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Read the LATEST
Blogs of "Toni's Take"
Toni's Take / 2008 Read the ARCHIVED Blogs of "Toni's Take" Toni's Take / 2007 Read the ARCHIVED Blogs of "Toni's Take" Toni's Take / 2006 |
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Year’s Eve POSTPONING TONI’S TAKE I’m going to have to postone TONI’S TAKE until Tuesday morning. I just don’t have time, with all the holiday goings on, to organize my thoughts. I hope you ALL have a safe, sane, and joyful New Year. One of my fondest hopes for 2007 is that we will all try to be more civil and courteous with each other. When you go out today, try to greet people along the way with a smile....it can be a tiny one...just try at least to have a pleasant look on your face (that’s what I tell Daryl.... Eeyore personified). The cashier at the supermarket.... the lady you meet pushing her cart in the grocery aisle....the teller at the bank..the kid walking their dog. Try looking them straight in the eyes and say, “Good morning” or just “Hi” as you pass by. I find that even people who seem to be total grumps will light up just a bit if you do that. And look for TONI’S TAKE this Tuesday. Until then, Keep A Song of Joy Inside Your Heart. - |
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December
24 , 2006 |
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December
17, 2006 Which brings me to VICTOR/VICTORIA. This is a long story, and I probably will have to write it in two parts, so here begins the saga. (see www.youtube.com clip of Julie Andrews here) - Around 1997, a friend of our then manager, suggested to me that he thought I would be perfect to take over the role of Victoria in the musical VICTOR/VICTORIA, which was running on Broadway at the time, starring the great, beloved Julie Andrews. She had already starred in a wonderful 1983 movie of the same title, written and directed by her famous husband, Blake Edwards, of PINK PANTHER fame. - The V/V story in a nutshell is about a “woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman,” and the part is demanding, for the singing as well as the acting. Henry Mancini wrote most of the score...but, sadly, he passed away before it was completed, and Frank Wildhorn completed the score. Leslie Bricusse wrote the lyrics. - I got a copy of the score, and started to work through it, to see if I could handle the vocal demands. I found it fit comfortably within my range... in fact, it worked well for me, because I am basically a tenor. The only vocal problem for me was the one high note, which provides a running “joke” throughout the play. Everytime Victoria sings that high note, glass shatters, and everything and everyone within earshot comes to an awe-struck halt. I could sing a high enough note to make the joke work, but I’d be in trouble if I ever had a cold or an allergic reaction, because the first things I lose in my voice are my falsetto or “high” notes. As long as I am singing in the “chest” range, I can sing for hours with no problem. - The more I thought about the possibility of doing the role, the more I wanted to do it. Julie was reportedly exhausted. She had taken the show through all the out of town tryouts, which are just brutal and incredibly demanding, and had been starring in it on Broadway for quite some time. After studying the score, I had the thought that perhaps it was even more demanding for her voice than it would be for mine, because she is a true soprano, and singing in the chest voice all the time is difficult for most sopranos. - The financial success of the show rested on her slender shoulders and crystalline voice. The word on the street was that she was continuing the run because she was trying to keep going until the show turned a profit. In spite of her difficulty, she was thinking of the investors first. - Daryl and I talked about my going for the part, and we decided that, in the SLIM possibility it should EVER come to pass, we’d figure out how to get ourselves and the dogs and cats to New York for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. - I decided that the first thing I had to do was record myself singing some of the songs from the show. Once the tape was made, I sent it to our manager, and she played it for various industry people. She said the general concensus was that I would be great in the part and should go for it. Also, I’m tall and not big-busted (Julie had to be “squashed” in the breast area to look more like guy in her tuxedo) so, physically, I could pull off the “Victor” part. There didn’t appear to be a great deal of dancing for Victoria... a bit of soft shoe with Toddy..so I figured I could handle it (or fake it). - My next step was to make an audition video of myself doing one of the scenes from the show. This turned out to be a big, expensive proposition, but the tape was terrific, and, in the end, was instrumental in my getting the part. - One of the many problems facing me was the fact that I had NO connections in New York musical theatre. However, my manager had a colleague who worked for one of the biggest theatrical agencies in New York, and there was a possibility he could get my audition tape to the right people. - Now remember, all the time I was trying to get this part, I had in mind that I would take over the role on Broadway. That meant moving to New York for the length of the run. I never thought beyond that possibility. - As all the pieces started to fall into place, and I began to think I had a real shot at the part, word came that Raquel Welch had been chosen to take over for Julie on Broadway. I was too late, and probably didn’t have a big enough name anyway. I had no Broadway experience, and Raquel had appeared in a Broadway musical...WOMAN OF THE YEAR I believe it was... a few years back. I had a very hard time picturing Welch, who was no more than 5”4” tall, and very big busted, being believable as a man. When she was cast, I thought that was the end for me. - Well, Raquel’s run lasted only a few weeks. Without Julie in the lead, VICTOR/VICTORIA closed on Broadway. The show just couldn’t make it without her. I doubt I could have kept it going much longer either, but I sure would love to have tried. - Then came the possibility of doing the first National Tour of the show. I was pretty naive about how this was done, but I THOUGHT the show would play in large cities, like LA and Toronto, for two or three months at a time before moving to another place. Maybe Daryl and I and the pets could rent a house in each location if I got the part. By that time, I was like an out-of-control freight train, hurtling down the tracks without brakes. I WANTED that part. I KNEW I’d be good in it. I could deal with two or three months in each city. We’d work everything out so I could have this ONE chance to do a Broadway musical...even if it WAS on the road and not in New York. - Finally, after meeting with the producers and tour company in New York, I found out what the tour would REALLY be like. It would involve a month of rehearsals in New York, and forty weeks on the road, changing cities every week for the most part...sometimes doing a “split” week....three days in one city...three days in another. All the while I would be doing eight shows a week. One on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and two on Saturday and Sunday. Monday we’d pack up, head to the airport, and move to the next city. I would be required to do television interviews on opening day in each city, and phone interviews throughout the week...most of them on Thursdays..to promote the show in the next city. - If I had managed to stop the train for a while, and take stock of the ramifications of the decision I was about to make, I’m sure I would have turned and run in the opposite direction. But I just was SO close to what I had been working for... well, not EXACTLY what I had been working for.... I failed to heed the warning in my “gut”. NEVER ignore what your GUT is telling you! Even as old as I was at the time (57), and ALL the years I had been in the business, I made a huge mistake, and I, and many others, paid the price. - I will continue the VICTOR/VICTORIA story in future columns. You know, I think it is going to take more than two columns to tell this story. Actually, as I am writing about it, I am starting to relive some of the emotional upheaval I went through. It is proving to be hard to put myself back in that place. There is SO much to tell, and I learned a BIG lesson about myself, and I learned it the hard way. - I hope you are all having a joyous and peaceful holiday season. Until next time, Keep A “Song of Joy” Inside Your Heart. - |
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| December
10, 2006 SHIRLEY BASSEY, CHARO AND TOUCH YOU | THE SONGWRITING BOX - Recently a fan sent us a link to a video on YouTube that featured a 1978 performance of my song THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU by the powerful, formidable, and elegant British pop singer, Shirley Bassey. I had never seen it before, and I can’t tell you what a kick I got out of watching it. YouTube can be SO much fun! - For those of you who are too young to be familiar with Shirley Bassey, she sang the famous theme song for the James Bond film, GOLDFINGER. The minute she sang the first word over the opening credits..”GOLD-FINGAH!!”..... with that HUGE voice, you simply had to sit up and take notice! - What was particularly fascinating to me as a songwriter, was her approach to THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU. I wrote it as an intimate expression of love and longing. Shirley sang it loud and proud...”I NEVER WANTED TO TOUCH A MAN THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU !!!!!” Wow. It was almost scary. At least, if I were the man she was referring to, I might be a little cautious when she was around! Unless, of course, you’re into that sort of thing! But she is truly a GREAT pop singer, and I am so honored that she thought enough of my song to include it in a performance. - I had another interesting experience with THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU, and this was really a hoot. Years ago, at the very start of our career...probably in 1975 or 1976, Daryl and I were asked to perform on a telethon...I believe it was for Easter Seals, or something like that. When we arrived, we were ushered to the “Green Room”...a waiting room for all of the performers. - When we walked in the door, I remember my attention immediately being drawn to a mass of powerful vibes coming from one of the couches. I suddenly realized it was CHARO! I had never seen her in person, but...oh my gosh...she had enough energy to run an entire city! Daryl and I are fairly quiet and reserved when we first enter a room full of strangers. In fact, Daryl is ALWAYS reserved, but I usually get my “bearings” within a few minutes, and begin to “meet and greet.” - Well, there was no time for getting any “bearings” with Charo in the room. The minute she spotted us, she jumped up, ran over to us, and said, in her inimitable and unique accent.....”Oooooh...you are the Captain and Tennille! Ooooh....I love your song THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU!!!!’. Then she grabbed Daryl, pulled him over to the couch and down onto her lap, and began to sing to him “I never wanted to touch a man the way that I want to touch you!!!!! Coochie coochie coochie!!!......” Well, my jaw dropped to the floor at the look on Daryl’s face as she sang, and then I just started laughing! Charo is absolutely irresistable, and has NO inhibitions. You just have to love her! - I don’t know if she ever sang TOUCH YOU in concert, but it is actually very lovely and sensuous in the spanish language...COMO QUIERO SENTIRTE. Daryl and I recorded our first album, LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER, and a couple of other songs in Spanish, and some of them are just gorgeous in that language, especially TOUCH YOU and DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME (AMAME UNA VEZ MAS). In fact, I often sang part of DO THAT in Spanish in concert. As a songwriter, I have often felt “in a box” over the years. The songs I wrote for Captain and Tennille HAD to have a positive and/or romantic theme, or our fans would worry that something was wrong with our relationship. But I wanted to write for other artists as well as for C&T. I often had ideas for songs that had nothing to do with our own relationship, but reflected some of the things I saw my friends and others struggling with. We did record some of those songs.....DON’T FORGET ME, is a good example...a really lovely and plaintive song I wrote about a wife whose marriage was breaking up, but who hoped that her husband would always remember the good times they had together (“....and I know we’ve come to the parting of our ways, and I know we’ve said all the things that we could say, and I know I can put myself back together again if the fates will let me, but don’t forget me..”). I have no idea where that song idea came from...I just kind of put myself in another person’s shoes, and try to imagine how they would feel....very much like an actress does when she takes on a role totally unlike herself. - My major songwriting frustration was that, whenever I would submit a song which I thought was a good one but felt wasn’t quite right for C&T, to another artist’s management or producer, the reaction was always..”Well, if it’s such a great song, why didn’t TONI record it?” Well, I didn’t record it because it wasn’t right for ME! I even thought of submitting songs under a pseudonym, but never did. - Here’s another example....I wrote LOVE SURVIVES in honor of Howie Greenfield, the great pop lyricist who was Neil Sedaka’s writing partner for so many years. But the minute I finished the song, I realized it was aboslutely wrong for my voice and style. What I was hearing in my head as I wrote it was a great big, flexible, black gospel-tinged voice like Whitney Houston’s. I simply could not do the song justice. Daryl and I made a demo of the song, and that is what ended up on one of our collections... TWENTY YEARS OF ROMANCE, I believe it was. But I was NEVER happy with it, and neither was Daryl. Every time I tried to record a lead vocal for it, I would tense up and have a terrible time, because it just wasn’t right for my vocal style. - We decided to send the demo to Clive Davis, in hopes he would think it a possibility for Whitney. We got a note back saying thank you very much but no interest. That was a blow, but...that’s show biz. At least he wrote back. - I also wrote a song with Cher in mind.....THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME. I wrote it as a big rock tune about a girl who, being the straight-ahead and honest type, tells her prospective lover, “This is not the first time, and you are not the first man I’ve loved.” It was way too rock and roll for me, and wouldn’t have worked at all for C&T. We included it on our last album for Casablanca, KEEPING OUR LOVE WARM, but it was never right for us, and I never did send it to Cher. - Howie Greenfield and I wrote one song together...a sad country tune called YOU NEVER STAYED AWAY THIS LONG. Really nice song, but Daryl and I never recorded that one either, and we never “shopped” the tune. - I’m not the kind of songwriter who writes every day. I only write when I have a specific project, like the Christmas CD we just finished. I’ve written quite a few songs that I think are pretty darned good, but never saw the light of day...like THE DODGER STADIUM SONG. None of you have ever heard it, because we never released it on a recording, but I wrote it as a sing-along stadium song, to be sung by everybody in the stands (“A summer day in Dodger stadium, that’s where I wanna be.....”). Sort of a “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” kind of song. We recorded a demo, bringing in everyone who was in the studio at the time to sing. It makes me laugh everytime I hear it! - When we signed with Casablanca in 1979, it was known as a “disco” label. Even though Daryl and I weren’t “disco” at all, we decided to have some fun with it, and recorded an absolutely crazed disco version of HAPPY TOGETHER. I decided to try my hand at the genre, and came up with HOW CAN YOU BE SO COLD WHEN I’M SO HOT. It was all tongue in cheek and a lot of fun! - Anyhow...some of you had written asking about a couple of the songs I mentioned. I hope I answered your questions. - The holidays are well upon us, and I hope all of you are having a calm, peaceful and joyful holiday season so far, surrounded by dear friends and loving family. And remember, don’t buy too much stuff. Until next time, Keep A “Song of Joy” Inside Your Heart. - |
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| December
3, 2006 THE FLU BUG BITES | THOUGHTS ON THE HOLIDAYS - Daryl and I both suffered a bout of the flu this week, and neither of us is back up to par yet, so TONI’S TAKE may be a little shorter than usual this week. - I started coming down with symptoms early this week, but I tried to brush them off. Surely I did not have the flu. I got a flu shot two weeks ago. I always slather my hands with Purell the minute I get back in the car after a visit to the supermarket. I am always careful not to touch my hands to my eyes, nose or mouth after touching a suspect surface. I haven’t had the flu...or even a cold...in years. - Finally I took my temperature, and it was over 100 degrees. I had body aches, a headache, my stomach felt a bit queasy, and I had no appetite at all. When I don’t have an appetite, something is really wrong! That was it. I gave notice to Daryl that I was taking to my bed. And I did. At 11AM. Stayed there all day and all night, and most of the next day. - Daryl is a brilliant man, and I love him dearly, but he is NOT very comforting or helpful when I am under the weather. He DID bring me some club soda over crushed ice when I asked him to, but, for the most part, I was pretty much on my own. I know him well enough to know that he was really afraid he would be next. And he was. - A day or so later, he began to complain of the same symptoms, but I must confess that I didn’t believe him at first. Daryl is a hypochondriac, and he often proclaims that he is sick when he isn’t at all. He would have made a terrible medical student, since I understand they almost always believe they have every disease they study. - Since I was dealing with my own discomfort, it took me a while to figure out that Daryl really WAS coming down with the flu. I took his temperature, and the thermometer registered over 100 degrees, so we just canceled plans and appointments, and hunkered down until we felt better. We are both feeling a bit more human today, thank goodness. - I was thinking back, trying to figure out where I might have let down my “flu guard” when I suddenly remembered a trip to the bank last week. I was standing in line to make a deposit. It was around 4PM, and the bank was crowded. As I stood there, I noticed a little boy whose mother had her back turned to him as she dealt with the teller. The boy’s hands and face were smeared with a sticky, bright red candy goo....maybe Red Hots, I thought. I watched as he licked at the remains of the candy in his hands and smeared more red stuff on his mouth. He kept staring at me, so I smiled at him. He was a cute kid, about four years old, I’d guess. - Then he held out his hands and showed me how sticky they were, so I fished around in my purse, found a clean Kleenex, and handed it to him. He wiped his hands and face with the tissue and HANDED IT BACK TO ME!!! I took it automatically. Once I had it in my hand, I immediately thought FLU FLU FLU!!!!! I felt like I was holding a piece of a radioactive isotope! I didn’t see a waste basket anywhere near, so I had to wait until I finally made my deposit. I then dropped the sticky red tissue in a container as I rushed out of the bank. I raced back to the car, where Daryl was waiting, grabbed the Purell, and covered my hands with almost the entire bottle. Too late. Ah, well. This will be one more virus to which I am now immune. Some of you have asked how Daryl and I plan to spend Christmas this year. The short answer is that my sister, Louisa, and her husband, Bob, will be coming here to La Quinta to spend a quiet Christmas with us, and on one of the nights they are here, we’ll be joined by two of our dear, long-time friends for a VERY casual dinner here at the house. NO GIFTS ALLOWED...their warm and cheerful presence and good will are all they need to bring. Some of you may be very surprised to know that, for the past many years, I have been a real “bah humbug” during the holidays. I get crankier and crankier every year as we are encouraged by television and radio commercials to “spend spend spend” and “buy buy buy!!!!” And the whole madness starts EARLIER every year. Before you know it, we’ll be hearing Christmas songs and seeing an onslaught of toy commercials BEFORE Halloween! This just makes me crazy. - People go out and spend more money than they have, and end up owing huge amounts on their credit card bills, which they are lucky to pay off by the time the NEXT holiday season comes around. And “guilt” abounds. So and so sent me a Christmas card and I didn’t send HIM one. Uh oh, the gal down the street dropped off a gift for me and I didn’t get her one. Did I spend enough? Did I get the right thing? Maybe my friend will hate this sweater! STOP!!!!!!! - I was telling Daryl last night, that our new Christmas CD expresses to ME how I would LIKE the holidays to be....not the way they ARE (or seem to have become). I think back to Christmases when I was a kid, and through a golden glow of memory, they seem like a scene from a Christmas card...decorating the tree, wrapping the gifts, putting out cookies for Santa to eat when he came down the chimney. Of course the Christmases I remember from long ago were probably not as perfect as I remember them, but I do remember them fondly. But I was a child, and Christmas is, and should be, a magical time for a child. - Daryl and I never give each other gifts at Christmas. We never give each other gifts for birthdays or anniversaries either. To us, each day we have together on this earth is gift enough. And, besides, we buy each other things all year long whenever we come across something we think the other would like. - To me, the holidays are a time to quietly enjoy the company of family and friends that you truly love, and love being around. If you have a relative you can’t stand, AVOID them at all costs! The world won’t come to an end if you don’t see them during the holidays, and you’ll feel SO much better. - The holidays are also a time for quiet reflection on your life, and on the people you love. Do what makes you and others joyful and happy, and DON’T do the things that make you and others miserable. If you can, give a hand to people who are trying hard, but need a little help to get back on track. Try to keep a smile on your face as you go about your daily tasks. Be pleasant and courteous. Don’t criticize friends or family members. That just makes them defensive and upset, and you a crazy person because they aren’t behaving as you think they should. Try to be patient and understanding. Many people are not as fortunate as you are. - However, each of us must celebrate the holidays in our own way. How you do it is up to you, and may you have a joyous and happy time this year. Take care of yourself and the ones you love. - And don’t buy too much stuff. - I’m starting to wilt a bit here, so I’ll close for this week. I just want to say once again, yes...I DO personally read all of your emails to TONI’S TAKE. I am always interested in what you have to say. However, if they are very long, I often have to just skim through them due to time constraints. Shorter is better. - Until next time, try to stay calm and serene during the holidays, and Keep a “Song of Joy” Inside Your Heart! - |
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| November
26, 2006 “SECRET” UPDATE | DARYL COMES HOME | THE CAPTAIN AND.... TINY TIM?????? First of all, thank all of you so much for your wonderful emails about THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS! It is such a joy to me to read the comments many of you have posted on the new “Secret” GUESTBOOK Daryl has added to our site. It has been especially rewarding to me as a songwriter to find out how much you seem to like my original tunes. As I am writing them.... or, as they are “coming through me”...I am always hopeful they will “connect” with the people who hear them...that the listener will be touched, or laugh out loud, or just say to themselves, “I’ve felt exactly like that. She’s writing about ME.” - The truth is, we are all connected in some way. The Where, Why or How we live our lives may be quite different, but basically, we are all members of the same family. Music is a gift that binds us all, thank goodness. Of course, we don’t all enjoy the same kinds of music, but when you find the song or the sound or the voice that speaks to you, it is heaven on earth! Unfortunately, the BUSINESS part of the music business drives me absolutely crazy. Many of you have written to ask why THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS is not yet available on Amazon.com. Good question! Becky, Daryl and I are just about to lose our minds over the situation. Hopefully the CD will appear there on Monday. Here is the explanation we have been offered so far. - Custom Flix is owned by Amazon, and is the manufacturer we chose to produce the Christmas CD. They produce “on demand”, so we did not have to press up huge numbers of product and warehouse them somewhere until they were purchased. According to Custom Flix, the delay has been caused because their computer system was not upgraded to be compatible with Amazon.com (they neglected to tell us this) until November 8th (although we submitted it to them around October 19th). THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS was finally processed on November 9th, and we were told it would take no longer than two weeks to be up on Amazon. That day was Thanksgiving, when everyone was on vacation. So..... pardon me while I scream..... it SHOULD be available on Amazon.com by Monday the 27th. Hope that answers your questions. It BARELY answers mine!!!! However, I will say that Custom Flix has done a great job of shipping CDs out to everyone who has ordered them. We have had absolutely NO complaints. So feel free to order straight from them if you want to make sure you receive them in time to give as Christmas gifts. Back to real life as we know it! Daryl arrived home last week in record time. He left Washoe Valley at 5:15AM, and at 12:30PM, Adelaide suddenly sat up, pricked up her ears, and seemed to be listening for something. Sure enough, when she and I and Hubble walked out the door, there Daryl was, getting out of our Toyota truck after the 550 mile drive. I would say he FLEW down here. “How fast did you go?” I asked as I gave him a big hug. “No faster than 90,” he said. Upon seeing the disapproving (and disbelieving) look on my face he added, “Well, there was hardly any traffic, and EVERYBODY was going that fast!” Sure. I’ve long ago given up trying to reason with Daryl about his tendency to “push” the speed limit. No wonder he hates riding with me. I’ll “push” the limit about 10 MPH, and that’s it. Anyhow, he arrived all in one piece, and I’LL do most of the driving now in my “Taurus” style...careful, defensive and boring.
On a final note for this week, I was very moved by your comments about last week’s TONI’S TAKE. I was heartened to learn how many of you have similar feelings about what is going on in Iraq, and about how much love and concern you feel for our troops and their families. Hold them especially close to your heart as we go through this holiday season. Until next time, Keep A “Song of Joy” Inside your heart. - |
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| November
19, 2006 DARYL’S HOMECOMING | THOUGHTS ON THE WAR It is almost 5:30AM on Sunday morning, and still dark outside. Daryl called about fifteen minutes ago to say that he is on his way home. He has been in northern Nevada for more than a week, tying up the loose ends of our Nevada life, and supervising the move of all of our belongings out of our Washoe Valley house and into storage, where they will stay for at least a year and a half until we build our new home in Arizona. - He told me that, after the movers left, he wandered through the now-empty house, where we spent almost fourteen years, and the sound of his footsteps echoed in the space, all signs of our presence there now packed up and gone for good. - The dogs and I have missed Daryl terribly, especially our male Aussie, Hubble, who is a real “daddy’s dog.” He is going to jump for joy when Daryl walks in the door today. Adelaide, our female Australian Shpeherd, will be glad to see him, too, but she is really my girl. As long as I’m around, she’s happy. The cats, of course, don’t particularly miss anyone, as long as their bowls are kept full of food and water, and the litter boxes are kept clean. They just go about their business of sleeping, eating, draping themselves on the furniture, and staring out the window. They might notice that Daryl has returned...”Oh, he’s back. Was he gone?” - Strangely enough, of all the things now packed away, I am thinking most about my Yamaha Grand Piano, which will be sitting in the warehouse, unplayed, for such a long time. I wrote THE CHRISTMAS STAR and BOOGIE BABY CHRISTMAS on that piano last fall, and spent hours and hours over the years just playing for pleasure, so grateful that my parents managed to find the money for my ten years of piano lessons. I feel an almost mystical attachment to my pianos, oddly enough. It is as though they contain part of my soul. Hard to explain. -
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November
5, 2006 Many people think that the song that started our career was LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER. But actually, a song I wrote for Daryl around 1972, THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU, is the song that started everything. Here’s the story. - In early 1972, thanks to Daryl’s recommendation to Music Director, Carl Wilson, I was hired to play piano by THE BEACH BOYS (which made me the one and only Beach Girl). I was beginning to fall in love with Daryl at the time, and I sensed that he might be feeling the same about me. One day we found ourselves in New Jersey, where the Beach Boys had scheduled a concert. As usual, all of us band members were assigned to stay at a “reasonably priced hotel”, while the Boys stayed in somewhat fancier digs near the venue. Our hotel du jour happened to be located at a New Jersey airport. It seems to me we were in Passaic....however, you know how dicey my memory can be...and, frankly, when you are changing cities and venues almost every day, you get into “If This Is Tuesday It Must Be Peoria” mode. - The hotel was part of a chain, similar to others all over the country.... ”businessman brown”, I used to call the rooms. Dull and fairly dingy, smelling of stale cigarette smoke, and usually furnished with a hard bed covered by a thin mustard and brown-colored floral bedspread, a brown naugahyde chair, a TV, and a bathroom of suspect cleanliness. Ah, the life of a traveling backup musician. - Even in this uninspiring atmosphere, I couldn’t get thoughts of Daryl out of my mind. A lyric line started bouncing around in my head....”I never wanted to touch a man the way that I want to touch you.” And, yes, I meant “touch” emotionally. Soon words started flooding in, and I wrote them down on a piece of hotel stationery. - But I needed a piano!!!! I write at the piano, and I always write alone. Even now I don’t want Daryl to listen as I compose new songs. I’m always sure he is thinking, “Now why did she use THAT chord, or THAT bass line?” I have to work it out to my own satisfaction before I play it for him. But the question was, where in the world would I find a decent piano in THIS place? - I went to the hotel manager, and told him what I wanted. He said there was an upright piano located in one of the conference rooms, and I was welcome to play it. Well...I found the piano, and it was TOTALLY out of tune! But it was all I had. As usual, by that time, I had a melody “coming through”, along with a chord progression, and a bass line. I always consider the bass line to be the foundation of a song, and it is very important to me to get it right. However, there I sat, at the crummy piano, thinking of Daryl and my feelings for him, and out came the song..THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU. - Later, I summoned up the nerve to play it for Daryl, although I didn’t tell him it was about my growing feelings for him. Remember, we didn’t know each other very well at that time. He complimented me on the song in his quiet way, and I knew from his reaction that the song was a good one. He mentioned that he heard hints of Brian Wilson’s bass lines in the composition, and he was certainly correct. Brian, whom Daryl and I both consider a musical genius, was very influential in my writing style. - There is a lot more to tell you about TOUCH YOU, but my favorite story about it was that a radio station in St. Louis refused to add it to their playlist because they said it was too “suggestive” for their listeners. I got such a big kick out of that. Throughout our career, Daryl and I have alway been criticized for being too “square”, and here we were being too “suggestive”. I LOVED it! - Actually, I think the most sensual song I ever wrote was DEEP IN THE DARK. I am particularly pleased with the lyrics for that song, which actually IS about a woman’s awakening to her own sensuality. Shocked? You shouldn’t be. There is absolutely no reason why the woman who wrote DEEP IN THE DARK and BUTTERSCOTCH CASTLE could not be the same person! Most women are complex and multi-faceted. I’m just fortunate enough to be able to write songs expressing that complexity. And now I have to turn the subject to a sadder note. Monday night TEENSY, our beloved elderly bulldog, suffered what appeared to be a stroke of some kind. This, in addition to her blindness and arthritic pain, finally told me it was time to let her go. On Tuesday morning I took her to Valley Animal Hospital in Indio, CA, where, thanks to the kind and compassionate services of Dr. Robert Reed, she was released from the pain and confusion she was suffering, and crossed over The Rainbow Bridge. I stroked her big head, and whispered to her as she gently slipped away. - Below you will find the note I sent Tuesday afternoon to all of our close friends and family who knew and loved Teensy. The dogs I mention in TEENSY’S JOURNEY.... Spooner (Artic Wolf/German Shepherd mix), Bodie (Aussie Shepherd/Husky mix), Broderick, Peaches and Elizabeth (all bulldogs)...are the dogs who have shared our lives in the past thirty years. Adelaide is one of two Australian Shepherds who live with us now.
Note: My next blog will appear on November 19th. As most of you know, Daryl is our webmaster, and he will be up north next week overseeing the move from our northern Nevada house. Frankly, I don’t know how to upload my own column, so I’ll be taking a week off. Stay with me....I’ll be back. - Until next time....Keep a “Song of Joy” Inside Your Heart. - |
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October
29, 2006 Yesterday I took our elderly bulldog, Teensy, to the veterinarian for an evaluation of her condition. As you who are regular TONI’S TAKE readers know, Daryl and I cancelled our appearance on CELEBRITY DUETS, partly because of Teensy’s deteriorating condition. She is over ten years old now, and that is quite old for an English Bulldog. Their usual lifespan is 8-10 years. However, our first bulldog, Broderick, whom some of you will remember from our early album covers, and from his appearances on our television show, lived almost 12 years. Elizabeth, the smaller bulldog, who also appeared on our album covers and in our television show, died at age two from an epileptic siezure. After Elizabeth died, Peaches joined our family, and she lived just short of eleven years. - Bulldogs will break your heart, as the saying goes. And they certainly do. But they give you so much joy and laughter while they are with you. Teensy is winding down her life now. When I took her to the vet yesterday, I was convinced I would not be bringing her home. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I drove, with Teensy snoozing and snoring (as bulldogs always do) in the back of the minivan. She sleeps most of the time now, and limps badly when she tries to get around. She has severe arthritis in both elbows and in the last vertebra of her spine... the one nearest her tail. She is now on three medications for arthritis pain.... Tramidol, Metacam (doggy Advil), and a glucosomine supplement. We’ve also taken her for accupuncture and chiropractic treaments to try to make her more comfortable. - Teensy has lived with a serious eye condition called Dry Eye ever since we adopted her when she was 4 1/2 years old. Her eyes seem to be bothering her much more in the last few months. Since she joined our family, she has been on two different eye medications in both eyes twice a day. Adopting an English Bulldog is not for people on a tight budget! - Lately, in addition to sleeping most of the time, she has lost some weight, and doesn’t seem to want to play as much as she used to. Tug o’ War was her favorite game, and woe to the person who tried to take away any stuffy she had decided was hers. Lately, she has lost her zest for tugs or stuffies. Over the years, when the time came, I have held our dogs or cats in my arms, and told them I loved them as the vet administered the injection that eased their pain, and started their journey over the Rainbow Bridge. That is so hard, but I have always made a silent promise to any animal who joins our family....you will never suffer needlessly, and you will never lose your dignity while you are in my care. When the time comes to make the hard decision to let you go, I will make that decision, and help you cross over without pain or fear. - When he was told by someone that dogs don’t go to heaven, the great Humorist, Will Rogers, famously said, “If dogs don’t go to heaven, when I die I want to go where they are.” Somehow I know that I will see Broderick and Elizabeth and Peaches, Spooner and Bodie, Sasha and George and Grayson, and all the animals we have loved, when my time comes to leave this world. - Teensy got a reprieve from the vet. After looking her over thoroughly, he said, “I don’t think Teensy is ready to go just yet.” He suggested a weekly injection of liquid Glucosomine for the next five to six weeks, saying that glucomsomine in that form is much more effective. He also prescribed another eyedrop to add to Tensy’s collection. So, “Nurse” Toni will add that to Teensy’s list of meds, and we’ll see how she does. In the meantime, she is snoozing away by the sofa, living in her doggie dreamtime. Bless her big bulldog heart. Here’s an update on THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS. Daryl and I approved the test pressing this past Tuesday. The package looks BEAUTIFUL!!!!! We are so pleased with the package design by Rich Di Silvio. It is clean, simple, elegant. And if you look really hard, you will see a couple of bulldog faces peering out from the background. You will also see a hippopotamus in a Santa hat! The CD itself sounds spectacular, thanks to the excellent mastering job by the legendary Pete Papageorges at Capitol Mastering. - Now we have to wait for Amazon to get the CD into its system. We have been told that can take anywhere from one to two weeks. It should be available for purchase no later than November 7th. We will let you know the exact date as soon as we know it! - And now, I’m going to go out to the backyard and do nothing. Until next week.... Keep a “Song of Joy” Inside Your Heart! - |
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October
22, 2006
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October
15, 2006 Now...some great news!!!! I am thrilled to tell you that our Christmas CD, THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS, will be available for purchase from Amazon.com in early November! You will be able to buy it only at Amazon this year, since we simply did not have time to make a distribution deal to get it into stores. But, at least, some of you will be able to enjoy it this Christmas. - It is really too late to do any promotion to let people know it is available, but you can help by telling the people on your email list about it, and asking them to spread the word. This year the only way people will know THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS is available will be by word of mouth.... a true grassroots effort! I usually don’t go around talking about how wonderful I think something of ours is, but I really DO think this CD is one of the very best things we have ever done together. I hope you agree!! Remember, it won’t be available at Amazon.com until early November. Last year Daryl and I did the voices for a two-headed character for an animated film called CASPER’S SCARE SCHOOL. The film is based on the beloved character of “Casper the Friendly Ghost.” We also performed two original songs for the film..... WHY DOES LOVE MAKE ME FEEL SO GOOD and WORLD WITHOUT FEAR. Both songs were written by Magnus Fiennes, younger brother of British actor, Ralph Fiennes. Other CASPER characters were voiced by Jim Belushi, Bob Saget, Phyllis Diller, and Dan Castellaneta (of “The Simpsons”). After we recorded our parts, we pretty much forgot about it, because the computer animation and editing is done AFTER the voices are recorded, and it is a very slow, painstaking process. We were told they were trying to get it ready by Halloween, but it would be a close call. Well, we just found out that CASPER’S SCARE SCHOOL will premiere on the CARTOON NETWORK on October 20, from 7PM to 9PM. There will be several more airings through Halloween. When you watch the film, don’t look for us until about an hour into the story. Our character is called the ANKLE (Aunt Belle and Uncle Murray). We are two heads on one body (and, yes, Daryl’s head wears a Captain’s hat). We are the “good” scary characters who help Casper understand that love and friendship are the right way to go! We haven’t seen the film yet. In fact, we’ll be seeing it for the first time when you do. I can’t wait to see how we “look” in animated form! Let us know what you think of it. I must say, though, give a special listen to the song, WORLD WITHOUT FEAR. It is absolutely beautiful, and a world without fear is something we all need right now. And here’s one MORE show I hope you will watch..... my nephew (my sister Louisa’s son), Chris Cognac, who is a detective with the Hawthorne, California Police Department AND a food critic, will be starring in his own show, THE HUNGRY DETECTIVE, on the FOOD NETWORK. The show premieres October 17th at 10:30PM - PDT. Don’t miss it! Chris is a natural, and you will love him. It must be those Tennille genes!!!! - That’s the news for now. I hope you will enjoy THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS, CASPER’S SCARE SCHOOL and THE HUNGRY DETECTIVE. Until next time, Keep A “Song of Joy” Inside Your Heart! - |
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9, 2006 DELAYED COLUMN | MATT CATINGUB As most of you who are regular readers know, Daryl and I have been very, very stressed and busy this week. I mentioned in my last column that we would be moving to our southern California home and putting our northern Nevada home on the market this past weekend. I had hoped to write a column for you today (Monday), but, frankly, I am just too overwhelmed by the move to concentrate right now. I am so grateful to my readers, and hope you will bear with me until this coming Sunday. I’ll have a new column for you then. - Just a quick note. This August, I had the odd, and very interesting experience of “covering” my own song. Matt Catingub...a brilliant musician and good friend of mine and Daryl’s..is putting together an album with his new music ensemble, The Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawaii. He called a few months ago, and said he had an idea for an arrangement of my song, THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU, and wanted me to sing it on the new CD. His thought was to arrange it in a “soft jazz” bossa nova style. I loved the idea, and asked him to send me a MP3 File of his arrangement. Daryl and I listened to it, and agreed that it was a wonderful arrangement, and I agreed to do it. - We recorded it in Reno this past August, and it was really fun for me, since I had to “re-think” my stylistic approach to the song because Matt’s arrangement was so different from the Captain and Tennille original. I haven’t heard the final mix, but I loved what I heard in the studio. Go to Matt’s site, and read all about the new CD, and the Hawaii Romantic Music festival that Matt is putting together. Maybe we should all make plane reservations right now to attend! I believe it is scheduled for this coming spring on Oahu. Matt is the Pops Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and is absolutely beloved in the Islands. I’m sure his CD and festival will be a huge success. - I promise to write next Sunday. Until then, Keep a “song of Joy” Inside Your Heart. |
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1, 2006 HOUSE OF LIGHT | NEVADA ARTS | 1975 GRAMMY AWARD Six days from today, we will lock the door of this very special house, and leave Nevada. We’ll return only to move out of the house once it has been sold. We only hope that whoever lives here after us will experience the love and happiness that we have enjoyed here for almost 14 years. When we first moved in, Daryl and I called it our “house of light”, because we had SO many windows, there was hardly any wall space for paintings and photographs. We always considered the beauty that Nature provided us through every window our “art”. We love this house so much, we will be building almost the EXACT house in Arizona! - It has been said that moving is one of life’s great stresses, right up there with divorce and life-threatening illness, and I am certainly starting to feel just a bit stressed as our last few days here fly by. Daryl and I have moved several times during our life together.... my mother used to joke that we never stayed in any home more than seven years... and that is mostly true. However, we have been in this house almost fourteen years, and I am feeling the anxiety creeping up on me as moving day draws near. We are spending these last days in northern Nevada in a flurry of activity.... meeting with the realtors, doing some final packing, trying to get the house fairly clean before the REAL housecleaners do their job after we leave, picking up medical records...ours and the pets.... and spending time with close friends. Many year |
