A couple of weeks ago, a local singer/songwriter offered me a tiny glimpse of music production, which I know absolutely nothing about. I sat in Georgie Jessup’s living room as she explained a bit about audio “diamonds,” which I didn’t quite grasp (I will look into that further very soon), mostly because I was justifiably distracted and then blown away listening to what amounted to a private performance.
I’ve heard Jessup perform with her band locally, purchased some of her music (you can buy it at CD Baby and iTunes), and spent some time interviewing her. I wasn’t surprised when she played a “before” recording of herself at the keyboard singing her newest song. I was surprised when she played the finished track (without vocals) and sang it live about three feet from me, but that didn’t stop me from closing my eyes and letting my face melt.
Who’s Going to Be My Valentine is Jessup’s newest release. You can hear it in this video produced by her friend, Bonnie Schupp. It will appear on Jessup’s as yet nameless next album that is about halfway into production.
Almost a decade ago, Jessup married her valentine on February 14th at the courthouse in Annapolis. That’s not particularly unusual (my husband and I eloped on Valentine's Day 32 years ago), but sadly for Jessup, the marriage did not survive.
Jessup is transgender, and although she never claimed to be a man during the ceremony, she passed as one. Born male, she had gender transformation surgery and was already legally a woman before she married Angie. When Jessup's gender status was discovered about a year after the ceremony, "Marrying Judge" Robert P. Duckett of Anne Arundel County declared it invalid, as if it had never happened. But for a while, Jessup and Angie lived as the first same-sex married couple in Maryland. Unfortunately, their out-of-time relationship as lovers did not last.
Now, nine years later, the Baltimore Sun reports that only one more senate vote is needed to pass same-sex marriage legislation in Maryland.
My Valentine
My valentine and I skipped out of town over the weekend to celebrate our wedding anniversary at the Battlefield Bed and Breakfast Inn in Gettysburg. Pondering how real events inspire art, I couldn’t help but remember another authentic Civil War era building (albeit not as beautiful as this one) where the Columbia Community Players staged a reading of Stephen Vincent Benet's poem, John Brown’s Body, as part of the Howard County Sesquicentennial Arts Celebration in 2001. I was supposed to direct that difficult piece but wisely handed the responsibility off to a close theater friend and mentor, Charles Maloney (a Civil War buff and Viet Nam war veteran). So, I was able to focus instead on producing the event and performing in the show. Now that one of my sons has been to war, I feel an even deeper appreciation for this very poignant theater memory. That story will be coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment