Rent Interview – Rip it Up

Book tickets to see Rent here.

Issue 1008, Nov 6-12 ‘08

Click on the image for a larger version.

Hamlet – Prince of Renmark

To be in Renmark or not to be in Renmark. There was never any question. This is my second trip to the Riverland town in as many weeks. Last week with the musical “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at the Chaffey Theatre and this weekend with Catherine Campbell at functions for “Chefs of the River” and the opening of the “Riverland Renaissance Festival”/”Rose Week”.

Jed Bartlett offers a little advice to Obama

An Op-Ed piece from The New York Times Sept 20, 2008 looks at what a meeting of Barack Obama and Jed Bartlett from ‘The West Wing’ might be like.

Click here.

Autumn in New York

Discovered a great profile piece in the New York Times written about Barb Jungr – a wonderful singer and wonderful woman who I’m glad to say is a great inspiration to me and a dear friend. Click here to read it.

Kym, you’re a gem!

Etype performed at the ABAF/Arts SA Ruby Awards tonight. The lifetime achievement award was presented to Kym Bonython. He was introduced as “Maestro of the Arts”. I first met Kym in 1986 when as a 12yr old year 7 student I interviewed him for a time capsule I was preparing at primary school! He was chairman of the Jubilee 150 committee when South Australia was celebrating 150 years of settlement.

MJJ: The First 50 Years

Growing up, I was a big Michael Jackson fan. I admit I got onto the Thriller train a little after it had left the station. There was a girl in my year five or six class, called Antonia Mercorella. We shared the same birthday, June 18. For show and tell one day, she brought her LP or cassette version of Thriller to show the class and as she waxed lyrical about Michael Jackson I thought she was nuts – why the big deal about some singer.

Then a while later I discovered the aural pleasures of MJ for myself, via a girl called Belinda Kerr who was a few years older than me She was someone that I looked up to and in hindsight I think she played quite a role in shaping my musical interests. She’d always be playing Michael Jackson tunes and before long I was an avid fan. I’ve got most of the albums now, saw him perform in Adelaide in the mid 90s and even fashioned my own signature somewhat after the shape of Jackson’s autograph.

Anyway, it happens that I’ve dug up some of my Jackson cds lately and have been reading about Michael celebrating his fiftieth birthday last Friday (Aug 29).

Initially I had thought it would be interesting to hear what a new Michael Jackson album would sound like today. I read somewhere that he’d been working on some new tracks with an artist called Ne-Yo.

Today, however, I started wondering whether new Michael Jackson music IS something I want to hear. I tried to imagine what Michael would have to say in this day and age. Considering what has happened in his life over the past 10-15 years I can’t imagine that a 50 year old Michael would want to go back to the frivolity of Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ or the innocence/naiveté of a song like I Just Can’t Stop Loving You. I imagine he’d have trouble selling a song of peace/social justice like We Are the World or Man in the Mirror as convincingly these days.

What would Michael’s perspective be now? Is he bitter? Has he been broken? Is he sick? I wonder how having children has changed his view of the world. 

I suppose he has the right to his own artistic voice, but do fans like myself who love the music he created in the past WANT to hear bitching and moaning from the man who was once supposedly the King of Pop? Maybe he should just decide that he’s had enough, and stop.

Leave a comment if you have an opinion you’d like to share.

Georgia on My Mind

I want to share something with any of you who read my occasional ramblings and are musically minded. It’s a blog that I always enjoy reading, both for its authors writing style/personality and for the musical insights that she discusses and shares.

It’s written by Georgia Stitt, a super talented pianist and composer who visited Adelaide for the Cabaret Festival in 2003. As you’ll read in her blog, she has many diverse and interesting projects going on – including the recent release of her cd and songbook ‘This Ordinary Thursday’ featuring songs that she wrote and recorded with great Broadway voices such as that of Kelli O’Hara, Faith Prince and Lauren Kennedy. I’m a proud owner of the songbook and I’ve found it a great resource for interesting new repertoire for the singers I work with.

I’m a big fan of Georgia’s work and I just wanted to let you all know about it so you can share in it too!

You’ll find a link to her blog here.

I Love You…

I’m currently rehearsing for a South Australian regional tour of the Off Broadway musical “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”. I first saw this production last year and really enjoyed it. The September tour will be presented by Country Arts SA. Jonathan Mill directs, with original (Adelaide) cast member Adam Goodburn joined by Cherie Boogaart, Trish Hart and Mark Oates. I’ll be at the piano, with Louise Beaston on violin. 

Performance dates are:

Institute Theatre – Port Augusta 
Saturday 27 September at 8pm 
ph 8641 9176

Nautilus Theatre – Port Lincoln 
Tuesday 30 September at 8pm 
ph 08 8683 5088

Middleback Theatre – Whyalla 
Wednesday 1 October at 8pm 
ph 08 8644 7300

Northern Festival Centre – Port Pirie 
Thursday 2 October at 8pm 
ph 08 8633 8500

Chaffey Theatre – Renmark 
Thursday 9 October at 8pm 
ph: 08 8586 1800

Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre – Mount Gambier 
Saturday 11 October at 8pm 
ph 08 8723 8741

G.O.V. – type

Quick note that Etype are launching our new album at Adelaide music venue The Gov this Sunday August 24.

The music begins at 4pm and Etype will be onstage around 5.30pm. It’ll be the first and only opportunity to purchase the cd until it’s released in stores in October. Tickets can be purchased by calling the venue.

The first single released from the album, “Square Peg”, is currently available for download on iTunes.

CB #2