‘The Wall Will Fall,’ ‘World on Fire’ and ‘Comic Book Heroes’

Although Rick Springfield fans are no longer getting their RS fixes in the pre-pandemic way (aka lots of concerts and videos posted by fans who attend those concerts), RS is providing plenty of entertainment in other ways.

In addition to the “No Human Touch” parody mentioned in the last post, there’s also the new “Glove Somebody” featuring a mix of old and current band members and two dogs.

There has also been seven versions of the instructional videos on how to play “Jessie’s Girl” in 60 seconds but despite his best efforts, we still don’t know. (So far his efforts have been sidelined by an “earthquake,” a “fire” and “technical difficulties.”)

The songwriting with a partner mini-series with Vance DeGeneres is having a bit more success though, as the song is really coming along nicely. Plus the videos are hilarious. The nice part is about being at home all the time is that I can stop everything to watch them as soon as I notice that they’re posted and they always make me laugh.

The videos have featured several guests and according to a new article on the Rock Cellar magazine website, the plan is to eventually release the song, currently called “The Wall Will Fall,” and donate any funds raised to a COVID-19 charity.

Can we spend a few minutes unpacking that new article? There’s so much good stuff in there!

• The final edit of “World on Fire,” the sequel to “Magnificent Vibration,” is in progress and it’s “about a plague and how the Earth brings it to the people to try and save herself.” (He’s been working on it for three years and it’s going through its final edit when there’s an actual global plague. Pretty weird, especially when there are stories about how Los Angeles now has blue skies because there’s less pollution now that there’s not so much traffic and Venice canals are the cleanest they ever were, etc., which probably makes the Earth happy.)
  
• More details on the HG Wells cutout from the Beatles Sgt. Pepper cover. (Which answers my question from a past blog post.)
  
• He’s been working on acoustic guitar versions of “Comic Book Heroes” songs. He’s played a few on his fan club site, but I didn’t realize he was planning on playing all of them and will eventually do something more with them. Yay! “Comic Book Heroes” is my favorite of his older albums and I can’t wait to hear “Born Out of Time.” (My favorite on the album is “Believe in Me” and “Born Out of Time” is my second favorite and I remember my 12-year-old self feeling that way about RS because of our 20-year age difference. 😁)
  
• The fact that he’s been playing a lot more piano these days. (For some pre-quarantine videos of this, see this post, “Sing us a song, piano man.”) Right after he mentions in the article that he’s been playing the piano a lot more these days, he mentions that his next album “is going to be quite different from the others.” Hmmm… He’s done rock, country-twinged, blues and symphony orchestra albums, will the next one be piano ballads?
  
• On Saturday, April 25, he will perform in #AllTogetherNowLA, an online concert by Rock Cellar Productions, in association with @get2gethernow. The concert will be a relief effort to benefit L.A. residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Visit alltogethernowla.org for details.)

(He also performed last weekend at the Human to Human event.)

He sure knows how to brighten someone’s day!

Quarantine entertainment

Well, lots has changed since my last post on this blog. The world is completely different than it was a month ago. Any optimism and promise present at the beginning of 2020 has pretty much disappeared. As one Facebook post said, “Can we uninstall 2020 and install it again? This version has a virus.”

All that’s left to do at this point is deal with this new reality and adjust to it. Hope you all are in a safe place where you can stay home with loved ones and stay healthy.

Although the situation feels bleak, there are fortunately many people who are still committed to spreading love and joy. There are many stories of generosity and heroism and many examples of people continuing to share their light with the world. All of this is so appreciated and so needed right now.

If you follow Rick Springfield on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen what he’s been up to since so many of his shows have been cancelled. Fortunately he must be getting a little bored because he’s posted several humorous videos, including a remake of his hit song “Human Touch.”

He has also posted a series of videos that have a premise that he’s going to teach viewers how to play “Jessie’s Girl” but he gets a little distracted in each one.

These have been welcome breaks of joy in days of working at home while trying to monitor three kids who are in the midst of remote learning and I’m sure they bring joy to many others who are in much worse situations. (Plus it’s fun to see different rooms in his house.)

(Funny side note: There was a Facebook post on my newsfeed today that said that the song that was #1 on your 12th birthday is your quarantine song. “Jessie’s Girl” was the #1 song on my 12th birthday.)

He also had a Zoom chat with his buddy Richard Marx , who is hosting an online interview show, #socialdistancing, from his house.

But wait, there’s even more (and this is all in the past five days). There’s also a mini songwriting series with actor and comedian Vance DeGeneres. So far one has been posted, but it looks like there will be more.

Plus, a very exciting announcement was made today (and hopefully it’s not an April Fool’s joke): a Zoom Happy Half-Hour with Rick Springfield on Sunday! (Do you think it will involve some Beach Bar Rum?)

Tired of being stuck inside? Drinking alone or only with your significant other? Still talking with your significant other? Well, starting this Sunday you can have a drink and intimate chat with me and seven other RS-BFF’s. If you want to join in, just send your “I want in on this” email now to: RSHappyHour@gmail.com

Oh, and post your best questions in the comments here that you’d ask me at a happy hour and I might answer your question even if you don’t get in on this private chat! We will randomly select and invite seven fans who email to join me on a private Zoom chat this Sunday (and hopefully every Sunday until we’re out of quarantine). As soon as we’re done, we’ll post it online for everyone to view. Sound good? I’ll bring Bindi and you bring your special animal or your significant other!

See you then.

XOXO Rick

Definitely a bright spot in this quarantine! Stay healthy!