Friday, December 17, 2010

Visit SIRPAUL for the Holidays



The many faces of SIRPAUL.

There are some memories you just will have with you, and I can clearly remember the first time I was exposed to the music of SIRPAUL. A couple of years ago I was trolling MySpace, you know, back when everyone lived for MySpace, and I came across this stunning-looking Italian man, and I clicked on the song Addicted. I was blown away. I had to listen to a few more songs, and I was sold, and purchased the Dismantle album. And SIRPAUL has had me in the palm of his hand ever since. So earlier this year, when he was getting set to release his latest album, Music And Me, and he said he would be open to an interview for the blog, I was almost beside myself. I got my questions together, and was so prepared, and SIRPAUL answered them all so thoroughly, the interview had to be broken into 3 parts. There was the interview Part I and Part II, there was also the video party to save some room in the interview.

And still, that did not prepare me for the joy I had when I went to see SIRPAUL performing live in New York City in June, joined by my niece Mandy and my friend Rickey, as we joined the full-house to celebrate the release of Music And Me. The joy and love was obvious from both the audience and the performer, who not only enjoyed singing, you could hell he just adored the people in the audience, too. Well, I thought it would be good to run a video I put together after the show, a recap of some of the great moments I saw in person.



I start off by asking SIRPAUL the burning question of the week, when you listen to holiday music, what is your favorite song/album? "The album that reminds me of Christmas with my family is Johnny Mathis- Merry Christmas. In my family Christmas is a HUGE celebration where, when I show up, the door opens and my father is making Brandy Alexanders," he recalled warmly, "the food is amazing and everyone is singing and playing musical instruments. Whenever I hear Johnny Mathis I think of how thankful I am to have such an close relationship with my family...it's something I try to never take for granted. My personal favorite holiday album of all time is A Very Special Christmas...Songs like Winter Wonderland by Eurythmics and Santa Baby by Madonna really were a sign of the times. You couldn't have found songs more well-suited for each of these legendary Pop artists."



With such a warm spot for the music, I ask him if he has a favorite holiday song to perform. "I really tend not to perform around the holidays because I feel like it's an important time to put your personal life aside and just go back home...so until I write my own holiday song, you won't be hearing a peep from me," he laughed.

Just 2 weeks from 2011, I ask him about his hopes for the New Year. "I hope this year is full of positive energy and prosperity for all of the people who were hit hard by the recession," he answers. "It would be nice to see everyone back on track financially because, as much as I hate to focus on material things, when you're broke, life isn't too much fun. Onward and upward! To up the fun quotient, I thought I would add one of SIRPAUL's favorites, the Eurythmics singing Winter Wonderland!



I still want to know what is on the iPod of the people who are on MY iPod, so what are SIRPAUL's favorite songs from 2010? "Ooooooh that's a tough question!" he replies. "Ok here are my top 10 albums from 2010 in no particular order:
1. Robyn- Body Talk
2. Florence and The Machine- Lungs
3. Goldfrapp- Head First
4. Kylie- Aphrodite
5. Marina & The Diamonds- The Family Jewels
6. Scissor Sisters- Night Work
7. Underworld- Barking
8. William Orbit- Pieces in a Modern Style, Vol. 2
9. Oh Land- Oh Land EP
10. Florrie- Introduction EP

And, to finish with my questions, I quiz SIRPAUL about what is on his horizon that we can look forward to in 2011. "Well there is a LOT on my plate for 2011 already," he told me excitedly. "My husband, Paul Salvatore Petersen, and I will be organizing a benefit concert here in NYC this April for the True Colors Fund. The True Colors Fund was founded by my childhood idol Cyndi Lauper to house displaced LGBTQ youth. Everything about this resonates light for me personally. My parents, Al & Joanne Cucinello, started a halfway house in the 80's called Hope House (in my home town of Port Jefferson.) They helped so many troubled kids work through a difficult time with their families. The song True Colors is very personal to me as well...It helped to reassure me as a child that the fact that I was" different" was a GOOD thing! I want to give back to my community and I want try my best to make this a huge, life-giving experience. So I'll be performing at that benefit alongside some amazing talent. I have a several singles coming out next year from my album Music & Me- Mistaken (featuring Candy Apple Blue) & Give it Up (the video directed by Andreas Anastasis is almost done!!) 2011 will also see the release of the debut album from my band (with musical partner in crime Alex Lauterstein) called Simulover. The eponymous album is unlike anything I've ever worked on before and features vocal appearances by my über talented singer sister, Cherylyn, the angelic voice of Devlinelle & the vocal debut of Alex Lauterstein!! I sing a couple of songs on this album too. We can't wait to share this album with all of you!!!" Whew, that is a lot to accomplish, SIRPAUL. Perhaps you should take a cue from Madonna, and ask Santa Baby for some help!



I would think this Christmas would be a good one for SIRPAUL, with his latest video, the title track from the Music And Me album, hitting VH1, MTV and Spike websites! Of course, it also had the debut on LOGO, so onward and upward. With all this going on, SIRPAUL still wanted to make sure to speak to everyone. "I'd like to wish the readers of Soundtrack to my Day a very warm holiday season full of light & love... xoxo, SIRPAUL" To return his wishes, you can find him on his official website here.

And, finally, in the spirit of giving back this holiday season, here is SIRPAUL's video for the song Colors, dedicated to Tyler Clementi, and all those LGBTQ youth encountering discrimination and bullying.

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