it might be too far to walk.  He derided us for being Californians who don't walk.  We realized that it was less than a mile away, so we decided to walk.  I don't know why we thought it was so far away.  Perhaps we read "6 mi" as 6 miles instead of 6 minutes.  Whatevs.  We were having breakfast with Fred at Peg's Glorified Ham n Eggs.  

Breakfast was yummy.  I had Joe's Special, which was like the Almost Joe's Scramble that I get at Hobee's.  Mmmm....Hobee's.  Karla started to hit my knee because she wanted to express her excitement, and I muttered under my breath that my knee was going to be bruised by noon.  We had a lot of fun talking to Fred, hearing him talk about meeting his wife and proposing to her.  At one point, he talked about "Ladysmith", and I told Dodie about Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  Fred asked me to say their name again, I thought because I accidentally inserted an extra "m", but it might have been because he wanted someone to say it because he can't say the whole name correctly.  He will be overseeing the venue's sound technician tonight because he won't be working the rest of the run for budgetary reasons.  

Fred asked what we were going to do during the day, and Wendy and I said that we were going to do our nails.  We invited Fred, but he didn't think he wanted to do that.  He had thought of going to the lake, but we had done that the day before.  I'm trying to imagine all of us on a road trip with Fred, and it makes me laugh.  Had I not wanted to rest and do my nails and stuff, I might have been game for going to the north side of the lake, but I didn't want to be pressed for time later on.  He said that he might go on Monday since he wasn't going to leave until Tuesday.  We suggested that he get his nails done, get a tattoo, and some piercings.  I don't know why he didn't take us up on that...that we know.  Karla and I giggled at random stuff because we're crazy and we were excited.  

After breakfast, we began to walk back to the hotel and Fred asked if we wanted to walk along the river.  It was like we were on a collective date with him, it was soooo cute.  He showed us where he had walked yesterday, including an amphitheater, and he asked if I was going to sing.  I said that he could sing.  He said no.  Karla convinced him to let us steal his soul and take a picture with me because it's my 100th show day and the next day is my birthday.  Then she asked if she could take one with him, and he said that wasn't part of the deal.  But then he relented and said yes.  At different times during our walk, different people noticed the same movie theater.  I don't know why nobody heard me when I mentioned it as we walked to breakfast, but perhaps we were just all preoccupied with Fred being there, and he was preoccupied with dealing with us gals.  We walked back to the hotel, and Fred said that he was going to get a pastry at a cafe at El Dorado casino, because dessert is the whole point of the meal.  We like Fred even more now because of that.  He told us to let him know if we think of anything exciting to do, and he'd join us.  We again asked him if he wanted to get his nails done, and he made a gesture at us that had us roaring with laughter.  

Sher and Bananaman at the Truckee River

Fred took this picture of us!

With Fred on a bridge

After a few minutes, the 4 of us went on a walk around the area.  Karla wanted to see the minor league baseball stadium for the Reno Aces, and it was only 2 blocks away, so we checked that out.  The Aces are the AAA team for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Karla babbled to the person at the gift store register about having breakfast with Fred, and I tried to get her out of there quickly before the lady called security.  We then walked back to Harrah's to get pictures of the marquees.

Wendy showing us a happy Karla, talking about breakfast

Old School Marquee

Fancy Sexy Marquee (view from Cal Neva)

Dodie and I split from Karla and Wendy at the hotel, and we went to the Cal Neva casino.  We were on the hunt for Star Wars Droid slot machines because Bro had told us they were listed as being there, but they were not.  We played for a little while before I went back to Harrah's and Dodie made her way to El Dorado.  I played at my Enchanted Unicorn machine for a little bit before going upstairs.  Little did I know that I might have been playing about 100 feet from where Steve and Ryan were watching football.  Wendy told me that she and Karla saw them sitting there when they got back from checking out the pastries at El Dorado, and they waved at the guys, so Steve waved at them to chat with them for a bit.  He's so nice!  The gals didn't want to intrude on their game, though, so they left shortly afterward.  I'm sorry I missed that, especially because we didn't find the machines we wanted.  

We rested for a bit, then Jenn arrived.  We were all still full from breakfast, but Jenn was hungry, so we made sure to get her some food to avoid Hungry Jenn.  We had lunch at Hash Hash a go go.  Jenn ordered the Salmon Benedict, and it was monstrous.  Too bad the rest of us weren't very hungry and shared 2 dishes between the 4 of us, one of which was a huge house salad.  Jenn was then in a food coma, so we went back to our rooms to rest, and I worked on Saturday's blog post, while Dodie returned to the slots.

We all got ready for the big night.  I prayed while I was alone and thanked God for this day, the Pellaposse, and Rockapella, and told everyone that it was time to go.  We got to the Diamond Line again (all lines were again empty), and Vic noticed that there were 5 of us this time.  I guess he didn't write that part down.  But that's OK.  He took the table that would have been in front of us, and elongated our table.  He took a couple of pictures of us at our table, and wished us a good show, saying that he would probably watch it this time.  

The Cool Table

Draggin' the Line
I wonder if they'll still do this song when they change the opening to "Rock Around the Clock".

Scott is Phyllis Diller.  (Forgot to write on the post for Saturday's show that he did do an impression of her laughing when we were talking to him.  He was pretty good!)

Use Ta Be My Girl

Scott introduced Ryan, saying that the girls like the bass.  
Ryan, in his deep voice: "Yeah, they do."
Great bass intro!
Steve winked at Karla.

Pretty Much You
Got a smile from Steve.  :)

Got To Get You Into My life
I love when Steve poses just like in their poster.

Just My Imagination / Imagine
John paused for a while before setting down his mic stand.  Scott pretended to almost trip.  At least I hope he was pretending.  Scott heard us giggling.  They must hear us giggle a lot.  Nice high notes, John!  Our table did the whole "2...4...20!" with the guys.

Hard Time
Scott's very loud stomping at the top of the stairs startled me.

Scott asked Ryan how he was doing with this new gig.
Ryan:  It's going well, definitely better than the Chippendale's act that I came from.
Scott:  We're waiting for you to take your shirt off.
Ryan:  It's coming.  I'm going to tear this and the buttons will pop off.
We forgot to hold up our dollar bills!  Not that they would have seen them.

Cupid

Scott said that they call their record "Motown and More" "because there's a little Motown on it, and there's a little bit more."

My Cherie Amour
Scott to John:  I didn't know you could play the trumpet.
Scott regarding Ryan being engaged:  It's your last shot in there. Whatever happens in Reno...will never happen again.  (He told us later that he made up that last sentence all by himself).

Scott announced that they'd be singing their version of The Mills Brothers' greatest hit.
Sherry:  <swoony sigh>
Posse:  <giggles>

Paper Doll
I got a wink from Steve, which got me giggling.  Because, you know, he NEVER looks at me during this song.  ;)

Blame It On The Boogie
Crazy dancing!  At one point, Scott looked down to make sure that his shirt was tucked in..or that his pants were still up.  Whatevs, we giggled.  Ryan added some riffs to his bass solo.  Looks like he's getting more comfortable with each show.

Jingle Medley
Jeff also waves one of his hands during the first Mounds commercial.  Right before the 3rd Mounds commercial, he holds up 3 fingers.  When Ryan wiggles his butt, Jeff points at it.  I love the little details that they add.

Then John said that it was trivia time.  Jenn wanted to answer the question, but didn't.  Someone in the audience had the correct answer, and he congratulated them, but didn't do his usual bit of stealing someone's wife/girlfriend.  Instead, he walked back up the steps to the stage, and said, "This is a very special night.  Someone in our audience is celebrating her 100th show watching Rockapella.  Sherry, come on up here."  

(Well, I thought, I guess we're doing this now.  I honestly wasn't sure that they'd be able to single me out during the show because Scott had mentioned that they were limited to 75 minutes of show and I didn't think they'd have time.  I know that they usually do something special, and I know that they all knew about my milestone, but I didn't want to *expect* it, you know?  But here I was, and it was happening, and it took me about 3 days for this all to hit me fully).  Back to the scene...

After smiling at my PellaPosse, I walked up the stairs to the stool, with John's help.  Scott walked over, looked at me, and said, "You look lovely!"  Thank you!  He stood next to me, put his arm around me, and talked to me.  The following exchange may not be word for word, because I couldn't exactly write it down at that moment.  

I sat down on the stool and mouthed to the posse:  "I can't see you!"

Scott:  100 shows.  Congratulations.
Sherry:  Thank you!
Scott:  Where are you from?
Sherry:  Southern California.
Scott:  Where do you live?
Sherry:  You want my address?  I don't think I should be telling *everybody*.
Scott:  Later.  Just your town for now.
Sherry:  Monrovia, CA.
Scott:  And what do you do in Monrovia?
Sherry:  Watch Rockapella videos?
Scott:  Oh, good!
Sherry:  No, I work for the State of California.
Scott: Great.  What has been the most memorable Rockapella show for you?
Sherry:  There are so many, but probably the most memorable would be the time that I was up here with you guys, singing.
Scott:  You sang?  What song did you sing?
Sherry:  "Stand By Me"
Scott:  Let's do it again.
Sherry:  OK.  :)

Stand By Me
I sang that the moon was dark.  What?  Oh, "land".  Scott said "Whoa" when I took the microphone.  Well, he handed it to me, was I supposed to give it back? That was NOT going to happen.  When I first sang "Stand By Me", I looked at him so that he would stand next to me, and he took my cue.  I kept forgetting lyrics, but at least I remembered much more words than my first time up there when I ran to the back and sang Kevin's part with him. Scott was all emphatic during "Darling, Darling!"  I was nervous, and I haven't sung solo in about a year, so blech.  But at least I sang my heart out and I was with my favorite band, and I was happy.  Happy as a PellaPusher could possibly be.  Scott ended the song with "Stand by She".

Stand By Me

I stood up and Steve took my hand, saying, "Let's take your 100th Show bow."  
Steve:  Give it up for Sherry from California, everybody!  Sherry and some of her friends come see us often, and we love having you guys here with us at the show, and after the shows we all have a good time together.  Thank you for coming to see us so much as you all do, thank you, Sherry.  One more time, Sherry.

We got to the steps, and I thought to myself, "Oh, I didn't get to hug the guys to thank them."  Then he turned around quickly to start the next song.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Seriously, I thought we were done.  Because, you know, I haven't been to 100 shows and I don't know what comes next!  Clearly, I had lost my mind up somewhere up there.  So I skipped back to my seat and sat down, ready for more fun.  There was Steve, singing just a few tiny inches from my face.  Then he was on his knee and I tried to breathe.  I tried not to fall off of my chair.  Then John.  John!  Putting his head in my lap!  How could I not touch his beautiful shiny head?  Of course I did!  "Baby, baby, I'm the one you want..." There were the guys dancing.  There was Ryan - er, the R-Man, with his deep voice losing his mind.  Then Scott got me to stand up and go dance with him.  I made sure not to bump him so hard that he would fall off of the stage (my hip has been known to pitch people across a room), and John was doing...something...in back of me.  Then Steve came over to drag me over to the other side of the stage.  More dancing.  More veryclose singing. He's lucky I didn't just lean forward and kiss him, he was that close.  Or maybe he's unlucky. Then Scott dragged me away and I did the Watusi or whatever with him and John was wiggling his butt.  Then Steve got me back, and "Don't you go".  Then the song was done, and I hugged each one of them and thanked them. 

OK, beg!

Enjoying John's attention

I mean, come on!

Steve:  One more time for Sherry, 100 shows, we hope we see you for 100 more.

Steve helped me down the stairs "for real this time", and I sat down and finished swooning as the Posse clapped for me.  "I can't breathe," I told them, because I was out of breath and excited.    <B R E A T H E ! ! !>

Thrift Shop / Celebration
I don't know what happened.  I was busy breathing.

After our table yelled "Do It Rockapella!", Scott said to us, "I knew you would know what it is."  They sang this song every day for 54 years.  

Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego
Scott forgot who was coming back to the stage (it was John).  I thought he had forgotten where John came from.  But no, he forgot who was next.  Perhaps Scott lost his mind up there, too.  Breathe, Scott!

Encore

A*Punk

Scott:  Would you like another song?  Good, we have one.

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World
As they started to sing the song, they walked down the stairs and sang from there.  I was thinking, "Are they going to sing to our table?  What is happening?"  No, they didn't sing to our table, more like their backs were to us.
Sherry:  This is the one time I'm allowed to look at their butts.
Scott to Wendy:  I'm a bass.  
Scott sings bass when Ryan sings lead.  Wendy had just been thinking, "I don't think I've ever heard Scott sing that low."  I thought that this effect worked rather well, and we got to hear Jeff's singing voice up close!  Scott later told us that the venue had asked them if they could come out and meet people after the show, so they worked it out this way.  I like to think that our posse's request prompted the venue's request.  So, YOU'RE WELCOME, Pella Fans!

A guy named Adam (Andy?) talked to me and congratulated me after the show.  This was his 8th.  He has a long way to go, but it's possible.  Goonies never say die.  

JT photobombing Ryan and me

 Jeff told Karla that we should be at all of the shows because we bring the energy.  Can I just live in Reno on the weekends through March?  

NOW it's your turn, JT!  Oh, now, Adam is photobombing.

Scott!

It was really cool that the guys were meeting and greeting in their stage attire, and they made sure that I got a picture with all of them.  We also got a good Posse picture. 

Pella and the Posse

When Karla went to stand between Steve and Ryan, Ryan said to her, "Come stand before your two favorites."  He must not know about Fred.  I got a closer look at Scott's tie, and the accent was silver with a fleur-de-lis!  So I took a picture of his chest.  Karla took a picture of me doing this because it was funny.  I showed the tile wall to Scott, and he checked that out for awhile.

This might be my next tattoo

Scott asked Karla what we were doing after the show, if we were partying to celebrate or what.  I didn't know where to go, so I asked Steve.  Steve and some of the guys were going to dinner at a restaurant in the El Dorado to chill, and said that we were welcome to come along, but Scott was still changing and I wanted to see what he'd say, since he was the one that asked us what we were going to do.  Scott didn't really want to leave the hotel, so we decided to hang out with him, and asked him to text Steve to let him know.  We tried to get a table at Hash Hash A Go Go again, but they had just closed the kitchen.  While we were deciding what to do, John arrived and told us that he had ordered food ahead of time.  He's so smart.  We ended up going back downstairs to Joy Luck Noodle Bar.  Scott didn't eat, but I got him a Diet Pepsi that was made of just syrup.  Thankfully, I had noticed that it had come out like a spray, and asked him to taste it before gulping it down.  He was too polite to let me change it, and kept trying to taste the hummingbird food-like drink, but the ice didn't dilute it much.  I finally took the cup without asking for it later on, and dumped out the syrup, replacing it with ice water.  He was very grateful that I changed it.  He's so funny.  (If you ever get into a conversation with Wendy about hummingbirds, I recommend that you ask her for her impression.  She's darn good at it).

Scott is totally comfortable with Bananaman

We had a great time talking about prom dates, his proposal to Lisa, recording song ideas on his phone and lots of other stuff.  We talked about memories from different shows as well as the cruise.  He said, "You have a lot of memories of the shows."  We've had a lot of good times that we like to remember.  :)  I mentioned always mouthing Elliott's part with him during "Moments of You": Scott said, "That's a good song.  I like that song."  Again, Scott -- you wrote it!  

Scott said that he doesn't check Facebook often, but he really liked the picture that I posted of my being in the band for the Rose Parade.  So it's going to be quite a while before I change that profile picture.  :)  He also told me about my time on stage: "Good singing tonight."  Aw, thank you for being so kind, Mighty Blond One!  Karla told him that we were staying up until midnight because she wanted to wish me a Happy Birthday and didn't want to have to wake me up early before she left on the shuttle in the morning.  He looked at his phone and said, "I don't think I'm going to make it.  I'm still on Eastern time."  We didn't care how long he'd stay.  We were just happy that we got to spend this time with him.

What a spectacularly awesome day this was.  I'll never forget it.

Next up:  Birthday!