Post HAIR Fantasy

These are recordings I’ve spent many hours on. Not at all perfect, but the intent of the project comes through. When the last Broadway production of HAIR was winding down, I had no plans so – I created this sequence for a new revue of ’60’s songs in which the lyrics would describe the road that many young folks traveled back then. A spiritual, emotional and physical journey into territories which at the time seemed uncharted – at least in view of the kind life the older generation had embraced. The current music and daily events promised a limitless future – a new lifestyle of meaning, change, and love. If you follow these songs from the early ’60’s to the early ’70’s it’s easy to hear how the songs inspired and responded to the constant social changes.

This YouTube track is mainly about the music. For the visuals, I took the promo photos we did and I just slapped them onto iMovie. Vocalists heard here are Emily Afton, Laura D’Andre Mapp, Nicholas Belton, Nkrumah Gatling, Mike Evariste, Gregory Williams, Laura Dreyfuss, Jamilla Sabares-Klemm, Ryan Link, Billy Lewis, Lulu Fall, Katie Kiyan and myself – who also played and progammed all the music. Special thanks to John Moauro, Paris Remillard (he took the beautiful shot of us in Central Park- and starred in HAIR) and Phyre Hawkins.

The visuals in Act Two are actually constructed. Often you’ll see photos of the lead vocalist we hear and of the artist who originally recorded the tune. The other photos are images I associated for my own reasons that hopefully will make some sense to you or feel evocative of aspects of the music. I went outside of the 60’s to use a couple of great great songs that address the experience from later years. The pictures under “The End Of The Innocence” are very personal – just reflecting on my childhood and the journey taken by members of my family. Many are of my Dad who emigrated from Italy when he was 7 and served in the Navy during WW2. He was also extremely photogenic.

These are, of course, all cover songs but the instrumental sections that connect them are my own and are meant to soncially describe how I feel the songs connect to each other. Hopefully we can actually stage this when life becomes stageable again!