#58: The Beatles and Me

Quick note: Had our first vocal rehearsal with Brian Krinsky and
Alicia Irving. The music was SO BEAUTIFUL. Brian's voice will melt you
into a thousand puddles. It's a new song, so I don't want to give it
away by even telling you the title. My only challenge now is how to
make the song longer. They won't let him off the stage.

Alicia and I have known each other for decades. She was in a show
called Club Indigo, which Jim Brochu wrote (and directed?). Anyway,
she is a Broadway performer with an incredibly strong voice. So, we're
singing "Something I Meant To Do," the song Corina and I did last
year. Our affection for each other really shines through.

Blake will be back with "My New York Life" and on the Bonus Round Band songs.

I also rehearsed with Gavin Gold. He's playing acoustic guitar
back-up. Again, really skilled guitarist. The music is going to be so
good.

The biggest problem is that the show is on a Tuesday night at 9pm
because we're part of a theater and cabaret festival called Winter
Rhythms. So, a different act goes on before us at 7. That's why I'm
working extra hard to reward those who do come out.

MORE BEATLES CONNECTIONS
Jim and I watched the Beatles Anthology this past week and I was
struck by the fact that they recorded their entire first album in a
single day. It was a record of every song they knew and had been
playing in clubs. So they just rammed through and finished it.

Back in December of 1995, that's exactly what I was doing. We had no
money. Keeping me alive was taking up every resource and every moment
of our time. Pre-Internet and alone.

The writing of the songs was bringing me back to strength, but nobody
knew anything about the disease and we were all just guessing how much
time I had left. Already, I was way past my "You have a year left" due
date. The music was the only thing keeping me alive.

So I approached a friend with a recording studio and asked if I could
buy one hour of studio time, and, like The Beatles but with a lot less
time, record all the songs I had written for what now was becoming
"The Last Session." The cassette of that session has taken on mythical
proportions because I used to duplicate them, sign them and number
them, and hand them out for free when we performed our first staged
reading at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

I found one in a box yesterday: #3/100.

Writing this new Living in the Bonus Round show is bringing back so
many of these memories and what we all had to do to survive.

See ya next week!

#57: Dr. Dorsey is Coming!

Howdy! I wanted to share some exciting news about the upcoming Urban Stages show, Living in the Bonus Round: Winter Rhythms 2025.


I recently learned that Dr. Bruce Dorsey—the man who invented the drug that saved my life—will be attending that night with his wife. I have some special surprises planned for him, and I'm very excited for this to be a historic event.


This is an entirely new show with a new format. While I will be singing some of my most requested songs, this show is a more theatrical approach than my past work, and I'm eager for you to see it. As another surprise, Jim Brochu is coming out of retirement to join me onstage

#56: 30 Years Ago It All Started

30 years ago at this time through to the end of the year, I was writing the songs that saved my life: The score of The Last Session.

First came "Connected" in September. Then, in October, "Going It Alone," "Save Me A Seat," and "The Group." Four powerhouse songs that jolted fresh energy into my failing body. At the time, I had lost so much body weight, I was barely a skeleton. By December, I probably had most of the songs written, was able to sit up and go out more, and was begging my friends, the Tobins, for free or nearly free studio time.

(They gave me one hour and we recorded it live to 2-track, me singing one song after the other with no break and no playback. I didn't hear it until we got in the car on the way home.)

This was just before the Internet and the invention of digital home studios. We were also broke because AIDS drained us of any money. We were going to food pantries to get basics. I still remember the Thanksgiving where they gave out frozen turkey tv dinners. It felt like eating at the Four Seasons.

So now I am going to make the show on December 9th a little more comprehensive. Bring in some of the songs from TLS, add in songs from all my various works and then bring us up to date with songs from this past year.

I have a little more stage time than normal, so I'm excited to pack it with stories, hilarity, fun, songs and surprises. I hope you'll join me.


Steve





Tickets to new show on December 9th at Urban Stages!
https://tinyurl.com/urban-steve