Dave Soroka and T Bone Burnett

One of the benefits of being on Facebook is that you find yourself catching up with old friends and contacts who have drifted away owing to changing circumstances. One such for me is Dave Soroka.

Dave is a singer/songwriter who I knew back in the 80s. At the time, I had returned from France and fell into a pattern of making very independent, guerrilla-style films using actors I was training in my repertory company. Dave was not only a friend, but I was also helping him with some management and PR advice. Friday nights became something of a fixture as a group of us would congregate in Westwood Village for dinner before going to see a newly released film.

One day, Dave and his wife called to tell me that they would like to have dinner with me. No problem, I told him, as I always enjoyed their company. But there was more to it. "There's someone we want you to meet." Oh, I see. "Her name is Marie-Dominique and..." I don't remember the rest of what he said. A date was set for dinner for four.

For reasons I don't recall, Dave came to my apartment the day we were all to have dinner. Perhaps he had been there for his business meeting with me but it seems he and I were to drive together to the restaurant where we would meet his wife and Marie-Dominique. Last week on Facebook, Dave posted this as a comment on my wall. I had forgotten this aspect of that day:

"I was at your place one day, in Hollywood, when one of your (Interview)s aired on cable. You were in the shower. When the program ended the phone rang. You weren't out of the shower yet, so I picked up. It was some guy asking for Stephen. I said he's in the shower, who's calling? He said T Bone Burnett. I laughed. I said, "Somebody named their kid T Bone?" You walked into the living room, and still laughing, I handed you the phone."

The story of the call from T Bone can be read here: http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2011/11/t-bone-burnett.html

That night I met Marie-Dominique who looked like Anne-Marie Deschodt from the William Friedkin film Sorcerer and enjoyed dinner with her and the Sorokas. It was immediately evident that Marie-Do and I were not a match; she looked like a French diplomat's wife and I looked entirely undiplomatic, a libertine artist of the worst sort. In spite of initial first impressions, it wasn't long before Marie-Do fell in with our Friday night group and soon we were meeting for midnight pizzas and long talks à deux.

Reconnecting with Dave on Facebook brought back more than a few pleasant memories and gave me the opportunity to reacquaint myself with him as a singer and songwriter. What could be better than that?