Quickie: Santa Klau

Not a lot to report right now. Except I went on for a second time as Frankie this past week, which was phenomenal, and went great. It's now colder than ever here in Seattle, and my winter jacket is getting plenty of mileage.

Had my family in town this past week, so it's been just me and them. Not a lot of events to report, except this:

Our stage management hosted a door decorating contest for the holidays. I had not decided to do a door decoration until the last day, which was TODAY. Lori, our stage manager, convinced me to take charge, so I did. I went into the dressing room, and said "Well, I better get started. Anyone have any paper?"

Courter Simmons replied "No, but you can rip out these easy Sudoku puzzles". So I did. My first idea was just to put them on the door, so people can come by and do them.

And then I got a crazy idea:



The story was this: I had a huge grid in front of me. So I thought, hey, I could color in a few of the blocks, and make a pixelated picture. I asked everyone in our dressing room, and everyone agreed: the picture should be Nate. I got to work, found a picture, ran it through a threshold process (which turns the picture to just 2 colors), and copied what was on my screen to the large Sudoku grid I created. Big thanks to Erik and Chris for working with me on the piece. We won 3rd place (behind Lori's jellybean JB outline - 2nd, and John and Eric's Las Vegas themed door - 1st place).

Arts and crafts. Hooray.

Meanwhile, it was John Altieri's last show tonight. John, we love you, and we will miss you. Good luck to you in the future.

Happy Holidays!

Here's some Holiday Treats from yours truly:

It's Just Too Good To Be True

Well, #406 came and went. Last night was a culmination of a lot of different feelings, emotions, but ultimately went incredibly well.

I am sorry about this post: It's hard for me to describe my emotions in words. It was such an incredible night.

I got to the theater early to run some light cues, and do some slapping around with Deven. As soon as he started slapping me around (Being a little brother, and him getting a new lead singer), I knew it was on. After that, it was up to the dressing room.

But not any dressing room. This night, I got THE dressing room.

A quick shower, a shave, some hair gel, and a few costume pieces later, I was Frankie.

Looking in the mirror was surreal. Who was this person? I had never had this on before. For real. Tonight, I was playing for keeps.

As I stepped out of The Dressing Room, I entered into the Men's dressing room, where the Male Ensemble were getting ready, and was greeted with cheers, hugs, pictures, etc. Everyone was very proud of me, and for those of you guys who are reading this, your encouragement and support has meant the world to me. Thank you.

After that, it was back to the room to have some water, a little tea, some saline spray, and off to the races.

I remember the moment, before walking out on the bridge. My heart skipped a beat. It was like skydiving. As soon as I walked out from behind the black and into the light, I had jumped out of the plane. No turning back now!

And then, warmth. I was met with such love and power on stage. Everyone sharing looks, smiling, and being there for me.

I won't go through the gauntlet of the show, but I'll mention these points:

• Acting on stage with Deven, Erich, Steve, Joe, John, and the rest is a dream. They all play, listen, respond so well. It's incredible to be up there communicating with them.
• I think your first time is always like slow motion. Sometimes, it felt like "The Matrix".
• The Big 3 was incredible. Just amazing, and a lot of fun. The looks we shared on stage were priceless.
• "Dawn" is one of my favorite songs in the show to perform, and the part where we were facing downstage was really cool.
• "Beggin" IS my favorite song of the show, and doing the splits, the turns, and the vocals... just great.
• The sitdown scene worked very well. It's a different experience when you have lights, and sound, and audience. In rehearsals, you try to act well. But when all the extra parts enter into the equation, they seem to go away, and the only people in that room are at that table, arguing about the future of the group. Incredible.
• Winter was a blast to do. The show is written so well, and to get to speak like that, to the audience, is really cool.
• What can I say? "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" went off without a hitch! I was singing great, and gave it my all. As I turned upstage in "Workin'..." I had the biggest smile. The guys in the band behind saw it. I gave them a wink, and kept on singing. My voice wasn't tired yet!
• "Who Loves You" was great, especially at the end, where we all look at each other. It was as if they were congratulating me before it was over. I was so happy.

So, all in all, it was a great night. So much work for so much return. I am so glad I got to do it, and you know what, I liked it so much, I think I'll do it again! On the 26th of December at 2pm.

Anyway, this post was so disjointed, so whatever. All I know is that I was Frankie Valli last night, and it was a moment I'll never forget.

Meanwhile, Miles, Erik Bates and I had a push-up competition. The pressure was too much for Bates:

I Rocked So Hard I Made My Fingers Bleed

For those of you who don't know, Seattle is the birthplace of Grunge music: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, etc. It singlehandedly ushered out the era of Hair Metal, and introduced the world to a Seattle state of mind. Also, it caused kids across America to start dressing like they lived in Seattle: The Grunge Fashion Style. Thank goodness THAT'S over.

But I'll just come out and say it: I'm a rock nerd. Which, believe me, is somewhat of an oxymoron. But I love rock music: the culture, the performance, the attitude. So when I remembered that The Seattle Experience Music Project was up here, I was very excited.

EMP, as it's called, is right next to the space needle:



The building itself was designed by Frank Gehry, who also designed the Disney Music Hall in Los Angeles (which was right next to where JB played in LA at the Ahmanson). The EMP building is truly a sight to see. Certainly not an eyesore, but enough to make you go "hrm".

As we walked in, being the music nerds that we were, went immediately went to the top floor, where all the Jam Rooms were. These soundproof rooms are filled with electric guitars, keyboards, electric and acoustic drums, amps, and pedals to fulfill your music dreams. Yes, I know a Guitar Center is just about the same thing, but rockin' out with your friends in a soundproof room is a great time. Sadly, none of the rooms had guitar PICKS so I had to play with my fingers. And I was rocking so hard, that I accidentally nicked one of my knuckles against the worn guitar and split it open. Sigh.

After mending my wound, we went to the "live performance" experience, which, IMHO was pretty lame. You go into a room, and can lip sync (or play, as they say, but our REAL playing was at a lower volume than the track) one of three songs. We chose "I Love Rock And Roll". After playing that song in that dumb room, I don't think I Love Rock And Roll anymore. Never-the-less, we named our group "Monday Off", played around in the silly room, and exited, where they then pump you to buy pictures and videos of your performance. I think the embarrassment was so ripe that buying something would only catalyze the uncomfortable experience.

But someone did buy a picture. Sadly, I don't have a digital copy.

After that, it was off to the actual museum, which was really cool. There was an exhibit about the birth of Hip-Hop, a room which showed the history of the guitar with real world examples (with some really crazy guitars that would make Cheap Trick jealous), and a history of Seattle Music, including a large section dedicated to the Grunge era. I didn't know Heart was from Seattle!

Our day at EMP came to an end, as we watched Jimi Hendrix play The Star Spangled Banner on a big screen, and taking a picture in front of this tree of music instruments:



All in all, it was a great day, and afterwards, we all headed back to our hotel rooms, humming "Evenflow" all the way home.

Meanwhile, back at work, we, once again, took first place in the BC/EFA Gypsy Of The Year collection period with a total of $327,404! Hooray! Congrats to our Chicago Company with a second place total of $293,673!

And with our successive win in hand, we have crossed the #400 performance mark! It's been a great run, and you know how it felt? Just like #399. But we couldn't have made it without you guys: the fans. Booya to us all. Stay tuned for #406 ;-)

...

And Miles and I bought the same Jacket:

#406

I want to start this post by saying this: I will miss Zach Prince very much. He did his final performance with us tonight, and he will be missed. Zach is my cousin, and I hope I get to see him soon again.

And as for the explanation of the Title of this post, go to taylorsternberg.com or check my twitter feed at twitter.com/taylorsternberg. It involves my announcement, and the performance number.

The Changing of the Guard

Well, it has been quite the whirlwind week for me! I have been on for about every performance this week. I was supposed to go on as Hank, to fill in for Gutman until our new Hank Majewski (Matt Bailey) was ready... but not so much. It started off with Courter as Frankie, and me as Joey for 2 performances. Then after that, I have been doing Barry Belson! Who knows... tomorrow I might go on for Lorraine in a pants suit. Just kidding. I would never wear a pants suit.

I just want to give a big congrats to Eric Gutman on his debut on Broadway this week. We miss you buddy.

But in his place, we have the fabulous Matt Bailey, who brings Hank a great, new, and different energy. I look forward to working with him, or filling in for him. He's a great guy, and a fantastic musician.

Seattle continues to be rainy, and cold. But still cool (not temperature wise). In my last post, I talked about going to the Underground Tour, and now I can talk after the fact. The tour was, as a fantasy Aunt would say "very nice". Very informative, very historical-like. I enjoyed myself, and learned more about Seattle, why it was built 7-30 feet above the original ground (flooding, exploding toilets), and the special "sewing clubs". Look it up if you want to know what I mean.

This is me in front of a 19th century "Crapper"



It was very cold down there, in the "basement" of Seattle.

Seattle must be a great place to raise kids. Or kids who grow up to be rock musicians. I think this Monday, we'll be going to EMP, or The Seattle Experience Music Project. We'll all Rock music nerds, so I'm told this is a cool place for us. Tourism is a must on tour.

For those of you who wanted to know about Eric Gutman's going away party, it really wasn't anything special. Just a little food, a little drink, a little chat, and off to do his final show. For people who leave our tour, we usually sing "Happy Trails" backstage at the intermission of the final show, with a dessert of their choice. And that's when we hug, emote, and then do a second half of the show.

For my week-du-performances, I'll just say this: that the backstage traffic is so intricate, because the backstage area is so small (compared to other cities)! It's like a Rube Goldberg Machine. So doing different tracks consecutively can be challenging, but I was able to pull it off without any hitches. Hooray for hard work, tracking people backstage, and our wonderful crew.

So that's all for now. But I do have an exciting announcement coming up. Not "Gutman" exciting, but exciting for me. I'll let you know as soon as I can tell you guys. Here's a hint: it involves a blimp, overalls, and the Kelvin temperature scale.

That hint was false.

I'll let you know through my twitter feed (on the right, or at twitter.com/taylorsternberg), or at taylorsternberg.com

On a parting note, I like this picture:

I Have Heard The Call. I Will Take The Wheel.

Yes. It is true. Eric Gutman is going to Broadway, and I believe he is taking his blog with him. I remember talking with him yesterday at his good-bye dinner / cocktail party about the new title. Perhaps he'll call it "The Gutman Gutter" or "The Hank Herald". Both of those were actually titles that I came up with right at this moment. Trust me, when you see the REAL new title, you'll like it.

So he'll have his Broadway blog, and I will take over for the Tour Blog, hence the name "Tour THAT", in honor of his "Tour This" name. It's like the sequel to "Analyze This", but with less DeNiro, and more Joe Pesci. And Barry Belson. And perhaps Frankie Valli here and there. Don't forget Hank!

So here I am, with a blank blog page, ready to fire away at the webernet. Or the interweb. Whatever you kids call it now-a-days.

Where to start? Seattle? Seattle, I love you. If you are just joining us, The Tour is currently sitting at the very beautiful (but cramped) 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle, Washington.

Aside from Tempe, Arizona, This is the first state that we have performed in outside of California. Which means that it is very cold, something that I'm not used to. How cold? Well, around 40 degrees. Stop laughing. For me, that is COLD.

Besides the cold, Seattle reminds me so much of San Francisco, or a mini-New York. It's a great city with great people, and a strong arts community.

Last night, to join in on the festivities (and mourning) of the loss of our Eric Gutman, I tracked Brandon backstage (tracking is when you follow someone backstage. I do this to learn the new tricks of each new backstage area). All our hearts were with him for the show, we had a great time, and he ROCKED out in the playoff solo at the end. We will miss you so much man.

And time goes on. I have already visited the historic Public Market, and today, I will visit the Underground City. So who knows what else Seattle will bring.




That's it for now. I have to go meet my group for the tour. More on Seattle later!