Comments on: Memories Are Forever

By: Evil Empire

Evil Empire — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:10:47 +0000

[35] and definitely Josh Wilker’s. I someday hope to give the finger to Fenway Pahk.

By: Evil Empire

Evil Empire — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:09:21 +0000

This is such great news, Alex! I can’t wait to get my copy. If memory serves, my favorites were yours, Todd’s, Will Leitch’s and John C. McGinley’s (oddly enough on the last one).

By: Yankster

Yankster — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:44:09 +0000

[27] Yogi Berra! This is big leagues! And there’s nothing else like it as far as I know. What a great project for the ages and what a tribute to Todd.

By: thelarmis

thelarmis — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:59:35 +0000

[32] coolio. i think “Shadow Games” is wonderful! very programmatic.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:55:05 +0000

Nah, I’m sure Todd came up with Shadow Games eventually. I don’t recall, but I wouldn’t take credit for it. He suggested names, and it was narrowed down to two or three and we both liked that one best but I was just a sounding board. I would have gone with what he liked…

By: thelarmis

thelarmis — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:44:52 +0000

[30] whoa. this is kinda HUGE for me. wait, Todd didn’t wanna call it “shadow games”??? is it your title?! combination of sorts?

i love that name. i have a song for an old band of mine i called “Shadows”. but that was based on the lyrics the singer wrote.

i geared my composing around the title “Shadow Games” and from what i knew about Todd’s taste in music, based on our posts here at the Banter.

by the time everything’s recorded, i should have a website and i’ll post the song there. the whole new batch of recordings is for the 2nd cd and who knows when that’ll be released. could be years. on it though, it would say:

“Shadow Games” – Title by Todd Drew

i can’t “dedicate” the piece to him, ‘coz there’s a dedication piece to my grandpa there and he wouldn’t wanna share the spotlight, in that regard! : )

should it really be:

“Shadow Games” – title by Belth?! what did todd wanna call his column? i think i’ll just keep it as it is, since that’s how i know it/him…

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:38:30 +0000

The reason I misconfused it is because Shadow Games was a riff on Shadow Ball from the old Negro Leagues. Todd and I went back-and-forth trying to come up with a title for his columns and he wasn’t comfortable calling it straight up Shadow Games.

Wow, flashback.

Can’t wait to hear that record 29!

By: thelarmis

thelarmis — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:22:56 +0000

[27] Yogi’s involved? wow, pullin’ out all the stops, haha! this is just getting better and better and more betterer!

excellent news on Ed’s piece. he had written a 2nd essay for the Banter, that had nothing to do with the Yankee Stadium memories, and was also most excellent.

as far as the “correction” goes, it was easy for me to spot, as “Shadow Games” has been a major part of my daily existence lately. i’ve worked really really hard on the piece the last few months. was a really great feeling to complete the composition about a month back. there’s still some orchestration stuff that won’t be done for awhile, as i don’t have easy access to a good set of vibes, for the piece itself is finished, for all intents and purposes. can’t wait to record & release it. my goal is by the end of this year. we’ll see…

By: Sliced Bread

Sliced Bread — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:10:13 +0000

[27] what, you couldn’t get nobody who knows nuttin’ about the Yankees?

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:02:21 +0000

25) Yup, Ed’s piece is in the book. Good lookin on the correction too.

Also, I forgot to mention YOGI BERRA did the foreword!

By: Sliced Bread

Sliced Bread — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:53:48 +0000

I’m in. Very much enjoyed the Stadium Memories series over at the old place, and very much looking forward to the new stuff.
Congrats, and thanks, Alex et al.

By: thelarmis

thelarmis — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:52:20 +0000

WOW, this is wonderful! and here i thought the ball was dropped on some type of tribute to todd. this is more than terrific! kudos on the thought, process and final product. i’ll definitely be picking this up in October!

i’ll probably miss the “release party” as i generally go to NY to see the fam around Turkey Day.

i read all 62 tributes here. i remember some folks thought there were just too many and it went on too long. i was guilty of that sometimes, but for the most part, they were great essays and worth the read. i’m looking forward to the condensed/improved ones and especially the new additions. ooh, i just hope Ed Alstrom’s original essay is included! what a wonderful idea to have the Yankees’ organist provide his unique and distinctive point of view.

[0] Alex, i think you mean “Shadow Games” columns, not “Ball“. no?! my musical tribute to Todd Drew was completed last month. in honor of him, it’s called “Shadow Games”. i ran the idea of the completed piece past his widow Marsha and she’s excited about it. i hope to professionally record it before the end of the year. i’d put a post up somewhere online – todd’s picture & essay, the audio of the piece and my text of directive listening.

i think of todd all the time and miss him. the Banter is the best for keeping him alive, and for a plethora of other reasons.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:00:06 +0000

[16] Makes sense.

By: ms october

ms october — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:54:27 +0000

[22] ok, cool, thanks – been curious about that for a minute.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:49:41 +0000

17) It was a TON of work, a true labor of love. But all of the writers I worked with to edit their pieces were great, and the effort was well worth it because I wanted to present a book built to last, one that will hold up down the road.

20), Nah, no rhyme or reason for that. I had a list of people I chased after, and that’s what it ended up being. Completely random.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:48:22 +0000

Congrats Alex and everyone involved!

By: ms october

ms october — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:44:23 +0000

btw alex i always meant to ask you if there was some significance to having 62 essays as part of the original series.
(i hope this isn’t some stupid obvious question that i should know the answer to)

By: Diane Firstman

Diane Firstman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:44:00 +0000

[18]

… and just wait to the movie and the Broadway musical come out!

(j/k)

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:41:05 +0000

[17] There are 25 new ones so should be well worth while even for those who read the series back in 2008.

Also, reading them together in a collection, one after another, really transforms each individual story into something else – an individual tile into a mosaic, or something like that.

By: Yankster

Yankster — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:33:29 +0000

Congratulations! It must have been a lot of work and a lot of hard decisions. I look forward to reading it (though I think I read almost every memory when they were first posted here).