July 11, 2004

This Week's Saturday Slant Week 17 Year 2

The Backstage Pass
The concert was incredible loud, rocking, virile. Your favorite artist, dripping with sensuality, held the audience and especially you enrapt from entrance to encore. During the final encore, a stage hand drapes around your neck a laminated Backstage Pass. It's from your onstage idol, the roadie says. Thanks to a radio giveaway, you're at the concert alone. What happens next? Who is the artist?

Ok Pariah...I think I can do this while keeping this PG-13. Seriously, I have two local acts that I can think of that I would like to have this honor from. One is the incredible vocal ensemble Ho'okena these are real, just regular kine guys with regular jobs and stuff and boy can they sing... I think they are pretty good looking too, but don't go off for that and never did, even as a teen.

Now choice number two...Well he is a heart breaker as far as the looks go around here in the islands, but he sings so beautifully that grabs you first. Kauaii's own Keali'i Reichel. He's better known to the mainland having fronted a lot of different artists. I truly love his rendition of Steven Curtis Chapman's "I Will be Here".

On a totally differentent note, literally, there is my dream vocal event, to sing one of the great choral works like Beethoven's 9th symphony, or Morton Lauridsen's magnificent vocal prayer Lux Aeterna with the Los Angeles Master Chorale I miss them more than many things I miss about LA, and when I play Lux Aeterna I weep every time, maybe more now after 9-11 since it was played often at memorial services. I do believe from the wording that it was written from the same Old Testiment passages at was Mozart's Requiem, which was also used extensively for public memorial services.

I guess I would like a chance to perform with these guys, rather than all the romantic stuff which is where the Slant was headed but so far no dice... Sorry Pariah, great attempt at creativity