#27: Lost in Space Animated!

This week's newsletter is short because I've been playing around in my AI sandbox by taking the video we released last week and animating it! Last week, this wasn't possible!


Here is the original so you can compare them:
https://youtu.be/QuZRK9xLaHU


This is the new one where all those stills are animated:
https://youtu.be/NKF0oIp00b4


Then I had the idea to take one of Jim Brochu's drawings of Times Square 1964 and animate that! It's only 5 seconds long, but check it out!


https://youtu.be/He4lpNAT6m8


I'm just having way too much fun these days.


Personal note: You may recall that we took my aging dad down to Texas to live with my brother, Scott and his wife, Annette. Well, he's now under hospice care. 95 years old. He lived a good, long life and now that he's near the end, it's bittersweet, of course. But he's being doted on constantly and even one of their cats, who refused to go anywhere near a human, has chosen him as its companion. Sleeping near him and letting dad stroke him.


So, being surrounded by love in your final days? Not the worst way to go.

#26: Great Show & New EP!

I'm happy to report that our show, Steve Schalchlin and Friends at Don't Tell Mama, was a resounding success. I wrote on social media that it was the best night of my whole life.

The room was packed, they laughed at the funny lines and cried on the sad ones. I heard there were no less than four critics there. I'll do the reviews next week after they come out. Cross fingers they liked it.

BUT THE BIG NEWS
Gavin Gold, my partner in the Beatles project, and I have released a new 6-song EP. These didn't quite fit into Rebel Nerds or Bonus Round Band. And they're a bit bent, I think. He brings out a twisted side of me. We met at the Jack Hardy Songwriter Exchange and I began writing lyrics for him, on deadline, every week. Or he'd have a half a lyric and I'd finish it up.

Here's an example: There's a song called "Lost in Space." Because Gavin has a tender heart for animals and aliens, he started this fantasy song about them coming to earth and becoming zoo animals, put on display. So I took that and extended it to a man feeling so poorly about this that he fantasizes making a deal with the aliens to go to their planet as a volunteer zoo animal and they split the profits.

Here is the link to the rather disturbingly silly video: https://youtu.be/QuZRK9xLaHU

This is a link to the full Schalchlin/Gold EP.
https://open.spotify.com/album/47VnVumQhD8hQ60aSl5XBM?si=Hl-W64F2TcqraV14OjDFjg

You are free to stream the songs but purchasing them is the best way to support independent artists such as myself. Or if you have the means, you can make a small donation through PayPal or Venmo using my email address: steveshack@gmail.com.

And please share this with friends!

[This is the hand-crafted non-bot newsletter of Steve Schalchlin. If you wish to be removed from the list, send me an email. If someone sent you this and you want to be added, write me at steveshack@gmail.com]--



Steve Schalchlin
Living in the Bonus Round

Spotify Links

2024 Songs https://tinyurl.com/3su9t85m
Love Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevelovesongs
Personal Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevepersonal
Comic/Humor Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevehumor
Inspirational Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/steveinspire
Meditation Music by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevemeditate
Political Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevepolitics
Rebel Nerd Songs - lyrics by Steve Schalchlin
https://tinyurl.com/steverebelnerd

#25: Almost Here!

Today, I was composing a final press release to go out later this morning and I was trying to describe our show on Friday at Don't Tell Mama. (https://tinyurl.com/Steve-DTM)


Using an app, it asked me questions. Specifically, what is this show? Is it a show? 


I answered the question by describing how it was taking shape: In front of people in small spaces in casual settings, like the afternoon lounge aboard a ship or in our friend, Jane Goldman's, living room, then a few numbers at the Actor's Temple, then suddenly and unexpectedly on stage at the Urban Stages festival, where we all laughed together, cried together, felt love together, remembered love together and left with a greater appreciation for life.


I even did a version of this show for two people on the ship who couldn't get to the appointed time! They were from Australia. Hello, Jane and Richard!


It feels like the show is driving me! That's when I realized what this show is all about. It's about that loose living room warmth and telling stories.


And that's all it has to be. If there is something larger there, I believe it will emerge just as The Last Session emerged from the songs. What I do know is that this group of songs are relationship/love songs, the first set I've ever tried to write -- and I've been writing them since before the pandemic.

So here's part of the press release:

"Join composer and performer Steve Schalchlin and his cherished friends, including special guests legendary cabaret comedian Sidney Myer, jazz virtuoso Natalie Douglas from Birdland, and rising star Blake Zolfo, for an intimate evening of music and connection in "Steve Schalchlin and Friends: Two Things Too" at Don't Tell Mama NYC on March 7, 2025. This isn't just a performance; it's a warm gathering, a living room concert where hearts meet and music heals.

"Imagine friends gathered around a piano, acoustic guitars, a violin, and a chorus of voices, creating an atmosphere of pure musical camaraderie. Steve Schalchlin, whose deeply personal and genre-bending music has been praised by The New York Times for its "triumphant and very touching" blend of humor and emotion, invites you to experience his latest collection of original songs."

Does that work?


I had a great rehearsal on Sunday with the Rebel Nerds, Gavin Gold and Jake Adams, the punk band that's going to merge with the rotating casts of my Bonus Round Band, which now consists of me, Blake Zolfo and new-in-town violinist/music director Charlie Viehl.


We have a vocal rehearsal on Thursday and then Friday night at 7, we are on! I'm vibrating with nervous anticipation.


One of the songs we'll be singing is a minor hit by Rebel Nerds for which I contributed most of the lyrics. It's called Sooner or Later and it will charge up your morning with joy! Stay tuned for more exciting music news. So that's our link for the week.


YouTube Music
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=WSLbpUtDGeA&si=wJyhjtbqgbjXdgqW


Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/5TbFH1N5FH7lVkPn7ctCzl?si=892ac2f5c4b3448f


Amazon
https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0BBPFJ62P?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_1rqbUadI2Dz4StnCcynLI82f


Apple Music
https://music.apple.com/us/album/sooner-or-later/1571781221?i=1571781226


You are free to stream the songs but purchasing them is the best way to support independent artists such as myself. Or if you have the means, you can make a small donation through PayPal or Venmo using my email address: steveshack@gmail.com.


And please share this with friends!


[This is the hand-crafted, non-bot newsletter of Steve Schalchlin. If you wish to be removed from the list, send me an email. If someone sent you this and you want to be added, write me at steveshack@gmail.com]--


Steve Schalchlin
Living in the Bonus Round


Spotify Links

2024 Songs https://tinyurl.com/3su9t85m

Love Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevelovesongs

Personal Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevepersonal

Comic/Humor Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevehumor

Inspirational Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/steveinspire

Meditation Music by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevemeditate

Political Songs by Steve Schalchlin https://tinyurl.com/stevepolitics

Rebel Nerd Songs - lyrics by Steve Schalchlin

https://tinyurl.com/steverebelnerd