We had a day off from recording today, though we were still busy little bees. I recorded a series of podcasts with Ed Leon, Senior VP of The Great Courses; the podcasts will go live in a few months. They were recorded on audio only, so I could wear jeans, tennis shirt, and sneakers, my standard outfit when I’m not recording. (I will gladly admit that I am a sartorial disaster area; a walking wardrobe malfunction. Putting nice clothes on me is a total waste, like giving a 16 year-old Lagavulin single malt to a sixteen year-old. As best as I can recall, I think I actually chose a career in academia so I wouldn’t have to wear a tie to work. At this point in time, I can’t think of any other good reason for having made the choice.)
(While I’m indulging in gratuitous parenthetical statements: I am asked, usually by friends and family and typically with a bit of exasperation why I always wear black when I work. My answers are always the same: one, it simplifies my choice of clothing; two, the Ninja look allows me to make good an escape into the shadows should it be necessary; three, I can pretend that the black clothing makes me look slimmer; and four, I’m a musician and musicians wear black for reasons one, two, and three above.)
Anyway, back to the studio tomorrow for two more days of recording (works by Debussy, Albéniz, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Copland among others) and then the “wrap dinner” (not to be mistaken for a “rap dinner”, during which participants must rhyme for their food) which is, of course, the high point of the gig.