Bandslam and Bowie

It's been a while since I blogged but it has been prep week and I am trying to spend some time with my kids before I go into rehearsal hibernation. Only, I don't want to spend any more time with my daughter who is currently sitting on the couch "commenting" on my post.

There's not enough wine in this world!

Anyway, back a few hours ago, when I did like my kids, I took them to see the movie Bandslam. I wasn't expecting much but surprisingly, I enjoyed it. The lead actor is quite good and it actually has a plot. This boy, Will Burton, a loner who knows A LOT about music, moves to a new school and gets recruited by the head cheerleader to manage her new band. Over the course of the movie we learn why Will is a loner and why the cheerleader wants to hang out with him. Oh, and Will writes to David Bowie everyday telling him all about his life. David Bowie doesn't write back, until the end, of course. And the music is very good. I think some of the bands were actual bands, like The Burning Hotels (love that name) and The Daze.

But, really, I have to confess that the real reason I think I liked this film is because David Bowie has a cameo and I LOVE David Bowie. I came of age, as they say, in the 1980's, so I first discovered David Bowie with his Let's Dance album. My brother-in-law said, "Oh, no, you need to listen to real Bowie." So, that Christmas I received Ziggy Stardust and Diamond Dogs, on vinyl of course; this was back in the day.

Soon after that, I met my friend Joe P. at a summer drama camp at Yale University. That was back when we both still wanted to act. He lived a few hours away from me so during senior year of high school, we wrote to each other (no e mail for us!). We started writing a play called, When David Bowie Came to Springfield or David Bowie Comes to Springfield, I can't remember. I can't even remember the plot of the play but I do remember we both liked David Bowie. We never finished the play but we did stay friends. He now works for SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and lives in New York City. He comes down to see all the plays I work on and my kids love him.

Isn't it amazing how David Bowie can bring people together? And, this gives me the perfect opportunity to link you to this David Bowie video from his Serious Moonlight tour. You can thank me later.

And now, I'm going to take a page from my own playbook, put on some Bowie, have a glass of wine, and check in with all my blogging friends to see what they've been up to lately.