2011 SongHall Abe Olman Showcase

It's one of the worst parts of the music industry. If you play events or showcases you undoubtably suffer from hurry up and wait. You also suffer from it trying to get good concert tickets or when flying, but that's not what I was doing last night.

I showed up to the theatre just after 2PM and was able to soundcheck with Jason Kingston very shortly after that (we only had two run-throughs of the song, by the way). Then we had time to kill since the event didn't start until 6PM. So, we walked around Washington Square Park and got some food, then went back and were asked to prepare programs! Haha. But it was cool - after all it was a SongHall event and we were the SongHall representatives in the showcase, so I was more than happy to pitch in to help make the event as smooth as possible.

Jimmy Webb arrived around 5:45 and immediately went backstage. His master session interview began around 6:10, conducted by Phil Galdston, and it was good. He gave some great insights into some of his songs such as "By the Time I Get To Phoenix," "Up, Up, and Away," and "Adios," as well as the music industry and life as a songwriter. He ended the interview with a performance of his song "Where Words End," which is on an album released last year.

During the intermission we hurried backstage and then...waited. Again. Each award recipient was introduced and given their award. In my opinion, some of the intros dragged on a bit but for the most part it was good. Then we finally got to play, and we were the first performers. Now, if you ask Jason he will probably talk up my piano playing, but the truth is he's the one that really killed it last night. He's got a great powerful voice that can just knock you on your ass...and it did. I think we did our job of setting the bar very high for the other performers, and I'm hoping to have video to post soon. Some of the other performers that I liked from last night were Rachel Brown, Markeisha Ensley, and David Marenberg.

Afterwards a few of us went out and ate some average college food. Nothing fancy. But how's this for funny: my parents came to the showcase and a guy approached my mom and asked if she wrote The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. I think she should've said yes.

Below are a few pictures from the evening:


The award winners posing for pictures with their awards.


Jason Kingston introducing his song, "Lucky," while I futz with the damn piano bench. (Yes, I know the picture is terrible quality. Suck it up.)


A mini-reunion of the infamous SongHall Workshop "B Group." Me, Jason Kingston, SongHall Activities Coordinator Peter Bliss, Melvin Vasquez, and Loriel Leander.