the ax

OK. I want to have 6 or 7 brand new pieces for the April 14th concert. I only have two finished so far, but I have 4 others in progress.

Well, not anymore.

"Dance of Ambivalence" and "Innuendo" are getting the ax.

I don't think they're good enough right now. So, goodbye.

Actually, that's much more harsh than the reality. What's really happening is that they're going back into the 'file cabinet', so to speak, definitely to be looked over again at a later date.

"Innuendo" was a pivotal piece for me back in 1999 and 2000 when I was starting to find my compositional voice. It was originally intended for a piano-bass-drums group, and I have a rendering of it with my keyboard that's pretty darned nifty. Some people immediately respond quite positively when they just hear the first couple seconds of it, believe it or not.

Amongst some of my friends, it actually has a pretty special place among my pieces. BUT...I don't know...as much as I'd like to make it a solo piece, it just doesn't seem to quite work. Almost, but, not quite.

It's come out of the 'file cabinet' several times.

We'll see, though. There's an outside chance it'll come back out before April 14th for further consideration.

"Dance of Ambivalence" just isn't that strong, I don't think. Elements of it are, but not altogether. So, rather painfully, I had to put that one aside, too.

Furthermore, I'm not so sure about "King of Hearts", either. It's definitely got a ton of potential, but I'm having a heck of a time giving the strong elements a good enough structure. It's also somewhat similar to another piece on the program, in some respects. Not really, though, but I can tell.

HOWEVER, the good news is that in the midst of the pretty low moment in which I'd come to the realization of two less almost-finished pieces than I thought I had, and maybe even three, I forced myself to just start playing and improvising with the tape recorder on, and I've come up with something VERY promising. This could very well mean that I'm already back up to 2 potentially brand new pieces for the program to add to "It Begins Again" and "House of Doubt" as 'all-new' Kenny stuff.

Blah blah blah. I think I expended a lot of energy just in that fairly short time span of axing and creating, b/c I feel REALLY spent now. The kind of spent when you've been studying for four fours, or something ridiculous like that. I don't get that kind of spent very much anymore.

Maybe I'll just go home. Call it a night and go back to the writing studio in the morning.

and away we go

Well, we're getting closer to the April 14th concert, so, things will be heating up in a few different ways.

First of all, I'd like to finish at least a couple more pieces and include them in the program to have more of a balance of semi-new and NEW new material. That shouldn't be much of a problem. "It Begins Again" and "House of Doubt", the brand new pieces so far, have actually exceeded my expectations, so, it bodes well for anything else I finish up.

Second of all, it looks like we have a poster for the concert! Last year, the Mars poster went over exceedingly well. Believe it or not, some people have referred to it as a classic. That's kind of hard for me to fathom, but, hey, I'll take it!

The Mars poster wouldn't have been made without the help of my good friend Todd Schaefer. Even though the idea and execution were both mine, Todd facilitated it in the first place with his expertise in Photoshop [a program he uses at KPLR as a graphics designer], and he also made some tone alterations to make the image look more unified.

However, the poster stems from a photo illustration that Todd made entirely on his own LAST YEAR! This was the very same time we were trying to come up with something for last year's show. I showed it around after he'd made it, and, if I remember correctly, all of the comments were extremely positive.

I wanted to give Allison at the Missouri Lupus office something affordable [i.e. looks good in black and white] to print out that they could distribute, something that was a little more than purely functional. So, I started working with what Todd made last year, and I started to realize that we might finally have a poster. I don't think I fully realized it until I stopped by the office and showed it to them.

So, most people will be seeing this in black and white, and it suits the design remarkably well.

This was Todd's baby. I was lucky enough to come up with a semi-interesting layout for the text, and voila. You can see it at http://www.kennyjaworski.com, though, as I say, most people will see it in black and white (and I think it looks better that way!).

As you can see, the posters are extremely important, as far as I'm concerned. I think they're important on a variety of levels. First of all, it's a great chance to capture the essence of what you're doing in a different way and present it to the public in a way that will hopefully spark some kind of additional interest. Second of all, it's your chance to make a bit of a case to people that have no idea who you are. Even though it's a fairly small and limited canvas, there really is a lot you can say with a picture and a few words. Third of all, it is a creative effort, and, there is an excellent chance that if people find themselves connecting with the poster, they will find themselves at the event, connecting with other creative work of yours [it happened last year with a few people].

Anyway, I'm obviously rambling on. But, yes. This concert is a benefit concert for the Missouri Chapter of the Lupus Foundation. All of the money for admission is going directly to them.

Would you like another good reason to come to the show? On April 14th? At St. Francis Xavier Church? The big church on the corner of Lindell and Grand? Very close to Fox Theatre and Powell hall?

Well, it's time for a little gloating, a little bit of the talk that makes me feel like a jerk. But, hey, I'll put the promoter's hat on myself for the time being.

Anyway, I gave a poster to a friend who was at last year's show, someone who is a frequent concertgoer: Leigh Anne Huckaby, the production manager for Opera Theatre of St. Louis [where I've worked a couple of summers].

She says that my concert last year was one of the best of the year. Eh? Eh?!?! Come on out and see me on April 14th...or I'll have to gloat some more and be MORE of a jerk.