mmm
them
the
17 years old so it's a vid found you wear I was
I was living in in Los Angeles at the time and I was working with the voice
teacher who was a neighbor of ours and Seth Riggs and
II his his son went to my school
okay so he said come on over I'll give you lessons so his dad was there was
question at the time was I I go over there Stevie Wonder was walking out
michael Jackson was walking I know if you like to not just your average but
we're not you know he was like the stars I stay up
so you know he could he could afford to fix a free lesson no doubt
and so you know he was cool that way to go first for sleepovers birthday parties
just aren't many give me some lessons and so
um and it was in it was David Foster calling him saying hey I'm
I'm in a real clinch I'm doing the governor california's inauguration
concert
I don't have my singer that was Michael Crawford from pain of the Opera backed
out
and a he said we got was young I wanna program is somebody who's
whose young who can sing who knows music of the night who can
getting here and kick ass for us so so he sent in five tapes 25 has different
people it is working
with I one in recorded basically my first demo tape ever
any pic to me and it was a life-changing experience my dad was kind of a bleacher
seats and he kinda fill me with a shaky camera does not really ill-fitting
fitting tuxedo and sang that song for like twenty three thousand people around
with a full orchestra and how at that point how much how much performance
like experience you had 23,000 playing the non-singing role
love mister Sheinkopf and fame the musical I
was basically my claim to fame at that moment in time idea
freak it out like I had one line in that show which video more rock and roll
I and
so yeah I was freaking out it was absolutely freaking out I was a time
when nerves
and I was not looking over confident kid either I mean I was you know being arts
kid being kinda
you know in that world was it was haves kindly
the outcast a little bit so before I knew it was done I was off the stage
gave them a big hug
my parents were very who were and still are very real world very much
you know um rooted in the in the notion that this could lead nowhere
this is a great experience on me like a you know they they were nice stage
parents they were not
you know you know being in Los Angeles they had very normal jobs and
I just knew I did get gave David a hug right after that event I just thank you
that you know we'd be doing something again the next time he had me singing
was with Celine Dion at the Grammy rehearsals
in 1999 I was 17 for course
yeah note it was she was singing I the prayer with Andre Bocelli who was sick
again I I got so lucky being the head that somehow
had this big voice and all these kinda Hooper legends were just kinda like I
don't feel good
yeah little did I know I was on their heels I was like what
have a Kleenex he be fired when I first record came out we work
writing it for radio we weren't producing it really for any even for our
label at the time
you know we we didn't know what if we could break even if we could sell Mabius
fifty sixty thousand copies
we will have a nice run and in some ways that
vision hasn't changed at all in the making an exit records that was
it was really simple which was that David I had a really great connection
I he knew what my voice
did best at the time and I wanted to
move people saying I just want to find music I alright music which he didn't
want to go into later
that made me feel made other people feel the way I felt when I listened
to great singers I really appreciate and listen to music that I appreciate I grew
up
you know going to you know the LA Music Center my purse from the lottery things
now walk outta there
with chills just feeling very different than the ordinary fan I was just humming
it wearing the hat I was
I was I wanted to be that vessel at some point so
basically David you know especially the time being the VP of Warner Brothers
Records kinda said
we're not worried about don't worry about you know being the hype the hit
the big thing in which is a
crazy thing here and we didn't worry about it and we were selling
400 copies a week and I'd be going into the meetings and somebody were coming
over
Lincoln Park 80,000 copies congratulated her alright to
so the album is out there and it started to gain some momentum ur
I am going to change II know because I was I was going to virgin megastores
really still existed in an like
you know putting on sunglasses not that I needed them at the time and kinda so
do you have that draws Romans you
you know i'm looking for it everywhere I just can't find it what a lovely young
voices yeah
and a and I like who's at Josh Brolin and I know he sang right
and so they would have to like poll they would I
keep finding that they have to pull it out of storage from way way down in the
depths of infinity it right on yeah exactly
yeah it faster in his bed bath and beyond I was in the beyond section and I
was like a way down this will never sell section you know
so they would pull one out for me as a writer actually really should put these
on for anything
um and so it went from that to and I had done a number different things I'd
someone the Olympics I'd
i'd on the Rosie O'Donnell Show was very supportive early on
I'm it wasn't until 2020 I the wind up kind of doing a story about me
I'm it it was a I I think primarily based on on a wonderful
New York Times piece actually that that came out I where
you guys kind of rotor you know really wonderful article and and
they a they said we want to store when interview you want to connect the dots
so what they did was they kinda basically said
to that twenty20 audience you've seen you've seen here here here and here
here for you cast for CD read and hear his name his face
years there and and their and and that
that was all the light bulb that the country kinda turned on and I went from
being 148 on the charts
the week prior to being number 8 the next week well it was that fast
around and Oprah followed and that was all she wrote
what relationship with her to the public on the street how often do you recognize
and
yeah it happens but you know I can I can fly pretty low under the radar but I i
think that
you know I sunglasses and a baseball i know it. I think just
being me sometimes and mister cellophane at the times I think I think that's
there's an energy you can turn on a turn off
you know and I think that 1 I'm walking and one from point A to point B and they
may recognize me but by the time they've done this already
right you know two blocks away so I but but the cool thing about it about New
York too is that once when he does come up to you to say something
it wanted kinda turning into a great conversation you know it's it's a really
nice thing is when he was a shaker hands
tell you a story about a song that meant something to them or or in one case
a over there is a cardiac anesthesiologist on on the express train
and and she just comes to New York
for fun and she's in DC and said that
I was like the number one requested CD for patients who would need to relax
before they're put under for surgery
alright I
I mean that was like almost a compliment you know I care
I think that qualifies I think I don't know how yes it totally does
I don't think the Ramones and it puts me right out let me tell you it's yeah
um so that's it's passing it was sad that it was her stop cuz I want to talk
to reporters
go to its cool I was I was me interesting fans
and I I would never want to lose my
ability to interact with right the city
how do you still work on what you do like technically is a singer and
water how are you trying to improve like what are things that you
don't feel like you're good enough at math you try to do better
well I mean at at 31 I feel like my voice is just kinda have
finding a maturity that you know what
II was still very much a student when I got signed in for much
I'm still very much a student I mean I I think that when you're
sign for young you have to sing very heavy music we're not coming for
the grounds to come in for a purity of singing group I as a lot of pressure and
so I
have always I'm taking lessons and continue take lessons I continue to
trying to buses to three times a week to try to you know do the right warm up
stray
drink the right things I you we're all crazy singers are crazy cuz its in you I
can't polish and put it away and a party I wrote you know in their times were
after show 75 you really wish you could lay her down that way but
I but its its it's all mental and solve abrasions and it's all this weird stuff
so
you really need an outside figure to kind of point in the right direction and
keep you well tuned
and so I so I i you know it's something that
that I don't take for granted them
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