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Want More from the Bohnhoffs?

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Grated Hits, home of Midichlorian Rhapsody

It appears that our Star Wars parody, Midichlorian Rhapsody, was listed among the top ten Star Wars parodies of all time by a fellow named John V. Hanson, beating out even a couple of titles by Weird Al.

We are flattered and honored to be in such auspicious company. So, thank you, John V. Hanson for your kind words.

1. “Midichlorian Rhapsody” (2010), by Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff, to the tune of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen – The lyrics beautifully — and humorously (“Jar Jar … I sometimes wish you’d never been born at all!”) — tell the prequel saga from Anakin’s perspective. While using movie clips might seem lazier than making an original video, it is the right choice here, as the scenes add power to the song, and vice versa – for example, the music gets aggressive as Anakin slips to the dark side. More than just a joke, this song brings a tear to my eye. And yes, that is the same Maya Bohnhoff who has co-written “Star Wars” novels with Michael Reaves! (Honorable mentions: “Bohemian Rhapsody: Star Wars Edition,” a 2013 effort by UAT Digital Video, focuses on the events in Jabba’s palace. And if you want more from the Bohnhoffs, check out the Jimmy Buffett riff “Wastin’ Away Again on Tatooine.”)

John is correct about my association with Michael Reaves: we have produced three lovely Star Wars novels together: Star Wars: Patterns of Force (Book 3 of the Coruscant Nights series), Star Wars: Shadow Games (a standalone novel featuring Dash Render and Han Solo), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (no, not that Last Jedi, this one’s Book  in the Coruscant Nights series.)

A bit of trivia: The first line of lyric from Midichlorian Rhapsody appears in Shadow Games as part of a song sung by the female protagonist.

Now about that “more”. I will share a state secret. We are in the process of working on our next parody album (title TBD) which will include another Star Wars parody. I cannot share the tune without giving away the plot for people who know how Jeff’s fevered mind works.

We are also mining Queen’s repertoire again for a pairing with Dr. Seuss. Those of you to whom we have mentioned this science experiment gone horribly wrong, mum’s the word.

The Many Faces of Jeff & Maya

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Occasionally, our faces turn up in cartoon or art form. I’m hoping to put together a gallery of these cool doodles, but because we machines and people are working hard on Mary Crowell’s new music album—Scattering Seeds on the Pomegranate Tour—I’m gonna start with this two imaginative renderings of us.

This is Jeff as Jeff Vader, God of Mixing and me (Maya) as Calliope. The magpie is there because that’s what my daughters call me. (Ooo, shiny!)

Maya - Calliope

Jeff Vader, God of Mixing

I should note that we’re shooting to release Mary’s album at Conflikt 10 in Seattle (Jan 27 – Jan 29th, 2017).

Jeff & Maya Live at City Espresso!

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A while back, we discovered a local coffee shop that has an Open Mic Night—City Espresso over on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose. Kris and Amanda and I drop in for coffee once in a while (and for the outrageously nummy ginger cookies), but though we talked about it for over a year, Jeff and I just never got up the gumption to go.

Well, last Friday night, we did it. We got there early and dropped our name in the jar, but because the jar was never stirred, really, our names came out in the reverse order they went in. We were dead last and ended up sharing a set with young man who shared a name with our son, Alex, and who also played a Taylor guitar and wrote very good songs.

We played “High Desert” and it was very well received. (They like us! They really like us!) Ergo, we have already discussed doing it again this week. The people were so friendly, it was almost like being at a filk concert. In fact, some of the music even had that certain je ne sais quoi. That certain, indefinable something I like to think of as filkishness.

So, I’m thinking, why the heck not?