Hello Again…

This internet world is still a struggle for me. I’ve been so horrible about blogging this past year, and only a little better with social media. Something shifted at one point and I couldn’t find anything I cared to write about. I’ve never been good at small talk, and I guess that goes for blogging and status updates as well! At some point, I need to give in and just write. Well, tonight I’m doing just that. I’ve no agenda of what to write about, other than the need to connect with my subscribers (I haven’t forgotten about you – and am SO grateful you are still there)!

If you haven’t been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you may not know that my live show “Mental Creatures” was a huge success! It was definitely one of the high points for me as an artist. The show moved so many people very deeply – something I was not expecting. EVERY show people were in tears, and came up to talk to me after the show but couldn’t speak. And many people came to see the show more than one time. The three comments I received over and over were, “I’m blown away”, “I’m so moved” and “I’m so inspired’. I couldn’t ask for more than that! People still talk to me about the show, and everyone asks me if I will do it again. I am in the process of speaking with theaters and theater people about where and how to launch “Mental Creatures” again. I can’t produce it again myself, so I’m trying to find a home for it at a theater that is looking to produce a show like it. I will definitely post any solid information as soon as it comes about. There is a website, www.mentalcreatures.com where you can see video of the show, read reviews, see photos and more. Be sure to check it out.

I got some big news this week! Pandora has requested my latest CD, “Peace At Last” for rotation on their stations! I am thrilled!! If any of you listen to Pandora, and hear my songs, please hit the “LIKE” button – so my songs with stay in rotation. I’m so happy my music will reach such a large audience. This is fantastic!

The other “news” that is making me very happy, is that I am currently in the recording studio working on CD number 5. It is going very well! I am truly happiest when I am creating. I’m working with producer Soren Young, who also produced my last CD, “Peace At Last”. We are continuing the sound from that CD, and going a little more pop and with a bit more classical orchestration. So far, it is turning out to be a beautiful CD. I am loving working on it.

And tonight I was the guest on the “Hollywood Unloaded” podcast. It was hosted by Doug White, and a panel of three others, and I had a blast! It was a video podcast (my first – I’ve done only radio podcasts before). I believe it will be online at some point, and when it is I’ll post the link on my site.

No promises about how often I’ll write my blog – I don’t want to get my hopes up. But I do have an urge to connect with my fans, and that is one thing I need to better embrace about the internet world we live in. Hopefully, tonight will set me back on that path. Once again, thanks for reading.

2,257 total views

Exciting News: New CD and Live Show Coming Soon!

There is a lot happening this summer. I will be releasing a new CD in early July! It is titled, “Peace At Last”, and will feature eleven new tracks. It is produced and arranged by Soren Young, a very talented producer and great musician. “Peace At Last” will have more of a “pop” edge than my previous CDs. I seem to be writing more “pop-ish” songs these days. It’s not something I was aware of until I started recording the new songs, but I think people will be very surprised (in a great way) by the new songs. It has been an interesting and fulfilling journey in a very creative period of my life, and I definitely know that “Peace At Last” contains the best songwriting I’ve done to date. I am very proud it if, and can’t wait to share it with you.

After three years of hard work, finally, my one-man-show has an opening date! It is called, “Mental Creatures”, and it opens on Friday, July 13, at “The Lounge Theatre 2” in Hollywood (6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90038), with one preview performance on Thursday July 12th. It will run for six weeks, with shows every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8pm. The show follows the paths of three people going through life changes, with music woven throughout. It will feature songs from my previous CDs as well as several songs from “Peace At Last” – including the show’s opening song, “Human Nature” which was written specifically for the show. It is an engaging mixture of comedy and drama. There will be more details to come once the tickets go on sale – which should happen soon.

I apologize for not being more regular with my blog entries. I know it must look like I’ve disappeared and am doing nothing, but the opposite has been the case. I’ve been in a period of heavy work (writing, singing and acting), and have been so focused creatively that it has been difficult to stop and write about what’s been happening. It felt like that would have taken away some of the creative steam I needed to keep generating from. I’ve been a little bit better about posting scattered social media status updates (Facebook and Twitter mostly), but even with those I know there is room for more. Hopefully, my upcoming work will speak for itself. If you are in Los Angeles during the run of “Mental Creatures”, please come and enjoy the fruits of my labor – and bring a friend or two! I think it will be a very unusual and enjoyable show!

3,176 total views

Live Show Announcement, and Words from Judy Garland!

BIG NEWS: My one-man-show, “Mental Creatures”, will open on Thursday, July 12th! It will run on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights for six weeks through August 18th! After several years of writing, as well as performing a couple of small segments live, my show is finally ready to perform. I am working on a couple of new songs for the show, and am shaping and fine tuning the show with my director. It will run at the “Lounge” theater in Hollywood. More information, including ticket info, will be made available as we get closer to the opening. You can subscribe to this blog and/or my newsletter to get up to date info as well as pre-sale ticket information (before they are made available to the general public). After working hard on this show for a few years now, I am THRILLED that it is finally on the calendar!!

At the end of 2011, my music video, “Love is Love“, won three awards in two different film festivals, including the prestigious “Abbott Award” at “The Other Venice Film Festival”. In addition, my CD, “Revelations” got (and continues to get) a lot of airplay on internet radio, podcasts, and even play on a few FM stations. It was indeed a great way to end a somewhat difficult year.

It has been a busy start of 2012 or me. In addition to working on the show, I have returned to the recording studio and to date have recorded about half a dozen new songs. I’m planning on releasing a new CD this year. If I can get it together in time, I hope to release it in conjunction with my show in July (seeing that as of now, a couple of the songs from the upcoming CD will be featured in the show). Not sure if that is doable, but that is my goal! I am VERY excited about the new songs. While the sound is very much mine, they are a bit more personal and a bit more popish than my last releases. I feel my best work to date is in these new songs.

As if that weren’t enough great news, I also have new management (with regard to my acting career) – which I am very excited about! I’m now represented by MSA (McDonald, Selznick Associates). They are a great agency, and great people, and I am so happy to be working with them!

I’ve tried (and failed) to blog more often. These days all my writing energy is going into new songs and into my show – leaving little to no energy or thoughts for a blog. My mind is constantly full of ideas for my show and new songs and I can’t seem to think about anything else right now. I will try again to get back on the blogging trail as much as I’m able, and will start to post more information about the new CD, and my upcoming show as both progress. In addition, you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter. If there is ever anything you’d like to ask me, please remember you can always email me or post a question here, and I’ll do my best to get back to you ASAP.

And finally, I’ll close with a quote from the great Judy Garland:

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

– Judy Garland

4,626 total views, 1 views today