July 4th, 2007
Hollywood Hills parties
Today is July 4th and I’m staying home trying to compose with parties going on on both sides of our house. To the north is an actress from CSI and her Latino husband and their 2 year old. The husband teaches salsa lessons and I hear loud aggressive Latin music with the husband playing along on congas (outside). Sometimes the child will pick up an instrument and try to play along, and none the less provides a not-quite-in-the-groove counterpoint. They are a sweet young family. As I walked out into the backyard, I heard strains of giggling Mexican girls speaking in Spanish, and then some Hollywood dude (I can’t see them, only hear) going on about something. A child screams and cries and drama happens. The phone rings and I go back inside.
After the call I went out to the driveway to throw the ball for the dogs and experienced the party to the south. Gary is a gay dentist and he likes to have parties with other gay dentists and their extended, uh, families and friends. Disco is the norm for these pool parties. Nothing naughty, but 30 to 40 gay men in bathing suits: all with perfect teeth.
These parties only happen once or twice a year, so it’s part of living in this neighborhood. Ah Hollywood!
July 4th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Whaaa…
As I sit here cleaning up my composition desk from a nice 4th of July working session, I am reminded so clearly why I hung up my glitter film composer suit and left L.A. for the wonderful quietnessess of NoCall burbia. The only disturbance today was one noisy mocking bird in Eb, and a mother turkey who decided to jump over the fence and pay a visit to our deck bringing along her little turkey chicks. Outside of my complex heady sketches (oh i am sooo like not like the others up here), the only difficult part of my day was deciding what they call baby turkeys? Turkettes? What is it?
Perhaps you need to take a break and visit these fotuna parties? Perhaps karma or the pagan gods demand some social outing on this very strange symmetical place to put a holiday
July 4th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
“the only difficult part of my day was deciding what they call baby turkeys? Turkettes? What is it?”
Turkitos? Turkchens?
July 4th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I escape to Palm Springs to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. For that reason, I never apply to artist colonies. I can tune out much sonic interference with listening to thunder and rain on my headphones while I compose. Hmmm, maybe we’ll move to somewhere where it rains when I retire.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:41 am
in retrospect, i believe we missed a golden opportunity to write something profoundly Zappa here for 7/4:
“Hollywood Bawl”
for Gay Mens Speedo Dentist Choir, Congo Band, Soprano, and Baby Siren.
in 1/2 Movements.
(Geez…what I do to procrastinate writing this morning by posting these things…)
July 12th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Lovely post roger and nocal -
First , nocal, do you have perfect pitch to figure the birds note or just great aural skills? I always have to go to the pitch pipe or piano to check.
Roger and Nocal - Why not a larger composition entitled “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” for nocal’s ensemble plus Mariachi Band, Aquadancers, and Dentil Drills?