2013: My Year In Review

2013 was a weird but, looking back, pretty cool.

My first gig of the year was at The Kennedy Center with the folks from Dizzy Miss Lizzy and their show, The Brontes, which was cool fun. 

 

That was the first of two Dizzy experiences.  In July, we traveled to New York for the NYMF Festival.  This was the second time I'd been part of a show that had debuted and done well at the Capital Fringe Festival in DC and then gave NY a try.  The first was Diamond Dead a few years ago, which performed as part of that year's NY Fringe Festival.  (You can reminisce about that experience HERE.)  The cool thing is that I was able to take the lessons learned from Diamond Dead to be better prepared for another run in NYC.  Reviews for The Brontes were mixed.  Frankly, NY audiences are a tough.   But, generally speaking, we had a great time! 

Here's a list of all of the shows I played this year.....

Cabaret
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
Back To The 80's
All Shook Up
The Wiz
Standby
Full Monty
In The Heights
The Brontes
The Mystery Of Edwin Drood
Tick Tick Boom
Rocky Horror
Disco Jesus & The Apostles Of Funk

The Ravens won the Super Bowl!!!!  

Watching Ray Lewis' "Last Ride" in real time was amazing.  

Obama got sworn in again!  Sorry haters!

 Some cool shows with The Understudies.  My fave was the Rock n' Roll Marathon in DC. 

 

We were at mile 20 (they have a band every mile) and, from what I understand, mile twenty is when the pain begins and we definitely saw some of that.  But I also thought it was really inspiring.  As every I runner went by, I wanted to know their story.  What inspired them to run?  How long did they train?  There were friends, couples, fathers and sons, moms and daughters....so many stories going by every minute and, even though it was chilly, it was cool to cheer them on.

I also played some cool shows with The Project but unfortunately that band ended.

I was able to develop a cool friendship with the folks at Right Coast Pro wrestling in Delaware. 

 

It started with Laura and I singing the national anthem at a show this summer and I'm really enjoying helping them with their events.

Of course, there were lots of other cool moments and happenings but those were the hi-lites.  I'm also glad to say there weren't too many bad days.  I have know idea what's going to happen in 2014 but I've got some big plans, so I'm planning on a big year!!!!

Civil Rights....Comic Book Style

 

So, it's no secret that I'm a huge comic book geek, but I'm also kind of a history buff, so when you combine the two, I'm in geek heaven.  

Congressman John Lewis was an active member of the Civil Rights movement in the 60's and actually shared the stage with Martin Luther King the day he gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.  He has released a graphic novel which chronicles his experience entitled March.

March was inspired by the comic Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story, which not only told the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but was also a how-to journal of non-violent protest. 

 

It speaks of the peaceful methods used by Gandhi to achieve independence in India and how to find the strength to not strike back at your attackers with violence or hate.  The 14-page book was distributed widely throughout the south during the civil rights movement, in South Africa during the fight against apartheid and ever in Egypt during the Arab spring.

 

Tonight I got to meet John Lewis and his co-author, Andrew Aydin, at a booking signing in DC.  I shook his hand and told him how moved I was by his speech at the Democratic National Convention last year, in which he told a story about a recent reconnection with a face from his past.....
  
 "A few years ago, a man from Rock Hill, [South Carolina], inspired by President Obama's election, decided to come forward. He came to my office in Washington and said, "I am one of the people who beat you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me?" I said, "I accept your apology." He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we both started crying. This man and I don't want to go back; we want to move forward."

He said to me that we've come to far to be held back by anger from the past.  I then asked him if there were any plans in Congress for a new Voter Rights Act, in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision.  He said, "Oh yeah. We're gonna fix that.  We've got a bi-partisan bill coming up next year."  In that moment it totally hit me....I was speaking with someone who had literally been beaten, spit on, arrested....you name it, in the fight for equal rights.  Someone who stood next to Martin Luther King!  Someone who continues to fight now in Congress.  I shook his hand again and said, "Thank you....for everything".

It just didn't seem like enough.

Disco Jesus & The Apostles Of Funk

 

I had originally been approached about being a part of this show this past summer for the Capital Fringe Festival.  The show ran while I was in New York doing another production and would have involved traveling back and forth quite a bit but the deal-breaker for me was that, prior to that, I was playing in the pit for a production of In The Heights and would have had to find coverage for several of those performances to make it to Disco Jesus rehearsal and I just couldn't afford to do that.  It was a bummer because when I finally got to see the show, I thought it was great.  Unlike a lot of rock Fringe shows, Disco Jesus actually takes the time to tell a touching story of love and self discovery, rather than just marvel in it's own shock value and self-perceived rock 'n roll snub to musical theater traditions.  I'll admit, I was jealous not to be in it.  So, I was very excited when the writer asked if I was available in the fall for their remount.

The seven performances went very well and those who came seemed to really enjoy the show.  I feel this is a show that could have a future, if only because the writers are constantly critiquing their work and looking for ways to improve their show.  It'll be fun to watch their journey.

The Brontes at The Kennedy Center

 Monday evening, The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage series featured a familiar show.....The Brontes.   Yup, that same show from this past summer's Fringe festival.  It definitely has turned into the little show that could. 

It was a long day as we had to load-in, tech-in and rehearse as much of the show as time would allow, all before the performance began at 6pm.  I felt pretty calm through all of it until about thirty minutes before curtain, at which time I got a little nervous.  Actually a lot nervous.  The most nervous I've been in my experience with this show.   Usually I only get nerves like that when I'm unsure about something in the show or if I feel unprepared or something.  In this case, it was the fact that I was about to perform at the freakin' Kennedy Center.  A big deal for me.

 

The show was a great success!  We had a big crowd and the performance went really well.  If you'd like to watch the performance, you can check it out HERE.

A day later, I was thinking about things a little.  In my time, I've had the opportunity to perform at a lot of cool places.....

Lincoln Center
Merriweather Post Pavillion
First Mariner Arena

....and now, The Kennedy Center.

Not too bad!

House Of Rock

This first week of 2013 has been pretty crazy.  First there was the whole bronchitis thing.....and while I'm dealing with that turns out that I've got four gigs in four days.  I barely made thru Friday night's show with The Project.  After resting up on Saturday, I hauled out to the House of Rock in White Marsh for a gig with The Understudies on Sunday.  

It was kind of a weird show....a benefit for a friend's family.  The whole thing was a little controversial because the before-mentioned friend is currently serving time in prison for a drunk driving related accident.  Some folks kinda bristled at the whole event and I can't say that I blame them but, regardless of these particular circumstances, I felt comfortable about helping out a friend who had shown me kindness on several occasions when we worked together.  Another weird thing about the show was that our set time was right in the middle of the Ravens playoff game.  Subsequently, not a big crowd.  Thirdly, we had a fill-in guitarist.

In the end, it all turned out ok.   We played pretty well and got a really great response for those in attendance.  Also, they've got good burgers at The House Of Rock!