Positively Patsy Part 27

I now had time to sit down and write ‘One Night in June’ for the band, Greg, five stars and two choirs. This would be the biggest hurdle to overcome. After about a week at getting a basic idea sorted, I rang Sarah and asked if she knew of a local composer who could help me with it and she gave me a name to contact.

I rang the composer, Justin Smith, and he was very happy to help so I gave him our address. He said he would be over the next day. He arrived the next morning and I took him to my study, where I was doing my writing and showed him what I had already. We went through the lyrics and I played him the basic tune on my guitar and he said “You seem to have it all sorted, why you need me?” So I told him that it would be for an upcoming TV show, live in a stadium near New York, and there would also be a combined choir of about forty voices, the five stars, Greg and ‘Amazon’ and I wanted it to be remembered as an anthem. “You are really pushing your limits, there” he said “it is a big undertaking. Will you have an orchestra?”

I told him there will be three lead guitarists, two rhythms, a bass and drums, and two keyboards. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then said that that would make it easier to do as it would only need the keyboards to supply an orchestral sound. He assumed that the lead guitars would be supplying their own riffs, once it was being rehearsed, and, as we had the basic tune for the rhythm, bass and drums, we would just need to work on the overall presentation “to be magnificent and memorable”. I showed him the studio, as it was so far, and said that we could use it when it was finished but that we had use of the new studio at K Beat to get everyone together towards the end of May. I gave him a disc with my basic tune and song on and a lyric sheet and he took it with him. As he was leaving he told me that he had admired my song writing for a couple of years and was honoured to be working with me. I asked him if he wanted to help out with the rehearsals from day one and he readily agreed.

By the middle of April our studio was good for rehearsals so I put a couple of amps, a set of drums and a couple of keyboards from the shop. I managed to get Joanne to stay at home and Justin came by with a bunch of music and presentation ideas. We went into the studio and worked through his composition with me on guitar and Joanne learning the piece on the keyboard. By the end of the day we were quite a way forward so I told him that I would give him a call when the rest of the band got into town and we could get it sorted out, with just a rehearsal with the choir and stars needed before the show.

A couple of days later the choir from England flew in. We picked them up in a bus and took them to their hotel. I told the choir master he had use of the bus and driver so to just let them sightsee for a day or two and then we would get them into the rehearsal. Greg and Peggy came the day after and I took them out to the ranch and showed them to their rooms. Greg had brought his Martin and one of his tweaked Fenders. I showed them around the place and Greg was impressed with the studio. Peggy thought the ranch and the surroundings were lovely and asked if I was going to add a stable. That was something I really had not thought of.

After they had unpacked I took them into town and showed them the music store and Joannes Café and Greg was happy to see that Jake had got ‘a real job’ at last. We sat in the café and I told Jake and Greg that I had held one thing back from them when I gave them the show outline. I said “When I gave you the list, I put that ‘Amazon’ would do five songs. However, what I would like is for that part of the show to start with you two and the band doing a couple of real blues numbers; before the rest of us join you for three of our songs from the latest album.” Greg told me I was wicked but said it with a smile. He asked Jake “How would you like to do the blues on TV with an old fart like me, young feller?” Jake had a big smile and said it would be a pleasure. I then took them over to the new K Beat studio to have a look and Greg remarked on how similar it was to Geneva. Sarah told him it should be as it was built by the same company.

At last the first week of May arrived and we got the two choirs together in the rehearsal room and started working through their first three songs. As they were standard choral pieces it didn’t take more than a few days for them to achieve a good sound. The two groups were getting on pretty well and we then took them into the studio to record their set. We gave them the rest of the day off and then, next day, started on the second part of the show. Roger was getting busy with his camera and Justin was getting quite excited after hearing the choirs together. He was making lots of notes to take to his composition of the finale. For the second part, Greg, Joanne, Peggy and me joined the choirs to sing the first piece with Greg on classical guitar followed by ‘Serendipity’ and ‘Lucky’. I told the choirs that later in the month we would be adding Riordan and our five stars to the sound and there was much giggling from the girls. It took us the best part of a week to get these three sorted out, with Justin adding some very good ideas on the presentation. We finally got the recordings done on the Friday so I took everyone to Marios’ for dinner.

He was a bit flustered at more than fifty of us walking in but we got three big tables. I told him that everyone in the group was a singer and that we could probably carry the karaoke night alone but that I would pay for the meals. We had a good evening with several of our choral singers doing the karaoke but the kicker was Greg going up and slaying us with his rendition of “I was born under a wandering star.”

Saturday the rest of ‘Amazon’ arrived and Joanne and I took them out to the ranch in our SUVs. After they had settled in we made them lunch and then we took one of the buses into town to visit the music store and the K Beat studio.

Sunday our five stars were arriving and we kept it low key with Joanne and me with our SUV’s and Alice with a limo. We took them to the hotel and got them settled in and took them out for lunch. The restaurant had not seen the like and we got lots of sideways looks but, being Nashville, we were generally left alone. In the afternoon we got everyone into the rehearsal room and I went through the proposed layout of the show and asked if anyone had any problems. With none forthcoming we got the choirs lined up along with our stars and the usual additions and started working through the three song set. We had given the stars a song book and I was happy that they picked up the tune and tempo so well. We were happy with the result by dinner time and we piled into the buses to go to a restaurant for dinner. I had booked this time.

Monday we gave the choirs some days off and they went off sightseeing together. We got the band and our stars in the rehearsal room to work through their numbers. Jake and the boys had practised the ones they had nominated and I was pleased to see Greg up there with them. We then worked through Ninas’ songs as well. Tuesday we worked on the penultimate section with the ‘Amazon’ band plus Greg doing two blues numbers, followed by all of us doing three of the new songs from the album. Wednesday we got everyone into the rehearsal room to go through the show so far in real time.

We put the choir in front of the band equipment and I said we would be timing each segment as we went along. I told them that we would have two minutes to make our changes on the night during an ad break so we needed to be ready to move in an instant. Justin had a couple of stopwatches and a clip board. We started with the choirs and, when they had finished, the extras took our places and, when Justin called “Now” we started with the classical guitar intro. At the end of ‘Lucky’ the choir moved to the side walls leaving the first star as the band took their places and Greg strapped on his Fender. When Justin called “Now“ Shalysa did her two songs with the band behind her, exited stage right as Barbreeza walked out front, and the band began her two songs. When she finished hers I called for a break.

Part 28

While we were taking a break, the two stars that had already tried their songs, came over to me and Shalysa said that she hated letting the chance to sing with a choir behind her go begging and could we work them in. I said it would help with the movement in breaks so stood up and called for quiet. “Right” I said “I have been asked if the choirs could back our first two stars, is that OK?” The choir masters looked at their charges and they were all nodding. “What about the rest of the solo acts?” I asked. And they all said it would be good. I turned to Justin and asked if he could write some backing lyrics for all six solo acts and he said he would get on to it tonight. We gave him a CD with the first recordings to work from and then we got back to work.

The second solo section went well, as did the third. I called a break again. After ten minutes we got the band back at their places and they did two blues songs from their album and it was magic. Then the rest of ‘Amazon’ walked to our places and we did three songs from our latest album. At the end of that Justin told us that the performance time was one hundred and forty seven minutes, which gave us a window of thirteen minutes. I then told them that there would be an ad break, and, when we came back live, everyone would be on stage and there would be a finale song which we would rehearse in a day or so, but would last about ten minutes. I gave Jake and the boys a CD of the trial recording to practice from and did the same for Riordan and Julia. I said we would take a couple of days for the band to get the finale started and for Justin to get some words written, so tomorrow we would rehearse the first two sections again so that everything was perfect, not that it wasn’t close already.

So, the next day it was the choirs, Greg and the stars plus Riordan, Peggy and Joanne who gathered in the rehearsal room. We worked the three songs from the first section several times until the choir masters were satisfied. After a break we worked the second section several times and varied some verses so that the stars sang in harmony for a few lines. When we took a break, one of them told me she had not had so much fun since she was in a school choir. A couple of the others nodded their heads at that. They were getting really friendly with the choirs and Jennifer whispered to me that I was right when I told her everyone would bond “This is awesome” she said.

While we were having our catered lunch, Lucy came in and told me that she was here with a small container of stage clothes so I said that it may be a good time to do a dress rehearsal. We got everyone out in the car park where the container sat and she opened it up. With the stars first she handed out the stage clothes on hangers and covered in plastic. The choirs lined up to get theirs when they gave their name. The choir masters did not go begging either. I took mine as well as Julias’ and Ninas’. I carried them to the SUV and put them in the back. Lucy said she would deliver Jakes’ and the boys’ gear to their houses.

Back in the rehearsal room there was a buzz as the choir looked at what we had handed out. I called for quiet and said “What you have just been given are the clothes you will wear for the show. I want you all to go back to your hotel this afternoon and try them on. They have been supplied by L’Estrange and, if you have any problems with them, tell Lucy here and she will organise a proper fitting. They should be good now but we cannot allow for any recent burger binge.” Lucy said “Take care of them as if they are your own, because they will be when the show is over.” There was a gasp from a lot of girls at that statement. Lucy continued “I will come back to the hotel with you and be there to answer any questions. To answer one that you girls will think of is why we have supplied three pairs of panties with extra strong waistbands. This is because you will have a small radio transmitter clipped to the back of them, connected to a bud mic on the neckline.” I said to wear the new dresses tomorrow as we will do a true dress rehearsal.

I took the other clothes back to the ranch and handed them to the others. I told them we would do a dress rehearsal tomorrow of the first two sections with mics. I rang Ron and asked him to set up the rehearsal room with a PA and the multi-band receiver for the mics I had stored there. I had also got a big box of buds. Then I rang Peter and asked him if the car company was going to have an ad during our show. He told me they had bought four; one minute spots and that they were very good. I also called Maxine and asked her if they were going to advertise and was told that they had done so. I had put together an ad myself with Chris filming Jake and me at the music store.

The next day we gathered in the rehearsal room with all the boys in maroon shirts and pants and the girls in long maroon dresses with the rest of us in our various colours. Ron and I fitted the choir and our stars with the radio mics and I handed out buds to everyone. “Right” I said “today you choristers are going to experience the joys that the rest of us take for granted, you are going to sing your songs with yourselves coming from behind you, amplified. It is a weird experience but one you will have to master. These buds will give you the overall performance directly in your ears. You must train yourselves to listen to those, not the sound that is outside your body. It takes a while but you must remember that we will be in a large stadium and heavily amplified and it is easy to get dis-orientated. We will do the first song. If you find yourself unsure – stop – and try to pick it up when you orientate. OK?”

We turned everything on and I keyed my comms button and asked, in a normal voice, for those who can hear me to put their hand up. Two didn’t so we checked and found that they had not fitted the buds correctly. We finally got it right and the choir master got them ready. He led them into the first song and the room reverberated with the amplified singing. More than half were seriously shocked, including the choir master. We stopped them and I keyed the comms and asked them to try again. I got Ron to lower the volume a bit as we could slowly crank it up as they got used to it. The second time was much better. If I saw anyone looking lost I looked at them and tapped my buds until they got it. We kept on repeating the first song with the sound moving up until they were all singing properly.

We then went to the second song and then the third. I commed ‘well done’ and gestured for everyone to take their buds out while Ron switched off the volume. As they stood there a bit amazed that they could hear still I told them they had done well and to take a break but not to mess up the stage clothes. After the break we set up with the instruments. My Fender had a mic inside and we had a mic on a stand for Greg. We got everyone in their places and got all the buds in. I gestured to Ron to start with a lower sound and we got into the first piece. It went better than I expected and we moved through the set as the sound came up.

I could hear that it seemed good. When we finished I commed and told them I thought it was good but to start from the first song of the first set and work through the whole two sets. I got Ron to lift the volume again and they started from the first song with the rest of us joining at the fourth. When we finished I congratulated everyone and said to take a break. Once everyone had taken off their buds and was relaxing I explained to the choir that my mic with its comms button would be joined by a few others on the night. We would have a stage manager who would communicate through the buds and, once we had them on, we obeyed instructions. I told them that this was how stage shows started with sound and lights all at once. The two choir masters would share the spotlight so we gave them radio mics that were set to the comms channel so they could encourage the choirs during their performance, if need be. In the afternoon we transferred everything to the big studio and did a seamless recording of the six pieces.

Marianne G 2020