Last week, I mentioned how well Blake Lee and I were received at Peter Filichia's Broadway night at 54 Below, even amongst some very big hitters.
Turns out Blake taped the performance but his cellphone got knocked over so all we got was audio. This week, I took that audio and made a lyric video of that performance.
He did get one lyric wrong, though. He said "Yellow" instead of "Purple" in the first verse. So I ignored that and wrote "Purple" on the video. It didn't matter. He is remarkable when he gets to the later verses and the song suddenly turns melancholy. I love it.
Here is that video: https://youtu.be/-40oa1YKiwg
THE BEATLES!
Gavin Gold and I found ourselves bringing Strawberry Fields indoors to a co-op on Riverside Drive. This was our feedback:
"We invited Gavin and Steve to lead a Beatles Singalong in our co-op's lobby last Sunday. It was a big hit for all ages - from families with small children to seniors who remember the Beatles Invasion. Their beautiful harmonies, lively guitar playing and infectious energy made for a memorable evening of community and joy."
And that was what was so fun! It was so inter-generational. The kids loved the child-like quality of many of The Beatles singalong songs, and one of the older participants wrote this:
"The performance, especially with our community participation, hit the spot and gave a lift to our spirits. The Beatles bring back other times, places, moods, adventures. I first heard them on records that I spun as dj in a Mykonos bar in 1967. I am happy tonight to recapture a glimmer."
During these troubled times, I see us as giving support and strength with music, music and more music.
BLUE TSUNAMI
Looking ahead, on May 7th, I'm participating (with Gavin Gold) in a concert series here in New York produced by Stephen Hanks, who years ago reviewed the first of my Living in the Bonus Round concerts. Called "Project: Blue Tsunami," it's a fundraiser for Democratic Party candidates. The line-up is spectacular, so buy a ticket now and enjoy a great night of music and hope. Tickets: https://shows.donttellmamanyc.com/9824-project-2026-blue-tsunami-5-7-26
I'm looking forward to singing more private concerts both with my own music and the music of The Beatles. In fact, we are continuing our Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (and alternating Saturday and Sunday nights) at Strawberry Fields. And though still cold, the weather is way better than the arctic freeze we endured the past few months, it's been thrilling to see the crowds return.
Especially because they come to find a moment to remember when it was cool to dream of a peaceful world. When the idea of that seemed a possibility. So, yeah, I'm an evangelist. An evangelist for healing, music, peace, justice and joy. New Yorkers, come meditate with us on those two weekday mornings.
JIM'S NEW BOOK "EXIT LAUGHING"
Jim Brochu has been writing a new book. I'm editing the manuscript. This book, Exit Laughing, has been in the making since 1971 when Jim did interviews with some of the great theater and media persons of the time, which he rediscovered at the bottom of a pile of paper. It's what I call a "biographical memoir." It's about the life of the great Broadway character actor, David Burns. But it's more than that. It's a personal memoir of a lifelong friendship between and old icon of the theater and an aspiring teenager. It's also a bit of a history mystery book because, in researching David's career, Jim has unearthed a whole barely told history of Vaudeville and the Depression -- and how one man managed to have a career bouncing back and forth between London doing "quota quickies" in the movies and New York.
So we are busy. We are happy Spring is almost here.
Steve Schalchlin
