Don't Tell Mama's

The life of a singer is a waiting game. Audition. Wait. Audition. Wait. Wait in line to audition. Audition. Wait. I haven't completely delved into the cycle yet, but auditioning for a job at Don't Tell Mama last night reminded me of the constant patience required. After I performed, the manager told me I did a great job and that they'd be in touch soon. Soon? What's "soon"? Tomorrow? This week? By the end of 2011? This always happens. I never know how long to stay hopeful or how soon to move on. Friends in the NYC audition circuit tell me to always move on immediately, but this is a tad different since it's a long term restaurant job- not a tour or short term gig. I can't help but hope I'll have a way of feeding myself by next week.

Even if nothing transpires, last night was great experience. I had no clue what to expect or if my song choices would fit the bar's usual atmosphere, but I listened to instruction and chose one current hit and one Broadway piece. Unfortunately, I became apprehensive after arriving to find the bartender belting oldies and flashy show tunes. I'd imagined a more understated scene, which is why I went with a softer contemporary Broadway song, "Stars and the Moon," and "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum. After two seconds of worrying that my song choices didn't have enough flair, I decided it wasn't that big of a deal. People would still enjoy them. Next thought: Will the pianist know them? Of course he would. I'd played it safe. "Stars and the Moon," is relatively famous in musical theatre land, and "Need You Now" was drilled into everyone's head after a million years of being the only song played on the radio, not to mention every pianist and guitarist I know can play it. My safety net deteriorated, however, when I realized that the very talented pianist might not listen to very much modern music. Uh oh.

The place was crowded with Broadway-goers in high, talkative spirits after their evening's show. The manager told the pianist to introduce a guest performer, so I walked to the little stage when my name was announced. I took a deep breath, placed my sheet music on the piano, and looked at Jim and Brittany for support (they gave me wide-eyed smiles to assure me "you can do this!"). We started with "Stars and the Moon" since the pianist did not have any idea what "Need You Now" was. I decided to address that minor problem once I already had one song out of the way. Five seconds into the performance, I realized that I'd have to pretend I was singing a cappella because of the difficulty hearing the piano. I had faith that he was a professional and would follow my lead, even if I couldn't hear what he was doing. And he did. I guess that's why he was hired at the most prestigious piano bar in the Broadway theatre district.

Jim and me in front of "Don't Tell Mama" after I sang

The first song ended without a glitch (well, I messed up the words at one point when I was concentrating on hearing myself over the bustle- but I covered well enough that no one noticed), so I leaned over his shoulder to discuss how to handle "Need You Now." I offered to sing something else, but after a few seconds of flipping through pages and pounding out a couple notes, he insisted I sing what I prepared. Jim's words of wisdom flashed through my head: Just own it, Shannon. I sang it like nothing was out of the ordinary, and the pianist followed right along. Our rendition of the song wasn't necessarily the most polished or accurate, but the pianist (I wish I knew his name!) and I got through it. His lack of knowledge about the song and exceptional talent led to a creative interpretation on his part, which turned out to sound really cool with my traditional melody. Tricky transitions and timing aside, I was really proud that we worked together and didn't fall apart. I can definitely say that was one of my most difficult performances to date, but even so- it wasn't so bad!

This morning, I switched gears and undertook administrative work for an attorney on Wall Street. I've never seen so much paper in my life. The rest of the day has consisted of follow up calls with Stardust (still waiting for an audition...), applying for event promotions, and researching cruise ship auditions. I really think singing on a cruise ship would be ideal for this time in my life. I have no strings attached to anything or anyone- why not gallivant around the world?

Well, I'm off to Jim and Lindsay's to watch another episode of the new Fox show "Revenge!" Linds and I are minorly obsessed...