The challenge

We are now nearing the final scene of our story. Anthony has been living with Pamela for some time now. He does not have a job. He drinks a lot, stay out late night with his friends playing pool, and just pass out in awkward places.

Pamela had no alternative. She allowed Anthony to take advantage of her just because she did not want to end up all alone. Now things have changed a bit. Hugo appeared on the scene. Now Pamela has a choice.

In the previous song, Hugo told Anthony that he is not welcome anymore. Anthony however told Hugo to get lost, as it is not his choice who should stay with Pam. She is the only one who can make that choice.

In this scene, Pam steps up. She is however not telling Anthony outright to take his bag and walk. She is giving Anthony a last chance by telling him that she will marry him if he gets a job and start to behave.

Track: The challenge

 

PAMELA

(1A)

LISTEN TO ME ANTHONY

YOU ARE ABUSING THE HOSPITALITY

MY SON HAS ALLOWED YOU TO MAKE

A NUISANCE ONLY FOR MY OWN SAKE

 

(2B)

YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT TO MARRY ME

LET ME THEN GIVE YOU THIS OPPORTUNITY

I WILL ACCEPT YOUR OFFER TODAY

IF YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY

 

(3C)

STOP DRINKING WITH YOUR FRIENDS ALL THE TIME

FIND A JOB TO EARN YOUR DIME

START ACTING LIKE A MAN OF MINE

AND START TO PROVIDE FOR MY NEEDS

 

(4A)

I ASK THIS OF YOU ANTHONY

I ASK YOU TO DO THIS IF YOU DO CARE FOR ME

I ASK YOU TO OBEY

AND I ONLY ASK YOU TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS

 

(5C)

STOP DRINKING WITH YOUR FRIENDS ALL THE TIME

STAY AT HOME AND TALK TO ME

NO MORE PLAYING POOL EVERY NIGHT

OR PASSING OUT IN THE LAVATORY

 

(6A)

FIND A JOB TO EARN A WAGE

RENT A HOUSE AND GIVE ME SOME PLACE

BUY ME WHAT I NEED

ONLY THEN CAN YOU MARY ME

(7C)

STOP DRINKING WITH YOUR FRIENDS ALL THE TIME

STAY AT HOME AND TALK TO ME

NO MORE PLAYING POOL EVERY NIGHT

OR PASSING OUT IN THE LAVATORY

 

(8A)

FIND A JOB TO EARN A WAGE

RENT A HOUSE AND GIVE ME SOME PLACE

BUY ME WHAT I NEED

ONLY THEN CAN YOU MARY ME

 

Time for you to go

Hugo is back. All formalities are now dealt with. Tyler made up with his mom. His mom made up with Hugo, and Hugo... Well Hugo now have to deal with the realities.

 

Tyler has already told Hugo about everything that was going on, and especially about his mother's business with Anthony.

 

Hugo now approaches Anthony to confront him. Anthony is however not going to disappear that easily.

 

HUGO

(1A)

ANTHONY, I KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON

IN THE YEARS WHEN I WAS NOT AROUND

I KNOW YOU TREATED THIS WOMAN LIKE YOUR SLAVE

AND I KNOW YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE JUST THE MAN

 

(2A)

BUT THIS IS ALL GONNA CHANGE TODAY

CAUSE I AM HERE NOW TO TAKE MY PLACE

I KNOW THAT I HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN AROUND

BUT THIS TIME I AM HERE TO STAY

 

(3B)

NOW IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GO

YOU BETTER GO WHILE YOU STILL CAN

I WILL GIVE YOU ONLY ONE MORE CHANCE

TO LEAVE THIS PLACE ON YOUR OWN

 

(4A)

NOW IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GO

YOU BETTER LEAVE THIS WOMAN ALONE

YOU BETTER LEAVE THIS HOUSE TODAY

NOW IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GO

 

ANTHONY

(5C)

MY DEAR HUGO, YOU HAVE NO IDEA

WHAT HAS HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE NOT HERE

I WAS THE ONE CARING FOR THIS GIRL

I WAS THE REAL MAN OF THE HOUSE

 

(6A)

WHAT A CHEEK OF YOU TO WALK IN HERE

THINKING YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BOSS ME AROUND

YOU HAVE NEGLECTED YOUR DUTY AS THE ONE

AND NOW YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT ME GONE

 

(7B)

YOU MUST GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE FROM

YOU BETTER NOT COME BACK HERE AGAIN

YOU CAME HERE ONLY TO START A FIGHT

A FIGHT THAT YOU CAN NOT WIN

 

(8C)

IT IS NOT FOR YOU OR ME TO DECIDE

FOR THIS WOMAN MUST MAKE UP HER MIND

IF SHE SAYS THAT I SHOULD LEAVE THIS PLACE

ONLY THEN WILL I GO

When I needed you

In act 2, Hugo returned home with Tyler. When they arrived back at Pamela's home, Tyler explained to Pamela where he's been. Then Hugo entered.

After an awkward moment, Hugo and Pamela started talking about all the years since he left her. One most important piece of the puzzle had to finished now. Hugo wanted to know why Pamela lied to him. Why did she never tell him about their son?

After clearing up the most important details, Pamela tells Hugo that she missed him.

PAMELA

(1A)

WHEN I NEEDED YOU, YOU LEFT ME ALONE

YOU LEFT ME TO BRING UP A CHILD ON MY OWN

ALL THESE YEARS YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT HOME

WHEN I NEEDED YOU

 

HUGO

(2B)

PLEASE FORGIVE ME I WAS NOT ALL AT FAULT

I LEFT IN CIRCUMSTANCE BEYOND MY CONTROL

WHEN I LEFT THAT DAY YOU TOLD ME TO GO AWAY

WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME A CHILD'S ON THE WAY

 

PAMELA

(3C)

WHEN YOU LEFT YOU TOLD ME TO FORGET ABOUT YOU

HOW COULD I WITH YOUR CHILD TO REMIND ME?

EVERY DAY I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD WALK THROUGH THE DOOR

ALL THAT HOPE WAS JUST IN VAIN

 

HUGO

(4D)

I DID NOT KNOW. I WAS NOT TOLD

IF I KNEW I WOULD HAVE RETURNED TO YOU

YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME

 

PAMELA

(5D)

IF I SAID A WORD THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN OBSCURED

YOU WOULD HAVE STAYED AND LET YOUR DREAMS SLIP AWAY

IF I TOLD YOU

 

(6D)

ALL THROUGH THE YEARS YOU DISAPPEARED

WHEN THE TIDE HAS TURNED YOU SHOULD HAVE RETURNED

'CAUSE I NEEDED YOU

Where did you go

Tyler returns home, where his mother is waiting for him. He has much to tell her.

Pamela asks Tyler why he left without telling her where he went. She is just a normal mother, worried about the well-being of her son.

Tyler starts to tell Pamela everything he has done for the last weeks. He tells her how he and Melissa went to Melissa's father to find out if he could give them any news about Hugo's whereabouts. Unfortunately, her father could not help, but he at least send them in the right direction.

Tyler tells his mother they went to London, where they met Manual. He told her that Manual still had regular contact with Hugo, and gave them Hugo's address.

Tyler tells his mother how they visited Hugo in a little apartment at the university. He tells his mother how he met his father and how they talked for hours. A father who did not know about his son.

Pamela tries to explain. Tyler tells Pamela that she don't need to explain anything to him. There is somebody else who would like to hear her side of the story.

Before Pamela can say another word, Tyler calls somebody else into the room.

Hugo enters.

A feast to my eyes

Act 2. Scene1:

 

We have closed act 1 at the pivotal point in our story. Tyler went all the way to London to find his father. Even though Hugo dreams about his home country, he could not immediately agree to return with Tyler. However, after learning the truth, he recalls the promises he made. The next morning, he decided to return home.

That was where act one ended. In act two, we will follow him home and find out what happens.

Scene one opens where Hugo is wakes up the first morning in South Africa. As he walks around outside, he is surprised with how much has changed over the years.

Track: A feast to my eyes

(Click title to listen)

HUGO

(1A)

I WOKE UP ONCE MORE UPON MY LAND

I HAVE BEEN AWAY FAR TOO LONG

THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE I BELONG

THE MOST WONDERFUL SIGHTS ARE A FEAST TO MY EYES

 

(2A)

I REACH MY ARMS TO THE HEAVENS UP ABOVE

I GAZE UPON THE WIDE OPEN PLAINS

THE MOUNTAINS THAT REACH TO THE SKY

THESE MOST WONDERFUL SIGHTS ARE A FEAST TO MY EYES

 

ENSEMBLE

(3B)

WHAT IS THIS PLACE WHERE HE LANDED HIS FEET

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE WALKING DOWN THE STREET

THE PLACE HE LEFT BEHIND

LOOKED SO MUCH DIFFERENT AT THE TIME

WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE WALKING SIDE BY SIDE

 

HUGO

(4A)

I LEFT THIS PLACE IN A HASTE

BULLETS FLYING AT MY HEAD

NOW I HEAR THE SOUND OF CHILDREN PLAYING ROUND

THESE ARE THE MOST WONDERFUL SOUNDS TO MY EARS

 

ENSEMBLE

(5B)

I CAN SMELL THE CLEAN AIR ON THE BREEZE

AT NIGHT I CAN SEE THE STARS IN THE SKY

IN THE MORNING I CAN SEE ALL THE BIRDS IN THE TREES

THESE MOST WONDERFUL SIGHTS ARE A FEAST TO MY EYES

 

The big plan

Planning is an essential skill for anybody who wants to get something done. This can be anything from writing a song, or recording a whole album, or even putting up a live show. Every musician can benefit his or her carreer greatly by following this kind of process. It is simple and takes little extra time, but saves a lot of time later on.

If you have been following the previous posts on this blog, you will remember how I embarked on this exercise of planning. First I identified the problem. Then I deided on a mission, and then I broke the problem down into detail tasks. Today, I will show you how I visualized my plan on a simple spreadsheet.

Spreadsheets are handy for this kind of task, as most people have Excel already on their computers, or can download many alternatives for free.

To visualize the plan, I start by listing all the songs that I need to do more work on for each project. Then I added a column named YTD, meaning Year To Date. Here I make a note for everything that is already done on each song. For reference, my legend is shown at the bottom of the spreadsheet, i.e. W for words, M for melody, B for backtracks and V for vocals.

In the first column under YTD, I added a WM down for each song that the words and melody is written. A WMB means that the words, melody and backtrack is done. And an added V would mean the vocals are recorded as well. I changed the color of all the cells with work finished to green. Green means good.

Now, I add more columns; one extra column for each week. Next I start to plan time slots for every task. Let's look at an example.

First song listed under The exile is Singing comes cheap. Under the YTD column I have WM, meaning the words and melody is written, and I marked it green. Every song needs to have words, melody, backtracks and vocals, i.e. I still need to plan backtracks and vocals for this song. I added a B under the next column with a heading of 13/3/10. This means I have to finish the backtracks (B) before 2013, March, the 10th. Next I added the V under the next column, meaning then that I want to finish the vocals by March the 17th.

Then I moved on to the next song and plan a time slot for all the Bs and Vs, and so on. When I get to the songs where nothing is done yet, I added slots for the words and music in one week (WM). Preferably we should not put the B and V in the same week, to give the vocalists more time to record the tracks.

I estmate that each task will take about 5 hours to complete. In a normal week, where I work a normal 40 hour week for my day job, I can fit in another 20 hours at nights to work on this project. That means I must plan such that I do not have more than 4 tasks in the same week's column. When planning time slots, always start with projects where the time slots are dependant on other commitments. I started with this plan around the Rock fable project, as that also involve some collaborations with other people.

After finishing the whole grid, I ended up with the possibility of 20 songs that will be finished and recorded by June 16th. That will be pretty good going, and most likely a bit optimistic. That is more songs than most artists or bands record in two years, and they do it full-time. Ambitious, but let's give it a shot.

So, we can summarize by saying our objective is to record 20 songs by the middle of this year.

As we go along, we may sometimes fall behind in our plan, or at other times, we may get ahead. We will keep on updating our schedule every week by marking things in red when we fall behind, or in green as we finish things off.

Keep on watching this blog to see how I progress.

 

Finding Nemo to sing

Now that we kickstarted our project to record the rest of The exile somgs and got it back on track, we have to face the problems. The biggest problem in this project will be to find enough vocalists to sing our songs.

For The exile, the concept album recording, I chose specific vocalists based on some restrictions, e.g. I hade to make sure that I have one vocalist per character and that vocalist had to sing all the tracks where that character was required. I also choose the timber and the sound of each voice carefully to it the written vocal ranges and to ensure that the characters for Tyler and Melissa sound younger than the other characters.

For the rest of this project, I will not restrict myself in the same ways. The only requirements are that the vocalist must preferably be a a specific gender and the vocalist can do the required voice range. I will not try to match voices to characters. This approach may sound strange for a musical, but the idea is not to end up with a cast recording, but rather something that will sound like a compilation or concert recording.

There are not many sources for finding vocalists. First possible source is friends. That means I must have friends, or at least ones that can sing. Failing that, I can try to make friends. That is a long and hard process, and assumed that I frequent the places to find them and the ability to befriend them. Failing those avenues, I can hire local musicians. For the concept album recording, that was also not so easy. It is a slow process and they charge standard union session fees. Each vocalist wants to be paid a session fee for rehearsing and recording the song. Recording of chorus lines or backup vocals require the same, multiplied by at least 3 musicians. I will also have to be present at all sessions, requiring me to take leave from work. All that then need to happen in a studio that cranks up studio time. All and all, it works out to about R10,000 per song (about $1,00), plus my own time and cost of leave (yes, we buy our leave).

For the concept album recording I opted for Studio Pros. Each vocalist now charged $150, and that includes a lead vocal and one backing vocal track. That has brought the costs down to about $300, or R3,000 per song. Studio Pros includes all studio time and everything was mixed in my home studio. That is still pretty expensive going at about R30,000, or $3,000 fot the whole project, but for a final album that can be sold, that is a possibility we may wish to keep in mind. Another advantage of this route is the time saving. Turnaround times for Studio Pros are usually a few days. Even a large project like the concept album recording was finished within three weeks. And best of all, it needs very little time from my side to revord the vocals after I upload the files.

However, we first want to see if we can get away for free. There only a few places you can get people who are happy to sing for free, and most of them I have not found yet. The one place I have used before is Indaba music. I had a huge successful recording of Ghost town there. So, I will try Indaba again.

Progress is sure to be slower than what I planned for, as I will rely on volunteers only, but let's give it a chance and review our strategy as we go along.