Talking to Tim

After a sauna with Kari and Barbie, Tim Burke and I talked music, specifically my desire to enhance my guitar and vocal chops so I could test song sketches for the Science FIction Musical with live audiences.  I asked him about vocal resources and he mentioned another announcer at WIAA, Kate Botello and a previous band member, Linda who Barbie had raved about in the sauna as being a great coach for she and Tim in their group. Also the names Brian and Natalie came up, tho I am not sure who they are or how they fit in yet.

Tim will be around until December and then he goes away to luthier school for 3 months. He offered do a bit of listening and advising, maybe even visioning. If we think there’s potential, I might ask him to give me more consistent guidance.

We talked musicals generally with some fascinating revelations. Musical numbers are natural exposition, character development and motivation in tight intuitive transmission, without any of suspension of disbelief because well, if you’re ok with characters spontaneously breaking into song and dance, then almost anything goes. 🙂 Or perhaps because they do so, the audience is super receptive to the everything that comes with, the content is supercharged. For example, in Guys in Dolls, “Fugue for Tinhorns” (I Got The Horse Right Here) there’s some fairly technical information being offered about tracks, jockeys, odds on betting and the understanding is inherent in the song, somehow it all just get’s instantiated in the audiences’ brains. With this tune especially, it’s a fugue so that multiple streams of content are running concurrently, which without the music, would just be crowd noise.

Lyrics to Fugue For Tinhorns, Frank Loesser
Nicely, nicely, I got the horse right here
The name is Paul Revere
And here’s a guy that says if the weather’s clear
Can do, can do

This guys says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do
Can do, can do, can do
Can do, can do

This guy says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do
Can do, can do

For Paul Revere I’ll bite
I hear his foot’s all right
Of course it all depends if it rained last night
Likes mud, likes mud

This X means the horse likes mud
If that means the horse likes mud
Likes mud, likes mud

I’ll tell you Paul Revere, now this is no bum steer
It’s from a handicapper that’s real sincere
This guy says the horse shows class can do, can do
Paul Revere, I got the horse right here

Benny, I’m picking Valentine
‘Cause on the morning line
This guy has got him figured at five to nine
Has chance, has chance

This guy says the horse has chance
If he says the horse has chance
Has chance, has chance

I know it’s Valentine
The morning works looks fine
Besides the Jockey’s brother’s a friend of mine
Needs race, needs race

My friend says the horse needs race
If he says the horse needs race
Needs race, needs race

I go for Valentine ’cause on the morning line
The guy has got him figured at five to nine, has chance, has chance
This guy says the horse has chance
Valentine, I got the horse right here

Rusty, but look at epitaph
He wins it by a half
According to this here in the Telegraph
Big threat, big threat

This guy calls the horse big threat
If he calls the horse big threat
Big threat, big threat

And just a minute boys
I’ve got the feed box noise
It says the great grandfather was Equipoise
Shows class, shows class

This guy says the horse shows class
If he says the horse shows class
Shows class, shows class

So make it epitaph
He wins it by a half
According to this here in the Telegraph
Epitaph, I got the horse right here

Perhaps all the lingo and language is lubricated by cadence and tempo.
We talked about musicals that we had seen or intend to see. Of course I am a huge fan of another Loesser classic, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. I haven’t seen Avenue Q, or Disney’s Frozen, done by the same folks. Rent and Stomp are two that I missed. Tim recommended I check out the opera Doctor Atomic by composer John Adams, a minimalist like Philip Glass. I told him he HAS to watch Cory McAbee’s “American Astronaut”.

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