2012 Summer Blast Off!

So this is it folks, our summer season has officially started! It's time to kick it off with our annual Summer Blast Off! this Sunday, May 27 @ 8pm. Maybe you're already planning to be here or maybe you haven't been before, either way, let me give you a few reasons to try it out.

Who comes to the Wolf Trap Summer Blast Off?
Families
Couples
People on a budget (it’s free!)
People who love music
Marines
Firework connoisseurs
People excited to kick off the summer season with a bang
Picnic lovers
Winos
…and everybody in between!

What is the Summer Blast Off?
Blast Off! is a Wolf Trap summer tradition that happens in two parts. First, the United States Marine Band plays a beautiful set at the Filene Center from 8pm until about 9:30pm. Songs include a mix of patriotic, big band, and orchestral arrangements. If you’ve never heard the USMB perform before, you really must. They are the best of the best, and did I mention it's free?

Here is the USMB set list.

March, "Hail to the Spirit of Liberty"
Jubel Overture, J.245
"Napoli"
"Doodletown Fifers"
Suite from Band of Brothers
Suite from A White House Cantata
Overture Solennelle, "1812"
"God of Our Fathers"
"The Stars and Stripes Forever"
A Salute to the Armed Forces of the United States of America

The second part of Blast Off! happens after the USMB closes their set, everyone moves from the theatre to stake out spots on the hill behind the Meadow to watch the fireworks. Watching fireworks in a National Park on one of the first beautiful nights of summer is a treat in itself, but we've also put together an exciting accompanying playlist to sweeten the deal and to get you all pumped for our summer season! Some artists you can expect to hear on our fireworks playlist include Barenaked Ladies, Martina McBride, Gipsy Kings, Alan Jackson, and The B-52s.

I hope to see you all there this Sunday!

A Prairie Home Companion - a note from the host

The Filene Center season opens tomorrow night with A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Be part of the audience as Garrison Keillor leads an ensemble cast through his entertaining live radio show filled with special guest performances, comedy sketches, musical interludes, and Keillor’s signature monologue, “The News from Lake Wobegon.” Keillor will be joined by three-time GRAMMY winner Shawn Colvin, singer/songwriter Heather Masse, a member of the chart-topping folk group The Wailin’ Jennys, and Sara Watkins part of the GRAMMY-winning acoustic bluegrass trio Nickel Creek. 

And now, a note from the host:

Call me a fool if you like, but the course of American life in my time has been in the direction of greater civility and kindness: the wheelchair ramps, the public understanding of mental illness, the no-smoking laws, and so forth.

There seems to be less outright meanness. On the Internet, yes, anonymity breeds viciousness, ditto the freeways at rush hour, but decent people don't stand around ragging on their favorite despised minority as much as they used to. A girl today can look forward to a life of such opportunity as her grandmother didn't dare imagine. Men and women mingle more or less unself-consciously as equals and a man who cannot deal with this is considered weird. My mother is 96, living at home, and old age is far, far easier now than when Grandpa was packed off to the nursing home.

So there are some grounds for optimism. My people believed in cheerfulness. They came of age in the Great Depression and amused themselves with kitchen table small talk because it was free. Dad always made small talk with clerks and waitresses. How're you doing today? Good. Looks like we're finally getting spring. Small talk looms larger and larger to me these days, the sweetness of it.

One morning in February, I ate breakfast in the Waffle House in Little Rock, a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, a cup of coffee, and when the waitress brought the check she said so sweetly, "I sure do hope you enjo-oyed your breffus, honey." And I said yes I had, though honestly, I don't associate oatmeal with enjoyment. It's more about the fear of heart attacks. But I loved the way she elongated the word "joy," and her smile, and of course the "honey," which Minnesota waitresses would never say for fear of inviting flirtation. She offered a whole other view of life- that even from ordinary oatmeal, one can derive pleasure.

It struck me harder because, a week before, I'd been driving to the Mayo Clinic at high speed in a snowstorm so as not to be late for an MRI of my brain. I was talking on a cellphone to a woman walking through Central Park in New York, and I passed a semi as he was blasting through a snowdrift across the road, and suddenly I was in a cloud of whiteness, much like the Rapture will be, but with even less visibility. Central Park was on the verge of spring, she said, and then the whiteness swallowed me up. I blew through the cloud and out the other side and hit another patch of snow, and took my foot off the gas, and the semi blew pas, horn blasting, a few feet off starboard. In the whiteness, I had unknowingly changed lanes, and he had swerved around me.

A chastening moment, and I reached up and fastened my seat belt. The woman was on her way to the museum to look at Monets. I went to Mayo and learned that I do not have a brain tumor. I might've wound up in the ditch with 10 tons of cargo on me, but I survived and found out that I probably wouldn't die anytime soon. And that is cheerful news. I hope you enjoy the show.

-Garrison Keillor

Steve Winwood: The "Everyone" Interview

We wanted to give our readers a chance to learn about Steve Winwood from some great interviewers/interviews out there, so we figured it best to pull together various questions from various sources at various points throughout Steve's career. Know any other great interviews with Steve from any time in his career? Let us know in the comments section!

Interview magazine (April 1986):
You were being hailed as the "boy wonder," a "rock 'n roll Mozart" [during your school years]. What did that do to you?

Steve:
It can affect you a lot, but in my own defense, I'd say we were quite lucky, as it wasn't an overnight thing. We worked hard and traveled hard and built a reputation. We traveled around Europe in vans, playing small places, extraordinary gigs in places like Ireland, where you'd go down a dirt track to a church where one line of people were on one side and one line on the other, and they were two families. There were a lot of gigs like that in the early days and I think that's different now. It happens quicker.

Chicago Tribute (June 2010):
How did you get together with Clapton for the Powerhouse session in 1966?

Steve:
We were quite friendly by then. Eric’s a couple years older, and at our age now that means nothing, but when I was 16 and he was 18, 19, it was a big difference. I just moved from Birmingham to London and I lived in lodgings in the suburbs, and Eric had a wonderful bohemian flat in a cool part of the city, so I’d go and hang out with him. He took me under his wing in many respects. He introduced me to his friends, and we’d play and talk about records. The whole conversation revolved around music. When we met, he was playing with the Yardbirds and then John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and I was in the Spencer Davis Group. In those days we’d play on the same bill a lot. If we weren’t we’d see each other traveling between the clubs we all used to play at. The Powerhouse was put together by (producer) Joe Boyd, I think it was some sort of sampler for a new label. Eric was there, and I sang. We recorded a bunch of songs in a day. In those days we would make records in a day, entire albums in a day. We’d do side one before lunch, break, and then do side two. 

GQ UK (June 2010):

Steve (on his Traffic days in the '60s):
Our music was the soundtrack of the decade, and that applies to anyone who was in a band at the time. We were just genuinely obsessed with making music, which hadn't happened before in this way. A lot of people think that the music was responsible for a lot of changes in the Sixties, but I think the music came out of it. The music wouldn't have happened without the social changes. It happened in America first. Before every son wanted to be like his father and every daughter wanted to be like her mother…but the Sixties changed all that. In the Sixties you didn't want to be like your parents at all. 

Express UK (February 2011):

Steve (on still making music):
I wouldn’t say I’m so enthusiastic about the music business itself, but I am still incredibly excited by music, I’m still learning, and it never really ceases, and I think that’s why I still have such an interest in it even though I’m now in my 60s. I still haven’t cracked it, and there is no such thing as perfection, and that’s what keeps me going. Music is my life... it’s running through my blood.

About.com Classic Rock (March 2008):

If you could go back and change anything in your career, choose one thing you could do over, is there one, and, if so, what would it be? 

Steve: 
There are two answers to that, I suppose. On the one hand, I've been very lucky and very blessed to be able to play with so many people and to play to so many people, and that I have a vocation that I really love to do, so I actually have no complaints at all. 

But then on the other hand, I suppose there can always be improvements, so I can't say that I've done everything as perfectly as it could have been done. I'm sure there are things I could have done a little better at the time. I can't think of a specific one right offhand, but as it happened, I did what I did and what I live with now is what I've done in the past and I can't complain.

Five things you didn’t know about Wolf Trap Opera

Think you know everything about the Wolf Trap Opera Company? Think again. Here to shed some light on five opera truths is Lee Anne Myslewski, Administrative Director, Wolf Trap Opera and Classical Programming.

We have a sense of humor.
Q: “How many tenors does it take to change a lightbulb?”
A: “One… to hold it while the world revolves around him.”
Q: “What’s the difference between a soprano and a pit bull?”
A: “Lipstick.”

Opera is usually seen, and rightfully so, as serious: big emotions, big drama, big voices surfing over big orchestras. But we’ve commissioned two comedies – Volpone (which was nominated for a Grammy – not too shabby for our first commission!), and The Inspector. You can sometimes find us improvising comic Mad Libs for discerning elementary-school students. And, if you’re really lucky? You can see us singing things that are totally ridiculous at our (thankfully private) Inappropriate Aria Nights.

We work out.
Our bodies are our instruments, and we do our best to keep them healthy. If we don’t sing, often we don’t get paid…so the incentive to stay healthy is very real, and the myth of a singer as wide as they are tall simply doesn’t stick anymore. We work out, because stage directors like to make us do crazy things physically while we’re simultaneously trying to do insane things vocally. Flexibility, stamina, stress-reduction…we’re at the gym, doing yoga, eating healthily, drinking water like it’s going out of style. Because we can’t go to work when we have the sniffles – performing with a stuffy nose or a sore throat can do us serious damage, and it’s not the sound you’ve paid to hear.

We listen to a crazily/weirdly/amazingly wide range of music.
While we love opera, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we love it to the exclusion of all else. You’ll be able to see gangs (opera gangs…like scooter gangs but way louder) of us at the Filene Center for any number of shows. A Prairie Home Companion, Riverdance, Steve Miller Band, Barenaked Ladies, k.d. lang…if they’ll let us out of rehearsal, we’ll be there! (Because nothing enriches our performing like watching others at the top of their game, regardless of genre.)

We’re not in it for the glamour.
There are pretty dresses and parties, to be sure. But there are long months spent away from loved ones, wardrobes and keepsakes locked in storage units in towns that we might not see for calendar years. Some of us are married, some have children, and all of us are trying to figure out how to work in this crazy career while caring for our families – it can be tough! And while we make intense friendships during shows, once the show is over – or in this case, the summer – it could be years before we see any of these folks again. It can be really lonely.

We’re “Young Artists” because we’re just starting out.
In some ways that’s true – our average age hovers in the early 30s. But most of us have spent almost all of that time in training: undergrad degrees, Master’s degrees, Artist Diplomas, Doctorates. We’ve worked for summer training programs, and large house (The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco, Lyric Opera of Chicago) year-long programs. (Rather than thinking of us as students, we’re closer to medical Residents at a teaching hospital.) In many ways, this is our first chance at walking away from that “training” security net, and it makes this opportunity all the more special.

What We're Listening To: Volume II

We'll be delivering our "What We're Listening To" playlists straight to you once a month via a Spotify collection that will also be posted on our Facebook page. It's free to sign up for a Spotify account and I promise it will change the way you listen to music. This month we've got a lot of new tracks for you, mostly culled from records that were released within the last couple of months with the exception of Wilco and Harper Simon. Enjoy - and let us know what you're digging as well as dismissing.

What We're Listening To: Volume II

Behind our Blog Team: Barbara Parker

Today we hear from Barbara Parker, our Director, Operations & Initiatives here at Wolf Trap. She's one of our longest tenured employees and is armed with extensive knowledge about the industry, plus can regale you with classic stories of meeting and mingling with some of the biggest artists in the business. 

Where are you from?

Richmond, VA.

What is your favorite Wolf Trap memory?

I vividly remember my Wolf Trap interview 15 years ago, so I have too many to count. Picnicking with my parents before many a Summer Blast Off. Sitting on the lawn with my interns watching the Wolf Trap Opera perform La boheme. The lawn sprinklers going off in the middle of a performance… while people were sitting on the lawn. Every dance commission, every conversation I’ve had with an Artist, all the once-in-a-lifetime moments I’ve witnessed.

What is your favorite song now or of all time? What speaks more strongly to you the music or the lyrics?

I am currently in love with two big hits- Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” and fun.’s “We Are Young.” They are great songs musically and lyrically, but my favorite thing about them is that they are at the top of both the rock and pop charts right now. That is the sign of a good song.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure – something you don’t admit to liking in casual conversation?

Milli Vanilli songs were really good. Yeah, so they were phonies who didn’t actually sing, but the songs were really good. *starts singing “Blame It On the Rain”*

How do you consume recorded music? i.e. ipod, Spotify, Pandora, vinyl...

In the mornings and in the car, I listen to the Kane Show on Hot 99.5. At work, I’m on Spotify all day- I can’t work without music. At home, it’s itunes through Apple TV. I also have my Dad’s turntable and a fantastic collection of records that span my Dad’s musical tastes and my own. I still regularly buy Artists who continue to release on vinyl- Ryan Adams, Gaslight Anthem, Black Keys, Mumford and Sons.

I feel like everyone has a bit of a music snob in them. What styles of music, or if you want to get really specific, which bands/artists in particular drive you bonkers?

You know what drives me bonkers? Selected fans. If you love an Artist enough to purchase a ticket to his show, respect him enough to honor his request for no photos, audio  or video recording. Don’t talk through the entirety of a show. Be polite enough to not scream and yell when you know they are shooting a live DVD at the show. And, for the love of all things, don’t ever be that guy who shouts “Freebird!” End rant.

Given the nature of your role with Wolf Trap, you quite often liaise with many of the world’s greatest artists backstage before they hit the stage. Can you recount your top three most memorable experiences/interactions with artists?

I once knocked on The Supreme’s Mary Wilson’s dressing room only to have her drag me inside. She needed help zipping a gorgeous floor-length, red sequined gown she was going to wear that night. The zipper was impossible and she and I struggled and laughed for several minutes until I finally got it all the way zipped. She looked at me, and wheezed, “I can’t breathe!” before making me unzip it again.

I am a huge Talking Heads fan. When David Byrne appeared here last, I looked him straight in the eye after his show and said, “I love you.” He smiled and brushed it off, and I said again, “No, I really love you.” File under: The Most Unprofessional Thing I’ve Ever Done. I ran into him several months later at a dance performance in New York where he was sitting two rows behind me. When I went to say hi, I could sense he remembered my crazy declaration, and his question “What brings you from Virginia to Brooklyn?” sounded a bit like “Are you stalking me?”

Hootie and the Blowfish once sang me “Happy Birthday.” Julio Iglesias and J.D. Fortune have kissed my hand. Frankie Valli told me I have nice legs. And I receive compliments on my shoes all the time. Sometimes, it’s the little things.

When was the last time you were truly star struck by a performer arriving at the Filene Center for their gig?

Musicians don’t leave me star struck. I admire them; I am in awe of them; but it’s not star struck. However, in 2006 we had Leonard Nimoy narrate a National Symphony Orchestra performance To Boldly Go…. and I went to say hello (and gawk) and I just kept thinking, “Oh my God, that’s Spock!” There, it’s official, I’m a nerd.

For anyone who is looking to jump start a career in the music industry as an administrator, booking agent or marketing pro, what advice would you offer them?

If you can imagine yourself doing anything other than working in the music business, if you can imagine being a teacher, a stylist, a writer, or a lawyer, then forget about the music business altogether right now. At the beginning of your career, the hours are too long, the pay is too little, and the competition too fierce for you to be trying to succeed unless this is the one and only thing you want out of life.

That is honest but a bit pessimistic. If I were to be more optimistic, I would say first: arrive early, stay late and do the job no one else wants to do. That’s what makes you invaluable. Second, I would say: have opinions. That’s what makes you distinct.

What artist has yet to perform at Wolf Trap that your team is hoping to book in the next few years? Can you give us a glimpse into the research process that goes into pulling together a 92 show season?

Oh, man, here are some of the Artists on my wish list for the Filene Center: David Gray, Ryan Adams, The Shins, Cake, The Avett Brothers (they have been at The Barns), The Flaming Lips, Keane, Matchbox 20, Duran Duran. For The Barns: William Fitzsimmons, Greg Laswell, Glen Philipps (who was supposed to appear in March but cancelled).

The booking process is less summed up as research and more as awareness. It’s being aware of who has new product, who may be touring in support of new product, how many tickets an act is worth. Sure, you could research these things, but by the time you were finished, a season would have passed you by. You must pay enough attention that the knowledge is at the front of your brain.

Behind Our Blog Team: Liz Uyeda

Today marks part four of our Behind Our Blog Team series—where we give our readers all a chance to get to know our team a little better. I crafted a few serious and a few funny questions for our Program and Production Assistant Liz Uyeda, where she delves into her dreams of living in the sea, helping others, and becoming a dragon.

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii where my time was equally split between school, the beach, and ballet class. I lived there until I graduated from high school, when I moved to Virginia to attend the University of Richmond. It seems a strange move to many, but it worked for me and here I am, a little less tan, in Virginia some six years later.

What is your favorite Wolf Trap memory?
Embarking now on my third summer season at Wolf Trap, it starts to become difficult to pick a favorite among so many special memories. One that particularly stands out is my first Filene Center show day when I was an intern in 2009. It was A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. I had never seen a Wolf Trap performance before, but there I was, backstage with my radio, clipboard, and three inch pumps. I mean, if Barbara Parker can work a show in heels, why can't I, right? So very wrong. After my first very successful 16-hour show day, my feet covered in blisters, I walked barefoot to my car with a smile stretch across my face. It was easily the most exciting and exhausting day I had ever had in my life and I couldn't wait to start it all over again the next morning (in flats).

What is your favorite song now or of all time? What speaks more strongly to you, the music or the lyrics?
 I've always been drawn to music lyrics. The combination of word and sound is where the magic of songwriting lives, but I must say that I am particularly drawn to the poetry of music. Picking a favorite song feels a little like choosing a favorite child; I don't want to slight the other songs. But my favorite song probably lies somewhere in the repertoire of my favorite band, Radiohead. Easily my favorite rock concert to date is seeing Radiohead perform in Osaka, Japan, where i studied abroad in college.

Do you have a musical guilty pleasure—something you don't admit to liking in casual conversation?
I do have a few... in my younger years I had an affinity for heavy rock/metal. The spectrum ranged from Metallica to System of a Down. (My favorite Metallica album is S&M, which they recorded with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. It is actually quite beautiful.) I can't say that I listen to much Metallica these days, but System is still one of my favorite bands. Maybe I'll see you at their Verizon Center concert in August?

How do you consume recorded music? I.e. iPod, Spotify, Pandora, vinyl...
All of the above! My iPod has weathered many hard falls and long cross-country drives. I don't have a record player YET, but hopefully I'll find one I like very soon.

What is your go-to karaoke song?
Hands down I always go for The B-52s' "Love Shack." However, I discovered a new fun pick a few months ago. My friends and I went out to sing karaoke for my birthday and someone put on Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and it was a huge hit. I definitely recommend it.

If you could have one fantastic non-musical talent, what would it be?
Well, this question could go a number of ways, but just off the top of my head I would say to breathe underwater so I could build a new civilization on the bottom of the ocean that would rival Newt Gingrich's moon colony. There may be some finer issues to work out, like sharks for example, but I think it would all come together with time. We could call it "Atlantis II," although that might not bode well. I'll keep working on it.

Fill in the blank: "If I didn't work in the performing arts, I would be a _____ for a living."
Let me start by saying, I can't imagine my world without the performing arts. The arts have always been a vital part of my life, something I maybe didn't realize at the age of five, putting on ballet slippers for my first dance class; or perhaps at 17 when I played the trumpet in the Macy's Day Parade as part of the Hawaii All-State Marching Band; or maybe even when I decided to complete a minor degree in Dance. Looking at my track record, I think the performing arts are in my life to stay.

But because I know this is a hypothetical fun question, I'll give it a shot. If I did not work in the performing arts, I think I would be working another lifestyle job directed toward helping people. I'm not sure in what capacity that would be exactly (local, global, etc.), but I love working to help the community and I have always admired the efforts of people who work for the betterment of humanity on its most basic levels.

If you could interview any celebrity, alive or dead, who would it be?
There are many people past and present that I would love to speak with, but one person I have always been curious about is Hayao Miyazaki. He is the animator and film director behind Studio Ghibli productions like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and many others. My Neighbor Totoro was my favorite childhood movie and I am very curious about the inspiration that brought forth the fanciful characters and uninhibited adventures that appear in Miyazaki's movies. I once heard that he draws characters and frames first and then creates a plot to link his animations together.

If you could turn into an animal, what would you turn into?
If I could turn into any animal (I am, of course assuming this include mythical creatures), I would be a dragon. Apart from being able to fly and breathe fire, the dragon is my Chinese zodiac sign and it's one that I feel a strong connection with. My nana, mother, and myself are actually all dragons (watch out...), but we are each a different element: fire, water, and earth. Dragons are known for being honest and passionate but weaknesses include quick-tempers and pride. Obviously zodiac signs are meant to interpret personality traits and cannot represent the entirety of a person's identity but I think they are very fun to read. Especially since my 4'11" nana is maybe the most fiery person I know.