"Break a leg!" With the release to worldwide radio, today, of COMMONPLACES by Partington & Sweeney with Sheila Falls and Torrin Ryan, I am reminded of this old "commonplace" of the theatre world.
I love the meaning attributed to the Vaudeville era...of the performer waiting in the wings for an opportunity to go onstage, at the last minute, to "break a leg of the curtain" in close view of the audience.
The release of COMMONPLACES today by trespassmusic.org in this time of COVID shutdowns, lockdowns, and restrictions makes radio and other forms of broadcast our chance to "break a leg!" The CD is our entrance onto the music stage where the curtain is lifted every time one of the songs is broadcast, streamed, or downloaded. COMMONPLACE songs are already starting to appear on radio show playlists, and tracks or CDs are available from Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby.
COMMONPLACES owes a great deal to the incredible gifts of fiddler/violinist Sheila Falls Keohane, piper Torrin Ryan(torrinryan.com), and engineer David Correia of Celebration Sound Recording (celebrationsound.com). I have worked with David before, and I was so happy to be back in his studio, where sit two Grammys for his sound-engineering work on recordings by Bill Harley.
I once quoted a poem by Sir Philip Sidney sharing it as a tribute, taking the line, "Only in you, my song begins and endeth." And it might have turned out that way, but for serendipity and a guardian Muse. That's a story for another time, perhaps.
My "song" begins anew because of the remarkable talents of my music partner and producer Ed Sweeney. Ed is a guitarist and banjo player with as much appreciation for a song as he has for an instrumental tune. His suggestions regarding the narratives in my orginal songs and the structuring of the lyrics have been invaluable. His arrangments for guitar and banjo are beautiful. His ability to find just the right key for my voice is beyond compare. His production style brings freedom to musicians like Sheila and Torrin (two All-Ireland Champions) to create in a way that weaves magic into the melodies. You will find Ed's music story at edsweeneymusic.com. There you will find his other amazing recordings WHAT LIES AHEAD and PASSING THROUGH, with tracks that have been licensed by Disney, Ken Burns and very recently, Briar Patch on the USA Network.
"Break a leg," COMMONPLACES!"
