Jimmy's Juke Joint

Are You Gonna Go My Way?

Okay, so after yesterday's story about my audition fuck up with a song from the musical Chess, I teased about doing something similar with a Lenny Kravitz song. I wont keep you in suspense any longer!

It was some time around '95 or '96 and I had an audition for the European tour of the musical Fame. As mentioned, I have a rock voice and had a few good Bon Jovi and Aerosmith tunes in my repertoire. Even a Journey one or two. Fuck you if you act like you're too cool for Journey or Bon Jovi. You know you love them. I would often bump the Lenny Kravitz CD in my CD player. Yes, I know it was released in late '93, but that shit was still rockin'. I got the sheet music for the song "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and figured I'd rehearse it and eventually use it as another rock piece. Well, I never got around to rehearsing. You all know the song, but if not...take a few to rock out.

Listen to that hard guitar and kickin' percussion. Sweet! So, the audition for Fame comes around and I'm trying to figure out what I want to sing. I bring my Bon Jovi music with me. I also had the Lenny Kravitz music in my book as well. As I sat there, I thought, "I should just sing the Kravitz song. Whatever, I know it and can rock that shit!". Mind you, I never rehearsed it with piano. I only sang it along to the actual song or in the shower. Sure, I thought I rocked the shit out of it and felt I knew it well, but still.

I go into the audition room and introduce myself and give the pianist the sheet music. I've heard piano players rock out songs, so I was expecting some hard pounding or something. Remember that awesome hard guitar at the top of the song? Well, what came out was basically the piano player hitting one key at a time and literally sounding like "doo-doodle-loot doot doot doo. doo-doodle-loot doot doot doo." So, instead of me belting out in my best rock voice, I started crooning the song almost. Imagine Frank Sinatra singing, "I was born, long ago. Hey...I'm the chosen I'm the one."

Embarrassing and needless to say, not what they were looking for. I grabbed my music and walked out in shame. Suddenly, I remembered the Chess audition and Ron LaRosa quote and smacked myself in the head confirming that I was indeed an idiot.

Moral of the story: Practice! Practice! Practice! Or even simpler....don't be a cocky jackass.

Chess King

If you know me, then you know that I always have to have some sort of sound going on. Be it the TV or music. Even when going to bed. As a former musical theater performer, I have plenty of soundtracks.  One of the most unsung Broadway (well, actually...it was sung. mwhahaha) shows from the 80's is a little musical called Chess. Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. Yes, guys from ABBA. And the music is really beautiful. I've been playing it lately when I'm about to hit the sack. Chess ran 3 years in the West End in London, but didn't do all that well on Broadway in a much altered version. Still, the music was able to shine through and there are still many memorable numbers. Remember that pop song "One Night in Bangkok"? Yep, it's from Chess.

But, arguably one of the most well known and sung songs from the show is a solo called "Anthem". It's not an easy song to sing, but it is really great. When I first moved to NYC in '94, I threw myself into learning as much musical theater as I could. Listening to things I hadn't been exposed to that much. I didn't know Chess at all and when my then roommate played it for me, I really liked it. So, I would practice many of the songs from the show. Just to work on my range. I sang "Anthem" all of the time as a warm up. I hadn't thought about doing it for an audition piece as it was a real "singers" song. I can carry a tune in a bucket and certainly got hired in many a musical for my voice. However, I have more of a rock voice, so it wasn't really a great song for me to sing. Still, it was a modern ballad that might be good to know.

Any voice teacher, casting director or person in the know will tell you to never sing a song you haven't rehearsed with piano. Did I listen? NOOOOOOOO!!! I knew the song well enough and figured I could pick it up. So, off I go to an audition for some summer stock season I wasn't all that concerned about getting. Hey, let's try singing "Anthem"! I had bought the sheet music so the piano player could play. I walk in and set it up. Normally, you sing 16 bars of a song. But, some auditions, they'll let you sing a whole song. This was an appointment, so yeah...full song.

Oh, if you haven't heard the song. Go listen to it now. It's only 3 minutes out of your life. Do it! The story will make more sense.

Okay...listened? Back? Teared up a little? Yeah, thought so. Good. Moving on. I start off the first verse and I'm fine. I get to the second one....and completely blank on the words. I start humming the tune as the pianist nicely starts feeding me the words. I eventually pick the tune back up but am so disgusted with myself that when I get to that last big note that is supposed to be held for awhile....I just don't. The last line is "My land's only borders lie around...MY HEART!" And you hold that "heart" like a motherfucker. I basically spoke it. The pianist stopped playing. I stopped singing. And the room was silent. Finally, I kind of laughed and just said, "Um...can I sing something else?" Luckily, the casting directors had a sense of humor and laughed along with me and allowed me. And hey...I'm pretty sure I got a callback.

Months later, I hear something that I wish I had heard before the audition. Ron LaRosa, one of the biggest casting directors at the time (he cast for Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, etc.) told an audition class this: "NEVER sing 'Anthem' at an audition unless you know it and can sing the shit out of it."

A lesson you think I would have learned. Years later, I did it again with a Lenny Kravitz song. But, that's a story for another day.

The Notorious MSG

The Notorious MSG. Allow me to let their PR machine speak first.

Blasting out of the streets of Chinatown, The Notorious MSG are three renegade restaurant workers on a mission to rip your asses in half with their high-sodium beats. After years of struggling in the kitchens, Hong Kong Fever, Down-Lo Mein and the Hunan Bomb found salvation in music. Hell-bent on revenge, they formed a band and the deep-fried force of nature called The Notorious MSG were born.

Together with Billy D. Wang on lead guitar and Noodles on drums, the group’s sound is an rectum-tearing explosion of old school hip-hop and 70’s rock and metal. Their stage show, a whirlwind of sound and fury, has reduced women to tears and made grown men incontinent.

I recently stumbled across them when I was checking out the website for the NY Anime Fest. There were a lot of musical guests including The Notorious MSG. Being a huge Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. fan, this caught my eye. Clearly, they were going for the humor with the name, but were they a straight up joke or actually entertaining? Well, if you've visited their website by clicking on the link above, just listen to the songs that automatically play. Or check this out here:

You back? That's right, muthabitches! They rock the house! They got a little Beastie Boys meets Charlie Chan going on there. Sure, they play up the funny with accents and songs like "Egg Rollin'", "Dim Sum Girl", and "Chinatown Hustler". But, guess what? They got skills to pay the bills. It's entertaining as a mofo, pimp! How can you go wrong with Buddha-like lyrics such as: "Don't be a chicken if ya got beef!"? Most places say "NO MSG!" proudly. I say BRING IT ON!!

They have 2 albums out. Get them both. I did. You can thank me later with some General Tso's chicken and shrimp dumplings.

Happy Birthday Natali Del Conte!

Natali Del Conte, hostess extraordinaire of CNET TV's Loaded, recently entered my life via Twitter. I mentioned that she should come by my bar, she asked where and now I'm helping to plan a meet up for her fans! She is a pretty well known tech journalist and besides her daily internet show above, she regularly appears on The Early Show on CBS to talk tech. And, she appears on many other shows on various networks showing off her brains and beauty. Soon, she'll be joining the ranks of an elite Comic News Insider guest. Stay tuned!

Yes, she's purty. Duh. More so, she's a great journalist and smart as a whip!

Happy, happy Natali! May your birthday be loaded with textra gifts! (Oh, I'm so groan-ably clever). Rock it.

CNI 154 - Mouse Fiction

Comic News Insider: Episode 154 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.

Reviews: The Victorian Horrors of Old Mauch Chunk, Marlow #1, Doctor Who: The Forgotten #1 

Joe's back from his weekend getaway with SpongeBob and shares some of his adventures. Jimmy  has finally finished GTA IV and rejoins society. News includes Warner Bros. new direction for DC characters, Veronica Mars flick?, Animated bones, Preacher series killed, and Disney might lose the Mouse! We discover and share some trailers using Mickey if he indeed becomes public domain. We also discuss the Robert Kirkman mission statement released over a week ago about the state of the comic industry. Listener feedback, Top 3 and contact info: 

Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love! Also, get a hold of us!

212 501 6246

[email protected]

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.comicspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.cniforum.com

www.comicnewsinsider.com

Thanks for listening!

You Say St. Maarten, I Say St. Martin

A dear friend is getting married in St. Martin in the Caribbean Islands on December 7th. (2 days before my birthday! Never to early to get a plug in!) Most likely, I will not be attending due to funds, time, etc. But, I really want to go. Freakin' nude beaches for pete's sake!

However, I did go for a few days thinking it was St. Martin in either France or The Netherlands which made the trip all the more enticing. "Ooh, I've never been to France before. Maybe I can check out some wine country!" I'm an idiot. I know.

Still, the island would be fun too. Send your donations now, bitches. What? You think this blog was paying for itself? Come on, I'll even take pictures of the nude beaches for you! Of course, my luck...I'll end up at the Septuagenarian's nude beach. *shudder*

Flame On!

Here's a picture of me after an 8 hour shift with a broken air conditioner.

You Can Leave...(scratch that)...Take Your Hat Off!

For hundreds of years, hats were a part of normal society. Look at all of the old black and white films and TV shows. Men with hats! Those days are over, my friend. And if you're trying to bring it back, guess what? A) You're not a original. B) You look like a tool.

Unless you are a celebrity (yes, they are cooler than we are), then it doesn't look cool. And even some of them look stupid in it.

You don't look like Humphrey Bogart in a Fedora. Or even Jimmy Stewart. Or even Donald Duck. Sure, that's not what you're going for. You're soooooooooooooooooo mysterious and such a trend setting individual. You're not. Suck it.

Take it off.

And the Pork Pie hat. Usually in straw and in various colors. This seems to be the new chic way too cool for school hat that the hipsters and people that think they are doing their own thing are wearing. As witnessed in the Great Fashion War of SDCC 08 between myself and Tony Lee, no one is original any more. (And I'm quite sure there were thousands out there who dress like Tony and I). Anyway, the Pork Pie. Stupid looking.

Take it off.

The thing is, most people that wear them do it ALL of the time. I see one guy at conventions that's always wearing a Pork Pie hat. It's his "look". His stupid look!

I'm not saying to never wear a hat. Just don't make it your "look".

And don't be upset when I light your head on fire.

Where in the World is Jimmy Aquino?

Yes, I know..I've been terribly neglectful in posting. I've gotten all of your emails, calls, texts, and finally noticed the Bat Signal showing outside my window. Fret not, kiddies. I'm alright. I've been very busy writing stuff, rehearsing, podcasting, working, forum posting, promoting, Twittering, Facebooking, Flickring, researching, reading, networking and LOTS of GTA IVing. And unfortunately, I've been adhering to The Beastie Boys philosophy, "No Sleep Til Brooklyn". And considering I haven't been to the BK in quite a long time, I'm insomniacal. Is that a word? Insomniacal? It is now. Hey, no sleep will do that to you.

I'll do my best to post more often. Until then...twitter me this.

CNI 153 - Dear Dark Knight

Comic News Insider: Episode 153 is now available for free download! Click on the link or get it through iTunes! Sponsored by Dynamic Forces.

Reviews: Golly! #1,  Galaxy Quest: Global Warning! #1, Welcome to Hoxford #1

No more SDCC interviews left, so the guys take it easy this week. Still, lots of news including Fox trying to eff up Watchmen, Stan's Soap Box, Vote for Snoopy, Harry Potter, Sleeper movie and more! Also, a new random segment makes its debut called "Dear Dark Knight". Kids write or call in with problems and The Dark Knight gives his sage-like advice! Listener feedback, Top 3 and contact info: 

Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love! Also, get a hold of us!

212 501 6246

[email protected]

www.myspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.comicspace.com/comicnewsinsider

www.cniforum.com

www.comicnewsinsider.com

Thanks for listening!