Revisiting Jason Walker

If anyone has been paying the slightest bit of attention to what I type in here, you know that I am a huge fan of recording artist Jason Walker. I just love his voice, and the music he is putting out. He's worked with some of the top producers, like Babyface and Junior Vasquez. He's topped the Billboard Dance charts on more than one occasion, his voice a clarion call to the dance floor for many. His voice just seems to grow in volume and intensity, feeling the driving beat and feeding off it. Check out one of his hit songs, Can't Get You Off My Mind.



But with the last album, Leave It All Behind, he proved to be way more than a disco belter. Sure, he can still get that done, but he can also sing with the nuance and deft touch of a true chanteuse, draining your emotion with a whisper when needed. Like he did in this video for The Song In My Heart.



I've said it before, and I will say it again: I am a selfish. I want more Jason Walker music, and you should too. Music this good is hard to come by - something made evident just by listening to the radio for a couple of hours. To get more of his music, I made my pledge on his Kickstarter page. Why, you might ask? Well, I'll let Jason tell you.



Also, from my vaults, comes the other thing I say all the time. If you enjoy having great out singers/songwriters/musicians/artists, then you have to support them. Whether they are Ricky Martin or Declan Bennett or Jason Walker, they have bills to pay, rent that is due. They must get paid for doing their job, making music. How would you like showing up to work on today and finding out you aren't getting paid? That is what you are doing when you find that free or illegal download. Instead, why not jump on board early, and place your pledge with Kickstarter, and, for $10, get music you will love in return? Or pledge a little more, and you might get a call from Jason singing Happy Birthday. Or maybe a chat on Skype? Or be a special guest at the next show in your area? Or would you prefer to appear in the liner notes of the album? Maybe you would like a private concert in your home? All this could be yours. Just click on the widget below, and it will take you to Jason Walker's Kickstarter page, where you can make a pledge, an investment in your future happiness.



Go on, I know you wanna do it.

Dark Monday - RIP Arthur Laurents

Top: Arthur Laurents. Bottom left: The crew for West Side Story, including Bernstein & Sondheim. Right: Mr. Laurents.

Last Thursday, May 5, 2011, the theater lost a giant when writer/director Arthur Laurents passed away. He was preceded in death by his partner of 52 years, Tom Hatcher in 2006. Mr. Laurents was 93 years old. In a 2000 memoir, Laurents was quite open about his relationship with Hatcher, as well as a previous relationship with actor Farley Granger.


Arthur Laurents with partner Tom Hatcher.

Mr. Laurents wrote the libretto, now more commonly referred to as the book of the musical, for some of the great shows of the last 50 years. Starting in 1957, he wrote West Side Story, followed by Gypsy in 1959, Anyone Can Whistle in 1964, Do I Hear a Waltz? in 1965, Hallelujah, Baby! in 1967, The Madwoman of Central Park West in 1979, and Nick & Nora in 1991. I was lucky enough to see Nick & Nora in preview and thought it was a far better show than the critics declared it to be, and that Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason were quite good in it.



As a director, he helped make a star in 1962's I Can Get It for You Wholesale of a young, unknown named Barbra Streisand. He also directed the Sondheim show Anyone Can Whistle in 1964, the 1973 London production of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury which transferred to Broadway the following year, The Madwoman of Central Park West in 1979, La Cage Aux Folles in 1983, Nick & Nora in 1991, the 2008 revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, and the 2009 revival of West Side Story.



He was an important part of the creative team as the director of La Cage Aux Folles, with Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein. It was quite a sensation when it first came out, incorporating a few girls amongst the boys playing drag queens to up the inquisitive quotient. In 1983, this was thought to be rather risque and risky, although the audiences flocked to the theater to see it. Laurents went on to win the Tony Award for his direction of the musical.



He also worked in film, most notably as the screenwriter on the immortal The Way We Were and the dazzling The Turning Point. With The Way We Were, Laurents was able to utilize his time in Hollywood as a screenwriter, as well as someone whose political beliefs landed him on the famed blacklist, something touched on in the film. For The Turning Point, it is said Laurents was inspired by his love for ballet dancer Nora Kaye, with whom he had a relationship with in the early stages of his career. At the time of the film, she was married to the movie's director, Herbert Ross.



Rest in Peace, Arthur Laurents, you certainly left this world with plenty of beauty.

1 World, 1 People, = Rights

A video produced by All Out in collaboration with our friends on 5 continents—from Buenos Aires to Beirut, Kathmandu to Capetown to Tokyo and beyond. All Out is bringing together people of every identity - lesbian, gay, straight, transgender and all that's between and beyond - to build a world in which everyone can live freely and be embraced for who they are. Join the Movement. Go All Out.

Sunday Evening with Barbra Streisand

For this Sunday evening special, I thought I would bring out some old Barbra, from her early television appearances, from the early and mid 60s. Take, for example, her appearance in 1961 on The Tonight Show With Jack Parr, which went on to become the legendary show with Johnny Carson. At this point, Streisand was an unknown, playing in clubs in New York City and touring with the night club show. After the song, it is wonderful to see the interaction with famed comedian Phyllis Diller and with Mr. Parr. Enjoy A Sleepin' Bee, which appeared on her debut, The Barbra Streisand Album.



The following year, Barbra was cast in the show I Can Get It For You Wholesale, which brought her much attention. The next year, she released her debut album, which had many of the standards she had used in her night club show. Soon she was back on Broadway in a the show Funny Girl, which, of course, went on to be made a great film and won Barbra the Oscar in 1968. In 1965, she had her first television special, My Name Is Barbra. For one on the final segments, she did a medley of song from Funny Girl, and ended with a song not in the Broadway show, but that she wanted to bring in to the movie. The song was My Man, a song long identified with Fanny Brice.



An album also named My Name Is Barbra not only closed with the Fanny Brice song, but it included the beautiful and haunting song Why Did I Choose You? Barbra is beautifully photographed in this clip.



In 1966, Barbra had her second TV special, Color Me Barbra. She did a song from The Third Album. It is the amazing song It Had To Be You, and breathed new life into the old standard.



Barbra sang the lovely and enchanting He Touched Me as part of another TV special, A Happening In Central Park. It was filmed on June 17, 1967, live in front of an audience in New York's Central Park. She was already a Broadway star, as well as a TV and Recording star. Soon, with the release of Funny Girl, she would be a movie star as well. Over 135,000 people showed up to hear the girl from Brooklyn sing, a staggering number. And it was well worth it.

Sunday Morning with Dave Patten

Dave Patten lives and works out of Philadelphia, and he certainly manages to include some of that great Philly-soul to him music. He does pretty well, for a straight boy. But this Sunday morning, I thought I would listen to the softer side of the handsome musician, starting with a song off the Exposure album, Beautiful.



Now remember that not only does Patten write his own songs, he is also directing the videos. He seems to be a man who can handle multi-tasking rather well, and pull off looking like he is really loving what he is doing. I suspect, of course, that is is loving his life. The next song up is Too Proud, off the Boomerang album.



See, her really does an excellent job, the videos are just fantastic. Now I wanted to pick up the tempo just a little with one of my favorite songs, Wait Jenny. It is the second song off the Boomerang album, but I really like both quite a lot. Here is the video so you can see for yourself.



If you like what you hear, you can buy Exposure by clicking here, and Boomerang by clicking here. You can find another favorite of mine, No Direction, on iTunes here. You can find out more about Dave by checking out his official website here.

Gregory Douglass Set's Fire To The Rain

As singer/songwriter Gregory Douglass prepares to release a new album, he has offered up a video performance of on the the amazing songs found on the latest Adele album. So here is Gregory's cover of Adele's Set Fire To The Rain.



Gregory has a wonderful blend of rock and earthy Pop sounds. His voice is rich and soulful, and I can't wait until Lucid is released! I pre-ordered it a while back, an investment in my aural pleasure. For more about Gregory and the new album, be sure to stop by and visit his official website here.

Chad D & T.G.A.

What is TGA, you might be asking yourself? I know, cause I had to ask myself the same thing when the good-looking young man sent me the link to his video. Turns out, it stands for New Gay Anthem! That is the latest from Chad Douglas, AKA Chad D. Check it out.



Chad is a Philadelphia-based artist finding he way in this new world, and doing a nice job of navigating the way. He has found his voice on the internet, utilizing the social media of Facebook and Twitter, as well as a blog and YouTube to get his music out there. According to his biography, "Chad D is an artist with a plan to educate and eliminate "the bully" by connecting life and music. Now that Chad has completed his degree at Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he is excited to make music his full time career." Check out his celebration of the announced (although yet to be implemented[ repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. This is Ask & Tell.



His goal is to have his debut album, The Human Link, out sometime this fall. If you like what you hear, be sure to check in with him on one of the social networks he has made available to us all. You can find him on Twitter here, Facebook here, official website & blog here. Tell him how much you like his music, and that you look forward to buying The Human Link in the fall.