JA's JOURNALS
 

Aaah, yes, another top secret report...

... for those of you who brave the bowels of the website world and wind your way back to my room, my little room..........I am in NYC with Keri, this is a big weekend because not only did I finish my version of the new CD (who knows what a record company will want to do to it, but at least this is my ideaof what it should be), but yesterday at 3pm keri performed for Epic records, a prestigious part of the Sony company. Sony has a building on 55th and Madison in NYC, a 35 story block of granite that rises out of the heart of mid-town. You enter and go to the Sky Lobby, where you are inspected and credentialed and in our case, sent to the top floor, where the world is your vista and your future is uncertain, because whoever works here and comes to the top floor and eats in the executive dining room or sushi bar or sits in one of the small private sitting rooms surely has the power to squish your small hind end like it was never there or here, or anywhere. We were taken to a small room with a grand piano and a billion-dollar view of the city. The performance was to be totally acoustic--no PA system, just Keri singing and playing piano and me plucking a few guiitar chords so I could say I was there. At 3pm sharp, the young-ish, good-looking staff of Epic records filed into the room, followed by their President, a harried-looking fellow named Steve Barnett. It was one of the most difficult settings I could imagine, serious and imperious. I tried to break the ice by asking if I could order chips and salsa. It was time for Keri to play, and if I may quote my daughter Cody, OMIGOD or maybe OMG, Keri went pummelling into her new song "Better Than You", and it might have been the finest performance I have seen her give, ecspecially considering the nature of the setting. This girl had style, swagger, and even threw a few Mary J. Blige moves into it that caught me off-guard. She followed that up with blockbustah versions of "imperfect", "Ooh-Oh", "I Wrote the Book", and "Too Late". Then it was over and people were filing out, and I had no idea what they thought, because people have to get up and go back to work, and how geeky are they going to get in front of their bosses? However, Farra Mathews, the Epic person who has championed Keri for some time now, sidled over as we were getting our stuff, and said, "Steve wants to see you in his office". It was fun to have things go right for once!

Hmmmmmm. We went down to the 22nd floor and had a minute with the boss. Keri has gone from being off their radar to all of them coming Monday night (we do the whole thing with the band for da label industry this monday at 5:15). Who knows? Keri was unbelieveable, and what a great memory for me to see her boot ass.

I did, as you who know me might expect, have an overriding urge to start playing one of my songs as she was finishing her last song. What could they have done? Certainly, they would have sat there till I was done and then i could say that I had a try-out, too. However, i don't really know any of my songs anymore, only Keri's. I do have to learn a few of mine because I am playing them at the 4th annual christmas show.

A final note--today is a huge day for our man Billy McLughlin, also--those of you inside know that world-class guitarist and composer Billy Mac has sufferred from Focal Dystonia (a condition where the left hand control deteriorates until you cannot play guitar with it) and has been unable to play his two-handed tapping style for almost 2 years. Billy being the stubborn Irishman he is has been practicing playing LEFT HANDED (so therefore his right hand does the kooky stuff up the guitar neck that his left hand used to do when he played traditionally) and tonight performs his first concert with new songs and old favorites, all played left handed, for the michigan Guitar Society. I can play right-handed, and you won't catch me playing any guitar for those guys. What an accomplishment this is, what a testament to this artist and his determination............wish Billy luck, and Keri for monday............