Just Monkey-in Around…

Ok, I can’t resist. It’s been a tough decision, but I’ve decided to go ahead and post this video. Anything that makes me laugh this hard can’t be all that bad.

It might say something about me that I wasn’t ready to admit to the world, but it’s too good to keep a secret.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

New diddy: “Who is Stalking Who?”

You know when something happens, and you say to yourself, “Well self, I didn’t see that one coming.”

I got to sing a little diddy about Kyle McDonald stalking Alice Cooper on the radio show “Nights with Alice Cooper”, and that’s kind of what went through my mind.

But BEWARE!(Oooh.Alice Cooper’s involved, so you know there is gonna be a BEWARE disclaimer.) Seriously though, this might not be suitable for all ages.

But its fun, nonetheless.

For those of you that would like to hear it:

We’ll have to see what happens with Kyle and Alice in order to see how the song turns out.

Probably not gonna make it to the album (I know, the trauma) but maybe we can send a copy to the very cool people that sign up on the mailing list.

20/20 Visions

I had a dream last night. Kyle MacDonald and I were on a whirlwind adventure in Fargo, ND, (with rock legend Alice Cooper, no less) having a great time.

In my vision, I flew home, got a few hours rest, and then ABC’s 20/20 was on my doorstep for an interview – asking me to play music for them.

Oh wait! That actually happened… It was definitely cool enough to feel like a dream, though.

ABC’s Don Dahler and Jeff Diamond were in Fargo with us over the Alice Cooper weekend, but they beat me to Phoenix.

(If only I hadn’t gotten in that scuffle with the po-po over not wanting to leave the tour bus…)

(ABC Producer Jeff Diamond, BoGeSo artist Jody Gnant and ABC Correspondent Don Dahler)

Alice Cooper had a lasting effect on all of us.

The morning started off with Jim Kent, and Brian Sepowitz showing up EARLY to set up for the interview. These guys were awesome! Totally professional. Waaaaay cool.

Jeff Diamond came very soon after, and the three of these guys rocked and rolled for the next two hours setting up.

Jim and Brian are local Phoenicians, and really great at what they do.

And, who woulda thunk that Don Dahler was a musician? You learn something new every day. Seriously, he plays really well.

Tammie Coe hooked us up with breakfast goodies for the occasion.

(For those of you that don’t know Tammie Coe, she’s an amazing pastry artist. Try the bouchon.)

It took about two hours for the set up to take place. It’s now 9:30 in the morning and then this becomes my reality for a few moments…

But, it does say slick.

Speaking of reporters, did you know they have their own notebooks?

It was news to me.

(Don Dahler’s “reporter’s notebook”)

We finished the interview and moved on to the performance of “Song in D”.

Wondering if you can tell me what I’m thinking here, ‘cause I haven’t been able to figure it out yet.

The 20/20 segment is supposed to air sometime in mid-June. But, we haven’t heard when, for sure.

Now would be a great opportunity to sign up on the mailing list, and I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.

I also wanted to take a moment to say thanks for all of the support guys!

It means the world to me.

Drop me a line anytime by clicking here…

Until next time… smile. (It looks good on ya!)

How FAR will you GO to hang with Alice Cooper?

Last weekend was one of the more amazing weekends of my life. I think it’s because there were so many good vibes that we were all just kind of basking in them. You might even say… it was a good vibe vortex.

Before I left Phoenix, I was thinking about practicing for the 20/20 interview that was going to take place the day after I got back from Fargo. Someone said to me, “Don’t worry, maybe there will be a piano in the lobby of the hotel.” My reply was a mocking, “Sure – knowing the hotels I normally stay at, there’s no reason why there wouldn’t be a piano in the lobby of the hotel in FARGO .”

And that was that.

Kyle and I flew out on US Airways to Minneapolis, and were upgraded to first class. That kind of set the tone for the rest of the trip.

That, and I learned how to hula hoop at Hooters. But that comes later in the story.

Aww, heck, I’ve already mentioned it. Here it is…

Justin at Dollar Rent a Car kept the store open an hour after closing (on a Saturday night, no less) just so that we could get our car and make the drive to Fargo, ND. That was really cool Justin, so thanks.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, we drove four hours in a rented red Subaru to the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fargo.

Low and behold what was in the lobby waiting for me?

Turns out it was only in the lobby for Mother’s Day weekend. (Of course, why didn’t I think of that?) It also turns out that the Radisson in Fargo IS one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. They had the sleep number beds. I think I need one of those…

After a few hours rest early Sunday, we headed downstairs to the now infamous lobby to meet the ever-infamous Alice Cooper and his peeps.

Kristine, who plays Mistress Kitty on Nights with Alice Cooper, was there and we hit it off right away. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to have a Bohemian Geek Soul singer sleeping on her New York City floor very soon!

Calico Cooper was also there. It turns out that she’s Alice Cooper’s daughter, and a Hollywood actress and a fabulous dancer in his show. She’s really amazing, and so go out and rent anything you possibly can, starring Calico Cooper.

We all boarded a Hummer stretch limo heading towards Alice , North Dakota where Alice Cooper was to receive the key to the city. Alice, ND is about 50 miles from Fargo.

On our way into the city we noticed this…

It was my first time for a police escort (well my first positive police escort, anyway.)

The scene from Alice was awesome, and I was in the unique position of getting to see what it is like from the inside of a limo when people are on the outside chanting.

That was actually refreshing, because usually, I’m the crazed one practically getting run over, standing on the outside of the vehicle and holding some sort of crazy sign.

Everyone in Alice was wearing a T-shirt that read, “What happens in Alice – with Alice – stays in Alice .” Yeah, baby!

The 50 miles back to hotel certainly went by quickly.

Later in the evening, the Alice Cooper Crew was meeting at a Chinese restaurant for a multi-birthday celebration. And there I was, going through a Chinese buffet line with Alice Cooper, Calico Cooper, Kyle MacDonald, Mistress Kitty and Shep Gordon. That doesn’t happen everyday…

Speaking of Shep Gordon, he has managed Alice Cooper for over 40 years on a handshake deal. That is awesome and commendable. I wish more of the world worked like that…

Later that evening, the Alice Cooper tour bus was taken hostage by a burgeoning artist.

Monday morning, Kyle, Shep, Kristine and I had a little breakfast, and headed over to The Box 101.9 Studio. The Box Rocks!

It was a media frenzy. But, everyone else was acting cool, so I figured it was in my best interest to do so, too.

Kyle and Alice taped an interview for Nights with Alice Cooper. Kristine (Miss Kitty) and I made a guest appearance. Miss Kitty is on the show all of the time, but for me it was a pretty big deal. It’s also not everyday that I sing a cappella about Alice Cooper stalking one of my friends. But, yes, that happened as well.

It was that morning at the station that I got to meet all of the cool folks from ABC’s 20/20. They were in Fargo covering the Alice Cooper / One Red Paperclip connection.

From left to right:

ABC Correspondent Don Dahler, BoGeSo artist Jody Gnant, One Red Paperclip’s Kyle MacDonald, Alice Cooper, ABC Producer Jeff Diamond, and Nights with Alice Cooper’s Mistriss Kitty (Kristine).

We ventured over to the Fargo Celebrity Walk of Fame where Alice was immortalized in cement.

There were mayors. There were speeches. It was awesome.

Back at the hotel we had a few minutes to get our composure back before heading down to the Alice Cooper concert, and dinner backstage with the crew.

The show opened up with Vindictus, a self proclaimed Viking Rock band. I never knew I was a fan of Viking Rock, but now I know better.

For those of you in bands out there: You know when you’re on stage playing a show, and you’re thinking to yourself, “What is the sound/light guy doing anyway?”

Let this de-mystify everything.

What happened over the next few hours completely changed my outlook on music.

Alice Cooper totally opened up his tour to us for two days. He was gracious – he was kind – and most of all he was nice, nice, nice. Never in a million years was I prepared for the awesomeness that was about to take place.

When Alice takes the stage, there’s No More Mr. Nice Guy. Seriously.

It was an amazing transformation, and one I won’t soon forget. The man is a master.

Then there was the moment we had been waiting for all weekend; the moment when Kyle MacDonald was elevated to pop icon status.

That kind of says it all, huh?
To Alice Cooper:

Thanks for being one of the coolest individuals I have ever met.
Thanks for being the kind of guy that works with the same posse for decades.
Thanks for being positive, while still showing that a little freakiness is fun.
Thanks for believing in One Red Paperclip.

Not my average Monday, either…

Today was amazing. We’re doing a lot of pre-production for the record, and the songs are sweeeet!

Brendan and I still need to record our One Red Paperclip theme song, and I betcha the weather’s nice in Canada right now…

Fuji TV from Japan came by my studio today to film a segment on the story that is One Red Paperclip. Kyle MacDonald mentioned that, when he was in Japan, he saw a re-enactment of the trades with look-alike actors. (I totally want to know what my look-alike looks like – it’s eating me up inside.)

Later in the day, I was invited to be a guest on Terry Gilberg’s show on News Talk 550 KFYI. To Darrin Cameron – thanks for being a totally solid producer.

Terry and I talked for an hour about magic, trading, and music.

What a cool woman. She totally gets it.

An unexpected Friday surprise!

Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani are on tour together, and last night they did a show at Celebrity Theatre. For those who don’t know, Celebrity Theatre is one of the coolest historical venues for live music in Phoenix. Evvvveerrrybody has played there.

It has a rotating stage that allows for an in-the-round experience. Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani rocked the house!

Afterwards, we headed backstage and got to meet Eric Johnson and his amazing band. Tommy Taylor got really down and dirty on the drums, and Chris Maresh played rock star bass.

Together, they had more pockets than a pair of Levis. And, it was a great show.

Drummer Tommy Taylor, President of the Arizona Songwriters Association – Jon Iger, me and Eric Johnson.

Neat article featuring Leslie, Sheryl Cooper and an authority on the matter…

The Arizona Republic did a fabulous article that emphasizes how this adventure is starting to positively change people’s lives.

Special thanks to Lisa Nicita for being such a great writer.

Click pretty much anywhere to see the article.

(Photo credit David Wallace – courtesy of The Arizona Republic)