Welcome… I’m New Here! Hello From Jazzissimo (Steve Wiest)

[Jazzissimo]

Hello Litopians!

My Litopia name is "Jazzissimo" but my real world name is Steve Wiest. As fate would have it, I just won the November Pop Up Submission! (I'm still recovering from the Guinness-fueled celebration of said) Hello to @Emily who encouraged me to join (actually threatened me with dire Celtic retribution the likes of which I can't even IMAGINE if I didn't join) so here I am! This is my website if you want a look-see as to what I've been up to: Steve Wiest Website

I don't know my way around yet, but I'm looking forward to learning. My first order of business will be to ask all of you genius writers (the Spider Robinson term "prose-birthing" came up during my first Pop Up Submission show and wasn't very well received, so I won't use that...ooops...I guess I just used it ) to help me to craft a title for my new novel. This is the one that won November ("Mmmmm...Guinness...) and its original title was "Dreaming of Tesla." It's a sci-fi jazz-speak comedy thriller love story...so, yeah. I will create a thread in the discussion room and see what I get.

In the meantime, I'm thrilled to be here and I look forward to spending time with Y'all (I LOVE all things U.K. but am based in Chicago, Illinois: U.S. and came of age in the Deep South, U.S. a place called Hattiesburg, Mississippi that is very close to New Orleans, Louisiana...thus the use of "Y'all")

Talk with you soon!

PS: By way of introduction to the Colony, I mentioned that I am a musician first and foremost (hoping to change that to novelist first and foremost...time will tell...) so here is a recent video of me with my all-star horn band called "Vinyl Hampdin." I compose and write everything and play trombone in the group (yep, I'm the white-haired fellow in the video. Do yo know how much white hair dye costs these days? ) It begins with our drummer filming his portion with the able help of his kids, then we are off into a piece I wrote about manifesting good things. Enjoy!

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Heya, welcome, nice to have you with us.
(You owe me 5 pints and a bowl of biscuits though, as I’m Bev).
Xxx VH

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Ooh ooh, I’ve just watched the video - can I swap the biscuits for the cardboard Kirk?

 

[Jazzissimo]

Heya, welcome, nice to have you with us.
(You owe me 5 pints and a bowl of biscuits though, as I’m Bev).
Xxx VH

BEV! Hello and Hello! (not to mention HOWDY!) It seems that I do indeed owe you AT LEAST five pints and a bowl of biscuits...maybe even five biscuits and a bowl of pints!

It is so good to be here, and to arrive as the conquering hero of Pop Up November is BEYOND amazing! I have been deep into my "Soul-Crushing World Tour 2022" lately (shopping my new novel around to agents) and to not only finally receive some feedback, but to actually WIN something was a deliriously wonderful experience to say the least! BTW, as I prepare my manuscript for the Head of Zeus folks, the very first thing that I did was to go through and tighten up my overly long sentences (well...most of them ) That incredibly long response to being asked to get some breakfast in my submission is something I would say...but the rest of the world would no doubt find tedious. Thanks SO much for the advice

And glad that you enjoyed the VH vid. Man-oh-MAN that stuff is fun to write and play!

 

[Jazzissimo]

Ooh ooh, I’ve just watched the video - can I swap the biscuits for the cardboard Kirk?

Ha! Ain't it a BEAUTY! Imma a Kirk fan from WAY back. Check out THIS photo from a meet-and-greet. That is the Captain and ME!

 

[Emily]

Steve! You made it!! I'm glad my dire threats had a good end It's really great to have you here, I have a feeling you'll fit right in

 

[RK Wallis]

Welcome aboard @Jazzissimo That's a super fun video and I'm impressed with the sound quality produced over zoom. Congrats with the win too

 

[CarolMS]

I Hello Litopians!

My Litopia name is "Jazzissimo" but my real world name is Steve Wiest. As fate would have it, I just won the November Pop Up Submission! (I'm still recovering from the Guinness-fueled celebration of said) Hello to @Emily who encouraged me to join (actually threatened me with dire Celtic retribution the likes of which I can't even IMAGINE if I didn't join) so here I am! This is my website if you want a look-see as to what I've been up to: Steve Wiest Website

I don't know my way around yet, but I'm looking forward to learning. My first order of business will be to ask all of you genius writers (the Spider Robinson term "prose-birthing" came up during my first Pop Up Submission show and wasn't very well received, so I won't use that...ooops...I guess I just used it ) to help me to craft a title for my new novel. This is the one that won November ("Mmmmm...Guinness...) and its original title was "Dreaming of Tesla." It's a sci-fi jazz-speak comedy thriller love story...so, yeah. I will create a thread in the discussion room and see what I get.

In the meantime, I'm thrilled to be here and I look forward to spending time with Y'all (I LOVE all things U.K. but am based in Chicago, Illinois: U.S. and came of age in the Deep South, U.S. a place called Hattiesburg, Mississippi that is very close to New Orleans, Louisiana...thus the use of "Y'all")

Talk with you soon!

PS: By way of introduction to the Colony, I mentioned that I am a musician first and foremost (hoping to change that to novelist first and foremost...time will tell...) so here is a recent video of me with my all-star horn band called "Vinyl Hampdin." I compose and write everything and play trombone in the group (yep, I'm the white-haired fellow in the video. Do yo know how much white hair dye costs these days? ) It begins with our drummer filming his portion with the able help of his kids, then we are off into a piece I wrote about manifesting good things. Enjoy!

Hey, Steve! So glad you've joined our community. Congrats on taking the prize on Sunday! Nice writing! And thanks for including the links to your website and music videos. You and your guys have got some real chops! Bravo! Loved it! Jazz is my kind of music. I'll have to use your band as soundtrack inspiration while I'm writing, since the young female protagonist in my novel is a fledgling jazz vocalist.

 

[Jazzissimo]

Hey, Steve! So glad you've joined our community. Congrats on taking the prize on Sunday! Nice writing! And thanks for including the links to your website and music videos. You and your guys have got some real chops! Bravo! Loved it! Jazz is my kind of music. I'll have to use your band as soundtrack inspiration while I'm writing, since the young female protagonist in my novel is a fledgling jazz vocalist.

Hi Carol! So nice to meet you and thanks for the kind welcome! Here are two YouTube playlists so you can enjoy the entire catalog of my band (VInyl Hampdin) but it sounds as if you may have already found it.

Album 1 RED
Album 2 BLUE

I REALLY look forward to reading your book and learning about your protagonist who is a female jazz vocalist. Our vocalist Lisa Dodd would be THRILLED to know that she might be inspiring you! AND...thank you for the congrats on the prize AND the writing! As you know, such praise does WONDERS for the heart, morale, and spirit of all us prose-slingin' folk!

 

[Jazzissimo]

Welcome aboard @Jazzissimo That's a super fun video and I'm impressed with the sound quality produced over zoom. Congrats with the win too

Thanks so much RK! And yes, that sound quality is due to our GENIUS audio engineer WIZARD Phil "Prince" Bulla. That was all done remotely on our own DAW rigs and different studios (mine was in a mountain cabin I was living in at the time...a story for another day!) and the RPince put it all together and worked his metaphysical-level magic!

 

[Jazzissimo]

Steve! You made it!! I'm glad my dire threats had a good end It's really great to have you here, I have a feeling you'll fit right in

Thank you so much Mz Emily The Dire! (hmmm...might have to work on that nickname) It's great to be here, and I have already had a super fun ride over in the Writer's Room working on new titles for my book. I think I will upgrade to the pro level very soon!

 

[Jazzissimo]

Ooh ooh, I’ve just watched the video - can I swap the biscuits for the cardboard Kirk?

And...that shot on the video was in my cabin in the mountains. I have since sold that place and am now in Chicago, IL with my fiancé. Here is Kirk's current place of honor (he is now wearing my oldest son's cowboy hat!)

 

[CarolMS]

Hi Carol! So nice to meet you and thanks for the kind welcome! Here are two YouTube playlists so you can enjoy the entire catalog of my band (VInyl Hampdin) but it sounds as if you may have already found it.

Album 1 RED
Album 2 BLUE

I REALLY look forward to reading your book and learning about your protagonist who is a female jazz vocalist. Our vocalist Lisa Dodd would be THRILLED to know that she might be inspiring you! AND...thank you for the congrats on the prize AND the writing! As you know, such praise does WONDERS for the heart, morale, and spirit of all us prose-slingin' folk!

Yes, I'm looking forward to listening. And also to hearing about your novel's progress, reading more of your work. I'm hoping to submit some scenes or chapters from my novel soon, but unsure what, since I'm mired in a big revision. Maybe I'll try to include a scene with my character, Krista, singing and you can help me spiff up the authenticity of it.

 

[Dorm Ant]

You owe me five pints for my title work, bud. Though not sure how that works, transatlantic-ally?

 

[Jazzissimo]

You owe me five pints for my title work, bud. Though not sure how that works, transatlantic-ally?

I do indeed! Not sure if "Jazz Against the Future" is THE title yet...but I am starting to really dig it! Perhaps "Transatlantic Pints" will be the sequel? As mentioned in my Writer's Forum, to fulfill my growing list of pint-promises, I need to hop on over to London and schedule a Litopia Pub Party!

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Does The Jazzman and the Apocalypse work?
Or Jazz versus the Apocalypse?
Or something as daftly simple as When Jazz Saved the World?

 

[Jazzissimo]

You owe me five pints for my title work, bud. Though not sure how that works, transatlantic-ally?

I do indeed! Not sure if "Jazz Against the Future" is THE title yet...but I am starting to really dig it! Perhaps "Transatlantic Pints" will be the sequel? As mentioned in my Writer's Forum, to fulfill my growing list of pint-promises, I need to hop on over to London and schedule a Litopia Pub Party!

Does The Jazzman and the Apocalypse work?
Or Jazz versus the Apocalypse?
Or something as daftly simple as When Jazz Saved the World?

Wow. You truly may have hit on something here Mz Bev...a real Occam's Razor moment with "When Jazz Saved The World" That may be the new front runner! I was really digging "Jazz Against The Future" but was uncomfortable with the negative word "against." This one is more positive, AND hints more strongly at the comedy aspect of the story. Ok....you may now be up to two sets of pints and biscuits, AND a Kirk cut-out!

 

[Jazzissimo]

Ok...new front runner:

"When Jazz Saved The World"

What say ye Oh Colony Collective?

 

[Dorm Ant]

OK, though doesn't have much of a buzz of excitement, to me. Sounds like a documentary on BBC iplayer about the music of the 1940s, that's narrated by Ry Cooder.

Ask yourself, is it memorable? Does it have a USP? Your voice?

 

[Jazzissimo]

OK, though doesn't have much of a buzz of excitement, to me. Sounds like a documentary on BBC iplayer about the music of the 1940s, that's narrated by Ry Cooder.

Ask yourself, is it memorable? Does it have a USP? Your voice?

Hmmm...point well taken @RG Worsey . I return to the search. This time however, I am armed with fabulous suggestions from the Colony of Extraordinary Litopians. I'll report back when I have it nailed down

 

[Jazzissimo]

OK, though doesn't have much of a buzz of excitement, to me. Sounds like a documentary on BBC iplayer about the music of the 1940s, that's narrated by Ry Cooder.

Ask yourself, is it memorable? Does it have a USP? Your voice?

PS: @RG Worsey ...what is a USP? (....must....upgrade....my...street cred!)

 

[Jazzissimo]

Yes, I'm looking forward to listening. And also to hearing about your novel's progress, reading more of your work. I'm hoping to submit some scenes or chapters from my novel soon, but unsure what, since I'm mired in a big revision. Maybe I'll try to include a scene with my character, Krista, singing and you can help me spiff up the authenticity of it.

I'd love to read said scene, and will glad to help in any way that I can!

 

[Dorm Ant]

PS: @RG Worsey ...what is a USP? (....must....upgrade....my...street cred!)

Unique Selling Point. Like when a tune comes on the radio and you know it's Bowie. A style that's you. Rather than trying to tick boxes or trying to be clever

 

[Jazzissimo]

Unique Selling Point. Like when a tune comes on the radio and you know it's Bowie. A style that's you. Rather than trying to tick boxes or trying to be clever

Ah! dig. Unique Selling Point. I am now hip. Thanks! (and will do)

 

[CarolMS]

I'd love to read said scene, and will glad to help in any way that I can!

That would be great. I used to sing jazz and pop music many years ago--I mean, like 40-50 (yikes)--mostly just sitting in at jams and some clubs around Minneapolis and then San Francisco, but it was never a regular thing and I wasn't part of a band (dumb of me, because I think I was darned good, but just too distracted by other pursuits and I think, vulnerable as I was in some ways, just plain scared of the world back then).

 

[Emily]

to fulfill my growing list of pint-promises, I need to hop on over to London and schedule a Litopia Pub Party

Our Litfest 2023 is in April next year in London Book your flights now!!!!!!!

 

[Jazzissimo]

That would be great. I used to sing jazz and pop music many years ago--I mean, like 40-50 (yikes)--mostly just sitting in at jams and some clubs around Minneapolis and then San Francisco, but it was never a regular thing and I wasn't part of a band (dumb of me, because I think I was darned good, but just too distracted by other pursuits and I think, vulnerable as I was in some ways, just plain scared of the world back then).

I would SO love to be a part of that! Alas, the current state of the Wiestian Coffers says no-go. But perhaps after I get that Times Best Seller status going...
Plus, I have been working on a Euro jazz tour, so maybe I can combine the two. We shall see...

 

[Jazzissimo]

That would be great. I used to sing jazz and pop music many years ago--I mean, like 40-50 (yikes)--mostly just sitting in at jams and some clubs around Minneapolis and then San Francisco, but it was never a regular thing and I wasn't part of a band (dumb of me, because I think I was darned good, but just too distracted by other pursuits and I think, vulnerable as I was in some ways, just plain scared of the world back then).

That is totally understandable. The music world is a treacherous and rightfully frightening existence to say the least! My approach all those years ago (also over 40 years…must be a rip in the space-time continuum somewhere. ) was the “young and foolish” tact. AKA, I figured I was immortal and indestructible and used my ignorant bliss to dive right into the fire! Happily, I somehow associated myself with extremely wise mentors who took me under their wings and paved the road to where I am today. Without their tutelage and beneficence, I shudder to think where I'd be now! My journey has been charmed indeed, but not without its fair share of bumps. I’m twice divorced, but I have three wonderful children and now find myself engaged to the love of my life (blessings of blessings!) So…life is grand indeed!

How cool that you will be channeling your profound vocal talents into prose and what a grand gift for the world! There are many fine singers out their doing their best to survive, but there are precious few (I cannot think of ANY? Maybe Anne McCaffrey in Crystal Singer?) who actually write about vocalists. Exciting stuff @Carol MS

 

[CarolMS]

That is totally understandable. The music world is a treacherous and rightfully frightening existence to say the least! My approach all those years ago (also over 40 years…must be a rip in the space-time continuum somewhere. ) was the “young and foolish” tact. AKA, I figured I was immortal and indestructible and used my ignorant bliss to dive right into the fire! Happily, I somehow associated myself with extremely wise mentors who took me under their wings and paved the road to where I am today. Without their tutelage and beneficence, I shudder to think where I'd be now! My journey has been charmed indeed, but not without its fair share of bumps. I’m twice divorced, but I have three wonderful children and now find myself engaged to the love of my life (blessings of blessings!) So…life is grand indeed!

How cool that you will be channeling your profound vocal talents into prose and what a grand gift for the world! There are many fine singers out their doing their best to survive, but there are precious few (I cannot think of ANY? Maybe Anne McCaffrey in Crystal Singer?) who actually write about vocalists. Exciting stuff @Carol MS

It seems that mentoring you received worked well. I unfortunately passed up a few such opportunities, one with a top musician who asked me to join with his young family and a few other musicians living in his huge Victorian house--late 60s communal living, the 'in' thing--so I could develop my craft, and another with Barbara Lang, a singer who'd sung several big roles in Broadway shows plus was an actress both on TV and in films (she starred with Jack Palance--remember him?--in a film back in the 50s and was considered to star with Elvis in Jailhouse Rock, but withdrew because she was still weak from having had polio). Silly me. But I probably did the right thing. I was a really innocent young woman back then, and fragile, and I suspect even if my singing took off, it wouldn't have gone well for me personally.

I love that you're engaged again! Yay for love!

 

[izi 出久]

maybe even five biscuits and a bowl of pints!

This, more accurately. Welcome! Everyone here is mostly normal. We blink and breathe at regular intervals and we don't make eye contact for uncomfortable lengths of time.