And so I have been thinking... maybe I should put together a little cabaret bit, you know like my shows are anyway, but minus the big long dance party? I have found that a lot of my old timers (long time fans) bemoan the "ole days" before I became "Miss Dance Party Band leader". Mind you, I have always kept a part of that cabaret - double - entendre - thing in my club and festival dates, but the dance numbers are starting to outweigh the more subtle (Ha! subtle like: "If I Can't Sell It, I'm …
The Deep End
I have to let a few of you in on something: I just learned how to swim. Well, actually, I have been taking private lessons (off & on) for months. I'd get to a certain point in my aquatic progress and then: POOF! I disappeared. Sometimes it was legit. I would cancel swimming lessons cause I had a gig, or I partied so late that I just couldn't see leaving my house before...well...midnight! it just seem as hard as I tried I could not co ordinate the one arm up & forward, the other down and back, …
The Chicago Marathon..2007
How fabulous! How gorgeous! We performed for the La Salle Bank / Chicago Marathon for the third year in a row. It was a gorgeous morning. Chicago had unseasonable warm temperatures (high eighties) Last year we were wearing hats and gloves and freezing our butts off! This year they cut the marathon short AFTER A FEW HOURS due to the numbers of folks dropping (literally) from heat exhaustion! (See My Heat Exhaustion entry: dated AUGUST 13, 2007) Luckily, at 8AM everyone was bright eyed and …
Into the Wild, Roger Ebert, me & the power of movies
This is a letter that I wrote to Roger Ebert which he then posted on his website:check it out on rogerebert.comMy letter on rogerebert.comHere is a copy of it here for you. In case you don't know this about me: I am a big movie buff!!I saw "Into The Wild" last night and loved it. But the point of this email is to tell you how this film affected me in a very special way.I sang at the House Of Blues Chicago tonight. It was a typical night. The house was packed with middle aged white males (some …
I met George Lucas.
I really did. I met him Saturday night at a wedding reception at which we (me and the band) were performing. I was recommended by Melody Hobson (President of Ariel Capital Management -black owned investment firm - hugely successful - and she is the groom's boss & mentor) Oh yeah, George Lucas is her boyfriend.Melody introduced us. He was very shy. He made little or no eye contact unless directly engaged. He did have, however, eyes for his date: the lovely and bubbly, brilliant and rich Melody …