Busy, Busy, Bad Blogger

It’s been waaaaay too long since I’ve posted, and I’ve been riddled with guilt (not really) that I’ve let some of you down by going AWOL. But I truly have an excuse. I haven’t stopped moving since my CD came out, and I’m really not complaining one bit. (Check out my last post for all the CD news and to find out how you can buy your very own copy – or download it from iTunes!)

Before I reminisce about what I’ve been doing, I want to mention that I’m walking this Sunday in the AIDS WALK NY 2008 this coming Sunday. I’ll be walking with the LIFEBEAT: Hearts & Voices Team. (The music industry fights AIDS). I would be ever so honored if you could find it in your heart to sponsor me in this mission of mine. It won’t cost you much, and the money raised goes to a cause that is really near and dear to my heart. Click HERE to go to my donation page. Thanks so much.

This past weekend I played the Susquehanna Music & Arts Festival in Maryland. It was a great time. I played with my band on Saturday and Sunday, and got to sit in with some amazing musicians, too, including SONia & disappear fear, Ashland Miller, and one of the best songwriters I’ve ever encountered, Tom Kimmel.

Unfortunately, the weather was pretty cold and sucky. Most of the performers stayed on-site in unheated cabins. Let me tell ‘ya, Friday night was one of the coldest nights I’ve experienced in a long time. It was almost as cold as the gite in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco last month! (click HERE to read about that!) I was in a sleeping bag with all my sweaters, and a wooly hat and gloves. Half way through the night I added my jacket to the heap of clothes that I’d piled onto the sleeping bag. Brrrr!

I’ve already been asked back for next years’ festival and I truly can’t wait to go back, but next time I’ll pack my parka!

TONIGHT, LG and I went to a book signing by one of my favorite authors, MARC ACITO. A friend had turned me on to his first book, “How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater”. ANYONE who as ever acted in High School theater, or dreamed of being in the Drama Club at some point in their lives, should read this book! Having come from a musical theater upbringing, I totally “got” this novel. As a matter of fact, I loved this book so much that I did something that I’d never done before. I wrote a fan letter to Marc and told him how much I loved it! And he wrote back.

Eventually, I got an email from him saying that he was starting a blog called THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARC. You all have GOT to check out Marc’s blog. It is one of the funniest, best written blogs out here. The basic premise of his blog is that he decided that the best way to deal with a mid-life crisis is to try something new every day. And that’s just what he’s doing. I guarantee you that once you start reading his entries, you’ll want to keep reading all the way back to January! (Yes, it’s that good!)

So, besides having his first book being optioned for a movie, he’s got a sequel to HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE that was just released that’s titled, THE ATTACK OF THE THEATER PEOPLE. Tonight, he was doing a book reading and signing at the Barnes & Noble Uptown on Broadway. This was one of the most entertaining book readings I’ve ever attended. Marc is a born showman/comic/entertainer/author. Needless to say, we bought his book!

Here I am posing with the highly renowned Marc Acito at the Barnes & Noble in New York City. Ironically, the reading took place in the religious books section of the store. Anyone who has read his books would find this tremendously funny!

Obligatory Rock-n-Roll pose

I urge EVERY ONE OF YOU to check out Marc Acito and help support the arts!