THANKSGIVING ON KK

Back in 1995, the Music on KK weekly concert series began an annual tradition:  The Music on KK Thanksgiving Show.   We featured various traditional, secular, sacred, and some just plain fun music and readings appropriate for the Thanksgiving season.  At the time, merchants were all trying to out-shout one another, and move their Black Friday shopping event first to Thursday, then to Wednesday, and finally to meaninglessness.  Thanksgiving was left behind as shoppers stampeded to the shopping centers, so our Thanksgiving show was for the rest of you. 

And, now we have the "cancel-everything and hide at home" era.  Well, we made this 12-minute mini-variety show as a way of saying "Hello, in there!  Happy Thanksgiving".

Thanks to Joyce, Fred, and Tiara for all their devoted hard work.  And thanks to Norm Lorenz for his priceless production advice. And thank you to all of our listeners - that's you!

Play Music on the Porch Day

... so the Bay View Compass has always been a reliable guide on the goings-on in the imaginary village of Bay View,  Wisconsin.  And in the August 2020 issue, the front page featured an article about Play Music on Your Porch Day.  This August 29, 2020 event involved playing music on your front porch instead of the other things people are doing nowadays, so it sounded like a good idea to me.  We had music, and we sort of had a porch out in front of the studio, and we gave it a go. 

With the help of Joyce (my wife), and Tiara Lukiesh, (one of my piano students), we put together a fun one-hour program of music, a little of everything - Beethoven, Baby Boomer favorites, Beatles, jazz, tangos, polkas and of course some of our favorite Basement Music. The video below is a sampling of our experience.  We had fun, got lots of good honks and thumbs up from passing cars, and even some villagers standing around having fun with us. The people on the Harleys couldn't hear us, but their contributions added a certain Milwaukee authenticity to the proceedings. Enjoy!

Na Na Na Na-Na-Na-Na

This song reminds me of all the late summers of days past.  Memories where the sun is always shining.  Coming of age in the turbulent late 1960s, my most vivid memory of this song is a sun-filled Saturday afternoon, our church youth group was meeting recreationally at a nearby Wisconsin state park.  We gathered into groups of about five or six, and crammed into the cars of the youth leaders.  Looking back, I later realized that these "adult role models" we looked on as leaders were actually only two or three years older than us.  So, we all had a lot in common.  I remember careening down country roads with all the windows open, and I'm pretty sure we were a bit above the speed limit.  And cranked up on the most powerful car radio I had ever heard, were the Beatles, singing "Hey Jude".   Na Na Na Na-Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na-Na  Hey Jude! 

Meanwhile back here  in the 21st Century, fifty-some years later, the Beatles remain as a primary musical influence of young people.  It was a most pleasant surprise to discover that one of my piano students had not only become familiar with the Beatles heritage, but had also been playing saxophone since high school.  How fortuitous!  Thanks, Tiara! And Joyce, my beloved wife, who just loves the Beatles (this is either an exaggeration or a dog-gone lie.) took up the tambourine to give us that 1960s vibe.  Far Out!

Clearing Skies and Drying Eyes

Here's a song from 1971 written in all sincerity by Bruce Johnson, who was simply weary of the "New Normal" of the late sixties. You know, the endless violent protests for peace, the militant and violent and  unreasonably demanding mobs, the destruction of patriotic symbols and institutions. You know . . . the New Normal of 1970.

I dutifully follow all the demands of the current New Fascists, who are oh so attentive to my "needs". "You NEED to put on your face mask"  "You NEED to use the drive-in bank, because the lobby is only open by appointment"  "Wear a mask"  "Don't wear a mask"  "You need to wait outside" "Religious meetings are cancelled" "All fun is cancelled" "We're all in this together, but we hate you for your wrong opinions".

So, with Bruce Johnson, and with anyone else who has had enough:  Let's escape for a few momentse to a world much more simple, a world of joy and love.  I'm sure that the millennials will still be here, to see to our "Needs" when we get back.

Dies Lied ist mein Leben (piazzola)

Here's a haunting tango from Argentinian composer Astor Piazzola. The tango is still  an essential part of Argentina life, both as a dance, and an imbuement of reverence.

"There's a saying that tango is a 'sad thought danced.' But that's only part of it. It's touching the sadness in you, the pain, yes--but also the joy, the humor, the everything life has. It's touching everything.”― Jennifer Vandever

This video started out as a chord exercise in one of our piano lessons, but Miss T did so well on it, I couldn't resist the possibility of performing it on accordion with her on piano.  Appreciate her help and cooperation in making this video possible.  Can you believe she's been studying piano for less than a year?

Weary at heart, back where you started from . . .

The "New Normal" restrictions on our mobility have led to a certain amount discovery.  Confined to places and things overly familiar are suddenly re-discovered -- an old box of things we packed away in the back of our closet, some things in our computer that we started writing years ago -- things we never before had time for, and now time we have...

Perhaps not everything is "out there".  Plenty of things we can discover and develop, both in ourselves, and in those close to us. Entire undiscovered continents in some cases.

So, here's a song about that sort of thing from 1928 made popular by Al Jolson, and recorded by others as well, including Vera Lynn, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and countless others.

There's no place like home . . . there's no place like home . ..

They'll Be Happy to Know That as You Saw Me Go . . .

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
Remember how she said that
We would meet again
Some sunny day?        - Pink Floyd

Vera Lynn was the voice of home to the soldiers in the British Armed Forces.  Hers was the voice singing the songs in their frightened hearts as, even though they suspected otherwise, they bravely told the folks at home, "Don't worry about me while I'm gone; I'll be back soon."  Vera was the mother, the sister, the girl you left behind when you went to war. British soldiers won the war for Vera Lynn! Her voice was a constant on the British airwaves' broadcasts to the troops at war. Hers was the voice of the soul of the free world.  Her song "We'll Meet Again" was the best known of the many songs that describes what is worth fighting and dying for.

Vera Lynn left us quietly this past week, on June 18, 2020, at the age of 103. But thanks to her music, she will be with us always.

Special guest on today's video, my friend since first grade, Norm Lorenz.  We performed together under many different circumstances, from bars and dance halls in a polka band, to old folks homes as the Pay As You Go band.  And now, two old codgers are trying to figure out the technology of how we can both sing together even though we can't be together.  We don't have no steenking Zoom. Lookin' good, Norm!

   

Beneath the Coptic Skies

Back in the 1920s, a great discovery in Egypt captured the imaginations of people around the world.  The tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered undisturbed, and gave us a glimpse of the lives of the rich and famous in the ancient world of the Pharoahs. The world was gilded in all things Tut, from the newsreels to the entertainment and art world.  Here's a song that captures some of the excitement as it was experienced on the vaudeville stage.

The hat was discovered back in the old Theatre costume vault.  Writings on the labels and the inside of the hat was Arabic.  I don't read Arabic, but I'm sure it says "This is a hat patterned after the wardrobe of Tutankamen."

Tell Her She's Beautiful

Here's a song from the early 1970s, written by Harry Nilsson. 

Some of Nilsson's life-time accomplishments were, "The Point", an animated 1/2 hour musical he wrote and directed, his #1 recording of "Without You", and his collection of standards with orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins "A Touch of Schmilsson in the Night"   It was Harry who advised the Muppets to "Put de Lime in de Coconut", and it was Harry with John Lennon who got drunk, acted up, and got thrown out of a Frank Sinatra show.  What goes up . . . .

Harry had his sublime moments as well.  He led the residents of an English old-folks home in a raucous and enthusiastic wine-filled chorus of  "I'll tie my tie / till the day I die / and if I have to be fed / I'd rather be dead."   And, there was the following song, nothing quite like it anywhere.  And I notice, my version is the only non-Nilsson version on YouTube.  There ya go -- here, in a rare internet sensation, is Gary Alan Guetzlaff, singing Harry Nilsson's "The Most Beautiful World in the World"



Thanks for listening

I Warned You

So, it's Memorial Day weekend.  The unofficial beginning of Summer.

So, remember.  Just remember - I won't tell you what to remember.  If you don't know, you probably never will.

Here's a song for you, to help you through your "closed" weekend.  It was created in the 1930s.  It was popularized by George Formby, bad, bad boy, who, armed only with his little ukulele single-handedly terrorized conventional British entertainment.  In fact, George was crowned the Clown Prince of the English Music Hall Stage.

Along with George, we laugh at ourselves, and our little hypocrisies and hangups, and who is ever ready for something like that?

So, I'll warn you -- This song is not funny because:

• It's Un - #MeToo
• It's Sexist
• It seems to depict improper Social Distancing

And people with a sense of humor find it funny, and to some people, that's bad.

Sooo.... Do Not under any circumstances click on the following link.

All I've Got to Do is Thank You, Girl

One distinct advantage of having been born so very, very long ago, is that I got to experience the Beatles phenomenon firsthand.  No historian to my knowledge has ever captured the magnitude of these formative years of creativity.  Many tried to copy the Beatles, but every time some other group thought they had captured the "Beatles sound" a new Beatles sound had already emerged.  Each song of the Beatles defined a whole new sub-genre of music.  On first hearing a new Beatles song on the radio, the first reaction was a surprised "Who is that?" And then the recognition would dawn, "Oh, it's The Beatles. They sound so different from their last song."  The harmonic complexity would set each new song apart from the others. There were very few "three-chord thumpers" in the Beatles repertoire.  The complexity of the new harmonies would attract the imitation of orchestras, lounge singers, songwriters, and even bluegrass bands -- forever.

Here's a new insight into a very old (1964) Beatles song:

Chase Those Little Rainbows In My Soul

Here's a song I've always admired.  It was written by Robert Crumb, the underground cartoonist popular in the 60s and 70s.  Robert Crumbs music is always filled with joy.  How can you go wrong with a banjo, mandolin, accordion, Hawaiian guitar and a musical saw?  His first release, with the Keep on Truckin' Orchestra was pressed to vinyl in a 78 rpm recording of River Blues / Wisconsin  Wiggles. By the time it came out, many phonographs no longer supported the 78 rpm speed, so lots of people missed this beautiful recording.  There is another group of LP albums that Robert Crumb recorded in the 1970s with the Cheap Suit Serenaders.  This song was among those, co-written by Mr. Crumb.  For the most part, the group recorded classics from the 1920s and 1930s, for example a heart-rendingly beautiful rendition of "I'll See You In My Dreams" featuring a musical saw.

And so, trying to keep the old Carpal Tunnel at bay, here is the famous laid-off church organist Gary Alan Guetzlaff's version of Chasing Rainbows!

https://youtu.be/4-BxC6o0Lnw

You've Got to Give a Little . . .

OK. I planned on a different video to do next, but everything kept going wrong, so when Corona Man's face mask fell off in the middle of the song, I said "That's it!" and gave up on the idea for awhile, and decided just to do an old favorite.

This piece was one of our "greatest hits" when we played at nursing homes - we'd save it for our grand finale.  "We" was me, and my life-long friend Norm Lorenz of Madison.  We called our style of music (and our life-style at the time)  "Pay as You  Go". 

Floral design by Dottie Diggs of Milwaukee.  Although daffodils and iriseses are seasonal this time of year, no actual flowers were harmed in the creation of this video.

Enjoy!

For the Birds

Sometimes the best medicine is a breath of fresh cool April air.  Take a short walk (Yesterday's new  restrictions in Wisconsin still allow us that much).  If you prefer staying at home, at least go and stand in the doorway, or stick your head out of the window.  Get away from your TV with its constant sick-room narrative, personal injury attorneys, and true crime shows.  Breathe. Take in the beautiful spring.  Listen to the robins, red-wing blackbirds, and even those little brown windshield-crappers.

And speaking of birds, today's musical assault comes as an attempt to fill a special request.  Last week, a fan of mine, a cockatoo who lives near Madison, WI requested a song by John Denver. "Sunshine on My Shoulders".   This is the best I can do, it's a far reach for my repertoire, and I pray it's good enough.  The beaks on some of those cockatoos are like Pruning Shears, and I don't want my pinkies pruned . . .

So, if you're a cockatoo, this song is for you, from me, from Fernanda, and all the other ferns!

I'll be All in Clover

Quite a busy day, ending with a broken water pipe in one of our rental properties.  There's always music.  There's always music. . . .

This morning/afternoon, I was working with the old King of Glory gang.  We haven't had church lately, but today we got together, in a sanitary sort of way, to produce an Easter church service for online distribution.  I'm posting it at the end of this page, always hoping to get the good news out there.  Everybody at church was fine, and it was good to see them again, and work together.

Quite another view of Easter is the one portrayed in the 1948 movie Easter Parade.  You may not have seen the movie, but without fail, have you noticed, people always sing "On the Avenue . . . ." at the oddest times. 

So, here is a rabbit's eye view of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade.

And, here's that church service (that organist really got it goin on, aina?)

Happy Easter!

When the Lights Go On Again

England in World War 2 was a scary place.  Relentless Nazi air raids, the bombing of London was the grim reality that led to the blackout restrictions.  By order of the government, windows had to be darkened so that the city could not be visually targeted from the air. 

Cheering them on to bravery and self-sacrifice was Vera Lynn.  British soldiers were all in love with Vera.  They won the war for her.  In her songs, she was their mother, she was their daughter, she was the girl they left behind, and sometimes she was even the fantasy lover they would meet and marry when they came back home.  She felt their pain, and every British soldier fought and sometimes died to win the war for Vera.   She entertained the troops abroad, she staged radio broadcasts from home, she recorded phonograph records for their jukeboxes.

"When the Lights Go On Again" was one of Vera's songs. Others you may have heard of, recorded with a chorus of soldiers and sailors singing with her:  "We'll Meet Again",  "Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart"

This week, at the age of 103, Vera Lynn is still giving us a message of hope.  In an interview with a London magazine this week, she said "In these uncertain times, I am taken back to my time during World War II, when we pulled together and looked after each other.  It is this spirit that we all need to find again to weather the storm of the corona virus."

God bless you, Vera Lynn! 

She's a Woman (1965) instrumental

Today's video is an instrumental arrangement I've been working on, and with no piano students to try it out on, I offer it to our online community.  The Beatles, even after all these years, provide fresh new insights into harmony, rhythm, and music as we know it. 

Here's a 55-year old Beatles song (yes, Boomers, we are that old) with an arrangement inspired by Elvis Presley and Ramsey Lewis.  Hope this brightens up your quarantine!

Life Can Be So Sweet on the Sunny Side

Today, we grab our coats and get our hats....     (sorry it got so late in the day, my video editor was fighting me today.)

It was such a glorious sunny day. Here's something they don't tell you on TV:  when you go outside, you're isolated - because, besides the dog-walkers, there's nobody out there.  You can maintain your social distance, wear your face mask if you wanna, but chances are you can walk for blocks without even seeing another person.  And it's quiet out there.  Without the constant freeway drone, and the planes ("de planes!" - we live close to the airport), you can actually hear the birds singing.  Yes, they're back, the robins, red-wing blackbirds, Canada geese, ducks, and the ever-popular sparrows.  Since Snap Fitness and my wife's Sweat'n'Sleaze Gym have closed, we go out for a walk every morning as soon as we get up. 

It's another one of those Depression era songs that people leaned on for comfort and hope.  It is rumored that Fats Waller wrote this song and sold it to Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, so I credit him in the video as well.  

Technical note - Sorry, Norm.  I didn't see the reflection of the tripod until I was just about finished with the editing.  

Hope you're all keeping safe, keeping busy.  Go for a nice walk and then come home and bake some cookies.

Everywhere You Go

Songs are sometimes not about the world we live in, but more about the world we would like to live in.   In the 1930s, the songwriters reached out to the world, helping everybody to look on the bright side.  And sometimes, a little creative denial is all we need to get back on track.  Imagine.  As Al Jolson sang, "it isn't raining rain, you know, it's raining violets!"   And sometimes, just noticing a flower, a bird song, or the smile of a passer-by that we may otherwise have missed, can be a life-changing event.

This song, "Everywhere You Go", by Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay, and Mark Fisher, was written in 1927, and recorded countless times, by Bing Crosby, by Doris Day, and, my favorite, a live noon-time show on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, played by a band calling themselves the Hot Shots, who used the song as their theme song.  

In the 1970s, 80s, and some 90s, my friend Norm and I used to perform at old folks homes, and this was our theme song.  We called our band "Pay As You Go", and usually we were joined by Geoff the Washboard Dude, my little brudder from Watertown.

Without getting all "Andy Griffith" about it, this is one of those songs about leaving the world a better place, and shouldn't we all be doing a little of that?

The flowers in the video are from the Summer 2019 crop.

Social Distancing

So, now that the Angel O'Death is flapping his wings over Milwaukee, the simple solution occurred to everyone simultaneously - let's build little forts out of toilet paper packages and hide in them with our families until this passes.  I suppose you've heard enough, enough, enough about all that virus stampede stuff on Outta-My-Facebook and PanicNewsNetwork TV.  Now that we've all been sent to our rooms by the government, what to do next? 

I suppose I've always craved for a little Social Distancing all my life, it's just grand to wake up on a full day with nothing on it. Projects around the house are completing without interruption.  Things get cleaned, sorted, painted. But still...

I miss my piano students. Oh, a few carefully selected students manage to slip in at undisclosed locations and times to keep a little beauty going on in their lives.  And I miss the people at church,  the services, get-togethers, the choir.  Music is so important, once one's survival is ensured.  There is so much beauty in a Bbminb5, the hauntingly beautiful chord that pops up in Beatles tunes when you least expect it.  There's so much joy to be had free for the taking in music.

So, here's what happens when there's nobody to share music with. This video is safe to watch.  I deployed my full protective personal social distancing gear.  Put it on, and nobody but nobody will get within six feet of you - guaranteed!

https://youtu.be/HjfF9NAdC_U

Enjoy your time at home.  It won't be forever.  And I'm sure the world will get back at us later....

Keep yourselves safe!