I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a nerd. Always have been. I’m a tech junkie, but only in the years that I’ve owned an iPhone have I realized how dependent my life is on technology. Most musicians in today’s world are slaves to modern gadgets, and this became all the more apparent to me this past weekend.

My journey into tech purgatory started on Thursday, with my teaching job at the Popakademie. I was armed with all the tools I normally use to do my job: laptop, iPad, audio interface, microphone. My students are preparing for their semester exams (each student must perform a 45 minute live looping set using only their voices and a “loop station”, either hardware or software based), which require loads of tech that should all work together seamlessly. It didn’t always quite work out as planned. As much as I love my gadgets, I don’t think I’ve ever cursed them as much as I did in those two days. The iPad didn’t properly sync with the software on the laptop. The laptop didn’t keep it’s Wi-Fi signal, very embarrassing when trying to give a demonstration. Despite all of that, it always amazes me how quickly some people adapt to new technology. My students’ technical prowess restored my fascination in all things electronic, at least temporarily.

The technology love/hate fest continued on Saturday, at a private party I performed at with two colleagues, a female singer and a DJ. We performed our show half playback, the DJ started the playbacks from his rig, which consisted of a laptop, two turntables, a DJ mixer and the apps Final Scratch Live and iTunes. Almost the entire time we were singing, the DJ was fumbling with his equipment trying to get it to work properly (it eventually did), which was a big headache, at least for him. Somehow he was able to keep the music running without a glitch, a testament to his skill as a DJ. He later explained to me that if his system were to go down, he could continue his set almost uninterrupted with only his iPad. Groovy.

It was on Sunday that my love for tech was put to the test. In my rush to leave the house to catch my train to the next show, I left my iPhone – the one piece of tech I use religiously to communicate with the rest of the world – sitting on the dining room table. I had no way to communicate with my clients, or to find out where I needed to go. Or so I thought. Though I left my trusty iPhone at home, I had my iPad with me, and on it I had my wonder-weapon app Skype. It worked without a hitch, which is by no means the rule; more the exception. My faith in technology had been restored. 

How do you feel about gadgets and technology? Leave a comment!

As a child, I always dreamed of traveling to great European cities. I’ve had the great fortune to visit most of the cities I’ve dreamt about, and this weekend I performed in one of my greatest childhood dream cities: Athens, Greece.

My road trip started on Thursday, when I spent two days in Mannheim, Germany teaching at the Popakademie. It’s getting close to semester exams, so I spent the time preparing my students for their big day; a 45 minute live looping performance. After my time there I travelled to Aschaffenburg for rehearsals and a gig in the evening. The gig itself was fine; I performed with a talented up-and-coming singer named Jennifer Washington. After three hours of sleep in my hotel it was off to the airport and my highlight gig of the week in Athens. The flight was full, the food was, well, airplane food (need I say more?), and the drive into Athens was interesting, to say the least. 

The venue was an open air club on the beach, and the guests were all employees of a very large telecommunications company. All of the musicians were colleagues and friends of mine, so although I went into the situation blind, the show went off without a hitch. 

It was this latest trip to Athens (I’ve performed here three times before) that made me realize that through my job, many of my childhood dreams have indeed come true, if not totally in the way I had thought they would. I’ve visited almost all of the European cities I dreamed of visiting as a child: Athens (I loved Greek mythology as a kid), London (my favorite European city), Paris (art and culture), Stockholm (I’ve always been fascinated with it) and many others, and on top of all that, I get paid to go to these places. 

Sometimes musicians who work a lot tend to take for granted the good fortune they have, being able to travel to exotic places to work. We often complain that many in the traditional work force don’t see musicians as having “real” jobs, but given that through my job I have been places that most people with real jobs can only dream of going to, that’s a characterization that I can happily live with.

This weekend’s road trip was an especially interesting one, for many reasons. I got to see some beautiful old (and new) cars, experience extreme sleep deprivation, and visited a city that had been considered the capital of “the evil empire” for most of my life. Here’s a recap of the 48 hour road trip that took me to Essen, Germany and Moscow, Russia.

Preparation for the coming adventure had begun a couple of weeks prior, when I received a call from my colleague and good friend Worthy Davis. He asked me if I could cover for him on a gig he was scheduled to do in Moscow. Normally I would immediately say yes to the chance to help out a colleague in a jam, but hearing the word “Moscow” admittedly gave me pause. As an American, one generally grows up with stereotypes of certain places and people; as an Army brat, those stereotypes are even stronger. When most Americans hear the words “Moscow” and “Russia” we immediately tend to think of communism, the Cold War, the arms race, and the enemy of everything America stands for. Since living in Europe, though, I’ve always been fascinated with going to the very country that my father has been trained to fight, so after thinking about it for about a few minutes, I agreed to do the job.

The first red flag went up as I was told that i had to send my passport to a travel agency to get my visa for Russia. I was always taught never to give my passport to anyone (US passports are hot commodities on the black market) but I gave my passport up after assurances from Worthy and the travel agent that I would get it back. After a week I got my passport back, stamped and ready. Once I got my tickets, I was ready to rock.

Day 1: Essen

I first took the train to Essen, a city in northwest Germany, where I was to perform at the Techno Classica, a convention for vintage and sports car enthusiasts. My client was the Volkswagen Autostadt, the exhibition hall and museum located at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg. The gig itself was not so spectacular (though we only played 1 set when we scheduled to play 3, which was fantastic), but the cars were amazing. I was genuinely surprised just how many luxury brands Volkswagen now owns; Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi and now Porsche all belong to Volkswagen. My favorite car was the Veyron 16.4, currently the fastest production sports car in the world.

As is usually the case, it’s very difficult to make a room full of mostly men to dance without putting strippers on stage, but the evening was still OK; our client was happy, so I was happy.

Day 2: Moscow

After only 1 hour of sleep I went to the train station and caught the ICE to Cologne, where I boarded my flight to Moscow. The flight itself was relatively short (two and a half hours across two time zones), but comfortable, since the plane was half empty (no one in their right mind flies anywhere at six in the morning). On arrival in Moscow, I got a bit nervous at passport control, being an American in Russia for the first time. However, I got through the control surprisingly fast. My colleague and I were picked up and were driven to our hotel, apparently the largest hotel in Moscow, where almost all foreign dignitaries stay when the visit the city. The Presidents Hotel is the only hotel in Moscow with security checkpoints (like a prison), but a very nice hotel nonetheless. We then were taken to the venue for soundcheck, driven back to the hotel to relax before the show. We performed at a party for Natasha Ragozina, undefeated super-middleweight champion in women’s boxing, a very tall, very strong, very beautiful woman who could kick your ass if necessary. After a very chaotic but fun evening, it was off to the airport the next morning for the trip back home.

Here’s what I learned on my latest road trip :

1. McDonalds really is everywhere.

2.Russian women are (for the most part) really beautiful. And tall.

As I mentioned earlier, Americans grow up with many stereotypes about Russia and it’s people; specifically, our view of Russian women as being either huge (as in fat), pumped up on steroids, or otherwise unattractive. After this trip I can say that some of the most beautiful women I’ve seen to date are in Moscow. There’s a reason why many of today’s supermodels come from Russia.

3. Rich Russians are the kings of bling.

In the span of about 2 hours, I saw 4 stretch Hummers, a ridiculous number of black SUV’s and limousines with armed (sometimes police) escorts, champagne en masse, and more excess than I care to talk about. Russians are right up there with Americans in terms of unabashedly showing off their wealth. No wonder why Moscow is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive city in the world.

4. The air in Moscow is disgusting, but the streets are very clean.

I expected the air to be nasty; I got off of the plane and could literally taste the city (eww!). I was pleasantly surprised by how clean the streets were, however. Pretty amazing considering that Moscow’s population is over 10 million people.

5. Driving in Moscow is an exercise in courage. Walking even more so.

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more terrified of driving in any other city I’ve been to as I was in Moscow. Traffic signs? What traffic signs?!?

6. Yes, there ARE black Russians!

Chalk this observation up to another one of those stereotypical American views. I saw quite a few Russians of African descent, Africans speaking fluent Russian, as well as Asians and other “non-white” Russians. Russia is of course a huge country, so it shouldn’t have surprised me; it was just interesting to see.

7. America and Russia are not as different as most Americans and Russians may think.

Of course there are cultural differences, and it’s impossible to judge after only being in one city for one day, but it was obvious to see that Russians have many of the same hopes, dreams and problems as Americans do. We all send our kids to school, think about the future, are proud of who we are, and want the best for ourselves and our families.

Thursday night at the King Kamehameha Club. We just finished our first set, and I was surfing the Net on my iPhone, reading my favorite news blog, the Huffington Post. The first headline in the Breaking News caption: Michael Jackson Suffers Cardiac Arrest. The news was shocking, but I was hopeful that he would eventually be OK. I went to the bar to get a drink, then I returned to my seat to continue reading. I hit the refresh button, and in an instant, my heart dropped into my stomach; Michael Jackson had died.

Feeling quite numb, I spread the word to the people around me that the King of Pop has died. The most common reaction was, “are you kidding me?” People couldn’t believe it. My colleagues Tiffany and Worthy, two singers who like me are known for their interpretations of Michael Jackson hits, were just as shocked as I was at the news of his death. At the time, the reports were still unconfirmed, and as the word spread through the club, many people were pulling out their cell phones, trying to get any info that they could. Even as we took to the stage to perform our second set, I constantly checked my phone while on stage to get confirmation. When the news was confirmed, a feeling of sadness and shock came over all of us on the stage: Michael Jackson, the superstar whose music and stage performance influenced an entire generation of musicians, was gone.

Most Europeans love affair with Michael Jackson began with “Thriller” and the albums that came after that; the American fascination with Jackson began much, much earlier, in the late ‘60s, as he was a child. I grew up on the music of the Jackson 5 (later called just “the Jacksons”), but I was always amazed by Michael; his voice, his moves, his charisma were all things that would influence me in my own pursuit of a musical career. As I was discovering my own voice, I did so singing Michael Jackson songs; one of my goals as a 12 year old was to hit the low notes in the line of the song “Billy Jean” that goes:

“…so take my strong advice / just remember to always think twice.”

As a teenager, where I realized that I wanted to be a musician, my inspirations were Prince and Michael Jackson; Prince because of his skills as a musician, and Michael for his talent as a singer, dancer and performer. I had the red leather “Beat It” jacket, the white studded glove, and the Jheri curl, just like every other kid in my neighborhood did. I was hooked to MTV whenever they showed MJ’s videos, and I drew portraits of him for my friends. “Billy Jean” is, without a doubt, one of my top 5 favorite songs ever. Even into my 30s, his music would influence my approach to performing and songwriting, even as I recently became a “rocker”, his presence can be felt. Michael Jackson is a text-book example of how to win over an audience and connect to fans unmatched in today’s show business atmosphere.

Given the troubles he’s had in recent years, it’s very easy for people to forget just how influential MJ was in the world of entertainment. He was the first child star to win a Grammy, for his first solo single “Ben”. He was the first black artist to be played on MTV. Though he didn’t actually invent the moonwalk, he made it famous. He has given millions to charity. He is to this day the biggest selling artist of all time, with over 700 million records sold over the course of his career. There will never be another like him, and he will be missed by not only millions of adoring fans, but musicians of all genres mourn his passing. A new generation is also discovering his genius, through artists like Usher, Justin Timberlake, Neyo, etc., who openly admit to owing their success to Michael Jackson’s influence. Michael Jackson was bigger than Elvis, the Beatles, and Madonna, and his influence and legacy will be felt for generations to come.

As the night went on, and the loss of such a great entertainer and musical ambassador started to sink in, I broke the news to the audience in the club. Many were shocked and visibly shaken. I then asked the audience to join me in a celebration of his life and his music, at which point we played “Thriller” in his honor. The crowd loved it; they danced and sang along, just as Michael probably would have wanted it to be.

The King is dead; long live the King!

“You are such a great singer!” said the slightly drunken woman to me after the band left the stage.
“Thank you very much,” I replied, politely.
“Please sing one more song. For me.” she pleaded.
“I’m sorry, but the show is over, and we’re not allowed to go back on stage.”
“Please?!? I’ll give you fifty bucks if you go back on stage right now and sing a song for me.” The stage was dark, the crew was already packing up the equipment.
“Uhh, no.” I replied, rather annoyed. “Besides, how did you get backstage in the first place?!?”

The above situation actually happens quite often; I’m often offered money to perform longer than is stated in my contract. The question for me: is such a request a compliment to my skill as an entertainer, or an insult to the hard work and discipline I put into my chosen line of work?

There are two schools of thought on whether or not being an entertainer qualifies as a real job: those who are actually in the profession, who naturally see what they do as the epitome of entrepreneurship and self reliance, and those in the audience who see performers as carefree souls, wandering aimlessly from one show to another, with no real responsibilities; we do it for fun, thus it can’t be a “real job”.

It’s that second group of people who are usually the ones who ask the questions that most of us working musicians tend to hate, like “So, what do you do for a living?” or “Do you earn enough money doing this?” or usually tend to start every conversation with “Well, I used to play in a band, too”. (word of advice: NEVER start a conversation with a musician with this line: that will keep you from looking like a total idiot.) Given that entertainment is something people turn to as an escape from the monotony of daily life, they tend to see those who provide the entertainment as something different or somehow exotic, sometimes out of admiration or jealousy. This characterization, be it positive or negative, has the unfortunate effect that it causes people to not see entertainment and those who provide it as something to be taken seriously, even in situations that are very serious, like rallies, demonstrations for certain causes and political events. Also playing a role in this attitude toward performers is the fact that people generally always have an opinion on things they aren’t capable of doing very well themselves (if at all), thus empowering them to offer commentary on a job like that of an entertainer with a certain sense of superiority, regardless of how famous the entertainer may (or may not) be. A prime example: the notion that the public has a right to know about the private lives of celebrities. The idea that people can have a profession that is fun and pays well is a hard concept for many people to swallow, thus lending credence to the belief that working in the entertainment field is not real work.

In fact, being an entertainer can be a very complex business. Professional entertainers at a certain level who don’t have a staff (like me) often need skills in the fields of organization, communication, financial management, and logistics in order to work effectively; I not only go on stage and sing, I’m also the manager, booking agent, travel agent, secretary, contract lawyer and accountant. It’s only when the workload becomes too great that many working musicians get managers or agents. We do things in our jobs that many people go to school and get a degree to learn how to do, which is why I tend to get a little irate when situations such as the one mentioned above take place, because I see it as an affront to the long hours, hard work and dedication I’ve put into my craft over the years. For someone to offer me a measly fifty bucks to do one more song is somewhat of an insult; it’s like having your boss ask you to stay an extra hour or two at work to type something after you’ve been writing a report all day, because he likes the font you used in the report you just finished. The difference being that an office worker would probably lose their job if such a situation came up and they did not comply. In fact, I often do get such requests from my clients in the form of an extra encore or an entire set, but I’m usually offered a lot more than fifty bucks.

In the end it all boils down to the perception of what constitutes “having a job”. Despite what many people might think, being an entertainer is indeed a real job, and, deserves to be treated as such, thank you very much.

So, what did I learn from last week’s show?

1. I have a new appreciation for security personnel.

2. Using your recently deceased mother as an excuse to pressure a singer to do an encore is NOT CUTE.

3. Playing a near flawless show with musicians you haven’t seen in many years is a testament to the talent and skill of those musicians.

4. Free food truly does rock, even if it doesn’t taste that good.

5. Free drinks rock even more.

6. If you can’t take no for an answer, don’t ask the question.

7. Patience has its limits.