Greetings to everyone out in “The Nation”. Victor N. Cugini, CEO of Kittyhawk Productions here. I’m blogging to you live from Chez Jay‘s on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, California, just down the road apiece from where KP’s new headquarters will be located. I know what you’re probably thinking – aren’t I supposed to be working with Mark, Doug, Keys, and The Cat to get the final mix of Top Priority’s upcoming Anthology CD finalized, get the KP website completed, and help Keys kick-start his “JP’s Big Show” with a few new gigs. Sorry, but the surf has been pretty clean of late and it’s summer, so that’s where it’s at.

Consider this post, then, the product of a “working lunch”.

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mail questions about the band and their “Anthology CD”, so I’ve compiled a “Top Five” list of questions and have accepted The Great White Shank’s gracious invitation to use this venue as a way to answer those questions and save on ISP and stationary costs. (Hey, no one ever accused Kittyhawk Productions, even back in its mid-’70s heyday, of being loose with a buck.) So here goes…

Q: What’s the status of the Anthology CD?
A: It’s mixed down, and Paul [Ed. note: executive producer Paul Sorvino] and I are waiting for the OK from the boys. All the artwork – you saw the front, here’s the back, and here’s the CD label (pretty nice looking, eh?) is complete, so once we get final sign-off, the CD will be available via the KP website once that is launched.

Q: And that will be…?
A: Like Teddy Roosevelt (or was it Sid Vicious?) said, the business of America is business. And unfortunately, sometimes business gets in the way of business. All I can say is, the work is ongoing, with a formal launch now scheduled for sometime late-summer/early fall.

Q: Are the boys together on all this?
A: Yes, very together.

Q: Are there any plans for a Top Priority reunion?
A: Not at this time. It’s doubtful – I mean, you have the logistics and everything. I will say that Doug and Keys have at least tossed around the idea of proposing something very limited in scope in the future with Mark and The Cat. Nothing definite, more of a ‘what if’ kind of thing…

Q: What do you see in the future for Kittyhawk Productions?
A: Nothing less than a multi-million dollar music and publishing conglomerate capable of swallowing smaller labels with a single gulp. While primarily dedicated to spreading the legacy of Top Priority and supporting any current and future ventures the boys might be involved in, we’ll be looking at signing other acts as well.

Well my Swordfish a la Siciliana is about to arrive and my Tequila Sunrise could use a little refreshing, so it’s time for me to say sayonara. But before I do, I want to share with everyone a new song composition called “Great White Shark Blues”. My first collaboration with Keys Palma in more than thirty years (he’s writing the music), it’s a bit of a cross between The Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Couple” and Gary Usher and The Super Stocks’ “Malibu Blues”. I hope you like it:

Now what’ll I do on this sun-shiney day
A boater saw a shark swimming out in the bay
It wasn’t no dolphin nor a humback whale
About 35 feet from his head to his tail
Oh I feel so bad, I’ve got the Great White Shark blues.

I feel like a doorknob without any door
I wanna ride the surf all the way to the shore
Instead of loading surfboards in the back of my car
I’m sitting with my friends in this cool dark bar
Oh I feel so bad, I’ve got the Great White Shark blues

Great White Shark blues
Great White Shark blues
Great White Shark blues
Great White SHark blues, my life I don’t wanna lose!

(instrumental break)

If that shark weren’t here I’d be duck diving out
Kicking off the lip and giving a shout
The problem is that instead of hanging five
I’d be flailing for shore just tryin’ to stay alive
Oh I feel so bad, I’ve got the Great White Shark blues

Later dudes, keep the faith!