A LETTER FROM A ROCK STAR… RIGHT NOW IS A MAGIC MOMENT! (from my Shenanigans Facebook Page) Driving down the highway on the way home from visiting Charmaine in Murrieta, I was concocting a story trailer in my mind to introduce my comic book “Shenanigans”. I imagined which drawings I would use for it, and which drawings I would need to create. Although it’s a comedy, in my mind I would begin with a dramatic tone, and the pseudo-seriousness would serve to amplify the comedic value. But what song would I use? I needed something with a sense of urgency, an escalating momentum, and something that hasn’t recently been played on the radio a thousand times. I was driving a rental car with that fancy-pants satellite radio feature, and I was absently flipping stations and happened upon an “80s Rock” station. Suddenly it came on, just the song I needed: “Right Now” by Van Halen. The keyboard’s rising intensity with the sudden and decisive downbeat had the sense of urgency I needed, and the lyrics said that RIGHT NOW is the time to make things happen! So I created the story trailer in Windows Live MovieMaker. It’s gone through several versions, and I never feel completely done with it, but the song felt so right with my story. My wise friend Charles, who filmed the interview video I’ll be using for my crowd-funding campaign, insisted that I use music that does not have a copyright, and I knew that would be the best choice to make. I labored over this conundrum for weeks, and I kept saying, “But it HAS to be this song!” To solve the problem, I did what I always do; I talked about it with friends who would agree with me. While talking it over with my friend Liz, she shrugged and said, “You could always write to Sammy Hagar and the Van Halen brothers and ask to use it.” Brilliant! It’s worth a try, right? What’s the worst that could happen? Sure, they might write back and say “NO WAY,” but still that means they wrote back (which I think would feel like a poking a lion with a stick until he lashes you with his claws, and then you can brag about your scars). More likely, they would just ignore me completely. But then there’s my favorite question: “But what if…?” That was enough to make me do it. Where to begin? I researched the song itself and Sammy Hagar, who wrote the lyrics for this song. I found an inspiring YouTube video of him being interviewed by Jeff Woods in 2011, where he talked about following your dreams. “If I explain it right, he will understand me,” the child-like side of me thought. My first draft was two full pages because I explained every single thing under the sun about my story, myself, and why I wanted to use the song so much. Luckily, I have a select few editor friends from graduate school who I ask to edit my very raw first drafts, and who I trust enough not to laugh in my face about the idea of writing to a rock star. Marie Davol edited my letter and made it concise, cut out all the extraneous stuff, and pared it down to one page, with room for a drawing and a small photo at the bottom. I wanted it to be personal – because to me, this IS personal. My letter to Eddie and Alex Van Halen came back marked “undeliverable – return to sender.” Right after my birthday, there was another letter for me on the kitchen counter. At first I picked it up and threw down with disdain, thinking, “Great, another returned letter, huh?” I poured my coffee and looked at it again, thinking something looked different about it. “Hey, that’s my handwriting… that’s my self-addressed, stamped envelope!” Inside was a hand-written response from Sammy Hagar! In case it’s hard to read from the photograph, here’s what it says: “I have no problem with you using it. But it’s co-written with the other VH guys as you know, and they usually don’t grant permission. But from my side, I am ok. I doubt that they would try and stop you. Ha! -Sammy Hagar P.S. Good luck with your dream. Don’t ever give up.” I will post my story trailer when my website is finished, maybe late September/early October. And I will take solace in the fact that the Van Halen brothers probably never notice me. So if you have something you want to do – even if it seems improbable, I say just do it anyway. RIGHT NOW! “Right now Its your tomorrow Right now Come on, its everything Right now Catch a magic moment Do it right here and now It means everything…”
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 19:19:03 +0000
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