By Marcia E. Gawecki

“American Idol” heartthrob Casey Abrams’ first self-titled album is set for release on Tuesday, June 26. Already several web sites have showcased his entire album, including the Hollywood Reporter and Amazon.

Not to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn’t heard the album yet, I’ll speak in general terms. Casey is singing about his life in real time. About living the simple life, falling in and out of love, longing and not changing his personality in spite of fame.

One fan said on the MJS big blog site, that he’d surely buy Casey’s album for it’s great music, but the themes of rejection and longing for the unattainable reminded him too much of his own “loser teenage years.” Yet, “Hit the Road Jack,” a duet with Haley Reinhart, was well worth the album price (Amazon presale: $9.99).

Most of the upbeat, Bob Marley-type tunes, were likely written by Casey because they are clever. You’re tapping and singing along, dancing along even, and then he throws a few zingers that shows he has a soul or at least lived a few lifetimes already.

The three tunes that I can mention (because Casey has already released them as singles on You Tube) are “Get Out,” “Simple Life” and “Stuck in London.”

“Simple Life” (studio version) could be about living his high school years in Idyllwild. Casey sings about unplugging his laptop, cell phone and TV, and enjoying the simple life. He injects a bit of humor by stating that he should never had dumped that hand-me-down from dad (Ira Abrams from the Idyllwild Arts Film Department). What was Ira’s hand-me-down–clothes, a Cadillac or a musical instrument? Casey never says.

His “Get Out” lyrics are heartbreaking, even though they are sung in an upbeat way: “Lately, I’ve been going crazy/ cuz I want you, baby/but you don’t/ so get out, get out, get out, get out of my heart!/

So sometime over the past year or so Casey fell in love. Ten to one it’s not Haley, because she’s just as busy as he is promoting singles and scheduling public appearances. Could it be Bianca King, the young actress from The Philippines who was hell bent on meeting Casey during the “American Idol Live” tour? She turned to her Twitter fan base to help get a backstage pass (see Idyllwild Me post, “Casey’s Expanding Fan Base,” dated Jan. 15, 2012).

Why I guessed Bianca is because Casey sings a lot about eating mangoes in a mango tree in “Stuck in London.” Well, mangoes grow naturally in The Philippines, and he was visiting there for a couple of days. But is that long enough to fall in love?

Ira Abrams is careful not to give too much away about his son’s personal life. But he admitted that many young Filipinos are crazy about Casey.

“Did you know they hang banners from buildings with quotes from Casey?” Ira said outside Fairway a few weeks ago. “Some quotes are mundane like ‘I sometimes watch TV.'”

Whether Casey is singing about Bianca is nobody’s business. But it sure makes the song more interesting if we know the juicy details. Remember when “You’re So Vain” was released by Carly Simon in 1972? Well, her self-absorbed lover wasn’t husband James Taylor, but Warren Beatty, the actor from “Shampoo” and “Reds.” (Wikipedia stated there was “much speculation” about three men, including Mick Jagger, Nick Nolte and Warren Beatty).

However, all that speculation may have helped “You’re So Vain” reach no. 72 on Billboard’s “Greatest Songs of All Time” chart. So, to help boost Casey’s record sales, someone needs to find out if Bianca has eaten mangoes in trees before.

Probably the only song that Casey didn’t write in this latest album is the tune popularized by Ray Charles. “Hit the Road Jack” is a spanky little duet with Haley Reinhart. You’ve got to admit it, those two have chemistry. He’s classy, and she’s brassy. He growls, and her voice has range.

But he’s a great jazz musician and could actually make it in the movies, if he wanted to. And singing duets with Haley has boosted her popularity since he took her under his wing in “American Idol’s” Season 10.

This is not the first duet for Casey and Haley. So far, they’ve sung “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Moanin,” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

It’s not Casey’s first album either. Casey released “Like a Mirror,” in 2005 and “Oh, You Kid!” in 2010. He probably funded the first two, while Concord is taking credit for this one.

You can purchase all three of Casey’s albums on Amazon. Or you can sample “Oh, You Kid!” on Casey’s web site, www.caseyabrams.com.

“Give him a Grammy already,” said another Casey fan after reviewing his album. “I love every song on this album!”

To preview some of Casey’s hit singles, visit You Tube at www.youtube.com or go directly to Amazon, and buy the album for $9.99.

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved. Banners of Casey Abrams by Marcia E. Gawecki are now on display at the Bill Anson Gallery in the Backstreet Art District in Palm Springs.

 

By Marcia E. Gawecki

“There’s something magical about this mountain,” said Paula Harding, 20, photographer for the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program, when she arrived yesterday. “But it’s the people who brought me back.”

The Idyllwild Arts Summer Program attracts many talented young people from across the country to work as camp counselors, teachers assistants and instructors. Once they work here, they’re likely to return.

This year, some are spending their 5th summer at Idyllwild Arts. This is Paula’s second year.

Famous instructors from the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program include Ansel Adams, Bella Lewitsky and Ray Bradbury, who passed away this year.

To get the job originally, Paula got a good recommendation from her high school teacher who also worked as a Summer Program photographer.

“She actually worked here when Emma and Bruce McMenamin were just camp counselors!” Paula said. “She’s so jealous that I get to come back to Idyllwild again this year!”

Tall and stylish with a Southern drawl, Paula is well liked by her fellow campers.

“OMG it’s Paula!” several of them screamed as the van pulled up to her dorm.

“We just love her!” exclaimed Gigi, a lifeguard last summer, but a camp counselor this year. “She’s a Georgia peach!”

Although Paula is friendly, she does her best to stay “invisible” when she’s working. Her day starts at 8 a.m., and she does the rounds to all of the classes, which can be as many as 15 when summer is in full swing.

After  class time, Paula attends lectures, art shows, plays and musical performances. Oftentimes, her day ends at 8 p.m. She turns her digital photos over to Bruce McMenamin, who crops them and decides where to best use them.

On an average day, Paula shoots 500 photographs. Last summer, she shot a grand total of 40,000 photos.

“Of course, they don’t use them all!” she said, as she was looking over the printed version of the adult class schedule. Bruce had sent her several copies in the mail. “Bruce said that I’m the only one whose shot that many!”

Paula said that Bruce doesn’t expect her to take that many photographs, but she always wants to put her best foot forward. They both agreed that her photos got increasingly better as the summer went on.

“You just never know with photographs,” Paula said. “You can capture a moment that is special, but you have to take a lot of photos to get there.”

Besides the printed class schedules, Paula’s pictures are featured on the web site, and even in a Family Camp multi-media presentation.

Last year, Paula said the Family Camp slide show was a nail-biter.

“I was uploading photos until the last minute,” she confessed. “I wanted to put in as many current ones as I could.”

The 20-minute show had to be set to music, and minutes before it began, the equipment didn’t work.

It was mostly “operator error,” because she wasn’t familiar with the equipment. But the show went on without a hitch, except one family’s photos were left out.

“This year, I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I’m going to work from a master list of Family Camp members, and check them off as I go. I’d hate for anyone to be left out again!”

“It’s the best job on the mountain,” Paula exclaimed. “I don’t have to go to meetings, and I get to see firsthand what everyone is doing at Idyllwild Arts.”

You would think that after taking as many as 500 photos a day, Paula would want to do something else in her free time.

“I love taking portraits,” Paula said. “But landscapes are challenging for me. I’d like to take more of Idyllwild. There’s so much natural beauty all around me!”

For the daily shoots, Paula uses the school’s Nikon digital camera, but prefers Canons for her personal use.

“Overall, Canons deliver warmer tones, while Nikon’s colors tend to be cooler,” Paula said.

Although she’s modest about her photographic abilities, Paula has won many awards, in high school and in college, including a recent one for her “Abandonment” series. For those, Paula took pictures of abandoned buildings and people.

Was she referring to the homeless in Atlanta?

“Not exactly,” she said. “You’ll have to look at them and see.”

To view samples of Paula’s work, visit the Idyllwild Arts web site at www.idyllwildarts.org, and click on the Summer Program, and then select the Youth or Adult Course Catalogs. On Flickr (www.flickr.com), Paula won “Best Use of B&W” for the “My Atlanta” photo contest.

Paula also plans to show some of her photographs during the staff art show this summer at the Parks Exhibition Center. She doesn’t have a web site set up yet, but you can reach her at: paulaharding823@yahoo.com.

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

 

 

By Marcia E. Gawecki

“Paint Your Wagon,” is more than just a musical or a Clint Eastwood western, it’s good business advice.

In 1920, the founders of Snap-on, a tool company which has grown into a $2.9 billion Fortune 500 enterprise, advised its franchisees to “paint their wagons.” Paint your truck, van or any moving vehicle to help market your products, they said. And if you live in a big city with skyscrapers, paint the top of your vehicle too.

What Snap-on innovators Joseph Johnson and and William Seidemann preached nine decades ago still holds true today. Besides advertisements, social media outlets, and the like, it’s still smart to “paint your wagon.”

To get the word out locally, Idyllwild Arts Academy recently wrapped one of its GMC vans with its marketing message. They got professional help from Monster Media of Riverside.

“We print big!” claims Monster Media’s web site, which is an expert on large format printing. Monster Media received the artwork from a design company working with the academy, and wrapped the van.

“We can’t take credit for the design,” said Mark from Monster Media. “But we definitely did the wrap.”

Monster Media changed the all-white GMC van into a moving billboard for Idyllwild Arts. Most of it is covered in the school’s signature green showcasing five Idyllwild Arts students.

The images are larger than life, but tell the story of Idyllwild Arts in an instant. There’s Angelo, from Moving Pictures, behind his video camera; Paulina, from Theatre, singing in a red sequinned dress and a plastic wig; Alex from the Music Department, playing his viola; Paul, a fashion designer, building a dress on a mannequin, and visual artist Dean painting at his easel.

Next to Paulina’s image, there’s a message to parents: “Your child deserves the best art education in the world!”

When one of the drivers brought the van back from Monster Media, several students cheered and walked around the van, looking at the images.

“Dean doesn’t go to school here anymore,” noted Kevin, another visual artist. “Why did they pick him?”

The wrapped van is a prototype, and images on future vans (if they decide to do more) may change.

A special phone number and web site is listed on the van to help the Marketing Department track the progress.

Although it is certainly colorful on the outside, the inside looks like the other school vans with tinted windows.

Chuck Streeter, who normally drives No. 4, the wrapped van, said it’s no different than from before. The only difference is the attention he gets on the road.

“Chuck said that he gets a lot of looks,” said Tucker McIntyre, head of Transportation at Idyllwild Arts.

I even drove it around town the other day, and he’s right. It really attracts attention,” Tucker added. “I like the way it looks.”

Tucker even encourages his drivers to park the wrapped van where the public can see it.

During a field trip to Mulligan’s Fun Park in Temecula on Saturday, June 16, driver Wayne Parker, noticed that a family was gathering around the school van, admiring it. The mother was putting the contact information into her cell phone.

“That’s what we like to see,” Wayne said.

Raj, a worker at the Shell Station in Valle Vista, where Idyllwild Arts fills up, smiled broadly at the new wrap.

“That is really something,” he said, as he grabbed his squeegee to wash the front window.

“Is it OK to wash it?” Raj asked.

Mark from Monster Media said that the wrap should last five years or longer. He advised to wash the van as normal, even adding wax.

“Just watch the seams,” said one of the Monster Media workers, as he sat eating his lunch. He and the others had put the wrap on the Idyllwild Arts van in one day.

The only thing that may wear out first is the words on the hood, Mark said.

“You see, the sun is beating down on the hood, and there’s also heat coming up from the engine,” Mark said.

“Idyllwild Arts” is printed on the hood in reverse letters.

“We put it in reverse, so that drivers can see it clearly in their rear view mirrors,” Mark explained. “That’s how ambulances do it.”

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

By Marcia E. Gawecki

At the Target shopping center in Hemet, people were talking excitedly in groups, looking up at the smoke coming from the Highland Fire which began Saturday night, June 16.

According to news reports, the Highland Fire, which is beyond the Banning side of the mountain in Beaumont, reached 2,000 acres by 8:30 p.m., and was 10 percent contained.

An air tanker flew onto Hemet Field, which was on the other side of the Target store.

“I’ve seen the air tanker come in and land three times,” said Wayne Parker, an Idyllwild Arts van driver.

He had been there for about 20 minutes, waiting on ESL students to come out of Target.

“There must be water tanks with hoses on Hemet Field,” Wayne said. “But I can’t see over the store, which is blocking my view.”

The tanker took off and headed back towards the fire. Red and orange flames could be seen from the distance.

“The tanker’s doing a number on that fire,” Wayne added. “It’ll probably be contained by the time we reach Idyllwild.”

The ESL students, from China and Korea, were on their way home from a field trip to a fun park in Temecula. They were concerned about the smoke, but when they got to Hemet, they could see that the fire was a long distance from Idyllwild and relaxed a bit.

“I’m not afraid,” said William, an ESL student from China who is studying film.

Currently, nine of them are taking makeup classes at the academy for 8 weeks. However, today was a fun day, away from their studies.

Charles Schlacks, an Idyllwild resident, who returned from a film event in Orange, said the smoke from the Highland fire could be seen as far as Riverside.

“I was on the 215, and could see the smoke from there,” Charles said.

Wind was a big factor in other blazes around Idyllwild Saturday night.

At the Shell Station in Valle Vista, a fire crew from Mountain Center (BDF 56) was filling up and cleaning their windows. They looked tired, but said they weren’t returning from the Highland Blaze.

The brush fire they had been battling in Palm Springs was about five acres.

“Wind was a big factor today,” said one of the firefighters.

When asked about the Highland Fire, the firefighter said they had heard about it, but didn’t know why they hadn’t been called to assist.

“Maybe we’ll be called later on,” he said, as he put away the squeegee.

According to news reports, as many as 300 firefighters are are battling the blaze, including ground crews, helicopters and air tankers.

He laughed when someone asked if the Highland Blaze would be contained soon.

“Not likely,” he said.

Driving up the hill towards Idyllwild, the smoke was casting an eerie haze over the setting sun. Several motorists had pulled over in one of the pullouts to take pictures.

Firefighters are expected to work though the night.

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

By Marcia E. Gawecki

Remember the old Blood, Sweat & Tears favorites, “God Bless the Child,” and “Sometimes in Winter?”

That was the genius of Dick Halligan, composer and musician, who lives part time in Idyllwild and Italy.

Dick also arranged  “Variations on a Theme” by Erik Satie, for which he received a Grammy nomination. The rock/jazz band, Blood, Sweat & Tears dominated the Billboard charts in the early 1970s and won the Grammy’s Album of the Year in 1970, over the Beatles’ Abbey Road.

Dick also wrote musical scores for 15 films, including “The Owl and the Pussycat” from 1970, starring Barbara Streisand and George Segal, and “Fear City,” from 1984, starring Tom Berenger and Melanie Griffith.

Next week, Dick will be taking his grand piano on the road with a June 21 concert at the Cornerstone Music Conservatory in Los Angeles.

“Dick Halligan: A Man and His Music” reveals his fascinating musical influences that lead to a rewarding musical life as well as personal challenges with focal dystonia, a debilitating nervous system disorder. Rod Menzies is directing the show. Tickets are $20 or only $15 if you order by June 14.

Several weeks ago, Dick held his solo debut in Idyllwild, but many missed it.

“I think he’s a genius,” exclaimed Jessica Schiffman, a friend of Dick’s who is an Idyllwild artist who shows at the Bill Anson Gallery in Palm Springs.

Dick and other local writers would meet monthly to read their works out loud at Jessica’s home. At that time, Dick talked about writing his memoirs. An unassuming guy, he had a lifetime of successes to write about, including time with Blood, Sweat & Tears, and composing jazz and classical music as well as film scores.

He told the group how his musical career started in high school when he got a band together. He was playing an accordian at the time.

Over the years, he learned to play the trombone, piano and flute. He was playing trombone when he first started with Blood, Sweat & Tears.

All of his experiences are written down in his memoir, that he completed within three months. Dick wrote it all out in longhand, while his wife typed it up.

Dick brought the finished manuscript to one of the writer’s group meetings at Jessica’s house. He read a few pages from the beginning.

“We all looked at each other in amazement,” recalled one writer. “Dick doesn’t mess around. When he says he’s going to write a book, he does it.”

Well, most people would think that a memoir written in three months is pushing it a bit. But for Dick Halligan, three months was all it took.

His memoir was well written with clarity and humor. When he gets it published, it will be a bestseller.

It also served as the basis for his solo show.

“All I’m missing now is some good pictures,” Dick said. “I wished I would have kept some over the years.”

Blood, Sweat & Tears played at the famed 1969 Woodstock concert.

“Yeah, I was there, and everyone talks about how great Woodstock was,” Dick said. “But they must’ve been in the audience. From the stage, all I could see was black.”

Dick, the musical genius and the regular guy will be revealed on stage. He spoke excitedly about it while attending the final musical, “Berlin to Broadway” about the life of composer Kurt Weill on June 20 at Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Dick said that he never thought much about Kurt Weill’s work, but enjoyed his later tunes showcased in the 2-hour student show.

“Kurt Weill showed a lot of sensitivity and his love of America came out in his work,” Dick said.

“Dick Halligan: A Man and His Music” will be held Thursday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cornerstone Music Conservatory located at 12121 West Pico Boulevard (one door West of Bundy) in Los Angeles.

Cornerstone Music Conservatory is on the 2nd floor next to The Party Store. There is plenty of free parking in the lot. Tickets $20 (or just $15 with reservations by June 14th).

To order tickets, contact Jeannine Frank at Jeannine@FrankEntertainment.com or call (310) 476-6735 or (310) 666-9066.

Photo courtesy of Dick Halligan.

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

By Marcia E. Gawecki

It’s too bad that the LA Times doesn’t cover college baseball.

The UCLA Bruins have made it to the NCAA Super Regionals, and if they win tonight, they’re headed for the College World Series.

So Bruins fans are forced to follow their team by other means, such as streaming on UCLA’s web site (www.uclabruins.com) or Bruins Nation, a blog site that’s manic about all UCLA sports (www.bruinsnation.com). And since the Bruins have made it this far, tickets are hard to come by. Forget finding them  on eBay.

So that left one Bruins fan from Idyllwild with only one thing left to do: Go to the game and stand outside the fence.

On Friday afternoon, Jeffrey Taylor, Green Cafe Internet (and a UCLA Chemistry major), went to the Jackie Robinson Baseball Stadium in Westwood. Since 1981, UCLA has called Jackie Robinson its home stadium.

“It was the best time I’ve had all year,” exclaimed Jeffrey. “The place was packed, and everyone I met was talking UCLA baseball. There was a definite electricity in the air.”

Since Jackie Robinson Stadium, with only 1500 seats, is located on the grounds of the Veteran’s Administration, many of the fans at Friday’s game against TCU were military veterans.

“I think Jackie Robinson must’ve made it a provision that veterans get tickets to see the games,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey took his camcorder along with him and captured the game. But he also got some candid interviews with veterans he met standing outside the fence.

Jeffrey plans to post the interviews on his Green Cafe web site (www.greencafe.com), and show before his Movie Night on Friday at 7 p.m. in Idyllwild.

“I fought in Vietnam, and was proud to serve my country,” one vet said. “Now I have cancer, but I’m not down about it. I just take it day by day”

Then he broke into a wide smile and said, “But tomorrow, I got a ticket to the game!”

Jeffrey met another veteran who has been a Bruins baseball fan for years. Even before the team was hot, he would watch them every Tuesday night.

“It used to be that you could get any seat in the stadium,” he said. “Now, it’s not so easy.”

As Bruins baseball fans, the lack of tickets didn’t matter. They came to see the game.

“I could have paid $25 to stand behind Center Field looking through a peep hole,” Jeffrey said, but he found a better place standing with about 25 others on the grass looking over Home Plate.

LA police officers would drive by occasionally, calling out for scores, and cheering when they were ahead. Jeffrey, who was double parked, only got a smile from one of the officers who asked about his truck.

“I just wanted to see the game,” Jeffrey said, avoiding a ticket.

He met several others, including professors and former college baseball players, all hanging outside the fence.

“Their play-by-play was better than any announcer,” Jeffrey said, marveling at how much the fans knew about the players and the game.

“They were using terms that I didn’t even know of,” he added.

Dennis Wohlman, the uncle of Bruins outfielder, Beau Amaral, lives in Idyllwild, so Jeffrey took a video of Beau at bat.

“Beau got out, but his hits allowed another player to steal second,” Jeffrey said.

The Bruins beat TCU 6-2.

Before the Bruins made it to the Super Regionals, the only way Dennis could have watched his nephew play was to go to the game and watch outside the fence like Jeffrey did. But now, the Super Regionals are televised.

“Just our rotten luck, the Bruins are playing tonight, opposite the Stanley Cup Finals,” Jeffrey said with a groan.

Yet, the LA Times has covered all of those hockey games.

If the UCLA Bruins win tonight against TCU, then they’ll go to the College World Series in Omaha. If not, then they play again on Sunday.

“Next to Cornhusker home games, the College World Series is one of the biggest events of the year in Omaha,” said Jeffrey.

Of course, College World Series tickets are impossible to get too. But, the games will likely be televised. And the daily newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, will cover the games. So UCLA Bruins fans can follow their team to victory across the country.

However, if the LA Times had covered Bruins baseball, then maybe Jeffrey would not have made it to the game. He would have missed the camaraderie and a chance to clear his head from business for one afternoon.

“After the game, we were all best buddies, cheering and giving High Fives,” Jeffrey said. “No one wanted to leave. They just wanted to linger for awhile.”

But he’ll likely get season tickets for Bruins baseball next year.

“Where else can you watch a game for under $10, and with hot dogs only costing a buck,” Jeffrey said.

Bruins vs. TCU at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 tonight.

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.

Once you fall off a horse, the best advice is to get right back on again.

That’s what Idyllwild Arts vocal student did when he was eliminated recently for the NBC TV talent show, “The Voice.”

“I got a callback and screwed it up,” Nicky said. “I was looking into a camera and not a live audience, and started worrying about my image, you know, and what people might think.”

One of “The Voice” judges told him to try again next year and go straight to Call Backs.

In the meantime, Nicky decided to try out for a local talent show, “Voice of the Valleys” and gain more experience. He made the cuts from 99 to 34 to nine. Now on Saturday, he’s going to try and win it.

The prizes are worth the effort of the many rehearsals over the last few weeks. He’s had to squeeze them in during finals, and make many trips down the hill. Until Saturday’s show, Nicky is staying over at his advisor’s house before returning home to San Francisco.

The first prize includes $1,000, a record deal and an audition at Disney.

Nicky said that he’s most excited about the record deal because it would allow him to showcase songs that he’s written over the years, which amount to more than 300. Recently, he wrote songs inspired by artwork created by fellow artists at Idyllwild Arts. For one modern piece, Nicky reached into the piano to strum the keys.

“It’s supposed to sound like a snake,” Nicky said. (see Idyllwild Me story, “Music Comp Collaborates with Visual Artists” dated May 9, 2012).

On Saturday night, Nicky is going to sing “I Want You” by Luke James. In the audience, will be his girlfriend, Paris, a dance major, her father, Ryan Zwahlen, music head, and Marshall Hawkins, head of the Jazz Department at Idyllwild Arts.

“Everyone’s really good,” Nicky said of the other contestants, who range from high school students to middle-aged adults.

“Luke James is a brilliant new R&B artist, and his arrangement of “I Want You” will take you by surprise,” Nicky said. “There’s a high falsetto that you don’t hear every day.”

He also has to sing a new vocal arrangement of “It was You,”written by James Below.

After that, Nicky will sing “Don’t Stop Believing” with the group and “Man in the Mirror” from Michael Jackson.

The “Voice of the Valley” Competition will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, at the Tahquitz High School Performing Arts Center, located at 4425 Titan Trail in Hemet. (Not at the Hemet Theater where they’ve been rehearsing).

Tickets are $25 and $15 for students. For more information, call 951-743-0872 or visit www.vov2012.com.

Copyright 2012 Idyllwild Me. All rights reserved.