December 2024 VOCAL Songwriters Showcase

VOCAL Showcase Review

The Virginia Organization of Composers and Lyricists “Holiday” Showcase on December 16 at O’Toole’s seemed more like a party of longtime friends and featured some of VOCAL’s most stalwart and accomplished members.

John Ellis
Master of Ceremonies John Ellis (also VOCAL VP) warmly welcomed the attendees before kicking off the show with his chimey “Winter Solstice” instrumental, which featured beautiful opening arpeggios and some assertive strumming in the main section. Claiming his favorite season of fall next, “Autumn Hours” celebrated time passing more languidly in that period where “peaceful nights clear my mind.” A romantic scene followed in his “Me and My Baby on a Cold Winter Day” with its solid rock chording and blues feel, singing he would “keep the fire blazing” in his expressive baritone. He closed with a lament in a story about a wayward woman who put him “In My Place” despite the fact he “tried to give you something you can’t replace.”

Glen King
Award-winning songwriter Glen King stepped up next, using keyboards to underpin his tunes of love and celebration. “New Year’s Eve With You” took the holiday at the end of the year as the time “I’d like to hold you tight, feel your love inside me” and evoked street scenes in Times Square as a way of pointing out his longing to be closer to his lover. “Rocket Woman” used that Scottish colloquial for a beautiful woman to praise his lover, singing “baby, you’re the best in show.” In a nod to the season at a different time of the year, “Christmas Came Early” was a thankful lyric about “one little present” that was a “wonder in a blanket, a new born boy.” Glen closed with “Nobody Else Comes Close”, described as a love letter to his wife who delighted in “bringing out the child in me.”

Russell Lawson and Matthew Costello

Impromptu showcasers followed with Russell Lawson presenting “Dear Santa” and Christmastime” and Matthew Costello wowing the crowd with a spirited rendition of “Digging For Elvis” that had the audience loudly singing the well-known chorus.

Glenda Creamer
Glenda Creamer’s set opened with her charming “The Cookie Exchange”, a story of self-discipline amid seasonal treats where “I don’t want to eat Christmas Cookies no more” was a hard aspiration to keep. Her next tune described the regrettable effects of “Those Magazines” she read, from recipes to exercise to self-examination that had her “getting in more trouble than I ever seen.” Her tuneful and expressive “Don’t Be Frightened, Mary” included Matt Manion singing the male roles in the story of Mary’s Annunciation and the fearful message that she would bear the Son of God.

Matt Manion
Matt kept the stage for his own set that began with “Hotel by the Highway” where the singer encountered a live band and observed a group of fellow travelers who enticed him to join in unanticipated dancing and socialization. A brief tune called “Give the Gift” featured some of Matt’s interesting chording and exhortation for listeners to give the gift of forgiveness to others. The final “Sit Down for Standby”, a retelling of the wait imposed on a traveler at the conclusion of a journey home when money was short and only the bargain of standby would get the singer home. John Ellis sat in on lead guitar for this mid-tempo rocker and added tasty melodic phrases among the lyric.

Norman Roscher
Norman Roscher topped off the bill with his customary showmanship and charisma, supported by John Ellis on guitar. Despite being hampered by a couple of fractured fingers (hence the appearance of Ellis), Norman delivered enthusiastic renditions of some of his favorite compositions. “Me and You and Baby” included some lively scatting over John’s solid playing in a song that combined elements of fancy from Mother Goose to fairy tales. “You and Me”, a warm description of a couple whose dating had just begun, emphasized the affection and companionship the singer felt and wanted the lover to feel. “Waiting for the Moon” incorporated an impressionistic set of scenes, evocative language and very compelling guitar lines from Ellis, to describe a world in which someone was waiting, was the “we” the singer…a couple…a group? Finally, he sang “All I Want For Christmas” where he longed for “a little less bad news” to create a “happier holiday.”

A group of showcase musicians then led the audience in a sing-along through a few of well-known seasonal favorites, concluding the December showcase on a high note indeed. Merry Christmas, everyone!