Woof! The Road Show and ragorama

I'm trying to rework how the band does ragtime, and I think we're getting somewhere. It's more what goes on around me, try to give the instruments things to do that are a little more interesting, and take away some of the "marchiness" that a lot of it has. I think by now it's not so unique to do something different but it hopefully will sound good, or give it our own stamp, and I think that's what I might have been, while good, missing.

So we'll see. Working with Maple Leaf and Richmond right now. People will love it, or they'll go all traditional and not love it. Or they won't know because how many people can whistle the Richmond Rag anyway? Exactly. I'm glad to try to bring it back and make it cool.

I posted up a song on SoundCloud called Sometimes, from WOOF! The Road Show. What it does show, other than a road show, is that a little bit of effects on a rather mundane recording can bring it back to life. We did it at Jupiter Studios and listened to it once and it was like ugh, but it hasn't been "finalized" in any way, so it sat on the computer for 10 years. It's just piano and vocal but I enhanced the vocal and put in some reverb and delay and it came out pretty good.

Truth is that's all it needs, it's just a piano and vocal song. It doesn't need oboe d'amore or contrabassoon of banjo, really.

here, you decide.

https://soundcloud.com/jerry-rabushka/sometimes

I guess what's good is I do have all the songs from WOOF recorded, and with the original cast. I don't know what will become of the play, it's sort of a pastiche of a gay romance on the road, two guys who are doing a romance and of course one wants to romance the other in real life, but the "other" demands it stay professional. Plus people keep rewriting the play because it gets workshopped to death.

I'm not the biggest fan of workshopping and development and having 1006 people put their finger in your pie and before you know it your pie and your play are germy and disgusting, piece by piece. I was more like "I'll write it my way and accept the consequences/blame if it doesn't work." I've had my share of consequence and blame. But thousands of folks have produced my plays, mostly short ones, so...thanks because each one really means a lot, and I hope you've enjoyed it.

Woof got, I think, four reviews, one really good, one local critic seemed to like it and we actually took her recommendation to add a song. a couple folks didn't. so life goes on. It almost got produced in New York on three occasions... as in I was offered a production or help with one. But things come up, so no hard feelings really.

What makes the play unique, perhaps, is it doesn't have much of a plot, it more lets you look in. It sort of has a plot, but... sometimes I get tired of plot. So I try other things. Plus I used some discarded dialogue from another play, Love of Last Resort (not to mention some behind the scenes shenanigans that I instigated), as a catalyst for Woof. That's a story for another day.

anyway if someone would want to look it over, yea you can.

I would LOVE to have an oboe d'amore or contrabassoon on a song. Or both! Who wouldn't? Maybe sometime soon.