THE BIG THAW:

Stories: Take One

Work on the new CD, Mystery Sandwich, continues apace.

I told Doug Wilkin I needed a children’s choir for one of my songs. Doug said to ask Gerard Rohlf. Gerard is so talented in his own right that I hated to yank him from his muse long enough to even ask him. But I did. And man, did he come through with four of the best young singers in the region:

Molly DeLuca, Emma & Helen Paulini, & Sean Bailly. Here they are, singing their hearts out.



The mothers of these four songbirds braved the freezing rain to help a complete stranger realize his dream. And the children of these four mothers walked into the song and nailed it like seasoned professionals.

Gerard was there to greet them all. He took beverage orders, saw to it everybody was comfy, and disappeared. Thank you, Gerard, for you selfless kindness.



Thank you Kerry DeLuca, Ann Paulini, & Lisa Colautti for sparing me the use of your gifted children.

And thank you Molly, Emma, Helen, & Sean for taking the emotional message of my words to a new level:

All hail the ice storm
We may never get warm again
And I feel like my only friend
Put me out in the cold.

Thanks Doug for you invaluable suggestions and flexibility.

As a bonus, my mother and her husband, Roger, AND my sweetheart, Camille, were all there to see the session! Camille took pic-tures, and everybody seemed to enjoy the process.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS

Friends, Fans, Fellow Pilgrims:

Lend Me Your Ears!

I'm working on the new CD. And I've recorded so many songs, I can't squeeze them all onto one disc. I need to distill the number to fourteen.

HELP me decide which songs to include. I've uploaded rough tracks into the jukebox on my website. If you have enough music love and curiosity, listen to a bit of each. Then use the EMAIL link to send me your nominees for the keepers. And the weepers.

While you're listening, if a Theme or Title leaps out at you, let me know. The working title has been "Mystery Sandwich". And I'll tell you why:

Once upon a time, there was a great tavern in Homestead called Chiodo's. It closed a while ago. The End. Crossing the High Level bridge one evening, I noticed this ad painted on one of Chiodo's gables:

HOME OF THE MYSTERY SANDWICH.

Since the new songs had a skein of mystery running through them, I said to my self - simple-mindedly:

"What a great title for my CD!"

But is it? I've been working on it for so long I've lost perspective. You tell me. If a lyric line from one of my songs seems to best personify the whole collection, you tell me. If an image materializes in your mind while you're listening to the tunes, you tell me. And if I'm asking too much?

YOU TELL ME.

Your thoughts and suggestions are coveted. We are none of us in this alone. I want to finish this project and have it in your earphones by early 2009. That's the goal.

HELP.

Your Grateful Servant,

JE