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Huckleberry Finn: Day Two

We had a full day of taping Huckleberry Finn around the Valley. Burbank, Tujunga Village and North Hollywood. Never far from home, but apparently much closer to the surface of the sun than the day before. We started on the abandoned railroad tracks in Burbank that become the Chandler bike path, where Sunday's shoot took place.

Much more of the day's work involved me singing along with the track. My video collaborator Andy Shuford gave me a specific task for the timing of the vocal. I won't spoil the surprise here. It was challenging to remember the words I wrote and sang myself with the slight alteration; but the end result is going to be fun to see. Art pushes back on artist.

My cast was gracious again, with a special nod and bow to Gina Quintana. She played an expanded role in the video as my ethereal stylist. Gina performed all of her appointed actions with a dancer's elegance; it was choreography after all. We had fun with all of the wardrobe and props that were her domain.

In the middle of our six hour shoot, we spent some time at our first day bench location for pickups and a few runs through the singing the whole number. But it was hot hot hot. I could feel the new Morgan Freeman beauty marks blossoming across my cheeks. They add character.

The full second day cast assembled at North Hollywood Park as sun was setting. Most people are only familiar with the East side of the park; but the West side is serene, a nicely manicured (pedicured?) footpath and palm trees blocking the freeway. There, we did three full-length tracking shots of the entire song. The cast was marvelous working through the timing. They had less time to react to the change in the song than I did. I applaud their creativity and flexibility.

The park cast was fantastic: Scott Peat (who played my faithful roadie, along with Ava and Ashley), Mondo Fowler, Rachel, Phillip & Henry Mottaz, Julie Shuford and the multitalented Kristine Castano. Couldn't have managed it all, however, without the Missus. Thanks, Love.

Alright. On to editing. Andy got a lot of great material over the course of both days. I simply hope we can showcase everyone who lent their time and talent to the production. We have 3:37. Go!

I know you are going to enjoy Huckleberry Finn in video form. To borrow from my friend Mark Wiechman, we wanted to produce something that could have been introduced by Mark Goodman or Martha Quinn. Stay tuned for the next video update; and mark your calendars. My next show is Tuesday, July 30 at Skinny's on Lankershim in North Hollywood for International Pop Overthrow.

Thanks for reading. Spread the word.

Peace!

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