This is probably the
longest I've ever taken between blog posts, but I have good reason. If you follow my Facebook or Twitter
feeds at all, you've probably already seen that I've been quite busy lately, so busy
in fact that I haven't updated here in quite some time. Yes, this is that post, the one where I catch-up and then promise to make more
regular appearances on my own website.
So, let's see how this goes,
shall we?
To begin, after
spending the entire month of September dividing my time between learning lyrics
and working on my new manuscript, I finally did two shows with 90 To Nothing. They were both in October and both during
the second-to-last Halloween weekend of the legendary New Orleans haunted
attraction, The House of Shock. This
was to be the final year for this long-running show, which blends stage special
effects and theatrics with some of the most terrifying twists and turns that an
actual walk-through haunted house could have legally.
We played for the crowds
as they waited to get into the stage-show area, and it was yet another incredible
culmination of hard work and preparation. Everyone was pleased, and it was during this weekend that I
broke through any barriers that I might have cultivated with regard to my being
able to perform again in the capacity of lead vocalist. I know what it is that I do and do
well in the music scene of this city, dormant all along like so many other
things in this new and unfolding tale that is my life.
Then November saw the beginning
of rehearsals for the play. That's
right, I was in a play. Let me
explain.
When I first came back to
New Orleans in June of this year, my friend Scott Frilot asked if I would be
interested in playing bass in a band as part of a play that our mutual friend
Gary Rucker was producing over at his own Rivertown Theatres for the Performing
Arts in Kenner. I accepted immediately,
wanting nothing more than to immerse myself in all that the New Orleans arts
scene had to offer, my hometown where it would seem that all the inmates I’d
come up with were now running the asylum.
I received all of the material for the show, the songs and the script,
and then it was all put on the back burner for the next three months while I worked
with 90 To Nothing.
But nothing could prepare
me for that November night when I first walked into Rivertown and met director Ricky Graham.
I had no idea that "the director" I'd been hearing so much
about would be this familiar face I'd seen for most of my adult life in
the entertainment section of The Times-Picayune,
alongside some of the greats of the New Orleans theatre scene. It was truly an honor to meet this man
and to, for all intents and purposes, work with him for as long as I did.
The cast and crew
welcomed the band as equals as Scott Frilot, Woody Dantagnan, Brian
Drawe and myself settled into the pit to begin the rehearsals for the British farce that
was to be Richard Bean's hilarious "One Man, Two Guvnors." And I knew immediately that this would be
an experience that I would never want to end, and night after night of rehearsals and actual performances did nothing to
lessen this emotion. I understand
now the feeling of absolute sadness that actors claim overcome them when a film
or television series wraps.
Lead Chris Marroy was
astonishing and did nothing short of spoil me when it comes to seeing any
future shows in this city. I have
very little exposure to the New Orleans theatre community, but for me to say
that I was taken aback by Chris' performance night after night would be a silly
understatement. I'm sincerely
hoping that any future trips and/or involvement that I may have with the local
theatre scene will feature a performance equal to or as great as what Chris showed me
was possible.
The rest of the cast included
my lifelong friend Gary Rucker alongside Erin
Cesna, P.J. McKinnie, Shelley Johnson Rucker, Lara Grice, Logan Faust, Michael
P. Sullivan, James Howard Wright, Matt Reed, Kyle Daigrepont and Joshua Talley.
So, let's review. So far since coming home I've been in a
short film directed by John Beyer called "Sis-Tours," joined 90 To Nothing as their new lead singer, got a request for a full manuscript from a
potential literary agent, and was featured (that's right, even the musician's names were printed in the
programs and on the lobby poster!) in a New Orleans theatre production. Whew.
Which brings us to the here
and now, where again I am that guy who has launched a blog, not updated it
as regularly as he would like due to a complete lack of personal assistance, and is now promising in his latest post to keep his website updated.
And so like I said only paragraphs
ago, let's see how this goes, shall we?
