LANDLORD ESQ.

Well, it finally happened, I met Landlord the fox, out front of my flat. It was a hot, sultry evening as ManFriendJeff and I headed out to go see a movie. (It was The Odyssey, and I don’t recommend its bland manscape for anything but the cyclops and Samantha Morton… but that’s another story) I still don’t know if Landlord is dog or vixen but it doesn’t really matter. They were pretty uninterested in our presence as they were very busy biting at a patch of mange on their tail. Mange is pretty rampant here in London which is a real bummer for foxes. It’s an excruciating microscopic parasite that torments the poor fox by biting it and feeding on its blood, and if left untreated eventually kills the fox. There a lots of animal rescues who can help by giving foxes Ivermectin (an anti-parasite paste MAGA folks think kills Covid, but is actually for de-worming horses. No, it does not kill Covid. Duh.) but there needs to be someone to trap and feed the infected fox, or monitor the fox who comes and goes closely enough to make sure only THAT fox who is infested (not someone’s terrier) eats the paste. Not an easy task as foxes are very smart. Here is an organization you can check out if you have a neighborhood fox in need. I would have set out to trap the fox myself but it was our last night living in Tulse Hill. I hope some kind soul takes pity on our block captain fox. Besides being interesting people in their own right, like Landlord, foxes are great ratters and help keep things balanced. Landlord still has a lot of territory to patrol, and those front steps aren’t going to poop themselves!

The musical is moving along nicely, we are now out of our molten hot practice studio and into The Young Vic. Everyone is working so hard. My days are psychedelic as they only contain work. I kinda don’t remember what my life outside is like? I have lots of anxiety dreams. I’m told this is normal. The schedule is now 10:30am to 10:30pm which is kinda bananas, but I come and go depending on the work list that day. My body is trying to adjust but it’s hard as I’m the guy who likes to be in bed by 9:30. I am a morning person. The full moon has been a real asshole as well. Sitting in the dark for 4 hour stints really confuses my circadian rhythms. We are having fun though, ManFriend and I have been working on soundscapes and demos and going deep down some foley rabbit holes thinking of sounds to represent a roadtrip that takes place across an entire continent but exists on one stage. Using music to transport is my favorite thing. ManFriend is solidly in his wheelhouse and has been indispensable. We are a good team. We had two days of sessions with our orchestrator, John Clancy, which were exhilarating. This was the first time all of us on the sound/music team heard the songs as they will actually sound with all their parts. We edited and added parts on the fly with a very tight turn around. You’d be surprised at how little time a production of a musical actually schedules for music! It’s shocking and more than a little frustrating, but we got the job done for the most part, as the sound/music team are stellar. I still feel like a babe in the woods, but I also feel confident in the finished music.

How have you all been? I am missing the end of summer here, so please enjoy it for me. XO!

Listening tools: I find having something to work on with my hands makes me a better listener. This common for ADHD people, but can help anyone who has trouble focusing. When my hands are busy doing something they know how to do, it frees up my subconscious critical ear. Notes or parts either extra great, not what I want, or clashy pluck at my eardrums. I’m a better filter. I used to leaf through magazines, but now I embroider, which besides appealing to my Virgo/workaholic ethic/compulsion gives me something to remember my time and task with. There are memories in every little part I sew. What do you use to help you focus?