lilyshine

I just found this interesting interview about the Atlanta audition. Video Quality is crappy, but sound is OK. I hadn't happened to see it before. It's labelled 11/2002 early interview of Clay Aiken.

I may be pulling this out of my nether regions, but I vaguely remember Clay talking disparagingly about contestants who were always playing to the cameras while off-stage. He said something to the effect that it was about singing, not being a camera-whore. (Such naiveté!) You can see some of it during the early auditions, but I had the impression that the camera crew was rushed whenever they appeared. I think that's one reason some people, like Marcus, had a lot more tape than Clay did. ETA. I agree that contestant "balance" - girl/guy, black/white, ballad/pop, even style & lack thereof was all important and trumped singing ability. I also thought it was very telling that Corey introduced himself as having style and personality - no mention of talent. I also thought it was Verrrry amusing that they didn't show Corey doing the smoochy, smoochy with Paula. If my timing is right, the Hollywood auditions were the time of the supposed affair.

Teacher Clay BLOGGED about the stories again!

How crazy sick obsessed is it that I've spent all afternoon comparing AI with AIR? Definitely heavily edited and mostly for the good. They took out that crappy Cory & Paula bit. Much more Clay and the finalists. The voice-over was also very changed. What they took out was mostly the nastier stuff, so all good.

Not a new book, but a great oldie is the Taran series by Lloyd Alexander. My Grand daughter has also really enjoyed a new series based on the Greek myths. The first volume is The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan and there are 2 or 3 others.

I decided to burn a DVD of the Vegas Skate, but it didn't fill the entire thing so I added the Hurricanes IWCY at the end. Perfect combination! I love watching Clay ham it up. One moment he's all over the place and the next he's gliding securely along.

I love the book idea, but then I'm a book person. It would be a great idea to do it at every concert - sort of like "Toys for Tots", but that would take a lot of coordination! Folks are also talking about having Jesse or the orchestra play "Happy Birthday" for Clay. Unfortunately, that's a song that is still under copyright and they would have to pay for a public performance. Yep, some lucky person gets money every time you hear it on the radio or on TV.

Sorry, wasn't me. I was only there is spirit! I'm hoping to meet you some day though. I've always loved your photos.

Yikes. Someone called me on it. I don't know where I picked up the term "vocal cavity" but I think it was in a discussion of how singers move from chest voice to head voice and how changing the shape of the internal spaces changes the sound and resonance. It may be the totally wrong term!

I know absolutely zippo about vocal technique, but for some weird reason the subject fascinates me. I noticed that Clay is definitely doing a purposeful jaw movement (as opposed to all the random stuff he does) on the AIW glory notes. He starts with the jaw lifted, drops it down and then slowly lifts at the end of the note. I assume he does it to change the shape and size of the vocal cavity, but I would love for any of the singers on the board to explain it. A while ago people were discussing syllables and one that I always listen for is the "man" in the final "Emmanuel" in AIW. There are some versions where there is such an incredible caress to that sound. Heresy, but I almost would rather listen to that than the glory note.

It wasn't the LAA lyrics. That happened to the framed Invisible lyrics with a radio CD. I think it was WinkatMe that had the problem. FedEx was just awful about the whole situation. They wanted to trash the shipment and give her the insurance. After a long fight, she was finally able to get the precious goods and have everything reframed. She did post a picture at CV when it was finally in her hands. I vaguely remember a few people having seen the rings at a concert.

If the Goggle researcher had looked more closely, he would have seen that "A Christmas Carol" was number 7 and "Who wrote the Federalist Papers" was # 17. Clay fans know how to get answers!

That was a lot of fun! He makes such goofy faces. Didn't his mama ever tell him that his face might freeze that way?

I've finally gotten around to the apple discussion. My current favorites are Crispin for a yellow and Jonamac for a red. Both are crisp and on the tart side. I like the Honeycrisp, but it's a bit sweet for me. One apple we are seeing here a lot is the Twenty Ounce. Those babies are huge! They're so big, I haven't dared try one yet. They also have bumpy skin. It's interesting (well, to me at least) that the Twenty Ounce and the Jonathan are about the only names I recognize in a book I have on fruits. It was printed in 1847 and lists dozens of types of apples with their characteristics. Wonder what happened to all those varieties. Hugs to everyone, whether there's a special reason or not. Everyone needs a at least once a day.

I adore the phrase "a little hope goes up in smoke", but I hate to admit I don't like the piano banging away through it. I'm sure it's an artifact of the recording and wasn't that discordant in concert, but it makes me grit my teeth. I wish there were a way that I could turn the piano down and turn Clay up. uh... takes a moment.... Maybe it wasn't as noticeable where Scarlett was sitting.

I just received my weekly Travelzoo specials and this was listed: Discount on Spamalot

In line with all the kid posts today, I had a weird dream last night. It involved Kristy and Clay and babies (yes, twins) and secrets. I'm not much of a shipper, but I guess my subconscious is!

Women and power is a weird thing. Last year when our local Arts Council was in desperate need of someone to become President, I joked that I would never become President, but I might consider being Dictator. Well a year later (thanks heavens the position is only for a year), I'm still pulling out that Dictator line! One of the male Board members always calls me "Boss" and another (who is older than I am) has started with "Mother Shine" but using my real last name. It's been a ton of work, but the organization is moving and growing. We've negotiated new FREE workshop space, have recieved a couple of new grants and have a paid part-time employee for the first time in 20 years. A lot of changes for one year. Now that there's more money and prestige involved in the organization, the men are beginning to become more active. Of course, I keep them firmly in line. :thdom2:

Not to rub it in to you folks with job woes (been there, done that) but I'm RETIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Took slightly early retirement and although scary, it was the best thing I've ever done. A couple of years of scrimping was well worth it. I love doing nothing and I'm proud of it!

Thanks for the correction on the download. I went off to find it as soon as it was mentioned. I wandered around the CV vault and all I could find was IzzaQT's, so I started downloading that. Serves me right for not reading to the end of the thread!

I'm not sure what theoutlook for ice wine will be this year. The grapes have to still be on the vine for the first frost and this year has been so warm that they are all ripening early and falling off. Early frosts are good for making ice wine but bad for the regular stuff. Can't please all the people ... yadda, yadda. Come on, jmh, winter can be beautiful up here. Especially if you can sit inside by a roaring fire and admire it through the window! Getting around in it, not so much fun.

Hey! That's were I live! If you are really planning on driving up here (it's a six-hour drive from NYC) in the winter, be sure and watch the weather! We can get a lot of snow. As beautiful as the area is, driving through a white-out is NOT fun. If you do come, let me know. We can do a Clay tour!!!

Due to a stupid move on my part, I am the proud owner of an extra pair of tickets to Clay's Christmas concert in Albany. They are great seats - LC Row GG, but I can't be in two places at once, try as I will. If anyone needs desires some tickets at cost, please PM me. As I type this my p-in-C is nailing down the Spamalot tickets. Can I EEEEE now?

Any time Clay posts or chats at OFC I think of the West Wing episode when Josh discovered that there was a web site devoted to him. Donna warned him not to go there, but - of course - he did. Very typical and hilarious results when he tries to correct some fan information.

And for all the years I was in school in NYC, I never left the balcony! I saw some great shows from Ethel Merman to Laurence Olivier and never minded that I didn't have the best seats in the house. My only excuse is that I can't see as well as I did then.