Another Fun Fact

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When we first started performing in Florida, at Turtles Restaurant on Siesta Key in 1992,  we didn't have a promotional photo of the two of us so we used a fairly recent head shot of just me.  The photo below was posted in the glass display case just outside the door of Turtles with our name underneath.  One night a lady YELLED at me for using someone else's photo.  She accused me of using Jennifer Grey's photo and claiming it was me!! (Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame.)  And she wouldn't give it up!

Well, it really WAS me.  But I heard over and over that the photo looked like Jennifer.

What do YOU think?



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Another Great Weekend

Saturday night was a grand night at the Italian American Club of Venice.  Another sold-out crowd.  Thank you thank you!  And what a great audience.  Those folks do a GREAT job of organizing, promoting, and cooking too!  This is our second show there, and we have all promised to do it again next year.  Grazie!

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Then Sunday night we performed for the first time at Alameda Isles in Englewood.  What a terrific community.  Nice people, great clubhouse, and lots of fun. Of course Buddy, being SOOO Italian, always 

changes names to sound like food.  So all day he kept calling it "Calamari Isles".  Figures. 

 Well, God bless you all.  We'll keep you posted. 

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Another First

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Well, Tuesday night at Visani Dinner Theater we performed our new show "The Soundtrack of Our Lives" for the first time, and all the songs that were part of our 36 years together must have struck a chord with the audience too, because hands were clapping and toes were tapping and there were smiles all around.  We had a great time sharing our story and our songs with a room full of happy people.  Many thanks to all who attended.

We welcomed new audience members who had never seen our show before, and we saw many familiar faces as well.  And oh yes, a visit from Buddy's 'look-a-like'.

 

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2012 Here We Come

1976

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Hope you're all having a very Happy Holiday season and looking forward to 2012.  I know we are.

We're having fun putting together our new theme, "The Soundtrack of Our Lives".  This year marks 20 years in Florida for us, and 36 years together in show business.  We met at the very end of 1975 when I auditioned for Buddy's band, Goodtime Express in Rochester, NY, and the rest, as they say, is history. Through the years and the miles we have kept on performing together,  sometimes with small trios, sometimes with 7-piece bands, and everything in between.  Smokey bars, hotel lounges, casinos, dinner theaters, restaurant lounges, you name it, we had gigs there.  From New York, to Los Angeles, to Lake Tahoe to Boston, we kept the music going.  And for twenty years now, we've hit our stride as a duo act right here in South West Florida.  What a ride!

So we're looking back over our lives and putting together the "soundtrack" of songs that brought us from 1976 to now.  The first song I ever sang with Buddy's band was It's Too Late by Carole King. Goodtime Express was a six piece band and I sang and played the saxophone, and Buddy (the leader, of course) played the drums.   His biggest song then was  I'm Goin to Kansas City with our horn section backing him up.   It was matching tuxedoes for the guys and gowns for me.   Great memories, great experience.

Come and see us at Visani Dinner Theater on January 17 or 18th and join us on the journey back through our years together.  You'll recognize the songs that make up the soundtrack of the decades that shaped all our lives. 

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SNOW!

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So we're back from our 5-day round trip to Ohio, where we performed at Temple Beth Shalom in Columbus.  Trekking up north for a one night show is not something we normally do, but the folks who arranged our performance there are old friends from our Turtles Restaurant days and we were honored to do our show for them.  Many thanks to all.

We had an even rarer experience in West Virginia on the way up.  We had to drive through SNOW..  Yikes!  Way up there in the high elevation it was a winter wonderland.  On October 29 no less.  We were not happy.  And it was 31 degrees. Not happy about that either.  We're Floridians.  We just don't do snow.
But we got through it, and as we descended back down the mountain, the snow disappeared. (I guess the folks in New England weren't so lucky.)  

Anyway, the day after our show, when we headed back South, we took a different route, just in case.  And that went just fine.  Oh, except for one harrowing moment the second day, on route 75, going 70 miles an hour, when the cars in front of us all screeched to halt because a dog was running back and forth in the road.  I also pressed the brakes really hard and ended up missing the canine by inches.  I am glad to report that in my rear-view mirror afterward, I could see that the lucky pup actually managed to dodge all the oncoming traffic in all four lanes, and made it off the road.  So I guess 11-1-11 was a very lucky day for the dog.  I'm really glad.

Needless to say, we're very glad to be back home, and looking forward to our upcoming season.
Next public show is at Visani Dinner Theater on November 15 and 16, so maybe we'll see ya there.

Till then, we'll keep you posted.

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Home Again. (And we have a mascot!)

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Well we're just back from our 18-day road trip with 11 shows!  We performed in North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.  A great trip, and MANY thanks to all who came to our shows and supported us throughout our visits.

BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST...We'd like to welcome the newest member of our Florida "fan club"....our new mascot, Bella.


Mascot "Bella" with her official T-shirt.  She wouldn't turn her head.  Camera shy. 



Our "fan club" now numbers 12,  including Bella.  She is "best friend" of Del and Pat.  I just love it.  I wish you could see her beautiful face, but she wouldn't turn her head.   And once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Del, who looks MUCH younger than she claims she is.  Trust me on this.

So we have a little resting time before we leave for Columbus, Ohio at the end of the month.  We're doing just one show there, then right back home again.  Are we nuts??!!  Yes, of course we are, but admit it, that's why you like us. 

NEXT MONTH...we'll be performing at Visani Dinner Theater on November 15, with a matinee the next day on November 16.  Hope to see you soon.

Till then, we'll keep you posted.

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Ten Years Ago 9/11

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For my generation and older, it's been said that you never forget where you were when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot.  I was sitting on a school bus in the parking lot of my grammar school, waiting for our driver to pull out and take us home at the end of our school day.  But before we drove anywhere, a teacher boarded the bus and told us the terrible news. 

At least that's the way I remember it. But I was a kid, and my childhood memories are always part fact and part fill-in-the-blank. So who knows whether that's exactly how it went?

But ten years ago, on September 11, I was a grown-up, and I do remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the news of an airplane crashing into the World Trade Center hit the airwaves.  Buddy and I were taking showers, shaving, getting dressed and putting on make-up, getting ready to perform a matinee show for a group of senior citizens who were coming by bus to see us at Tillman's Village Inn in Albion, NY.

At first it seemed that the first plane may have been a horrible accident.  Then it became clear:  No accident.  Terrorist attack.  The scenes on TV, so sickeningly familiar now, were unbelievable at the time.  In a daze, we just kept getting ready to do our show, because we knew that the busload of people, from a town three hours away, were already on their way to see us when it all happened.  We didn't even know if they knew. They were just on a fun day trip, going to see some entertainment, have lunch, and enjoy the rural scenery.

So we went to the Village Inn, and waited for the bus to arrive.  We were all dressed up, our PA equipment was turned on and ready to go.  The staff, the owners, the chef, and us, all wandering around in a fog, wondering if we should go ahead with the meal and the show.  Would the people even want to, once they found out?  Was it the right thing to do?  Put on a show and smile and sing and entertain, while this horror was unfolding in our country? 

The bus pulled into the parking lot and Buddy and I went out to meet them.  This time, I was the one boarding the bus with the terrible news.  But it turned out they already knew.  Someone had called the driver on his cell phone, and  he had relayed the news to them. 

So Buddy said, "Well, what do you want to do?  We'll do whatever you decide.  Do you want to cancel the show?"

One gentleman in the back said, "We've been through this before.  We went through World War II and one thing we know is, we're not gonna let them ruin our way of life.  On with the show!" 

The whole busload loudly agreed, and we all went inside and carried on with the day we had planned. 
We gave them a show.  We sang, we entertained, and we even managed to laugh a little.  But instead of ending the show with our usual "Happy Trails to You", we sang  "Proud to Be An American", and "God Bless America".  During that last song, as everyone stood, clasped hands with each other and raised them high above their heads, singing their hearts out, I realized that this was the tower they couldn't bring down;  a shining tower of American strength, faith, and determination.

"We will never forget."

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