Learning From The Pros

   I’ve been performing at the Rat Pack Lounge for about four months.  I have never seen it look the way it looked last night.  The place was packed!  I mean, it really looked like the old Vegas casino type lounge, as the owners intended. This will be a special month for the club.  A Broadway singer is in town and putting on one heck of a show from April 2 – April 26.

   It means that the regular week day and weekend entertainers are on a mini hiatus.  More about that in an upcoming blog.

 The man of the hour this month is Darrian Ford.  His dinner and cocktail shows feature the music of legendary soul singer Sam Cooke.  If you know the songs Chain Gang,  You Send Me, and Twisting the Night Away, then you would be completely excited to be in the audience for this soulful trip back in time.

   I arrived moments before the show and grabbed a seat at the bar. 

   Darrian was introduced and he brought 21 of Cooke’s songs back to life.

He opened his set with Twisting the Night Away, and boy that man can cook!  He’s really has found a way to channel the master singer/songwriter.  His voice and mannerisms are dead on.  The audience appreicated every song and showered Darrian with thunderous applause.

   I was unable to stick around for the entire dinner show, but I absorbed all I could in the thirty minutes I had.

   I must say that when I perform I do do some of things Darrian was doing.  I can do more though.  Much more.

My opening songs are not always upbeat.  I think they will be from now on.  Done that way, it gets people attention and tells them it is showtime.  I don’t talk to the audience very much.  I am always grateful and thankful for their applause and I tell them that, but I could be more engaging.  If I know a story behind a song or an artist I will share that.  I also liked the way Darrian brought the audience in on the songs he knew we knew and loved.  I’ve got some songs like that. It’d be fun to have them join me in the chorus of some of them.

    I am going to make the most of my month away from the stage at the Rat Pack Lounge.  When I return: Nothing radical.. just more fun!

     If you’d like to learn more about the gifted and talented Darrian Ford, it’s easy.  Here is his website.

www.darrianford.com

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