Some members of Watkins and the Rapiers weren’t available to perform at the Serling Fest tribute to Rod Serling’s life and work in Binghamton last weekend, but several of us (Kerry, Steve and wife Julie) went anyway. We’re fans. So we listened to the talks, watched the screenings and sold our Singing Serling CD while mingling with several hundred Serling enthusiasts.
We shared our music with Serling family members, scholars, influencers and fans, and with the band whose performance closed out the festivities, Mr Denton on Doomsday, a rock outfit from Lansing, Michigan. Their name is borrowed from the title of an episode of Serling’s The Twilight Zone TV show, the same episode that our song of the same name is inspired by. We told them they should cover it, and they politely agreed to give it a listen.
Speaking of Singing Serling, in her talk to the group, Rod’s daughter, Ann, shared a video of her dad singing, and he had a rich and beautiful singing voice. He preferred the music of pre-rock performers like Frank Sinatra, she said, adding with no uncertainty that he didn’t like rock music. Still, we believe he might have liked some of our Singing Serling songs. “Static” anyone?
Music aside, a common thread in many of the festival’s discussions on and offstage was how relevant so much of what Serling produced is today. So that feeling you get that maybe you’re living in the Twilight Zone? Apparently it’s not an uncommon sensation in today’s USA.
Photo at the top of the page: Steve Piper, left, and Kerry Regan, right, being interviewed at Serling Fest by an Ithaca College student for a video by a team from IC’s Park School of Communications.
Serling Fest photos by Julie Gelfand.
Watkins and the Rapiers 