This past week was the first week we weren't buried in ice here in the City. The first time Gavin and I got to be out at the Imagine Circle where we actually had real people staying and singing along with us, as opposed to standing in the ice just long enough to take a photo! Then just yesterday, this note sent through Facebook:
"Hello. Just wanted to stop by and say how much I appreciated the imagine song that we shared with those few around the world on this past Saturday evening. It was a moment I’ll never forget, so, thank you."
MUSICAL INSURRECTION
In my acting class this past week, I read a "monologue" that consisted of a diary entry from 2010. It was the day I had just finished packing up our LA apartment, everything had been shipped to New York (in 28 boxes) the day before, and I was in that empty space remembering the parties we used to have there, most of which were "Steve's last birthday." "Steve's last Christmas."
Jim was in New York with "Zero Hour," which was a huge hit, and I had volunteered to go back and empty the apartment and move us all by myself. I think I was there two weeks to get it all done. It's astonishing how much STUFF you can pack into a one-bedroom apartment with a loft. Mountains of paper. Filing cabinets. Cast albums. Playbills. Scripts. Drafts of scripts. I said it was like having brain surgery during an excavation. Every item has a memory attached. And you make decisions on what to let go.
At the end of the diary entry, I wrote, "Starting over in New York – I'm only now grasping what that means. But I think I want to create an actual group of singers and call them Musical Insurrection.
--Jim was in New York with "Zero Hour," which was a huge hit, and I had volunteered to go back and empty the apartment and move us all by myself. I think I was there two weeks to get it all done. It's astonishing how much STUFF you can pack into a one-bedroom apartment with a loft. Mountains of paper. Filing cabinets. Cast albums. Playbills. Scripts. Drafts of scripts. I said it was like having brain surgery during an excavation. Every item has a memory attached. And you make decisions on what to let go.
At the end of the diary entry, I wrote, "Starting over in New York – I'm only now grasping what that means. But I think I want to create an actual group of singers and call them Musical Insurrection.
Then it occurred to me that I have fulfilled that wish. Except it's not a static group of singers. It's an international choir that revolves in and out, and our job is to be there to catch them as they come yearning for connection to the spirit of John Lennon. It's a musical insurrection of the heart.
54 BELOW REPORT
I didn't write a newsletter last week because it was the day after Blake Lee and I sang "My New York Life" at this amazing night of Broadway stars, some re-creating their featured numbers. The response to his performance was off the chart. Afterward, people kept grabbing me and asking me, "Is that song available?"
I couldn't write about it because I was still living inside the experience. It would just sound like I was bragging, especially after the triumph of Jim and me singing "How Do You Fall Back in Love" two weeks prior.
This past year has been one where I've slowly and carefully been building momentum for my songwriting career. To watch it pay off, first with the concert at Urban Stages in December, then these two appearances at 54 Below. It all feels so easy! So yes, I'm going share more of my songs in the coming year with more singers and hopefully, they will resonate with people.
Ron Fassler wrote a review. He said, "Late in the show came the one piece not from a Broadway musical and it proved a highlight. Composer Steve Schalchlin took to the piano and was joined by Blake Lee Zolfo, co-creator of the song “My New York Life.”
So that's twice in a row where reviewers called one of my songs "the highlight" of a night filled with Broadway's best. How can I not brag? The full review is here: https://theaterpizzazz.
NANCY DREW
A few readers loved the video of the song a couple months back called "Nancy Drew is Free." But because I produced it using AI, featuring an AI female voice, others "hated" the idea of using AI and refused to listen to it. But one fan is Cheryl Benton, a publisher of books featuring mostly older female writers and she loved the song. Especially because, even though it's humorous, it's not just about Nancy Drew. It's about the vulnerability of women in a society where AI can be used to make them "do" things.
SOOOO, Blake Lee and I made an entirely acoustic version in the studio. You wanted real? It's real, baby!
And this week, the weather is beautiful and I invite you all to join us for our Magical Mystery Morning Meditation at Strawberry Fields on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8am -11am.
Steve Schalchlin
