#1 Weak – SWV (SHOTGUN WEDDING’S TOP TEN 1993 SONGS)

Shotgun Wedding begins THIS WEEK.

The Toronto Fringe Festival begins on Wednesday night and  Opening Night Pre-Sale Tickets are SOLD OUT (you can still rush though or come another night).

If you’re getting into the groove and coming in your cotillion-best, you’re probably steaming that ruffly dress with the satin and tulle or lint-rolling the dust off that teal microfibre double-breasted suit you’re wearing with the paisley rayon shirt. It’s the biggest night of your life (again) so why not take a second to put some music on your tape deck.

Very slowly, we’ve been counting down the Top 10 Songs that would make up the ultimate ‘Shotgun Wedding’ Mixtape… and now

We’ve come to NUMBER ONE.

Shotgun Wedding: The Transformation

I really gotta give it up to the cast for being good sports.

Yo, T-Boz ! Is ya being a boss, Chilli what's up wit' dat sauce?

Going back to the world of ‘Shotgun Wedding’ — the early 1990s — is no easy commitment.  It means donning very unique clothing, having very interesting hairstyles and going very aggressive with the lipstick shade.  And I’m being polite with the description.  

Where Are They Now?: Keith Sweat (& Candy Grams)

I remember getting a really weird note from a girl when I was in Grade 12.

Ever write a love letter? Ever get one?

For me, the year was  1991.  Of course, this was before Facebook or email existed, even before any of us had cell phones or even pagers with voicemail.  Back in Grade 12, there was only one effective way to send someone a message was to write them a note.  So, you either wrote it on paper and had a friend pass it to them, or shove it in their locker or leave it in a textbook.

Or… you sent them a CANDY GRAM.  

Shotgun Wedding’s Original Music by Kierscey Rand

(SCROLL DOWN for Show and Ticket Information!)

courtesy http://www.kierscey.com

By now you already know that Shotgun Wedding is a Musical and that features many of your favourite songs from the 90s. You may not know that Shotgun Wedding: The Musical features original music also. That music is by Kierscey Rand. And its about time you met him.

Director’s Blog #1: Why Len Chose Me

Hi folks!

If you didn’t know, the Director of Shotgun Wedding: The Musical is Catherine Hernandez.  I’m still finding the special words to tell you about Catherine from *MY* point of view but in the meantime, she’s taken a few moments out of her super-busy schedule to write *YOU* a note.  

– Len

Director Catherine is the pretty lady wearing violet down in the far right!

by Catherine Hernandez – Director, Shotgun Wedding

There are reasons why Len chose me to be the director for Shotgun Wedding: The Musical.  The main reason is because I am old.

Where Are They Now?: En Vogue

“I used to have a crush on Dawn from En Vogue”.
– Phife Dawg (from the song “Check the Rhime” by A Tribe Called Quest.)

I was more of a Cindy guy myself. I remember when “Hold On” first came out. The song was great but the interlude – that was amazing. The one where they do the “Whehehehehe-en I (whennnn I)… hahahahaaad youuuu (haddddd yoouuuu)” from the old Jackson 5 song? Girls harmonizing at a time when it was all guy groups doing it on the radio? Sexay.

Playlist: Bad Remakes of 90s r&b

WHAT THE HELL!?! (mildly NSFW)

I already talked about the best 90s r&b remakes of other songs *EVER* in my last post.  I think I’ve proven that no one did a remake better than the 90s r&b era — therefore, its ironic to note that remakes *of* 90s r&b songs are generally ill-advised, disrespectful and generally just not as good as the original.

But first — an UPDATE!

Shotgun Playlist: Top 5 90s r&b Remakes

Wasn’t 90s r&b the best time for remakes?  Usually when a remake of a song is done, we can all agree it’s probably a bad idea.  Not the case in the 90s, when most r&b song remakes were either as good or better than the original.

We even made a playlist to prove it!  But first…

U Will Know, Shotgun Reading, Kierscey Rand

Saturday March 12 was a *GREAT* day for Shotgun Wedding.

I got to hear the play for the first time since last summer. I’ve been plugging away ever since then, keeping true to my self-promise to never let this story go until I’ve told it.  The winter has been cold and lonely, so I was *very* excited to see Edsel, Veronica, Kate, Jerome, John Paul and Noel again.  Unfortunately for Ferben, it looks like he might get written out of the script.  We’ll have to see.

In any case, this was also the first time that we got to hear the original music for the play, which is all being done by a young and talented musician, Kierscey Rand.  Kierscey came to me via Nadine Villasin of Carlos Bulosan Theatre after I expressed the need to work with a musician for this play.  What I didn’t know was the Kierscey and I had met before…

Return of THE MACK.

That is all.