Tri-Craziness : September 2014

The school bells have rung across the country and I am not there this year. This has been an interesting experience for me. Yes, I needed to take a step back and reevaluate my place in education, but not dealing with the day in and day out grind of the classroom has been interesting, to say the least. Usually at this time of year, the advanced class is gearing up for its first set of performances of self-written works, competition pieces and an Improv night. Yes, that sounds like a lot, but we always got it done. Now I am not directing a show and attempting to come up with ideas to drive people into the shop. (This creates many LONG mornings with only Spotify to keep me company.)

These changes have had more of an affect than I thought they would leading up to August. One thing is that my training has started to suffer a bit because the energy to simply get going has been slipping away. Rev3 Anderson is less than a month away and I need to quit having suck days and start seeing some improvement. I am working with Matt Clancy of E3: Elite Human Performance and he has really pushed me, but lately for some reason, my motivation has been lacking and I either bonk or just skip a workout. Matt is the best in the business around this area (and probably in the Great State of North Carolina) and I feel like I am letting him down by not putting up the numbers. So, I am endeavoring to hit the reset button and find the drive once again.

Jen and I before Rev3 Glow

With all this said, yesterday I read a cool blog written by my friend and fellow Challenge/Rev3 teammate Jen Smalls aka #jsmalls. She posted music videos associated with decades of her life. This could be just the inspiration I need to get my butt back in gear! So, #jsmalls my selfie sister and the rest of the world, here goes...

Years 0-10

Most kids were singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, but I was singing opera. I did sing Twinkle, Twinkle, but my mother would sing harmony while I had to stay on the melody. You might think this was frustrating for a little tyke, but I am forever thankful now she did this (did I mention she has a Bachelor's in Music Education and Vocal Performance. She is a Lyric Soprano so these exercises were just her being an awesome teacher) because I am able to hear, sing and read harmonies to this day. It was also during this time that my love of the stage was fostered. I was cast in the principle role of Oliver in Lionel Bart's Oliver!. Who knew being trained as a Boy Soprano from day one would land me an amazing role at the musical powerhouse Jacksonville High School. So my first song would have to be "Where is Love" from Oliver! because one night during a performance the mics went dead and I had to project throughout the huge auditorium at JHS. (I was 10 at the time, it might be smaller, but to paraphrase Capt. Hook from Hook, "To a 10 year old it was HUGE!"

This started a long love of musical theatre. It wasn't until my years at White Oak High School, the crosstown rival of JHS (Go VIKINGS!!), that I discovered Stephen Sondheim! But, I was still an elementary schooler and it wasn't just musical theatre I was into, no, the original "Boy Band" New Kids on the Block had taken America by storm and I was into their bubble gum pop style! I had posters, cassette tapes and a T-Shirt! The one song that occasionally makes onto a playlist of mine is "The Right Stuff". Check out Donny Wahlberg's sweet mullet!!

Years 10-13 (The Hell that is Middle School!!!)

Middle School... There are books written about it now. One of the most popular series is The Diary of a Wimpy Kid I think that if it were written in the early 1990s it would've been about me. I had little to no athletic ability in the traditional school sports. Running was considered punishment in P.E. and wasn't pleasant at all. Nope, my cousin Trent was given all the athletic ability. He was a pretty awesome basketball player and athlete. I was more of the AG or as it is called now AIG kid reading a book and listening to showtunes and pretending to brood on the occasion whilst listening to Tom Petty. Yeah, Tom Petty is pretty dark. He wore a fedora and grew his hair out! "Free Falling" was my anthem and I would sing it out loud with all my might! (Well, maybe "Free Falling" and whatever was on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II soundtrack, yes Vanilla Ice!)

(And don't lie, you know you still groove to "Ice, Ice Baby".)

Years 14-18 The Grunge Revolution

I can't tell you how much it just warms my heart to see Nirvana T-shirts being used in Macy's commercials now. This of course is total and complete sarcasm. The mid to late 1990s were AMAZING! Pop was dead and grunge/alternative rock was becoming mainstream! I have actually been listening to some of the later musicians on Spotify recently remembering the awesomeness that was the late 1990s. Nirvana set the stage, but in all honesty, Green Day, Rage Against the Machine and Smashing Pumpkins were my bands of choice. To this day, the song "Today" is still on playlists because it simply rocks! Aside from American Idiot, which went on to become a Tony Nominated musical, the only other stellar Green Day album was Dookie. I think I played that CD until it had scratches all over it!

I would be completely remiss if I didn't mention the musical RENT. I think my friends and I could sing every single note and and single word from that album. It was a two disc set CD. This was when the two disc sets were about the size of a small hardback book. Now, the soundtrack is simply however many megabytes on an iPhone/Touch/Pod. What is amazing is after having taught theatre for ten years, RENT is still lauded by theatre kids EVERYWHERE! I don't think you can find a theatre kid who doesn't know "Seasons of Love"... and here it is live, how it was meant to be heard, during the last performance on Broadway!

Years The Twenties

I was kind of all over the place. Yes, I listened to N'Sync, but I also was digging musicians and bands from varieties like Widespread Panic to Lisa Loeb. I think Lisa Loeb will always be on the playlist because her song "Stay" reminds me of Montreat Youth Conferences. One year, Beth or Betsy O'Donavan played the song on repeat EVERY SINGLE DAY. I'll admit, it is catchy and meaningful, but after the one millionth time it grates. Recently, call it nostalgia, I have picked it back up.

By the way, the song just turned 20 years old!

I think I really got into my singer/songwriter groove during these years. Yes, the soft acoustic or even mellow electric guitar. Our ears were being permeated with electronic beats and the autotuner was making headways and so I was looking for people who could actually carry a tune and had skill on an instrument. A girlfriend of mine during this time introduced me to John Mayer. This was during his Room for Squares phase. I thought he was pretty amazing, and still do. He just might be one of the best guitarist of this generation. (No comment on the actual man.) I went to several concerts and always found him to be more entertaining live.

As a side note, Room for Squares was the CD I switched on when I heard the news on 9/11/2001. I thought, "This has to be a joke of some sort." I was running late to my Advanced Lighting Design class and switched off the satirical Murphy in the Morning Show on 107.5 FM to the CD. We all know now that it was no hoax and life has changed forever since then. But, the song I played on my way to class was Why Georgia and I still think it can ring true because when are we ever out of a "Life Crisis"?

Little note: The beginning of the song was cut for the album, but it SO good!

I also was introduced to a band called Weekend Excursion by my friend and former RA at Appalachian State University, Brian Kiser. They were the culmination of early 2000s pop rock. I think I may have attended at least fifty live shows.

I continued to listen to musical theatre throughout my twenties and I still listen to it today. Les Miserables is and most likely will always be a go-to for me. So for your viewing and listening pleasure with the original Jean Valjean, Colm Wilkinson: "One Day More"!!

Years The Thirties

I still listen to a lot of the same music from high school and college. Musical theatre will always be on my iPhone, I'm an actor/director who first started out as a little kid singing can you blame me?

Thanks to my younger brother, I have moved into genre of music that is akin to bluegrass, but also known as Americana. This style blends folk, bluegrass and country together in an amazing melodious way. When I was in graduate school, I was taken to The Avett Brothers concert and for the past three years they are always on play! I will say there is nothing like hearing them live! There are a few songs that I use before big races and the have to be from the Live album because of how the band drives the tempo. I also used The Avett Brothers for sound design for a show I have directed called Almost, Maine. The one song that really is awesome and on my pre-race playlist is "Kick Drum Heart".

My younger brother Jonathan introduced me to a band name Punch Brothers. They also fit into this Americana genre. They have made it onto my playlist and I really want to see them in concert, but alas they also work with other bands and primarily play around Ithaca. I have been playing the song "This Girl" and "Rye Whiskey" on my way to the gym and the pool in the mornings (when I have been able to get out of bed! I'm telling you I need to get out of this funk!)

Fine': But Not Really

There are probably a dozen more musicians and bands I could put on this post that I have listened to and are currently listening to, but that would take a lot more cyberspace. I think music is a powerful motivator. It can also stir up memories from the past. I know in my life it has travelled with me where ever I have gone. I know that I will always listen to many styles of music. (#Jsmalls I also have "Till I Collapse" by Emenim on my playlist.) But I'll end this post with three songs, and hopefully good vibes will follow because flat lining is not fun!

1. James Taylor "Carolina on My Mind" because I am from NC and no matter how messed up our politics currently are, this is a great state and has been my home for thirty-four years!

2. Old Crow Medicine Show "Wagon Wheel" (Not that Darius Rucker knock off version!). No matter where I have travelled, my heart always comes back to NC. This band is originally from Ithaca, NY where my brother and sister-in-law are while he works on his Ph.D. at Cornell. I hear this song and think about them. Ashley even has their apartment adorned with knick-knacks from good ole NC.

3. David Lamotte "Song for You" and "In the Light". There are many great memories in the mountains of NC at the Montreat Conference Center. This was a place that allowed us to question our faith. It provided space to truly be. "Song for You" helps us to remember that no matter what we are loved. "In the Light" is a simple "Thank You" for letting me be. These are things that we can often forget in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives.