Greased Lightning (lead vocal: me)
Pine Grove Day Camp production of Grease
July 1980
Leavin’ On A Jet Plane (vocal: Michelle Shapiro; guitar: me)
Pine Grove Day Camp talent show
July 1982
I attended day camp every summer as a child, and then worked as a CIT until age 16. I did time at Mill Road, Ivy League and even the East Brunswick YMCA, but I spent the majority of my summers at Pine Grove Day Camp in Jamesburg, NJ. It took me awhile to find my niche – I was not good at sports and very shy – but at some point in August 1978, I stumbled into the playhouse and tried out for the camp play. As I related in my previous blog, that action literally changed my life. In the short term, I suddenly had friends and a creative outlet, and met adults who were great, encouraging role models. In the long term, I learned how to get up in front of people, risk foolishness, and somehow make it work. Did wonders for my self-confidence.
But don’t take my word for it. Why don’t you listen to a couple of songs?
First we have “Greased Lightning” from our production of Grease in July 1980. I played Kenickie, and I was asked to sing the song. Never mind that Danny sang it in the original script; I would be taking the solo as Kenickie, complete with that pointing-across-the-stage move you’ve seen in the movie. I had never sung in public before; in fact, some of my fellow thespians wouldn’t let me forget how, as part of my audition for that original play, I got up and sang a squeaky, off-key version of Wings’ “With A Little Luck.” (Just picture Alfalfa from the Little Rascals.) But eventually I agreed to it. You can hear how nervous I was.
You’ll note that I’m singing a sanitized version of the lyrics. OK, I understood even then why “you know that ain’t no shit, I’ll be gettin’ lots of tit” wouldn’t work in front of the whole camp. But it still felt awkward and wrong, like my own personal “Let’s Spend Some Time Together.” I wish I’d been punk rock enough to sing the explicit version. You’ll also hear a crash, followed by laughter, about halfway through the song. That’s the sound of my fellow cast members doing a hubcap-throwing routine behind me and missing one. Gee, why didn’t any of us end up on Broadway?
Then we have “Leavin’ On A Jet Plane” from the 1982 talent show. It was my second-ever time playing guitar in public; the first time was the 1981 talent show, in which I backed two sisters singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” As much as I hated singing in public, I loved being the backing guitarist away from the spotlight. Toward the end you can hear people singing along, the musical director chiming in on piano…and then some boos. What was up with that? Don’t tell me they were saying “Broooce” or “Boo-urns,” either. Still, all I wanted after that was to be in a band…something I ended up not doing until 14 years later.
Note: I went back and forth about whether to post these tracks. They’re quite embarrassing, even for me. I have tapes of other camp shows from this era, and there are moments that rival the Langley Schools Music Project for dark, nostalgic beauty. In the end, I decided to just post two songs in which I played a featured role. If nothing else, I got a good laugh out of hearing them again. Hopefully you will too.
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