To the Mountaintop and Beyond
Happy New Year good people! It's been a while since I have graced your computer screens with a post but not for lack of something to say. The final quarter of 2013 was a very busy one in some instances: holidays, movies watched, a new single released, a new record label created, new acting jobs booked, and a new 9 to 5 to help pay the bills. It was also a time that allowed me to do some soul searching and I think that along with A LOT of prayer and unwavering support from my inner circle helped get me to 2014. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! At the risk of being cliche', I really could NOT have done it without you. To you all I am forever grateful.
So, I realize I just listed a bunch of things that could be interesting to you, if you had more information about them. Well, you're in luck my friend, Boogie's about to give it to you! Not like that! Pervs...
The last time you heard from me I had just released my then new single, Shot of Bourbon. I was flying high and feeling good. I had my days free to write and play and work on projects as I had been laid off from my job and could finally focus on the artist aspect of life. Well! That only lasted for so long as more money went out the door than came in and I found myself at a fork in the road. Be like everyone else and just have a 9 to 5, or keep pushing and pursue my passions by using my God given gifts were my two options. You may be thinking that it was a no brainer for me but it really wasn't. I struggled for weeks as I posted my resume on Monster dot com, and searched Craigslist for jobs. I went on interviews for bogus jobs. I called my old job, a temp agency in Manhattan, and told them that I was willing to take a permanent position if they could place me. I had to do something. I couldn't stand there as the freight train of life was charging full speed ahead and threatening to ruin my life as I knew it. My old job told me they'd be in touch and let me know if they found anything. Fair enough. The train kept coming...
At least I had some sales of the single keeping my spirits high as folks seemed to dig the video and song.
That said, I didn't feel very good about myself. I wasn't making money and I couldn't really do the things I wanted to do. All of my needs were met but you know how we are, we always want what we want, not what we need. Thank God for my best friend, my rock, my "contonto", Nicole. She kept me from laying my life on those tracks and letting the train run over me by reassuring me daily that, "It's all going to work out" and taking me to movies and making sure I ate healthy meals to keep up my strength and morale. I'm sure in the back of her mind she was probably thinking, "This fool better get his ass in gear and get up, get out and get something!" That's what I did. The train kept coming...
I filed for unemployment. I didn't get any. Not one penny. It's funny, I had actor and artist friends tell me how they received UE benefits and it's almost as if they were from some unknown galaxy light years from Earth because I knew nothing about what they were saying. Since I couldn't find anyone who would pay me, I decided that I would find a way to pay myself. My cousin and fellow artist in the struggle, REAL Tha Poet, producer J-Ideas and visual artist/hip hop artist Deedot King and I decided we would no longer wait for the world to come take notice of our talents. We would bring our talents to the world as an independent record label. We kicked around names, some better than others and agreed on Urban Creek Records.
*Shameless plug*
At Urban Creek we provide alternate themes and sounds within the realm of popular music. However, popular music is not our box. There is no box at Urban Creek. We make our own rules by having no rules and let the consumer inform us while we give them high quality products in music, media and merchandise.
Check us out! www.urbancreekrecords.com
I have always wanted to have my own label to release my own material and be my own boss. This was a dream come true! However, there were setbacks in terms of financing and getting our first release my EP Shot of Bourbon ready for release. Contracts had to be signed, paperwork had to be filed and the EP didn't sound the way I wanted it to sound. The train kept coming...
After being unemployed and stressed for a month, I received a phone call from my old job. They had good news! An assignment!! I tell you, I felt like a cocker spaniel that had been left home all day only to be greeted by a familiar face and treats. Okay, no, I didn't pee on the floor from my excitement but that damn train was getting closer and closer and this was my opportunity to get off the tracks or at least redirect the oncoming locomotive. Once I had the information for the interview, I went in looking sharp. Hair lined, clothes clean and dapper, ready to impress. All I had to do was go get the job. I went to the location and met with G, the director of the office. We hit it off immediately. Right away G took an interest in me and everything that G had to say, sounded like music to my ears. Work three days a week, sometimes from home, make your own schedule, creative freedom, my own corner office with a door that closes and a window! For some of you that might not sound like much, but had you been in my worn down shoes, you would have been wagging your tail at the opportunity. We spoke about and agreed on terms, shook hands and I had a job! I had a job. I still hadn't been paid for now the 6th week in a row. The train kept coming...
The following week, I started. I was trained and given every resource I needed to succeed. I was feeling good. I wasn't worried that the chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-chug-a of the oncoming train was at a deafening decibel and the thunderous vibrations made it hard for me to stand my ground but I would not relent. I gritted my teeth, bowed my neck and called on God asking that His/Her will be done. The whistle of the train was so loud I could barely hear my own prayer. I could see the rust on the front of the locomotive and smell the smoke as it rapidly approached bringing with it my certain demise. Then, I received a message from a mentor of mine who would be directing a play written by Katori Hall, The Mountaintop. It's a two hander (two person play) and take place in room 306 of The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968. For those who don't know who stayed in that room that night here's a clue:
Yep! I know. The director said that he wanted me to audition for the role of Martin Luther King, Jr. I replied, "No, I'm busy. I have a new 9 to 5. Thanks, but I have to respectfully decline." If you believe that, you're absolutely NUTS! Of course I accepted the invitation. I had auditioned for this very role in this very play a few weeks prior to receiving this chance and I did NOT book the job. Hence the train. However, this time, I had a new attitude, a newly found confidence. Things were starting to take a turn for the better.
The audition would be on a Thursday. Contonto Nicole helped me prepare and I went in there feeling and looking to the best of my ability like Dr. King. This was fate. This was my job to book. Yes, there'd be a time conflict with the new 9 to 5 but as an actor I could not let this opportunity pass me by. I auditioned and was called back the next day, a Friday. I didn't want to jinx anything so I kept it hush hush around the office. I had been paid for my work the week prior and I noticed the train was slowing. I heard the assistant engineer hit the brakes and the screech of metal on metal reminded me of sharp fingernails slowly dragging down a chalkboard as the sound pierced my ears almost making me double over in agony.
During the callback I read with the reader, let's call her A. I read with another young lady. I was asked to stick around in the hall. I checked in with Contonto just to keep her updated and even joked with my buddy Larry to keep me loose. A familiar face of a woman named L, whom I had seen the previous day at the audition approached down the hall. She had been there earlier in the day this Friday and now returned. We read together and she departed. I was asked to stick around, this time the door closed and I was in the room with the director, casting director and artistic director of Capital Repertory Theatre. The train was slowing. I saw the sparks shooting off the tracks as the wheels locked. I could make out the shape of the engineer's young brown face. A look of worry on his brow as he did his best to bring the locomotive to a stop.
I was offered the role. I hugged the director (no lie) gave many thanks for the opportunity and went out into the hall to thank and praise God. I called Contonto and gave her the good news. I looked back at the train and it was as if someone had poured super glue as thick as molasses on the tracks because it was barely moving toward me. The engineer's tired brown eyes were visible after he wiped the sweat out of them with his dirty sleeve then fanned himself with his cap using his gloved hand. His eyes were familiar, but smoke from the commotion made it hard to see the rest of his face.
In the days that followed, were holidays spent with new family and friends, I informed the office of my new opportunity and they were delighted. I played my first solo gig of more than two songs at Brooklyn's Freddy's Bar. A 45 minute set that concluded with an impromptu version of Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer" that I will probably never do again but had a great time doing to close the show. Bills were paid, presents were given and received for Christmas, Love was in the air. The EP was complete and we had a game plan to release it. The train had stopped. The engineer stepped out of the train. The assistant engineer and conductor were nowhere to be found. As the young man walked toward me, I recognized his face. It was me. He removed his hat and gloves, shook my hand and said, "You control where she goes from here." He smiled and disappeared into the brush lining the tracks that held the gigantic locomotive.
As I walked toward the locomotive I began to hear my music playing.
I climbed aboard the locomotive and pulled the whistle. I had always wanted to do that as a kid. The train began to move and I heard the conductor say in MY voice, "Next stop, The Mountaintop!" I looked around hoping to get a glimpse of the man but he was nowhere in sight. A voice from within echoed, "You control where she goes from here."
I arrived in Albany, NY on December 26th and began rehearsal on The Mountaintop the next day. After 10 rehearsals, I have felt so many emotions: longing for the comfort of home, overjoyed with the opportunity and work being done in rehearsal, extreme doubt that I'm not good enough to bring life to this role and that my music isn't good enough for folks to buy, and last but not least, confident that no matter where I direct this train- a NYC office, down the rapids of Urban Creek Records or through the peaks and valley filled pages of The Mountaintop, God is with me and I'm where I'm mean to be.
So, I realize I just listed a bunch of things that could be interesting to you, if you had more information about them. Well, you're in luck my friend, Boogie's about to give it to you! Not like that! Pervs...
The last time you heard from me I had just released my then new single, Shot of Bourbon. I was flying high and feeling good. I had my days free to write and play and work on projects as I had been laid off from my job and could finally focus on the artist aspect of life. Well! That only lasted for so long as more money went out the door than came in and I found myself at a fork in the road. Be like everyone else and just have a 9 to 5, or keep pushing and pursue my passions by using my God given gifts were my two options. You may be thinking that it was a no brainer for me but it really wasn't. I struggled for weeks as I posted my resume on Monster dot com, and searched Craigslist for jobs. I went on interviews for bogus jobs. I called my old job, a temp agency in Manhattan, and told them that I was willing to take a permanent position if they could place me. I had to do something. I couldn't stand there as the freight train of life was charging full speed ahead and threatening to ruin my life as I knew it. My old job told me they'd be in touch and let me know if they found anything. Fair enough. The train kept coming...
At least I had some sales of the single keeping my spirits high as folks seemed to dig the video and song.
That said, I didn't feel very good about myself. I wasn't making money and I couldn't really do the things I wanted to do. All of my needs were met but you know how we are, we always want what we want, not what we need. Thank God for my best friend, my rock, my "contonto", Nicole. She kept me from laying my life on those tracks and letting the train run over me by reassuring me daily that, "It's all going to work out" and taking me to movies and making sure I ate healthy meals to keep up my strength and morale. I'm sure in the back of her mind she was probably thinking, "This fool better get his ass in gear and get up, get out and get something!" That's what I did. The train kept coming...
I filed for unemployment. I didn't get any. Not one penny. It's funny, I had actor and artist friends tell me how they received UE benefits and it's almost as if they were from some unknown galaxy light years from Earth because I knew nothing about what they were saying. Since I couldn't find anyone who would pay me, I decided that I would find a way to pay myself. My cousin and fellow artist in the struggle, REAL Tha Poet, producer J-Ideas and visual artist/hip hop artist Deedot King and I decided we would no longer wait for the world to come take notice of our talents. We would bring our talents to the world as an independent record label. We kicked around names, some better than others and agreed on Urban Creek Records.
*Shameless plug*
At Urban Creek we provide alternate themes and sounds within the realm of popular music. However, popular music is not our box. There is no box at Urban Creek. We make our own rules by having no rules and let the consumer inform us while we give them high quality products in music, media and merchandise.
Check us out! www.urbancreekrecords.com
I have always wanted to have my own label to release my own material and be my own boss. This was a dream come true! However, there were setbacks in terms of financing and getting our first release my EP Shot of Bourbon ready for release. Contracts had to be signed, paperwork had to be filed and the EP didn't sound the way I wanted it to sound. The train kept coming...
After being unemployed and stressed for a month, I received a phone call from my old job. They had good news! An assignment!! I tell you, I felt like a cocker spaniel that had been left home all day only to be greeted by a familiar face and treats. Okay, no, I didn't pee on the floor from my excitement but that damn train was getting closer and closer and this was my opportunity to get off the tracks or at least redirect the oncoming locomotive. Once I had the information for the interview, I went in looking sharp. Hair lined, clothes clean and dapper, ready to impress. All I had to do was go get the job. I went to the location and met with G, the director of the office. We hit it off immediately. Right away G took an interest in me and everything that G had to say, sounded like music to my ears. Work three days a week, sometimes from home, make your own schedule, creative freedom, my own corner office with a door that closes and a window! For some of you that might not sound like much, but had you been in my worn down shoes, you would have been wagging your tail at the opportunity. We spoke about and agreed on terms, shook hands and I had a job! I had a job. I still hadn't been paid for now the 6th week in a row. The train kept coming...
Yep! I know. The director said that he wanted me to audition for the role of Martin Luther King, Jr. I replied, "No, I'm busy. I have a new 9 to 5. Thanks, but I have to respectfully decline." If you believe that, you're absolutely NUTS! Of course I accepted the invitation. I had auditioned for this very role in this very play a few weeks prior to receiving this chance and I did NOT book the job. Hence the train. However, this time, I had a new attitude, a newly found confidence. Things were starting to take a turn for the better.
The audition would be on a Thursday. Contonto Nicole helped me prepare and I went in there feeling and looking to the best of my ability like Dr. King. This was fate. This was my job to book. Yes, there'd be a time conflict with the new 9 to 5 but as an actor I could not let this opportunity pass me by. I auditioned and was called back the next day, a Friday. I didn't want to jinx anything so I kept it hush hush around the office. I had been paid for my work the week prior and I noticed the train was slowing. I heard the assistant engineer hit the brakes and the screech of metal on metal reminded me of sharp fingernails slowly dragging down a chalkboard as the sound pierced my ears almost making me double over in agony.
During the callback I read with the reader, let's call her A. I read with another young lady. I was asked to stick around in the hall. I checked in with Contonto just to keep her updated and even joked with my buddy Larry to keep me loose. A familiar face of a woman named L, whom I had seen the previous day at the audition approached down the hall. She had been there earlier in the day this Friday and now returned. We read together and she departed. I was asked to stick around, this time the door closed and I was in the room with the director, casting director and artistic director of Capital Repertory Theatre. The train was slowing. I saw the sparks shooting off the tracks as the wheels locked. I could make out the shape of the engineer's young brown face. A look of worry on his brow as he did his best to bring the locomotive to a stop.
I was offered the role. I hugged the director (no lie) gave many thanks for the opportunity and went out into the hall to thank and praise God. I called Contonto and gave her the good news. I looked back at the train and it was as if someone had poured super glue as thick as molasses on the tracks because it was barely moving toward me. The engineer's tired brown eyes were visible after he wiped the sweat out of them with his dirty sleeve then fanned himself with his cap using his gloved hand. His eyes were familiar, but smoke from the commotion made it hard to see the rest of his face.
In the days that followed, were holidays spent with new family and friends, I informed the office of my new opportunity and they were delighted. I played my first solo gig of more than two songs at Brooklyn's Freddy's Bar. A 45 minute set that concluded with an impromptu version of Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer" that I will probably never do again but had a great time doing to close the show. Bills were paid, presents were given and received for Christmas, Love was in the air. The EP was complete and we had a game plan to release it. The train had stopped. The engineer stepped out of the train. The assistant engineer and conductor were nowhere to be found. As the young man walked toward me, I recognized his face. It was me. He removed his hat and gloves, shook my hand and said, "You control where she goes from here." He smiled and disappeared into the brush lining the tracks that held the gigantic locomotive.
As I walked toward the locomotive I began to hear my music playing.
I climbed aboard the locomotive and pulled the whistle. I had always wanted to do that as a kid. The train began to move and I heard the conductor say in MY voice, "Next stop, The Mountaintop!" I looked around hoping to get a glimpse of the man but he was nowhere in sight. A voice from within echoed, "You control where she goes from here."
I arrived in Albany, NY on December 26th and began rehearsal on The Mountaintop the next day. After 10 rehearsals, I have felt so many emotions: longing for the comfort of home, overjoyed with the opportunity and work being done in rehearsal, extreme doubt that I'm not good enough to bring life to this role and that my music isn't good enough for folks to buy, and last but not least, confident that no matter where I direct this train- a NYC office, down the rapids of Urban Creek Records or through the peaks and valley filled pages of The Mountaintop, God is with me and I'm where I'm mean to be. 
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