In ones lifetime there are certain events that occur that are life changing: getting married, having your first child, buying a house, the death of a parent or loved one – not necessarily in that order.  Next year will be a watershed year for my husband and I, but mostly for me: my only daughter will be graduating from high school and going away to a four-year college and leaving me in the proverbial empty nest.

Fortunately, this is an event I am able to prepare myself for and I’ve taken every step possible to make it a lifestyle change that won’t leave me with feelings of inadequacy, or send me into an identity crisis or the deepest throes of depression.  Some parents seem to be overjoyed at the prospect and barely able to contain their excitement about being set free from the bonds of parenthood, but I think they’re just pretending.  After all, you’re not totally free, you’re still tied to your spouse, your job, your house and ALL THAT.

But, I digress.  This blog was primarily born out of my desire to extend my interests beyond the nest, and becoming a more active community volunteer is another way. One of the school-related areas I’ve been involved in because of my daughter, AND a terrific program to look into if you have a creative child who could very possibly be the next Alicia Keys or Midori or Robert Plant or Twyla Tharp or Richard Burton or, well you get the idea; is the Academy of Performing Arts in Huntington Beach.  ”We” are in the Commercial Recording Arts Department (CRAD), focus being contemporary music and recording technology.  Other areas include Theatre, Musical Theatre, Technical Theatre, Dance, and Orchestral Music.

This is my fourth year as a Board Member of the CRAD Guild (similar to a Booster Club).  I’m doing Hospitality this year which is coordinating all the food for the performers during rehearsals and performances.  In addition to two main-stage shows in the historic and newly-renovated Huntington Beach High School Auditorium (built in 1926, the Auditorium will celebrate its grand opening on Sunday, October 18, 2009), there will be a second-stage show in May and Aloha Wednesday monthly shows at Don the Beachcomber.  You should definitely catch one of these shows if you and/or your kids love rock or classic rock – if you’re more of a classical music and theatre lover, the theatre & musical theatre productions are amazing and award-winning shows.

To rouse your interest, here is what I wrote about the May 2009 Retrofest show:

You’ll be hearing more about the songbird that resides in our house. she is part of an amazing program called the Academy of Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School; her niche being a vocalist in the Commercial Recording Arts Department, known as CRAD, where kids perform contemporary music in live settings. Last night the students wowed the crowd with an eclectic array of songs from the 60’s music movement in Hollywood as documented by Domenic Priore in his book “Riot on Sunset Strip”.

Most people equate 60’s music to hippies, flower power, and San Francisco, but according to priore there were two years – 1965 & 1966 – where rock n’ roll replaced movies as the center of action in Hollywood.  There were three major television series – Hullabaloo, Shindig and Where the Action Is that were celebrating the music of a new generation and the clubs on Sunset Strip were the creative epicenter for the bands behind the vibrant new sounds that would sweep the nation.

Here is a list of some of the songs this talented group of high school kids performed:   “Shake” – Tina Turner, “I Get Around” – Jan & Dean, “Unchained Melody” – Righteous Brothers, “The Beat Goes On” – Sonny & Cher, “Needles and Pins” – Jacke Deshannon, “California Dreamin” – The Mamas & the Papas, “Along Comes Mary” – The Association, “Bluebird” – Buffalo Springfield, “Magic Carpet Ride” – Steppenwolf, “Break on Through” – The Doors.  And the girl with the voice that gives you goosebumps – powerful delivery & clarity, yet enveloping you in velvety smoothness – as she evokes Linda Ronstadt in her early folk days singing “Different Drum” – is our songbird.

You should have been there…. The whole show was timed to a docu-video interview with Dominic Priore sharing a wealth of information, insights, and  authentic footage from the TV shows and nightclub scene.   SUPER IMPRESSIVE!