Awhile back, a CD was released by a guy named Chris Gaines. It had some catchy stuff on it, but “Lost in You” was the one that was getting airplay at 94.7 The Wave, where I worked as a DJ. Now you can find the CDs in the bargain bins all over the place for about 99 cents. I think when people found out who Chris Gaines REALLY was they stopped buying the album. You’d never know that this melodic falsetto is really….GARTH BROOKS! But this is definitely a great song!
Monday the 25th – YEAH, IT’S MONDAY! – I went to an audition in the morning and had my Jay Leno Show cap on. The casting director, who I’ve known for quite awhile, was giving me a hard time about Jay. Saying he stole the Tonight Show back from Conan. I asked him where he got his information from. He said he saw it on TV and read all the news reports. And obviously he should believe everything he sees on TV right? Well, I had to set him straight that Jay doesn’t own “The Tonight Show” and is only hired help. He had no control over the Conan exit, and he only took the job back after NBC asked him to because after 140 shows Conan’s ratings had diminished 50%. It’s funny how misconceptions get started, and how quickly people are to believe the media’s side of the whole thing. So once I explained to him that, he agreed that it made a lot more sense that how the media was portraying it. I told him he should know better than to believe everything the media tells him. Leave it to the media to take a simple programming decision at the network level and turn it into something mean-spirited. Ugh. When I was done, I grabbed a quick lunch and headed over to the Leno show to do some voice overs for the show later that night. Then I grabbed lunch and headed back to the show to do the taping. When I finished I went home and met up with my friend and contractor Terry. We needed to complete a few jobs around Planet Wallywood, which included putting up the new movie poster frames on my media storage cabinet. It looks too cool now!
Tuesday the 26th – LOOOOOONG DAY! – I got up early in the morning to get to Skylark Sound to do a four hour session for a videogame. Though I got up at 8, my cat Spooky wanted me to get up at 5:30 am! I sleepily got up, threw a handful of hard catfood on a paper plate and stumbled back to bed! The session went really well, as it was a session under the direction of Chris Borders…one of the best in the biz. We had a great time, and there are two adorable little dogs at the studio who I couldn’t get enough of. When I finished the session I got home to walk Sassie and get ready for the Leno show. I stopped by and got my friend Sara who was going to the taping that day. She’s a huge fan of Mel Gibson, and he was going to be a guest on the show. So I got her a ticket to be in the audience. It started to rain just as I was leaving. Then it started to pour! Sara and I got a quick drive-thru meal at KFC and then headed to NBC. She got checked in, and I went to the stage and started work. I did some pre-recorded comedy bits, and then the run through for the opening. I went back out to the stage to find Sara. As I was checking on her seat in the audience (she got a great front row seat off to the left side!) I was walking back to the booth to get ready to start the taping. I started a conversation with one of the guards there, a young man about 25 years old. He mentioned something about “Saved By the Bell” and I stopped cold. WHAT? Did you say “Saved By The Bell?” He said, “Sure! I watched it all the time. I remember you.” I was dumbfounded! How could he have recognized me from that ONE episode that was shot over 10 years ago? Too wild! By the time I left NBC it was raining again. I dropped Sara off at her house, then I hightailed it to my house. When I got home a van was blocking my driveway and there was nobody around to move it. A girl came out and said she didn’t know how to drive it since she wasn’t from America. I told her I was running late and could she please try. She didn’t even know how to start it! So I got in, started it up and asked that she move it as I was running tight on time. She got in and sat there for awhile. I got out of my car again and asked what the trouble was, and she said that the “handbrake” was on. That right there showed me that she wasn’t from America. We call it a parking brake. So I got in and looked around for it but didn’t see any parking brake. So I just put it in gear, gunned it and moved it up 10 feet so I could get by. Boy…some people. I got inside, walked Sassie and took a shower. By the time I was finished my pal Chris Malmin (a friend of mine from the old days in Sioux Falls who now lives here) arrived. Followed shortly by Sara. We took off into the rainy evening and headed to the Club Nokia downtown by the Staples Center. I originally thought that the traffic was going to be bad, but in fact it was pretty good. Most everyone at that time of day was heading OUT of the downtown area and back to their homes in the outlying areas. So we were going against traffic. Chris and I spent the time on the road trip to regale Sara with stories of the old days in Sioux Falls. Not sure if she cared much, but we sure had fun reliving the old days. Club Nokia isn’t marked very well. They need much better signage. Add all that to the fact that most of the street we needed to be on was closed off due to set-up for the Grammys. We eventually found the correct parking lot, after asking a bunch of people in the parking garages, and parked the car. Then we walked across the street to find Club Nokia. Again, nothing was very clearly marked. We had to ask more people where the heck this place was. As elaborate as this area was, you’d think that they could have spent the extra couple thousand on some good signs. We eventually found our way in and was ready for “The Pee Wee Herman Show!” I had waited months to see this and it was well worth the wait. Not only did we have wristbands that would allow us access to the Pee Wee Meet N Greet after the show. You see, the show originally was going to be held at a smaller theatre in Hollywood, but because of extra brisk ticket sales, they had to move it to a larger venue in downtown L.A. So to thank the original ticket holders for enduring the switch over to the new venue, they allowed us the ability to attend a Meet N Greet Q&A with Paul Reubens himself! My friend Bob Belenchia, who handles Paul Reubens for all of his autograph show appearances, met up with us. We had great seats…third row but off to the right side. The show opened and Pee Wee came out from behind the curtain to a huge ovation. People really love this guy! He had us all stand and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, the curtain opened and I almost wept! It was a faithful recreation of the original “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” set! It looked so vibrant, so colorful! Conky, Magic Screen, Chairy, Clocky, Globy, the fish and the flowers were all there! It was magical! The show was amazing and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face the whole time. My pal Phil LaMarr was playing Cowboy Curtis and he was excellent! Miss Yvonne took the stage, as did Mailman Mike and many other great characters. Even the King of Cartoons was there. Fantastic! In fact, I’d like to see this show again before it closes. Afterwards, the Q&A was almost as long as the show, as Paul Reubens clearly was having a great time with the audience’s question. There were probably about 80 people in the Meet N Greet, all hardcore Pee Wee fans asking really great questions. How did he come up with the character’s name, how did he meet Tim Burton, what was his family like, etc. He also talked about a new Pee Wee movie that he’s trying to get off the ground. And the mounting of this show was the forerunner to that concept. After the Meet N Greet, Bob was sitting with Lynn Marie Stewart, who is Miss Yvonne. She was amazed that I remembered her appearance in the movie “Tunnelvision” (one of my favorite movies and the first VHS tape I ever purchased!) and laughed when I quoted her lines. Phil came out and said hello, and I also ran into Paul Dini and his wife Misty. What a fantastic night. Sara, Chris, Bob and I all had a blast and we’re dying to go again! Paul had mentioned the possibility of doing a run of the show in San Francisco, Vegas or New York. If “The Pee Wee Herman Show” comes anywhere near you, be SURE to see it! After Chris, Sara and I got back home, Sara took off, but Chris and I went to DuPar’s for a late meal. I was so high from the looooong day that I couldn’t rest. I needed to unwind over a hot turkey sandwich and catch up with my old pal Chris. I stayed up awhile longer and watched a “Hawaii Five-O” episode on DVD. By the time I got to bed I realized that I had been up 22 hours STRAIGHT! But luckily Wednesday was a complete day off for me (no sessions or auditions scheduled) because the Leno show was being pre-empted for the President’s “State of the Union” speech. I honestly saw myself sleeping well into the afternoon! Whew!
Wednesday the 27th – STILL HIGH! – I slept in until noon, got up and walked Sassie, and then went back to bed. I was beat! But when I got up in the early evening my mind was still buzzing from “The Pee Wee Herman Show” I had seen the night before. It was utterly amazing. I got some auditions done and sent to my agent, then I got cleaned up and got ready for Wednesday night church. My friend Georgette showed up and we drove over to the church together. When we were done, I met up with my friend Bruce Kulick to record some voicers for radio stations to promote his new album…BK3! My friend James also came by to record some pick-up dialogue for a film he’s narrating. Then Sara arrived, and she, Georgette and I went to Little Toni’s for a delicious Italian dinner. It was a nice relaxing time and we had a lot of fun. I got home and did some more auditions in my home studio, e-mailed them to my agent, and then prepared to turn in. I fed Sassie and Spooky, grabbed a shower, then watched another episode of “Hawaii Five-O: Season 2” just before bed! What fun!
Thursday the 28th – NEAR PERFECT DAY! – I got to sleep in quite late, but got up in time to head to NBC for the Leno taping. We only have about 10 more shows to go in prime time, and I’ve really come to love this job. I got to NBC right on time, and there were 3 writers waiting to have me record stuff for them. I like that aspect of the job the best! My chance to do voices and be funny. The first script was for a fake promo, but as the writer was describing what he wanted, I recognized his voice. He’s the guy I hear on the Identity Guard commercials on the radio all the time. It’s funny how in the VO business, you start to identify people by their voices first and foremost. A small world indeed! We recorded the script, then he went on his way. The second script was simply a one-line pick-up from a previous bit we recorded a few days ago. Then the third script was another fake promo. I LOVE doing that! It reminds me of the old days at the Cutler Comedy Network when we would goof on actual commercials and promos, and it was the job of our voice cast to replicate those as faithfully as possible. In fact Jim Wise, one of the old Cutler Comedy writers and voice artists with whom I worked closely with for many years, is a writer on the Leno Show! See! Small world! When the writers left I recorded an opening for the 10@10 segment featuring Troy Aikman. Then we ran through the opening of the show. Nick Jonas was on the show and there were tons of screaming girls in the audience. It was actually kind of funny and brought to mind memories of Elvis and the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Actually, when the song was over, I caught myself singing it. Catchy tune! It’s called “Who I Am.” During the taping I got a call on my cell phone from an old pal. We used to call him Unzi when I was on the radio back in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in the 80’s. I hadn’t talked to “Unz” for about 25 years. It was good to catch up, and it brought back a lot of fun memories. I drove home and stopped to get a couple of chili dogs at the local Weinerschnitzel. I was craving a strawberry shake from Foster’s Freeze, so I drove a little ways to the local El Pollo Loco (they have a Foster’s Freeze in their stores) and stayed in the drive-thru about a half hour. It was dinner hour, but I just sat in the line and talked on the phone to pass the time. When I got home I took a nap. I got up in the later evening to do auditions, and then watched another episode of “Hawaii Five-O” in bed with my pets. A NEAR perfect day!!
Friday the 29th – FANTASTIC FRIDAY! – Though I thought I’d be able to sleep in a little bit, I got a call on “the hotline” from my agent saying I needed to get my butt out of bed and go to the Leno Show by 11:30 to change a few lines on a bit they were doing for the show that night. So I hit the shower, and headed to NBC. I got there in time, recorded the bit, and went to meet Sara for lunch at Panera in Studio City. We both really enjoy their food…Sara gets the mac n cheese and I always get the smoked turkey on three-cheese bread. MMMM!! It was a lovely day so we ate outside on their patio. Then I picked up a few grocery items and realized that I had to be at my chiropractor’s in an hour. So I stopped home to see the pets again, and then headed to my chiropractor’s office. After he crunched me, I made it over to NBC again for the afternoon taping. I was horrified to see that the new schedule showed we only had 6 more tapings! I thought we had 8, but they’re doing repeats on the10th and 11th because they need the extra time to change some things on the set for the new “Tonight Show” unveiling on March 1st. The taping went well and I was on my home after we wrapped. I did some things around the house, then took a nap for awhile. Sara is moving over the weekend, so we thought it best that she stay at Planet Wallywood over the weekend so she could get out of her old apartment as soon as possible. I made up the Puppet Room for her to be nice and comfortable (which involved taking a heater up there and making it as hot as physically possible!) and I spent the night doing stuff around the house. Do you have those “pockets” of junk around your house that just seem to sprout up? Two trouble spots specifically were in my kitchen. One junk pocket was on top of my refrigerator and the other by my microwave oven. So I decided those were going to have to go. I sorted through all the junk on my refrigerator and once I got everything put away, it looked pretty good! Then I started sorting through the junk by my microwave. Once I got that all cleared away, that looked pretty good too! Now if I could just find the time to get to the rest of the junk pockets in my house, I’d be doing good. But the real trouble spot is my garage, which is so full of boxes from my eBay purchases that I can barely get my car in there. Luckily, they’re just empty boxes. So once I find the time to get out there, tear the boxes down with a box cutter and stick them in the recycle bin, I’ll have lots more room in there. But, it was already getting to be close to dawn, so I took a shower, made a bitchin’ salad, and watched another episode of “Hawaii Five-O” on DVD with my BFFFs. (Best Fuzzy Friends Forever) Sassie and Spook!
Saturday the 30th – BLU RAY TREK! – I slept in fairly late, then got up to walk Sassie, did some stuff around the house, then went back to bed. I was exhausted! That evening I got up in time to start my weekly “Blu Ray Trek” party at my house. A group of folks come over every Saturday night so we can screen all of the original “Star Trek” episodes on Blu Ray with the enhanced effects. Most all of us are in the industry so it’s educational to see how the technology has really assisted these great old episodes! Then we watched a bit of “Pee Wee’s Christmas Special” featuring Pee Wee Herman, and then we screened some of the acts from the “MORE 1979-Midnight Special” DVD I had just received earlier last week. But then it was time for everyone to clear out and head home. I made a salad and hit the hay after watching an episode of “Hawaii Five-O!”
Sunday the 31st – INTERVIEW! – I slept fairly late but got up in time to go do an interview for a guy named Jeff Rector who has an internet radio show called “Out There.” It’s sci-fi based. My friend Sara showed up and we drove over to the studio in Sherman Oaks. The interview went out live on the internet from 4-5, but will be up on Jeff’s site fairly soon in case you missed it. His website is…https://www.latalkradio.com/Jeff.php Keep checking back until the interview is up and check it out. It was a lot of fun! After the interview I sped over to evening church, then came back home to meet up with Sara for a little bit. But I had a very early morning the next day, and a long day at that. So I did my auditions at home that I needed to do, then called it an early night. Whew! What a week!
And how was YOUR week??!!
