Alright so you can tell by the title of my blog today that I am trying to get some one's attention!
That would be my wonderful, handsome, talented, charming, charismatic, generous, loving, kind, comedic and did I say unbelievably gifted with singing talent little brother.
And that's just the beginning of trying to explain what he is to me. I know he is my brother and that sisters are supposed to brag about brothers that way, and I do BUT he is now above and beyond so much with me that this is more than just sisterly love (no pun intended for brotherly love - hint Philadelphia).
He has more advantages than the rest of my family put together right now. If he doesn't take advantage of this audition, he will be then past there ridiculous age limit thing and then we will have to wait for one of our children in our family to then .....go the line.
American Idol unfortunately for me (and maybe the rest of the world) wasn't out when myself or my middle brother were in that age range of 16 to 28. For myself anyway, I used to just think that the next record producer would just walk in the door of the nightclub I was singing in either winning a karaoke contest or getting up with a band. I thought that was the way it was from as far back as Loretta Lynn, short of Doo driving her around the country after having ten children (exaggeration at that point).
I know that when the season starts, we all roll our eyes at the miles of untalented people they go through to get to the few random good ones that eventually will make it through to the end.
And again I'm not just speaking out of my shorts (to put it nice). My little brother is 11 years younger than me. When we would go out singing as a family when I would go home over the years, either he wasn't old enough to go to a bar, would be hanging out with his friends and the few short moments you heard him sing along in the car - you thought he has a nice voice that if we could ever get him up to the mic and get into this like the rest of us, and belt it someday....it was like an unreachable dream for me being so far away from him.
Then one day last year, he went out with my friend K, my father and myself and sang "Creep" by Radiohead and "Californication" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. We were blown away by his tone, range and the fact that Californication is alot of fast words to sing. He did great and I had wished it was on tape to show Eric.
Then last weekend, we as a family finally got to go out again. We hadn't been out all together with my father like that since before my mother passed away. We used to always get together and sing and now it is like we are somehow lost and when we got together that night last weekend, it was like we were found again...a whole family again with a wonderful friend of my father's to enjoy our joy. My brother P sang "WHEN THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME" by U2. It had this really long drumming sound intro and just when he started singing something happened and the DJ had to restart it. First my gorgeous brother is a charmer and a comedian..he has no problem working a crowd, talking to a crowd. He is a natural. The tune of the song was getting everyone in the place pumped up and when he sang it...YOU THOUGHT BONO WAS IN THE HOUSE. Better yet (Bono, in case you read my blog), HE WAS BETTER THAN BONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Strangers were taking pics on their camera phone. I was standing on a chair to get an ariel view and if I wasn't so worried about other people's identities I would share those pics with the world. What got me mad though, I left my camcorder at my dad's house and only had my camera. A few hours later I got madder when P showed me his phone has a video feature that I could have used.
This was bigger than any other moment in our family history as far as I'm concerned.
The first time I got up to sing at a large event was at a local happy hour at a resort that gets packed on Friday's. A band played and somehow I don't know how, with other friends of mine at the time we took the stage for the Temptations "Ain't To Proud To Beg". I didn't know the song, but somehow (drinking involved) I knew the chorus and when it came time, I grabbed the mic, not caring that were probably a couple hundred people there and belted out "AIN'T TO PROUD TO BEG, SWEET DARLIN". When we were done, my friends were like "We didn't know you could sing, you should be famous blah, blah, blah.." Strangers (women who never compliment another woman singing) were approaching me as I walked through the crowd. That was my defining bone tingling moment for me.
My father's moment was also bone tingling when after many years of being my mother's caretaker, I introduced him after him not singing for 20 years, to karaoke in the early 90's. He sang "NEW YORK, NEW YORK". The entire restaurant went quiet and of course sang along. He got his standing ovation and it was all he needed to put the bug back in him and now to this day he does weddings, graduations, anniversaries, dinner hours at local resteraunts, opened for Lou Rawl's, charity events etc. and just loves to sing.
My other brother J sings good too. He does a mean Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, AC/DC, and others. Once when him and my sister in law came up to visit, before Matthew was born, we sang along with a CD of my father's songs. It was like our way of singing with Dad, without him there. Now that is a very wonderful video that I have to remember it forever.
P though, if he doesn't take advantage of AI's auditions in Philly, he might regret it later. He doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment. He is single, handsome, free and works in a job that he could either get a leave of absence or something to follow this dream. And he is in the age range.
I am praying that he enters and that he goes all the way. If anyone deserves happiness in life it is my brother. He is such a wonderful and talented guy.
To read about audition info in Philly click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment