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TWO GREAT CONCERTS THIS MONTH! (Even greater if you are there)

TWO GREAT CONCERTS THIS MONTH! (Even greater if you are there)

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TWO GREAT CONCERTS THIS MONTH!

(Even greater if you are there)

 

A few years ago, I found out there was a great house concert series in my ‘hood, Seth and Tony’s House Concerts “All Folked Up.” (The name alone was enough for me to want to perform there). They were pretty booked up, but they had enjoyed seeing me perform at a few places (including McCabe’s with the great Christine Lavin), so we looked to find an open date for me to appear there. Well, that date is coming right up:

Saturday, July 16th at Seth and Tony’s. There is a gourmet pre-show dinner that starts at 6:30, and the concert starts at 8pm. It’s only $30 for the dinner AND show (the food alone is worth that!).

PLEASE RSVP at
http://www.sethandtonyshouseconcerts.com/rsvp.html?r=20160512173245

It’s a lovely house up in the Highland Park hills, with a stunning view overlooking Eagle Rock and Glendale (and it’s literally a mile from my house). I’ll be appearing with my brilliant musician pals, Grant Geissman and Steve Deutsch.

 

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AAAANNND… on Saturday, July 30th, at 7pm I’m doing a concert with Kiki Ebsen! OK, yes, she IS the daughter of Buddy Ebsen. Along with many years of touring  as a keyboardist with everyone from Christopher Cross and Al Jarreau, to Michael McDonald and Tracy Chapman, she has also been recording acclaimed albums, and performing her own music in her solo shows, as well as a popular tribute show to her late father. No surprise that, as the daughter of a beloved entertainer, she did not fall far from the tree.
Also sharing the bill with us is the great Grant Geissman. Besides being one of the greatest guitar players on the planet (having played the iconic solo in Chuck Mangione’s “Feels So Good”), he was also the composer for the hit series“Two-and-a-Half Men” with the infamous Charlie Sheen.
The concert is at Kiki’s Healing Equine Ranch in the gorgeous Santa Monica mountains. Besides being a working ranch, HER is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate, empower and enlighten people through natural interaction with horses. They teach natural horsemanship principles with an emphasis on human growth and awareness to promote healing.

If you’d like to come a little earlier, at 5:30 Kiki will do a short equestrian demo of what she does at the ranch, and you’ll see the horses being fed and feast on the pastoral beauty of the scene.

Bring some wine and snacks. We’ll have some there for you as well.

HOPE TO SEE YOU IN JULY!

Love,

Gary

BUMPERSTICKER OPENING NIGHT THIS THURSDAY!

BUMPERSTICKER OPENING NIGHT THIS THURSDAY!

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BUMPERSTICKER OPENING NIGHT THIS THURSDAY!

Our musical is finally opening! This Thursday night June 9th at 7:30pm as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. We had an amazing preview performance last Saturday night. I’ve talked about the Indiegogo campaign that allowed us to raise the money to mount the production, I’ve talked about our amazing producer Michael Blaha, and our brilliant director Michele Spears.

Now I must talk about our amazing cast: Jennifer Leigh Warren knocks it out of the park every time she opens her mouth, as does the star of our last musical, Bukowsical, the amazing Lauren Rubin. Lamont Dozier, Jr. will make you fall in love with him from the first note he sings. Wearing many hats in the show is the hardest-working man in show business (because we’ve given him a thousand things to do in the show, all of which he does well), Zachary Ford. Jahmaul Bakaré brings his booming voice and great personality to the show, and he is matched by Anne Yatco who shines brightly throughout.  Another alumna from Bukowsical, Nadia Ahern, brings her strong voice and presence to bear on a bunch of the songs, and last but not least, Eliot Hochberg, whose skills run the gamut from the funniest songs in the show to the most dramatic and serious.

Besides getting some raves on the show from many of the preview-night attendees, the comment heard most frequently was, “What a cast!” I couldn’t agree more, we are SO lucky to have performers of this caliber. These voices and talents will floor you.

AND I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few other people: Our music director, David O, is one of the most in-demand MDs and theater composer/musicians in the business. He has made my job – and the cast’s – so much easier. John Mitchell, one of our main producers from Bukowsical, who, along with Robert Pullman and ANC Productions, have put some amazing support, facilities and equipment behind our little show. Special thanks to Holly Rockwell-Pullman for always doing more than seems humanly possible.  We couldn’t do it without Becky Hefferman, was also our stage manager on Bukowsical, and she is assisted by an amazing crew of technical and production professionals. I’ll mention all of them in later blogs.

Besides our opening THIS THURSDAY NIGHT, we have 3 more performances: June 14 7:30pm, June 18 2pm, and June 23 7:30pm. Please note that doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime – and the show and venue is 21+
It’s at Asylum @ The Dragonfly (Main Stage) 6510 Santa Monica Blvd. LA (between Hudson and Wilcox, south side of the street). Here’s the link to get tickets:http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3687?tab=tickets

PLUS – another very good friend of mine has a show in the Festival that I want to encourage all of you to see: Tracy Newman, a great songwriter and performer in her own right, is directing and producing her daughter’s play, “Charlotte’s Shorts” at the Fringe. It has an all-star cast including SNL’s Laraine Newman, and the fabulous Lynne Stewart (Miss Yvonne from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse). Here’s a link to get tickets for Charlotte’s Shorts:
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3375

Hope to see you all at our show. Many thanks to my brilliant co-writer, Spencer Green. Please come up afterwards and say hello!

Much love,
Gary

LAST DAY FOR BUMPERSTICKER INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN NOW WE START REHEARSING!

LAST DAY FOR BUMPERSTICKER INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN NOW WE START REHEARSING!

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IF you were putting off contributing to our Hollywood Fringe Festival production of BUMPERSTICKER ‘til the last minute, the last minute is now! Our campaign ends at midnight tonight.

https://igg.me/at/bumpersticker/x/1326143

We are so grateful to all our friends, family, followers, and theater-lovers who have been so kind and generous to have donated to the campaign to get our big show off the ground. We would love for YOU to be among that select group!

We are proud to have some amazing people with us for this production. Our stellar cast includes the great Jennifer Leigh Warren, Broadway veteran with a voice of pure gold (Big River, Little Shop of Horrors); Lamont Dozier, Jr., son of the famous Motown hitmaker, and an accomplished jazz and R ‘n’ B artist in his own right; as well as some of the brilliant performers we had with us for Bukowsical, such as Lauren Rubin, along with Nadia Ahern.

AND we have one of the best music directors in the business, David O, leading the band. You can see why we’re excited!

More cast announcements soon! So come on, be a part of the production, and come see us in June!

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“GARAGE-MA-HALL” IN LAS VEGAS and FINAL WEEKS OF “BUMPERSTICKER” CAMPAIGN (BE ONE OF US!)

“GARAGE-MA-HALL” IN LAS VEGAS and FINAL WEEKS OF “BUMPERSTICKER” CAMPAIGN (BE ONE OF US!)

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“GARAGE-MA-HALL” IN LAS VEGAS
and
FINAL WEEKS OF “BUMPERSTICKER” CAMPAIGN
(BE ONE OF US!)

April 16th, Saturday night at 7:30pm, I get to play one of the premier private concerts around. Started by Richard and Betty Stewart, and helped along by Janet Dukes, Garage-Ma-Hall has hosted some of the finest folk artists, singer-songwriters, and Americana acts in the world. Lucky for me, I get to perform there on the 16th, and I couldn’t be more excited. Plus, backing me up will be one of the greatest guitar players ever to put pick to string, Grant Geissman! It should be a helluva show. Viva Las Vegas!

It’s at 6300 West Tropicana Parkway, BYO, there will be appetizers there. Contact Janet Dukes at jdukester1@gmail.com to RSVP

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We are in the final days of our Indiegogo campaign to produce BUMPERSTICKER for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Please consider making whatever contribution you can make to guarantee a rollicking good show. We’re assembling a cast right now, and planning our rehearsal schedule. Go here to donate and take advantage of our cool perks, gain our eternal gratitude, and help send this brand new musical project on its way.

https://igg.me/at/bumpersticker/x/1326143 

I’ll let you all know soon about our BUMPERSTICKER performance dates, as well as some other VERY cool concerts I’m doing over the summer months.

Thanks, and i heart small you all!

 

PLEASE HELP US BRING BUMPERSTICKER TO THE STAGE!

PLEASE HELP US BRING BUMPERSTICKER TO THE STAGE!

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PLEASE HELP US BRING BUMPERSTICKER TO THE STAGE!
bit.ly/1Xtqi9J
Spencer Green and I are very proud to announce this production of Bumpersticker, our first full-scale musical since Bukowsical, the show that won the 2007 New York International Fringe Festival. Bumpersticker is set during a massive urban traffic jam; each song is inspired by one of those blunt, punchy slogans you’ve seen on the backs of cars throughout your life. Bumpersticker will appear at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival in June, at The Dragonfly, the home of “Fringe Central.” It combines an ideal location with the best sound system at the Festival. Plus, it has a bar!As we continue to interview designers, reach out to the top musical talent in town, and lock down rehearsal space, we have launched an Indiegogo “crowd-funding” campaign to raise $17,500 for our cast and crew, equipment, venue rental, and marketing. And now, we need your generous support to make this timely, irreverent all-American musical happen!

In return for your contribution, we offer an exciting array of perks, which include: exclusive private links to digital copies of the show music, “thank-yous” on Facebook and Twitter, limited-edition Bumpersticker bumperstickers, tickets to our performances, signed show posters, and even various levels of producer credits.

Please click here to go to our Indiegogo page. It’s easy to
contribute!
Our great team includes Michael Blaha, who has produced over 35 shows for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and was the producer for our New York production of Bukowsical; and Michele Spears, a theatre director and choreographer whose work has been recognized in New York Nightlife, LA Weekly, StagesceneLA, UNIMA, Saturn, and Dramalogue, and Santa Barbara Independent Awards, as well as an American Choreographers Award nomination.THANK YOU so much for all the support you’ve given me over the years. Spencer and I worked long and hard on this show, and I think you’ll find it funny, tuneful and meaningful. It’s our best work yet!

I’ve never been a part of a crowd-funding campaign before. Please help us make it a huge success. We can’t wait for you to see and hear Bumpersticker!

Love and thanks,
Gary

“They’ll know who you are, by what you stick on your car.”