Barney Rosenzweig is a television producer and author. His Substack, From a Warm Island, is a platform where he shares moments of his journey; here is an excerpt from his latest post, where Barney recounts his recent experience recording the audio version of his second memoir “Before and After Cagney & Lacey” at The Kitchen Miami.
“… Balancing this out is the other side of the spectrum of my life … the remembrance of what preceded the Emmy evening and the subsequent afterglow of the two-week recording session where I completed the audio version of my soon-to-be-released memoir, Before and After Cagney & Lacey.
It was not simply the satisfaction of beginning a task and then completing same … nor was it that I handled the assignment well … although, let me assure you (in yet another shameless pitch for any who might be interested in the audio version of my book) I certainly did that.
I am not at all sure when this audio version of mine will be available. My publisher, McFarland, may well wait to see how well the printed version of the book does before making any decision regarding the marketing of this recorded edition.
Barney Rosenzweig, Television Producer and Author at The Kitchen Miami
Despite sort of knowing this “un-official” position taken by my publisher with respect to audio versions, I signed on with friends Deeny Kaplan and Ken Lorber to use “The Kitchen,” their award-winning Miami facility, as my recording studio.
My reasoning? It was the end of summer in Miami and “The Kitchen” was not as bustling as usual; it was a good time for me to take advantage of that and to get this done while space was readily available. Besides, at my age, one simply should not make dates in the distant future for anything of relative importance. It is the old “do not put off for tomorrow anything that may be done today.” And, at 88 years of age, that adage … coupled with “seize the day,” qualifies as front and center philosophy.
Bottom line: I went forward with my recording and I am happy to report that it was (for me, at least) a hoot.
There I was, supplies at hand: plenty of hot water with honey and ginger, throat spray, and green apples (thank you Deeny Kaplan). I still sound far from anything dulcet toned, but the flip side of that is it is authentically me, and … I believe … that my own true voice will count for something with folks who prefer their “reading” to come to them in their cars and/or by way of their ears rather than their eyes.
And here is the scoop: the book is (surprise, surprise) good, and the stories are interesting … really. Take it from me. I mean, c’mon, let’s be real. Not only did I write the thing … I just read it … ALOUD. And it works.
Ah, cynicism, eh? Should you crave more objectivity on this subject, you are just going to have to acquire a copy of the audio recording of Before and After Cagney & Lacey and judge for yourself…”
Click here to read the entire article on Barney’s Substack, From a Warm Island