How the Tunes Came into Being

WARM IN THE SUN: I wrote the lyrics in 1970 while a student at Hastings College of the Law, and the music two years later while cruising down Hwy. 280 to Santa Cruz to visit Gayle.

WHO CAN EXPLAIN: In its original, straight-laced version, this tune was a trio sung by the three women in BREAD! We revamped it with hipper music so it would work in SMOKE.

WIND ME UP: Bad Barbie was to sing this as her introduction in the BARBIES musical. I always heard it as a circus tune. At the first rehearsal for SMOKE, Greg asked Marshall to give it a Latin feel. And it stuck. The tune helps set up Celeste's transformation into the character of Francesca.

OYSTERS ANYTIME OF THE DAY: On the streets of S.F. the day after the RRAZZ ROOM show Gayle turned to me and said, "I finally got what the song's about." And we left it at that. It's one of many food tunes I wrote for the Michael's run.

GYPSY LOVE: This is one of two songs I wrote for the present production. Greg needed a number to introduce the gypsy. So, I took an improvised piece (see Entre Act) and wrote lyrics for it.

THOSE SHOES: A longtime shoe, foot, and legman, I wrote this tune for LYSISTRATA, directed by Greg Fritsch at West Valley College in 2005. I prayed it would be a healthy bit of therapy to get my obsession out of my head and into song.

IT'S JUST A CRAZY GAME: This song has survived three different shows and over 30 lyric revisions. It originally grew out of the never-completed score for PARCHEESI by John Patterson.

ENTR’ ACTE: While in the studio recording a few tracks for BREAD!—with free time on our hands—I asked accordionist Peter DiBono, guitarist Bob Bassa and bass player Dan Robbins to jam on the chords to Kite in the Wind from BREAD!. It proves what great musicians can cook up when given the license to "let 'er rip".

MR. X. After Gayle and I went to Portugal in 2008 I wanted to write a fado tune. This is the result. In the original SMOKE piece it had a darker, more sinister edge, but Lori gives this version a comical twist.

YOU INTOXICATE ME: Along with GYPSY FIRE, Greg asked for a new ballad that would show Francesca's fragile side. I remember telling Greg, "Sorry. No more tunes!" He laughed and let it slide. A week later I took him up on his challenge: to write a song based on YOU ELECTRIFY ME, and indeed the chords are identical! I included the "bonus track" at the end of the CD, (recorded at the Carmel Valley Art Center) because I love the chemistry between Lori's voice and Marshall's lush piano work.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS TO LOVE: Originally written for LOVE AND DEATH, this tune first appeared in Juni Bucher's show, SMOKE RINGS, which she often performed in tandem with Lori's original SMOKE show at Michael's.

WE TOOK IT OFF THE MENU: Friends George Germon and Johanne Killeen own Al Forno restaurant in Providence, R.I. On a visit years ago I asked George why my favorite dish "dirty steak" (which was cooked right on the wood fire), was no longer available. He said, "Cooking all those steaks on the coals put the fire out, so we had to take it off the menu." Thus, the first line and the title for the song.

ELECTRIFY ME: Lori and Jonathan Chester sang this song in the final scene of BREAD!. What a show-stopper! Of course, I decided to use it in SMOKE because the tune displays Lori's intoxicating energy.

Smoke: Current Performances

Smoke: Music CD

Smoke: The Creative Team