Over the past several months I’ve been obsession over creating a new version of the old Kenny Rogers hit“Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town.” I thought the song should be dusted off and updated to reflect a post-Iraq War environment. So I’ve been busy writing a few new lyrics for it in hopes that my pal Bruce Kulick and I can record it in the next few weeks. I’d like to simply post it on You Tube with some accompanying visuals of our fine guys in gals in the U.S. Military, with a dedication to them as well. But in the meantime, here’s the original version (and the best, in my humble opinion) by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.
Tuesday the 17th – I NEED A CLONE OF MY OWN! – I got a hotline call in the morning asking me to be at NBC at 1:00 for a bit for “The Tonight Show,” but I was already scheduled to be at Voice Trax West to do another session for the US Airways folks. Rats. I hate those scheduling conflicts, because I really DO want to be everywhere at the same time! So I got up, did a little prep work and a few things around the house, including dubbing another DVD of my old home movies on VHS. This particular one was wild! I shot it with a pal of mine named Mike Buchanan (BUCKIE, WHERE ARE YOU?!) back in 1992 as we were making a video tour of the high school we went to. Though Mike still lived in Aberdeen, SD at the time, I hadn’t been there in about 10 years. So it was fun to drive around the old neighborhoods, see the old haunts, the schools, etc. In one part we went into the old theatre (where I had been involved in several plays and talent shows) and started goofing around. There wasn’t anyone around but it looked like they were setting up for some lecture. The large curtain was drawn, but as Mike shot video I got up on stage, disappeared behind the curtain, then popped out between the curtain’s separation singing the old “Tonight Show” theme and doing a Johnny Carson impression! I thought it was funny that in 1992 I had no idea that in 20 years I would actually be WORKING on “The Tonight Show!” Too weird! I got showered and headed over to Voice Trax West for the US Airways session. When I finished I stopped by my accountant’s office to drop off my tax receipts for 2011. Though the thought of taxes makes me nauseous, I was hungry enough to stop by McDonald’s and get some lunch at the drive-thru. I went to Guns Direct in Burbank to have my two new guns cleaned. I had taken them shooting a few nights earlier and had noticed that the Walther PPK-S I had bought used was shooting too far left. It wasn’t just me, everyone in my party was shooting too far left. Kyle at the store looked at it and immediately could tell that the rear sight was very far off. He said he didn’t have the tools to “pull” it into position, but gave me the info on a place that could. I dropped them both off to get cleaned and I would pick them up later. I headed on to NBC to do a comedy bit, and just stayed around until we taped the show. After the taping I headed back to Guns Direct to pick up my clean, shiny guns. On the way home I went to Milt & Edi’s Cleaners in Toluca Lake to have a button replaced on a pair of my shorts. The button didn’t pop off, it just kind of…dissolved. I don’t think the button was very good quality to start with. But the guy there replaced the button for me for FREE! What a swell guy! I thanked him profusely and went on my way. I stopped at my mailbox to pick up some packages, then went home to take a brief nap. I got up later that night when it was all quiet around the neighborhood and did several auditions in my home studio to e-mail to my agents. I went through my bank statements and got all caught up in my checkbooks, then I started watching a new TV series for my regular “TV TIME” viewing just before bed. I had just completed Season 4 of “The Six Million Dollar Man” so it was time to start with the animated “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” series. I had all 26 episodes of the first season, and since I’m on that show I wanted to see how the whole thing turned out. I also wanted to familiarize myself with the storylines and character arcs in case anyone asked me about it. From the episodes I’ve seen on Disney XD, it’s a TOP NOTCH, high quality show!
Wednesday the 18th – SPAM SLAM! – I got up early for a session for some new TV commercials for Spam at Voice Trax West. They had hired me back in 2009 for a bunch of spots, and they just pulled my name out of their hats for some new spots. Too cool! Sometimes amazing things happen like that, especially when you work for amazing folks like these. It was a great session and we had a lot of fun. It was going to be another busy day, though. Sara took me out to the shop where some paint touch-ups were being done on my 1974 Gran Torino “Starsky” car. Then I drove the Torino over to Bodie Stroud’s shop in Sun Valley to have him look at a suspension issue. I also introduced him to my new friend Alex who is a car nut and knows just about everything there is to know about them. I figured Bodie would be a good contact for Alex, and vice versa. The Torino will be appearing at a Roadster show in Pomona the weekend of January 27-29, and it will be next to Paul Michael Glaser who will be there signing and selling his new book “Chrystallia and the Source of Light.” So I wanted to make sure it looked perfect and ran even more perfectly. My plan is to hire Alex to help Bodie transport the car out to Pomona next week before the show and get it all set up. My parents are coming to town next week and my schedule will be rather full. So I’m glad Alex is able to help out. The suspension issue turned out to be nothing, so I headed home and got ready for “TTS.” But I noticed that the Torino’s alarm was no longer “chirping.” I would hit the alarm button but no sound. I could see by the light on the dash that it was active, but for some reason the chirp sound was gone. Maybe something didn’t get hooked back up right after the painting process. It was off to NBC for the show, and then home to do some work and have dinner with my friend Brittney Powell. I grabbed a nap, then got up to do my auditions and watch another episode of “Avengers: EMH.” I noticed something funny in the credits though. I voice Dr. Hank Pym aka Ant Man and Giant Man. But I also voice the early version of Ultron, Pym’s robot assistants. Director Jamie Simone figured that if Pym created the robots he would imbue them with his own voice. However in the credits it said I voiced someone named “Elton.” I couldn’t figure out who “Elton” was, since I had no recollection of ever voicing such a character. But then it dawned on me…the credits were mistaken. It should have read ULTRON and not ELTON. That made me laugh, and everyone needs a good laugh before bedtime!
Thursday the 19th – SALADS AND PHILOSOPHY! – I got up just before noon and went to meet Paul Michael Glaser at Voice Trax West. He was just finishing up another session for his “Chrystallia” audio book, and we were meeting for lunch. He’s a fascinating guy. Of course it’s cool that I idolized him in my pre-teen years from his work on “Starsky & Hutch,” but his stories of life experiences are amazing. We talked about everything from our relatives and ancestors, tips for buying a house, upcoming appearances, creativity and art, the world of fans and collecting, and more. It’s always an interesting discussing things with Paul. After lunch I went home to relax a bit before going to NBC. We finished the taping of “TTS” and then I went to my box to pick up more packages. I also got my finished framed art from Fast Frame. Last week I had mentioned here how I found on eBay an original concept sketch of a character I voiced in a Disney Channel movie back in 1998. It turned out great! Then I met my friends Edi and Kristy for dinner at Paty’s in Toluca Lake. It was a chilly night and I enjoyed going home to grab a nap by the fireplace. I got up later that evening to do my auditions and e-mail them to my agents, and then prepare for the final day of work on “TTS,” as we were heading into another week-long hiatus week starting Monday the 23rd.
Friday the 20th – WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH WALLY?! – I got a hotline call to record a bit for “TTS” at home and e-mail it in. Then I got another hotline call shortly after that one to be in early to NBC for another bit. I got there at 1:30, did the bit for writer John Melendez, and then headed over to the famous NBC commissary to grab a salad. I took it back to the studio, wolfed it down and got ready for the show. We were taping early today, as we always do before heading into a hiatus week. But when we tape earlier, that also means we get finished earlier than usual. So I had some time to go run some errands. I went to the bank to drop off a deposit, then went to It’s a Wrap and bought a cool shirt. I drove to Fry’s Electronics and bought a new corded telephone for my bedroom (the old one had give up the ghost!) and a new computer keyboard. The one I had been using had WAAAAY more stuff on it than what I needed, so I’m looking to streamline a bit. My flying fingers were always hitting stray buttons that would do things like send e-mails prematurely, shut down programs, even shut the whole computer down! But I surprised all of my immediate friends by splurging and buying…an i-Pad! I already had an i-Pod so I figured it couldn’t be much different. I got a 64 gig so I could keep plenty of music and photos on it. I got the idea when a friend of mine asked what I had been working on. I told him about the Robo-Elvis project, but at the time there were no photos up on my website. So I thought it might be nice to have along a way to show him photos on the spot. Plus for Christmas gifts, “TTS” gave us all i-Pod docks! So I had a dock, but nothing to put on it. Until now. I got home to shower, then had dinner with my assistant Sara and my pal Edi. Then I went back home to work on dubbing more DVDs of my VHS home movies. I also needed to get the house ready for the maids who would be arriving at noon on Saturday. Cleaning up for the maids? Yup. If you can believe it!
Saturday the 21st – SATURDAY SPRINKLES! – It rained a bit overnight and I always love when that happens. I got up late morning to let the maids in, then I phoned my friends James Alburger and Penny Abshire to do an interview with them. They do Saturday voice-over seminars via Skype and telephone for their students, and today it was my turn to be interviewed about the world of voice-over. It’s always a fun time with those two and we ended up talking for almost two full hours! When the interview gets posted on their site I’ll post a link here so you can check it out. When the interview was over Sara and I went to grab lunch with Edi, then picked up a few items at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I dashed over to Floyd’s Barbershop to update my “color,” and then went home to grab a quick nap before movie night. Tonight we watched the Laurel and Hardy short “Men O’War,” followed by the Blu Ray of “Cowboys and Aliens,” and then an old favorite…”The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension!” I had forgotten how funny that film is! When my guests left Sara and I watched another couple episodes of “Avengers: EMH!” We’re digging it!
Sunday the 22nd – SPOOK SCOOPS SLEEP! – I was trying to sleep in, but my cat Spooky came into my room and was meowing and being obnoxious. I got up and gave him a few treats, then went back to bed to sleep until it was time for evening church. I noticed that our old pals The Ducks had come back and had taken up residence in our pool again. They come back about this time every year, and luckily the pool isn’t heated during the winter. So nobody is swimming in it anyway. As cute as they are they do leave behind quite a mess. But it’s still neat to see them swimming around. And I can tell it’s the same duck couple every year, because when I quack like a duck they swim over to the side to see me. But I was running late for church! When I got there my friend Amanda was there, and after church I gathered up Sara, Amanda, Edi and her son Josh and we all met for dinner at The Coral Cafe. Good down home cooking! It looks, smells, feels and tastes just like the restaurants I used to frequent in South Dakota. MMMMMM MMM! I went home and grabbed a quick nap, then got up for my auditions, and more “Avengers.” I would be able to sleep really late on Monday, since I wouldn’t be getting any hotline calls from “TTS.” But at some point I need to get my Torino over to Bodie’s to see why my alarm isn’t chirping, and I’d like to take my Walther PPK-S into the gunsmith to have the sights pulled.
And how was YOUR week??!!
