The Old Dinosaur; A Work In Progress

    As I explained in my very first blog entry in July 2010, I identify with dinosaurs because, as the last of my line of Mease’s, I too will become extinct. I’ve never married so there will be no little dinosaurs trotting around. It takes two to tango, they say, and I never met the right tango partner so childless I remain. When I’m gone, curtain closed, that’s all she wrote.

    However, I am not down and out. As in the song, Hey, Look Me Over, “The only way is up and I’ll be up like a rose bud…”  I am on the threshold of a brand new enterprise as an entertainer. My current card says only that I am a chanteur. (I was refreshing my memory of French when I decided to use chanteur instead of singer.)

    I have spoken several times about karaoke events I’ve enjoyed attending. The response to my singing has been so positive so frequently that I decided to strike out on my own and make myself available to sing at retirement residences, parties, receptions, lounges, company functions or wherever.

    To reflect my interests and abilities I designed a new card which will be a bit more informative than simply describing myself as a chanteur. On several occasions I have been called a “crooner”. That pleases me immensely since some of the great popular singers who have gone before me have also been called “crooners” — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Bing Crosby and even Elvis Presley.

    These singers’ work is what I enjoy attempting to emulate. My current but continually growing play list includes:

Sinatra
    A Day In The Life Of A Fool
    All The Way
    As Time Goes By
    Drinking Again
    In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
    It Was A Very Good Year
    I’ve Got You Under My Skin
    Love’s Been Good To Me
    My Funny Valentine
    My Way
    New York, New York
    One For My Baby
    Send In The Clowns
    September Of My Years
    Summer Wind

Martin
    Arrivederci Roma
    Houston
    Little Ole Wine Drinker Me
    Somewhere There’s A Someone
    Sway
    Welcome To My World
    You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You

Bennett
    I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Como
    And I Love You So
    For The Good Times
    It’s Impossible

Presley
    Don’t
    Love Me Tender
    I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You

Armstrong
    We Have All The Time In The World
    What A Wonderful World

Whitley
    I’m No Stranger To The Rain

Show Tunes
    Razzle Dazzle (Chicago)
    Mister Cellophane (Chicago)
    Music of the Night (Phantom of the Opera)

     I can’t fail to mention Jimmy Buffett, The Grateful Dead, The Ink Spots, Johnny Mathis, Leon Redbone, Leon Russell, Jimmy Durante and others. At this writing there are nearly two hundred titles on my growing play list. I practice several hours per day trying to “absorb” the flavor injected by the original singer.

My Current Card

The "Perversity of Circumstance Trumps All" phrase is my variation on Robert Burns' 

observation in his "Ode to a Mouse" that

"The best-laid schemes o’ mice an' men Gang aft agley,"

Initially I said "Perversity of Circumstance is more powerful than well-laid plans" but it works just as well in the shortened version.
 

My New Card

[Poor quality screen shot. Actual cards not yet delivered]

The front of the card below

 The Old Dinosaur

says

Crooner ala Sinatra and others

and includes my phone number, Facebook name Curtis Mease, email address

and the location of this blog.

Acknowledgements

    I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the people in the business who have encouraged and advised me in this brand new endeavor. First and foremost is Mike from  T and S Entertainment from nearby Lebanon county. Mike has offered the use of equipment he has as back-ups he rarely needs or uses. He has also provided access to the software this kind of business could not survive without. Thank you, Mike.

    Among the early encouragers are Greg, Bob, Sid, Adam and Bill from Impressions Entertainment in Lancaster. Tim from the group “Party Bomb” offered studio assistance and Chris from the Guitar Center offers continuing hardware advice and help. Thanks also to Midnight Mike and Jammin' Joyce of High Impact Entertainment. Later encouragement and advice came from L-N-B (Luke and Brandon) and Dwayne LBK (Lancaster's Best Karaoke.)

    I am sincerely grateful to all of these guys (and Joyce - she's one of the guys, too, but she's the prettiest!). Without their help my enterprise would take a much longer time getting off the ground. Thanks, guys.

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Karaoke At The Dutchmaid

    Lancaster’s Best Karaoke paid their second visit to the Dutchmaid motel lounge last evening and though it might have been one of the coldest nights in recent history, a hardy group of aficionados braved the brutal weather to participate in a most enjoyable evening of favorite songs.

    Dwayne was at the controls last night and he cheerfully queued up the singers’ selections as soon as they were entered and, probably because the cold weather kept the less hardy souls from appearing, the waiting time between songs was much shorter than usual, an important detail for many experienced singers who, once warmed up, wish to keep the vocal cords limber.

    Some people think that the more relaxed you are by way of cocktails or beer, the better you sound. That, I believe, is a perception by the listener rather than the singer. The lubricated listener may be less able to hear the nuances of a slightly-off-tone singer than a less lubricated listener. Although reduced inhibitions may make it easier for the shy person to get up and sing, the experienced singer can lose some control of their vocal fine tuning the more relaxed they become.

    As far as “lubrication” there was no waiting for anything you desired. Korki did a stupendous job at providing for everyone there. She was so good I had to look three times to determine that she was not triplets she was that fast! I think the word ubiquitous to describe Korki’s performance behind the bar and in the lounge would be apropos. It’s rare when one can be thought of as everywhere-at-once.

    And the singers last night were as good as any I’ve seen at most places, especially the lady who chose a Linda Ronstadt piece and most notably, Kim, whose rendition of Me and Bobby McGee was a hair-raising, spine-tingling nostalgic remembrance of my dear sister, Bonnie, a true Janis Joplin fan. Bonnie died in 1972. She was only 20.

    Several months ago I wrote about another singer (Kristie) who paid tribute to Janis Joplin (Cheers, 11 NOV 2012). To have experienced Janis’ sounds so expertly performed by TWO singers in such a short time is nothing short of amazing. I’m starting to believe that Janis has been reincarnated as Janis Joplin, Opus 2.

    Wouldn’t it be pretty to think so?

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