WHEN IS THE JUKEBOX NOT A JUKEBOX (But Is Still Kind of a Jukebox?)

Monday, March 2nd was a different kind of performance for me. I was asked to fill in for an indisposed featured performer at the Alchemy Reading & Performance Series - www.alchemy-prague.com

My task was to perform for 30 minutes and the rest of the night would be open mic for Prague's myriad talents. I decided that I really wanted to perform again a set I did a number of years ago that was non-HJ-related. I chose to sing five songs in five languages. Being that there would be leftover time and I still wanted to plug my show I thought I'd do an audience-constructed medley to cap the performance.

Here's what I sang (bear in mind I rarely select my own songs to sing so this was really fun for me):

ESPAÑOL – Jarabe de Palo – Romeo y Julieta
ENGLISH – Blues Traveler – Runaround
DEUTSCH – Herbert Grönemeyer – Der Weg
ČESKÝ - Aneta Langerová - Voda živá
ITALIANO – Andrea Bocelli – Con Te Partirò

Before I began I gave my songbook to the befuddled masses and instructed them to make me a medley while I was singing the above. They fantastically complied and here's what they came up with:

Medley:

Modern English - I Melt With You
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
They Might Be Giants - Istanbul
Sound of Music - The Lonely Goatherd
O-Zone - Dragostea din tei
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Kraftwerk - The Model
George Michael - Faith
Madonna - La Isla Bonita
Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
Billy Ocean - Loverboy
Dan Hartman - I can Dream About You
Bon Jovi - Runaway
Denis Leary - Asshole
Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
Journey - Open Arms
Metallica - Fade to Black
Das Rheingold - Weiche, Wotan
Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
Tommy Tutone - 867-5309 (Jenny)
A-ha - Take on Me
Weird Al Yankovic - Amish Paradise
They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Irene Cara - Fame
Indigo Girls - Romeo and Juliet
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back
Salt-N-Pepa - Push It
Erasure - Bizarre Love Triangle
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Counting Crows - Mr. Jones
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Limahl - The Neverending Story
Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Porgy and Bess - Summertime
Alicia Keys - Fallin'

I had a fabulous time and was really happy to meet such friendly and enthusiastic people who came to an event expecting something totally different but more than went with the flow. Truly a great night for me.

Many thanks to Ken Nash, Selena Orkwis and Mike Cella for their interest and hospitality.

:-)

THE POST-VALENTINE'S DAY SHOW (For Saps and Haters Alike)

It has taken some time to get the details up for February 15th's show as I have been dying of consumption. OK, perhaps that's a tad hyperbolic but I have been gacking my lungs out for a month. At showtime I was merely mid-gack but somehow managed to make it through.

I was thrilled by the turnout (probably due mostly to Barbara Bindasová's kickass article - see previous post) but also nervous as performing in front of HJ first-timers and passing out is gauche. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Actually, it almost did but I'm not gonna fess up and say when. Suffice it to say the audience wanted the hard stuff and I did my best to deliver.

Here's what went down:

Act 1:

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive (Had a friend going through a hard time that night - this was for him)
Rod Stewart - Maggie May (My personal fav Stewart song...um...not that's there's many)
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (I love getting a group of 5o people to go, "turn around.")
AC/DC - TNT (I have absolutely no idea why on Earth after 15 years of intensive classical training I can do an excellent Bon Scott)
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (The older my son gets the harder it becomes to sing this)
Alphacat (aka Iman Crossman) - Whatever I Like (Obama parody of T.I's "Whatever You Like") (If you've seen the you tube video then it's the bomb diggity. I had the impression most of them had not seen it. They should rectify that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yJBsjatW0 )
Irene Cara - Fame (Me: Remember my name: - The Audience: uh...fame)
Sound of Music - The Lonely Goatherd (Have I ever mentioned that I am unable to yodel?)
Hollies - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (I love love love singing this song)
Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man (Two of my brothers-in-law are preachers. I don't want to get with any of their kids. This song is getting harder to do)
Helena Vondráčková - Sladké mámení (Don't EVEN get me started but can I just say...how many háčeks really need to be in every sentence of this song?!?!?!)

Act 2:

Proclaimers - 500 Miles (It's always fun to mock my countrymen)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge (I tried to get my Anthony Kiedis moves on but am afraid to have failed quite dreadfully)
Killers - Mr. Brightside (My friend Alasdair Bouch does a fab acoustic version of this)
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (I do believe that the audience truly wished for me to die in front of them)
Schubert - Ave Maria (Then they felt bad and asked for me to send them into a reverent state)
Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go (I always loved the roses in the video...like anyone cares)
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back (Doing this in an evening gown never gets old)
Asia - Heat of the Moment (MUST find someone to go to Zlín with me this month to see Asia!!!)

Medley:

Bette Midler -Wind Beneath My Wings
Salt-N-Pepa - Push It
Limp Bizkit - Nookie
Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
Blondie - Call Me
Salt-N-Pepa - Shoop
Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
Fugeez - Killing Me Softly
R.E.M. - Nightswimming
Cure - Just Like Heaven
Family Guy - Theme Song
Traditional - Happy Birthday
Monty Python - Brave Sir Robin
Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches
Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Madonna - Material Girl
Evita - Don't Cry for Me Argentina
Air Supply - All Out of Love
Bon Jovi - Bed of Roses
O-Zone - Dragostea din tei
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Limahl - The Neverending Story
Journey - Lights
Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight
Disney - It's a Small World
Loverboy - Working for the Weekend
Madonna - Live to Tell
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Beyoncé - Single Ladies
Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It
Foo Fighters - Everlong
U2 - With or Without You
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Guns-N-Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
Sound of Music - Doe, a Deer
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight
Wham! - Careless Whisper
Madama Butterfly - Un bel dì
Children's Song - Wheels on the Bus
Christmas Song - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Don Giovanni - Opening of Commendatore Scene
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
Grease - Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee
Phantom of the Opera - Think of Me
Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Duran Duran - Rio
Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
Bette Midler - From a Distance
Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partiro
Das Rheingold - Weiche, Wotan
Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
Tom Jones - Sex Bomb
Children's Song - Itsy, Bitsy Spider
Erasure - Bizarre Love Triangle
Liza Minnelli - Come On, Get Happy
Bangles - Eternal Flame
Alex Lloyd - Amazing
Tom Petty & Steve Nicks - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Frank Sinatra - My Way
Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer
Aneta Langerová - Voda živá

Many thanks to all who attended and the newbies who took a chance on a bizarre show!

:-)

PRAGUE DAILY MONITOR RECOMMENDS THE SHOW (And Interviews Me, Too)

I was honoured by a journalist from the Prague Daily Monitor at the beginning of February to be interviewed for a section entitled, "Do It." This made my dirty mind chuckle but it also made me really happy to know that an online publication was quasi-ordering people to attend February's show :-)

Heartfelt thanks to Barbara Bindasová for A) Coming to a show B) Enjoying it enough to write about it and C) This fantastic article - here's the link:

http://praguemonitor.com/2009/02/12/do-it-%E2%80%93-human-jukebox-can-she-really-pull-it

And here it is in full text form is you can't be assed to click on the above link:

Do It: The Human Jukebox. Can she really pull it off?

By Barbara Bindasová /

Prague Daily Monitor /

12 February 2009

The Human Jukebox brings more than a thousand songs. (COURTESY)

When onetime opera singer Gail Whitmore moved to Prague, she wanted to find a way to continue singing. She was looking for something that would be fun both for her and the audience, and preferably combining her love of classical pieces with her penchant for quirky 80s songs or rap. Since her friends often took advantage of her voice in combination with her photographic memory for lyrics and asked her to sing a variety of songs that came to their minds at parties, Gail realised this might be the way to go.

She started performing at the café/bookshop Globe about five years ago and last year decided to take her show a step further and opened performances at the Na Zábradlí theatre.

Now, all this might sound rather ordinary, but it really isn't. Gail Whitmore not only has an amazing voice but also takes advantage of her showmanship and bottomless sense of humour, which enables her to ridicule herself on stage, making her show exceptional and entertaining. I will never forget hearing the rap song "Baby Got Back" in her rendering. I didn't know the song before and even after listening to the original I doubt I will ever get enough of requesting it from Gail. So, if you choose to come to the show, the person asking for the "big butt song" is going to be me. Gail is half American and half Scottish, originally from New York City, and she has lived in Prague for the past 5 years. She studied singing at various institutions in the States and later sang with the New York Grand Opera Company for seven years at venues including the Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall. When the company performed all the operas ever written by Verdi in chronological order, they were included in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The way her show Human Jukebox show works is very easy: You take your friends, get the pre-show drinks at the theatre bar and discuss the songs you would like to hear. There is technically a list of some hundreds of songs but feel free to ask for anything that springs to mind because, as long as she knows it, she is sure to sing it. The only exception being songs of hate and racism. Gail Whitmore will entertain. (COURTESY)
The Human Jukebox is and is not a one woman show. You should not expect to be sitting down, leaning back and enjoying it. "There's no programme or set list. The audience controls 100% of the show," Gail explains. "For bolder people there are small instruments provided if they'd like to contribute rhythmically. And I'd love to hear more dialogue from people in regard to why they chose the song they did, and what it means to them," she adds. So be ready to interact, you are unlikely to get what you don't ask for. Sometimes you also need to be a bit pushy as many people want to hear their particular song to be sang and then another and then another. Therefore it's good to have the name of the song ready and just shout it out the moment the applause subsides.

And don't forget the medley at the end. During the intermission each member of the audience is required to write down a few songs on separate pieces of paper, and at the end of the show, Gail sings 10-30 seconds of each of the songs in a quick succession. Mozart is followed by Michael Jackson, then a little bit of Jingle Bells and November Rain by Guns'n'Roses.

I asked Gail what she thinks makes her show unique. " I think it's unique because it really does offer something for everyone. If you want legitimate singing - it's there. If you want to see me make an idiot of myself in an evening gown - I'll do it. And doing all of that back to back is just plain funny. Doing the show fulfils me in a way that surprised me at first. After abandoning the opera world I still have the opportunity to sing the pieces that I love so much. I also get to explore my inner rock star. And don't get me started on rap." So I did not ask her about rap. I'm saving that for Sunday.

The next performance of the Human Jukebox is this Sunday 15 February at Divadlo Na Zábradlí, Anenské náměstí 5 at 7pm. If you can't make it there are shows on 22 March, 19 April and 2 May.
Tickets cost CZK 200.
For more information visit www.the-human-jukebox.com or www.lidskyjukebox.cz

Barbara Bindasová is a staff writer and translator at the Monitor. She is a graduate student of literature at Charles University.
You can reach her at barbara@praguemonitor.com