Zombie Funk live with Guitar.

University of Steve at NY Accomplishment Announcement.

It took months. Months of my vocal teacher Paul Kolecki intensely hitting me with a riding crop and yelling, "NO! NO! NO! NO!" (Movie fans picture Susan Alexander), but this past week, I think I finally found the "placement" I've been searching for. It's a combination of support from the diaphragm and a mental image.

(I did this because I can't stop learning new stuff, but also because I noticed, in my most recent concerts, I had no voice by the end of the show. I knew I was doing something wrong. Also, in choral singing, if the parts were high, I would lose those notes after a very short time.)

It started when I finally heard myself "Hmmmmm." The sound was in my nose or it was in my throat. And when he told me to put that focus into the front of my mouth, I couldn't figure it out. I would, frustrated, blow out air through my lips, making a Bronx cheer.

And then, suddenly, it kicked in. It was so easy! I felt like an idiot. But it's all in the head. It's like I needed a certain mental image to get there, and then I applied that placement to a note and, POW, this huge sound came out. Clear and amazing.

He gave me an aria which has mostly high notes, hovering around D, E and F -- and this morning, I sang this piece for an hour without losing one bit of vocal quality. I surprised myself, but Paul had said that once you "get it," you got it. After that, it's just doing it better and extending your power and range.

And yes, I'll record it and you can hear it. But first, let me learn this aria. It's "Il Padre Adorato" from Mozart's Idomeneo.

New World Waking poster and ticket info.

Announcing Stephen Wallem ("Thor" on Nurse Jackie) has now been added to the cast of our benefit performance of New World Waking, Saturday November 21, at Union Temple in Brooklyn, NY.

TICKETS HERE.

I fell in love with "Thor" on the TV show Nurse Jackie, but it was when Jim Brochu​ and I saw the actor, Stephen Wallem​ appear on stage with Edie Falco that I knew this performer, newly in from Chicago, was so multi-talented. He sings like an angel and, as in the show, has incredibly seasoned comic chops. Like all great clowns, he can make you laugh and cry at once.

But it was his voice that really carried me away. So, when I asked him if he'd take on the unnamed role of the "journeyer" in New World Waking, and he said yes, I couldn't contain my excitement. But I did. Until now. And, paired with some of my favorite theater, cabaret and opera performers, this is going to be a great night.

The full poster is below.

New Song! New Video! "A Clue"

And here it is on iTunes.

It is also on Spotify.

My Mass is now online.

After almost five years, we performed Missa Appassionata, the Bay Ridge Mass, which I composed with much guidance, and a little collaboration from, and with, Mark Janas.

It is on iTunes and Spotify, which means you can buy and own it or you can stream it. I am happy either way. I just want the music heard because much of it is different from anything I've ever written before, including some very sophisticated choral composing. (Yay, team!)

But these are interspersed with songs that will be more familiar to your ears.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/missa-appassionata/id1038988148

If you'd like to stream it, here is the Spotify link:

For my 62nd Birthday...

For my 62nd birthday, I gave myself the challenge of learning to play guitar and accompany myself in public. And I did it! With only five days practice. It helps to have a song with only one chord in it. And this next year will be the 20th anniversary of coming back to life and performing The Last Session workshop in Los Angeles at the Zephyr, still hooked up to an I.V.


I wasn't supposed to live past the age of 42.


So, what have I done since then? I've made a ton of friends from all over the world, invented blogging, written two off-Broadway musicals, composed a Mass, a song cycle, visited all seven continents, co-starred in a movie, made a few albums and found that healing comes from being a healer. Learning comes by being a teacher and loving comes by being a lover.


I got rescued by doctors, friends, family and loved ones.


In the world's big picture, I'm not rich, not famous. I didn't change the planet nor do I have my Tony, Oscar, Emmy or Grammy, but I have life still. Those things may or may not come, but I do know this, when I was on my "deathbed," I wouldn't have wanted those things around me. I already had what I needed: Jim Brochu and the people who love me -- and even better, people I really love.


In the end, that's all that matters and will ever matter. On that score, I'm the richest man alive. All the wealth in the world cannot buy you a true friend. And one true friend is worth more than all the wealth in the world, which means I have multiple worlds of wealth.


Happy birthday to me.

New Birthday Video.

Today is my birthday. I'm 62 and so I present a new song and a new video to go along with it.

New Video: Someone I Never Could Be

New song. New video. Happy birthday to me! (Sad song but I'm not sad).

Zombie Funk

This is what happens when you join a group where you must write a song a week.

Your brain gets addled and you start writing anything that comes into your head.

Roger Rees. A very talented and kind man.

Roger Rees has died.

He visited Jim Brochu and me in our dressing room during the run of "The Big Voice: God or Merman?" Jim interviewed him about his run on Nicholas Nickleby, an 8 1/2-hour long Broadway play.

Times Square Sanctus

Soloist: Maria Fernanda Brea



This is the Sanctus I composed for the Missa Appassionata, which will be available soon for the purchase or streaming. Words: Traditional. Recording produced by Stephen Wilde. Executive Producer: Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, M.D. Conductor: Mark Janas.

Hand is improving.

I have been resting my hand, which means no typing or playing the piano.

So, it's feeling better. I will see a specialist in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for all the kind notes and wishes.

Lots of good things to come. 

Update.

I apologize that I have not updated the blog. But I have some repetitive stress injury to my hand and so I can't really type all that much. However, you should know that I am still here and that I am making a lot of new music.

More news soon.

New World Waking, Boston Conservatory.

Joey Harrell, musical director of EarthStone Theater Company's production of
New World Waking.

I don't want to insult producer/director and performer Blake Zolfo by saying he reminds me of me. But he reminds me of me. In the sense that he seems to instinctively be living in the Bonus Round without ever having almost died of a disease.

Blake Zolfo and I with the poster. Artwork by Carolina Gaviola, conceived by Blake and Carolina.

Meaning, as a student at Boston Conservatory, he started his own theater company and put on a season of shows, grabbing whatever space was available, and just going of for it. In the case of New World Waking, they took over a rehearsal hall at the school. (One of the premises behind his founding EarthStone is that one doesn't need a theater to make theatre).

When he discovered my New World Waking School Challenge, he and musical director Joey Harrell were especially eager because the show is still, in a way, unformed -- or without form -- and thus, subject to being stretched and changed and reformed to whatever artistic vision they wanted.

As a teaching opportunity, it was perfect. As composer, I gave them permission to cast it any way they wished, including changing keys, changing genders of the singers, changing songs from solos to group songs or vice versa. And since the "characters" are more archetypes associated with the songs than fully fleshed out characters, they had my permission to absolutely do anything they wanted.

They couldn't do a lot in terms of production, plus they had a severely limited rehearsal period, but what a privilege it was to sit out front and see the songs re-imagined in new ways. (Here in New York, I had to cast myself in the show because, also, of time limitations so I couldn't watch the show.)

But, from the beginning, I have envisioned this piece as a learning exercise that can be thrown into a season. The point of it is to do it quickly, down and dirty. So, for the students at Boston Conservatory, it was a chance to, essentially, create a new show from scratch. And there's no better or faster way to learn.

At the beginning of the night, Blake announced that, except for one, these were all underclassmen.

Bransen Gates sang "Brilliant Masquerade" and "War By Default."
He's a very "alive" performer on stage, totally present.

Isaiah Reynolds lent an expert hand to such diverse songs as
Franco Ate The Paperwork, Kelly & Sinatra, My Thanksgiving Prayer, and My Rising Up.
When I showed Jim his picture, he said, "This kid is gonna get a lot of work with that smiling face."

Gabi Carruba's harmonies were gorgeous on "He's Coming Back" and she totally raised the roof on "Lazarus Come Out."

Aaron Badilla has a warm,  melodic voice.
He also had the two most diverse songs, "Vacationing in Syria," which had the audience laughing out loud,
and "Holy Dirt," which benefitted from his quiet gravitas.

Lauren Kidwell was brought in to handle "Sanctus," which requires a more trained operatic voice.

Jackie Chylinski was celebrating because this would be her first college show.
She expertly handled "He's Coming Back," "I Enter This Battle Gravely" and "William's Song."

The endlessly adorable and warm Dani Apple fully embodied the pathos of
"Gabi's Song," "I Enter This Battle Gravely" and "He's Coming Back."

Seriously, how adorable is Isaiah Reynolds?

Adam Bokunewicz bravely stepped in at the last minute to handle the piano chores.
It was not easy, and he gracefully pulled it off. Great musician!

Joey Harrell, the musical director, stayed up almost all night and morning
rewriting the charts for Adam. Welcome to the glamorous world of show biz!

The entire company and creative team.
Adam Bedilla, Joey Harrell, Dani Apple, Blake Zolfo, Jackie Chylinski, Steve Schalchlin
Adam Bokunewicz, Isaiah Reynolds, Bransen Gates, Gabi Carruba, Lauren Kidwell.

Despite all the limitations, the show was great. People around me were both crying and laughing and greatly moved by the material and by the expert performances.

I composed New World Waking with the express goal of providing a work that would both be deeply meaningful and easy to produce -- but it takes a visionary to pull it off. A visionary like Blake Zolfo.

It doesn't matter how old you are or how inexperienced, what it takes to make it in this profession is courage to step out on your own and MAKE something happen.

New World Waking was a triumph because these young people made it happen. They didn't wait for others, they didn't wait for permission. They created their own show and they moved a lot of hearts with it. And that's what Living in the Bonus Round is truly all about.

Writing A Song A Week.

I've joined the Jack Hardy Songwriter Exchange, the rules of which are that we must write a song a week. So, just to prove that I can, I have been writing, almost exclusively, love songs -- and I will probably make those love songs my next album.

Why love songs? Because everyone keeps accusing me of writing only "issue" songs. So, I'm gonna prove myself! So far, I'm not doing so badly. We'll see how it goes.

I've been learning my new studio recording software -- Pro Logic X! -- so I'll start posting the demo recordings soon for your judgment.

Boston New World Waking moved to March 10.

New World Waking will perform on March 10 (one night only!) at 8pm in 132 Ipswich, Room 306.  Tickets are $5 and can be reserved by emailing Blake_Zolfo@bostonconservatory.edu.  A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Trevor Project.

The show features a group of incredible singers from The Boston Conservatory, and the response from the performers to this material has been so encouraging as we continue to put this show together. It is also a unique opportunity for this group of pre-professionals to be able to work on a show with the composer being an active part of the process.  They have improvised many of the harmony lines and bring a fresh new look at this very pointed piece of theatre.

EarthStone Theatre Company's Cast for New World Waking

Gabi Carrubba*

Jackie Chylinski

Dani Apple

Bransen Gates

Aaron Badilla

Isaiah Reynolds

*Member of Actor's Equity Association (AEA), the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

 

EarthStone Theatre Company is a brand new theatre company which operates in Boston, Massachusetts, bringing four shows annually to the Back Bay/Cambridge area.  The mission statement of EarthStone is four pronged: 

• Breaking down the assumption that theatre can only happen in places designated as "theaters"
• Breaking down preconceptions that specific shows need to be performed in a particular manner
• Breaking down social barriers by using art as activism
• Breaking down artistic barriers by connecting composers/playwrights with actors and vice versa.

     Our current season included a completely re-imagined Little Shop of Horrors, a workshop of a new musical called The Greatest Musical Ever, performances of Paul Downs Colaizzo's Really Reallywhich raised money for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, and the weekend of March we will be putting up a dynamic production of Shakespeare's Macbeth.  New World Waking fits into our mission statement because it sparks strong conversation about LGBT issues.  

The executive board of EarthStone is comprised of current students and alumni from The Boston Conservatory, which has about a 30% population that identifies as "other than straight". (The national average is around 14% for a college campus).  So we decided to include this powerful song cycle in our season, feeling that it would resonate within such a diverse community.