GIGZ.

Within the last 10 days, I've had my first 2 New York singing gigs! They were both the same concept, a group of 6-7 singers doing a few songs at this gay bar called "The Duplex" in the Village. It was appealing at first because it was communicated to me that the perk of doing the show was to sell tickets to your friends and put bodies in the seats in exchange for the company bringing in their industry contacts.

I chose "Vanilla Ice Cream" and "Still Hurting" for my two selections, and my main goal was to show off versatility as a singer. The two pieces are contrasting in tempo, style, era, and subject matter, which I felt strong about. I've ALWAYS wanted to sing "Still Hurting", even though it's a bit of a cliche piece....but I knew that I could own it in a way I've never seen done before.

The first performance was solid, however I was SO nervous knowing that my buddies were out there. Sometimes your friends are the hardest crowd to sing for. It was a torrential monsoon outside, so I was just thrilled that all my friends actually showed up! Afterwards, I had this surge of power and confidence, a total rush. Dad always says, "ride that high"....and I'm still riding it. There weren't any real industry contacts there, but this was an excellent opportunity for me to get a recording of myself and a video reel started.

The second performance was a little more dramatic, as I woke up sick as a dog. I was freaking out...feeling completely pressured that Dad had flown up from Raleigh specifically to see it, and that I wouldn't get the money back from my ticket sales if I canceled. I emailed all my voice teachers pleading for help, and everyone told me to cancel.

Regardless, I took a serving of Dayquill and a healthy serving of Ibuprofen, and a long hot shower where I warmed up and got a feel for the voice. My throat was sore and my glands were swollen, but it didn't hurt to sing, and as I slowly warmed up, there were only two notes in the voice that were really challenging. Both the top and bottom where there without extra effort. Since it didn't hurt, I decided to go through with it! And what a lesson in singing and taking the reigns it was!

Right before going on, I took a moment to realize, "Okay, you just can't push, and you have to rely solely on the air flow." I took some words and slightly closed the vowel where I normally wouldn't have in the middle voice, but it worked! It totally worked! The sound wasn't abnormal, and the audience was feeding me laughter and I was eating it up and feeding the fire. My high B at the end of "Vanilla Ice Cream" was actually even better than the first performance, where I was so nervous I let it slip out of the mask! Wahoo!!!! Some of the notes in "Still Hurting" were a little crackly because of the sick, but again, I knew I couldn't push, so I didn't, so other phrases that were challenging before where much easier!

I am so proud of myself for going through with it, and after listening to the recording, I'm even more proud. I made an educated assessment of my voice, and my classical training just kicked in and took over. All I had to do was trust my physical instincts and go with the breath. I have NEVER been more thankful for all my work with my teachers from high school and college!

So, first gig down! Next stop....audition, audition, audition some more!