Shelter in Place Month 5

Are you discovering that total strangers like to chat (through their masks of course!) outside Safeway, or when they walk past your house?  Are we all getting a little lonely?  Discovering we might actually be more of a social animal than we thought we were?  For us, the answer is: Yes! 

Recently Henry was preparing to do his first gig since this whole thing started.  It was outdoors in San Leandro at Harry’s Hof Brau. As he read the news that morning, he saw that San Leandro, as part of Alameda County, had just been put back into lockdown stage. A second later, he received a text:  Gig Cancelled.   I asked him whether he was disappointed or relieved.  His answer:  Yes! 

The front porch song-a-day sing-alongs lasted 49 days before we pooped out.   Kathleen has now also pooped out on facebook, though it was a great way to keep company with people. Eventually, though, it kind of got in the way of getting out of bed or ever getting dressed.  

Now we’ve moved on to outdoor backyard dinners with one or two couples all sitting far apart from each other and wearing masks until we are seated.  Then Henry got bitten by the outdoor movie bug.  We now have a 10 foot screen we hang, hook it up with a couple PA speakers, and a new digital projector and off we go.  First movie was Busby Berkeley’s “Golddiggers of 1933” complete with cartoon.  Second movie was “What’s Up Doc?” with opening Wallace and Grommit cartoon. We are really very lucky compared to so many others.  Very lucky.

We have used more flour in the past few months than we have used in the past few years.  Likewise, butter. 

We’ve written a couple new tunes during this time, at least.  And we are planning to do some recording. We are also finally acknowledging what was previously described as a “lack of focus” is actually two separate identities masquerading as The Flying Salvias.  So, along those lines, The Flying Salvias will soon be presenting “The Return of K. N. Right” (Country) and “Pop Goes the Jazzle” (Not Country). 

We are so eager to perform again that we are actually practicing.  Ha ha.  

Now, to the purpose of this epistle: 

Bird & Beckett Books & Records has invited us to play as a duo for one of their Thursday night live stream concerts.  Thursday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m., we will be doing a couple sets and putting our 2 new projects out there for all to hear.  It’s a live stream thing, so everyone stays safe and healthy.   

What you will hear: 

A set focusing on K. N. Right material.  We’ll revisit a couple tunes from our original Kathy N. Right country CD from years ago, add in several new tunes, and remember our dear friend Kathi Kamen Goldmark by doing the song Kathleen wrote with her, “Older Than Him”  aka “The Slut Song.” 

Pop Goes the Jazzle starts off with “Henry’s Hideaway” which will set the tone and mood for the rest of the set; I’ve always thought of it as the introduction to a musical.  I don’t think we’ve ever performed it, so we will be debuting “Henry’s Hideaway” along with a couple other new tunes.  This will be the rhythmically and harmonically diverse set!  

We’ll send a reminder the day of the show, but for now, here’s a link to the Bird & Beckett You Tube Channel and you can check their other shows out: 

Click here!

In the meantime, please stay safe and healthy, and best of our love to all of you!

Henry and Kathleen

25 comments