Saturday, August 08, 2009

"You Are A Stranger" at Kulak's Woodshed

A song that attempts to express how it feels to lose that close connection to someone you really love, "You Are A Stranger" from "The Big Voice: God or Merman?" is usually sung by Jim. The song means a lot to me and it's so emotional, I almost can't get through it.


EDIT: I had been wanting to sing it for the open mic for a very long time, just to see how the non-theatre crowd would respond. Many of the performers here in the L.A. acoustic scene have commented that my songs seem sophisticated. I honestly don't see it. I think my songs are very simple. I wrote it originally this for a "sequel" to The Last Session which I knew we were never going to write, but which gave me inspiration beyond its story. In TLS, the character of "Buddy" talks about his mother, Emma. I always thought Emma might sing this song.

So, the song sat around for a long time until The Big Voice happened, and it fit perfectly into the section where "Jim" and "Steve" have broken up, temporarily. Several friends have said it reminded them of what it feels like to lose a friend, lover or family member to drug addiction.

2 comments:

Devin Richards said...

I've never heard you sing this before! I'm surprised to say. Your version is beautiful and touching!

Steve Schalchlin said...

Devin, I love singing this song. It really gets to me every single time.