Episode 0091 - “Singing and Ringing”

Frank Murphy is joined by his friend Kathryn Frady. He recently recorded some See More Smokies episodes with fashion model Victoria Henley. 

Frank and Kathryn saw each other at Brandon Gibson’s funeral. Kathryn and her husband James spent Thanksgiving with Frank and his wife Jere. 

Kathryn produced Amahl and the Night Visitors at Opéra Louisiane. They will do a different Christmas opera next year. Frank saw a picture from 2013 of Kathryn in Marble City Opera’s production of The Gift of the Magi. 

Frank will emcee Marble City Opera’s fundraiser on Saturday at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum. Kathryn will sing during the event as will ten other opera singers who have performed with Marble City Opera over the last ten years. Tickets are available at https://www.marblecityopera.com/tickets  

Kathryn will sing in a production of Cabildo in Iowa. The opera was written by Amy Beach in 1932. Kathryn will play a ghost. The Cabildo is an actual building in New Orleans that was once a prison. Frank says he did an opera-based scene in Tuesday’s Einstein Simplified improv show. 

Kathryn gave her niece a backstage tour during Amahl and the Night Visitors at Opéra Louisiane. Frank likes the backstage area at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. Frank bought a discounted ticket to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Clayton Holiday Concert. 

During the show, Frank got a text and a call from his home-alarm monitoring company. The motion detector had triggered the alarm. Frank’s next door neighbor was also notified because he is listed as Frank’s emergency contact. Frank contacted four more of his neighbors to ask them to look around while the police were on the way. Frank thinks the heating system might have caused the curtains to billow under the motion detector. Kathryn wonders if it could have been triggered by a mouse. 

This episode is sponsored by BoneZones.com (don’t forget the S). Buy books and other merchandise autographed by Body Farm founder Dr. Bill Bass at https://bonezones.com/  Come to the Rose Glen Literary Festival on February 25, 2023 at the Sevierville Convention Center for “Dr. Bill Bass - A Conversation with Frank Murphy.” Learn more at https://www.roseglenfestival.com 

Kathryn wants to meet Dr. Bass. She is workshopping an opera about grave robbing called Doctor & the Devils. 

Kathryn gave her husband a massage gun and a karaoke microphone for Christmas. Frank asks if James is a singer in addition to being an actor and director. Kathryn says James does not usually sing but he actually did sing karaoke for two hours, including David Bowie songs. 

Frank plays a lot of David Bowie songs on LakeFM, which reminds him that the audio podcast feed of the Frank & Friends Show is now available in LakeFM’s  mobile app. https://www.lakefm.com/how-to-listen/ 

Jere sings with the Knoxville Choral Society. Frank attended their Fall concert at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Frank sat next to a man in his ‘80s who was visiting Knoxville. The man’s sister is also in the Knoxville Choral Society. 

In a matter of minutes, the older man tells Frank that he works as a jazz pianist at bars and restaurants in the San Fernando Valley. The man says that he composed the song “Spooky” which Frank knew as a song by Classics IV. 

The man’s name is Harry Middlebrooks. He told Frank that he had appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show. Frank relates that he once met a singer named Ava Barber who used to be on the Welk show. Harry says, “I’d love to talk to Ava! Have her call me this weekend.” 

Sign up for a 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus and get a free premium selection that’s yours to keep. Go to http://AudibleTrial.com/FrankAndFriendsShow 

Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/ 

Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow 

and hit the bell for notifications. 

Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Spotify, Apple, Google, iHeart, and Audible. 

Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com 

Find us on social media: 

https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow 

https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow 

https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh 

Thanks!