And, though I’ve been laying low on playing a lot of gigs lately, I do have some cool ones to announce:
My dear friend Sally Stevens (talk about “20 Feet from Stardom,” Sally has been one of the most successful session singers since the ‘60s and is still going strong), asked me to be a part of a benefit performance for The Society of Singers on Sept. 22nd. Its mission is maintaining and restoring the personal dignity, health, and welfare of professional vocalists nationwide. I’ll be appearing with 4 stellar songwriters, who are also friends of mine: Dan Navarro, Ken Stacey, Lisbeth Scott, and Dick Wells. I’ve worked around a microphone with each of them at one time or another, and they are all successful working songwriters. It’s a bit pricey – $40 a seat, but it’s at the beautiful Café Cordiale in Sherman Oaks (they serve great food), and it’s for a very good cause. Please make a reservation here, and do a good deed for the warblers.
Then, that same week, on Friday night, Sept. 26th, I’ll be playing the Coffee Gallery in Altadena with two other songwriter friends, Cynthia Carle, and Brian Woodbury. I’ve sung the praises of Cynthia here before, she is hilarious. Brian is a veteran writer of songs for TV and theater, and actually studied with the great Tom Lehrer. As usual, I will try to hold my own in the midst of all that excellence.
Then, as if that’s weren’t enough, I’ll be doing a special performance and recording at Theta Sound Studio in Burbank, as part of the 37th anniversary of Randall Tobin’s studio. So many people have worked there on countless projects over the years. I’ll be appearing along with my pal Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements.
So, here I am, still in show business, which, as we all know, is like no other business. Some have said showbiz is “high school with money.”