Hey. Yes, this site is still a thing. Kinda.

Three years you say? Yeah. It's been that long. There are reasons. And there are reasons I'm back. Some fun, some practical.  I'll admit that a huge portion of why I'm immediately back today, right now,  is because the time it takes me to post this will save me enormous amounts of time answering people who write to Steven and me about sheet music.

SHEET MUSIC CAN NOW BE PURCHASED at WWW.RYANNFERGUSON.COM

I don't know if I'm going to keep this space here or roll it over into a new website I'm very ambivalent about making. TBD on that.

I don't live in Scotland anymore and my work keeps me in LA more than I'd like. But I have done some fun stuff I haven't written about on here, but have written about, or would like to write about more. So maybe I'll do that.

But I did get married. (A lot fo people got married. I'll post about that too.)
I married a Scot, so... I know what you're thinking... it's what I'm thinking too. That door is open again.
And the longer Donald Trump remains the president, the more I think about it.
But then Brexit.
So... ???

Like anyone's 3 years, a lot happened in my last three years. Really tent pole stuff that fully swung the pendulum from the very worst (Trump, rapists on the Supreme Court, deaths) to the very very best. 

I wrote a lot more TV shows
I pitched them with Autumn to crazy cool places like HBO and NBC and here there and everywhere
We got an agent we were really excited about!
It turns out he sucked and actively undermined us for jobs. 
(He was also quite patronizing and told us we wouldn't get a job because we were white and no one was allowed to get on the ladder in Hollywood anymore if you were white, even if we were women.)
I wrote (or finally finished, really) a new musical with Steven. 
I finished my novel and got a cool new agent for that. 
My husband and I went through an expensive and invasive visa process. I'll write more about this. Hey immigration hound Repubs out there: if you think it's "too easy" to immigrate to the US, YOU'RE WRONG. Legally, illegally, it's all very difficult. 
The implication from my Repub family members is, "Well Jon's okay because he's my husband, or because he's Scottish..." aka he's white and not from one of those "shithole" countries their president always talks about. Newsflash: THAT'S RACIST.
My favorite artist/musician in the world killed himself. He did exactly what he described doing in one of his songs. It was heartbreaking and I'm still more upset about it than it feels prudent to be, but there you have it. 

Most of the time, I really don't feel like talking to people. Anyone. But then, something about all this does make me want to talk about it. At least here. In this way. How I used to. 

For now,  Hello again.
Am I here? Of course I am, yes.
All I need is your hand to pull me out again.

Whoops I Missed The Weekend Links

Sorry guys. Been real swamped. And also really buried in anger and articles about Elliot Rodger. I'm gonna spare you from any of those links. And while I was doing all that, it Juned all over the place. Oye. 

- I really appreciate that the scale was presented in Jon Hamms. Also, Fassbender. Just happening here. What's good for the goose, objectifiers.

- This fantastic lady featured on access hollywood

- Selling DFW's private correspondence... ooooh, all my issues!!

- The Wonder Years Reunion! (!!!)

- These "Abortion Barbie" attack ads against Wendy Davis are DISGUSTING.

- Oh, Maya. You will be missed. I love these moments of you and Dave Chappelle.

- A co-worker of mine from a previous life in children's television. Avoid that irony, Jordan Rathus!

- Vivian Maier and Difficult Women

- Why John Waters stopped making movies

- I'll be using pippit from now on. You should try too!

- And here's your dreamy, musical meditation for Monday. A Sunny Day in Glasgow. Just sit with that. Anyone who's ever experienced the rare beauty that is a sunny day in Scotland can tell you, there's nothing like it. 

Fire & the Romance on Alt 98.7

This Sunday will be the mash up of two of my favorite things... and none of them will be the Oscars, so sorry about that. Nope, I'm talking about two of my oldest friends from opposite coasts and sides of my life gettin together to broadcast some new music. 

Dion Roy, one of my oldest friends in NYC (you might remember when I spoke at his and Aly's wedding in Aug 2012) has a new music project, Fire and the Romance. It's a pretty huge and ambitious departure from his previous (and super successful, I might add) efforts in the singer/songwriter genre. And I gotta say, I am loving the results!

He and Pete (of subway friend fame and awesome photog skillz) made this baller video for the first single, "Way Down Below." 

And NOW, THIS SUNDAY, Dion will pair up with one of my oldest friends from the Vegas days and my current LA partner in mischief and mayhem, Kade, to premiere "Way Down Below" on Kade's New Music Discovery Show on ALT 98.7, LA's Alternative (aka the only radio station I listen to.) 

It's at 7PM Pacific time. So make sure you tune in during the boring speeches and endless awards. 

Tune in on Sunday, support Kade and Dion and check out all the offerings from the King Of Tacos, Dion Roy aka Fire and the Romance. Tweet the guys (@fireandthemusic @alt987fm @kadeshow) when you hear “Way Down Below” for a chance to win a ONE of a kind hand-pressed Vinyl of the song!

Tori Amos & The Light Princess at the National Theatre London

Of all the new musicals I've been eagerly awaiting this past year, London-premiering "The Light Princess" is the one I'm kicking myself I'll miss. With music by Tori Amos and based on Scottish Fairytale by George MacDonald, it basically has the potential to be perfect.

As produced by the National Theatre, I'm not sure it is though. 

There are already some interesting similarities between the storyline and The Little Mermaid-- and I don't just mean a red-headed heroine. But one thing I'm sure all theatre-goers can agree on is that no show should share production design with The Little Mermaid. Especially not this one. It, like TLM, seems to vacillate between up-scale ethereal, and plastic toy cartoon. For the record, I think the first is the way to go. See above. And the lowest photo below. 

It's interesting because Tori's aesthetic is pretty much perfect. But then again, knowing personally how little control most musical theatre writers have over design elements, I suppose it's not surprising she'd lose at least a few creative battles. 

 Anyone have a bootleg? I'd kill to hear some of this.

Music Monday - The Other Guys - St Andrean Skies

Favorites The Other Guys perform the original commission by Oscar Foxley for St Andrews 600th Anniversary, "St Andrean Skies." 

I was never a fresher, or an undergrad at St Andrews at all, but I remember those first few lit-on-fire days there. The wind whipped up every possibility I'd ever considered for myself. I remember my friends, knocking on my door, calling me out from within myself, to new places. I remember frolicking on steep hillside slopes with my hair blowing everywhere, my wellies sinking in the sand, beneath a huge Northern moon and ripped open, flood lit, St Andrean skies. Even at midnight. Even in Autumn. You could see everything. And nothing.

I often wonder if I'll ever have a year as happy as that. But the seeds of that time continue to crop up every day. Even here in Los Angeles. 

What I'd give to relive the days spent 'neath those St Andrean skies...

Keep.Com Friday Links

This was a week of rebalancing for me, and it felt good. I normalized some routines, switched some up, made chili and baked an almond apple whisky crumble for friends and neighbors that was delicious, got locked out of my apartment and hung out with my neighbor Camellia who turned me on to some new music, decided to seriously shake up my bedroom (turns out it's gonna be like zero work,) deleted my okcupid profile (again) and started to allow myself to get excited about the workshop of Nicholas & Alexandra later this month. Huzzah!

Each changing of the seasons is a dual re-set, renew. Both normalizing and radicalizing, if necessary. Duality is good. 

Here are your links.

- The Painted Ladies of LA
- Even more reasons to love it here: Taco Day!
- I'm a fan of almost all of these 20' slang terms. "Bank's Closed, Guys!"
- This chair.
- Bullfighting in France
- Did I already post this? It's the scariest thing I've ever read about being a mother in the US
- Scottish children portraits! (I'm kind of tempted to buy these??)
- Writers on failure.
- Subscribe to this amazing Vimeo channel
- This is amazing. How Rhett Butler was the original Silver Lake Hipster.

- This has been making the rounds. And I super agree. Hocus Pocus is the best! And I'm not just saying that because I'm going to Vinessa's house later. Hey, girl!

- Keep.com. I love it! It's like pinterest, but with a built in purchasing mechanism like luvocracy. My bank account might not love it as much as my brain does. 

Nils Frahm: Live in concert from Louisiana Channel on Vimeo.

REIGN Takes on Mary Queen of Scots

Let's just say that the mixture of excitement and extreme skepticism I feel about CW's Reign, the quote unquote untold story of Mary Queen of Scots rise to power, mirrors my feelings when I found out they were turning Gone with the Wind into a musical. (And I don't just mean annoyance that I'm not the one writing it!)

As you know, it's tough to say which I love more: musicals or Gone with the Wind. Costume dramas or Scotland (and esp. the problematic Mary Stuart). HOWEVER. To use the comparison I used back in the day for GWTW musical, it's like introducing your childhood best friend to your best friend from college. You love them both. They're both AMAZING. And yet, you have the nagging suspicion that they are NOT going to get along. (Spoiler alert: GWTW as a musical was about as bad as it gets.)

So, I mean, listen. Almost everything about this show is historically inaccurate. Like, everything. To the point that it's not even worth detailing all the many and egregious inaccuracies. And while, I'm mostly ok with that, I'm not thrilled about the casting. I like Adelaide Kane kind of, ya know, in general. But I just am not digging her as Mary (wrong coloring entirely!). I'm really not thrilled about the men. I don't mind making Francis kind of hot. But just... I dunno. Maybe they'll grow on me. And, I know it's not the history channel. It's the CW. That's fine. 

And OBVS, despite my misgivings, I'm still going to watch the shit out of this show. 

The most appealing factor, based on the below extended preview is Mary's relationship with the very historically accurate 4 Marys (Beaton, Seton, Fleming & Livingston, though in Reign, they're condensed to 3 and given insane names like Kenna and Greer) which lasted throughout her life. I like the idea of these 5 (4) women navigating the waters together. 

The least appealing things I can surmise from the below is 
1. Please get someone else doing your copywriting for those text tags in the promos. They are ominous, but do not even make sense.
2. Why do all the French people sound just plain old British? I mean, I guess really they're all speaking French including her, because that's her first language,  in which case British is just the standard, okay. It's murky territory, but it bugs me. I'll elaborate further once I see how they handle some things re: using French at all. 

Reign premieres Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. on the CW.

Music Monday - Nicholas & Alexandra

Did you notice we had a new logo? It's pretty, right? Thanks much to Heather Weiss for being amazing. Also amazing, recently, I found these two recordings of "Love Will Stay" posted on youtube. 

One, we knew about the performance-- by our fabulous friend Stephanie Gibson last summer. But I didn't know anyone had filmed it!

And the other wins the award for youngest person to sing this 11 o'clock number. Adorable Olivia singing a super vulnerable rendition at her school singing competition. Full-on broken heart people! 

Enjoy! Dena and I are off to check out some real estate with Brie in Santa Monica and cruise Abbot Kinney before our dinner at THE BAZAAR TONIGHT!! AHHHHH!!

Celebrating McC

Last week, we had a massive two-day celebration of McC's 30th. Her whole family was in town and we feasted at Eveleigh (can you say #chickensalmonsteak?!?) where I successfully ran the gauntlet between tequila, wine and bourbon. We also bobbed and weaved through samplings of chicken, salmon, AND steak-- as well as jalapeno peppers, radishes, salads and potatoes. AND. Donuts AND Cookies. 

If we've learned nothing in our 30+ years, McC, I think we can all agree it's this: More is more. 
(Well, and wait & see, please don't murder me and SIGH.)

Thanks for driving that point (and all those points, actually) home, Eveleigh. I could have eaten those donuts until I died from a diabetic insulin spike. 

We continued the next night in our own fire pit enclave of The Roof at Hotel Wilshire with one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. No one even threw McC in the pool! Let's do this every year!

Want To See - Sontag Reborn

There's only a few people whose endless thoughts I don't mind listening to. Once of them is Susan Sontag. That's why when I'm in NYC in June, I'm hoping to catch this at NYTW. Based on Sontag's journals and adapted by performer Moe Angelos, this sounds like the perfect way to spend an evening on my old block.

Performances run through June 30th.

Music Monday - Natalie Maines Sings Jeff Buckley

On Natalie Maines' newest album, Mother, one of the highlights is her cover of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over." One of my favorite songs from youth, reinterpreted by another one of my favorite singers from youth. Natalie and Jeff's vocals share a similar flesh-searing quality. They've always cut through the meat, straight to the bone. 

This album is a prime example of that. Ben Harper has a lot to do with what works about this album too. It's no wonder she got hooked up with Harper, who, despite his successes as a vocalist, etc etc will first and forever be known as an amazing pedal-steel player. (Like my dad! And Natalie Maines's dad, Lloyd-- one of the best EVER.)

I'm not sure I realized initially how many covers would be on her new album. But I'm loving it all so far. You too can stream the whole album as part of NPR's First Listen. The album goes on sale May 7th.

Happy Monday!

My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder...

Buckley was meant to be sung in a church in Texas by Natalie Maines.

Here's my other fave.

What is going on? Friday Links

What is going on out there, you guys? I'm having a lot of feelings. Personally, so much is going right for me... it makes me feel a tad guilty to feel it all. I get sucked back into the feeling I've had so often for the past few years that things were so bad out there, it became a conflict to feel personally happy. 

I know that's not advisable, or even possible, but it's a very heavy pull to resist. I'm not sure anyone realizes how much time I spend thinking about safety, danger, and terrorism. Both personally and professionally. In addition to my own traumas, I've literally spent years living in the emotional world of my characters where Russian terrorism is the heart of their identity. And so much information. It feels like that has seeped into reality and the present day. It's not the truth, it's just how it feels. 

I feel a lot more about these brothers in Boston, but here is not the place for them. Instead, perhaps, it's best to remember how much is going on in the world on all ends of the spectrum. So here are you links:

- I spend a lot of time on this blog.
- Always enjoy a good Elizabeth Warren bank smack down.
- UGH.
- Sylvia Plath's New York. 
- Let's move back to St. Andrews and live here!
- Um... the tunnel people of my hometown? Vegas, who ARE you?
- My fabulous fellow Rice '04 classmate, Caroline Shaw, just won the Pultizer in music!
- A map of NYC's inequality based on subway stop.
- You guys. The English language is rich and diverse. Try harder. Instead of Awesome.

New BBC Drama - Shetland

I'm one episode into the two part series set on the Shetland islands and based on a series of Ann Cleeves novels. Shetland is not getting great reviews, but man is the scenery pretty! And man do I miss the sound of those voices. I like a good murder mystery though. Even if this one is a bit on the nose. 

Music Monday - Morgan Karr - Yellow Skies

You guys, I'm back in Los Angeles and the sun is shining! Speaking of bright Yellow Skies, my little Morgana has a new EP out called just that. I think it's Morgan's best work to date and I'm so happy he's really coming into his own here in LA. I was sad to miss his EP launch because I was back in old stomping ground all week. 

One little detail about Morgan that I always file away as a little reminder of how much I love him is this: during VOTE! rehearsals the summer we were at Minetta (aka, the summer I almost died) there was one night where Morgan and I shared a slightly inebriated cab ride. He had been keeping a journal as Mark, the character he played (and my favorite character) in VOTE! and he just read to me from it. It was so trippy and wonderful. 

He keeps those little lovable details coming non-stop. Like this little gem-- he says this record is for anyone who ever held fear too tightly. 

You can buy Yellow Skies here. You can get a free download here. Plus! Cool remixy thing. And he's got an LA/Venice show coming up soon too. Check it. I just love you, Morgan Karr!

Someone Wrote That Song

This is an issue that's been going on for a while and I addressed it on this blog back in the day during that kerfuffle with Jason Robert Brown and the kids on his blog. Some say the economics have changed and writers can just go eff themselves, but I really think a lot of it is about education and attitude-- particularly indoctrinating young people. When you teach people that something and someone's work is valuable, they'll think it's valuable. When they see the through-line, they'll understand. I'd still rather give sheet music to someone who couldn't afford it than have it stolen. 

And that's why I'm so excited that Dramatists' Guild and a whole bunch of my friends made this video. Yay for purchasing sheet music and making it so writers can keep writing. 

Skyfall & Bond 50

Were you as disappointed with the 50 years of Bond "Tribute" as I was? I mean, I heard they had something better planned... with all the Bonds and more of a music montage... that fell about at the last minute thanks to some butt hurt egotism from Pierce Brosnan or something. But still. 

I wish the video montage below had been in place of that sad one they clearly threw together at the last minute. 

For the record, I think Skyfall is one of the best, if not the best of the modern Bonds. I'm not even just saying that because of the Scotland/Glen Etive/Glencoe connection. (About time they went back to Bond's Scottish roots! Huzzah for Scotland on Film!) Or because of Ben Whishaw as Q. (Though that definitely helps too.) I think Skyfall was robbed of Best Cinematography on Sunday night. I'm all in support of the VFX battle that's going on right now. Which is why I think it's great that Life of Pi won for VFX. But Skyfall should have taken cinematography. 

And I hope that one day, Bond will get a tribute-- at the Oscars or somewhere else-- worthy of its champion status. 

Cause & Effect - Midway Film

Through my very dear friend Torcuil, I gained a new appreciation for birds while I was living in Scotland. Living in New York, birds are more of a nuisance than anything else. But now that I know what to look for, I can't help notice the thrushes flying over my apartment terrace in Madrid or the murmurations of starlings all the time... even in Los Angeles traffic. 

Which is why this video trailer for the film Midway made me feel so profoundly sad. On trash days in New York, I used to have to shield my eyes from the mountains of bags. If I allowed it in; allowed myself to process it, I'd be depressed the rest of the day. But you gotta let it in. Because it all ends up somewhere. Please watch this.

Crush Week: I Heart CHVRCHES

CHVRCHES has pretty much everything I need in to order to commit to a band: chick singer with dude backups, some electronic goings on, list Prince & Depeche Mode as one of their primary influences, possess UK passports, and most importantly: Scottish residency. I was fortunate enough to see Glasgow natives, CHVRCHES, by accident (they had only JUST formed) while I was living in Scotland and have loved them ever since--- even though they haven't had much music for purchasing via the internet. 

I am happily awaiting their EP next month in the US. In the meantime, I've used my still-active UK itunes to download a few things. Lead singer Lauren Mayberry kind of reminds me of Hayley Williams-- in a good way. She's also a lawyer...and a journalist-- so watch the fuck out. Iain Cook & Martin Doherty, on the other hand, are sort of a Scottish indie rock mainstays-- having previously founded Aereogramme & The Unwinding Hours  and The Twilight Sad, respectively. CHVRCHES spent most of 2012 on tour with Passion Pit. Personally, I'd like to see them go out with Polica. That's a concert I'd jump to see. 

Even without Polica, I'm still planning on seeing them here in LA at the Echoplex on March 12th. See you there??

They're also the first band I've seen to have the good sense to take promo photos in front of the Scottish National Galleries neon installations by Nathan Coley. 

For more, check out here and here. And a Prince cover! 

Crush Week: Griffith Park

I started Crush Week on this blog a couple of years ago as a way to entice myself to find something to like about Valentine's Day. Either guys who were out there somewhere just being crush-worthy or, as has turned out to be the more frequent case, things, ideas, places, etc that make me feel a little hope and a little romance in daily life. 

I'll warn you that I don't find much about the male species to be crush-worthy these days. I'm gonna try real hard this week to give you at least one example of a dude I find crush-worthy. But I'll prep you now, the select things I am loving about life these days are more like bands, food products, and freedom in my schedule to hike Griffith Park every day. 

Which brings us to the number one thing I have a crush on and that's Griffith Park. With very few exceptions, especially since I took back control of my own employment schedule, I hike up to  the Griffith Observatory every morning. It's also the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning too, as it's my view from my bedroom window. 

A lot of the time, no matter where I move, I feel like everything is the same. Nothing will ever change or advance. I keep moving, but I'm not getting anywhere. Hiking Griffith in the sun, with bare shoulders, even in January or February chips away just a little bit, at that notion that nothing is ever going to get better. You can move somewhere with sunshine, at least. And you can carve out one hour a day, at the very least to appreciate that, if nothing else. 

Happy Monday!

Consider Me - Nashville

After spending a lot of time thinking about and writing about SMASH yesterday, what a refreshing change to watch NASHVILLE at the end of the day. I sure wish the writers of SMASH are watching that show. I sure wish Kat McPhee would learn a thing or two from both Hayden Panetierre and Connie Britton. Nashville is my most looked-forward-to show happy watch each week. It's doing everything right that SMASH is doing wrong. 

One such example is this song. Work the steel line OUT. Just a little something for your Thursday. Buy it.