A Mostly Monthly E-Newsletter by and about GrooveLily
Valerie Vigoda: vocals/violin
Brendan Milburn: keys/vocals
Gene Lewin: drums/vocals
G r o o v e L i l y E – N e w s # 5 2
January in Brooklyn: the Statue of Liberty is easy to spot through leafless branches and over the dark water of the East River, inspiring us with her upraised arm. Brendan and Val’s son Mose and Gene’s son Elias play in shirtsleeves in Prospect Park, enjoying the unexpectedly balmy winter sun. Joggers in shorts dodge discarded Christmas trees.
No matter where you find yourself and what the weather, we hope you enjoy this month’s profusion of videos and photos: check out “Striking 12″ highlights and a prototype hi-res “GrooveLily Channel” on Stage6, as well as the first sneak preview of “Toy Story The Musical”!
1. “Striking 12″ Photos By John Atashian
2. “Striking 12″ Video Highlights By Rob Bond
3. Prototype Hi-Res “GrooveLily Channel” on Stage6, Also By Rob Bond
4. Sneak Preview Of “Toy Story The Musical”: Article & Podcast!
5. NOT GrooveLily: Cincinnati New Stage Collective “Striking 12″ Clips
6. Department Of Gratitude: WXPN, Free For All With Beth And Jules
7. Upcoming Shows: None At The Moment. Stay Home And Rest.
1. “Striking 12″ Photos By John Atashian
Thanks so much to the terrific John Atashian for sharing these photos with us. (Despite the new overture lyrics saying otherwise, we did give him permission to take pictures!)
These are from the December 29 show at the Zipper Factory.
http://www.groovelily.com/index2.html?gallery
(click on “Winter 2007-2008″)
2. “Striking 12″ Video Highlights By Rob Bond
Brought to you by our intrepid Petal Pusher Coordinator Rob Bond.
“Overture 2007″:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbULAnc7M20
“Screwed-Up People Make Great Art”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHUOK6JSoiQ&feature=related
“The Little Drummer Boy”*:
http://www.stage6.com/user/bigfan007/video/2034693/
*To play this video you will need the DivX Player. You should be able
to download the DivX Player plug-in once you go to the page referenced
above (in Internet Explorer you will get an Active-X installation
prompt for the DivX player. In FireFox you will see a puzzle icon,
prompting you to install the DivX plug-in).
This is a single, hand-held, camera recording from the audience of the
29-Dec 2007 “Striking 12″ performance at The Zipper Factory in lovely
NYC.
3. Prototype Hi-Res “GrooveLily Channel” on Stage6, Also By Rob Bond
This is the beginning of something really terrific. We are delighted that Rob has started this, and we think that Stage6’s whole hi-res premise ROCKS.
http://www.stage6.com/GrooveLily/
Rob writes, “I have prototyped a ‘GrooveLily Channel’ on the video file sharing site ‘Stage6′. The concept of a ‘Channel’ is that it provides a means of collecting video content with a common theme and allows you to build a community of interest around the content. Not only can you comment on the individual videos (like YouTube), but there is also a Discussion Board for the channel, plus a Blog feature for the channel owner (me at the moment).
The channel has a number of ‘Groups’ that I have defined: ‘Striking 12′, ‘Sleeping Beauty Wakes’, ‘Wheelhouse’, ‘TV Appearances’, ‘Covers’ and ‘Concerts’ (for the general GL music catalog). The ‘Group’ concept allows you to collect related content within the channel for ease of access. There is currently no content uploaded for ‘Sleeping Beauty Wakes’ or ‘Wheelhouse’, but the others have some initial content. To see all the videos go to the ‘GrooveLily Channel’ at http://www.stage6.com/GrooveLily/ and select ‘View All’.
Stage6 members (it’s free to be a member) can ’subscribe’ to a channel, in which case they receive immediate updates when new content is loaded.”
4. Sneak Preview Of “Toy Story The Musical”: Article & Podcast!
Orlando Sentinel, Front Page Story, January 8:
“Disney officials wanted a new stage show, so they thought big. Then they thought small. And then, inflatable. The result, set to be announced today by Disney executives, is a multimillion-dollar musical version of Toy Story, the 1995 Disney-Pixar animated film that shrank moviegoers’ perspective to the size of Mr. Potato Head and company.”
Read The Full Story Here:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-toystory0808jan08,0,4485262.story
Podcast:
Behind the scenes at rehearsal in Toronto last month, including nice footage of Brendan and Val (and interview with Val). Lots of big big big puppets.
http://www.cdbproductions.com/ToyStoryPodcastREV4.mov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WWK6vANEmY
5. NOT GrooveLily: Cincinnati New Stage Collective “Striking 12″ Clips
It’s a little bit surreal for us to see other people doing “Striking 12,” but we are thrilled that the show is getting out into the world! This season, the first year of our association with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, it was licensed to theaters in Philadelphia, PA/Cincinnati, OH/Edison, NJ/Tampa, FL/Seoul, Korea. Ever-vigilant Petal Pusher Adam Wolf ran across this TV interview and TV clips from the Cincinnati production.
New Stage Collective in Cincinnati
TV Interview + “Snow Song”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE3AXYAVqxQ&feature=related
“Can’t Go Home”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcgIPThICrE&feature=related
6. Department Of Gratitude: WXPN, Free For All With Beth And Jules
We could not be more honored that one of our favorite radio stations, Philadelphia’s WXPN, featured “Striking 12″ in its entirety on Christmas Eve.
Also, New Jersey’s own Beth and Jules did the same thing on their Free For All program on January 8. They played the whole “Striking 12″ CD, along with some late Schubert string quartets; we are grateful to be in such illustrious company.
We send out a big THANK YOU to all the independent DJs who continue to make their own decisions about their playlists. Whether or not you include our music specifically, we salute you and celebrate your maverick spirit!
7. Upcoming Shows: None At The Moment. Stay Home And Rest.
Put your feet up. Read a book. (Our current faves: Val – “Heyday” by Kurt Andersen, Brendan – “The Book Of Lost Things” by John Connolly, Gene – “The History Of Love” by Nicole Krauss)
Listen to some other music. (Our current faves: Val – “All In” by Mike Errico, Brendan – “Little Voice” by Sara Bareilles, Gene – “Nearness of You: The Ballad Book” by Michael Brecker, featuring James Taylor singing on 2 tracks)
We’ll be in touch again next month…
love,
GrooveLily
email: us@groovelily.com
web site: www.groovelily.com