What’s New at Savona’s?

My friend Paul Rakov would argue with me (but then, he’s always arguing with me or someone else), but I do believe that one of the best things about Kingston, New York, is Savona’s Trattoria.

And no, I’m not just saying that because I have a gig there every last Thursday of the month. Long before Stephen Savona ever asked me to perform there, Savona’s became my second home here in Kingston. Every time I walk in there, it’s like a scene from Cheers… where everybody knows your name.

The people who work there have become my friends. And the food is consistently good. The pizza is the BEST. And that Malbec wine… yummy.

You can find out for yourself on Thursday, October 28, because that’s when the Boys and I will be swinging those tunes from yesterday and way back when, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

Nancy Tierney & The Boys
featuring ME, with Dennis Winge, guitar;
and Jim Curtin, bass
Thursday, October 28, 2010
6:30 to 8:30 pm
at
Savona’s Trattoria

11 Broadway
Kingston, NY
845-339-6800

www.savonas.com

This month, we’ll be featuring a song from local songwriter, Don Sparks!

I had so much fun making this video (once I wrestled iMovie to the ground and made it scream “Uncle!”) about my recent excursion to New York City to be at the MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabaret and Clubs). My friends Shaynee Rainbolt and Terese Genecco were both nominated for awards, so I HAD to be there. Mario Cantone and Leslie Uggams and The Bobs also make an appearance in this video.

So… watch it! I made it just for you!

New gigs on the horizon, including a monthly gig at Savona’s Trattoria in Kingston, AND… I’ll be at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco on Monday, June 14! Yep, I’m flying on back to California to share the stage with Linda Kosut in “When the Natives Get Restless” – our name for this jazz cabaret about …. well, you’ll have to come and find out!

Gig days are weird. I try to focus on work and what needs doing, but there is always a part of my internal energy that is shooting out ahead of the present moment to anticipate what’s coming. Am I prepared? What about the verse on that one tune? Do I really want to do “I Concentrate on You” as a duet with the bass player? What am I going to wear? How much time do I need to get ready, haul equipment, warm up and not feel rushed?

I’m singing with jazz guitarist Dennis Winge, and bass player, Jim Curtin. I’ve only performed with Dennis once before and it went really well. I’ve never performed with Jim, but he’s a player; he knows what to do. Yet I can’t help but feel antsy, uncertain.

Sometimes, like today, nervous anticipation disguises itself as fatigue. I get tired, sleepy, and I feel exposed and vulnerable. I tuck myself inside to hide a bit before I need to come out in performance.

I was talking to my friend Terese Genecco who performs regularly at the Iridium in New York City. She never gets nervous. She gets amped up, but not anxious. But at her last performance at the Iridium, there was a talent scout coming to see her, and while she claims she wasn’t nervous, I was with her just before she left her apartment to go do that show, and she was nervous.

And it was one of the best nights she ever had. She told me her voice would do anything she wanted it to. She was wild, alive and free to go full out and beyond. Her band was hot and playing their best in order to impress her guest drummer, Michael Berkowitz. It was magic on steroids.

I guess that’s it. As singers we wonder, Will my voice let me do whatever I want tonight? What limitations or compromises will I be presented with? The performance space? The ability to hear myself? The moodiness of my instrument? It’s these unknowns that spark the inner jitters.

I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight. I never do. My intention is to show up, be fully present inside each song, listen to my boys and ride the music. Meanwhile, I need to get back to work.

The first winter snow of the season.

So, I HAD to go outside and take a little video… just for you!

Here’s my first video blog, inspired by the fact that I’ve been too damned busy to write an issue of Diva News, or even a blog post for that matter.

Just to catch you up as I enter my 6th month in New York.