Wednesday, December 3, 2008

"I Would Eat Taco Bell For A Year..."

That's what a Sam Ash manager told me when I asked him what the economic outlook was for his music store a few weeks back.

He told me business will be the same as it always was because "Guys like me, I would eat Taco Bell for a year so I could save enough to get the best equipment. We'll do anything for our music."

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

"When It Feels Long, Something's Wrong"

The reason a "song feels long" has more to do with the singer than with the person behind the piano.

We've all had it happen to us where, right in the middle of a song, we'll think, "Damn, this isn't over yet?!"

But if we have the time to stand outside of ourselves, observe and criticize -- while we're still performing -- then we've really lost a grip on doing the job at hand, haven't we?

More than technique, we singers/performers are judged by our passion and our presence.

Passion, because we have to care about and understand what it is we are saying -- not just pretending we care by mustering up a concerned look on our collective face...

Presence, because we are in the "now" of a song, instead of focused on getting the words in the right order or hitting the high note or hoping the set piece comes in on time, whatever.

If we don't stay in the now, we're screwed because we have sacrificed our energy and attention to everything BUT the reason for our being on stage; to sing a song. We must be present for our own performance.

A song feels long to us when we are not involved and believe me, the audience reflects that feeling back to the singer very quickly.

Be present when you sing. Be passionate when you sing. Be alive.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Create

Bailouts are bailouts.

You can bail out water from a sinking ship, but unless you repair the ship's structure, it's still going to sink.

The health of the U.S. economy relies on each individual's strength of personal economy. This is where creating our own opportunities becomes crucial.

Instead of holding back, we need to go forward.

Create.

Instead of sitting and waiting, we must stand up and move.

Create something.

Don't wait for someone to create it for you.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Two Sides To Every Anthem



When you quit on yourself -- it only gets worse...





When you let us help you up -- we raise you up...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

'Tis The Season...? Oy Vey!

Christmas Greetings From Burning Man!

Above, Charles files suit against Dickens Carolers for trademark infringement...

Probably in anticipation of a turnaround in the California economy, Christmas Caroling quartet companies are announcing their auditions, uhm, now...in August.

Always seemed to me that they got around to it in mid-September.

But, indeed, this is fantastic news because the benchmark for a Fortune 500 company's prosperity has always been whether they are willing to pay for carolers at the annual holiday bash.

I joke, but it's kind of true.

Anyway, you've heard me harp on "stage time" and that all time on stage is a learning experience worthy of acquiring.

So get out there and audition, get hired, put on yer top hat or bonnet, paste a smile on your face and sing for angry, stressed out shoppers in the local mall, or angry, stressed out families at a theme park, or angry, stressed out company workers worried about next week's pink slips...

Have I made it sound horrible?

Good, because that's as bad as it gets.

The best part of caroling makes all the "other parts" quite tolerable.

First, it's December, the darkest month of the year, and here we are singing the most joyful music -- night after night after night;

Christmas lights are up and, next to fireworks, nothing appeals to my eye more than Christmas lights;

People WANT to celebrate something, anything. People WANT to celebrate;

There is hope -- and it's not even the new year yet...

So, in your performance, as you collect your caroler stage time (and paychecks), you have the option of focusing on the downside or focusing on the upside.

Spread the grumpiness or spread the joy...it's up to you.

Yes, you're going to be singing "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" ad nauseum, but you'll also be singing "O Holy Night," "Chestnuts," "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and a whole bunch of classic songs that you only sing for one month out of the year.


Joy to the world, baby!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

What Are You Doing With YOUR Information?

Was picking up a pork tamale and rice from the Vallarta for Nathalie (chile relleno for me...) and this phrase kept going through my mind:

"What are you doing with YOUR information?"

All of us are informed.

Being informed has nothing to do with whether we have a high I.Q. or whether family and friends consider us "smart."

Being informed is not really scientific because our "information" isn't always based in truth.

If you "feel" fat -- regardless of what the scale says -- guess what?

Yer fat!

If you "feel" stupid or unworthy -- guess what -- you're probably going to behave in stupid and unworthy ways because THAT is YOUR information.

If you "think" everybody else is better than you at singing, dancing, acting, writing, living, breathing, watching TV, well, yup, consider it a done deal.

Interesting that when someone lies to us, we get mad, we take it very personally.

But what if we lie to ourselves?

How should we take it then?

YOUR information leads you to your success.

YOUR bad information leads you only to cheap, self-fulfilling prophecy -- which is usually shrouded in failure.

What would happen if you informed yourself that you ARE worthy?

What would happen if you informed yourself that you are as smart and as talented as ANYONE out there??

How about if you inform yourself that today, right now, within this moment, you are loved?

And if you doubt that, then you better get started loving yourself.

Love yourself and you'll be able to love others.

It doesn't work the other way around.

If you love yourself, then love others, you will be able to fill concert halls, theatres and stadiums with people who want to pay to see and hear somebody who loves themself.

Share the love, baby.

So, what are you doing with YOUR information?

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Good Advice For Creative People...

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-kroffts26-2008jul26,0,7036719.story

From Geoff Boucher's column today on Sid & Marty Krofft

The Kroffts began renting out their puppet and production savvy. They designed stage productions for fairs and amusement parks, took corporate work from Ford and Coca-Cola, and did some work for Walt Disney as well. Marty had crossed paths with the entertainment icon in 1959; Marty was at the Polo Lounge having drinks with Charisse when Disney stopped by to chat and gave him a bit of advice. As Marty remembers it: "He told me, 'The one thing to remember is, don't ever sell anything you create and always put your name above the title, whatever you do. They'll fight you off from doing it, but stick to it.'
To a certain degree, I'm pretty sure that was Bill Gates' approach....

A few years back, a lawyer (who was trying to negotiate the purchase of music I had written) tried to convince me that only Rodgers and Hammerstein got their names over the title of their shows... I didn't buy into it then. I don't buy into it now.

I also ended up not selling (or even licensing) my music to them!

Hit the little iTunes button at the very bottom of the page. It will link you to a children's album I wrote and produced for BMG. At the end of the contract term, all rights to the masters and the publishing still belonged to me.

Oh, and my kids!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Making It Happen

You know how I'm always telling singers to "get a church gig"?

I do take my own advice, y'know...

For the last several months, I've been refining and re-defining the music program over at a New Thought church in Burbank called SpiritWorks.

It's great for me, because it's in line with my own spiritual path which includes honoring the truth in all religions.

I've also been composing -- a lot -- and performing/playing -- almost every week -- and working with energized and talented singers, songwriters within the SpiritWorks community.

If you don't have a regular church, come on by and say hello!

http://www.spiritworkscenter.com/

(Oh, and the picture of me with a moustache is a composer shot for my rock opera...I don't normally wear a moustache....!)

Monday, June 30, 2008

What's Wrong With That?

According to UCLA, while there are currently economic hardships in California's finance, construction and housing sectors, there is still no recession in the state or the U.S.

Even with gas prices at this level.

AFTRA and SAG have a terrific Jekyll and Hyde battle going.

Most of us are members of both unions, which leads me to believe I'm not really arguing with someone in my family as much as I'm simply fighting with myself.

Dunno how productive that is.

Gollum did it in "Lord of the Rings" and look what happened to him (may he rest in peace). I guess it was called "Mount Doom" for a reason...

So, as there is no recession and as we are swimming upstream and downstream with our union(s), where does that put we few, we singers...?

Pretty much the same place we've always been.

Unless you're a member of the Von Trapp Family or the Osmonds -- we're just like stand-up comics or actors...

We're singers...

And pretty much on our own.

That's why, for the most part, we have to create our own work by;

1. Pinching, Pimping, Prodding and Poking Producers -- Know a producer? Bake 'em a cake and tell 'em you'd like to sing for them. What's wrong with that?;
2. Auditioning and creating/building relationships based on our talent - There are actually people out there who WANT TO SEE what's in your toolkit. They even put out notices through the internet, breakdown services and actor publications to get you into the room. Why not show 'em what you got. What's wrong with that?;
3. Writing and Recording -- It's healthy to write. Write a lot. It's healthy to record. Record a lot. What's wrong with that?;
4. Church gigs -- paid/unpaid -- we get stage time and a pretty good message to begin the week with. What's wrong with that?


Hey. What's wrong with that?

You already knew the answer, didn't you?

Friday, June 27, 2008

Legit Chicks

Okay, aside from the bridesmaid dresses, "wheres-the-blowdryer?" hairdos and wild-eyed looks, here's an interesting example of "legit" (legitimate) singing from a variety of gals.

Any female who has studied with me should recognize the "home position" of the mouth(s). Big bite, tension in sides of mouth, jaw pressed down, lips pushed away from teeth, strength and flex in the major muscle groups, teeth on top and bottom showing...

Wagner (pronounced "VAHG-ner") is the Heavyweight Division of legit singing. Demanding, Big, Dark, Extreme, Dramatic....it takes everything you got.

It also takes a lot of years to get the false vocal cords to create big, fat tones like this. On the other hand, the female belt for Broadway and Pop -- using the true vocal cords -- comes very quickly.

Interesting.

Oh, hey, and if you make it all the way to the eight-minute mark, Brunhilde arrives looking like an operatic Liza Minelli.

Trippy!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Musical Theatre Prescription

One of my favorite people told me last night that she was considering going back to college to get her degree in Musical Theatre....

Uh...okay, "yipes!"

I mean, don't get me wrong, musical theatre is fun and all and if you know how to save money when on the road, it's even better....

But when colleges do so many things right (science, poli-sci, environmental science, business, law, accounting, history, chemistry, literature, phys ed, marketing) why go through the expense of something they continually do so wrong like musical theatre?

And no, I'm not talking about EVERY college -- just 99% of them.

In my one year of college, I flunked Intro To Theatre (was busy rehearsing and having fun instead of reading the book). 13 years later, I won the L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Award for Best Production.

In theatre, you don't need a degree. You need guts and a willingness to learn about everything in your theatrical environment.

Which ain't always in L.A.

But, if you're "stuck" in L.A. and you ultimately want to do musical theatre in N.Y., here's my best prescription for proactive, positive growth and development:

1. Focus on getting commercials: The pay's good and you can become a familiar face throughout the world;

2. Focus on getting in front of the camera: Any instance where you say words with your clothes on is a learning experience, so get started -- you can become a familiar face throughout the world;

3. Study acting with a teacher who has trained people who are currently working in front of a camera: Makes sense, doesn't it?;

4. Study voice with a teacher (like me) who has trained singers who are currently working on the stage;

5. Take a dance class at least once a week: It's good for you.

6. Every audition is a chance to create a positive relationship with a producer, director, casting director, musical director...GO TO EVERY AUDITION. NO EXCUSES.

You can work and you can train at the same time. Don't worry about the money. Budget accordingly, but PRACTICE YOUR STUFF.

Love on ya!

Monday, June 23, 2008

A Simple Song

Was just ruminating about how -- oftentimes -- my most accomplished singers have a tendency to look down on "simple songs."

You should see the faces I get when I assign a golden moldy like "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" to a singer who can already belt everything out of WICKED and CANDIDE.

Two realities are at play here.

When we are "accomplished," we want to sing all the stuff with vocal fireworks -- super high, super low...

And when we are "accomplished," we don't want to spend (make that "waste") the time practicing songs we believe are not challenging.

When we buy in to and reinforce those two realities, that's the mindset the production staff picks up on before declaring they need to "go in a different direction' -- which, ostensibly, doesn't include you.

Treat a simple song as if it is the most difficult song ever written.

Do that and you will discover volumes of information about the character, yourself, the show, life....

Treat a simple song as an unworthy task and you will ease yourself right out of the running for that revival of "Sound of Music."

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Why We Don't Recommend Parallel Motion In Vocal Performance....

One hand at a time, folks, one hand at a time...

...uh, and don't let that hand come up above your waist unless you know how you're going to get it back down...

Points of focus (where do I look?!) are way too wide and all over the place.

In other words, this presentation is so lacking we barely hear her singing, which, oh...

Maybe they planned it that way.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

"If You Don't Let It Go, You Can't Focus On The Task At Hand."

Sports. Theatre. Life.

What the NBA Spurs' coach Greg Popovich said after a heartbreaking loss to the Lakers in a must-win playoff game says it all.

Not a bad mantra for performers, either.

No wonder he's coached the Spurs to four NBA Championships since 1999.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Performance Mantras, Part One

An affirmation isn't only defined by "yes."

An affirmation can be a statement of intention or agreement with one's self.

Affirmations can also be negative. Many people affirm their own negative feelings or attributes on a daily/hourly basis.

Typically, those negative affirmations begin with the words "I'm too..." or "I can't..."

Got any of those?

A chant is something that gets repeated over and over. Chants can be fun. "We Will, We Will...Rock You!" comes to mind.

Kobe Bryant just got the MVP.

"M-V-P! M-V-P!"

That's fun, too. Easy for others to chant along.

"Nam Hyo Renge Kyo" for Buddhists...

Just before the cameras would roll, Jack Lemmon would say, "It's magic time."

We all can use a Performance Chant or "Mantra."

My personal one before each performance is "Energy, Attention, Awareness."

Let's see...to perform, I will need a ton of energy. Okay. Good. Got it.

I will also need to pay attention to what is going on at all times so I can stay in the scene, thus becoming an essential element of the storytelling. I need to pay attention so I can stay within the context of the song (no mental drifting). When I pay attention, creativity is present and spontaneous. Paying attention makes performing fun.

Finally, awareness. My consciousness needs to be fully aware of the stage, the lights, the building, the walls, the dimension, the audience, the front row, the back row. This awareness needs to be stored as ongoing background information. We're in the business of play and pretend, but we shouldn't be in denial of our surroundings. Awareness is crucial. Thirty years ago, I was at a live show about a guy in prison for murder. It was called "In The Belly Of The Beast" at the Taper, Too! Andrew Robinson was the star. About ten minutes into it, an audience member in the front row passed out and fell on the stage. Andrew, being in the midst of a very intense monologue, yet also being quite aware, came to the rescue of this person. He didn't try to improv with the guy on the floor. He certainly couldn't ignore it. He was aware. He was aware that he himself was acting, he was aware that he was on stage and he also was aware that another human being was in distress. Andrew even asked, "Is there a doctor in the house?"

Thirty years later, I remember him and his awareness much more distinctly than I can remember the play he was in.

More later.

Addendum: If you don't have a performance today or tonight, but would like to practice a mantra anyway, say this out loud every 30 minutes:

Ready?

"It's a good life."

Monday, May 5, 2008

Hey, If You Want To Sing Louder, Flex Your Back!

Singing is only as hard as you make it.

Don't confuse that with me saying, "Singing is easy." It's not. It takes tremendous energy and the whole body has to participate.

For me, the first step in singing is: Get used to being loud. And get used to using your whole body when you sing.

Next step: Get "loud" under control.

Last step: Practice & Perform.

That's about it.

We don't need to be pre-med students to figure out that if something hurts, we're not doing it right. We don't need to have majored in anatomy/physiology to figure out that lifting 400 lbs. on our first day in the weight room is not an option.

But we do need to keep things simple. Make the "hurdles" physical, not mental. Incorporate the body into the voice first -- not the brain. "Feel" pitch with full energy, you'll never sing flat again.

Simple.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Musical Theatre History 101

If you are studying voice for Musical Theatre, it helps to have a little composer history under your "belt."

The reason being that the Musical Theatre world is not that large and if you're out there continually auditioning and improving your skills, then eventually you will run in to or, even better, work with a composer...who was influenced by this guy:

Frank Loesser was the composer of revered works such as Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, How To Succeed..., Hans Christian Andersen, Where's Charley?, and many popular songs of his time.

Loesser was a monster musician, tortured soul and hitmaker. There are some great books and, thanks principally to his daughter Susan, a remarkably honest documentary on him, but for a little background, check out this link. It's from The Johnny Mercer Foundation and was meant for kids, but it's a quick and cool little read -- http://www.johnnymercerfoundation.org/FrankLoesserLyricNotes.pdf

You can also go to:


And if you really want to take some time:

Saturday, April 5, 2008

What's Your "When....and Then....?"

Ever heard a "Whenandthen-er"?

"Whenandthen-ers" sound like this:

"When I lose 20 pounds, THEN I'll get headshots."

"When I have every song in the universe memorized and perfected, THEN I'll go on auditions."

"When I quit smoking, THEN I'll take voice lessons."

"When I get my teeth fixed..."

"When Pilot Season starts..."

The best "THEN" is the "THEN I'll be happy..."

"When I get that series, THEN I'll be happy."

"When I make my first million, THEN I'll be happy."

"When I get a boyfriend/girlfriend, tour, new car, house, apartment, THEN I'll be happy."

There's no law against being happy right now. There's no credit card for happiness. Happiness is a bill we owe ourselves everyday. It can't be saved up for later. So, practice happiness every minute, every hour, every day. Sometimes you won't be so good at it, but if you practice it constantly, you're bound to get better.

Artistic careers are fluid things.

Artistic growth is like water in a river; it continually flows from the source.

"Whenandthen-ing" dams up the river and puts everything on hold. It's up to us to knock down our own dams and let the river roar.

Be the Mississippi River.

Forget "whenandthen-ing."

Happiness is within this very moment.

Start.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

How Stephen Schwartz Changed The Game...

I confess that I am extremely resistant to listening to soundtracks of new musicals.

A hit song or two from a show is fine -- it's what I use to train Broadway singers, but I'm a composer also. I don't want to be influenced by someone else's hooks constantly looping in my brain.

Entire soundtracks do that to me.

And I don't need to write LES MIZ music.

It's been done.

A lot.

By the same guys, as a matter of fact.

Show after show after show...

So, I rarely listen to Original Broadway Cast Albums unless forced.

And that's how I got into listening to WICKED.

Two years back, my five year old daughter insisted on listening to it every day on the way home from kindergarten.

She could read a little bit by that time and her vocabulary really increased by reading and singing along with the WICKED soundtrack lyrics. It was fun to hear her sing in the back seat.

Oh sure, we listened to "Popular" three or four times a day. "The Wizard and I," "Defying Gravity," "I'm Not That Girl" and that guy with the funny sounding pudding-in-the-throat tenor voice on the first track always got a laugh from her.

"No One Mourns The Wicked!"

**gargle**


So, my resistance became futile and, having been a "Son of Sondheim" these last thirty years, I finally had to come to the conclusion that musical theatre had moved on and, with WICKED, Stephen Schwartz had just changed the game for us all;

HIGH FIBER LYRICS

No "chicks and ducks and geese better scurry"

no repetitive "this is the moment," "this, too, is the moment," "and, oh yeah, this is also the moment"

no already drawn "Send In The Clowns" summations.

These are "high fiber lyrics." They have layer upon layer of character exposition and development.

Each character speaks to, and in many cases, denies/accepts, their own truth. The King in THE KING & I had three hours to debate with himself. The folks in WICKED have about three minutes before making a move.

Inside rhymes are EVERYWHERE. And not the obvious clever composer, "look at my lyric" inside rhymes -- these rhymes are rhythmic, conversational and belong because they are right.

Philosophy: Not every character has their own musical theme (in an opera sense) but each character has a definable philosophy through song. Wagner would be proud.

THE HUMAN VOICE:

Elphaba is a rock star. She belts a high F (as do all my student/client belters), but good on ya, Stephen Schwartz for recognizing that the use of one's true vocal chords can also be "unlimited" for eight shows a week.

THE IMPACT

It's already happening, but in the next five years, a "critical mass" of interest in musical theatre will occur at the junior high and high school levels due to WICKED.

And where the chicks go -- green though they may be -- so do the boys.

So, yeah, Stephen Schwartz changed the game with WICKED; artistically (high fiber lyrics), physically (uh, high fiber belting), and, best of all, he guaranteed those of us who love musical theatre a whole new generation.

Oh, lol, and I still haven't seen the show.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Why We Should Sing "Athletically"

Because when you get out of bed in the morning, you don't wonder if you'll be able to walk, do you?

So why should you get out of bed and wonder if you'll be able to sing?

Athletic singers put the body in charge of the voice.

If you can walk, you can sing.

Unathletic singers allow the voice to be in charge of everything.

That's why they always have to drink this, gargle this, swallow this...

It's counter-intuitive.

Let the body lead the voice.

The voice will follow.

(The voice has no choice!)

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Stephen Schwartz

The Dramatist Guild held its first "annual" West Coast membership meeting yesterday at Theatre West on Cahuenga.

I put "annual" in quotes because you can't really have a "first" annual because annual events only become annual when you have a "second" annual.

Go figure.

Anyway, Stephen Schwartz was the special guest and, as he is a member of the Dramatist Guild board, the discussion was mostly around the mission of the DG, assistance they can offer to playwrights, composers, et al, and some of the current issues facing dramatists.

About a hundred members and guests attended the meeting.

As a musical theatre composer, I felt a little outnumbered -- most of the attendees were obviously non-musical playwrights who asked about copyright, copyright infringement and submission policies. I figured many of them would be able to sing "Day By Day," but was confident that only two or three of us actually knew the lyrics to "Lion Tamer."

I didn't get around to asking Stephen whether he writes lyrics or music first or both at the same time.

I kinda wanted to know that.

I also wanted to ask him about "Meadowlark" (from "The Baker's Wife") and how it came to be at such a young age that he composed what is easily one of the greatest musical soliloquies for a woman in the theatre -- next to, of course, his newest greatest musical soliloquy for a woman in the theatre, "The Wizard and I."

And then I wanted to ask him where is the male counterpart to "Meadowlark" and "The Wizard and I."

Of course, afterwards, I didn't ask him any of those questions because I had a more important mission.

I wanted to get his autograph for my daughter Julia Rose (who could sing the "Wicked" score backwards and forwards at the age of five).

For those of you with five year olds running around, you KNOW how much they like to listen to their favorite music in the car....over and over and over and over....

I saw it this way: getting Stephen's autograph for my daughter (now seven) would have been like my dad getting me Richard Rodgers' autograph or Cole Porter's or Willie Mays, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. I wouldn't have cared if my dad had talked to any of those guys (he was a bartender in Santa Monica in the early 60's, I'm sure he talked to plenty of athletes and artists) -- that wouldn't have been a big deal.

But what's thrilling to a child is a person of achievement or celebrity taking a moment -- albeit an incredibly quick moment -- to recognize them.

Upon my request, Stephen immediately obliged and signed his name on a lined sheet of paper in my notebinder.

And when I brought it home to Julia

and told her that I met the guy who wrote all the music for "Wicked,"

and that I got his autograph for her,

her eyes got big as she read the lined piece of paper

"To Julia Rose, Defy gravity! Stephen Schwartz"

Then she laughed and jumped up and down and cheered "Oh, wow!"

It's now in a frame on the family piano.

Yup.

Daddy did the right thing!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Mandy Patinkin and "Leading The Fun"

L.A. Times February 4th -- Daryl H. Miller reviews Mandy Patinkin at the Kodak Theatre.

One passage of the review seemed particularly apt for An Uptempo and a Ballad:

"Yet what was increasingly apparent was how comfortable in his skin Patinkin appears to be nowadays. He is a prickly perfectionist, but he seems finally to trust himself and his material. He doesn't oversell, as he did in the days that earned him a spotlight parody in "Forbidden Broadway" as "Super-Frantic-Hyper-Active-Self-Indulgent-Mandy." Aside from occasional indulgences in showy, chesty, buzzing-with-vibrato fortissimos, Patinkin spent most of the concert in focused stillness, suspending notes -- softly, tenderly -- in his impossibly high, pure upper range."

Keyword: Stillness -- if you have a spare minute, take a look back to my October posts.

For the last few months, I've been telling students to "lead the fun" in performance.

If your mantra is, "I am the leader of the fun," your audience will pick that up and trust your leadership. If they're going to heckle, they might as well leave, right?

If you abdicate your leadership of the fun, choosing instead to "push the fun up a hill from behind," it all becomes work, obvious work, and no one has any fun at all.

"Pushing the fun up the hill from behind" is a performer waiting for the audience to start having fun first.

It's a long wait...

It doesn't matter if you like to sing big and loud (omg; "showy, chesty, buzzy"!) or soft and quiet ("impossibly high, pure upper range").

Mandy Patinkin was just leading the fun.

Own yourself, you own the stage.

Lead the fun, the audience follows.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

"I'll Do It After The Strike..."

I've been a member of SAG since 1979 and have witnessed several big strikes since then.

And after all this time, I can tell you the one mistake we performers constantly make (and will continue to make) during a strike;

We treat it like a vacation.

Which it isn't.

It's an opportunity.

It's a chance to go to the gym more.

It's a chance for us to get in that dance class, voice class, acting class and improve our skills.

It's a chance to READ more and become more literate.

It's a chance to volunteer in something meaningful instead of waiting for the union to set up a Blood Drive.

Write a letter to the editor.

Meditate in an open field -- even when it's raining.

Do something instead of nothing.

Or do nothing.

But don't blame the writer's strike for it!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Our Demo Tracks...

Every gig we do is a learning experience.

And if it's not, then we're not paying enough attention to what we're doing.

That's why, when my students/clients/pals record these vocal samples, I only give them three takes straight through the track to deliver.

My reasoning is thus:

1) With digital recording, three complete vocal takes should give me plenty of material to "comp" the vocals, which means that I simply take the best phrases -- sometimes, even, the best word -- and put them all together in a single vocal take. If there are too many takes to choose from, or if we start "punching in" single words, etc., the performance gets lost because we are seeking perfection over performance. I'll always take performance first because it's real and real humans are seldom perfect;

2) With three full takes on one song, the singer has to "go for the gold" each time. It's a good practice to get in to. The singer is pushed to get to what that song means pretty quickly. No "warming up" for five or six takes and then expecting magic. Music producers come in all shapes and sizes with different demands and a singer has to be prepared for a session that could last fifteen minutes or five hours. If a singer goes for the gold on each take, giving it his or her all each time, then a producer is less inclined to throw out entire takes and ask for another one while also respecting that the singer is there delivering a high quality, fully energized product (the vocal line) in as efficient a manner as possible (studio time costs money -- be a hero, not a diva).

Finally, digital pitch correction.

I don't use it. The demos you hear are demos. Some major artists now touring are using pitch correction software in their live shows.

We don't call that art. We call that "cashin' checks"!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Featured Singer: Amy Langer Schwartz

A few years back, Amy Langer Schwartz did a national tour of "A Chorus Line" where she sang the 11th hour standard "What I Did For Love."

Only thing is, on that tour, Amy had no confidence in her voice, no real vocal technique, and, to top it off, she used to ask the sound guys to turn down her microphone whenever she hit the high notes.

That's what I love about our featured singer Amy Langer Schwartz. She is brutally honest, tremendously dedicated, funny, engaging, phenomenally talented and to top it off, she's now a bona fide belter, baby!

Click on the little widget above to hear what I'm talking about.

Amy Langer Schwartz.

Even her name sounds like a trustworthy product.

V.O.: "Amy Langer Schwartz...a ton o' talent in a tiny package...available now at finer theatres everywhere."

Friday, January 4, 2008

Happy New Year! (Uh, Time To Get In Shape...)

I just turned 50 the other day. Nathalie insisted that I go to the doctor because when you turn 50 that's the first thing you're supposed to do.

So I went to my old, fat doctor who told me I need to lose 36 lbs., whereupon, with his expert analysis, I, too, suddenly became old and fat. Ah, the magic of modern medicine..

Of course, that BMI (Body Mass Index) chart he brought out was all lies. I haven't weighed 189 since I started gaining weight after playing Danny Zuko in 1982. Plus, I'm sure the doctor's scale was all messed up and they weighed me with my shoes on, and you know, all that accounts for at least an extra 10, 12 lbs. right there.

So, by rights, I should only have to lose about ten or 15 lbs.

But that doesn't get me "in shape," does it?

I mean, if I lost ten or 15 lbs., I still wouldn't be running any marathons anytime soon would I?

Maybe a potato sack race, but that's a BIG maybe.

I think the point is; to have a longer, happier life with my friends, family, and students, I need to get in shape and stay in shape.

Same thing applies to singers and voices.

So, this year, let's all get in shape and, fer Pete's sake, let's stay in shape.

Might as well.

2008 is going to be a huge year for us all!
Various Artists - Musical Beans: Animal Songs for Children