MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 9, 2022
The Taft Theatre
www.tafttheatre.org
Cincinnati, Ohio
 
When I was a boy, I was heavily into baseball and football. My favorite baseball team was the Cincinnati Reds, and my favorite baseball player was Johnny Bench. Aside from wanting to be an astronaut and a rock star, I had a huge desire to be a professional baseball player, and being a catcher was my dream. As you can see, none of those dreams came true, but I have made many good memories along the way.

Anyway, believe it or not, I have never been to Cincinnati and have always wanted to visit. As good luck would have it, we were playing at a stunningly beautiful theater less than three blocks from the Cincinnati Baseball Stadium. As bad luck would have it, the weather was freezing, and I was not feeling well. I had zero sleep, and my body was aching. I did not fear I was getting a cold; it was just the familiar road fatigue and aches and pains that I have sadly become accustomed to.

On top of that, I was starving, and no food was on the bus. Well, there was a ton of unhealthy food, but I would do my best to avoid it today. As usual, I was very late getting off the bus, and by the time I got unloaded and situated in my dressing room, and onstage it was time for soundcheck. (FYI - Soundcheck is always at 5:00)

Soundcheck was quick and painless, and I was ready to find food, and I was lucky to find an excellent deli directly across the street where I had a big healthy salad and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I wanted to check out the city and the stadium severely, but it was still very cold, and I was in serious need of a nap if I was going to stay awake at my piano tonight. So I took a few photos, then hung my head in sadness and retreated to the bus for a siesta before show time. 

The Taft Theatre was beautiful, and the crowd was fantastic! Afterward, I took a very quick shower, departed the venue as quickly as possible, and headed to the bus. Once on board, I would again bypass the party and retreat to my bunk. Immediately pulling the curtain, I would try to find the sandman and the field of dreams somewhere in my sleep.

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​MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 8, 2022
Jo Ann Davidson Theatre
www.capa.com/venues/detail/riffe-center-theatre-complex
Columbus, Ohio

Sleep was again not my friend, and I was by far the last to leave the bus this morning. Well, early afternoon is more the truth. Tonight's Theatre was in a large, beautiful complex called The Riffe Center. Getting there required a stage pass, an escort, an elevator, and a long walk. It was freezing outside, and I was nearly frostbitten when I figured it out. 

Upon disembarking the elevator, I grabbed a few unhealthy snacks from the ample-sized green room and located my dressing room. By this stage of the game, getting ready musically for the show takes very little time. I set up my iPad, which I use to control my In-ear monitor mix, tape my piano foot pedal to the floor, make sure everything is working, and then I am good to go until sound check. Soundcheck also, by now, takes very little time. Our very talented FOH Soundman, Jake, has everything dialed in quickly, and we usually run one song, maybe two at the most, and then we are finished. We are generally quite fortunate, and rarely anything goes wrong that cannot be handled and fixed quickly. But then, once in a blue moon, there is "that day." So, today ended up being that day. 

The venue had mistakenly not provided us with enough sound reinforcement production gear to adequately do our show, which meant the show was almost canceled. This took a while to remedy and was a great concern for most of the afternoon. 

In other news of the day, Brad, our relatively new, young bass player, was quite late in showing up. Brad is a great guy, a good bass player, and eager to please, but this was his first time on the road, so things were a bit rocky from time to time. It turns out that Brad had decided to take an Uber to this evening's show, for he wanted to sleep in on his day off. Nothing wrong with that, except that he took an Uber to the wrong town and the wrong gig. :-) He went to Cincinnati instead of Colombus! Once we found out, naturally, we ribbed him about it, gave him some money to help him out, and at soundcheck, gave him a T-shirt that bore his new nickname, The Cincinnati Kid. Brad was embarrassed but a good sport, and we all had a good laugh. 

However, the worst part of the day was that Hana was getting sick. She was worried about getting through the show, perhaps a bit too much. But she proactively did all she could to take care of her voice, and while not 100% on her game, Hana still did an incredible job. Nobody in the audience could have known she was sick, and the show, from their perspective, seemed very enjoyable. 

When we left that evening, nerves were a little raw, but like the pros we all are, we managed to come together and put on a fantastic show. Being on the road is very tough, and every show is different in its own way. You will get thrown curve balls from time to time, but with experience and professionalism, your team is better equipped to knock them out of the park as opposed to striking out. On to the next show!

November 6, 2022
The Fillmore 
www.thefillmorephilly.com
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

When many people like myself think of the Fillmore, they probably think of the legendary promoter Bill Graham and his iconic venues, The Fillmore East and The Fillmore West. While neither of those venues is sadly no longer around, we do have The Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which purposely exudes a unique old-school vibe paying tribute to the original Fillmores, and it is one very cool rock hall. Darryl Hall and John Oates christened the place in 2015. For me, performing here was an honor and a thrill. 

You first notice two scale-size replicas of Star Wars Fighting ships hanging from the ceiling when you walk into the spacious backstage area. Very cool. The dressing rooms were plush and close to the stage, which was also a bonus. 

I was looking forward to today because my good friend Michael Kent, his girlfriend Cindy, and his good friend Ed were coming to see yet another MANIA show and spend the afternoon with me. They are such great people and are very kind to me. They had a surprise for me today, which was a real treat. Lo and behold, the Swedish-American history museum is located in Philly, and they were like enough to arrange a visit. It was exciting, and I learned a lot about Swedish-American history that I did not know. 
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While the show, later on, was not a sell-out, the audience was great, and we gave a good performance. Afterward, we went to the only open place to chill for a little bit before I had to hit the road, which was the local casino. 

There is so much in Philly I would like to see and do, and I certainly hope I have the opportunity on a future tour. Oh, and I would love to play The Fillmore again! Gonna fly now! 
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MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 5, 2022
The Lynn Auditorium
Lynn, Massachusetts 
www.lynnauditorium.com

Today was not an exceptionally comfortable day for me. I woke up with aching joints, exhausted, hungry, and feeling beat down by the road. Not every day is like this, but after a night on the bus, I never know what I will get when I wake up. At its absolute best, it is still a very nomadic existence.

It was cold today, and I did not feel like getting out at all, but my lack of a recent good meal and my nagging hunger pangs drove me out of the bus. Aside from the beautiful theater, I did not find much in Lynn that interested me, but I did locate an excellent Northern home-style deli that had been open since 1979. Since 1979 was a good year, I decided to give it a shot. The Rueben sandwich and large bowl of chicken noodle soup did not disappoint, and I left feeling satiated and needed a nap. Not being one to offend the nap Gods when they descended upon me, I headed back to the bus to oblige them. 

The show went well tonight, and my dressing room was on the first floor, very close to the bus, which makes for an easy exit after the gig. ​

MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
​November 4, 2022
Buffalo State College Performing Arts Center
​Buffalo, New York
www.buffalostatepac.org

I had never been to Buffalo, New York, before, but I had always heard it was beautiful. Granted, I did not see hardly any on this trip, but the weather and the campus were beautiful, and I also found out some very interesting things about Buffalo I was unaware of.
I was tired, as usual, when I woke up late this morning, but the weather was so beautiful that I made myself get outside and go for a walk. I had planned a short walk, but it evolved into a long one.

The Buffalo State College is very pretty and is a larger campus than I had initially thought. As I continued to explore I found it was much larger than I had just discovered…or so I thought. On the backside of the campus as I continued to walk I discovered a breathtakingly colossal building which frightened, soothed and intrigued me immediately. It looked ancient, almost gothic and out of place. I assumed at first that it was a much older part of the campus that may or may not be used anymore, for it looked abandoned. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the center of the building, which was huge, appeared to have signs of life, so I assumed it all to still be in use. My curiosity was high so I moved in for closer inspection. I made my way to the back side of the building and felt a chill go up my spine and an eerie discomfort come over me which I could not explain. Boarded up windows by the dozens, broken windows with nothing but shattered glass remains, roofs in severe disrepair, buildings that connected which seemed to go on forever - all abandoned. Yet, the middle building was clearly being used. I suddenly felt like I was being watched and decided to hurry my pace and get on back to sound check. For the rest of the day and evening I was hauntingly intrigued by the building and could not get it off my mind. It wasn’t until after the show later that night when I was asking around did a custodian of twenty five years at the college fill me in on the history of the building. As it turns out, it was not a part of the college. The massive castle like building was built in the late 1800’s and was The New York State Hospital for The Insane. When he said that my blood chilled. He proceeded to tell me a lot of the history, which was also chilling. After being completely abandoned for decades they are in the process of turning it into a plush hotel. I went to the website, but the nice pictures and story they show and tell do not represent the Stephen King and Halloween look and feel of the entire back of the building, nor the story the custodian told me. I am still very obsessed with the building and I regret that I did not take a lot of pictures. It frightened me, but now I want to return one day, however I am not sure if I would spend the night or not.

Oh yeah, we had a show too. :-) The crowd was small but very excitable. The band played well, but all I could see were people in straight jackets in the empty seats. As beautiful and as nice as everyone was, I was glad when we were back on the road. I did not sleep well…
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MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 3, 2022
Capitol Center Of The Arts
The Chubb Theater
​Concord, New Hampshire
www.ccanh.com

The weather was cool and beautiful when I disembarked the bus this morning. I was early, and the venue wasn't open, so I took a short walk around the block. By the time I had completed a couple of laps, I could get in, so I gathered my things and chose the downstairs dressing room area. It was a good size chorus dressing room, and even though there were nicer dressing rooms upstairs, I decided to stay downstairs. I wanted to be alone, and it was a very short walk to the bus after the show with no stairs involved. 

Everybody was late in getting up today, and when they did, most took off to explore the town of Concord. The weather was very nice, and I wanted to do the same, but honestly, I was very tired and had work to do online, so I decided to stay in. 

Everybody at The Chubb Theater was very kind, courteous, and friendly, as are most of the people at the venues we play. I worked most of the day, and after sound check, which is always 5:00 pm, I took a short nap before returning to prepare for the show.

The crowd was energetic this evening but a little less attended than we had hoped. Still, the show went well, and everyone had a great time. Afterward, I decided to get some more work done and ended up being the last to leave the building. This is not a new thing, for I like being the first to come and the last to leave. Back in the day, it was the party, and now it is the theater. I like the change. 

MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 2, 2022
The Shubert Theater
​New Haven, Connecticut
www.shubert.com

I have never visited nor performed in New Haven, Connecticut, until today. The first thing I noticed this morning when I exited the bus was that we were parked directly around the block of Yale University and that the theater we were playing in this evening was high-class all the way. 

It wasn’t until I found my dressing room that I put two and two together about the beautiful theater. Painted and autographed on the wall downstairs was a gigantic long mural of ‘A Chorus Line’ commemorating its unprecedentedly long run at The Shubert Theater in New York. ‘A Chorus Line’ is my favorite musical and holds a very dear place in my heart. Also, adorning the green room wall were photographs of many famous people who had performed there through the years, and I thought what an honor it would be to perform on this stage tonight. 

I had some work to do online today, so since the weather was beautiful, I walked around for a while and then visited a local Starbucks to work and watch the Yale students trickle in and out. I imagined what their lives would look like as their years unfolded.

​I shared a wonderful dinner with my good friend and colleague, Annie Serravalle, and one of her good friends at a classy little place called Olives and Oil. I had a small meatball salad which was very tasty, as well as a surprise. Annie kindly gifted me with a beautiful keyboard scarf which I love! She remembered how much I had adored hers the last time we had dinner together. I know it will get a lot of use during my Northern travels. 

The Shubert was stunning, and our show, while not sold out, was a success. Onstage, I sometimes imagine the stars who have previously performed there in the audience enjoying our show, and sometimes it helps my performance and mood.

Afterward, I joined Annie and her friend again at a small local bar to get their review of the show and to show them some of the new videos I have been working on. They both had to work, so we called it an early night, and I strolled back to the bus in the glow of a good show, loving friends, and a warm scarf.

MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
November 1, 2022
The Flynn Center For The Performing Arts
​Burlington, Vermont
www.flynnvt.org

So I woke up this morning still tingling over what a great time I had the night before at The Rocky Horror Picture Show and getting to meet Barry Bostwick in person after being a big fan for decades. It may sound silly to some, but if you had come of age back when Rocky Horror was a new phenomenon, it was a BIG deal, and well, as you can surmise by now, I am a lifelong fan. 

Anyway, I spent the day today as I did yesterday, walking around the stunningly beautiful lake that borders Burlington, Vermont's quaint and beautiful town. I could have walked well into the night; it was so lovely. But my walk was cut short, for it was time to head back to the Flynn Center.

It was very cool to perform in the same theater where I had experienced so much fun and joy the night before. I was hoping and praying that tonight would be equally as fun. As it turned out, I was not disappointed. Rocky was sold out the night before, and we sold out also. Not only were we sold out, but the crowd was amazingly energetic and fun. What was initially a Halloween weekend I was sad about ended up being fantastic! 

After the show, I was out for a walk, and I overheard two girls discussing the show on the corner. I stopped and joined their conversation. When they discovered who I was, they were excited. They went on and on about how much they enjoyed the show. After saying goodbye to them, I went for a brief walk before returning to the bus and my bunk for the evening—another Happy Halloween behind me. 

​MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
October 31, 2022 - HALLOWEEN
Burlington, Vermont
The Flynn Center for The Performing Arts 
www.flynnvt.org/

Halloween. My favorite holiday of the year, and October is my favorite month. As those who know me will attest, I am still a big kid at heart. While naturally, celebrating Halloween changes as the years and seasons of your life go by, I still do my best to honor it as best as I can every year. 

So I have been down in the dumps, for we have Halloween off, and no one has made any plans nor seemed very interested in doing anything. I figured I would spend Halloween in my hotel room watching horror movies, which would have been OK, but I longed for something more. As luck would have it, the Halloween spirits were on my side, and I struck Gold. 

​We aren’t in town long when I find out that the last date of The 47th Anniversary Rocky Horror Picture Show Tour with Barry Bostwick will be playing tonight at the same theater we are playing at tomorrow night!! O.M.G. For me, the only thing better than The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween is Alice Cooper.  

I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time when I was 17 years old and immediately became hooked for life. It was a massive part of my life for many years. I still participate when I have the chance, and I have always been a memorabilia collector. So to have the opportunity to see Rocky on Halloween by chance and meet Barry Bostwick is unchartably cool in my book. 

No one else was interested in going, so I went alone after a long day of walking around the beautiful lake here in Burlington, Vermont. The theater was sold out, and everyone was in costume. They had a huge costume contest, Barry was an incredibly cool guy, and I had a helluva good time. Soooo many memories came rushing back. I hated for the evening to come to an end. 

So how do I top off my evening? Go back to my hotel room, turn the lights off, turn on my IPad and watch John Carpenter's Halloween. When the movie was over, I turned the lights out and fell into a restless, haunted sleep. Don’t dream it…be it

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MANIA - The ABBA Tribute (Formerly ABBA MANIA)
October 30, 2022
The Calvin Theater
Northampton, Massachusetts 
www.facebook.com/CalvinTheatre/
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Northampton, Massachusetts, is a lovely town we have performed in several times. The city is full of beautiful architecture and scenery and has a laid-back bohemian feel. Whenever we play here, I always make it a point to spend most of my day outside. The weather was beautiful today, and although I did not get a full day out, I was able to get about an hour of walking in. I had work to do and felt a bit tired, and I needed to save some energy.

The Calvin Theater is always fun, and tonight’s audience did not disappoint. A great crowd always helps you perform better, for every performance is simply an exchange of energy. We were all in a better mood than usual tonight, for tomorrow is Halloween, and we have the day off in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. I don’t have any plans yet, but I am sure I will find something fun to do on my favorite holiday of the year. :-)