FANTASIES OF A LITTLE PRIMA DONNA

Once upon a time... in a land far, far away called New Jersey... I was a tiny little girl who played the piano. My parents were very proud of me. They made the discovery that I could play really well at a very young age.

Unfortunately, I was a pretty "normal" kid, and as much as I loved music, I also wanted to go out and play like the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. I have VERY clear memories of getting back at my parents, and that damn piano, for cutting in on my playground time. Whoever bought our baby grand piano from us when we moved from NJ to VA ended up with a piano that had tiny teeth marks all over it from where I BIT the piano. I really don't remember if it ever bit me back!

As I grew up a bit, my mom would ask me to play whenever she had company over. I didn't really mind doing this, as I've always been a bit of a ham and I WAS pretty good. I was actually playing Grieg's Piano Concerto when I was 8 years old. I still remember how to play it...


But my ultimate fantasy when I was a kid... and maybe I STILL have this fantasy...privately when I'm sitting in my studio slamming away at some schmaltzy, overblown piece of the classics...

I dream that I am playing, and standing right outside my door, unbeknownst to me, is THE BIGGEST MUSIC AGENT IN THE WORLD... he's the president of GIANT WORLD MUSIC... CONTROLLER OF ALL THE STAGES ON EARTH... BIGGER THAN CARNEGIE HALL... BIGGER THAN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN... BIGGER THAN THE BIGGEST STADIUM IN THE WHOLE PLANET...

He's been listening to me practice. AND HE WANTS ME!!!! He wants to make me A STAR!!! And he walks in and takes me by the hand... And as I wave goodbye to my parents, (who made me stay inside and practice while all of my friends got to go out and play), I head out the door and into my future.

Actually, many years later, I love my parents for pushing me, and I REALLY don't hold it against them anymore. Because now I can go out and play all I want, AND what they gave me was far more than some anonymous "MR. BIG" could ever give.

But if there happens to be a big time agent who happens to read this, I wouldn't mind if you could just jump in there and help make a little girl's fantasies come true...