June 17, 2010
Guess I am WAY behind on updating! Now firmly into summer and back in LA and loving it. Putting together this CROON show has been a real challenge. I wasn't sure why it all felt so hard and time consuming this time around, and then it dawned on me: the other shows were extensions of CD's. Because of the CD's, I had most of the charts and selections already to go. This show is completely new with some 22 new tunes...well not completely new to me, but new in the sense that they have to be memorized and up to "show performance" level. Don't worry, it will still come in around an hour as some are combined into one arrangement. I have structured the show in such a way that we hit each decade since 'crooning' came into popularity (and necessity...come to the show and I will tell you what I mean) starting in the late 1920's. But as I hope to demonstrate, CROON is alive and well in 2010.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the shows...please take a look at my schedule for the summer...excited to give you "CROON"!
CROON...up running
Thu Jul 15, 2010
Wow...what a whirlwind of a week...I can't believe all that was accomplished in the past week...all NYC musicians flying to LA, we learned, rehearsed, and performed four shows in the span of a week. Thank you to Clifford Bell, Alex Rybeck, Sean Harkness, and Steve Doyle...we couldn't have asked for a better turn out and response. CROON went over really well...everyone 'got it' , loved the music selections, the arrangements, the story line...VERY happy about that.
Thanks to all to came out to the show...it was awesome to perform for you all.
Winter in New York
Sun Feb 7, 2010
I had figured I would write here more than once a season...obviously that didn't happen! such travels since last I wrote. Autumn in New York, a trip back to LA, Thanksgiving in Provincetown, than off to Europe in December for a few concerts in Frankfurt, a trip to Prague, my partner Douglas joining to visit my nephew in Vienna, staying with our fabulous friends Patricia and Walter Wells (of "Patricia" fame") in Vaison La Romaine and then a New Years in Paris...ending with a dinner at the Wells' house with Ina and Jeffrey Garten. I didn't realize when I started out what a memorable a trip it would be.
My friend Iris produced a wonderful private event in honor of her mother at the Art Bar in Frankfurt,
and she arranged a trip to Cologne and even a day trip to an area where my grandmother's family came from "Heimbach". What a great hostess, ending with a traditional German Christmas dinner of Goose and dumplings with sweet red cabbage and the best beer ever.
Then to amazing Prague at Christmas for several days of discovery by myself.
In Vienna, Douglas joined me to hang with my nephew Patrick...who is thriving as a Fulbright recipient studying opera...yes another singer! and he doing great.
En route to our Christmas in Provence, it turns out it is not very easy to get from Vienna to Vaison la Romaine, so I surprised D with a layover in my a little town outside of Nice that I fell in love with while singing on a cruise ship called Villefranche.
Then to the beautiful country home of the Patricia and Walter's...
Patricia is a well-known celebrated cookbook writer, food critic, and all around great gal. If you ever had the dream to take a cooking class in France...
Patricia and Walter give amazing classes at their home several times a year. Here is Douglas with Walter pricking olives before salt curing them.
All of it ended with Paris for New Years
and a last meal of Sole Meuniere at a brasserie...heaven. Like I said, a very memorable trip.
To say the least I am blessed. Gotta say though, I like working just as much as playing. Speaking of which,
Baton Rouge this weekend...come on down. Other highlights, look for Feinstein's at The Regency Hotel July 13, and Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, sometime this fall.
Sitting here watching the Super Bowl...can't help but root for New Orleans...they could so use the victory, and Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge would be even FUNNER! (I know, but funner is funner than 'more fun', work with me).
Autumn in New York
Wed Oct 14, 2009
As you can see, it has been a few months since I sat down to do some desk work. Too much traveling! but I like to be busy. Wonderful get away to Cape Cod after concerts in PA, NE, MO, then a quick visit home to LA and now in NYC before heading to Germany and France for December. While I was in Provincetown, I attended a jazz set where I discovered (ok not discovered but new to me) the incredibly talented and seasoned
Donna Byrne with her husband bassist
Marshall Wood. Get one of her disks if you can.
Went to Metropolitan Room to see Marilyn Maye for her Johnny Mercer show...one word: GREAT. I am lining up dates, so take a look at the schedule and come to a show!
Baton Rouge Little Theater promises to be a blast next February. The staff at BRLT is an artist's dream...nothing seems outrageous to them when I suggest ways to make this a VERY entertaining evening. Who knows if we can everything happen, but I like dream big and see where we land...the folks at BRLT are also dreamers.
Also got to foster my other passion, FOOD. A good friend offered me a place next to her for a weekend of classes at The French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. It got my creative au jus's flowing...suffice to say, I am heading to PA to see family this weekend and will make them a dinner, duck breast, risotto, salad Parisienne, and fresh apple pie will be on the menu...wish me luck. Enjoy the Fall weather, I always love
"When Autumn Comes".
It has been a good summer. Much needed re-grouping, clearing the desk and time to prepare for concerts coming up in August.
The concert in Northumberland, PA on July 31 will be different for me. In an effort for the promoter to be able to offer more affordable tickets (looks like it worked...200 house and its sold out!), he asked if I could sing with my orchestra...pre-recorded orchestra that is from my CD's. I said, sure I'll give it a go. It will be fun to sing with my tracks...but different...
The Nebraska and Missouri dates are expanded as well from my normal 1hour show to a longer show with an intermission, so I am pulling in some tunes from former shows, as well as adding a few new ones including an amazing paired down arrangement that Alex Rybeck and I are putting together of "Do You Know The Way To San Jose".
Got a nice surprise email yesterday from the syndicated internet radio show called
"Music Of Your Life". When I was in Vegas a few weeks ago to do the Dennis Bono Show, I rented a car to drop off a press packet to mailing address of this show. It paid off. See below:
Hi Todd,
We recently received your CD "stardust and swing" here at Music of Your Life and just love it..thanks! We've decided to slot you into our "Spotlight Artist of the Week" feature which will give you a tremendous amount of airplay during the week of July 25th thru July 31st. It's great exposure for you as you'll be mentioned around the clock by all of our on-air personalities 24-7 and on our website with an average 900k hits per month.
Music of Your Life and its 40 or so AM/FM and HD affiliates cover nearly 60M available listeners with an average quarter hour audience of 100k during peak times. We're also broadcasting over the Internet with listeners in 91 countries, we're on iTunes Radio, iPhone, Blackberry, G1 and WiFi Radio. Music of Your Life is the only syndicated radio network playing Adult Pop Standards 24-7 anywhere in the world.
Please let me know when we can do a phone interview prior to air date. Welcome aboard!
--
Sincerely,
Marc Angell
President/CEO
Music of Your Life
How nice is that? Makes my days when I hear that others find interest in my music, makes me cheered to keep going! No secret that in this economic climate, entertainment is the first to go out of people's budgets. But I keep going, hoping to get a manager that can make things happen and maybe a record company....putting it out there in the Universe! ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!
First Show At The M Bar
Tue Jun 2, 2009
Wow, what a great night. Putting a show up with all new musicians, new back-up gals, new venue, new sound, new lights...is a challenge...but so great when it pays off. Saturday night at The M Bar was great. Full house with lots of friends and friends of friends, and some new folk and fun was had by all. My old pal Dennis McCarthy and his wife Patty, who you know arranged and conducted both of my CD sessions, was there and lent his whistling talent to "Dream A Little Dream" then hopped up to the piano to an impromptu rendition of "The Talk of The Town". It was great to see singer/songwriter Babbie Green there among other Broadway and TV types. My friend Patricia Petty surprised us with an impromptu moment as well...a trip in from Kansas City just to catch a show. Two more shows coming up! June 18 and 19th at
The M Bar...come!
I just re-visited my friends Patricia and Walter Wells' homepage...
www.patriciawells.com...man those two do not stop. What an exciting life and fulfilling careers they have...now expanding their culinary trips outside of France to Vietnam and Tuscany...if we could only persuade them to hit the USA! Their classes are far more than educational, but an experience, a happening of how to live fully and eat well...a real memorable experience. I have been lucky enough to take a Paris class as well as a Provence class...both amazing and different, city life vs. country life. I will never forget sitting at a long table under an arbor overlooking the Provencial countryside while sipping a Cote du Rhone and enjoying Walter's famous scrambled eggs with black truffle...
Wow, what a great night. Putting a show up with all new musicians, new back-up gals, new venue, new sound, new lights...is a challenge...but so great when it pays off. Saturday night at The M Bar was great. Full house with lots of friends and friends of friends, and some new folk and fun was had by all. My old pal Dennis McCarthy and his wife Patty, who you know arranged and conducted both of my CD sessions, was there and lent his whistling talent to "Dream A Little Dream" then hopped up to the piano to an impromptu rendition of "The Talk of The Town". It was great to see singer/songwriter Babbie Green there among other Broadway and TV types. My friend Patricia Petty surprised us with an impromptu moment as well...a trip in from Kansas City just to catch a show. Two more shows coming up! June 18 and 19th at
The M Bar...come!
I just re-visited my friends Patricia and Walter Wells' homepage...
www.patriciawells.com...man those two do not stop. What an exciting life and fulfilling careers they have...now expanding their culinary trips outside of France to Vietnam and Tuscany...if we could only persuade them to hit the USA! Their classes are far more than educational, but an experience, a happening of how to live fully and eat well...a real memorable experience. I have been lucky enough to take a Paris class as well as a Provence class...both amazing and different, city life vs. country life. I will never forget sitting at a long table under an arbor overlooking the Provencial countryside while sipping a Cote du Rhone and enjoying Walter's famous scrambled eggs with black truffle...
Wow, where did Spring go?? It is all a blurr, I have been back and forth from LA to NYC three times in the last two months...all good. The MAC awards were great. I got to put many faces with names and better yet, hear and see their awesome talent. Hung out with Terese Genecco, Shawn Ryan, Linda Kosut, Shaynee Rainbolt, the guys from Uptown Express, among others.
Now I am busy getting ready for my Hollywood shows. This Sat. marks the first one in several years, so I am excited to see some old friends in the audience. I have awesome players and back-up gals, and word has it that my arranger Dennis McCarthy may step up and re-create some of the magic he made when orchestrating my CD's.
I had a great two hour interview with Robert Richards at WHLI AM in Long Island. Had a blast chatting on-air, giving away CD's...and thanks to the time...sold lots of CD's...they like me they really really like..."uhem, Cowboy up Todd" take a look:
Todd on WHLI.
My old buddy Tony Sweet has asked me to sit in on his radio show
"On Air With Tony Sweet" this Friday the 29th. Stop in and take a listen 6-8pm pst.
Talk to you soon...and most importantly...COME TO A SHOW IN Los Angeles! send your friends...it is gonna be awesome. Swing on...
If feels like Spring is officially here now. I attended a Seder on Wed, Good Friday services yesterday to hear my nephew sing (graduating this May from USC with a degree in Opera performance...a bass/bari like his uncle), a friend's play "The Prodigal Father" last night, a 50th birthday party tonight (NO not mine : ) Easter service tomorrow and easter dinner after...
I have been having a good time listening to Steve Tyrell's CD "Back to Bacharach". As you may have seen, my CD "Stardust & Swing" just got a MAC nomination. The concept of my CD is hard to articulate, but it has to do with tunes that elicite a certain feeling in me, a feeling of joy, and all-is-well-in-world...Bacharach does that for me. Watch for a selection of his tunes in one of my upcoming shows. I also did a fun interview with Tony Sweet in LA...he has a podcast page that you can download it if you feel inclined, go to
On Air With Tony Sweet
Added three shows in LA also! check out my Show Schedule tab.
Have a great day!
TGIF
Fri Mar 27, 2009
Hope you all had a good week. Mine was full of marketing...sending editing my show footage, then making a DVD format, then sending it to be duplicated, then sending it off to prospective casting people and bookers. Today is all about wrapping things up on my desk so I can enjoy the weekend a little more guilt free! Spring is finally here...the air in LA smells like jasmine and orange blossoms. If any of you heard the radio interview today, I mentioned that I got a call from a gentleman who formerly ran the BBC in London, he and a colleague have come on board to work on my documentary project about Rosi and Toni Grunschlag. It was a great phone conversation, unfortunately he called just before the interview was to start so I was a couple of minutes late called David Allan at WABY in upstate NY. Just uploaded a couple of new Pics as well on my photo page.
Hope to see you soon, and have a great weekend. T
Todd Blog
Tue Mar 24, 2009
April 5, 08
Ready to jump into a new week? I am. Got my taxes done, got some music writing under way, had a photo shoot with the amazing Marina Rice Bader in LA....and spring has sprung. There is a hummingbird nest in the backyard. Two babies flew the nest last week, and now there are two more eggs...the size of a 1 calorie breath mint. Nature is amazing. If any of you are coming to the Brownville gigs, I hear there is a new Riverboat Hotel ready to open...called...the Floatel...catchy huh?
Have a great week!
T
Here starts my blog...it has been a whirlwind of getting PR materials together, working with my publicist Dave Gallagher out of Chicago, and sending out press kits to get out there and get work. Lots of good things in the works, but none to report as of yet. I did get a really great
review on my new CD "Stardust & Swing", thank you John Hoglund for giving me a listen...and I agree, my live performances have been too long in between, I plan to change that.
Hope you all are enjoying the spring...guess I have to pack in my "It Might As Well Be Spring" tune for a while...cause Spring is here! More later...
