Yes, I will be the bo’sun in TAPA’s production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Crusty, crotchety old fellow with relatively few lines (mostly chewing out the Idjit Noblemen who keep getting in the way while the ship is sinking). Yes, I can do that. It’s almost type-casting.

It would be possible—and I suggested it—to do “The Tempest” as Rock Opera, rather than using the conventional Elizabethan-music soundtrack; so many classic rock songs would be appropriate for this play (the authors of the songs may in fact have stolen some of their lines from ol’ Bill, who was dead and didn’t care)—in the chase scene, for instance, with the conjured-up wolves, why couldn’t one play “Who Let the Dogs Out?” as the evildoers flounder about on (and eventually off) stage?

It would be fun. (It’s also unlikely to happen.) They may, however, take my suggestion of having the cast take their final bows to the strains of The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer”; it has that classic line (perfect for this play), “I thought love was only true in fairy tales…”

Another call from the music publisher in California to her mailing list, this time for a “funny, funny” song; that one sounded like it was directed at me—most of my material is humorous. She only wanted one submission, though, and it was hard to choose, even given the parameters (radio-ready master available, and not published elsewhere)—9 of the 11 songs on the “Santa’s Fallen” CD would work, for instance, and I have more besides that. I ended up sending the classic: “I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas,” with Anna Snook on fiddle, Matt Snook on dobro, and Sharon Porter on standup bass. I expect (as usual) no miracles—but I do expect the publisher to know who I am.

I talked to the Bay City Arts Center about being their executive director; their executive director is moving, but I also saw their financials—they don’t have the money to hire a replacement. They appear to be doing okay (thus far) without an executive director; it takes a lot of volunteer labor, but they’re managing, so I didn’t want to press too hard for a job that isn’t going to pay anything (because they no longer have any money). The BCAC did get a fair amount of grant money last year, and probably most of that is renewable if they want to press for it, and they may not need me to do that. I did point out to ‘em that the “Joe Wrabek concert” the band and I did for them last year generated enough money to warrant its own line item on their balance sheet. It would be fun to do that again.

Jim Nelson, who has run the Arts Center’s infrequent open mikes, wants to do one every month now, but wants to clone himself—training other people to be hosts, like “Little Thom” did at the Wild Goose in Ashland. I volunteered to be one of Jim’s clone-trainees; I’ll learn how to run a sound system, and also a video camera (they’re going to videotape the open mikes, too). They’ll have a film class later in the spring which I’d like to take if it’s not too expensive.

Sent “Take-Out Food” off to the MerleFest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest; I’ll send them “Un-Easy Street” if John can get the professional recording finished in time, but if not, I’ll send one that has been professionally recorded—either “Duct Tape” or “Bluebird on My Windshield,” I think. Both are off the last album, recorded at Listen Studios in La Grande. Like most songwriting contests, this one has rules that say any kind of recording is okay, but their first “filter” is a bunch of industry professionals in Nashville, and I expect they’ll pan anything that’s not professionally done. No matter what the rules say, presentation counts for a lot.

Joe