Key Largo Trio: Hyperbole, Hamburgers and Hollywood

So after a six year break during which I've survived Toddlerdom I am finally working on a new album with sister Catherine under our band name Vesper Walk. Now hats off to the Earth Mothers out there who 'cope' during these testing times, even (OMG) 'enjoy it'. You are Super Heroes. Personally, I refer to those years as the 'Black Years' or the 'Lost Years'. Oh dear.

A photo from Pinterest depicting Despair

Perhaps I should clarify. I don't mean that that time in my life didn't bring it's pleasures. Of course it did. But creatively it was a wilderness! I was uninspired. I didn't have any creative energy. Scrap that, I didn't have ANY energy. It's all a bit of a blur really. Those seemingly endless years of nappies, tantrums and being tied to nap times, meal times, bed times and the million other relentless, unceasing demands small children make on your time. But phew; breathe... my little ones are at school now. And school - How I Love Thee.

Now B.K (Before kids - oh yes, those heady, long forgotten days) Vesper Walk released an EP 'Someone Else' https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/someone-else-ep/id207075034 and I have been re-acquainting myself with it. One of my favourite tracks 'Hollywood' was inspired by something that happened when I was a teenager.

I had been offered a permanent job at Burger King (gulp!) as a children's entertainer (double gulp!!) but was due to start university at the end of the summer holidays. I guess you could say I took the job under false pretences in that I omitted to mention this fact. However, fast forward through that heady summer of crates of chicken nuggets, gallons of fizzy tooth rot, tons of fat infested fries and vomiting, excitable children and suddenly it was time for me to make my exit.

So do I come out with the truth? Explain simply and calmly that I am going to university? Er...almost.
What I actually said was something like this: "So sorry, but I need to hand my notice in. I'm going to ...Hollywood!"

Yes - I really did. I didn't see it as a 'lie' as such; more just a slight exaggeration of the truth. A little embellishment! A Tall Tale if you like. Besides, I wanted to go to Hollywood, wasn't that enough?
(And indeed, I did go the following year, armed with just my guitar and best friend! But that's another blog entirely!)

So fast forward back to 2006 and Catherine and I were brain storming about song lyrics and that particular rather hilarious incident came back to me. So we wrote a song entitled, yes you guessed it - 'Hollywood'.

The song, whilst being a break-up song is evocative of old Hollywood glamour, and the actresses who both Catherine and I had been inspired by and watched avidly as children.

The amazing (albeit slightly crazy) Bette Davis

The lovely Judy Garland

The ultimate Hollywood Icon - Marilyn Monroe

And here's our little piece of Hollywood. Get out the red lipstick, put on your best pout and languish on a chaise longue somewhere. (A sofa will do if necessary!)