The Visible Voice

Singing for Obama!

2008-11-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

There have been over 2000 songs devoted and dedicated to the Illinois Senator and the Democratic Party Nominee for President of the USA. This phenom called Barack Obama and in honor of him and how he will soon transform history here is a small snippet of songs to check out - with different flavors all in great celebration of Obama. Enjoy and please VOTE!

Here something funny...

Here is is Trinidad & Tobago's Mighty Sparrow performing a song in Barack's honor

Sung by Jamaican Coco Tea

Hear this and you just might cry...

Finally Seal salutes:

Singing At It's Best - Diamanda Dahhrling!

2008-10-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

If you've never heard of Diamanda Galas you're in for a strange dark treat. It's dark alright, in your face and strong. She definitely wants it that way and that's the point. Diamanda is a performance artist, vocalist, pianist and composer that happens to have a three and a half octave range, and she work off material with the following warm and fuzzy themes such as suffering, despair, condemnation and injustice. She personifies singing at its best! Check out the clip below...

An old friend goes away

2008-10-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

on October 3, 2008 a great vocalist, educator, entertainer and friend passed away from us. Perhaps you knew him. Maybe you heard him sing somewhere and his voice tugged at you. Maybe you were in church or a jumping Brooklyn hot spot or at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. If you were fortunate to have been in the way of, nearby or at the crosswalk of the tornado that was Ulysses Slaughter then you knew that his voice tugged at you, hell, reeled you in. Made you stand at attention and if you were even luckier to have had him as a vocal teacher, which I was, then you learned untold riches of the trade from a soul so generous with his talents and advice, you BELIEVED you were great. When he chastised you for work not done or music not done just so...you took it knowing the place it came from was a pure, pure heart. In spirit and in life. Ulysses was the gift that kept on giving. He had a way of making everyone, individually, feel like a million dollars. To me, he was the teacher and friend I met first whom I trusted with what little I had in me to say with song. He told me the truth and he practiced what he preached. I saw with my own eyes the power of a strong performer, confident and comfortable in his shoes whether he was wearing a dashiki or a tuxedo. His person always shone through. This was invaluable information to a budding vocalist like myself and he was simply invaluable.

Ulysses was there. At the beginning.

A long time ago...I befriended the branch stockbroker of a bank I briefly worked at in NYC. We'd chat from time to time and one day we had the most bizarre conversation that got me off my feet as vocalist. The subject of me loving to sing came up and before I knew it, he kept pointing out all the wonderful things that could happen if I sang and became successful. The stockbroker practically sold me on the idea of investigating this. This conversation TRULY started everything.

The strange thing, besides the fact that he was a near-stranger, was I wasn't involved with music at all at this time. I was in a phase pf my life where I was figuring things out. Finding my way after dealing with the loss of my mother. So his far-fetched plea seemed timely. What did I have to lose? He said "Look I knew a few places that have live music in the neighborhood. We can go check some of it out if you like." I said OK.

Sheila's Restaurant was walking distance from where I lived although I didn't know it existed. One dreary Friday night in February we went to hear this singer the stockbroker couldn't stop talking about. It was a duplex and upstairs in a dimly lit corner was this Grand gentleman - portly, handsome, with great carriage - in a dashiki with a keyboardist and a trombone player. This was Ulysses Slaughter SANGIN' "Ain't Misbehavin". I sat there with my stockbroker friend and was in awe! Ulysses could sing! He flung his warm energy out at you through his voice and his song . He was playful, shrewd and he was confident. I wanted to know about all of it.

At the break, my friend introduced me Ulysses and told him that I could sing but was just starting out and if Ulysses could give me any advice. Ulysses looked me over, slowly smiled.

"You can sing?" He said.

"Yes, I think so." said I.

"Let me hear you sing something." He said.

I didn't expect that. I froze then realized that I knew no music, no nothing. Oh my God! Then I remembered a tune I learned by ear from the closing song from a radio program here in New York City. It was "Moody's Mood for Love" and I knew it by heart. I waited for the song most nights since I was 14 years old. I sang this for Ulysses as best I could.

"You have a nice voice!" He said. "Come back next Friday and sit in with a song."

I was shocked. He looked right through me and told me he was serious. In that moment, I knew he saw something. I went back next Friday and bombed! But he still saw the potential and not too long after this, he became my teacher and my guide. For a couple of years we were thick as thieves. Frequently accompanying him to this and that gig or just hanging. Going to the Jazz Vocal Workshop he took me to in the beginning. Making that workshop my home. Sitting in gaining invaluable experience and all along being told the TRUTH about what I was doing. He introduced me the best he could and had the confidence from the very beginning that I could be something special. I loved him for it. Then life intervened.

After a time...I didn't see him too much. My personal life was about to crash in on itself and I was dealing with that as much as trying to work out my place in this music and what I wanted to say as a vocalist. At this very same time, I started traveling too and broadening my horizons. First to Japan and then to Europe. So much was going on for me: excitement, determination, loss, heartache and the vision to keep plowing on further and to eventually make Europe my home for a long period of time...I had little contact with Ulysses then. I had heard that he was ill and that he had a serious cancer scare but came back from that and was doing well.

When I returned Stateside a few years back, I ran into Ulysses and he told me how upset he was that we didn't keep in touch like old times. He said it hurt him. I thurt me to hear that and I told him that I was just pretty messed up and needed to get myself together all those years ago. Last spring I spent the most time I had spent with him in years, He was at the JazzMobile Jazz Vocal competition and one night we hung out the whole night and talked about old times he looked great. He got me up to date on what was going on with him. All he had been through with his health and how much he still loved music. I got to hear him sing for the first time in years. He sounded wonderful. He heard me sing. He was impressed and God, it still mattered that he did. After this we spoke alot by phone for awhile but slowly the contact eased off again.

On Tuesday, September 30th, just 3 days before he died, I saw him at a jam session in the neighborhood. I was taking a student of mine to her first jam session and as we were leaving he came in and we stood outside and spoke for awhile. I hugged him and kissed him on his forehead and told him that I loved him. A week later I heard that he was gone.

I went to the packed funeral on Friday, October 9th. He was so loved. People who knew him well recounted aspects of Ulysses' big spirit that I realized I knew too. He was an inspiration and he showed me the way when everything was wobbly and new. When music began to take on a new dimension. But no matter the distance between us, he was and is instrumental in my development as a singer and he deeply informs how I tell a musical story. He told me I had good ear. He told me I could sing. He routed for me! He'd holla when I'd hit it and let the whole room know he was proud. He was scathingly honest but with a love and compassion that made you take the words with pure honey because Ulysses was very sweet and loving. He had the talent to have been a household name.

and yet it didn't work out that way but he lives on in me and all the people - many, many people that he touched along the way to where he is now. I also know that Ulysses felt things very deeply and suffered in this life like many of us. I know that he is somewhere where his spirit can run free and be the big huge positive force that it is. But now that force is for everybody. I swear saw him yesterday dusting off a star...

Confidence and the voice

2008-10-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

The other night I, I took part in a jam session here in New York City. It wasn't the typical sort of jam where the tunes are predetermined. This was a free jazz jam and there were a bunch of horns: Trumpet, alto and tenor saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn and flute. Later came a guitarist too.

The drummer at the jam asked me to sit in, alongside all the horns. It made me a little nervous because I've performed at myriad jam sessions over the years but never in this way. I didn't know if my voice would cut through and if I'd be able to say something. The drummer said "Oh, come on...!"

I walked with him downstairs and let the horns + rhythm section start. A few minutes later, he looked my way and I took a deep breathe. I walked to the stage and I decided...just go for it. What the hell. I grabbed the microphone and let out a wail in my high register and threw in a rhythmic line in complete contrast to what they were playing. It turned the music around. Everyone went my way...and we started to make music. The horns accepted me and sometimes gave me some space and when they didn't I asserted myself when it felt right to do so.

It was a liberating experience. I threw myself outthere and it felt great. I'll never be afraid to to try this again and experiences like these, each time I or we push ourselves just a little bit more - we find out what we can do. I discovered again that when I make a strong statement, people tend to listen. Shake them awake. Let the chandelier rock off the ceiling. Let it crash. It's OK.

Sorry for the break...but I'm back

2008-10-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Dear friends...

Sorry for the small hiatus from the blog. September was kinda hairy on my side and from time to time..I'll dip away. I'll work to keep on top of that since this blog means a lot to me and for those who may stop by...I'd like the information here to be timely.

Singing at it's Best - Sister Rosetta Tharpe

2008-09-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

This lady is one of my all time favorites. I discovered her reading an article in MOJO magazine some years back and couldn't believe a life lived without knowing her, her music and her guitar. It was truly a life deprived because if this lady doesn't have the HOLY GHOST then that just don't exist! Her spirit and voice leap out at you, grab you by the throat and you just can't move. She had style and sass too - checkout her look in the first video. Listen in moderation now - because she is HOT!!!

one more...

News you can use: Twista!

2008-08-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

As a vocalist and an audience member, one of my vocal pet peeves is inarticulation. I feel, very seriously, that if you sing with lyrics - it's important that every word to be understood so the audience understands what you're singing about. Otherwise, why sing with words??

So to aid in the agile, facile delivery of words, here's some fun tongue twisters to get those jaws loosened and get you speaking and singing clearer than ever while have loads of...well... fun! Why a giggle or two over a groggy gurgle or grumpy grumble will make clarity a hoot! Say the following exercises 4x round, take a breathe and then move on. Do it again 2x as fast. Now you try:

Nice & easy starts things off...

A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk,
but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.

then...

A flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, "Let us fly!"
Said the fly, "Let us flee!"
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

On to more challenging fare...

Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
that would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

More wondrously wordy words and phrases - check out the official Tongue Twister Database:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8136/tonguetwisters.html

See a darn good demonstration:

Tired already? Let's loosen up our jaws in another way - here's our current President having some tongue twisting issues of his own...

Singing at it's Best - Pavarotti, Horne & Sutherland

2008-08-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Check out these videos below on Bel Canto Singing discussed, shown, demonstrated by 3 of the best classical voices of the 20th Century. If you are a fan of Bel Canto, this will delight for sure. And even if you've have no opinions about it, these videos are a fantastic snapshot at the inner workings of great vocalists on their own voices. In 2 parts:

Did you know?

2008-08-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

That little children know how to sing correctly? It''s true. Children under the age of 3 "know" how to use breathe support. How do we know? When very young children sings, they naturally use their abdominal muscles to support the tones, just as when their crying! You can see little children using these muscles without even thinking about it and the sound is open and resonant. Cool, huh? and true...

Questions for Your Artistic Self - #4

2008-08-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Why would other people want to hear/listen to you?

I ask this question to look inward. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in developing our craft/sound/repertoire/performance skills and opportunities that we rarely stop and ask this question to ourselves. Perhaps it’s far too confronting. Nonetheless, I think it is important to take a look at the reasons people may want to hear you, assuming they do. The answer may take awhile to come but I feel this questions puts us in touch with what we convey and what we feel an audience gets from what we communicate to them.

It’s humbling to look at how an audience benefits from hearing and/or experiencing us. Many times we feel that the mere fact we’re expressing ourselves artistically deserves merit alone. Sure it does but if that were all - we'd simply perform for ourselves - yet we want to be heard by others. Is the world truly waiting for your particular form of artistic expression? Probably yes and maybe no. Looking at this question once past the mere confrontation of it can help bridge the gaps between you and your current or potential listening audience.

Singing at it's Best - Abbey Lincoln

2008-08-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Some may argue that her style is an acquired taste or that grit in her voice comes on too strong yet to me she is one of the most expressive jazz vocalists to ever grace the genre. She's political, fiery, fierce and a prolific songwriter to boot. I'm posting this clip of the FREEDOM NOW Suite from the 60's. There's a scream in this clip that's UNBELIEVABLE!

Want to know more about Abbey? This article's a good start.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=1100

Connection

2008-08-07T00:47:00.000-07:00

Just recently I gave a workshop in New York City on confidence and connecting with an audience. During that workshop, a discussion erupted about putting a spell on an audience. How does that work? I offered that I had no clue and then I remembered a pivotal moment along the way where I confronted that same question. I participants that story...

Back in 2000, I got asked to do a festival curated by an agent in Germany and I could bring along my own pianist. I'd worked with this agent before but only with groups that featured me and they were more commercial than I was doing. This agent liked his music gutbucket and straight for these festivals so I wanted to make a good impression because the guy paid well and hooked you up: 4-star hotel, 1st class train fare and all the meals were on him. I thought if this works out he'd book me on more festivals with more opportunities to develop that side of my singing. So I asked pianist Curtis Clark to come along...one of the most delicate pianists around!

At the festival we were given a small stage off to the side of the main stages. Despite the leakage from the bigger groups close by, it was a cool spot for a duo with tons of space. We talked through what the first set would be, did our sound check during which I instructed Curtis how I wanted to "drive the music home to the people..." He didn't say anything. I was simply determined to do well and make those people like me and make that agent LOVE me.

We went out and did our 1st set. We had a big crowd and I went into overdrive to keep them there. Reaching and pushing out to the audience, looking at them in their eyes with yearning. Sometimes I heard Curtis but most times I was in my own world. The crowd stayed but the audience reaction was lukewarm. No-one hung around to even say "Danke". Scheisser.

After the set, Curtis and I go backstage. As soon as we're seated, he turned to me and said:

"What are you doing?"

"What do I mean 'what am I doing'?" I said.

"Why are you pushing the music so hard? Why are you fighting me?" he said.

I was stunned and speechless - not easy for me. After an awkward silence I asked him what he meant by that. He replied,

"You seem to be worried about keeping a big crowd and we're not together musically. It's not happening. If we get together and communicate with each other, the music will be stronger. If we do this you may lose some audience, sure, but the audience that stays will stay because they want to HEAR us."

This was a revelation. I knew that first set didn't work but I didn't think I did anything wrong. I pulled out every "performer" cliche I knew of. I worked HARD to get and keep the audience's attention. I had no clue...

So this was a revelation. I gave myself such a hard time for not being a strong performer in the sit-in-their-lap vein of entertainer. I saw it as a weakness for a longtime that I wouldn't, for example, jump into a mosh-pit from stage. I don't like to say too much and I want the music to speak for itself. I'd seen performers go to great lengths to pull the audience toward them: be funny, dress sexy, sing seductively, all these "extracurricular" activities that looked like overcompensation most of the time. and that's just what I did the first set. Here he's saying I can own that aspect of myself...

Curtis went on to suggest that for the next set we simply focus on getting together with the music. Communicate and respond with each other and see what happens. I agreed to give it a try. It couldn't be worse than what went before. I had nothing to lose.

That second set had a weird pause when we started out but it eased and we began to make...music. The audience had changed and quite a few walked away once we moved in unison more. That was hard at first. I did see that those who stayed had sweet smiles and enjoyed the music. They looked me in the eyes. It's the first time I recognized that I allowed me to be me - even if just for a moment - in all my vulnerability on stage and it felt GOOD. A profound moment.

I've taken that moment on that stage in Germany to heart. I now strive for more organic connection with an audience than ever. Learning more and more how the be the genuine me. How to extract the truth of myself into the music I sing. It's a fundamental part of my journey. Digging deeper as my psyche will allow. How lucky I feel. I owe Curtis because his honesty with me that day caused a tectonic shift in my outlook as a vocalist. It went on to inform the ensemble band-leading sound I've been developing. impacted my approach to music today. Thank you, Curtis.

If you love jazz and/or piano, check him out he has a number of recordings and he's a very special player and composer. Here's his myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/curtisclarkmusic

Singing at it's Best - Cathy Berberian

2008-08-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

What can I say about Cathy? One versatile, adventurous vocalist who was blessed with the instrument and technique to pull off whatever her whimsy commanded. Luciano Berio married her and she became his muse. This clip shows him conducting and her singing in all her glory...Folksongs. Observe how the color and tone of her voice changes per folksong. Enjoy!

www.cathyberberian.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciano_Berio

Questions for Your Artistic Self - #3

2008-07-31T13:38:00.000-07:00

If you're a vocalist, how important are the lyrics to you?

To me - if you’re a vocalist performing the lyrics in the group – you have a great responsibility to communicate them so that whomever is listening can understand what the message is. The entire band has the music but only you have the words and those words are powerful. Someone wrote them, maybe even YOU wrote them. They communicate the message of what the music is trying to convey. The audience should at the very least…understand you. In addition, the audience wants to not only know what you’re talking about but also your point of view.

Show them you intention of choosing the particular piece you’re performing. Show them that you mean what you're singing about and audiences will believe in you. Think about how important lyrics are to you and make them even more important and your listening audience will want to take a small piece of you home.

did you know?

2008-07-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's really important to warm up before you start singing. I recommend some relaxing breathing exercises and gentle humming. Then pure vocal and bubble slides throughout your range. This really opens up up the voice and eases tension in the lips and eases the flow of air through the vocal cords while using strong support of the diaphragm and your abdominal muscles. Complete your warm-up before you start to sing.

Find a few songs that you love in the low part of your range or that are less than an octave range. you can sing along to a CD or not. After you've warmed up, pick one (or two) of these songs and sing them softly one time through using good breathe support. Once you've sung through the tune at least twice your voice will be ready to sing - provided that you're in good voice to begin with. If you're very tired, have a cold or your voice is strained in any way - warm up at least a full 20 minutes. Once again, it's really important to warm up before you start singing. I mean...it's really important to warm up before you start singing.

Singing at it's Best-Nat King Cole & Mahalia Jackson

2008-07-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh yes! What more can I say. Some singing at it's best. Enjoy!

Discovery

2008-07-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about teaching voice is when the light finally goes off for the student and they get how the entire flow of the breathe works when they sing. When lungs, diaphragm and abdominals are working like a well-oiled machine. When their top note is theirs for taking today. When they start to FEEL it...consistently. Then I feel OK...

Rene

2008-07-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Many of you have you heard by now about jazz-vocalist Rene Marie and her performance for a civic ceremony in the city of Denver where she extrapolated the lyrics of "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" otherwise known as the Black National anthem and placed them firmly in the melody of the "Star Spangled Banner." There was a whole bunch of WOO-HAA about it. It turned into a BIG deal. People on the political right thought she desecrated a national institution. She was called all sorts of things. Selfish. Dishonest. Unethical. That's where my opinion stands. I believe what she did was unethical.

Let me preface by saying that I have NO PROBLEM at all with her melding the 2 pieces. It's a hip idea and why not explore the politics and the "exclusivity", as Rene herself put it, inherently involved in their respective texts. It's a fair and just question and worthy of exploration. I'm personally thrilled that she is probing these 'heavy' tunes, making folks uncomfortable. I love that!

Yet I didn't think her choice of venue was appropriate for such a statement. In this case her performance was purely a function that any qualified singer could have executed. This is a case when the job is not about her or her political viewpoint but simply to perform a function at a civic event. After the organizers phoned to offer the performance, Rene took a day to think about it and called back accepting their terms with no mention of her intention to join the songs.

I went to Rene's website - renemarie.com and I admire her candor and her well-thought out explanation about what she did and her right as an artist to make these sorts of statements.

To me her statement is NOT an artistic one, it is a political one. If it were an artistic statement, why not pick the type of forum where the message would be better received. As a working musician, my word is the best thing I've got. If I accept work, I believe it just right to do what was agreed upon. There's no shame in honoring an agreement and art has nothing to do with that. The irony is this is a potentially great message that most didn't hear because of the presentation Rene chose.I wonder why she didn't tell the organizers what she was going to do and does she think it's right to deceive anyone who offers her a gig? She too is a band leader in her own right. How would she feel if someone she hires decided to make their own "artistic statment" in the middle of a performance. Would she be open to that?

Just my 2 cents...

More stuff to read, hear and view:

To access one report:
http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2008/07/embarrassing-race.html

an NPR interview with René:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92280877

And here's the clip:

Questions for your Artistic Self - #2

2008-07-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

Are you making a statement with your performances?

I’d like to address the importance of this question: too often if we’re honest, we hear, see, and take in performances that puzzle us due to lack of imagination amongst other things. From time to time, I've seen performances where I've been blown away and swept up in the experience. Then there are times when I wonder why that person is standing there at all. I usually feel that way when I sense the performer isn't showing me themselves somehow - however I perceive that.

Now mind you, I don't think it's bad to lack imagination. This too is valued and has it's place. I’m not so sure it works in the realm of creative output, though. In other words, why choose to listen to a Bob Dylan copy when I can just go home and listen to him, himself on a CD.

What are we trying to convey in our performances? What do we want to evoke? How do we want our audience to feel after experiencing what we do? Why are we standing up there?

Questions for your Artistic Self - #1

2008-07-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is the start of a series of questions I've posed to myself and some of my students. I believe these questions inquires us ask ourselves about our why and what we express creatively. Today is the first one and every week, a new question will be posted for you to ponder. Since this is a forum focused on the voice, some questions will have that as a starting point yet most of the questions could used by anyone involved in producing art of whatever sort. Feedback is welcome.

Why do you sing and/or play a musical instrument?

This is a simple question on the surface and look at it from as many angles as you can and feel your reaction to what comes up. The question is asking you to look at what drives you to create and your intentions as a creative person. It may help better inform artistic decisions down the road you. The answer can be what ever comes up and feel “right” to you. As you develop your craft/art/voice more, you surely will be tested on your beliefs and convictions…I believe it is a strong force in creative people to confront issues such as these and transform what they discover back in their art to show again, one more perspective on any given theme. It broadens and deepens the human experience.

Filter

2008-07-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

I used to live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and this will come up often because, you see, I worked alot of shit out when I lived there. For all sorts of reasons, I owe a great debt for my musical development to my 8 year stay in that great little city. I didn't always appreciate it then...but boy do I now. I learned great lessons while I lived there and I'd like to start off the blog with one lesson that is central to my way of doing things and to this blog.

Life Lesson: Anton Goudsmit.

Anton Goudsmit is a guitarist who played in my Amsterdam based band for about 31/2 years. We met through my husband whom had taken a few lessons from Anton some years before. I had heard Anton live a couple of times and I liked his playing. He also exploded on stage. At the time I was working with a Barcelona-based guitarist named Pere Soto and he was in Amsterdam, considering a permanent move. I wasn't looking for anyone then...and anyway I mostly worked with pianists at this time. Working with the Pere, I began to see the possibilities of using the guitar with my voice. I thought it offered more space and it could distort itself with colors and sounds that pianists can rarely do. I also found it sexy. Guitarist have a different posture and express the music in their bodies clearer.

Anton certainly could do that with the music and more. A few years later I hooked up with Anton for a couple small gigs, playing mainly standards with little rehearsals. I didn't know it then yet the music was changing for me. I started writing and wanted to hear my words more, my voice more. I was busy searching for my own sound, beginning to tire of the jazz mannerisms that had latched on and I didn't know how to shake them off.

Anton and I connected immediately and started working together shortly thereafter. after. I asked him to be on my second recording for the Dutch label Timeless Records. That worked like a dream. Everything fell into place on the recording. I asked him to be part of a new band I forming. He was happy to take part...

Anton is a very special person. I can best describe him as the perennially good side of a 10 year-old with all the greatest of intentions. He is a warm, carefree, fun-loving, open, brutally honest and creative person who was, is always in the moment. Sometimes you try to have a conversation with him and he veers off looking at some clouds while he contorts is face in a weird way, just like a 10 year old. Then he's back, dead serious, looking at you straight in the eye. Always present. This made the experience of playing with him a gift because I never knew what would happen. He showed me the pure joy that lay in just expressing oneself in the moment and how an audience reacts to that. Audiences LOVE him. Anton had no filter.

This fascinated me and flabbergasted many. You watched him play and he gave himself up to it. All the time. He had his rare off days and then he channeled it through the music. His completely honest feelings. He and I talked about it as best we could. You see, he never gave the thing a thought. It's just how he was. Same off stage. Same onstage. I wanted to understand how to be that way. It became clear to me that this is the way to be. No buttoned up sentiments with walls in between me and the audience. The real thing - connection. I too sought to be more honest in my expression. I wanted to express ME. whatever that is. Anton showed me the door and took me there sometimes even but I needed more time to walk through. When I returned to New York nearly 5 years ago, with the lesson of him fermenting...I wasn't ready but I worked on opening up and expressing myself in a more honest way. Ugly, sad, happy, angry, loud, strong, vulnerable, sassy, sexy, political, analytical, spiritual, small, big, historical, bad, righteous and bawdy. Everyday I get closer and lately I feel like I'm almost there. I'm not tracking it, mind you. Just looking at it. Just feeling it. How I relax more before I sing. How I KNOW things will work. How sure I've become of sounding like myself closer and closer to 100% of the time. I owe Anton big for that.

He plays alot in a band called the New Cool Collective. You can check him out here -

WELCOME!

2008-07-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago..I finally got around to something I've wanted to do for a long time. Start a blog on the voice. My ideas about it. Technique vs. expression, inside vs. outside music, band leadership, repertoire, Mike technique, CONFIDENCE, styles and most of all the unique tool of expression the voice is. How I came to understand and know what I do now and how much more there is for me to learn, hopefully along with you. I don't know how steady this will be. How frequent the posts. How geared the focus will be. What I do know is that I'll will write and include only what I believe to be true and honest.

The Visible Voice is just about that. Through our voices making our intentions strong, transparent and uniquely our own. We get to share a unique human trait that's universal at the same time. Half the world can carry a tune...well! Yet we're drawn to unique voices, in song, in speech, in content. We never tire of hearing someone sing, say, articulate the same old thing in a new way. That's the magic and that's what I intend to explore here. Getting to that place in you...