Perfect Friday Night

Memorial Day weekend, 2011. I haven't made any big plans in particular for this weekend, I figured it would be a good opportunity for me to pick up some extra serving shifts at the restaurant. I also got offered ANOTHER gig singing with Red, Felicia and the "Basquiat" team, and I'm certainly not one to turn down an opportunity to perform!

Thursday afternoon was one of the most perfect "start of summer" days I could imagine. I met Katie, Jen and Katie's mom and Aunt Linda at "The Frying Pan", a very famous summer-time hang out. The Frying Pan is a bar, restaurant and grill all on a BOAT off of 26th St at Chelsea piers. It was SO, SO COOL! We started with Bloody Mary's and then moved to the roof of the boat for some wraps and coronas. I feel so at home with Katie's family. They are very similar to my own, so I feel right at home. They were so kind to offer me an invitation to come spend some time at their yacht club in New Jersey this summer, I can't wait!

Then, yesterday, after my rehearsal for Sunday's show, I was all a-twitter with inspiration. I ended up having lunch with Eric, another featured singer in the production, and listening to his experiences in the city. I'm ALWAYS, always inspired talking to people who are in the business. After lunch at this really cute Thai place (with and AWESOME $7 prixfix lunch special....) I walked around the theatre district. It was warm and sunny, and kind of took me right back to when I was here 3 years ago. I looked at all the theatres and wondered what it would be like to actually be coming here to WORK. And everyday, too, except Monday. If you're working the way I want to work, you are working 6-10 hours every day, on weekends and through holidays.

I love it. Thinking about it makes me tingly.

I let myself sweat in the sun and enjoyed the heat. I've been longing for warm weather ever since I got here, and it's HERE. I stopped in the theatres for "How to Succeed" and "Phantom" to see if they offered any student rates...which they didn't. No big. I'll figure it out some other time.

After my stroll I worked myself to the bone at the gym (getting in better physical shape is just something I need to make a priority every day. If I am pursuing a career in entertainment, this is just what people who are successful DO. They are active. They are active DAILY and they eat well. And they are cut. I need to become this.) I was inspired there to cook a feast!!!

It was such a lovely evening. I invited Dayna, William and Geoff over for my feast of homemade mango and cucumber salsa, and baked bell peppers stuffed with turkey, garlic and spices. Throw in a few glasses of cheap malbec, and you have yourself a feast! We sat on the couch and the floor in my living room, since I have no proper dining space, and talked about weddings and Germany and theatre and New York. I love them. I could not manage to survive in this city without knowing that they are there. I also love these times of being able to spontaneously plan these lovely get togethers. I love that my life isn't in any kind of routine, that I can pick up and take off wherever I want to when I have the free time. I love being in the same place as my loved ones, and I LOVE not being tied down to anything. It's a great life, and I really need to soak up every second of it!

INSANE. THIS CITY IS SO SMALL.

So.....the past few weeks have been UNBELIEVABLY eventful!!!! I'm sure there will come a time in my life when I will look back on these days in New York and think, "Sigh...remember when my life was so exciting and eventful? I miss those days." I must appreciate this now while I have it!!

To begin, I got fired for the first time, EVER. It was a very unfortunate situation, and it has been resolved...my primary objective was to end things on a good note with my supervisor, which I achieved. So there is no use in wasting anymore space on this post about it. Point is, I was horrified and felt terrible and now I feel better and have overcome!

I spent one very much needed week at home. I reached the end of my threshold with the cold weather, and spent the last week of April in the warmth and green of Raleigh, N.C. That, too was an eventful week....phew! But I won't get into that now.

When I came back, even though I was in need of a job, one just plopped into my lap. A regular at the bar at Brother Jimmy's approached me about meeting and discussing employment opportunities...he needed an assistant to maintain connections and communication with his contact list. I can totally do that.

My first assignment? Sort through literally about 2,000 business cards to a) see which ones were still valid and b) tell people about new services being offered...etc. As I began to make these calls, I realized that what I was doing was making a SALES call. It was really interested to hear the variety of responses, some people were totally mean and some people were very nice. I learned how to handle certain scenarios over the phone, and I've ended up with about 100 people who I can actually email. I also think it was important to touch base in person before just straight up sending an email out.

ANYWAYS. So I'm sitting at Think Coffee with Dayna and a bag of cards....I'm on like, card number 150 for the day, and I pull out a cream colored card that says nothing but the name "Gerard Basquiat", a SoHo address and a phone number.

"Oh, that's funny," I thought, "I just did 'Basquiat, the Musical'....tee hee hee...what a coincidence!" I wrote a quippy post on Paul Stancato and Red Blisset's wall about it.

I called the number on the card. I had a very nice conversation with an older sounding man with an accent. I gave him my sales schpeel, and asked if I could send him an email, to which, he replied, "I don't have email, but you are welcome to send me a fax." I thanked him and hung up.

The more I started to think about it, the more I realized that Basquiat isn't exactly a common name. And WHO in the world DOESN'T have email these days? I Googled the guy, Gerard Basquiat, and it turns out that he is Jean-Michel Basquiat's FATHER. HIS FATHER. The project I JUST WORKED ON ABOUT BASQUIAT.....Here was his DAD. I had just spoken to his dad ON THE PHONE.

I freaked out and contacted the guy I'm working for, enthusiastically asking him how in the HELL did he know Gerard Basquiat and how did he obtain his card?! "Oh, I grew up in SoHo and was friends with his son, Jean-Michel. He died several years ago."

.....

I had the golden ticket. THE GOLDEN TICKET. I've written Paul and Red about it, and got the response I hoped for, which was, "I'd love to meet with the guy you're working for to pick his brain." And BEFORE I coordinate these meetings, I am going to make damn well sure that I can be present and a part of this process. Being involved is a key in order to moving forward with the project!!!!!

I just can't believe HOW INSANE this was?!? Of ALL the business cards of ALL the people in New York, I pulled out THIS GUY'S CARD. This connection to something that I am working on RIGHT NOW! Just made me realize how incredibly small this world can be sometimes. And....that there is some greater force out there in the universe. Some greater force that pulled all of these cards together and put them on my table.

Theatre of Rock

In April of 2011, John Forslund, the first person to say, "Yes!" to me here, offered me a gig singing backup for some up and coming Broadway people. The gig was to be called "Theatre of Rock", and I would be singing back up for current Broadway stars Felicia Finley, Brenda Braxton, and working with music director Chris Blisset and Broadway director Paul Stancato.

Uh, yes please?!?! When do I start!?

I was thrilled! John had recruited me from his "Bound for Broadway" singers showcase, and I feel so fortunate to have come across his path. And apparently have made an impression! The concert was featuring some of Chris's new music and wrapping a reading of 4 new rock musicals into one evening.

Upon my first listen...I was really nervous. This music was like...rock, dude. It was rock, infused with some metal, infused with some hip hop elements, too. And I am so, so NOT a rock/pop singer. Rodgers and Hammerstein? Yes, absotively positlutely. Gilbert and Sullivan? I'm your gal. AC/DC and Janis Joplin? Uh....what? I thought, HOW am I going to pull this off?

Well, I learned. The rehearsals were a fantastic process...Chris, or "Red" as he told us to call him, was such a great leader and I really felt connected to the music. I snagged the featured solo underneath Felicia Finley in her number, "Closing Time", written specifically for her by Chris himself. I just used the breathing support and ear training I had learned in school and tried my best to blend with everyone else, and as it turns out, I felt like the fastest learner and one of the strongest listeners in the group. THIS ONLY EMPHASIZES my belief that if you wanna do music, no matter what kind of music, study that classical shit first. Train your ear, learn your theory, and ESPECIALLY if you're a singer....learn how to breathe. Once you've obtained these skills...you can do ANYTHING YOU WANT and be a smart musician.

The shows we were featuring were: Basquiat, the musical (a musical biography of the life of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, a very prominent figure in the New York pop culture scene in the early 1980s. He died at age 27 of a drug overdose) Basquiat featured my favorite songs in the program, "Tom Song", which was an account of Basquiat's death...amazing number, and also Mudd Club, and Genius Child. The other shows featured were "Kung Fusical, the Kung Fu Musical", and the "Country Christmas Show".

Crazy thing?! So when I decided to move to New York in January, I spent some time surfing the web about new musicals and potential venues that I should keep in mind and keep updated on. And what did I stumble on? A posting for music from "Kung Fusical, the Kung Fu Musical". NO KIDDING. And here I am, 4 months later, performing THIS MUSIC ON A STAGE with the guy who wrote it!! I remember that name specifically because, let's be real, how could one forget that name?

The concert was fantastic...my pants almost dropped when I got up on stage to sing with Felicia. I couldn't hear a damn thing because the guitar and drums were so loud, but I just trusted my instincts and rehearsal, and just let myself go with her. Red told me to sing out like it was a contest with Felicia, but, just let her win. Of course. Felicia was great. She was definitely a huge personality, but very friendly to all of us. A diva in the nicest way, in a way that I hope to be later in life.

I will never have a voice like Felicia's. But that's okay! Felicia has a specific kind of voice, very poppy and very cut-through-the audience vinegary in a fascinating way. She owns any room she walks into. And I LOVE that about her.

So, after the concert, we were invited to sing with Red and Felicia the FOLLOWING night at Therapy, a club in midtown, not far from the Theatre District. Again....YES PLEASE!!! The opportunity to sing with Felicia and Red in yet ANOTHER venue that I can put on my resume?! Awesome.

This has turned into something even further...I'm singing with Red and Felicia AGAIN on the stage where it all started. John has invited us to be special guests at his show at the Duplex in a few weeks! So excited! Yay for doing what I came here to do!