The second annual (or is it third?) Neil Diamond Birthday Bash was a resounding success, and as usual, a heckuva lot of fun.  My condolences to those Crooners who couldn’t make it - you don’t know what you missed.  Mark Stulce captivated the crowd with his tribute to Neil, Donna “Babs” D’Avanzo held them in the palm of her hand, Jay Tate rocked the house as Buddy Holly, and Vic Fatali and myself pulled out all the stops as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra (with a quick visit from Jerry Lewis).  The place was filled to the rafters with enthusiastic music fans, who gave us all rousing ovations. Our thanks to Jimmy Snowden for emceeing the proceedings, and to Mel and the staff of Chances Are for providing a warm, inviting and elegant venue for the show.  Kudos also, once again, to Lenny Koll, for going above and beyond to get the music just right.  Crooners take note:  you will not want to miss this event next year, so mark your calendars now! (Click here for photos)

Who’s Doing What Where

[dated items] Laura Nava will be doing her Marilyn Monroe thing at Buster’s in Scottsdale this Saturday…and if you’re in the waaaay-East Valley tomorrow, try to stop down at Anthem Merrill Ranch near Florence to catch Vic Fatali as Johnny Cash and Carmen Ruiz as Patsy Cline in a rare outdoor performance at 1 PM. 

Next Stop: Laughlin

OK, so my Laughlin gig fell through, but I’ve been planning on going anyway, so that’s where we’ll be Feb 12-14.  We’re combining some media kit-dropping business with some Valentine’s Day pleasure.

Up From The Ashes…

It appears the Club Trinidad has opened its doors again.  Not sure of the exact ownership arrangements, but apparently it is now operating as the Caribbean Club, with two of the long-time entertainers, Jimmy and G’Ton, “at the helm.”  Maybe OMiPS Paul Nathan can fill us in.

Finally…

I am toying with the idea of transforming The Green Room from a weblog to a Yahoo! E-group, in order to take advantage of the more egalitarian messaging system, the built-in calendar, and other functions that weblogs don’t provide.   It will also be more secure.  This was never supposed to be a publicly-accessible venue, but I am told that a “private blog” is sort of defeating the purpose.  Creating an E-group makes it easier for us all to communicate, plus it provides a really nifty calendar system for keeping track of everyone’s dates.  And I can control who has access.  If anyone has any thoughts on this, let me know.

for all the upcoming gigs and a much brighter future. Hope to see you all at the

Birthday Bash!

Our latest foray into the Apache Gold Casino & Resort was a resounding success, despite the fact that they had completely forgotten we were coming.  Julie Zupancic, the Entertainment Director/Bar Manager/Catering Manager/Sales Director/Whatever Else, was not on property, as her mother had just had triple bypass surgery.  Apparently that was weighing heavily on her mind, since we weren’t on their calendar at all.  To make matters worse, the band they had scheduled instead had been double-booked the week before, and this was a make-up gig for them. 

Luckily we were able to work things out and appear on schedule, and in fact we “opened for” the band both Friday and Saturday nights.  The audience loved the uncanny vocal and visual recreations of both Rod Marshall as Willie Nelson and Richard Hampton as Kenny Rogers.  (And by the way, look for Richard’s Crooners Web Page in a couple of weeks).

As to future bookings at the AGC, we have decided to put them on hold for the moment, until we can be assured that our  presence there is desired by management.  It certainly seems to be desired by the patrons and even the rank-and-file employees, who have told us time and again how much they enjoy our performers and our shows.  Management, however, doesn’t seem to share their enthusiasm, judging from the lack of publicity and overall ho-hum attitude evidenced thus far.  To compensate, we are redoubling our efforts to attract more casinos and other venues.  Onward and upward! 

Latest Activity

Booked: A series of brief shows for Abrazo Health Care, which owns several hospitals around the Valley, including Arrowhead, Phoenix Baptist, and PV Hospital.  They do presentations at several outdoor venues around town to “drum up business,” and they use impersonators quite liberally.  Booked so far:

• Wed 6 Feb, Carmen Ruiz as Patsy Cline
• Fri 22 Feb, Joan Johnson as Ella Fitzgerald
• Wed 12 Mar, Vic Fatali as Johnny Cash
• Tue 18 Mar, Vic Fatali as Johnny Cash
• Thu 28 Mar, Melanie Green as Tina Turner

Booked: Jim Speiser as Frank Sinatra, private dinner party, Biltmore Hotel, Thursday, Feb 7th.

Satisfied:  McGraw-Hill Corporation.  High marks for Paul Elia as Dean Martin on 9 Jan.

In Negotiations: Jim Speiser as Frank Sinatra, Tropicana Hotel, Laughlin Feb 12-14th…Helen Siegel as Hillary Clinton, Las Vegas, date unknown. Both gigs have fallen through.

Delivered: New Media Kit presentation folders.  Black satin finish with The Little Singing Guy logo in gold foil on the front. Tres classe’.  Quantity 250, I start mailing them next week (see post on “New Years Resolutions.”)

Who’s Doing What Where

Big Mamma (Melanie Green) is at Wild Bills this Friday the 25th at 9PM - 6840 N. 27th Ave….Vic Fatali as Johnny Cash, February 26th at the WigWam Resort…Thursday March 18th, its Jim Speiser as Frank Sinatra and Carmen Ruiz as Patsy Cline at the Valle Del Oro RV Resort in Mesa.

And Finally…

We’re looking forward to seeing you at tomorrow night’s Neil Diamond Birthday Bash at the tony Scottsdale nightclub Chances Are.  The festivities begin promptly at 7PM, with performances by Jay Tate as Buddy Holly, Donna D’Avanzo as Barbra Streisand, Vic Fatali and myself as Rat Pack 2000…and of course, Mark Stulce as the birthday boy.  Jimmy Snowden will be the MC.  We cannot hold tables this year, so be there as early as possible -  and in character if you can!

And if you can’t make it here, next Thursday it’s the 3rd Annual Neil Diamond Birthday Bash at Chances Are in Scottsdale.  Neil requests that his friends show up in character, just to see and be seen.  There will be singing, there will be prizes, there will be revelry and merriment a-plenty.

Lot’s more happening, but so much news, so little time…expect a full update in a day or two.

PS: Mary is recovering from surgery just fine, and thanks to everyone for asking.

Communications may be a little slowed for a few days, whilst I regroup from a rough week.  Among the highlights:

• My wife Mary went in for gall bladder surgery on Thursday and is now home recovering
• My roof is leaking and we are having trouble finding a reputable roofer.
• I woke up the other day to a broken furnace and a gas leak. As a result of that…
• I’ve spent the past two days letting workmen in and out of the house, in between visits to my wife in the hospital. 
• All my toilets are clogging up and overflowing.
• My Internet service should be called “Intermittent-Net.”

And I have to plan for three shows over the next two weeks.  So give me a day or two to recoup, and I’ll post a more informative entry.

Thanks for your patience.

The 24th of this month will mark the second annual Neil Diamond Birthday Bash at Chances Are in Scottsdale, naturally featuring Mark Stulce in the title role.  Mark extends an invite to all Crooners to attend in full regalia, and there will even be room for 3 or 4 of us to perform during his show.  As is “tradition,” this is a showcase event, so pish-tush to any talk of remuneration, but it is a good chance for as many of us as possible to gather and be seen at a prominent Scottsdale night club.  Oh, and don’t worry, no surprise nuptials like last year.  (Lenny and Carolyn Koll, if only you’d waited a couple of months!)

Please email me if you’re interested in being a part of this show, a new Crooners tradition.

Who’s Doing What Where

Joan Johnson will be playing a gig in Cave Creek on January 20th with the String Chemistry Band (apparently Chris Devlin was able to salvage the Band from the demise of the Cafe)…Also, she’ll be at the Gaslight Inn on the 17th and the third Thursday of every month…  Lynn Roberts has a busy February, with a show in Mesa on the 12th, Lancaster, CA on the 20th, and a special show in Yuma on Valentine’s Day, where he’ll be portraying Jack Benny on the 114th anniversary of the great comic’s birth…

Latest Activity

Fixed: The links on the right side of this page.  Artist Bio, Accomodations, T-Shirt Request, and the rest of the forms now work.  No excuses now for not filling out your Artist Bio form.

Hard-Booked: Outdoor performance for Pulte Homes, Anthem at Merrill Ranch, near Florence, January 26th.  Vic Fatali as Johnny Cash, Carmen Ruiz as Patsy Cline. 

Finally…

A bit of sad news, and the end of an era.   Patty Brock, the Club Trinidad’s unofficial “hostess,” writes…

I really hate to write to you today.  New Year’s eve was the last time our Club was open.  Unfortunately Gail had to close the doors because she ran out of funds to keep going.

She wants to tell you all Thank You for your friendship and support.  I don’t have any idea what is going to happen in the future but we can hope for some kind of renaissance.  

So sayonara Club Trinidad, it was fun while it lasted. That doesn’t leave much of the old Palm Springs…the Playground of the Stars is dying, to be replaced, according to one source, with multi-million dollar mega-hotels and trendy, high-energy nightclubs that will appeal to the fast, young urbanites from LA. Still, there are signs of hope. I am told that Copykatz is doing very well, and although they are a slightly different segment of our business (drag queens doing mostly lip-synching), the lineup is classic old Hollywood mixed with “newcomers” like Cher, Michael Jackson, and the like. We will continue to push the area in the coming year, in hopes of reviving “The Golden Age.”

Our resolutions for the coming year:

Introduce the new media kit

We have designed a new presentation folder for the media kit, making it even classier-looking than before.  The folder will be black with a textured feel, and the singing man logo will be embossed in gold foil on the front cover.  Besides the introductory letter, the kit will contain photos of all artists (as current as possible), a bullet list of key selling points, a business card, and the CD-ROM containing the PowerPoint presentation (which will be brought current). 

Target More Venues

• Casinos
• Las Vegas
• Laughlin
• Palm Springs
• Arizona
• Cruise Ships
• Corporate Parties

Follow Up On Prior Clients

Previous clients will receive new media kits, along with a cover letter reminding them how spectacular we were the last time they hired us.

More National Exposure/Branding

• Attend two conventions (CIC and Sunburst)
• Showcase as many of our performers at conventions as can attend
• Make better use of the web and other advertising venues

Bigger Shows

• Develop more live bands
• Add more stage effects to shows, including lighting and video

Develop Travel Office

Our goal is to provide the value-added travel service to make it more convenient to be a Crooners cast member.

Overall, our mission is to become the gold standard of Tribute Artist casts, creating a sort of “Good Housekeeping Seal” by which all artists and shows are judged.

Mary and I wish you all the happiest and most lucrative of New Years.  Here’s to success in 2008!

Booked: Corporate Party, January 9th, Desert Ridge Marriott, Phoenix. Paul Elia as Dean Martin.  Via Classique Productions.

In Final Negotiations: Country festival, January 26th, near Florence, AZ.  Carmen Ruiz as Patsy Cline, Vic Fatali as Johnny Cash.  Via musicalneeds.com.

Satisfied: Private Holiday Party, December 22nd, Carefree AZ.  Jim Speiser as Frank Sinatra, Vic Fatali as Dean Martin.  Much to our surprise (we thought it was going to be another paid rehearsal), we had everyone’s rapt attention.  Heck, they encircled us, like they would pounce if we didn’t give them a top-notch show! So we did…

Holiday Wishes

We ran short of Christmas cards this year, so to those few who did not receive one from us…

Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men…

The happiest of holiday seasons to all readers of The Green Room, and here’s to a happy, healthy and PROSPEROUS New Year!

Jim & Mary

OK, gang, its time for some conventional talk.  Specifically, the Reel Awards/CIC Convention, which takes place in Las Vegas in May.  This will be the second year that the two events, The Reel Awards and the Celebrity Impersonators Convention, will be combined into one, under the auspices of Janna Joos of International Celebrity Images.

I’ve spoken to many of you about these conventions, which not only provide a chance to showcase your talent before an audience of prospective clients, but present “boo-koo shmoozing” opportunities, and just plain fun.  Those of you new to the business (and even old-timers) will gain valuable perspective and insight into the tricks of the trade, how to improve your presentation, and your overall place in the “Tribute Universe.” 

The full story on this year’s convention can be found by clicking here, but in a nutshell…

• Venue: The Imperial Palace Hotel, Las Vegas
• Dates: Saturday May 24th Thru Thursday May 29th (no one expects you to attend all six days, but there’s plenty to do if you can)
• Highlights: “Legends In Concert” show; Seminars on many topics; Red Carpet arrivals; karaoke; showcases for TA’s, bands, and rising stars; The Reel Awards; Entertainment Network awards, and much more
• Pricing: Events are very much “a la carte” and range from $15 for showcases and seminars to $65 for events that include meals.  The registration form available at the above link outlines the cost of each event.
• Accomodations: The Imperial Palace offers special rates ranging from $59 to $109 per night.  (If you can afford to stay elsewhere nearby, this is strongly advised. I recommend the Flamingo.)  

Let me know if you plan on attending, and we can make part of your travel arrangements.  Which brings me to…

New for 2008: Crooners Travel Office

My wife Mary is busy setting up shop as the Crooners Unlimited Travel Coordinator, and she hopes to have everything up and running by the beginning of the new year. Soon there will be a form for you to fill out specifying your travel preferences, so that she can book you the best passage and hostelry, not just in conjunction with Crooners events, but for all your performance-related travel. 

I’ll have more to say on this after the holidays; meantime, feel free to call us for details and inquiries.

Busy, Busy, Busy

As you know, I’ve been a little incommunicado (isn’t that a Gilbert & Sullivan musical?) lately, with several events that seemed to come one on top of the other.  The three main ones were the Night of Giving Gala at the Biltmore, the Calence Holiday Party at the Arizona Science Museum, and AGC IV (our fourth event at the Apache Gold Casino).

All three events went very smoothly.  The Biltmore affair was tres chic, and afforded me the rare opportunity to work with a top-notch jazz band headed by Dan Delaney.  The affair benefitted Hospice of the Valley, and was put on by my accounting firm, Unified Financial Services.  They have promised to use us again next year. 

The Calence corporate party (I never did find out just what Calence does) was in a rather unusual venue, a museum.   The Arizona Science Museum is one of the city’s top attractions, and this month is featuring artifacts from the Titanic (which sound man Jowe Prunera and I managed to sneak into while it was locked down).  The entertainment consisted of a new twist on the Rat Pack: myself as Frank Sinatra, Paul Elia as Dean Martin, and Laura Nava as Marilyn Monroe.  We had rehearsed the hour-long show exactly once, although Paul and Laura have been familiar with each other’s routines for years.  Despite the threadbare preparations, and the lack of focused attention from the audience (yes, it was one of those “paid rehearsal” affairs), we put together a dynamite show.  We managed to capture a bit of it on video, which we’ll post as soon as we edit together a few useable pieces (and by the way Paulie, I was NOT flat on the end of New York New York!  I have PROOF! So THERE!  NYAH!)

And then there was the smashing success of AGC IV, thanks largely to the oversight of associate producer Mark Stulce, who kept everything running smoothly in my absence.  Al Trejo as Freddy Fender and Sherry Evaro as Gloria Estefan wowed the audience for eight shows. I also have video of this affair, though not useable for professional purposes.  Furthermore, I took a couple of snapshots of the huge billboard posted in the center of Globe with photos of the artists.  Thank goodness, so did Mary, because somehow mine got erased. 

Entertainment Network Inductees

So far, Brad Oppenheimer (Charlie Chaplin) and Eric Turner (Elton John) have availed themselves of the opportunity to join the Entertainment Network at the Crooners-subsidized rate of $30; Laura Nava’s application is “pending” (I forgot to send it in until just now).  Congratulations to you guys, and I’ll be updating your web pages to reflect the change. The rest of you…get busy!

Our thanks also to the Network for honoring me as the Agent of the Month for January. 

Latest Activity

Booked: Holiday Party, Sat Dec 22, private residence, Carefree.  Vic Fatali as Dean Martin, Jim Speiser as Frank Sinatra.

Booked: AGC V, Jan 18-19 2008.  Rod Marshall as Willie Nelson, and by special request Richard Hampton as Kenny Rogers.

In Negotiations: Outdoor Country Festival, Sat Jan 26, near Florence. 

Who’s Doing What Where

Johnny K. (Johnny Mathis) and Carmen Ruiz (Connie Francis) will be in Casa Grande for New Years Eve, along with Crooner Prospect DJ Smith (Louie Armstrong)…Vic Fatali is headed for Lewiston, ID that same night…Bob Pasch (Bing Crosby) will be at an unidentified casino in Florida on the 18th of this month…Joanie Johnson’s at the Gaslight Dec. 20th…

Finally…

Mary and I are headed to Palm Springs for some much-needed rest.  While there we may drop a media kit or two, and visit a Crooner or two…if they don’t mind joining us around the pool or at the Martini bar.  We’re mainly there for some W & W (as Elmer Fudd would call it).  Meantime, in case I don’t get a chance to post another entry before 2008…we wish you all a happy holiday season and lots of high-paying work in the New Year!

And of course last night was the debut performance of Rat Pack 3.0, with Laura Nava as Marilyn Monroe, Paul Elia as Dean Martin, and yours truly as the Chairman.  Brad Oppenheimer worked the crowd as Charlie Chaplin, again getting the loudest applause of all.  The event was a success, and we might even have gotten some decent video, which I will edit together and post as soon as I get time.

Speaking of time, I’m running out of it for this post, as I have to get back to the Apache Gold.  Then Mary and I are off to Palm Springs for a few days of W & W (west and wewaxation, a la Elmer Fudd).  In the meantime, here’s a post from last month that accidentally got shoved aside and never sent out:

Update for November 27th

Who’s Doing What Where

Congratulations to Director of Event Security Frank Sinclair, a 50s-style crooner in his own right, who is emceeing the annual Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation Christmas Party at the Chaparral Suites on Monday, December 10th…Lynn “Win” Roberts has a busy month.  On Nov. 30th he and his Dickens Carolers will be warbling and wassailing at the Pinnacle Peak Country Club, then on the next day (Dec. 1) he takes his 15-piece band to a USAA holiday party.  On the 6th he’s at Valle Del Oro, then has to zip down to Yuma for a Music and Memories show on the 7th… Joan Johnson is at the Gaslight on Dec. 1st, and promises lots of surprises…