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sinceileftyoublog · 2 years ago

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Joseph Decosimo Interview: How Does It Make You Feel?

Photo by Libby Rodenbough

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Count multi-instrumentalist Joseph Decosimo as another in the great line of contemporary players making old music for modern times. Like his friend and collaborator Jake Xerxes Fussell, duo Anna & Elizabeth, or even James Yorkston, Decosimo constantly thinks about what traditional folk songs mean to him--and us--today. The fiddler, banjo player, pump organist, and phD-holding folklorist, like Fussell, has had the opportunity to study with legendary trad players. For Decosimo, that’s the likes of Clyde Davenport and others in areas of Tennessee and Kentucky where he grew up. At the same time, Decosimo has surrounded himself with some of yesterday and today’s most exciting players from the thriving scene in Durham, North Carolina, where he lives, from Fussell and Hiss Golden Messenger’s MC Taylor to legendary singer/multi-instrumentalist Alice Gerrard. These influences combine to find a bridge between the past and the present on his upcoming album While You Were Slumbering, out next Friday via Sleepy Cat Records.

To your average music listener (whatever that means these days), many of the songs on While You Were Slumbering do sound from another time. The album starts with recently released single “The Fox Chase”, based on a field recording of Dee Hicks calling up foxhounds, bolstered by the warmth of Decosimo’s nasally vocals and the fiddle, banjo, and strings. It ends with the instrumental “Bob Wills Stomp/Wild Goose Chase”, a two-part song of melancholy fiddle and, yes, a jaunty soundtrack for running amongst waterfowl. Throughout the record, Decosimo conjures Appalachia, with tunes of lost dogs, fruited alcohol, possums and racoons running amok. On the video for first single “Will Davenport’s Tune”, a 19th century banjo piece he learned from visits with Clyde, Decosimo's vivacious plucking is laid atop impressionistic images of nature, interspersed with rippling, yet grainy watercolor, a hazy mirror to a location only folks who have been there will be familiar with.

At the same time, on the album’s best songs, Decosimo’s interpretations offer newfound clarity to tunes etched in a former time. “Man of Constant Sorrow”, which most listeners will know for better or for worse due to its inclusion in Joel and Ethan Coen’s O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, is presented not as a prickly, nonnative bounce, but as a solemn hymn appropriate for today. Just as prescient is “Trouble”, though the hopefulness inherent in the song’s beautiful harmonies is rooted in the idea that bad things, like everything, will inevitably cease to exist and be replaced by something else, perhaps something better. It’s a stunning song, the album’s emotional centerpiece.

Though Decosimo plays plenty of instruments on While You Were Slumbering, the album is certainly bolstered by his chosen collaborators: Joe and Matt O’Connell of Elephant Micah, fiddler and singer Stephanie Coleman, composer/fiddler/pump organist Cleek Schrey, bass clarinetist Alec Spiegelman (who also mixed the record), and Gerrard. He wouldn’t say this, but to my ears, While You Were Sleeping represents a sort of sharing of the torch moment from Gerrard to Decosimo. This isn’t to say that Gerrard is done--quite the opposite, actually--but that Decosimo’s record has the same connection to the traditional repertoire that so much of Gerrard’s music does, precisely why he wanted her to play and sing on the record. “She’s a national treasure, as far as I’m concerned,” Decosimo told me over the phone in September. “She’s a force of nature.”

During our conversation, Decosimo, somewhat sleep deprived as a result of his newborn baby, nonetheless thoughtfully contemplated where he fits in the music world as a result of his new record, from academia to traditional circles to Durham. Read our interview below, edited for length and clarity.

Cover Art by Gabe Anderson using watercolor assets by Larissa Wood

Since I Left You: Do you feel a kinship with other players, arrangers, and scholars who adapt to contemporary sounds the traditional tunes they’ve learned from various historical channels?

Joseph Decosimo: I think so. I’ve lived most of my musical life in this hardcore traditional world. There [were] opportunities along the way--especially living in Durham--to play with Mike Taylor on the early Hiss [Golden Messenger] stuff. In some way, what I’m doing is different from what Jake [Xerxes Fussell] does, but it’s coming from a similar place of tradition, and the question of, “How can I make this translate for people who are not folks who spend their time listening to field recordings?” This album is me asking that question and figuring out a way to do it. In some way, it probably registers to most ears as pretty traditional, but to me, it feels different. [laughs]

Because I’ve spent so much of my life in traditional places of music-making and artistry, what’s happening here is me trying to do right by that but also something that feels musical and approachable and accessible to normal people. It’s a tall order. We’ll see how it lands. Jake’s approach totally works and does right by those camps.

SILY: I don’t know if you’re referring to Greil Marcus, but when you talk in the liner notes about an “older, weirder America,” I feel like that quality has encapsulated the folk scene for some time. Over the past decade or so, though, there’s been a concentration on more of the expansive qualities of folk instruments--whether you want to call it cosmic Americana or not. I think this record touches on both worlds. Do you think those two worlds can exist in conjunction, or are they at odds?

JD: That term “old weird America” is convenient, but it goes a little overboard and [exoticizes folk]. I grew up in Appalachia, and talking to people around the region, there’s a little bit of cringiness around it. It’s just another form of vernacular music. What I was interested in was working with a traditional repertoire. The way I play is a departure from other folk artists at the moment. A lot of stuff is coming out of the Berklee School of Music’s American Roots Music Program. People who go through there have incredible chops, but a lot of the time there’s a similarity of sound that has to do with bigger trends in traditional string music. I was lucky enough to be able to encounter it, brush against it, and see it firsthand. The weirdness, to me, can be with the texture of how the older players sounded. If you go through a conservatory program, you’re going to be learning different techniques. The funkiness, [on the other hand,] there’s so much depth and beauty there.

I don’t know that I’m pushing towards the cosmic thing. I think it has more to do with Enya or something. [laughs] Using traditional instruments to create something layered and lush. The pump organ’s been around for a while. People used it in vernacular Southern music for a century, creating new sounds with it. I don’t know what the relationship between those two things is, but it feels like a lot of times maybe the way the old weird stuff gets treated is [that] it’s stuck on a 78, and that’s the performance mode. That can be amazing. I’ve seen incredible performances of people lifting material out of 78s and interpreting it beautifully and in a very faithful way to the old recordings. I think there’s something pretty wild in that, too, that’s pretty expansive, the creative uses and tunings of instruments that could register in that cosmic space.

SILY: Speaking of the cringe-inducing nature of the term “old, weird America,” a very Hollywood-ized manifestation of that idea is O’ Brother Where Art Thou?, which obviously made “Man of Constant Sorrow” well-known.

JD: Oh. Oh.

SILY: I can hear you cringing.

JD: A lot of people rode that wave. [laughs] Norman Blake, who is a phenomenal musician, probably made a lot of money from being involved in that movie, and certainly deserved to. The version on [the record] is learned from a field recording. It was kind of fun to dive into that, to be like, “This is not like this other thing.” It feels like it hits in a completely different way.

SILY: To me, the song on the album that’s most timeless because of its sentiment is “Trouble”. Can you talk about that track and why you included it?

JD: One of my favorite banjo players of all time is Virgil Anderson, who lived on the Tennessee-Kentucky line of the Cumberland Plateau, which is the Western edge of what we’d call Appalachia. I grew up on the Southern end, near Chattanooga, TN, but I’d been obsessed with Virgil Anderson forever. There’s a beautiful LP release by County Records in the early 80s, [On The Tennessee Line]. I never got to meet the guy. I love his playing. [“Trouble” is something he learned as a young man in his 20s when he played with two African-American musicians, the Bertrams. They would play in these little camps and communities in that area. [So] it’s a piece that a white player learned from the Black repertoire of Appalachia. He sings it in a chipper way, which is cool and works, but during July 2020, I had been playing it for a while, and it started to resonate in a very different way. I think we were all dealing with things in different ways in that moment. That song started feeling less like a chipper banjo piece. It’s incredibly simple, but it has a kind of power. It was a time when you couldn’t hang out with people who weren’t in your house. I sent it to Joe O’Connell, who is in Elephant Micah and writes great songs and has a great way of arranging stuff. He added this pump organ and harmony part and sent it back to me. My friend Stephanie Coleman added the fiddle part and vocal part. It went from this old field recording of Virgil Anderson and became something that felt way more powerful. My friend Alec Spiegelman said it was making him cry as he was wrapping it up, which was unexpected, to end up with something so direct.

Part of this project was me turning 40 and wanting to expand, wanting my music to connect with more people. [“Trouble”] a piece I was sharing with family members who know nothing about the type of music I make. They were connecting with it.

SILY: For some of the songs on the album that are instrumentals, if somebody doesn’t take the time to learn about the song’s context--and not everyone does--and just looks at the title, and there are no lyrics to go by, they’re interacting with the quality of the arrangements and the instruments themselves. Can you talk about how you treated the instrumentals in context of the whole record?

JD: One thing Jake and I have had several conversations about is that at times, it feels like if you’ve really studied these traditions and have dedicated energy to learn your instrument and play it well, people will reduce you: “Oh, he’s just a fiddler or banjo player.” People will be glad to have you play on their album, but you can’t contribute back out [with your own varied material]. The way I was thinking about a lot of these tunes was, “How does a person in the 21st century listen to a fiddle tune or banjo tune? How does it matter to you? How does it make you feel something?” I know that when I listen to the fiddle, I can feel it. [But] how do you create a connection? One of the [challenges] is trying to find melodies that are just beautiful and stick with you even if you’re not accustomed to listening to a fiddle. A lot of these pieces were played solo for a long time and nourished people, doing the work that art does. How do you make them continue to do that work?

SILY: Take a song like “Clear Fork”. There’s that droney background hum that people like for the same reason they like to look at a Mark Rothko painting. It’s still, but it’s shimmering and rippling at the same time. Contrast that with the tangible sound of a banjo, there’s a lot to take in. People are free to interpret it the way they can, even more than the song that comes before it on the album that references 19th century European politics [“Young Rapoleon”].

JD: [laughs] So much of my musical social life is going to fiddler’s conventions and playing tunes after tunes with people. My relationship with an instrumental piece, I have no concept of how others might hear that kind of thing. I know them in a certain way. There’s a sociality to them because of where they’re played, but to imagine that it’s kind of an expanse for people to imagine their own interpretation or experience is a fun thought. I like the beginning of the “Clear Fork” piece because Stephanie has a shimmery harmonic that at first sounds like it could be a flute. One of the other things we were working with was a little bit of the ambiguity of the sound. The percussion in one spot on “Will Davenport’s Tune” tune is Matt O’Connell knocking on something. He can’t even remember what it was he was knocking on. I had sent him a field recording of a guy from Eastern North Carolina who would wrap his knuckles on a table and create these incredible rhythms that mimic percussive dance. People who know this music might think it’s somebody’s feet, but it’s sort of unclear what it is.

SILY: Can you talk about the relationship between the visuals and the music on the video for “Will Davenport’s Tune”?

JD: My friend Gabe Anderson who runs the label helping put this out, his friend Larissa [Wood] combined to work on the visuals there. There are a couple things at play; Gabe can explain more of the concept. I have a friend who is a folklorist named Sarah Bryan who has been documenting tombstones all over the South, especially North and South Carolina, for the last couple of years. She shared a picture of a tombstone from Stanly County, North Carolina. It’s a weird tombstone without a single word, but there are circles that are imperfect with weird triangles. It looks weirdly contemporary, the way people are into shapes these days. This tombstone stuck with me when I saw it. It started coming to mind when I listened to Clyde Davenport’s piece of music. Larissa made paintings built off of the crude shapes of the tombstones, and those are at play in the video in this really beautiful way over the top of nature scenes. The thing that Gabe came up with in the end feels right for the music in a way. He was hearing the different elements of the reedy, breathy pump organ, and the clackiness of it, and the woody knocking sounds of the banjo. In some of the videos, he was imagining the sound of those images. I’m really curious if I were to show the video to Clyde Davenport what he would have made of it. [laughs]

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the record title?

JD: The 90′s romcom While You Were Sleeping.

SILY: Is that really true?!?

JD: No, that’s not true. But the ballad “Man of Constant Sorrow”...ends with this line, “While you were sleeping, while you were slumbering / I am sleeping in the ground.” I pulled it out of that. I thought it was a beautiful idea. In some moment, I thought I had clarity on what the project was about: I felt like the project as a whole was emerging during this time of collective slumber. We’re all sort of checked out in our own little dazed worlds. It felt right. The music here is more dream world than real world. I liked the line in the ballad, and I liked the experience of what happens in the space of being asleep.

SILY: I’m sure you’ve played these tunes throughout your life, but are you going to change how you play them in the future based on these specific arrangements?

JD: Having a baby at home is a moment is not the most conducive to get out too much, but I’m definitely hoping to get some shows together, perhaps a little tour. I worked out a little band to perform this stuff, which has been kind of fun. Most of my public performance has been in a string band context, which is fun but has its own logic. [laughs] One of the fun pieces of this has been collaborating with people with little background in traditional music. They might listen to it but aren’t traditional musicians. Joe and Matt O’Connell have become a little bit of a local band. Joe can play pump organ, and Matt can play guitar and percussion. The arrangements are pretty straightforward, so it’s been fun to figure out how to make it work on a stage for an audience. I think it works pretty well; I’m enjoying it. I’ve slipped a little bit out of the usual string band form and context, so it feels a little more open-ended and inclusive. I can bring in sounds or people that feel pretty fresh that I haven’t worked with before. It’s open-ended enough that somebody can bring bass clarinet, and it will work with these settings. I’ve had a couple fun opportunities to play it with different people. My friend Andy Stack from Wye Oak, who can be plugged into anything, played percussion for a festival in Durham back in the summer with me. It’s very different from what Matt does.

SILY: Is there anything you’re working on in the short or long term?

JD: I have a project with my friend Cleek [Schrey], who plays on this album, and a long-time collaborator, Luke Richardson, which is more fiddles, banjos, and pump organ, which feels like very fresh interpretations of tunes. It feels a little more tune-ish, if that makes sense. I’m excited to get it out in the world.

I played a duo show with Jake Fussell back in July, which was a lot of fun. I think people enjoyed it. He was playing acoustic Spanish guitar and an old Gibson I have, and I was playing banjo and fiddle pieces. Maybe there’s more opportunity there. His approach to guitar playing, he knows the old ways of doing stuff but also has his own way. It felt good.

SILY: What material were you playing?

JD: Just a lot of traditional tunes. He occasionally writes instrumental pieces, but we were playing old folk songs from the South, and he had a song that Art Rosenbaum, the great artist and field recorder, recorded that we played. It was pretty listenable and musical. He and I have had similar paths and opportunities to spend time with older players. He’s created his own sound, and I’ve lived a little more in the traditional world, but we mesh nicely.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading that’s caught your attention?

JD: I don’t know if I’m enjoying this: I’m not a big Stephen King reader, but I’m reading The Dark Tower series. I’m kind of stuck in it, and I think I want a break. There are like 8 books, and they’re super long. Maybe it’s not worth mentioning.

SILY: It’s okay. I don’t think he’ll see this.

JD: Most of my waking time has been spent with my little baby. You can’t imagine what it’s gonna be like before [he’s born], and we’re in this phase now where there’s lots of smiling, and he’s making these gurgly noises. It’s very cute. I’m more interested in watching that than a lot of things.

SILY: Do you play for your child?

JD: Mmhmm. He’s gotten a good bit of exposure to the banjo already. He gets regular doses. The fiddle is a little intense. It’s loud, but it really draws his attention. You’re supposed to give babies tummy time, where you put them on their stomach and let them look at stuff. Someone gave us this book of totally psychedelic [images], like a bear with a swirl and blue eyes, pretty trippy stuff. There was a little phase where I had him listening to the Dead and looking at those images.

SILY: You’re raising him to be a Deadhead!

JD: Yeah, from the get-go. He went to his first show Friday night. Our neighbor had a poetry and music thing, and Joe O’Connell played an Elephant Micah set. It’s the perfect show for a 4-month-old. It was super chill. From all accounts, he was pretty into it.

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eddis-not-eeddis · 2 years ago

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What are some of the things on your to read list??

Among others:

How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed - Slavenka Drakulic

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation - Andrea Wulf

Readying Rilla: An Interpretatice Transcript of L. M. Montgomery's Manuscript of 'Rilla of Ingleside' - Elizabeth Himman Waterson, Kate Waterson

The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites - Libby O'Connell

Cheerful, by Request - Enda Ferber

The Grass People - Kay Parley

The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men - William Longgood

Peaceweaver - Rebecca Barnhouse

Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle - Clare Hunter

Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600 - Judith M. Bennett

#mostly non fiction #i read more non-fiction these days than fiction #i'm too picky about fiction #i y'all have any really good fiction recommendations please toss them my way

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belphegor1982 · 5 years ago

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Thought I’d make a the Mummy/Returns fic recs posts for @counterwiddershins (EDIT: whom I can tag now!) because they asked for recs. So here are my favourite (complete) Mummy stories under the cut in alphabetical order, title-summary-why it’s on my list style. A few are Old, because I discovered this fandom in 2003 and there’s some great oldies. Hope you - and anyone else looking for great fics - enjoy them!

As Sweet as This / Coming Clean, by robot-iconography

Summary: Evelyn reflects on the changes Ahm Shere has wrought upon her brother, husband, and son. / Rick takes his life in his hands as he faces his greatest challenge ever: fatherhood.

Comments: I put these two in the same bag because they’re basically a diptych. They’re like two sides of the same coin. On one hand, you have a lovely story in Evy’s voice, on the other, a hilarious one in Rick’s. Both stories are sweet and more touching than they sound.

Circumstantial Evidence, by robot-iconography

Summary: “She could be damnably silly at times; she dressed like a spinster and carried herself like bloody royalty; but she was my baby sister, the only one I’d ever have. I’d been through hell to get her back, and now I was going to lose her anyway.”

Comments: Probably my favourite Mummy story ever. I love it so much I translated it into French in 2004, and even more so now I’ve read PG Wodehouse. Basically, there is canoodling, funny misunderstandings, and the closing scene is adorable (and made me discover Ella Fitzgerald’s “Always”, which is perfect as Ella Fitzgerald always is). Peak Carnahan siblings shenanigans and a great Rick.

Deeper Within Darkness, by Laurie M

Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged that wherever Rick O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan are, trouble is not far away. What begins as an innocent night out soon leads to danger that threatens all of Egypt.

Comments: a great follow-up on the 1st film, with still-developing relationships, a mysterious medallion, and ghostly (sort of) crocodiles. The main four are very well written. 3rd person limited POVs alternate with 1st person POVs in a very natural way, allowing us glimpses into the characters’ heads. Sometimes a little bit sombre, but a lovely story.

A Favour for a Friend, by queueingtrilobite [orphan account]

Summary: Roped into doing a favour for a friend, Jonathan finds himself in charge of an antiques shop in Cairo. This is honestly the very last favour he's going to do for anyone. Ever.

If you ship Ardeth and Jonathan, there’s plenty of fun and/or feelsy stories for you! Like this fun little romp, which features a hilarious style, a Jonathan who is equally good at thinking on his toes as he is as making disasters happen (being a bit of a disaster himself).

Finding Ma’at, by exchequered [orphan account]

Summary: “Hamunaptra Cruises.” Ardeth’s tone was thoughtful. “Do you not fear a curse upon your enterprise, for naming it thus?”

Another Ardeth/Jonathan fic - and boy, this one is *chef’s kiss* I mean, the only three tags are Tourism, Pining, and denial is a river in Egypt :D

Hereafter, by Marxbros

Summary: After TMR. Imhotep has raised Ancksunamun and conquered the earth. Rick, Evy, Ardeth, Jonathan, and some new characters must find each other to defeat Imhotep once more.

Comments: ooh, this one’s a monster to tackle (134k words), and it gets pretty epic - and is worth every second of reading. The OCs are great, necessary, and everyone gets their chance to shine.

Never Spellbound by a Starry Sky, by robot-iconography

Summary: Strange goings-on mar Rick and Evelyn's wedding preparations. Can they and Jonathan solve the mystery?

Comments: another follow-up on TM, as Evy and Rick navigate their relationship and how much they should wait before any sort of hanky-panky. Life interferes in the form of a mysterious object (though NOT the obvious one) and the three are thrust into adventure again. There are battles with the mosquito netting, someone getting a few stitches on their arse (again, not the obvious choice), and all the chapter titles come from dialogue from Elizabeth Peters’ Crocodile on the Sandbank. It’s often hilarious and the dialogue is to die for.

The Mummy: Curse of the Seven Scorpions, by Jac Danvers

Summary: Libby O’Connell hasn’t heard from her brother in years. The word ‘mummy’ meant nothing to her. But when a tiny gold scorpion is revealed to have much greater value, she is thrust back into her family’s life, and the life of a man she once hated.

Comments: back in the day, the “Rick’s sister tags along and falls in love with [usually Ardeth]” trope was a staple of Mummy fanfic, and one I didn’t have much interest in. This little story, mostly set after TMR, is a fun romp; Libby is a good character, well handled, and the little developing romance with Jonathan is fun to watch.

Sidekick, by madsthenerdy girl (on FFnet here)

Summary: Jonathan honestly tries to be a big brother. No, really.

Comments: Fantastic portrait of Jonathan through the years, warts and all, and his relationship with Evy (and later Alex). It’s heartfelt, often funny, and honest (sometimes painfully).

Take That, Bembridge Scholars!, by seren-ccd

Summary: The world has been saved and there's really only one thing left to do. Evy writes a strongly worded letter to the Bembridge Scholars. Oh, she gets married, too.

It’s a great look at Evelyn, Rick and Jonathan in a few scenes, from the night after Hamunaptra to the start of Rick’s and Evy’s life as a married couple, interspersed by extracts from the aforementioned strongly-worded letter (and it’s great).

The Tenth Plague, by Khedi (on FFnet here)

Summary: Did anyone while watching The Mummy wonder about what would have happened if the tenth of the Biblical plagues had come to pass?

Not a death fic (well, not quite) but a great little look at (again, I’m nothing if not predictable) the Carnahan siblings just after they get back to Cairo after The Mummy. It’s a punch in the feels and a hug. I love it.

Travelers by Night, by 20thcenturyvole

Summary: Very quickly, Jonathan weighed the odds. On one hand, potential death, whether by armed bandits, a mummy’s curse, or people who looked like bandits and who were very angry about someone unleashing a mummy’s curse. On the other hand, potential riches, home ground, and topics of conversation other than what happened at school fifteen years ago and who got it in the neck where.

A great look at Jonathan post-first film and a great take on Ardeth, too. Can be shippy if you tilt your head and squint, or not. Your call.

We Three Together series, by Tinydooms

Basically a series that can act as a novelisation for The Mummy, mostly “missing scenes” and character studies. A joy to read if you like Evy, Rick, and Jonathan.

The Witches’ Library, by jones2000 (on FFnet here)

Summary: He would like to state emphatically for the record that none of this was his fault, thank you very much. It was all entirely coincidental. He should know by now that these things have a tendency to snowball. Or, Jonathan doesn't need the O’Connells to find trouble.

Comments: I read this last year and it immediately made my shortlist of favourites, on top of hitting me in the heart and over the head with the subtlety of a freight train. I even made a rec post about it. The writing is so sharp it might as well be written with a bloody scalpel, the OCs are fascinating, and Jonathan is somewhat jaded but still wonderfully entertaining. It’s the only post-WW2 Mummy story I’ve ever loved (read?), and certainly the only one that incorporates Tomb of the Dragon Emperor elements I’ve ever loved. Give it plenty of reviews, it deserves them.

Edited to add a few and make it more dash-friendly :o)

Also, I wrote a few things if you’re interested:

After the Sunset: What’s left to do, after saving the world and riding triumphantly into the setting sun? A lot, as it turns out. Our Heroes ride camels, negotiate the shift from acquaintances and allies to something like a family, and encounter a couple of surprises good and bad on the way back from Hamunaptra. (Or, the one where Evelyn and Rick discover the contents of their saddlebag, Jonathan finds out that whiskey doesn’t quite cut it when a scarab has burrowed its way into your hand and arm and out your shoulder, and Ardeth gives his name and saves the day. Well, night.)

Long one-shot set just after “the end” of The Mummy.

Fairy Tales and Hokum: 1937: Two years after the events of Ahm Shere, the O’Connells are “required” by the British Government to bring the Diamond taken there from Egypt to England. In Cairo, while Evelyn deals with the negotiations and Rick waits for doom to strike again, Jonathan bumps into an old friend of his from university, Tom Ferguson. Things start to go awry when the Diamond is stolen from the Museum and old loyalties are tested...

This one is looong. It’s 160k+ words. (also took me 16 years to finish but shhh)

Carnahan-O’Connells musings and snapshots: Headcanons and one-shots about the disaster family.

Like it says on the tin - mostly headcanons with a few actual stories with dialogue.

I know, there’s not a lot of them, but they’re my very favourites. If you have other recs, feel free to add them!

#fic recs #the mummy films

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mariocki · 6 years ago

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Spent all day moving furniture around and helping my sister move house, and now I ache quite a bit. For the little down time we had I brought a book - thought I'd reread Arnold Wesker's I'm Talking About Jerusalem, having completely forgotten that the bulk of the play concerns a stressful move into a new home.

I'd also forgotten what an insufferable dick the character of Libby Dobson is. Absently flicked to the front of the book, which lists the debut cast, and saw that Libby was played by Patrick O'Connell, which, yeah, fair enough, that fits.

#no shade on pat o'connell #i'm sure he was a lovely guy #it's just that he always seemed to play difficult assholes #i mean even in fraud squad #where he is the lead in the show #he's one of the least likable characters #arnold wesker #i'm talking about jerusalem #modern drama #the wesker trilogy #i've never read them in order #i always seem to pick one up and then read them backwards or mixed up #ho hum #i ache

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aautiemiller-rockcenter · 7 years ago

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OCPAA Masterlist - 2018 (HOF Ages)

Alamo: Teen Open Small Group

Fiorella Baclit, Cameron Chen, Michelle Cheng, Alli Chu, Ashley Cravens, Emily Park, Reese Willis, Cortnee Wilson, Annika Zaborniak

Angels: Junior Lyrical Small Group

Mckenna Brown, Lyla Farnsworth, Emma Garcia, Shab Ghaffari, Alexa Hedlund, Hailey Kim, Katie Langan, Delilah Ortega

Bang Bang: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Large Group

Faith Chung, Clare Dunst, Faryad Ghaffari, Emalene Heitz, Kiley Lowe, Liliana Mastroianni

Bathing Beauties: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Line

Jaidyn Alefosio, Grace Aragon, Elika Esmaeili, Elysee Esmaeilli, Mackenzie Griffith, Hannah Gullickson, Kayla Heaton, Kaili Hoang, Kailey Lawwill, Ivy Maclean, Madeleine Mai, Jovana Mortazavian, Karen Nishimura, Sarah Nishimura, Olive O'connell, Kelsey Pastian, Ava Pereira, Alexi Slipakoff, Riley Stem, Sarah Weiler

Big Spender: Teen Jazz Small Group

Kendra Adams, Jada Alexis, Stephanie Dy, Danni Jaime, Faith McCain, Emma McGinnis, Kyla Moore

Black And Gold: Teen Jazz Small Group

Cameron Chen, Alli Chu, Ashley Cravens, Lauren Lanning, Chandler Linn, Emily Park, Madelein Rupe, Reese Willis, Annika Zaborniak

Blue Jeans: Junior Jazz Small Group

Ella Cron, Sydney Fitzmaurice, Madeline Hicks, Jenae Holmes, Emma Mcginnis, Lana Salem, Sarah Wu

Candy Man: Junior Jazz Large Group

Jaidyn Alefosio, Elika Esmaeili, Mackenzie Griffith, Hannah Gullickson, Kaili Hoang, Kailey Lawwill, Ivy Maclean, Jovana Mortazavian, Sarah Nishimura, Kelsey Pastian, Ava Pereira, Alexi Slipakoff, Sarah Weiler

Candy Shop: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Small Group

Ariel Lantz-Loza, Jillian Mahan, Alyssa Mastroianni, Grace Montano, Helena Olaerts, Brady Reuss, Jordyn Rockett, Everleigh Soutas, Sara Von Rotz

D3: Future Hall of Famer Contemporary Small Group

Ashlyn Blanpied, Delaney Bojorquez, Hope Edwards, Kendyl Fay, Alyssa Park, Naia Parker, Laci Stoico, Leighton Werner, Rylee Young

Dirty Diana: Senior Jazz Small Group

Fiorella Baclit, Darby Cron, Lindsey George, Evan Guinet, Hallie Haupert, Lilah Haye, Tate Relock

Dream State: Junior Open Small Group

Michelle Cheng, Sammi Chung, Peyton Heitz, Ella Montano, Delanie Munger, Ollivia Nguyen, Jadyn Saigusa, Haley Stoico, Riley Willis

Eyes Of The Artist: Junior Open Small Group

Makayla Abadie, Alyssa Bindra, Delaney Haye, Libby Haye, Danni Jaime, Haley Kosonen, Mia Oronoz, Claire Tidwell, Kaitlyn Wu

Fire Under My Feet: Teen Jazz Large Group

Cambria Antonelli, Natalia Ferrufino, Samantha Fessler, Jessica Gallardo, Natalie Hays, Ximina Hua, Caitlyn Kazanjian, Caitlyn Mcnabb, Kayla Potter, Grace Schumerth, Haley Tran, Taylor Wehne

Girls Just Want To Have Fun: Junior Lyrical Small Group

Avery Archung, Jacine Davis, Shab Ghaffari, Mackenzie Gregorio, Alexa Hedlund, Isabella Monge, Presslie Novits, Teresa Smith

Ground Shake: Senior Contemporary Small Group

Fiorella Baclit, Alli Chu, Darby Cron, Lindsey George, Catilyn Guntle, Hallie Haupert, Lilah Haye, Tate Relock, Cortnee Wilson

Higher Ground: Senior Open Large Group

Hayden Antonelli, Fiorella Baclit, Darby Cron, Lindsey George, Hallie Haupert, Lilah Haye, Lauren Lanning, Chandler Linn, Tate Relock, Sarah Stenzel, Reese Willis Hocus Pocus: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Small Group

Brooke Edwards, Sophia Fleischman, Kylie Gonzales, Emalene Heitz, Millea Hill, Arabella Kim, Leila Kim, Kayla Nagel, Keira Pagaza

Human: Teen Open Large Group

Ashley Cravens, Ella Cron, Sydney Fitzmaurice, Peyton Heitz, Jenae Holmes, Delanie Munger, Haley Stoico, Reese Willis, Riley Willis, Sarah Wu, Annika Zaborniak

I Gotcha: Teen Jazz Large Group

Cambria Antonelli, Natalia Ferrufino, Samantha Fessler, Jessica Gallardo, Natalie Hays, Ximina Hua, Caitlyn Kazanjian, Caitlyn Mcnabb, Kayla Potter, Grace Schumerth, Haley Tran, Taylor Wehner

I Of The Storm: Junior Contemporary Large Group

Makayla Abadie, Kendra Adams, Avery Archung, Alyssa Bindra, Jaeleigh Catalano, Sydney Fitzmaurice, Delaney Haye, Libby Haye, Madeline Hicks, Danni Jaime, Haley Kosonen, Emma Mcginnis, Mia Oronoz, Lana Salem, Arianeli Sandoval, Chloe Solinger, Claire Tidwell, Kaitlyn Wu

I’m A Brass Band: Junior Musical Theater Small Group

Delaney Bojorquez, Sammi Chung, Hope Edwards, Kendyl Fay, Ella Montano, Alyssa Park, Naia Parker, Laci Stoico, Rylee Young

Land of 1000 Dances: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Small Group

Peyton Bartolo, Kyle Chen, Leighton Godlewski, Ashley Issa, Kennady Peterson, Dylan Reuss, Isabella Schmidt-Yu, Charlotte Watters

Le Jazz Hot: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Small Group

Delaney Bojorquez, Kate Dunst, Hope Edwards, Kendyl Fay, Alyssa Park, Naia Parker, Laci Stoico, Leighton Werner, Rylee Young

Little Bit: Junior Contemporary Small Group

Alyssa Bindra, Libby Haye, Madeline Hicks, Haley Kosonen, Olivia Magni, Chloe Solinger, Claire Tidwell, Abby Veiga, Kaitlyn Wu

Locomotion: Teen Jazz Small Group

Kassidy Aslay, Amberly Higgins, Sarah Stenzel, Nicole Stiles, Delaney Williams

My Best Friend: Junior Musical Theater Duo/Trio

Avery Archung, Presslie Novitz

National Pastime: Junior Musical Theater Large Group

Avery Archung, Mckenna Brown, Lyla Farnsworth, Emma Garcia, Shab Ghaffari, Alexa Hedlund, Hailey Kim, Katie Langan, Presslie Novits, Delilah Ortega, Haley Rhodes, Katelyn Rhodes, Teresa Smith

Never Never Land: Future Hall of Famer Open Small Group

Madelyn Bartolo, Monica Liu, Jillian Mahan, Alyssa Mastroianni, Grace Montano, Helena Olaerts, Brady Reuss, Jordyn Rockett, Jessie Saigusa

Not What You Thought You Were: Senior Contemporary Small Group

Hayden Antonelli, Fiorella Baclit, Alli Chu, Darby Cron, Lindsey George, Evan Guinet, Hallie Haupert, Lilah Haye, Tate Relock

Penguins Unite: Future Hall of Famer Musical Theater Large Group

Clare Dunst, Brooke Edwards, Sophia Fleischman, Faryad Ghaffari, Kylie Gonzales, Emalene Heitz, Millea Hill, Arabella Kim, Leila Kim, Kiley Lowe, Liliana Mastroianni, Grier Mclarand, Grace Montano, Kayla Nagel, Keira Pagaza

Peter Gunn: Junior Jazz Small Group

Ashlyn Blanpied, Jacine Davis, Audrey Kim, Madelyn Laussade, Olivia Magni, Isabella Monge, Chloe Solinger, Abby Veiga, Brooke Volkert

Phantom: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Large Group

Ashlyn Blanpied, Delaney Bojorquez, Kate Dunst, Hope Edwards, Kendyl Fay, Mackenzie Gregorio, Alexa Hedlund, Arabella Kim, Madelyn Laussade, Ella Montano, Kayla Nagel, Alyssa Park, Naia Parker, Kaedyn Toscano, Brooke Volkert, Leighton Werner, Rylee Young

Pon De Replay: Junior Jazz Duo/Trio

Delaney Haye, Libby Haye

Prison: Teen Contemporary Large Group

Cameron Chen, Michelle Cheng, Ashley Cravens, Ella Cron, Peyton Heitz, Jenae Holmes, Faith Mccain, Kyla Moore, Delanie Munger, Ollivia Nguyen, Emily Park, Jadyn Saigusa, Reese Willis, Riley Willis, Sarah Wu, Annika Zaborniak

Reaching For Higher Ground: Junior Contemporary Small Group

Kendra Adams, Avery Archung, Jaeleigh Catalano, Presslie Novits, Haley Rhodes, Katelyn Rhodes, Arianeli Sandoval

Rolling In The Deep: Teen Contemporary Large Group

Hayden Antonelli, Cameron Chen, Ella Cron, Evan Guinet, Amberly Higgins, Lauren Lanning, Chandler Linn, Madelein Rupe, Sarah Stenzel, Nicole Stiles, Delaney Williams, Sarah Wu

Rut: Senior Contemporary Large Group

Hayden Antonelli, Fiorella Baclit, Alli Chu, Darby Cron, Lindsey George, Evan Guinet, Catilyn Guntle, Hallie Haupert, Lilah Haye, Amberly Higgins, Lauren Lanning, Chandler Linn, Tate Relock, Madelein Rupe, Sarah Stenzel, Delaney Williams, Cortnee Wilson

See The Light: Future Hall of Famer Lyrical Small Group

Gandohm Ghaffari, Ashley Issa, Liana Li, Sophia Modiry, Dylan Reuss, Isabella Schmidt-Yu, Annika Tootikian

Show Off: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Small Group

Grace Aragon, Elysee Esmaeilli, Kayla Heaton, Madeleine Mai, Karen Nishimura, Olive O'connell, Riley Stem

Sweet Dreams: Junior Jazz Small Group

Michelle Cheng, Sammi Chung, Peyton Heitz, Ella Montano, Delanie Munger, Ollivia Nguyen, Jadyn Saigusa, Haley Stoico, Riley Willis

The Chain: Junior Contemporary Small Group

Kendra Adams, Jada Alexis, Stephanie Dy, Delaney Haye, Libby Haye, Danni Jaime, Faith Mccain, Emma Mcginnis, Kyla Moore

The Mimes: Future Hall of Famer Open Small Group

Brooke Edwards, Sophia Fleischman, Kylie Gonzales, Emalene Heitz, Millea Hill, Arabella Kim, Leila Kim, Kayla Nagel, Keira Pagaza

The Press: Junior Musical Theater Large Group

Makayla Abadie, Kendra Adams, Avery Archung, Alyssa Bindra, Jaeleigh Catalano, Delaney Haye, Libby Haye, Madeline Hicks, Danni Jaime, Haley Kosonen, Emma Mcginnis, Mia Oronoz, Haley Rhodes, Katelyn Rhodes, Lana Salem, Arianeli Sandoval, Claire Tidwell, Kaitlyn Wu

Together: Junior Contemporary Duo/Trio

Olivia Magni, Abby Veiga

Toy Story: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Large Group

Avery Amat, Peyton Bartolo, Kyle Chen, Cerys Cogswell, Charlotte Delong, Stevie Gilbert, Leighton Godlewski, Ashley Issa, Liana Li, Brinley Lowe, Sophia Modiry, Avery Olson, Kennady Peterson, Dylan Reuss, Isabella Schmidt-Yu, Annika Tootikian, Ariella Troung, Sofia Valdez, Charlotte Watters

Turn To Stone: Future Hall of Famer Lyrical Small Group

Madelyn Bartolo, Faith Chung, Clare Dunst, Ariel Lantz-Loza, Kiley Lowe, Liliana Mastroianni, Sara Von Rotz

Under Control: Junior Open Large Group

Sammi Chung, Jacine Davis, Kate Dunst, Audrey Kim, Madelyn Laussade, Olivia Magni, Isabella Monge, Ella Montano, Naia Parker, Chloe Solinger, Laci Stoico, Kaedyn Toscano, Abby Veiga

Villains: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Large Group

Madelyn Bartolo, Harper Burton, Faith Chung, Gandohm Ghaffari, Ariel Lantz-Loza, Monica Liu, Jillian Mahan, Alyssa Mastroianni, Helena Olaerts, Brady Reuss, Jordyn Rockett, Jessie Saigusa, Robert Smith, Everleigh Soutas, Morgan Turner, Andrea Valdez, Sara Von Rotz

Welcome To Bedrock: Future Hall of Famer Jazz Small Group

Avery Amat, Harper Burton, Cerys Cogswell, Charlotte Delong, Leighton Godlewski, Brinley Lowe, Avery Olson, Robert Smith, Morgan Turner

When You Wish (Future Hall of Famer Lyrical Small Group

Avery Amat, Harper Burton, Cerys Cogswell, Charlotte Delong, Brinley Lowe, Avery Olson, Ariella Troung, Morgan Turner, Andrea Valdez

Who’s Dorothy: Junior Open Small Group

Ashlyn Blanpied, Delaney Bojorquez, Kate Dunst, Mackenzie Gregorio, Olivia Magni, Teresa Smith, Kaedyn Toscano, Brooke Volkert

You Gotta Get A Gimmick: Teen Musical Theater Large Group

Cameron Chen, Michelle Cheng, Ella Cron, Sydney Fitzmaurice, Peyton Heitz, Jenae Holmes, Kyla Moore, Delanie Munger, Ollivia Nguyen, Jadyn Saigusa, Lana Salem, Chloe Solinger, Haley Stoico, Claire Tidwell, Riley Willis, Sarah Wu, Annika Zaborniak

Solos:

Abby Veiga (Final Descent)

Alexa Hedlund (Beneath My Wings)

Alli Chu (School Night, Flight)

Alyssa Bindra (See Me Now)

Alyssa Mastroianni (Hero)

Alyssa Park (Miss Banana, Machine Routine)

Annika Zaborniak (Without The Lights, Breath And Receive)

Arabella Kim (I Dreamed A Dream, Show Off)

Arianeli Sandoval (Intro)

Ashley Cravens (Painting Greys, Haunted)

Ashlyn Blanpied (Move)

Audrey Kim (Motivate)

Avery Amat (Zero To Hero)

Avery Olson (Big And Loud)

Brady Reuss (Wonderland)

Brooke Edwards (Evil Like Me)

Brooke Volkert (Lola)

Caitlyn McNabb (Poker Face)

Cambria Antonelli (Home)

Cameron Chen (Pulse)

Cerys Cogswell (Barbie Girl)

Chandler Linn (Piece Of My Heart)

Chloe Solinger (Too Darn Hot, I Gave You All)

Claire Tidwell (Growing Boy)

Clare Dunst (Eternal Flame)

Cortnee WIlson (Stolen)

Danni Jaime (Covergirl)

Darby Cron (Ready To Lose)

Delaney Bojorquez (That Man, Secret For The Mad)

Delaney Haye (Shake The Room, Faking Bright)

Delanie Munger (Unchained Melody)

Dylan Reuss (Little Shirly Temple)

Ella Cron (Lilo)

Ella Montano (Big Spender, Nature Boy)

Emalene Heitz (Yacht Club Swing)

Emily Park (Song For You)

Evan Guinet (Man’s World, Looking Too Closely)

Everleigh Soutas (Lip Gloss)

Faith McCain (Somewhere Only We Know)

Fiorella Baclit (Give Us A Little Love)

Grace Monatno (Whip My Hair)

Grier McLarand (Mr Personality)

Haley Kosonen (Don’t Tell Mama)

Haley Stoico (Lost It To Trying, The Passenger)

Haley Tran (Wild Horses)

Hallie Haupert (Can’t Let Go)

Hope Edwards (St Jude)

Hayden Antonelli (Love Ridden, Dynamite)

Isabella Monge (Angel)

Jacine Davis (Fergalicious)

Jadyn Saigusa (Trust In Me)

Jenae Holmes (Tesselate)

Jillian Mahan (Cupcake)

Jordyn Rockett (Youl’ll Be In My Heart)

Kaedyn Toscano (Big Noise)

Kaitlyn Wu (Easy)

Kassidy Aslay (Salute)

Kate Dunst (Brown Eyed Girl, Business Of Love)

Kayla Nagel (All That Jazz)

Kendra Adams (Hot Stuff, Life Of The Party)

Kendyl Fay (Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Hopelessly Devoted)

Kiley Lowe (Rotten To The Core)

Kyla Moore (Yeah I Said It)

Kylie Gonzalez (Wrecking Ball, Route 66)

Laci Stoico (Breath, Feel It Still)

Lana Salem (As Long As You Love Me)

Leighton Werner (Lost Girl, Diamonds)

Leila Kim (True Colors)

Libby Haye (Nothing Like This, Numbers)

Lilah Haye (Selah, Mothers)

Liliana Mastroianni (Tale As Old As Time)

Lindsey George (River)

Mackenzie Gergorio (Hollaback)

Madelein Rupe (Aquarium)

Madeline Hicks (Le Jazz Hot)

Madelyn Laussade (Salute)

Makayla Abadie (Work)

Mia Oronoz (Got It)

Michelle Cheng (I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Roxie Heart)

Morgan Turner (Colors Of The Wind)

Naia Parker (Mad World, Hit Me With A Hot Note)

Olivia Magni (Ocean Eyes)

Ollivia Nguyen (Does She Even Know)

Peyton Heitz (Muse, Not Enough)

Presslie Novits (Hollywood)

Riley Willis (In My Mind, Writer In The Dark)

Rylee Young (Yesterday, Mr Sandman)

Sammi Chung (Mynd Race, Ice Ice Baby)

Sara Von Rotz (In His Kiss)

Sarah Wu (Time To Say Goodbye)

Sophia Fleishman (Cabaret)

Stephanie Dy (Beautiful People)

Sydney Fitzmaurice (Vengeance)

Tate Relock (Possibility, Every Heartbeat)

Teresa Smith (Hallelujah)

#OCPAA #Masterlist #Let me know if I forgot anyone #reference #hall of fame

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