- S T O R Y T E L L E R -
GARY ZENKER
RELATED PROJECTS
Songwriting
Little Boy Blue (Seth's Song)
When my son Seth was two or so, I wanted to make him feel loved and give him something from my heart. I wanted to write him a song. Paul McCartney did it for his son. Bob Dylan did it for his. So my logic was that I could do it, also.
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As adept I am at words, that's the polar opposite of my musical skills. I club a guitar. But I bought an inexpensive six string and for the first time since college, tried to relearn how to play. I mastered just enough chords that I could attempt to write the words and melody for a song for him. Which was fine for his three year old ears.
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Out of my depth, I found Jim Imbessi on the internet. The man had talent seeping out his pores. He took my melody and words, and made it a real song. Then, for fun, I rewrote half the lyrics for a girl - my niece Sydney. Jim rerecorded it in a different key and made some vocalizing improvements. I am forever grateful to Jim for making this something I can be proud of.
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To me, this is a lyracist's song. The chorus doesn't simply repeat, but helps moves the story from the beginning to the end.
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Jim passed on working with some of my other songs, including the hugely popular (in our house) Daddy, I'm Sorry I Peed On You. That one remains, as they say, in the can.
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
OTHER PEOPLE'S FAMILIES
Story Telling from a Different Perspective
Sometimes, instead of actually telling the story myself, I create a platform for other people's stories to be told. That's fun, too. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth 900 times that each minute, the exact number depending on the number of frames per second of the original film.
I haunt garage sales and flea markets on the weekends, looking for slides and home movies (8mm and super 8 film). When I am lucky, I get rewarded with the discarded documentation of weddings, beach vacations, Christmas gift openings, Bar Mitzvahs and other family celebrations. Then I digitize and share them online on my YouTube channel for everyone to see and feel.
Other People's Families.
WRITERS GROUPS
Helping others authors to tell their stories
in 1990 I founded the Main Line Writers Group with my good friend and accomplished writer Tony Conaway. My goal was to create a community that would help local writers to better their craft, publish their work, and create strong relationships with other writers.
In late 1991, I added the Wilmington Writers Group (renamed the Wilmington-Chadds Ford Writers Group). Both groups continue to operate, sharing resources and providing a home for local authors.
When I moved in 2023, I gifted the Wilmington group to the members, but I still run the Main Line Writers Group, which meets monthly on the first Tuesday of the month.
NOIR AT A BAR
Helping others authors to tell their stories
Noir At A Bar was created to offer local authors an opportunity to read their dark stories of crime, suspense and gritty life. Prior to Covid 19, we ran seven events in three years including two that were benefits for the Oxford Public Library. October 2021, Noir returned with an Oxford Public Library benefit, and we've been doing it annually ever since.
Turning Storytelling Into A Game
WRITERS BLOXX
