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Voice The

A few weeks ago I was In a cattle chute in the heart of the Kansas City Livestock Exchange
District, auditioning for x-Factor, one of those big-time talent shows prevalent on television these
days.

It was, for me, a bit humiliating, but also let me see just where I am, inasmuch as my own
artistry is concerned. And sometimes, no matter how established i am as an artist, I needed a
gut-check.

My friend Tiziano Lugli hooked me up with an invite callback to audition for The Voice, NBCs
answer to the American Idol, Americas Got Talent, yada yada. Its interesting, theres such a
dynamic change in perspective when people advocate for me. I feel like Im not in this alone,
which happens from time to time. In reality I have had soo many people support me, family,
friends, fans alike, even people who dont like me have vouched for me all of my career. But its
a big world and we all feel small in it, when forced to look at in perspective. Our Earth,a tiny
speck of dust, and us a spark of energy on it,lost in the cosmic winds. All Im saying is that even
one persons aid though it may seem small in comparison to our universe, is a big deal.

Tiziano, if you read this someday, thank you.

Actually, the audition for XFactor was more of a setup and prep for me to help me focus on The
Voice audition. It helped me pick songs and get arrangements in my head and more importantly,
face impossibility. Big song in my new repertoire was Queens We are the Champions. The
words hit home, Ive paid my duestime after time I also found Roy Orbisons Crying to be
quite compelling. More so than anything as a shout-out to my Walshs Corner Cocktail gang led
by the late great Mike Murphy, yes, Mike, that ones for you.

Ive been learning how to play the guitar, and friends, Im not greatby any stretch of the
imagination, but there is nothing like connecting the singing experience with an outer
mechanical one like playing the guitar or playing the piano. If I really want someone to play well,
Ill call My friend Beau Bledsoe to knock that guitar out, he s amazing. An intellect and talent
and an entrepreneur, Beau is awesome.

But I wanted to do this, just to get my own feeling my own idiosyncrasies and peccadillos
rhythm and style. So I made a new treatment of Crying, which in all honesty, I can hardly play
YET.

I also chose to play my own composition And I Think Im Gonna Make it. Its a slightly peppy
song and has a great message and I can actually play it pretty well.
LIFE HAPPENED
Those three choices were my rst choices for the big three we could bring to LA, but as time
drew on and as the April Fourth date of the audition drew nigh, life happened.

Laurie, my wife of fteen and some years lost her job. It was a blow to us, as she was
ensconced with good ratings and a healthy fan base, as well as going over and above the call of
duty for her former station, plus her talent level is unparalleled, she having bested Rush
Limbaugh in ratings a few times. So there we were looking at yet another trip to Hollywood, but
this time without the safety net of Lauries performances keeping some sense of base as we
make our way in the vastness.

Like any married couple, weve been through a lot. As a friend at Village Presbyterian counseled
long ago in our young singles class, Its like rst starting to ice skate. You fall down quite a bit
when you start, but at some point you both start gliding together. Your steps intertwine and soon
enough you start to dance. weve been gliding for a long time now. When the news came, on
the very same day of the XFactor audition, we were both surprisingly calm.

Slowly we let the word out and all responded with love and warmth.

Im actually cool with it. Laurie is a damn ne DJ, yet it is her voice/over chops is where she
shines. As an actor with intellect and pipes, Ive always said that she is far more talented than I
am, and Ill stand by that. And Instead of being restricted in her time, she can work full time on
her passion.

This is how it is folks. You have to nd something that you can strive for every day, every damn
day, as Jon Stewart said. Because when you have to myriad and plentiful days of trudging
through the dirt trying to make it, you know that at the end, there is happiness; that every time I
get a gig, or Laurie gets a voice over spot (a voice over, or VO is a narration, character or
endorsement spot for a commercial, production or something) its a really great day, and if we
are lucky enough to land a regular gig, that pays, thats real quality of life. The days, weeks,
months, years that one works to reach this goal, pain sacrice, loss all seem to either go away,
or magnify the effort and the reward. Does this make sense?

I think of it as actually buying a lottery ticket every day. The odds are stacked against you, but if
you keep playing, there is opportunity to win. Each day is a new ticket, offering sunshine or
clouds. Laurie has a great ticket to play too.

In all of this, Laurie has kept her resolve to support me in my journey. I am gratied and have
even more resolve to nd more success.

The Voice Success here is like nding the golden eece, it seems no matter the preparation, I
am faced with adversity, gut wrenching turns and moments of sunshine that seem to shine
through an immense palate of stained glass.
MUSICAL MONDAY

My buddy Tim Scott, a talented actor/singer and face of Royals Baseball Fandom asked me to
sing for the organization I helmed as Artistic Director for a couple of years, Musical Theater
Heritage. I though at rst he wanted a song, and I was happy to comply (for a couple of
stipulations). It was not long though that I realized my commitment was four songs.

Well, my The Voice audition pieces needed to be in front of people, so I was happy to be able to
bring a couple of them to a familiar and loving audience.

Musical Monday came around. April 2, 2012. For weeks Id been in my studio, practicing,
focusing, making every attempt to hone these songs so that they were not just rote, but exible
to the moment. So that I could lean into the maelstom.

But there was one wild card. LesMiserables, Bring Him Home. I needed to have this song in
my life. But it couldnt be on the Voice audition. I had to take time away from that to put Bring
Him Home into my head. At rst learning the piece was a welcome imposition, but an imposition
all the same. I fought with it. I put it off, I played video games to delay the time when it would
nally earwurm into my head.

But one day, I picked up the guitar and started strumming. Soon enough a new vision started to
unfurl, to bring me rapturously to a new piece, where we could talk to each other. This is what a
guitar can do. There was no way I could take the song to The Voice Was there?

More later, friends on the next installment.

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