Making Those Dreams Real

Hello Everyone. A fantastic Friday to you all.

So much news to tell... let's get to it! TAKING THE WHEEL is now in my hands, and it looks fantastic! I picked the CDs up the other day in Toronto, and it was very surreal loading box after box into the back of my car... It hasn't really sunk in yet that the whole thing is finished, but that will probably change once I release it into the world this Sunday.

So... This coming Sunday, three days from now, I'm having my CD Release Party. It'll be a Listening party and a Garden party all at the same time. You're all invited. Come. Have some food, something to drink, and buy a CD. You won't regret it. In the garden at 234 Johnson St. in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 2pm-7pm. Drop in anytime.

How to buy it... If you can't attend Sunday, and you want to buy a CD (and who doesn't) you have options!
Option 1: Give me $20, and I give you a CD. Either in person, or thru the mail, whatever you like.
Option 2: Go to www.jeffmadden.ca, click the BUY CD icon on the left, follow the steps and order it online. $20 + shipping.
Option 3: Go to The Shaw Festival Theatre Shop, pay them $20 + tax.
Option 4: Wait a few weeks, and buy it digitally from PureTracks or iTunes. Pay by the song, or the whole album.
Just don't burn a copy for your friends. Tell them get one themselves!

Big Day... Sunday will be a big day. Not only will I have my CD Release Party, but the new cast recording of 'TRISTAN - THE MUSICAL' is also having its CD Release Party! We recorded this album in April 2006, and it's only surfacing now, just in time for the World Premiere of TRISTAN next month here at the Shaw. It'll be released at a 'Coffee Concert' featuring the Shaw's Blue Spruce Spring Quartet, who were featured heavily on TAKING THE WHEEL. At this concert, I'll be singing "One Face" from Tristan, which appears on both CDs! Come check it out - 11am Sunday June 24th, Festival Theatre Lobby.

Beautiful Set... In other Tristan news, we rehearsed on the set in the Courthouse this week for the first time. It is going to look stunning! It is so beautiful, even without lights and costumes. You're in for a treat... especially in ACT 2 during the Chopin/Wagner section. Breathtaking... (Did you know that most of our rehearsals take place in rehearsal halls away from the stage? We tape out the outline of our set onto the floor, and use rehearsal pieces instead of the actual props. This way, other shows can take place on the actual stage, as we do our work in another location.)

The COC... Next week, we're doing a 1-hour concert of Tristan at the Canadian Opera Company! That's right, on Friday June 29th at 12 noon, in the lobby of the new 4 Seasons Centre, we'll sing through most of the music from Tristan, with narration by Jackie Maxwell, the Shaw's Artistic Director. And, it's totally FREE. So, come down if you can.

And Finally... (as I'm sure your eyes are burning) a little news from Mack and Mabel. Today, we had the pleasure of meeting the legendary Broadway composer JERRY HERMAN himself. Aside from Mack and Mabel, he wrote Hello Dolly, Mame, and La Cage Aux Folles. We met with him onstage after our curtain call, and he was so generous with his compliments, and seemed quite moved after seeing our show. I had a chance to shake his hand and thank him for making the trip. He is in his 80's and was quite sick earlier this spring, so we didn't think he'd be make it all the way up to Canada... but, there he was. A very special moment indeed.

OK everyone, that's it for me. Now it's your turn. Leave a comment for me. I love to read them. Just click the little COMMENT icon below, write your comment to me, click OTHER or ANONYMOUS, and click PUBLISH POST and your done. Until next time.

CD NEWS!!!

Hello Everyone!

The BIG news is ... my CD "TAKING THE WHEEL" is finished!!! It's being manufactured as I write this, and should be ready in a couple of weeks.

I am so relieved to finally be at this stage of the process. I'm like a little kid at Christmas, counting down the days until I can rip open my presents. And with any luck, you can all celebrate with at my big fat CD RELEASE LISTENING PARTY. Details will be coming soon...

The last week has been a flurry of activity, building up to my signing off on the project yesterday. Firstly, I made the decision to go ahead with all 14 songs. I love them all so much, and after spending so much time making each one shine I couldn't let any go! And, since I received the copyright licenses for the final two songs that day, I figured that was a sign.

Next, my producer Freddy Gabrsek and I made our final tweaks to the mixes of the songs. We've been working on these mixes part time for months! Once we were absolutely satisfied, we sent it off to be 'mastered' by my long-time friend and technical wizard Andrew Seok. He would work on the songs, and send the mastered tracks back to Freddy and I. We would listen together, make notes on Andrew's work, and send it back for some tweaks. This process continued until Tuesday morning when I was satisfied that the songs could not possibly sound any better.

In the mean time I had been in contact with my Graphic Designer Heidi at Indie Pool, the company responsible for manufacturing the CD. Over the last two weeks, I had sent her the documents that I wanted to include in the CD liner booklet, along with photos of me from a recent session I did with David Cooper, the Shaw's main photographer. I would stay up working into the wee hours of the morning, trying to get my ideas down, so that Heidi could do the work the next day. There I was, after a show of Mack and Mabel or rehearsal of Tristan (or both), at the computer while Christine and Sydney slept soundly. Heidi and I bantered back and forth about possible layouts and ideas, and between the two of us, we finally settled on a layout.

By Tuesday, her work was finished, and it is spectacular. And it's not just me saying that. Trevor, my agent at Indie Pool said he thinks the booklet design is the best he's ever seen Indie Pool do. And the boss himself stopped to stare at the printouts, raving about the quality of the photography and the overall design. I just hope the beauty of the music can match it!

As I walked out of Indie Pool after signing off on the work, I had a tremendously euphoric feeling, like I was floating down the driveway to my car. This project has been in gestation for 9 months, and at that moment, I felt like I was giving birth... spiritually... (I know, all the mothers out there are gonna let me have it)... but seriously, in two short weeks, I'm going to set my baby free into this world, and see what happens. Will it be a success? Or will it be flipping burgers for a living? Time will tell, but I think I know how it will turn out.

That's all the news that is fit to print at the moment. Check back really soon for information about the impending CD RELEASE LISTENING PARTY!!!

Until then, keep Taking the Wheel everybody.