A Little Bit About Your Blog Hostess
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Not that you care, or that anyone's reading this in the first place. :-)
I have a straight job. A professional day gig that requires a college degree and responsibility - you know the drill.
As a young person, however, I was a singer. I sang for many, many years. I think I had it in my mind that I would take to the stage. I considered going to college to major in voice. But there was always a huge problem with singing: I had paralyzing stage fright. I mean, really bad. At first it was just nausea before a performance. Then it was nausea that would make me throw up. Then I would fret the night before a performance and lose sleep. Then it was days before a performance. You get the picture. Given that, it didn't seem the wisest choice to major in voice. More...
Singing became, at that time, something private. I love to sing. Looking back, I honestly think that the reason I would get so wound up before performances to the degree that I did was because it was SO important to me to be flawless. I'm sure anyone reading this can think of something in their lives that they cherish. It may be a private something, or not. But it's something you cherish, that you can't bear to do badly. For me, that was singing.
Years passed and I got married to a musician. A working musician. The story of how we wound up together is amusing, but I'm not going to take you through it. Suffice it to say that some 8 years after giving up singing in public, the karaoke rage hit. It took me a while, but I eventually put myself out there and sang again in public, inasmuch as karaoke is public. I qualified for a big regional karaoke finals, and when I showed up, my now-husband and just about EVERY influential musician in DC showed up to watch. What I didn't know at the time was that another dear friend (also a musician) had seen me singing when I qualified and had called all these other people to come out for the finals. Talk about nerves. I came in second behind a fabulous female singer (I was totally honored and I deserved to lose to her), and when I got home very much later that night my now-husband had left me too many voicemail messages to count. He said he heard me sing and fell in love (all together now - AWWWWW).
So back to more recent history. A few years after marrying my husband declared that he wanted to start a band and he wanted me to front it. This seemed like an interesting idea at the time - I was older, right? I should be able to handle the nerves, right? So we went into planning (it's an 11-piece band - believe me, you have to plan), assembled the musicians, and started rehearsals. So far so good. Then we booked our first gig. Still good. We were going to premiere on a Friday night in July.
The preceeding Sunday my husband walked in to find me in TEARS on the couch, telling him he had to find someone else, that there was no way I was going to be able to get through this. This was a full SIX DAYS before the gig and my panic was setting in.
He wasn't having any of it. I HAD to do it, he said. There were 10 other people counting on me, he said. He was right. I was a wreck, but I got through it and I still front that working band today. My nerves have gotten MUCH better. Realistically, what happened was that there were a few times that things did NOT go well. And you know what? I totally survived it, the world didn't spin off its axis, and people didn't mock me mercilessly. So while I still get a bit anxious before gigs, it's just that - a little game-day excitement.
So why am I telling you all of this? Only to say that I do feel pretty connected to American Idol. I have a good ear and good eye for people who are "naturals" on stage. I absolutely admire and covet the kind of natural, God-given talent I've seen on AI, starting with Kelly Clarkson. It simply can't be taught. You can take a great singer and teach them how to do things they never envisioned doing before (vocally), but you can't take a good singer and make them great. You're either born with it or you aren't.
My absolutely, all-time favorite contestant is Taylor Hicks. I relate to him on a working, money-losing musician level. I've worked with guys who have Taylor's talent. I've seen them playing clubs week after week, writing great music, etc. Hell - I stand next to one such great singer in my band. So Taylor was a composite of every great undiscovered musician I've ever seen or worked with, and I recognized his qualities and his gig-credentials the very second he stepped into the audition room and sang Sam Cooke. He loves music, and more importantly, he seems to love making music.
My close second is Kelly Clarkson. She just blew my hair back and gave me goosebumps week after week. She deserved to win, and has earned her credibility.
So that's my story. My critiques are offered as one who is at least somewhat knowledgeable of music and singing, but interpret it how you will.
Thanks for reading!
Labels: American Idol, Auditions
posted by RenaRF @ 4:12 PM,
