A Successful CD Release Party

Hello Everyone,

The CD Release Party was a huge Success!

To begin, I must thank those who helped make the big day a reality. Firstly, I have to thank my wife Christine for Taking The Wheel on organizing and planning the entire day. Everything was perfectly laid out... you definitely have a second career in event planning waiting for you. Secondly, I must thank my Mom and Dad, without whom this party would have, well, sucked. From food to flowers, tents to tables, you helped tremendously. Also, Aunt Laurie, Catherine, and Anna all deserve kudos for their help on the day. It was a perfect afternoon.

Sunday June 24th was indeed a special day. At 11am, I had the pleasure of singing "One Face" from 'TRISTAN' at a coffee concert in the Festival Theatre lobby. Paul Sportelli played piano and the Blue Spruce String Quartet accompanied me, and the 200 folks in attendance really made me feel special with their applause. After the concert, I was even given the opportunity to sell a few of my CDs to the crowd. Paul was kind enough to welcome me to the table where he was selling the 'TRISTAN - The Musical' CDs. What a cool experience that was, selling CDs, mingling with the crowd, and meeting new people, well... fans, I guess. It's all new to me, but a welcome change in my life. By the way, the 'Tristan- The Musical' CD is great, and can be bought in person at the Shaw Festival. So, plan on picking one up when you come down to see 'TRISTAN', or any other show.

After the concert, we quickly took care of last minute details for my CD Release Party, and by 1:30pm guests were starting to arrive. For those of you who couldn't make it, we had a tent set up in the main part of the yard, under which was a table with flowers, a guest book and my CDs for sale. Music from my CD was quietly playing in the background. Guests mingled around tables and chairs, and wandered the beautiful grounds. Inside our 2-room guesthouse, we had a Food room, decked out with savoury and sweet goodies, and a Listening Room. This room had the CD playing much louder, on a super set of speakers that Freddy Gabrsek set up - and if anyone knows sound, it's my Producer, Freddy. We also had a slideshow of photos from the recording session projected on a screen above the speakers, so the guests could see just how many artists were involved in the recording, and how it all looked behind the scenes. The party was great - 7 Hours have never passed so quickly in my life!

The feedback from the CD (and the party) has been really positive. So many of my colleagues are really pleased with the quality of the recording in general. But I have to say, the song getting the most feedback at this point is "The Prayer", which I recorded with Glynis Ranney. A close second would probably be "How Glory Goes", from 'Floyd Collins'. I'm getting lots of other kudos for the quality of the arrangements, the mix, and also my voice. Leave me a comment on this message, and let me know what you like best about the CD.

And for the love of God, if you haven't yet, you can buy the CD online, anytime. Just go to www.jeffmadden.ca and follow the links. (They make great birthday gifts, right Peter???...)

AND IN OTHER NEWS...

On Friday June 29th, the cast of 'TRISTAN' gave a one hour concert of music at the Canadian Opera Company's 4 Seasons Centre of the Performing Arts, in downtown Toronto. This was my first time in the new building, and it is absolutely beautiful. I have to say, it felt like I was home among those wood floors, glass staircases and open spaces. Who knows, maybe I'll be performing there again in the future... What a treat that would be.

SOME BREAKING NEWS...

Check out the Toronto Star's Entertainment Section this coming Sunday. 'TRISTAN' composers Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli will be featured, along with Glynis Ranney and Yours Truly, in an article by Richard Ouzounian. Should be cool!

I'm working on a few more BLOG posts - so check back in a few days... One is a "The Making of... Taking the Wheel" post.

CHEERS, EVERYONE!

PS
For more photos of the CD Release party, copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33437&l=880b0&id=689660602

PPS
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