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All I Want for Christmas Is to Write for Collabro

12/24/2014

Until the phenomenon of Susan Boyle a few years ago, I hadn’t heard of Britain’s Got Talent. I was easily struck by Susan’s audition tape and the unlikelihood of anyone paying attention to her. Over the next couple of seasons I occasionally watched a few other BGT acts that popped up on my Youtube page. I loved Ashleigh and Pudsey, the father-dad team doing the Greek dance, the shadow dancers.

Ashleigh and Pudsey's Final Audition

Then a few weeks ago I was looking for the classical music piece I needed to study when the BGT audition for Collabro popped up. I decided to take a peak. Five young men walked on stage, explained that they had “regular” day jobs, confessed they’d been together a month, and argued that they thought they could win BGT because they had “natural chemistry.” They weren’t dressed as professionals but as any college students might be. I shared the judges’ skepticism when the men took the mics. Then Richard started singing.

Not bad, I thought for the first several phrases. Then Mike, Matt, Tom, and Jamie joined in and magic happened. By the end of the song I was in tears as much as judge Amanda Holden was. The guys were so young and hopeful. They were genuinely touched that people were enthusiastic about their singing. Right from the first audition, their emotion came through. Even Simon Cowell noted that their act was a “hit record.”

Collabro Audition

I watched the audition several more times. Eventually I was able to move on to a few of the other songs that were on Youtube. I couldn’t go to bed on time that night; instead I had to keep sifting through videos until I found their guys’ semi-final and then finally the last song they performed for BGT. I was as hooked as the judges were. I wasn’t surprised to find they’d won the contest by a large margin or that they’d been asked to make so many guest appearances.

Yes, they were that good. When the five of them blend their voices together, they have a synergy that’s exciting, sexy, and inspirational. But what I love about these guys is their simple ethos. They had a dream about performing music for a living instead of performing their day jobs. Now they might have a chance to do just that.

Final Audition

In the meantime, here’s where I come in. I want to be the one to write their story, to profile their interest in music, to explain how Matt and Jamie got the idea to start the group, how the others added in, how they worked together hard enough to win the competition. Now they’re about to embark on a long concert tour. I’m betting people will want to read about them. People will want to hear their story.

Most people, myself included, will wish they were able to live it. In lieu of such pleasure, they’ll have to be satisfied with reading a biography of the group instead.

Collabro consists of Michael Auger, Richard Hatfield, Jamie Lambert, Matt Pagan, and Thomas J. Redgrave. Their first album, Stars, was released in August.

To read about my novels: http://www.drransdellnovels.com

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"Murder For Two" Murdered Me!

12/12/2014

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Writers Blair and Kinosian

At the Temple of Art and Music tonight, I saw a production of a new play by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair titled Murder for Two. The play is a farce based on what the authors term a cross between Agatha Christie and the Marx Brothers. It premiered in Chicago in 2011.

The result is a ride of fun and frenzy as Joe Kinosian plays all the suspects and Ian Lowe plays the glorified security guard turned opportunistic detective. The two actors shared the piano, sometimes pushing one another out of the way. They went in and out of characters’ voices in dizzying and satisfying speed. They were funny and inventive. Their joyful energy was infectious.

There was one problem for me in all this. I kept thinking, “I couldn’t have written that myself. I couldn’t have thought that stuff up.”

Usually when I go to movies or plays, there are parts I want to change. “That scene should have been cut,” I might say to myself. “I could have written that better myself,” I sometimes think.

Murder for Two is so smart and clever that, unfortunately, I couldn’t have written it. Any good writer needs to read (or listen) to other examples of fine writing. Sometimes the experience is humbling. That was my situation tonight. It wasn’t once that I thought, “I couldn’t have written this.” It was about ninety times. (The show runs ninety minutes.)

I was shocked at the end when the audience didn’t jump right to its feet to applaud even though I did. I think some of the patrons were simply worn out from all the fun. They might have been left behind by the speed of the character changes.

Or, more likely, they didn’t stop to consider just how difficult the play was to perform. Both men had to be quick and sharp, play the piano expertly, and make jokes at the same time. They had to use split-second timing. Sometimes they sang in harmony. In the most intricate musical moments, they sang counterpoint. This takes immense practice and discipline. So actually, I was stunned twice: first by the clever script, and then again by the mastery of the actors.

So hat’s off. And for those of you in Tucson, the play runs through December 20th. Treat yourself to a night at the theatre. And be prepared to be murdered by a high level of creativity and skill. (The show plays in Phoenix Dec 31-Jan 18.)

For something not quite as creative, please check out my novel website: http://www.drransdellnovels.com

Arizona Theatre Company Playbill

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What I Really Think of Barry Eisler

12/2/2014

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At the Bouchercon Mystery Conference held in Long Beach last month, I had the chance to meet many writers and to connect with some I’d met at previous conferences. Even though the conference boasted quite a few heavy hitters in the mystery world, the author whose books I’d read more of was Barry Eisler. In a way I suppose his books are more thriller than mystery, but I’d come across the early John Rain books and read several in a row. When I learned that Barry would be speaking at the conference, I was jazzed about it.

I had a chance to attend his session on “Do You Write What You Know?,” which was held on the last morning of the conference. I wasn’t surprised that there was a healthy crowd. What did surprise me was that Barry wasn’t a big hefty guy (the way I imagine his protagonist). He was thin and wispy. He looked at least a decade younger than he could possibly be. And he was funny. He told us about living in Japan. He admitted that readers always let him know if he’s made a tiny mistake about weapons or other details. He even has a mistake page on his website!

After the session, the moderator invited the audience members to go meet the authors whether we had books for them to sign or not. I did want to meet Barry, but it seemed tacky to go empty-handed. My problem was that his latest book was a heavy hardback and my luggage was already nearly too much for me to manage. So I compromised. (I’d promised myself not to buy any books while at the conference.) I picked up a cheap mass market paperback version of Requiem for an Assassin.

Barry Eisler at Bouchercon 2014

I joined the line waiting to get Barry’s signature. The guys in front of me and behind me were each presenting him with at least five books to sign. New, expensive books!

Undaunted, I presented my lowly paperback. Barry probably made a quarter on my purchase. Yet he didn’t seem to notice this gaffe. Instead he was friendly and chatty. He even noticed I had my own mysteries to peddle. He let me take a picture with him, twice, because the “photographer” messed up on the first try. When I complimented him on his books and especially on the fact that his very first book was translated into twenty languages, he smiled shyly. “It’s partly luck,” he claimed. “Plus people really love assassins!”

I thanked the man and he went back to signing, but I could not have been more impressed. Yet I’ve often found such an attitude to be prevalent among people at the top of their fields. The musicians and writers who are truly the best are often the most humble. They appreciate the efforts of other writers. They appreciate their fans.

Barry was a perfect example. Although he was one of the key writers at the conference, he’s also the one I’d most want to spend an evening talking to, the one I’ll follow the most closely, and the one whose work I’ll most often push off on my friends. He would be happy to know that by now I’ve bought three more of his books. The next time I can catch him at a conference, I’ll let him sign the whole stack. I’m darned sure he won’t mind.

Learn more about D.R.’s Andy Veracruz mystery series at http://www.drransdellnovels.com. No assassins though—at least not yet!

Barry Eisler with D.R. Ransdell at Bouchercon 2014

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All I Want for Christmas Is to Write for Collabro

"Murder For Two" Murdered Me!

What I Really Think of Barry Eisler

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