Tag Archives: American Idol

Da Gama, Vasco

Da Gama, Vasco: (c.1469–1524), Portuguese explorer

There was a hundred-year time span in Europe when explorers were as plentiful as singers auditioning for American Idol.

It suddenly became popular to beg for money for an expedition crew, to set off to the west in search of fulfilling adventures and new lands.

Since there were so many of these itinerant fortune seekers, it’s difficult to remember them individually.

Christopher Columbus certainly fared well in that category.

Henry Hudson is noted (by having a river named after him).

Cortez came along to try to explain the difference between the Inca and the Mayans.

And Coronado is mentioned by every tour guide in Arizona, illuminating the crowd about the history of the Grand Canyon.

That brings us to poor Da Gama.

He, too, was an adventurer, a captain of a ship, a man of daring and do. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, making it clear why someday a better path needed to be found.

He had a cool name, though.

Whereas Hudson had Henry and Columbus had Christopher, Da Gama had Vasco.

So even though you may not remember his deeds or be able to recite the extent of his itinerary, the name “Vasco” will probably stick in your mind for a long time.

It is a humbling lesson to us all—that we journey through this life and we do many things, most of which will soon be forgotten.

So keep in mind—to have an unusual name which just might spark future bored fifth-grade students who are forced to peruse the Internet during their “discovery of America history lesson” and are suddenly drawn to you…

…because your name is something like Vasco instead of Benny-Boy.

 

Audition

Audition: (n) an interview for a particular role or job as a singer, actor, dancer, or musician,

dictionary with letter A

  • The wonderful thing about new things is that they aren’t old.
  • The terrible thing about new things is that they have not proven that they work.

Such was the case many years ago when I had a music group and we were auditioning for a spot to do a series of high school concerts which would have given us a nice piece of finance in a time when such remuneration was unusual.

It was long before American Idol or The Voice–where people are thrust in front of millions of listeners and evaluated on their prowess.

This was two guys, sitting in a barn-like building, who were not much older than myself, deciding if our group would be a “right fit” for this particular opportunity.

Well, here was the problem:

  1. They didn’t know exactly what the position was going to be. Since nobody had done it before, there was no reference point.
  2. Neither one of them were musicians and confessed to this lacking by saying, “But we know what we like…”
  3. They were pretty people, so they were very concerned that other pretty people might be prettier to high school students, who were really tuning in to the prettiest possibilities.
  4. They were impatient. They wanted us to do one song.

So I decided to do a medley, which I could insist was only one song, but still include four or five pieces of tunes. It seemed like a brilliant idea. When we finished, they told us they “would get back to us.”

I should have known at that point that we had not passed muster. The reason most of us get dissappointed is that we maintain hope for things that we know deep in our heart are gone.

Two weeks later we got a letter from the company explaining that they thought we were a really great group–but not the “look” they desired.

Like everyone else on earth, I’ve done my share of auditions. I’ve won some of them and I have fallen on my face.

But honestly, most of the time it had little to do with my performance or presentation and much to do with how I was eyeballed.

Basically, it’s not an audition–it’s an eyedition.

 

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Anyplace

dictionary with letter A

Anyplace: (adv) informal term for anywhere.

“I’m waiting for my big break.”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard that statement uttered in my presence, and even to this day, it appears to be the mantra of all the American souls attempting to break out of their perceived poverty, into riches, wealth and notoriety.

I have been guilty of thinking that there will be an occurrence, event or even divine intervention which would propel me from obscurity into prominence.

Of course, the first presumption is that I deserve such acclaim.

Then there is a second burst of arrogance, allowing me to accept the idea that I’m prepared for such a spotlight.

But at no time when I have slid into this self-piteous “waiting room” have I ever asked myself, “What can I do anyplace?”

In other words, if I’m not doing what I can do where I am at this present moment, how do I ever expect to have that talent multiplied into a larger field of view?

But we really think that you can go on The Voice, American Idol, or America’s Got Talent and intone your ability or manifest your gig, and that you should receive a large prize and immediate universal acceptance.

I will tell you–there would be nothing worse in life than performing in front of twelve million people on television, only to discover two months later that you can’t get a gig at your local Holiday Inn.

The power of paying your dues is that when you finally get to the point that you have achieved some status, you know exactly how you got there and you have some experience which might permit you to remain for a season.

  • Some people are teachers–until they run across students who don’t want to learn. Sorry, educators. You gotta be able to do it anyplace.
  • Some people are entertainers until they have an audience of seven people. Sorry, let me inform you. You’ve got to be able to do it anyplace.
  • Some people are loving until they get around the hateful sort. Once again … anyplace.

Even though we occasionally let somebody who’s unworthy slip through the fence and play in the backyard, generally speaking, we like to make sure they’ve been invited and come through the front door.

To put it simply, I am not anything unless at anytime I can do what I do anyplace.  

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