Helllllooooooo

Whoa, haven't been on here IN A MINUTE!!!


Life's been a little crazy but good -

Traveled out to Los Angeles again - did a private party in Beverly Hills for a friend of Beth Shaw, CEO of Yoga Fit, who has taken a liking to my music.

I also went to Palm Springs to her home there and did a showcase for her and invitees of my new management, KMP Artists.

I spent two days in San Diego with my friend Tori Roze, and did the open mic at Lestat's, as well as a featured spot at Train of Thought San Diego.

Back in LA, I did a show with Wesley Cole on bass and Julian Hogan on drums at M Bar in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, I took a bunch of dance class, and had some great writing sessions with songwriter friends Adam Tressler, Brooke Parrott, and Jill Krachmer.

Planning on moving to LA later this year or early next.

On the way back to the east coast, I stopped in Austin to visit a friend. First time there - what a lovely city - but sooo hot.... then I flew to Boston and spent 4th of July with my brother Jeremy, Bridget, and nephews Gus & Cal.

Now I'm back in NYC, getting some things poppin here - getting ready for my cousin Chris' wedding. I am providing the music along with bandmates Cara Scherker, Iakov Kremenskiy, Josh Giunta, and Brian Holtz.

AND I got approved for artist housing - $470/month for a studio apartment in midtown. So alot's going on, but all good stuff.

Stay tuned!

Another Bitter End show

Really had an amazing evening.

Show was awesome. I absolutely love the Bitter End

and I got to talk to Paul Colby, the owner. Really old guy, and so nice.

He said I have something special, I just need to get in front of the right people.

Meant so much to me, he was like "I'm not the easiest guy to impress"

Energy of the crowd was so great. We all had so much fun!

Love being silly and a goofball and just ENJOYING my time with the band and the audience.

I feel very grateful.

Went to get burgers afterwards at Bareburger with Cara, her fiancee Mark, and two of their friends.

Holy shit that place is amazing! They have turkey, beef, ostrich, bison, and more!

Soooo delicious. Their fries and dipping sauces are off the chain. And milkshakes too!!!

GAAAAAHHHH I'm a happy boy....

BIRTHDAY

Today was my birthday and it was so awesome!!!

I loved getting so many facebook birthday messages...IT made me feel so loved!

And my love Cara Scherker invited me over and cooked me turkey meatballs, pasta and salad, and even bought an ice cream cake!!! IT was the sweetest thing ever!!! (and soooo delicious) She made me feel so special!!!

Then I met up with another friend and then went SWIMMING at the Recreation Center in Chelsea. That branch is serious about the swimming!!

Had my last gig with Tori tonight. She played the midnight set at Rockwood, and she was awesome!! I'm gonna miss my buddy!!! xoxoxoxo Tori!!!

Set list

So excited...I love music!!

     Creating arrangements for the show on Thursday.

Had a WONDERFUL rehearsal today with Cara Scherker and Nick Boddington. They are awesome vocalists and the three of us sound wonderful together, and haven't all sung together since a gig back in February.

It's great to be reunited!

Full band rehearsal is tomorrow.

AND then TORI Roze, my long lost lover is coming in!!! Woo-hoo. I gotta clean (maybe) and practice her material. I'm playing keys with her on her sets.

Can't wait for show on Thursday! YEAH!

Weekend

I slept my life away this weekend....

In preparation for a busy week ahead, I wanted to soak up the zzzz's....

Had fun though hanging with some friends.

Me & Cara took a nice walk through Madison Square Park...There are all kinds of cool shops and food stands set up there.

It's starting to get COLD! brrrrrr

Prey

Taught my first voice lesson today. It went great! I'm hoping to build a roster of some more students. :-)

Tonight was a nice artistic, inspirational night.

One of my favorite choreographers since I was in elementary school is Shannon Hummel. She used to teach at Dance & Company in my hometown of Harrisonburg, VA and I've been a big fan for a LONG time. She has lived in NY for years now and has her own company, Cora Dance.

They have been developing a piece called Prey for a few years. It is a site-specific dance piece taking place in Red Hook Brooklyn. I went to Coffey Park and saw them perform some excerpts. It was awesome! It started out in the park and then we walked to some of the other sites they will be performing at along the way, ending at the pier, which is gorgeous...it was evening and there is a great view of the city & the statue of liberty.

Then I went to an artist showcase at Canal Room sponsored by Hennessy, featuring Erin Christine, Miguel, and Bilal, among others. I was especially impressed by Miguel's show. There was some simple choreography that the bass and guitar player did with him that was HOT. It had everyone talking.

Some friends of mine - Cara and Brooke, also came out to check out the show. A nice Tuesday evening!

Miguel:

My Custom Van

I went and saw a great play that my friend Ruark Downey is in, called "My Custom Van," written by Michael Ian Black. It was on the Upper West Side, which was kinda random, but a cool little place called The Drilling Company Theatre.

Afterwards, I met up with Cara for the last time before she goes on her cruise ship!

We went to Lime Jungle, an awesome cheap but sit-down, really good quality Mexican restaurant. Amazing corn on the cob appetizer, quesadillas, and tacos. Afterwards, we went to Holey Cream AGAIN for ice cream.

BLOODSONG

Bloggity-blog-blog...

My day was pretty great, how was yours?

Got some errands done, getting flyers printed, sat in the park for a little bit and had some of my favorite Dunkin' Donuts blueberry iced coffee...

Tried to schedule freakin' rehearsals for my release party, and it's so hard! Everyone's schedule is so wonky, it's hard to find time that works for everybody. AAAH!!! We all so busy! But it's good. We still have time.....I have to BREATHE....

THERAPY.....is great....

I went to see my friend Lance Rubin in the play "Bloodsong of Love."

It's a spaghetti western musical, and it was really fun & funny, and there was lots of blood. In fact, the front 2 rows were a little cheaper, because they are considered "splatter zones." HAHA, they give you ponchos, and you get splattered on. Fun!!

Then we got ice cream at this place on 9th @ 50-something, by "Eatery"

It's called "Holey Cream"

Soooo good, they have amazing birthday cake ice cream

BBBBBQQQQQQ

Today I had BBQ twice....yes....its true.....don't be jealous.

First, I played for a kid's birthday party in Long Island. They had some ribs, pork, cornbread, delicious mac and cheese with corn and jalapenos...excellent.

Then tonight, I went to Dinosaur BBQ to hear some friends play. Unfortunately, I had to leave before they even started playing, but I DID share some BBQ with my friend Cara (who's been delayed another week before she goes on the cruise ship). We had more ribs, mac & cheese, greens, pork, cornbread, and I liked their spicy barbecue sauce. YUM!!

Master

Laying in bed

In a hotel room with parents

They are sleeping

I am listening to my MASTER CD for the umpteenth time

Hope it can finally go into production tomorrow

Had a Crumbs cupcake and lovely walk with Cara Scherker, my beautiful friend and background singer who is leaving for 5 months on a cruise. Boo, I will miss her, but I think it will be a great experience for her. 

Had some dope salad and pasta with parents at Patsy's in Chelsea,

then went to the Clearview theater to see

"Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

and it was a reallly good movie!

Oooh lalalala....

GREAT show tonight at Pianos!!

I really had a fun time at my show tonight....I wasn't in my head too much...I enjoyed singing and playing with my band...

There was some confusion, they had too many acts playing upstairs, so we had to cut the set down to 30 minutes. We did Saturday, Still, 2 Bad 2 Do Good, Two Time, Ooh-la la la / Red Light Special medley, & Warning Shot. The guys sounded great, and it was Cara's last gig with me before she leaves...boooo....its ok, she will be back.

Next show, May 18th @ Bitter End...CD Release Party....weee!!!!

ICED COFFEE

Spring is here....

Iced coffeee......specifically Blueberry iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. My favorite!

I slept innnn this morning, and then got a few things done....

Went to take LaJon at BDC, and it was a good class. The twins were there (Scott & Brian Nicholson) who are two of my favorite people. They have danced for me on a couple shows. We were all wearing a white shirt and navy sweatpants. WEIRD....accidental uniform....

Went to Cara Scherker's going away gathering. (I work with her and she sings backgrounds at my shows) She will be on a cruise for 5 months, so I will miss her greatly, but she will be singing lead in the band on the ship, and I think it will be an amazing opportunity for her....

SHOW tonight @ Pianos....yay!

Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart

The journey continues:

-Still trying to book the date for the release party of my CD
-Still looking for management, though I've been in contact with a couple possible canditates
-Trying not to get too worked up about things that are OUT OF MY CONTROL

On a break from my job (playing & singing for babies) I got together with my two current background singers Nick Boddington & Cara Scherker and we recorded a few songs for YouTube.

Click here to see the first of the video series, a cover of "Co Star" by DAY26.

It was snowing like crazy here in NY!

After work I went and took two dance classes at Broadway Dance Center. The first was Ray Hesselink's theater tap class. He is a great teacher and I always have so much fun in his class tapping away. The second was Jermaine Brown's hip-hop/street jazz class. I've only taken his class maybe 3-4 times, but he is another GREAT teacher...really emphasizes the performance aspect...We did a great combo to Alicia Keys' "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart." I was really feelin it!!