"For the Best" single released on Spotify

We've released the single "For the Best" on Spotify. It takes place at Frank's Tavern as Denise and Carl wait for the therapy group to arrive for some after hours fun. Denise is really putting the move on, she tells Carl he should get out more, enjoy life and "smell the roses". It's sung by Anne Jenness and Tony Domenick and it was completed in February 2021

Forbes article features yours truly

Here's an article in Forbes that describes my music like the memories of an enchanting voyage. It mentions several of my shows and the affect they have on people; for what it's worth, once you find a compelling story, it's really pretty easy. Just stick with it and let the fruits of your labor coalesce.

"Traveling along the inspiring wavelengths of music"

"I'm in it for good" single released on Spotify

We've released the single "I'm in it for good" on Spotify. It was our first attempt at coordinating all the various aspects of a recording studio virtually. We didn't want a lot of complexity so we picked a solo song from WYSIWYG to test the concept and it turned out great. It's sung by Blake Nawa'a and we completed it in August 2020.

Distributing your Musical's soundtrack "Indie" style

"Indie" is short for "independent" and independently released music is not financially associated to any of the three major labels (Sony, Universal and Warner). "Indie" does not refer to a style of music; it refers to the financial circumstances of its distribution.

Creating an "Indie" label or brand is pretty easy, but you need to get a GTIN from GS1 US so your brand can be uniquely identified online before your Musicals' soundtracks will be available on Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon and the plethora of other streaming music sites. For example, our newly-formed "Indie" label name is April Alsup Records. The good news is that most of the streaming services will pay the artists royalties directly for each time someone listens to your Musical's songs.

Online Scene Segue - Spotify EP Release
February 12, 2021

We've been using Soundcloud for a variety of music theater applications. Their platform is very powerful for music theater composers because not all music is suitable for the airwaves; for example, we provide rehearsal and master tracks for theater companies, casting directors and actors that are preparing for auditions and/or performances.

Unfortunately, Soundcloud doesn't have significant market share for streaming commercial music tracks and if you plan to monetize your Musical's soundtrack with a radio mix then you'll want to look into their distribution functionality called "Repost". It supports all the major streaming channels and it is free for Soundcloud premium members.

"WYSIWYG Online Scene" EP released on Spotify

We've released the EP "WYSIWYG Online Scene" on Spotify. There are 2 songs (Up to Us and Secret Admirer) with some short dialougue in the middle. The scene takes place online and the songs represent the juxtaposition of "love" and "lust" on the web. The singers are Tony Domenick, Blake Nawa'a and Anne Jenness and we completed it in November 2020.

Flying a Drone Indoors

Flying a drone indoors can be challenging, but WTH...if the space is large enough and your drone is smart enough it can be a lot of fun and take the place of a boom shot for some applications.

A new URL designation for Musicals

I'm not sure how many people noticed, but last year a lot of new TLD (top level domain) name options were added to the web. I think "the powers that be" realized that the current set of TLDs, (i.e. com, org, net, edu, gov) was just too limited. With all the industry overlap, it was becoming harder and harder to find short, easy to remember internet addresses and many of us had just resorted to using long convoluted names like "www.wysiwygthemusical.com" or "www.theageofsisyphus.com".

In any case, the new TLD "show" caught our eye because Oxford defines the term as "a play or other stage performance, especially a musical". We have several shows in development right now and WTH... with the new year, it seemed like a good time to update and standardize all our shows with the new TLD. These days if your website is secure you don't really need the protocol prefix and the default subdomain is www in most web browsers.

Here are our new URLs:

wysiwyg.show

sisyphus.show

eigg.show

We'll plan to redirect our older URLs for the time being since a lot of people use those addresses in links on their web pages, but at the end of the day, having a similar, easy to remember moniker that accurately describes our various works, was very appealing to us. What do you think? We'd love to hear from you!

WYSIWYG Online Scene Segue Love to Lust

Here's a master track of the online scene right before the finale in WYSIWYG. There are 2 songs (Up to Us and Secret Admirer) with a short recitative in the middle. The scene takes place online and the songs represent the juxtaposition of love and lust on the web. The singers are Tony Domenick, Blake Nawa'a and Anne Jenness and all the segments were recorded remotely in October and November 2020.

April Alsup · Master Track: ONLINE SCENE SEGUE

Preparing for an audition? WTH...download the public domain sheet music for "Up to Us" and "Secret Admirer" from our website and sing along with the SOUNDCLOUD rehearsal tracks to practice your part. Good Luck!

DIY 20 Dollar PDF document page turner

So I’ve been learning to play the accordion lately and I'm now at the point where I can read accordion sheet music arrangements fairly well. There are definitely some nuances with the notation to get used to. Also, it's just not that easy to turn your sheet music with the instrument between you and the music stand. I like reading digital music on my tablet, but it still feels clumsy to swipe the page and get reacclimated all in time. WTH… these accordion arrangements can have a lot of pages! If you're using PDF documents here's an easy, cheap way to make a Bluetooth enabled footpad to go forward and backward in your music. 

Accordion Music at the Cheeseman Park Pavilion

Over the last few years I've been working on a new Musical with playwright Mark Sbani about the Peoples Republic of Eigg, as it's been jokingly referred to in the Scottish media. So back in July, I decided to learn how to play the accordion and figure out how to fit it into the ensemble. I had never written for a Ceilidh band, but I love the music, the people and the atmosphere of this little place and WTH...it's just another keyboard...right? 🎭😀

My first acting competition

In 1974, I participated in the state forensics festival at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Our team placed third overall and I received third place honors for dramatic interpretation. The event was sponsored by NSDA (National Speech and Debate Association). Everyone back home was so excited and supportive.

Funny, I'm not sure I had ever been out of the Parkersburg area before that; in any case, the support helped more than anyone may ever know. It's been such a wonderful ride since then and I've made so many great friends in the performing arts along the way.

Hugs for all those alsup.org website peeps

It's really nice to find out your website is getting visitors from all sorts of cool places around the world. I wish I could have given each of you a hug when you arrived. The site has had roughly 10,000 visits, 5,000 users, 30,000 page views and the average time on the site is almost 5 minutes now. WTH...here's your belated hug! 🤗

"I'm in it for good" with Blake Nawa'a

Here's a master track of "I'm in it for good" sung by Blake Nawa'a, August 2020. The vocal recording, mixing and mastering were actually done remotely. It's rewarding to finish a song, it takes a lot of time and there are a lot of moving parts; fortunately, there's a nice sense of accomplishment when it's all done. Great job everyone...Enjoy!

April Alsup · I'M IN IT FOR GOOD - Vocal Master

Preparing for an audition? WTH...download our public domain Sheet Music for "I'm in it for good" and sing along then use SOUNDCLOUD rehearsal tracks to practice your part. Good Luck!

Denver Voyage Interview (May 2020)

I was recently selected as one of Denver's most inspiring stories by Voyage Denver. To read the interview and see all the pictures select the link below. I guess I find it hard to articulate my past, but WTH...it's nice to get recognized for who I am today.

Denver Voyage May 2020

http://voyagedenver.com/interview/meet-april-alsup-april-alsup-cheeseman-park

Rehearsal track for "HOOPLA"

Here's our latest rehearsal track for "Hoopla". We added a cowbell and a baritone sax to enhance the groove in the second verse to really get things going. You can review all the new rehearsal tracks at the WYSIWYG website by selecting the submenu "Performance Materials" under "The Work" menu.

April Alsup · HOOPLA

Preparing for an audition? WTH...download our public domain Sheet Music for "Hoopla" and use SOUNDCLOUD to rehearse your part. Good Luck!

Rehearsal track for "ONLY THE LONELY"

Here's our latest rehearsal track for "Only the lonely". We've added a bridge where Denise reminisces visiting the Latin Quarter in Paris with her husband Ron, but the scene quickly deteriorates as she comes back to reality. You can review all the new rehearsal tracks at the WYSIWYG website by selecting the submenu "Performance Materials" under "The Work" menu.

April Alsup · ONLY THE LONELY

Preparing for an audition? WTH...now you can download our public domain Sheet Music for "Only the Lonely" and use SOUNDCLOUD to rehearse your part. Good Luck!

Rehearsal Track for "ALL MEN WANT IS SEX"

We've been enhancing the musical accompaniment for WYSIWYG lately and we'd like to provide a professional audio track for every song in the performance package in the near future, go to the WYSIWYG website for the new materials.

April Alsup · ALL MEN WANT IS SEX

Preparing for an audition? WTH...download our public domain Sheet Music for "ALL MEN WANT IS SEX" and use SOUNDCLOUD to rehearse your part. Good Luck!

Using the Insta360 One X while Skiing in Breckenridge

The Insta360 One X is a nice supplement for your next ski trip. It's really easy to put the One X (or any 360° camera) on a selfie stick and capture footage of your ski partner and frame it up in Premiere using the GoPro keyframe effects add-in. There's several bullet time examples using a string to swing the camera included too. I suggest using Google Earth to find a ski in/out facility with access to a remote place to fly your drone for a nice aerial photo to start and end your video and WTH... just use VideoPad to add a title and a sound track.

Blossoms of Light Virtual Tour at Denver Botanic Garden

This year I had the opportunity to shoot a 360 video at Blossoms of Lights in the Denver Botanic Garden. I mounted an Insta 360 1X on a selfie stick and walked the tour. It was hit or miss since I was shooting lots of static photos too; in any case, WTH...I know I could get smoother, higher quality footage mounting the camera on a drone and shooting in cinematic mode, but I would need to coordinate with the Gardens on something like that.

Apple iPhones require a 360° plugin like VLC.

DJI Aerial Photography Academy Training Course Gathering

I couldn't help accepting an invitation to attend the 2019 DJI Aerial Photography Academy training course in Denver this week. It was hosted by two former DJI employees and they did a nice job of delivering the inside scoop on the drone industry (past and present), as well as, insight on the tips and tricks professional photographers are using to get the most out of the technology.

I would recommend this course for anyone interested in Aerial Photography using DJI products. They discussed the in and outs related to; government regulations and guidelines, business opportunities and best practices, as well as, how to get the best results using the plethora of hardware and software tools out there to make it all happen. WTH...it was nice to sit with people from all walks of life and hear the different ways they were using the technology.