"Waiting" Recording: "Broken"


"Broken"

I didn't get to tell you about Awesome August, but part of it was 12 house guests who came to my house to stay while we recorded 10 songs in 2 days. Members of the "Waiting" cast trekked to E. Tennessee to record songs from the show. It was a risk - hosting 12 houseguests with a 40-gallon water heater and three air conditioning units that are old enough to vote, throwing them into a studio environment requiring three separate vocal areas, 12 sets of headphones, a way to record tap dance without ruining the floor, and a lot of singing. I don't know how many Michelin stars I got for my breakfast casserole and lack of bathrooms, but the recording went amazingly well. Everyone was prepared, nobody was a diva, nobody got sick or got red light syndrome or anything. The young woman above sang this and other tracks with a shimmering beauty that I crave to hear on just about any song I have ever written, and her friends did as well with spirit and that wonderful texture and power that only theater singers have.

I also got to drink a lot of red wine with some of their moms and their teacher and her husband; I am now a fan of Dan Hobson because he fixed the broken shower, was tech-theater useful at many other stages, and, like his wife, is pretty fun. My son is a fan because Dan is practicing to be a grandpa and that means Daniel got to climb on Dan's back like a monkey. A lot.

I am ambivalent about writing musicals. I love it. It's stressful. I love it. There's no money in it (indeed, I am deep into the red for this show and not likely to get out of it). I love it. It's a time-suck. I love it. I need a collaborator and despair of finding Mr./Ms. Write. I love it.

Musical theater is kind of my genre native language, so I think I won't know how to quit it anytime soon. Anyway, the music featuring members of the original cast will be available on CD in time for Christmas, and you will be able to buy it here at my website. No, not now, silly. When it's done.

I'll let you know.

P.S.: The "Broken" lyric did not win or even place in the Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival competition; it lost to others, including my lyric about a woman breaking up with her boyfriend and his recliner. But I still like it a lot.

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