Inside cover of Bye Bye Birdie Program – November, 2007
For two and a half years, local music and theatre communities have benefitted from the talents of Conrad Askland. Conrad is the consummate professional: creative, precise, able to balance high expectations with encouraging words and humor.
“Bye Bye Birdie” will be Conrad’s final show in the Skagit Valley for the next few years as he heads out to the far horizons of another continent and culture.
“Friends of Conrad Askland” contributed to a co-sponsorship of “Bye Bye Birdie” as a tribute to the man who has given so much to our community.
Alex Hollingsworth
Andy and Donna Golub
Barbara Askland
Bryan and Kathryn Kay
Cally Johnson
Carol Ann Askland
Clarence Holden
Dan Denny
Dr. Gary Brown
Elfa Gisla
Geoff and Susan Arthur
Kate Kypuros
Kyle Blevins
Jerry Moa
Lindsey and Joe Bowen
Lynette McCormack
Lynn and Frank Handi
Stewart and Lacey Woods
One of Ann Margret’s breakout roles was playing Kim McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie (1963). She’s still touring and going strong. Visit her official website at http://www.ann-margret.com .
Original lobby card for Bye Bye Birdie:
Ann Margret with Elvis on the set of Viva Las VegasÂ
ANN MARGRET DISCOGRAPHY
And Here She Is
Ann-Margret’s first long-player from RCA, 1961. Jazzy orchestra conducted by Marty Paich.
On The Way Up
On The Way Up, her second album, was recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville on RCA in 1962. It has one “rock” side, and one “ballad” side. Produced by Chet Atkins and Dick Pierce.
The Vivacious One
Recorded in 1962 on RCA, the album compiles the best of Ann-Margret’s two early albums. Produced by Dick Pierce, arranged and conducted by Bob Florence and H.B. Barnum.
3 Great Girls
A compilation on RCA recorded in 1962. Ann-Margret, Kitty Kallen and Della Reeves do four songs each.
Bachelor’s Paradise
Recorded on RCA in 1963. Orchestra conducted by Hank Levine, produced by Steve Shoals.
Beauty And The Beard
Recorded in 1964 on RCA. Ann-Margret teams up with New Orleans trumpeter Al Hirt. Orchestra arranged and conducted by Marty Paich, produced by Steve Shoals.
Songs From The Swinger And Other Swingin’ Songs
Recorded on RCA in 1966. Songs from the film “The Swinger”. Arranged and conducted by Marty Paich, produced by Al Schmitt and Neely Plumb.
The Cowboy And The Lady
Country LP from 1969 recorded in Nashville. Produced by Lee Hazlewood.
Hits And Rarities
A great danish compilation album developed in 1990 on Teenager Records.
Hits And Rarities Vol. 2
Danish compilation album developed in 1992 on Teenager Records.
Lovely Ann-Margret – Hits and Rarities
A Belgian compilation CD developed by Marginal Records in 1995.
Let Me Entertain You
A rather mellow American CD compilation from 1996. 21 of Ann-Margret’s early “sexy” hits.
Ann-Margret 1961-1966
A fantastic 5-CD boxed set from German re-issue label Bear Family. This has it all, really. Everything she recorded with RCA including some never before realeased tracks. Also included are some songs from various soundtracks. It comes with a 72 page deluxe 4-colour book the size of an LP. It has full session details and lots of great pictures. A must!
Viva Rock Vegas
As Fred Flintstone might say, “Let’s Rock!” The Flintstones in “Viva Rock Vegas” is an over-the-cop family comedy but its soundtrack is a rock ‘n’ roll archeologist’s Olduvai Gorge. From the blues of B.B. King to the scorching rockabilly of Johnny Burnette & his Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, from Bill Haley and his Comets and Jimmy Cavello and his House Rockers to long-forgotten honky-tonker Moon Mullican, The Flinstones In Viva Rock Vegas (Hip-O Records) released April 25, 2000, is a rock ‘n’ roll mammoth.
But the Viva Rock Vegas is hardly dinosaur rock. Also featured are ’90 artists such as rockin’ eccentric Rev. Horton Heat, country rocker Robbie Fulks and blues belter Susan Tedeschi. Add ’80’s roots rockers Nick Lowe and Donnie Iris and Viva Rock Vegaa qualifies as a lesson in musical geology.
Also included are selections performed by score composer David Newman (1998 Academy Award nominee for Anastasia) and one of the film’s stars, Alan Cumming (Tony Award winner for Cabaret).
Yet, the highlight may be Ann-Margret’s “Viva Las Vegas (Viva Rock Vegas).” Originally sung by Elvis Presley for the 1964 film “Viva Las Vegas,” the song has been reworked for this film for Ann-Margret, the voice and inspiration for the character of Ann-Margrock in the original “Flintstones” animated TV series of the ’60’s. The track also spotlights a special performance by James Burton, Elvis’ greatest guitar player.
ANN MARGRET FILMOGRAPHY
Ann-Margret has dazzled screen and stage audiences as few entertainers in our time. With her film debut in Frank Capra’s final classic, “Pocketful of Miracles,” in 1962, to the soon to be released Oliver Stone directed “On Any Sunday” with Al Pacino, Ann-Margret’s film career has spanned four decades. Displaying a versatility that few actresses can match has earned her love and admiration, not just for her beauty and her legend, but for herself. Come behind the scenes for glimpses into over 50 films, including “Viva Las Vegas” with Elvis Presley, her Academy Award Nominated roles in “Tommy” and “Carnal Knowledge,” and many memorable moments.
“10th Kingdom, The” (2000) (mini) TV Series …. Queen          Cinderella
“Perfect Murder, Perfect Town” (2000) (mini) TV Series          Patsy’s Mother
10th Kingdom: The Making of an Epic, The (2000)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Cinderella
Last Producer, The (2000) Not Released Yet
Any Given Sunday (1999) …. Margaret Pagniacci
Happy Face Murders (1999) (TV) …. Lorraine
Limey, The (1999) (uncredited) (scenes deleted)
Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story (1998) (TV) …. Pamela Harriman … aka Life of the Party: Pamela Harriman (1998) (TV)
“Four Corners” (1998/I) TV Series …. Amanda Wyatt
Blue Rodeo (1996) (TV) …. Maggie Yearwood
Seduced by Madness (1996) (TV) …. Diane Borchardt
… aka Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story (1996) (TV)
Grumpier Old Men (1995) …. Ariel Gustafson
… aka Grumpy Old Men 2 (1995)
Following Her Heart (1994) (TV) …. Lena
“Scarlett” (1994) (mini) TV Series …. Belle Watling
Nobody’s Children (1994) (TV) …. Carol Stevens
“Queen” (1993) (mini) TV Series …. Sally Jackson
… aka “Alex Haley’s Queen” (1993) (mini)
Visit the Santos Brothers website at http://www.rampinbrothers.com/ The Santos Brothers where born in Madrid, Spain. Javier (1976) and the twins Pedro and Ramon (1985) They are continuing a seventh generation family tradition. As clowns and acrobats the family for over 300 years have been enchanting audiences all over the world. Javier, Pedro and Ramon are the first in the family, however, to perform a foot juggling act, known as the Icarian Games. It took them over five years of training, under their father Pedro Santos Padeiro to master this thousand-year-old discipline.
The Santos’ foot juggling act was publicly presented for the first time on June 2, 1993, at the Circus Bush-Berlin.
Javier first stepped on a stage at the age of one-and-a-half as a clown in the family clown act. At the age of eight he made his second stage appearance. This time in an act created by his father. Four years Later, father and son participated in the 13th Festival du Cirque de Monte-Carlo. Aged eleven he then began to train and master the art of foot juggling.
Twin brothers Ramon and Pedro Santos both first stepped on stage at the age of two, as clowns playing a saxophone in their fathers clown act. One year later whilst playing around, the twins started to sit on their older brother (Javier) feet. An idea to create an Icarian Games act came from an artist, who was performing in the same show as their father Pedro. Having no clue of Icarian Games techniques, the same artist showed them a video of the Rios Brothers, who were the greatest foot jugglers of all time. Inspired by what they saw, Javier, Pedro and Ramon decided to follow in their footsteps.
Last spotted performing with Cirque Du Soleil in Varekai.
Christopher “Kit†Chatham is currently the Drumset/Percussionist for Cirque du Soleil’s touring show, Corteo, presently touring the US and Canada. With a specialty in the fusing of multiple styles and cultures, Kit utilizes his background in classical, world, commercial and electronic percussion to create a sound that is uniquely his own. Kit’s experience in many forms of percussion, including unique ethnic percussion, orchestral percussion, and marching percussion makes him a highly sought after performer & clinician.
See the video interview on the Vic Firth website at:
Yo Kit – Great interview! I’m on the Macau I CDS gig so say hi when you get a chance and drop an email. I’m sure they would also love it if you could drop a line at www.DrumDogs.com – Thanks!
Somebody made a ringtone out of my Dracula Overture. My first reaction was to get a little ticked off – but then I started laughing and feel just a tad bit flattered. So the ringtone has my official approval.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ASKLAND DRACULA OVERTURE RINGTONE
Now if you download it for your phone – please leave a note here and let me know about it. The song is pretty scary – so I’d love to hear reactions of people when they hear your phone ring. MUAHA!
The last time I saw him was around 1993. I was playing keyboards for a country band in Los Angeles and saw his name on the marquee at a club down the street. On my night off went in to hear him. He sounded fantastic with his trio. And I was very happy that he remembered me. You see, Page was my first jazz piano teacher and the story of those lessons is pretty awesome.
When I was twelve years old my family took a three week cruise down in the Virgin Islands and through the Panama Canal. I played piano and french horn at the time. In fact, I was so concerned about “losing my lip” in those three weeks that I brought my french horn with me to practice.
On the cruise ship the kids could hang out in the bar. And in that bar I heard the most amazing piano player – Page Cavanaugh. That’s all I wanted to do was sit in there and hear him play. My Dad got to be friends with him and hired him to give me piano lessons. At the time it was around my second year of playing piano. So I would meet Page on the off hours and he taught me about jazz, creativity and how to love a piano.
I still remember when he asked me to play a song – and about all I could play was “Fur Elise” by Beethoven. So he says to me, “That was great – what would happen if you did this to it?” And he started to improvise a jazz rendition of the piece. For a twelve year old kid, this was a whole new world I didn’t even know existed. I had never heard jazz music live, much less got to listen to complete sets of a jazz trio in a bar.
I became Page’s tag-along – and he brought me to the cruise ship crew parties (which were very wild to say the least) and behind the scenes to meet the other artists and tech crew. In this day and age, these kind of things might be frowned upon – but I had a blast and whole heartedly thank Page for letting me see what the scene was all about.
We lived in Seattle at the time and Page would visit our house when he was in port from other cruise ship gigs. It was great for me, because he was able to check in and give me tips as I progressed.
Page Cavanaugh is about the most fun person you’ll ever meet. And he sure has inspired and guided a lot of artists. Page let me know what I would be in for if I decided to be a musician. And that was worth it’s weight in gold. Thank you Page!
Bob Morgan, Chick Parnell, Page Cavanaugh circa 1950
BIOGRAPHY OF PAGE CAVANAUGH
By the time he was ten years old he had become interested in the piano and by his teenage years was an accomplished player on the keyboards. His first steady work was in the territory band, the Ernie Williamson Orchestra, in the late nineteen thirties . During the Second World War stationed in Sacramento, California, , Cavanaugh was the replacement pianist for an Army trio called The Three Sergeants, and in that group made the acquaintance of Al Viola and Lloyd Pratt who would form a musical partnership after their military service was over. By the mid forties, now based in Los Angeles, the small unit called The Page Cavanaugh Trio began to get club work in the Southern California area. They patterned their musical style after the King Cole Trio and developed a unique vocal sound which consisted of soft voiced unison singing. Soon they were garnering great reviews and spreading popularity. They began recording for small West Coast labels and soon found a few musical spots in motion pictures.
PC with Lloyd Pratt (bass) in Doris Day film debut, “Romance on the High Seas” (1948)
PAGE CAVANAUGH CELEBRATES 85th BIRTHDAY
The guests included Tom Hatton, Steve Tyrell, Army Archerd, Pinky Winters, Ray Evans, Jack Reilly, Corky Hale, Peter Levinson, Marilyn King, Nancy Sinatra Sr. and Nancy Sinatra Jr., Morris Diamond and Peter Menefee, to name just a few.
A cake was presented and Cavanaugh cut the first slice. Accompanied by bassist Phil Mallory, Cavanaugh sang “Three Little Bears,” “My Last Affair,” “Tea For Two,” “San Francisco” and “It’s Magic.”
The intention of the show is to excite the imagination and nurture acceptance and a lifelong passion for the theatre arts.
The production was inspired by New Orleans, created by Elfa Gisla as a show to raise funds for the 200.000 people that are still homeless as well as the Conway Muse, opening in the fall, so it can continue to help New Orleans.
With Special Performances by
Elfa Gisla, Jennings Watts, Lindsey Bowen, Ria Peth, Peggy Wendel, Sarah Simmons, Sarah Webber, Kate Kypuros-
Conrad Askland & Orchestra.
Tickets $16, $19, $22
NANDA –four extremely creative young men who are destined to greatness and this is a unique opportunity to see their performance before they hit it BIG!
“Following on the footsteps of the wildly popular Rick Epting Benefit for the Arts in September, producer Elfa Gisla creates a similarly dazzling presentation of amazing local talent and whimsical comedy. This is a show you won’t forget & you won’t want to miss!” Rusty Robertson.
September 2004 – “New Age” is a term that’s lost a bit of it’s luster over the years. In theology it’s better represented by “New Thought”, but in music the term New Age still holds to describe a genre of instrumental music that is thoughtful, usually instrumental, and a great background for keeping with our own thoughts.
New Age music has it’s roots with the Impressionist music movement around the 1900’s. The Impressionist composers were mostly French and included Francis Poulenc, Claude Debussy and Erik Satie – part of “Les Six”. In the mid to late 1800’s German music ruled. The orchestrations and sheer numbers of performers had gotten so large it was hard to imagine anything larger. The peak of giant productions culminated with Wagner’s “Ring” opera cycle with runs nearly 12 hours and employees hundreds of performers. Impressionist music reacted to this by scaling down, being light and often times it’s purpose was simply as background music. This was a revolutionary idea at the time.
Three famous piano pieces from the original Impressionist “New Age” composers are Trois Gymnopedies by Erik Satie, Perpetual Movements by Francis Poulenc and Claire De Lune by Claude Debussy. The current music movement started by these composers was picked up in the 1970’s by pianist George Winston and later expanded by artists like Kitaro, Yanni and Vangelis; incorporating electronic sound sources.
I use elements of the impressionist styles when I play background music for meditation. If you listen closely you’ll hear slowly evolving tonal centers, triplets in the right hand vs. duplets in the left (Debussy “Arabesque” style), motor rhythms of constant steady movement and simple high melodies (a device from Minimalism). The composer I keep close to heart while playing for meditations is Francis Poulenc.
My first official Cirque Du Soleil post in plain english (I’ve done several posts in binary code, much to the delight of my fellow geek friends). So here’s the quick run down. Yes, I will be joining Cirque Du Soleil to open their new resident show in Macau, China at the Sands Venetian (Macao I) . I leave in January 2008. Scheduled opening for the show is May 2008.
Many people have trouble enunciating the company name – it’s “SIHRK DOO SOHLAY”, for regular English speaking folk. In French it means Circus of the Sun. There are a lot of knock-off companies that have chosen similiar sounding names – Cirque Du Soleil is the “real” one.
When people find out I’m joining CDS, I know immediately if they have seen a Cirque show before or not. The ones that haven’t seen CDS say something like “Oh, that’s cool”. The ones that HAVE seen a Cirque show before go into an uncontrolled frenzy and froth at the mouth, they go crazy. I’m not joking. I’ll tell you why: Cirque Du Soleil is the absolute coolest thing in the whole entire world. In this great wild world, there is nothing I would rather do more than work on one of their resident shows. To me, it is also the best music in the world – period.
Cirque Du Soleil is absolutely intense and ultimately demanding. It is the one thing I have seen in performance that eliminates all cultural boundaries and expresses takes on the human condition like no other art can. It is the ultimate voice of the artist demanding sense in the midst of insanity.
I have always loved the CDS music, and in the studio often used elements of their production styles in my work. But several years ago I saw Mystere and “O” live in Las Vegas with my mother and sister. After the Mystere show my mother asked me what I thought – I paused for a good while and said “I feel like my life has been changed, but I don’t know how.” I have never said anything like that about any other show. It woke me up. And since then it raised my bar of expectation for what can be.
So how did I get the gig? I auditioned in Las Vegas back when I was touring with Freddy Fender and producing for Road Records. We’ve gone back and forth on several different shows and productions, but nothing was quite the right timing or fit. This show is the perfect timing and the perfect fit.
I’ll tell you how perfect it is for me. My preference is to work for a resident show, meaning it has a theater built for it and stays in one place. My preference is also to work overseas (I spent MANY years playing in Vegas, it was fun but I already did that). The other great element is I get to experience the show in development from the beginning – to me that is the greatest part of it all – to see the Cirque magic unfold.
Theology aside – I think Cirque Du Soleil is the greatest thing this world has to offer. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Yet more old archives going through ancient boxes. This is a letter to me January 28, 1980 from Steve Stevens, director of the Northwest Boychoir (Mr. Stevens currently directs the Columbia Choirs http://www.columbiachoirs.com). I was in the Northwest Boychoir (Seattle, WA) from around 1976-1979. In late December 1979 my voice had changed and I finally had to leave the group. He is referring to my final concerts as Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Seattle Opera in December 1979. I have great memories of that show working with Archie Drake and Shirley Harnett.
I think I blogged about this once before. The final show my voice was full throttle in it’s change and I was starting to crack on some of my high notes. It was very embarrassing for me the last show, which was the one that Steve Stevens attended. I still remember the feeling of disappointment knowing he was in the audience. For a boy soprano it is the strangest experience to go from having full control over an agile instrument, to suddenly losing control here and there without notice. I read recently that even Pavarotti stopped singing for a year after his voice changed. It’s very tramautic for boy sopranos.
So here’s his letter. Thank you to Steve Stevens for your wonderful training and coaching I received in my youth, and also to the previous NWBC director George Fiore. The Northwest Boychoir website is at http://www.northwestchoirs.org/
Why is the letter of any significance? For me it was the bell tolling a confirmation that a time I knew would never be again….
Begin letter:
Dear Conrad:
It is always a hard thing to say “good-bye” to important members of the choir. All choirboys are important to me, but there are some like you who are even more important because they are leaders and because they show over and over that they genuinely care about their involvement with the boychoir. You were one of those, Conrad. I am very proud of what you accomplished in the choir. Your earning of the Touring Choir Boy of the Year award is a fitting tribute to your industriousness and your creativity.
It was a big thrill to me to see you in Amahl, even though I could hear it was a strain on your voice. I was struck by your acting ability, Conrad. I feel that you have really good possibilities in that area and would encourage you to pursue that for a while.
You and the other boys who went on tour last summer will always have a special place in my memory and in the history of the choir because you were the first to travel internationally representing the choir.
Please keep me informed of any and all future accomplishments. I will always be pleased to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Steve Stevens
(Director – Northwest Boychoir)
STEVE STEVENS – COLUMBIA CHOIRS
Steve Stevens currently directs the Columbia Choirs of Metropolitan Seattle. Visit their website at http://www.columbiachoirs.com
STEVE STEVENS: Founder-Artistic Director Columbia Choirs
Columbia Choirs founder-artistic director, Steve Stevens, started the choirs in February, 1985. He conducts the Boys Choir, the Concert Choir (boys and girls), Vocal Ensemble (Youth Choir) and Con Brio Women’s Choir. He is one of the most experienced conductors of community based children’s choirs in the United States. A native of Texas (Fort Worth), he began his musical studies at age 6 with the study of piano (studied 14 years). The turning point in his life came with his successful membership in the famed Texas Boys Choir of Fort Worth (the group Igor Stravinsky called “the best boys choir in the world.”) It was in those boyhood years he discovered his gift for singing and decided to pursue music as a career.
Mr. Stevens is a professional singer and conductor. He earned a BA (voice and all-level music education) from Houston Baptist University. Following the study and performance of opera in Europe, he completed his post-graduate studies at Southern Methodist University, achieving a M.Mus. in Choral Conducting. He has conducted the Texas Boys Choir (1971-77), the Northwest Boychoir (1977-84), founded and conducted the Northwest Youthchoir (1982-84). He founded the Columbia Boys Choir (February, 1985 to present), Columbia Girls Choir (1988 to present) and Columbia Vocal Ensemble (formerly Columbia Singers 1989 to present), “Con Brio” Women’s Choir (formerly Young Women’s Ensemble 1989-) and Columbia Men’s Ensemble (2004). He is also the choral director at Woodinville High School (since 1992; Northshore School District). Choirs under his direction have consistently won international acclaim for their high standard of singing artistry and musicianship. His choirs have performed in United States, Australia, British Isles, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Scandinavia. They have also appeared on national network television in the U.S.A., Europe, Japan and Russia and have sung for a President of the U.S., the Pope, and for members of the British Royal Family.
