Gateway To The West

I am writing this while sitting on a bus. I am surrounded by sights of lush, green flats, swollen waterways, and an expanse of road ahead of me. However, it is overcast: what a way to see the countryside.

But our run in St. Louis is over. 4 weeks of toasted ravioli, Cardinals fans, and living under the shadow of a giant metal arch. However, St. Louis has a few of the caveats of Tampa, with the ambition of Los Angeles. In St. Louis, if you want to get anywhere, you have to drive, and that makes life difficult when you don’t have a car. Getting groceries was sometimes quite the affair, as well as finding a movie theater. The infrastructure of St. Louis is very spread out, but they’re working on revitalizing the downtown area, which reminds me of Los Angeles: there is a housing initiative with plenty of lofts and housing available for those willing to pick it up. Anyway, I enjoyed St. Louis, but it transportation was tough.

St. Louis audiences loved us, but being that it was the largest house we’ve ever played, it’s such a different experience. You have to be receptive to the way the information hits the audience. The emotional beats are much different than being in a house of half the size. Furthermore, I got to perform as Frankie 3 times! And I want to thank everyone who emailed me after each performance. Your kind words mean the world to me. But that’s not the only exciting thing: Matt Bailey made his debut as Bob Gaudio with excellent skill, and Miles Aubrey returned to the stage as Bob Gaudio as well. They both rocked, and I’m very proud of both of them.

As for St. Louis items: I visited the Arch, but I feel like it's more epic sitting on the grass below, in it's shadow, rather than being up in it. The top feels like every other tall thing I've been in (Empire state building, Stratosphere, etc) Going up in it is a little wild as well. It's a very close quarters. Some describe at something out of Woody Allen's "Sleeper".

I tried toasted ravioli. I enjoyed it, but the health factor came into my mind. It's certainly a once in a while thing. The whole deep frying thing.

I had the frozen custard. Brilliant. I would have more.

I skipped the St. Louis style Pizza. They use Provel cheese. I think I rest my case.

Otherwise, I have arrived in Cincinnati now. Tomorrow is a free day for me to explore. I saw a camera store on my way in, so I'm very excited about that. Then back to work on Wednesday.

Alright, that's it for things on my mind now.

Don't forget, The Singing Office premieres on June 29th. Watch for me. I'm told I'm in a few of the commercials as well!

UPDATE: The Singing Office will be in early primetime (8 or 9 pm) once a week. The exact time slot is not set yet.

My friend, John Altieri

As you may or may not know, John Altieri passed away today from, what I believe to be, complications with pneumonia. Definitive information has been sparse, but what I can tell you is that he went peacefully, without pain, with his family near.

For those of you who did not know him, John was nothing but a golden boy. A free spirit, with a constant smile. A health-o-holic, who woke up at 7am to get a Yoga class in. He was a professional through and through. He was kind. He was mischievous. Whenever I was on as Mika, he would jump and attack me with a smile on his face just before we pushed out the yellow couch. He watched "24" with me. He was an LA guy, like me. He was a hiking buddy. He lived life to the fullest, and sought to seek out every last morsel of fun.

He was a true friend, a peaceful man, and lived life with joy and vigor.

Love to you, your friends, and your family.

Question time?

Hey, I thought this might be a cool idea: post any questions you might have about the show, The Four Seasons, me, etc, and I'll try to answer a few to the best of my ability!

Leave your questions in the comments. I will reply in the comments thread.

UPDATE: Please leave your name or something. It makes replying easier.