tag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:/blogs/the-ross-thoughtThe Ross Thought2018-07-07T00:43:23-06:00Ross Bridgemanfalsetag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/37034902015-05-11T16:24:52-06:002022-05-27T09:21:09-06:00Beaches Of Mexico<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/8b778954cbb2920c748ead895498c680063dcab4/original/bompic2.jpg?1428968984" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Live In-studio video of my song Beaches of Mexico is now up! Check it out here: <a contents="Beaches Of Mexico" data-link-label="Videos" data-link-type="page" href="/videos">Beaches Of Mexico</a>. Thanks to Jill Kreinbrink for helping shoot this, and Sara Gunderson for editing.</span></div>Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/36703732015-04-21T21:01:14-06:002022-05-26T04:00:42-06:00Tweet Battles: The Future of World War<span class="font_large">I was about to participate willingly</span><span class="font_large"> in an event only the year 2015 could bring.</span> Flying cars? No. Walking, talking robots? I wish. How about…a Twitter battle? Yes, it's a moment like this when I know God must exist, because only a higher power could have orchestrated such a hilarious event so perfectly. There was my friend, singer Rayvon Owen, standing next to Ryan Seacrest, his fate in the hands of 13-year-old voters across America, fighting for TWEETS. After all the auditions, performances, and television circus that is <em>American Idol</em>, Rayvon's future would depend on the next five minutes and whether or not he got more tweets than a little boy named Daniel Seavey, a 15-year-old kid who, despite his vocal struggles and lack of experience, had also managed to make it to the Top 10 on <em>American Idol</em>. Is this real? Where am I? What is this life?!<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/f0a856f6e8de36fae1f806a4e25f25430012bf7b/original/rayvon-and-daniel.jpg?1429658703" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Since this whole experience began a couple months ago, it's been the main topic of discussion among all my friends and family. Everyone has opinions, questions, and conspiracy theories about what's happening on AI. I, too, have looked for answers about what's legitimate and what's not when it comes to a competition like <em>American Idol</em>, and I've determined that there's a lot we'll never know or understand. But here's the first thing I know.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rayvon should be gone by now. </div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Let me explain.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Since <em>Real World</em> began on MTV, reality TV has evolved as another step in deepening human connection through entertainment. Before 1992, TV shows had actors in a story with a script, portraying characters whom we could relate to. With the birth of reality TV, we suddenly had participants, regular folks "just like us!" who blurred the line between fantasy and reality, and brought the viewer even closer to the performer. Enter <em>American Idol</em>, a show that takes reality TV to the extreme, letting viewers themselves participate in the outcome through voting, a kind of "choose your own ending" TV show. Once Rayvon made it past a certain point, we all thought, "You know, he might actually have a shot to win this thing!" and we forgot all we've learned about reality TV. Then, when the most ridiculous things started happening, we all asked: WHAT!? What the heck are people voting for?</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yes, it's about entertainment, for sure. But I wanted to go deeper into reality TV at its core, and what I've learned is this: TV is personality. Especially reality TV. In his book, <em>Remodeling TV Talent: Participation and Performance in MTV's Real World Franchise</em>, Hugh Phillips Curnutt describes the format of AI, saying, "The talent that <em>American Idol</em> appears to be in search of has less to do with singing and more to do with manufacturing a celebrity persona." Songs and sound, and even talent can be crafted later. What sells on TV? Remember back to Sanjaya from Season 6, who continued to make it through each round, despite his performances leaving something to be desired in the vocal department. Sanjaya was tapping into the William Hung principle--his bad performances actually made him enjoyable to watch. The TV persona he was creating was intriguing enough for viewers to tune in and vote every week. Daniel Seavey is a better singer than Sanjaya; but who can deny that his massive following of young, mostly female fans continued to push him through each week because of his cuteness and sweet personality, not his vocal abilities? (Side note: <em>The Voice</em> (NBC) competition is all about the talented voices of their contestants, and they make sure to drive that point home every episode. However, their contestants struggle to break out from the show, because the focus isn't really on them, it's on the celebrity judges' personalities and how they battle it out every week. Surprise.)</div>
<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br>I know Rayvon, and he has personality. He can be funny and silly, but he's mostly down to earth, calm, composed, and respectful. He doesn't look like Gaga and he doesn't act like Kanye. On a show that cuts great singers early in favor of the wild and zany, how did he make it through at all? It's a balancing act <em>American Idol</em> must play with talent vs. personalities, and fortunately, Rayvon has risen to the top on his voice and performances, going against the grain of what reality TV thrives on. In Season 6, once Sanjaya kept making it, people also started voting for him just to throw off the competition and see what <em>Idol</em> would do. Let's do it again, but the opposite. Vote for talent, not personalities. Vote for Rayvon!<br><br><br><br><br>Ross </div>Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/36562012015-04-13T17:47:00-06:002021-09-27T12:57:39-06:00Shooting Beaches of Mexico<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/8b778954cbb2920c748ead895498c680063dcab4/original/bompic2.jpg?1428968984" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Hey friends,<br><br>Just shot a cool in-studio performance with the wonderful <a contents="Jill Kreinbrink" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.jillkreinbrink.com" target="_blank">Jill Kreinbrink</a> a couple days ago. Can't wait to share it with you! Through the power of computers, midi, and Ableton Live, I'm able to play the entire song live using just a bass, my voice, and a couple shakers. In the meantime while we edit the footage, enjoy this clip from the original looped version of my song, Beaches of Mexico.<br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="g-LHHtNql9g" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/g-LHHtNql9g/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g-LHHtNql9g?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br><br>Ross<br><br>UPCOMING: Show May 12th at Pour Vous - Los Angeles, CARoss Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/35756022015-03-04T17:56:03-07:002023-12-10T09:33:28-07:00Calling Out with Susan Pinsky!Had an amazing experience on the show earlier this week with Susan Pinsky on her podcast, "Calling Out". I tagged along last minute with guest Taylor Williamson from America's Got Talent <a contents="(TaylorWilliamson.com)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://taylor-williamson.squarespace.com" target="_blank">(TaylorWilliamson.com)</a>, and we both were floored by our phone call with psychic medium Joshua John <a contents="(AskJJ.org)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.askjj.org" target="_blank">(AskJJ.org)</a>. To listen to the whole episode, click here - <a contents="Episode: Breaking AGT's Taylor Williamson" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://sideshownetwork.tv/podcastsEpisode.cfm?podcastid=106&episodeID=6779">Episode: Breaking AGT's Taylor Williamson</a>. Thanks to Susan for having me on, and playing my song Ready Or Not at the end of the podcast!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/a434486d6593744ca97f9d0658452f7e6133e027/original/calling-out.jpg?1425516744" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br>Upcoming shows:<br>April 26th 4PM @ 40th Anniversary for LCDC in Scottsdale<br>May 12th 9PM @ Pour Vous off MelroseRoss Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/34795792015-01-23T21:20:11-07:002022-05-15T03:36:16-06:00A New Year, A New JourneyThe last couple months have been…well, life-changing. Instead of blogging, I sat at my father's bedside as he finished the final chapter of his story. I've been with my family through it all, from his passing, full of sorrow and relief, to his memorial, filled with celebration and support. But now it's 2015, and a year full of opportunities and possibilities lies ahead. I'm the same person I was last year, but at the same time I'm completely changed. The journey of this life teaches us so many things, and I'm humbled by all of you, friends and family, who have been part of my journey. I hope I can continue to be a part of yours. Before I move on, back to the blogs, the music, the fun, I wanted to post the words I spoke at my dad's memorial service, as a tribute to bring joy and remember. Thanks for reading…let's have a great year.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/ea1a8322c31ff7c02783e3cce1f46c6d7f55d90d/original/cd-of-1st-persons-044.jpg?1421901781" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br><span class="font_large">PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD! PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD!</span> My Dad’s voice rang out just like that as he walked up to the altar in the middle of church, looking disheveled, dirty, and borderline crazy. Any teenage son would have been mortified. "Who is that?" "Don’t look at me; he’s not <em>my</em> Dad." But it <em>was</em> my Dad, and that Sunday he was John the Baptist, as part of a special sermon that our pastors must have agreed to let him do. All the same, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he had shown up to church dressed as a Biblical figure. Dad was always putting on shows, from actual live theaters, to our living room on a Wednesday night, to the hardware aisle in Home Depot. John the Baptist was on the more serious side, but most of the time, his shows were silly. I remember laughing on the ride to school at his funny voices like Goofy and Mickey Mouse. At home, every so often he’d pull a wig out of a box, or take a hat off the wall, and become Groucho Marx, a hippie, a clown, or a member of a biker gang. Sometimes, the stupid dance in the living room became a stupid dance in the grocery store, and I would get so embarrassed. That was just Paul.<br><br>Whether he knew it or not, he was teaching me how to live my life. One thing was obvious: Be yourself, and have fun doing it. My Dad’s greatest moments were the fearless choices he made to be himself. He was fearlessly creative and artistic, whether that was drawing little doodles, sculpting out of clay, or designing scenery with secret passages, trap doors, moving gondolas, rotating walls, sandy beaches, lifelike trees, and life-size pirate ships. He was a fearless teacher, not only with his students, but with everyone he met, never hiding from an opportunity to help someone learn ukulele, guitar, card tricks, how to juggle or tie a knot, how to use a table saw, monster make-up, or musical theater history. He was fearless in his love of music, from the popular folk and rock bands of the 1970s, to the less popular sea shanties of the 1870s. Lastly, he was a fearless adventurer. In the outdoors, sailing the beautiful Great Lakes, hiking majestic national parks, and bringing me along for all of it. But more important than mountains or lakes, my Dad tackled the adventure of being a good husband, brother, son, and father. Through all these things he taught me to be fearless, to be myself, and have fun doing it.<br><br>I’m glad my Dad wasn’t waiting for “retirement” to do what he loved. Instead, he was living his dream, full of passion, now. He was fearless because he truly understood that God would provide, and God did. Paul shared that love with everyone throughout his life, making moments and taking time to enjoy them, an example I aspire to. I used to think my Dad was fearless because he didn’t care about what other people thought. Now I can see that it’s actually the opposite. He cared about what everyone thought because he wanted all of us to experience the joyous gift of life, the way he did. I want to close with a quote he wrote in one of his journals. “It is ok to search, travel, and explore. That is part of it all. The trip is often more important than the destination. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people. Take God with you and you will never be alone.”<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/bcbc483888b778f6fb5a8f84d7730ffb43bccdb4/original/dadpics0008.jpg?1421901924" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">Gettin' it in San Diego.</div><br><br><br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br><br>Upcoming Shows: Rayvon Owen and KellyeAnn Rogers @ Room 5 Lounge, Jan. 30. PLUS WATCH AMERICAN IDOL!<br><br> Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/32804912014-11-15T12:07:33-07:002022-05-10T13:36:54-06:00Climbing the Media Mountain<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="font_large">At 10,000 feet, Baldy was winning.</span> Every step was a struggle, and four hours in, Jill and I were seriously reflecting on whether or not we had bitten off more than we could chew with this mountain. We had exhausted all techniques to distract our bodies from shutting down -- singing songs, counting steps to one hundred, dreaming about food, anything to forget that our legs were turning to jelly. “Forget this, I’d rather surf,” was a common quote that afternoon. The struggle was real (I can’t even imagine Everest), but after pushing all morning and afternoon, we made it to the summit. We could have taken the ski lift up halfway and walked the easier route along the ridge, but we chose to start at the bottom and hike 4,000 feet. I’ll just say it was worth it...although we did take the ski lift down.</span></p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/b036ae61da8157339a9534c7b89980264629925c/original/img-6557.jpg?1415904107" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">So close, gazing toward the summit.<br> </div>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So we're down to the last few gigs of the year with Rayvon. Thursday was Johnson and Wales in Miami, and next week we head to Harrisburg, PA for our final show. 2014 has been the year of travel, between college tour dates, vacations, camping trips, and a couple of unexpected detours. All of it has been a blessing, and I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to run around the USA and beyond, but it’s hard to keep up the duties of being an independent musician in the 21st century.</span><br> </p><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m going to be honest- social media kills me. Being my own boss is awesome, but it's also not awesome. Social media makes it easy to reach people across the world, promote and distribute your work, and do it all for next to nothing. But it never stops. I feel like I’m climbing a media mountain that towers above me, and reaching the top is damn near impossible. Partly because there are thousands of other hiker-artists all around me trying to use the same trail. How do I stand out, and find my own way to the top? While some of us are scrambling up the extreme rock route, others seem to have caught a ride on a park ranger truck headed up the wide open fire road. It’s hard to see these people and not </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">get disheartened, but focusing on others is just a waste of energy. I have to tell myself two things: make good music, and just keep doing it. Every solid song, video, and other content I put out is another upward step that gets me where I'm trying to go. If that’s my mentality, every step will be a strong step in the right direction. Also, the journey of hiking the trail with friends is just as amazing as reaching the summit, and I wouldn’t trade the touring with Rayvon, the album-making with John Flanagan and Nashville friends, the photoshoots with Jill, or countless other experiences I’ve had for an easy out to the summit.<br><br>On a side note: Rayvon Owen's video finally premiered! I helped produce the record and the video, so check it out here: <a contents="Sweatshirt - Official Music Video" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://youtu.be/nhoImFTuMTY" target="_blank">Sweatshirt - Official Music Video</a><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/c402dfdb1cc69995f2b1f0d2e8ead9e69493b764/original/img-6774.jpg?1415904157" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="font_small">Outside the Astor Place Starbucks at CMJ Festival.</span></span></div><br><br><br><br><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ross<br><br><br><br>Upcoming shows: Rayvon Owen @ The Mint December 19th</span>Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/32401912014-10-19T18:48:12-06:002022-01-20T00:20:53-07:00Acoustic Or Bust: What $250,000 Sounds Like<span class="font_large">An All-American breakfast is great.</span> A big, juicy, grade-A cheeseburger is even better. When you put them together? Total mouth-watering insanity…and it actually exists. One of my favorite burgers in Los Angeles is the Breakfast Burger at Umami, topped with an over-medium egg, beer-cheddar, bacon lardons, smoked-salt onion strings and smashed cheesy tots. So ridiculous...and amazing. You can hardly eat it because of its height, and there's not a chance you won't make a mess. If you've been eating Big Macs your whole life, then your world is about to go from black and white to color. You realize what a burger should be, and how our standards have dropped quite low when it comes to what classifies food as decent and edible. That's my food review of the year, thanks. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/c0762ba086a0da6dec2caececb857928620f6725/original/img-6689.jpg?1413765772" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>Last week was a blur. I've been furiously producing and recording John Flanagan's next project, due out sometime in 2015. We decided to come to Nashville for various reasons, mostly because I have a number of friends here who I can trust to come in and do a smash-up job. However, we decided the album needed a particularly huge sound, so we ventured to a studio I'd never heard of in east Nashville, aptly titled East Side Manor. The place has enormous ceilings, echoey rooms and a cool vibe, but what caught my attention most was the Baldwin nine-foot concert grand piano that stood in the middle of the room. Between the natural reverb of the studio and the rich resonance of the Baldwin, I was in heaven. It's the type of piano that you play one note and it's the best note of your life. After a few notes, you understand why Elton John, Ben Folds, and countless other artists aren't up on stage playing digital keyboards. Ever since graduating college and leaving the practice rooms behind, I rarely get the chance to play acoustic pianos. Obviously, they can be a bit of a pain to haul around to gigs, plus they need tuning every couple of months. But the pluses definitely outweighs the minuses. The sound generated from an electric piano is synthetic; it depends on speakers the venue supplies, and even when the system is top notch, you still can't feel the sound under your fingertips. With an acoustic piano, your finger strikes the mallet, and the mallet strikes the strings, and everything vibrates. It's a subtle feeling, but a total game changer when it comes to how I play. I can be more expressive, more dramatic, and have a real presence instead of the illusion of one. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/f58b412d73c704e799a85536cd20057df665bd70/original/img-6694.jpg?1413765833" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>The first night, after everyone had left, I sat down and just played. Who knows what I played, but it felt good and it sounded great, and I kind of had a moment. I've definitely been inspired to find a piano back in LA. It won't be nine feet, unfortunately, but an upright will work just as well. After playing my digital Big Mac of a keyboard for so long, I think a real piano is in order. With a side of sweet potato fries, please. <br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br><br>UPCOMING SHOWS: Ross Bridgeman @ Silverlake Lounge on 10/30. buy tickets at https://tickets.aftonshows.com/rossbridgeman. Promo code: ROSS834. Come out!Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/32029162014-09-24T22:54:04-06:002022-05-19T04:41:51-06:00From The Road: Making An Impression<span class="font_large">My woman has a party trick, and it kind of involves self-mutilation</span>. She can write on her skin. No, not with a pen or a Sharpie. She can actually write on her skin just by pressing down, and after a few minutes the letters rise up from nothing. It's called dermographism, or "skin writing," and I wish I could do it. At first she thought it was a rash caused by an allergy, but it's actually just something her skin does. As it turns out, a lot of people have this, and they draw all sorts of crazy things on their bodies. Watching people's reactions to this is pretty hilarious; but after fifteen minutes, the creation disappears, leaving the canvas blank for the next group of unbelievers. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/001beee39d2e26dd246422f2837bb4d3e3d46679/original/10643921-776419679063124-1027648830-n.jpg?1411618844" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> <div style="text-align: center;">(Jill's arm with a little cursive skin writing)</div><br>It's a warm, windy night in Miami. Tomorrow, Rayvon Owen and I play our final show of the week at St. Leo University, just north of Tampa. We've had a great couple of gigs so far, starting up at the University of Akron. My roots run deep in Akron, Ohio, which is close to where my Dad grew up. Eventually, he moved west, met my mom, and the rest is history. So I bet if you had told him back then that his kid would someday be flying back to his hometown to play a show, he probably wouldn't have believed it. But here we are, doing just that. Even some of my extended family was able to show up to support us, which was amazing (thank you guys!).<br><br>Today we played Broward College, outside Ft. Lauderdale. Every college show is a unique experience: sometimes we play huge events with big stages, lights, and sound systems. Other times, we set up in the school cafeteria at lunch with a glorified boombox behind us. We never know, and I guess it keeps us on our toes. Today's show was no exception: we set up in the student red room and performed during a FIFA tournament. I know that might sound glamorous, but let me explain: college dudes (maybe one or two girls, but mostly dudes) sat in lounge chairs and stared at two large televisions connected to Xboxes while our little show was squeezed in directly to the right of the gameplay. Us vs. video games...rough. If anybody could win their attention, it would be Rayvon, and while the soccer games raged on, we did manage to find our crowd and gain some new fans. That's all we can wish for with these shows- a few new followers to add to the count, a few more albums sold, and another impression on the thick skin of America's next generation of music listeners. Let's just hope we're not a party trick that disappears fifteen minutes after we leave campus. I want to be in the business of musical tattoos.<br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br>Upcoming shows: Rayvon Owen @ the mint September 30th<br>Ross Bridgeman @ Silverlake lounge October 30thRoss Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/31757172014-09-07T11:40:35-06:002021-08-31T06:23:10-06:00SPECIAL SONG EDITION: Ready Or Not<span class="font_large">It was the end of that hump summer:</span> I’d made it halfway through college at Belmont U. I don’t know what your college experience was like, but all my friends and I just felt like older kids. Real life was still too far off to worry about, but that didn’t stop life from changing. Everyone had cars. Most of us had just moved out of the dorms to live off campus. Of course, it was the year we all turned 21. Before the year could really get going, we headed up to the Midwest. One of our good friends, Jill, invited us all up to Indiana to her parents' house on Lake Pleasant for the holiday weekend. The lake straddles the border of Indiana and Michigan, so we all piled in her Jeep Grand Cherokee at 5 am and headed north for the nine-hour drive from Nashville. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/f345427f8e865215137e3ac3c018dd3faa72c557/original/331908-2141527370984-46622063-o.jpg?1410111409" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">(Sitting on the pier at Lake Pleasant)</div> <br>I had just finished my first homework in songwriting class. It was an in-depth song analysis of Jay Sean’s new hit song at the time, "Down" (hilarious music video with dancing, a strange appearance by Lil’ Wayne, and light coming out of Jay Sean’s fingertips). The assignment was to pick a song and study its form, melodies, and lyrics. NO clue now why I picked <em>that</em> song; maybe I thought it would be funny. Suprisingly, I think I actually did end up learning something from it. I listened to the song so much of course, I knew the whole thing by heart. I wasn't a diehard listener of Top 40, so the fact that I actually knew this song cracked everyone up. I was into it: every time it came on the radio I pumped up that jam and even rapped Lil’ Wayne’s rap. The rest of the car quickly started to hate me. Jay’s song must have been pretty hot then, because the radio DJs kept playing "Down" about every 30 minutes. After about the fifth incredible rendition, laughter gave way to groans…except for Jill. She thought it was hilarious. Or at least I thought she did, but all I really remember is turning up the radio for the umpteenth time and seeing her smile and laugh. I was hooked. Here was my audience! Not only was she beautiful, Jill was as silly, if not sillier, than me. All of a sudden, something changed. I don’t know what happened, but there she was in my life, ready or not. I had been telling myself I wasn’t ready to go there, but it didn’t matter. Everything about her kept pulling me back, and it still is. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/d0a84a2c5e8676e905dda5ea6842843abe13ca5a/original/306967-10150784762670122-1664877-n.jpg?1410111284" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">(Back in Nashville on my Craigslist sailboat)</div> <br>Today marks four years of making Jill laugh, having too much fun, and falling in love again and again. Relationships grow and change, but this love never grows old. Love ya Jill! Don't forget to check out the song, and I hope you enjoy. Also, shout out to my sister, Maria…happy birthday today! You are no longer a teenager...<br><br><br><br>Ross2:25Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/31614582014-08-28T17:07:24-06:002022-05-31T10:50:07-06:00Falling Off The Playhouse: Last Week's Tour<span class="font_large">Before I realized what had happened, </span>I was on my back, barely able to breathe. Pure shock, and uncontrollable sobbing, that’s what I remember. My mom helped me into the house, where I sat crumpled on the La-Z-Boy, sniffling and trying to regain some shred of dignity in front of my friend, Tara, who had been playing in my backyard all afternoon. My six-year-old self had climbed on top of the playhouse, and decided it would be fun to lean over the edge (upside down) to look in the window where Tara was. That fun moment changed drastically when I went a little too far, and ended up on the ground with the wind knocked hard out of me. I was a tough little kid, but the pain of that fall combined with the embarrassment of losing my 1st-grader cool in front of a girl…well, here I am telling this story, so it’s always stuck with me.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/9758ff5e7ba0991f1b995662005327b498e55fde/original/playhouse.jpg?1409267061" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">(Have fun, kids…just stay off the roof.)</div><br><br><br>And it came back to me two weeks ago, when I got a phone call I never wanted to get. I had arrived in Nashville to rehearse for Rayvon Owen’s Nashville EP release show, and we were days away from hitting the road. Suddenly, three of our best-paying gigs were gone, the very gigs that were going to help pay for the rest of the tour to Virginia and New York, where our other shows were scheduled. Simply put, our college booking agent hadn’t done his job, and the tentative agreements we had made with these schools last spring were never finalized. After weeks of planning, suddenly I was back in first grade. <br><br>Life keeps going -- we salvaged the rest of our dates, drove from Nashville up to Virginia to play Bridgewater College, and then a hometown show in Richmond before our final show in downtown Manhattan at Leftfield Bar. The shows were great, and some unexpected good things came with the unexpected bad. Our original guitarist had to bow out for some other shows, so my friend Hank came on board last minute. Not only did he do a stellar job with the tunes, we all had a blast hanging out on our little adventure up to New York. Struggles aren’t as rough when you’ve got people to struggle with. Also, instead of needing to prepare for the gigs we lost, I was able to help my sister move into her freshman dorm at my alma mater, Belmont University. Walking through campus again brought back so many good memories that I almost wanted to go back…four more years! I’m excited for her and so glad I could be there to see her off. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/b5be423399449eb4cf4057e27fba1ea76cb042ec/original/rayvon-composite.jpg?1409266608" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">Image by Jill Kreinbrink</div> <br>Tonight's the final show of the tour, at Amplyfi in Los Angeles, and then for the rest of the year we have college dates every couple of weeks. Who knows what could happen between now and then, because as I’ve just seen, anything is possible. No matter what, we’ll pick ourselves back up and keep on trying. Life’s too short to give up!<br><br><br><br>RossRoss Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/31222682014-08-05T18:40:04-06:002022-08-27T07:04:02-06:00Pre-Tour Prep: Find A Mountain Top<span class="font_large">Lightning filled the sky in Phoenix,</span> but the threat of storms wasn’t going to keep my Dad and me from heading up north to spend a night in cooler weather out of the desert heat. We decided the best place to avoid a storm was on top of a mountain. Doesn’t sound logical, but the plan worked--the storms raged all around us as we looked down, like Zeus gazing from above the clouds on Mount Olympus. Aside from some light showers, it was a quiet, cool evening in our little two-man tent on top of Mingus Mountain. There’s nothing like nature to bring a peace to the soul and make you appreciate the good things in life. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/e0f7fdafeef137c0b294303f262df3b5a9f5ce26/original/img-5733.jpg?1407285081" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">(Pic I took in Phoenix the night before camping)<br> </div>It’s been a rough few months for my Dad. Earlier this year, doctors found a tumor on his brain after he’d been having trouble with his vision. Fortunately, they were able to operate on it quickly, removing 95% and zapping the rest with crazy lasers (modern medicine blows my mind). However, he still has problems seeing on his right side. It’s crazy how much we take for granted the little things that can totally alter our lives. Things could definitely be worse, but this whole thing still just, sucks. But if I believe anyone can make it through, it’s my Dad. He’s spent years being tough, as a carpenter, set designer, builder, outdoorsman, seaman…overall, being way manlier than I ever could be. Life throws a curve sometimes, and I know he won’t give up. He’ll just find another way to hit it.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/fbc3c52387257c3a90e61f11c05208604b08c8ca/original/img-5745.jpg?1407285156" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div style="text-align: center;">(Gazing down on storms from our campsite on Mt. Mingus)</div><br>This weekend was one of the last before I head out on the road again with my good friend, Rayvon Owen. With August comes the start of the college year, and that means shows for us. I’m looking forward to it, especially with Rayvon’s new EP release at the end of the month, a project I helped co-write and produce. You can check out some of the songs on iTunes now, or at rayvonowen.com. Go to his website to check out the tour schedule, too; maybe we're coming to a college near you! Before these next crazy few weeks started for me, I had to spend some time with the fam. Wherever the year is for you, don’t forget to consciously love those around you, and make some moments before the next big curveball comes your way.<br><br><br>RossRoss Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/30904142014-07-21T21:10:16-06:002022-05-27T09:21:14-06:00The Jingle That Won It All<span class="font_large">With fierce dark eye makeup and a flashy outfit,</span> my friend John Flanagan took the stage at The Mint to the screams of his devoted fans, most of whom had shown up hours before in anticipation. It was the first time I had gotten to perform with John since 2010, when we drove 14 hours through the night to Foxwoods Casino and won $25,000. <br><br>Yes, John was my partner in crime for arranging the newest and finest arrangement of the casino’s hit theme song, “The Wonder of It All.” John came over one day, excited to tell me about this jingle competition at Foxwoods. “We can win this,” he said. I agreed, and we got to work. We brainstormed, and came up with a 6/8 rock arrangement in the style of “Somebody to Love” by Queen. In my tiny rented room in Nashville, with below average recording equipment, John laid down such thrilling Queen-esque harmonies on our track, Freddie himself would have been proud. After months of fan voting (thanks fans), that recording gave us our ticket to perform our version live at Foxwoods, where the top finalists competed to win the grand prize: 25 thousand dollars worth of promotion, prizes, studio time, and more. John and I, and our two other bandmates, Ryan and Jared, drove from Nashville, arriving in Connecticut with a couple hours to take a nap before our performance. Tired but bursting with adrenaline, we got on stage…and the sound was horrible. We did our best with our harmonies, but could barely hear each other (plus, there was no way to match John’s insane vocals anyway). After all that, we had no idea if we had played well enough to win. However, I think the judges had heard the recording and knew what they wanted, and John was it. We walked out with a big cardboard check and one crazy story. <br> <br><a contents="Click here to listen to the jingle." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdNky78eFgM" target="_blank">Click here to listen to the jingle.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/551ab7efedb1ff16fabdb063d521a974e130a9fa/original/24797-657682671634-6042557-n.jpg?1405998379" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a><br> <br>I moved to Los Angeles a little over a year ago, and the first person I wrote with was John. I was figuring out so much of my life at the time, and John was a good friend and collaborator who helped me feel confident that I could call Los Angeles home. Over this past year, we’ve written some fantastic tunes, and I’m hoping you’ll be able to hear many of them on John’s next album, which is in the works. It’s an honor to open for and play with John this Friday at the Foundation Room, and I hope you can make it. Sorry, no jingles will be performed.<br> <br><br> <br> <br>Ross<br> <br>P.s. John, don’t get a big head from reading this. Jk.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/e2bf4116b3934bbfb885ac0c8fab43615d1edc04/original/10517622-10152515640720139-5526577769579877241-o.jpg?1405998526" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/30711492014-07-11T14:36:13-06:002022-04-25T03:26:47-06:00The Hardest Thing to Come By in the 21st Century<span class="font_large">If only Mozart had had a Smartphone.</span> He could have made cute little videos of himself playing piano at age 5, and become a YouTube sensation. After posting a selfie with Bach (#LondonBach), he could peruse the classical charts, see what’s hot in the king’s court these days, and work up some covers. He would have had so many Twitter followers even Papageno would have been impressed (oh boy… opera humor, sorry). With all the social media distractions, who knows if Mozart would have even had time to write The Magic Flute. More importantly, would he have had the patience?<br><br>My particular generation grew up in an interesting technology shift. I’m proud to say that not only did I record to a cassette, <em>I actually bought one</em>. Yep, “Weird Al” Yankovic's <em>Running with Scissors</em>. Not long after, I bought the CD, but in ‘99 it still made sense to get the tape. Plenty of things went out of style back then, but even more things came in. Mostly, the Internet. Instant. Global. I still remember a time without it, but it’s faint. The Internet has had a mind-boggling effect on human culture. Since the beginning of our existence, the quest for knowledge was very important: the bigger the book collection or album collection you had, the smarter, more cultured you were. Then suddenly, everyone could go on their computer and listen to all the music, watch all the movies, and learn about everything ever, everywhere. <br><br>I was at the tail end of the generation who knew a time before and after instant everything. But for everyone after me, it’s always been that way. I believe the Internet (and other computer-related technology) is a great thing, but its greatest asset is also its greatest problem: it’s so easy. This is also true with music software. When someone with a computer and a DAW can literally make a decent song in 5 minutes using copy and paste, how will they be able to sit for hours and hours, every day, learning to master an instrument? <br> <br>Discipline. Mozart had it. Every famous composer or performer had it (partly because they didn’t have a lot else to do back then anyway), and you can still have it today, but it’s definitely harder. I’m not referring to the punishment-type of discipline, but rather the kind you manifest within. I strongly believe anyone can learn a new instrument, become a decent painter or actor, or write a book. Good distraction (last week's blog) is key, but the second and most important thing is discipline. Discipline is knowing what you are trying to accomplish, having patience, and realizing that <strong>it will take time</strong>. When you train or practice, you will improve, but it will take time. Your mind finds places to store your new knowledge, and it needs time to build and strengthen those connections. Your body needs to be strengthened too, physically and with muscle memory. With even with the simplest of tasks, like holding a paintbrush or a guitar pick, you are using muscles you haven’t used before, and your muscles will probably hurt from it. Not for long, but it takes time. As your muscles strengthen, so does your muscle memory, which is key to any skill. If you are decent at typing, do you consciously think about where each finger goes on the keyboard as you type? Or is it a combination of conscious thought and your muscle memory taking care of the rest? The same applies to anything, especially music. <br> <br>Living in a world where I can “get it now,” as well as being a perfectionist, I am easily frustrated when I don’t achieve huge successes right off the bat. If it takes years of hard work for movie stars, rock stars, CEOs, and other successful people to make it, how can I be upset if I don’t get it the first time around? Sorry Internet, but I’ve got some practicing to do. <br> <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/bdd726874b774875678341222bc7c5c6dc8a9f9f/original/img-3202.jpg?1405110959" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br><br>Ross<br><br>Upcoming shows: July 25th @ The Foundation Room, House of Blues w/ John Flanagan. $10, 9:30 PM!Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/30493502014-06-30T16:05:52-06:002021-02-13T01:16:13-07:00Did you ever want to quit?<span class="font_regular"><span class="font_large">Of course I wanted to quit.</span> Who doesn’t want to quit piano lessons at some point? I was frustrated with where I was, and how good I wanted to be. Everyone has a wall that looks impossible to scale. Even the greatest artists have goals that, from the start, look too difficult to accomplish. A couple of things saved me from giving up. The first was a distraction. For my career as a pianist, that was getting an electric keyboard. I was in third grade, and totally over it. I just couldn’t see myself getting better (in my 3rd-grader’s mind), plus I wanted a Nintendo 64. Why wouldn’t my parents buy me a Nintendo 64?! Thanks for the Gameboy, but the Nintendo was where it was at. Supersmash Bros! Starfox! Mario Cart! My friends at school were partially chosen by who had the Nintendos. A sleepover? Hmmm…wait, you have Zelda? I’m in. The future of piano was looking grim…and then came the Yamaha.<br> <br>Dad had a Casio from Christmases past, but this Yamaha was a whole new ball game. In today’s market, you can pretty much buy a keyboard with a full-on computer installed that will play your songs for you in full orchestration and brew a fresh cappuccino while you enjoy the music. This Yamaha was pre-cappuccino, not even a legitimate giging keyboard a professional would own. But for my little kid imagination, it had more incredible sounds than I had ever heard, from string sections to brass, pianos, Rhodes, clavicords, and organs. And the beats! Rock, country swing, big band, hip hop (very Fresh Prince-sounding, as I recall) and a hundred more that instantly triggered my creativity. It was like giving a kid who loves tree houses a hundred new, perfectly shaped trees in his backyard, ready for construction. With these building blocks, my first album was born. Remember, this was 1998. I couldn't record to a CD, so my first album was done on cassette tape. For those of you who have a vague understanding of what that even means: basically, once I had my song figured out, I queued up the tape recorder to the end of the last song, and hit record. Then it was a one-take shot. So, needless to say, it’s not the most flawless album I’ve ever made, but you can bet I was proud. Comedian Aziz Ansari tells a story about going to Kanye’s house and finding Kanye listening to his own album, <em>808s & Heartbreak.</em> Kanye looks at him and says, “These beats are dope!” “That’d be like if I had a stand-up album,” Aziz says, “and you came over to my house, and I was listening to it going HA HA HA HA HA! These jokes are dope!” But I can see myself now, jamming out to my own cassette tape, both sides full of instrumental songs combined with incredibly cheesy pre-programed Yamaha beats. <br> <br>The point is not that I made an album of decent tunes, which they weren’t, I can assure you. The point is that with the Yamaha, I was able to bridge the gap between my frustrating years of practice to where I am today. The keyboard distracted me from the toils of endless repetitive practice, yet kept me focused on playing. It gave me an escape from the required monotony of improvement, and threw in some color and chaos. It turned music back into fun. No matter how much you love your profession (or don't love it), it becomes work at some point, so find a way to keep your head in the game and enjoy what you do.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/74fa6df038bcf0471b7d62e689b9274bd061e7f3/original/ross-live-b-w.jpg?1404165911" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br><br>Next week, I’ll write about the second thing that was crucial to understand as I continued to practice.<br><br>Ross<br><br><br><br>Upcoming shows: July 26th at Foundation Room House Of Blues with John Flanagan</span>Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/30239122014-06-18T10:12:28-06:002022-10-23T23:07:43-06:00Keys for A Winning Co-write<span class="font_regular"><span class="font_large">I never anticipated writing about tuna.</span> One wet Nashville evening on Peachtree Street, my friend and drummer Houston Mathews and I cooked up a funky groove inspired by a lick he wrote on bass. The two of us had our own way of writing that could be summed up in one word: spontaneity. Our little duo project, Mother Honey, manifested out of a previous band we played in called Westfolk. The two of us would set up microphones and jam out for hours, recording material that would later become songs. Sometimes, we’d come up with the whole song on the spot, including lyrics, which was why I was singing about Chicken of the Sea (listen to the attached song!). Not sure why, but that’s what came to mind, so I wrote it down, and we moved on. In acting improv class, one of the big lessons you learn is to say, “yes, and” to your scene partner, in order to keep the story moving and building. Mother Honey had a lot of, “yes, and,”… sometimes too much. I wrote songs about treacherous foggy mountains, death in space, and Adam and Eve. Between the the funky beats and out-there lyrics, there was never a dull moment with Mother Honey. <br><br><span style="font-size: 1em;">I used to hate co-writing. A couple of bad experiences had put me off the whole process. I thought I was the one who sucked, while the truth was my co-writer and I weren’t a good match. As a songwriter, you think you should be able to make great music with anyone, but that’s not always the case. I’ve definitely learned a few things about myself that I always think about when I go to co-write these days.</span><br> <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/f93869a6c365385ebc2866a605fc46de45829af5/original/412530-256508154429570-635468861-o.jpg?1403107888" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><em>Know your strengths</em> – Whatever you don’t do well, somebody out there can. I love lyrics, but music is my bread and butter. I love when another writer brings in a lyric idea, especially if they're going to be singing it. Having lyrics to work from inspires me to write more emotional music. I still contribute to all parts of a song, but when it comes to chords, melodies, and arrangements, I’m confident in my choices and know I can be a great compliment to other writers.<br> <br><em>Always bring something</em> – When another writer doesn’t have lyrics, then we start from scratch. That’s why I always bring some musical ideas I’ve been working on that hopefully will inspire other ideas. Even if you bring </span>only <span class="font_regular">some new music you’ve been listening to, it’s crucial to set a clear course for the session, otherwise you end up twiddling your thumbs, or checking your Twitter. <br> <br><em>Pick your battles</em> – A healthy balance of yeses and nos is key for a strong song. As long as we're on the same page and have pushed our egos aside, we can brainstorm and bounce ideas off each other, without worrying if the other writer is judging. However, my selfish songwriting nature tells me, “Your ideas rock! Forget the other writer!” In the end, even if what I write is good, my biases toward a lyric don't matter if it's not what the artist would say. Sometimes, what he or she comes up with is more fitting, even if at first I disagree. Other times, I have to stand up for an idea or phrase that my co-writer doesn’t get (yet), but that I know is really good. Yeses and nos.<br> <br><em>It’s easier to come back than move on</em> – If I had a dollar for every time I got stuck in the creative process…well, you get the idea. Especially with co-writing, it’s easy to spin your wheels. You want the song to be perfect, and you want it to be like the movies--look at the brilliant verse I just wrote! I shouldn’t have to change it! <em>Re-</em>writing used to sound like a shameful idea. Now I’ve grown to appreciate it. That’s part of the beauty of a song: it will still be there tomorrow, and if doesn’t sound right, you make it better. <br> <br>No matter what happens, the experience needs to be fun. When it starts to feel like pulling teeth, it’s not worth the trouble. I’m a firm believer that two heads are better than one. You can have a lot of skills, but you’ll never be able to see from someone else’s point of view. So grab a friend and make something beautiful!</span><br><br><br>Ross<br><br><br>Upcoming events: #itsmybirthday show with Rayvon Owen, 9PM on June 26th at Room 5 Lounge. $10.<br>July 25th at Foundation room with John Flanagan 9:50 PM5:35Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/30042102014-06-09T17:34:12-06:002022-05-29T12:55:05-06:00Take Time to Live Life<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 1.15;"><span class="font_large">I was one false move from being completely naked.</span> <span class="font_regular">Trying not to drown, I held my breath waiting for the washing-machine-like wave to end. Luckily, my shorts stayed around my ankles, so I was able to slip them back on before being exposed to an entire crowd of beachgoers. My family was on our annual summer trip to San Diego to escape the Phoenix heat. San Diego has it all- great weather, a world famous zoo, Seaworld, shopping, seafood...but I lived for the ocean. I was a boogie-board master. However, at this moment, Mother Nature put me in my place with a wave that, as a ten-year-old, looked like a towering tsunami as it crashed down on my head. (I swear it cast a shadow, but the wave was probably only four feet high.) I decided to get out at that point, catch my breath, and try to digest all the seawater I’d just swallowed. But before you could say <em>Shamu</em>, I was back out there, riding some gnarlatious surf. I love the ocean. My sister tells me that because I’m a Cancer, I have a connection to water. I can’t disagree with her; whether I'm harnessing the wind with a sailboat on the Great Lakes, tubing down rushing rivers, or surfing the ocean swell, I’m the happiest guy on earth. </span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br><span class="font_regular"><span style="line-height: 1.15; font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Music is incredible. For me, it’s more than just something I enjoy listening to. It’s my career, a second language, and a way to express myself. Continuing to keep it a career, however, means I have to work a lot, especially as a self-employed musician. I’m definitely not complaining about making my own hours, but sometimes those hours stretch on and on through the night, until I watch the sunrise. If I’m not careful, a song I’m writing or a track I’m producing becomes totally all-consuming and I’m lucky if I go outside to breathe fresh air. From what I’ve heard, to be really successful in this business, you have to have almost </span></span><span class="font_regular" style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no life. At the ASCAP We Create Music EXPO last year, I heard a TV/film composer speak about his work. When asked how many hours he works a day, he had an unsettling answer. Basically, before he had kids, he composed from about 8 am until...well, whenever he stopped. Now that he has a family, he takes a couple hour dinner break, then goes back to work until midnight every night. If you’re writing for major network television shows, I get it. You have deadlines, episode after episode to finish, and they're paying you big bucks. But if that's your life, than you really have </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no</span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> life. </span></span></p><br><span class="font_regular"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love to work, but it's important to </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">take time to live life</span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This is the only life you get, and if you spend it all working, you’ll miss a lot of great things. My hometown pastor, Pastor Garman, always said, “You make time for the things you want to do.” Whether that’s traveling, going to see movies, photography, playing in a softball league...don’t make excuses. Make time. For me, on a weekly basis, that’s surfing. I have to go, even if there’s no waves, or if I’ve been up until 2 am the night before. Getting outside my work and into the ocean clears my mind and puts my career into perspective. Taking a break to just live focuses my life the same way that </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cross-training creates clarity</span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The stress of my own manufactured problems melts away as I sit on my surfboard, and what I thought was life and death, suddenly doesn’t matter at all. Don’t get lost in a workaholic struggle. Seek out the amazing experiences life has to offer and take time to enjoy them.<br><br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br>(that's me on the wave below!)<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/ee501f8c3ccc32594a826fc3c3a82161a388d625/original/img-5536.jpg?1402356750" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><br><br><br><br>Upcoming events:June 12, acoustic set at the 5 Star gastropub, State Social House on Sunset. Free.<br>June 26, full band show at the vibey Room 5 Lounge on La Brea. Double birthday party with Rayvon Owen! $10.</span>Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/29774722014-05-28T14:54:20-06:002022-02-12T04:24:56-07:00Cross-training Creates Clarity <span class="font_regular"><span class="font_large">My handlebar mustache was out of control.</span> It had reached Pistol Pete levels, and honestly, I couldn’t be more proud. With my Hndlebars Moustache Wax (hndlebarsmoustachewax.com, if you’re interested) and comb, I styled that baby so fine, even Wyatt Earp would have been jealous. After six months of hard work, I had built the cookie duster of my dreams, just in time for my debut as Sid in La Fanciulla del West with the Nashville Opera. With a couple years experience of chorus roles, and with a little bit of luck, I had landed a small named part in Puccini’s American cowboy opera. The stage had always been a part of my life, but the operatic world was still relatively new. Nevertheless, here I was, three years after I first started lessons, singing on stage of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, alongside some of the best voices in the business, with a giant greasy mustache. Occasionally throughout the production, I’d take a step back and think, “What the heck am I doing here?! Is this actually what I’m doing with my life? Opera?!” <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/39b5f0f543ee50074e97081f7071491da99baf4a/original/img-1182.jpg?1401310697" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> <br>This surreal experience happens fairly often these days. I’ve since relaxed my operatic muscles, but still do a variety of other things besides piano…because <strong>cross-training creates clarity</strong>. Let me explain in a few different parts. <br> <br>First, <strong>creativity comes from inspiration</strong>. The soaring melodies of Puccini’s Fanciulla (which inspired Phantom of the Opera), or the dark, dramatic music of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci took me to a different world than the Top 40 music I’d hear in the car all day. I wasn’t writing operas, but I was definitely inspired to make my music as beautiful and gripping as those melodies. I’ve also written some of my most interesting lyrics after visiting the art museum downtown. Anything creative you do comes from something you’ve read, seen, or heard before, so finding new art to inspire your conscious and unconscious mind will only give more depth to what you do.<br> <br>Second, I love finding <strong>parallels in art, in the expression of human nature and emotion, as well as parallels in the crafts themselves</strong>. One example: one of my songwriting teachers, Tom Douglas, spent most of the semester quoting religiously from Stephen Sondheim’s book about songcraft. (I found it hilarious that an award-winning country songwriter was teaching us principles based in a completely different art form, musical theater…but there was still a lot of interesting crossover.) Another example: learning the discipline, focus, and patience of practicing piano has bled over into how I approach everything I do. However, growing up as a classical pianist, I spent a lot of solitary hours focused on playing the right notes. The best actors and musicians tell stories in different ways, but both know how to connect with an audience. Through my acting and singing, I’ve connected long-unused dots when it comes to bringing the humanity back to my own playing and writing. Everything I do ripples into everything else I do, even with areas like social media marketing, working out, and relationships.<br> <br>Lastly, <strong>you find your sweet spot </strong></span><strong>only</strong> <span class="font_regular"><strong>when you push your limits</strong>. As a musician in Nashville, you learn pretty fast that you aren’t the best at anything…there's always someone better. My feeling was: I need to try to be the best at <em>everything</em>…otherwise, how would I know if that's what I was meant to do? So while some people just wrote songs or practiced guitar six hours a day, I was running around doing operas and musicals, starting silly bands with accordions and keytars, and buying a sailboat on Craigslist (but that’s a whole other blog). Looking back, I’m glad I did, because all of it brought into focus what I love to do and what I’m good at. I pushed my abilities to the limit, tried as many flavors of ice cream as I could, and now can home in on who I am at my core. Plus, my favorite flavor is coffee.<br> <br> <br>So be inspired, find parallels, and push your limits, “all in the service of clarity,” as Sondheim would say. Bring your life into focus!<br><br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br><br><br>Upcoming events:<br>June 12, acoustic set at the 5 Star gastropub, State Social House on Sunset. Free.<br>June 26, full band show at the vibey Room 5 Lounge on La Brea. Double birthday party with Rayvon Owen! $10.</span><br> Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/29682042014-05-23T15:13:58-06:002022-04-21T05:20:26-06:00Three Mantras To Live A Life Inspired<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 1.15;"><span class="font_large">I am the living product of a musical.</span> Literally. In 1983, my parents met in Phoenix Theatre’s production of <em>Fiddler On the Roof</em>. My father played Fyedka, the Russian who sweeps the daughter Chava (you guessed it… my mother) off her feet. So my parents were married twice: first on stage, and then again at the altar. A career in musical theater seemed almost comically predestined for me. I remember from an early age, we’d sit in the living room listening to dozens of shows, from the classics to the obscure. I’d see productions around town, including those at Grand Canyon University where my Dad taught stagecraft, makeup, and musical theater history. My first role was in <em>Pippin</em> at GCU when I was in second grade. I played Catherine’s young son, Theo...and my Dad played King Charlemagne. You’d think pursuing the dream of Broadway would have been my sole path. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But my parents weren’t as one-sighted. They saw I had a knack for music, rhythm, and creativity. So even before I did a show, I began piano lessons, which I continued until graduating college 17 years later.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I grew up, I started picking up different instruments and becoming half-way decent, from guitar, to trombone, to drums, to accordion. My parents said, “Go for it”. The high-school musical became a yearly thrill I couldn’t wait to do...but a passion for songwriting also blossomed during the same time. I had written music here and there, but discovered how much I loved to write songs. And what did my parents think? They never said, “Now Ross, remember your roots…stick to the theater…” No, they were crazy enough to let me go to college to study what I wanted to: songwriting.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m blessed they never discouraged me from trying new things, but by the time I was halfway through college, I started to get carried away. What is it...jazz piano? music programming? opera? Sure! Yes...opera. My voice teacher at Belmont, the world-class tenor Tom Studebaker, encouraged me to sing with Nashville Opera, and suddenly, another career was on the table. I was singing in three or four operas a year, and even went to a summer opera program, the Castleton Festival in Virginia, to study German, sing Mozart, and dive into whole other world of performing.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> </p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The juggling act definitely began to take its toll. I was beginning to feel like I couldn’t keep all the plates spinning the same way I always had. I knew that pretty soon, someone was going to lose, and it was three careers against one of me. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was ready to throw in the towel, cut (what I thought were) my losses and stop trying to do it all...when suddenly, I came to a realization. I needed to alter my thinking: I couldn’t be the best at everything I started...that was never going to happen. But there was no reason for me to quit all for the sake of one. In fact, there were a few reasons to keep me juggling all of my passions--to this day. In Stephen Sondheim’s book, </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finishing the Hat</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he shares three guidelines for writing a musical, so I thought I’d try three of my own pertaining to living a creative, inspired life. The first I wrote about a couple weeks ago, called </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 of the 3</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (read about it here). My second mantra, which I’ll write about next week, is this:</span></p><br><span style="font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cross-training creates clarity.</span><br><br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br>Upcoming events: Singin' Sautrdays at The Parlor Hollywood @ 10PM! Free.Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/29549202014-05-18T11:44:15-06:002014-05-30T21:23:33-06:00My Nightmare and My Joy (+ video!)<span class="font_large">Thursday night was sweaty.</span> After three days of high temps and jam packed days, I felt like I’d probably lost a few pounds just from sitting in my sweltering apartment all day with its struggling window AC units. Thursday was the apex of it all. After days of chart writing, rehearsing, scheduling, re-scheduling, Facebooking, tweeting, last minute late-night practices and a little bit of sleeping, my show at Amplyfi on Melrose finally began at 7:35 pm. This night had been my orchestration from day one, and even with some minor snafus, the show was going smoothly (besides being drenched…yuck). The soulful KellyAnne Rodgers stepped in last minute to fill the first time slot, followed by my set with John, Kristen, and Whitney (in the video below) and our musical review. DnK closed it out with a pretty kickin' show. Most exciting was that everybody had a crowd, which brought good vibes and energy to the whole night.<br><br>I love Amplyfi…it’s easy to pack with people, and has a house show vibe as you walk down the stone steps into the decorated venue. Without sounding too hippyish, I like the energy of the place most: it’s a home-grown operation. The folks running the venue were super easy to work with, and you can tell that Kota Wade (owner) has put time and effort to make this venue a reality for the same reason we come and play shows there: bringing people together for music.<br> <br>Booking independently is my nightmare. Maybe I’ve just had one too many rough experiences booking a show for my band or me, but I get anxious just thinking about it. As I recounted above, it’s a lot of dang work, especially now with social media. I imagine in the old days, the band would just run around town with a stack of flyers, stick them to every telephone pole in town, and call it a day. You can still do that, but now you’ve got to have digital “posters”--status updates, photos, promo videos. And at the end of it, you just hope people want to leave their house and show up. God forbid a band drops out, or JT’s show down the street is the same night.<br> <br>But… if you keep your head down and play all the cards right, there you are, standing on stage, looking out at all those faces who decided to turn it up and go see your show. I definitely don’t want to be a concert promoter when I grow up, but the joy of seeing all those people in one place (most of whom you don’t know), gathered together to rock out and enjoy a night of music because of your efforts…it’s pretty satisfying. If I had just given up after the first problem arose (there’s always something), all these people would never have been here sharing this experience, making some memories, and being entertained. The evening had grown into a life of its own, and now I was just along for the ride.<br> <br>As teeth-grinding as it can be, getting people together is so important, especially when we are so “connected” these days through the Internet. Whether it’s church, concerts, theater, ball games, parties, yoga…being right alongside other people who share our interests gives us self-worth and much needed community that we can’t get from a computer screen. That’s why live music will never go away, even in the face of the digital music revolution (but that’s another issue for another blog). So…throw a party! Gather your peeps. It’s worth the hassle. <br><br>And please enjoy this video from the show on the 15th! The last couple minutes are totally spur of the moment skrelting from some of my favorite singers that you don't want to miss, so check it out. <br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="xfEcQjphOGo" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/xfEcQjphOGo/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xfEcQjphOGo?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="500" width="800" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br> Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/29279092014-05-07T23:27:44-06:002020-11-12T02:55:47-07:00Striking Your Match, Keeping It Lit<span class="font_large">Back in Nashville</span>, I played with a duo called Striking Matches (Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmerman, both of who can shred up a guitar like nobody’s business). I was definitely bummed to leave them once I moved to California, but country music didn’t light me up like it did for those two (and they were damn good at it). For them, every time they strummed their guitars it literally like striking a match. They love what they do, and you can tell. In a way, everyone’s born with a match inside them to strike. But instead of fire, it produces a passion, love, or irresistible joy. <br><br>I have a musical match inside me. While my mother was still pregnant with me, she attended a Phoenix Symphony concert, and when the music began, she could feel me start to kick harder than I ever had before. When I was three, my parents would put on records and I would start dancing and running in excited circles like a wind-up car on a track. My other favorite thing to do was sing, although sometimes I didn’t quite sing the songs as written. My favorite re-arrangement was of Three Blind Mice; I’d start the song like usual, but then go crazy with the lyrics. I’ve written the song out below- the italics indicate when the song took a turn towards the feel of Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York, and melodically altered between a minor third. It went something like this: <br><br>Three blind mice,<br>Three blind mice,<br>sat on a house,<br>sat on a house,<br><em>the mahner came and shook the house,</em><br><em>they all fell down,</em><br><em> got two owies</em><br><em>That was not a good idea,</em><br><em>They all cried, “wah, wah, wah!”</em><br> <br>Just for clarification, “mahner” is actually 3 year old speak for “monster”. I couldn’t quite say that one right. But subject-wise, the song is solid…way better than the original, right?<br>Some people’s matches are trickier to light-maybe you feel you don’t know what yours is, or even have one at all. But the truth is, we all have one, it might just be right under our nose. It doesn’t need to be artsy, and it definitely doesn’t need to be your profession. I’m making a career out mine because I’m crazy and don’t know what else to do. Here’s some other matches: coaching a little league team; hiking through national parks; reading great books; getting new degrees every couple years; traveling to countries like Africa to help people build better lives. <br> <br>Even when you know what your match is and love doing it, inevitably a time comes when you hate your match. You want people to understand why you love it and they don’t. You want to be respected for doing it, but no one does, besides your mother (thanks, Mom). Or you want to be the best, or at least be better at your match, but it seems impossible. I always remember two things when I start feeling this way. First, you can never have a plus without a minus, happiness without sadness, and love without some hate, as long as the negative doesn’t outweigh the positive (otherwise, I would rethink if your match really <em>is</em> your<em> </em>match). Second, if all of the external pressure I put on myself faded away, could I be happy just doing this for myself? A lot of what we do with our lives is aimed at pleasing others, sacrificing time, effort and money to be part of a community. But at the basic level, you should be able to do what you do <em>for yourself</em>, and no one else. <br> <br>I’m excited to see how my match changes and grows…who knows where it will all lead. Find your own match and strike it!<br><br><br><br><br>Ross<br><br><br><br>Upcoming Events: <br>Killer artists at Amplyfi on the 15th! 7:30 - Celisse Henderson. 8:15 - John Flanagan, Whit, Ross Bridgeman, and Kristen Rogers. 9:00 - DnK.Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/29085232014-04-30T00:02:57-06:002022-05-24T05:47:52-06:002 of the 3: What Makes Your Job Worth It<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 1.15;">It's been a week since Les Mis rehearsals began at <a contents="Studio Tenn" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.studiotenn.com" target="_blank">Studio Tenn</a>’s new space in The Factory, with only days to go before opening Saturday night in downtown Nashville at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The original idea of a concert version slowly morphed over the last couple months into a full-blown production with sets, costumes, and staging. With less than two weeks to put it all together, the cast and crew of Les Mis are on full A-game alert, mentally and physically, in order to make this all happen. So far the days have been productive, rehearsals running smoothly and well planned. By Saturday, I’m positive a fine production will be mounted on the symphony hall stage. To raise a show of epic proportions in two weeks is a lot to handle- and we all know we aren’t doing it for the money. Don’t hear me wrong: Studio Tenn compensates it's actors decently...but no one’s getting rich from this show. That’s okay, no one expects to. That’s not why we're here. Well, maybe I should just speak for myself...it’s not why I decided to come back to Nashville from Los Angeles to be a part of this world-renown musical. I came for chance to sing “One Day More” with a hundred plus voices in an acoustically incredible hall. I came to reunite with friends and fellow actors I think of as a second family, and go through another transformative theater experience with them. And sure, I came to add to my resume, one more show under my belt. So far, I’ve got 2 of the 3. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When opportunities present themselves, my Dad would say, you need to judge them by three criteria: Money, Experience, and Fun. Of course, when you really just need money, any job will do for a period of time until something better comes along. But if you’re looking for something fulfilling, something you can look back on without regret, it’s going to take 2 of the 3. If there’s only 1 of the 3, it’s most likely not worth your time. Sure, you could make $25 an hour, but if it's mind numbing and at the end of the day, you’re exactly where you started, it’s probably time to say goodbye. Sometimes it’s harder to tell what’s really 2 of the 3. When I talk to friends working music business jobs, the experience category is off the chart, which is great. On the other hand, their bosses treat them like slaves, they seem unhappy, and they have to pick up a second job just to make rent. No fun, no money...worth it? And fun jobs are fantastic...but taste testing at the ice cream factory won’t be worth it unless they are also paying you major bucks as well.</span></p><br><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 of 3 is a shooting star. For me, a worldwide concert tour would fit that description. Or maybe a sponsored sailboat excursion in the mediterranean. It’s great to aim for all 3. But for now, 2 of the 3 gives me the framework to keep me moving toward bigger and better things. Look at how you spend most of your time...maybe you’ve been focusing too much on one and forgetting the other two. Don’t shortchange yourself! Go for 2 of the 3.<br><br>Ross<br><br>P.S. To buy tickets to Les Mis, click <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.nashvillesymphony.org/tickets/concert/les-miserables?deeplink=buytix&prodid=3885&perfid=3886" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/28943572014-04-24T00:20:18-06:002021-10-14T10:43:32-06:00Back At The Basement: Ruston Kelly, Rick Brantley, and friendsI moved to Los Angeles last June from Nashville, where I had spent the previous six years of my life, studying piano at Belmont University, playing in bands, and going to shows. After moving to LA, I've definitely slowed my show attendance, mostly because I don't know as many musicians on the west coast as I did in Nashville. So when I got to come back to Tennessee to be in Les Mis at the Schermerhorn, I jumped at the chance to head out while in town to one of my favorite venues, The Basement, to see some music. <br><br>My old band mate and friend Houston Mathews (Music City Underground) texted me he was playing drums, and headed over to get there by 7. After spending over half a decade there, I started running into people I knew: old friends I hadn't seen in years, some I've only seen cross your Facebook feed from time to time. Even though I love where I'm at now on the west coast, Nashville is always a reunion I enjoy. <br><br>The show started with Ruston Kelly (<a contents="www.rustonkelly.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rustonkelly.com" target="_blank">www.rustonkelly.com</a>), a songwriter I've always admired for his unique voice, guitar chops, and versatility. Back in 2013, Rusty recorded acoustic guitar on my side project, Mother Honey. Tonight, with Houston at drums and an assortment of other band mates, Rusty nailed his set, from beautiful ballads that grew from start to finish, to other rockin tunes with a splash of country. I've seen Rusty go from highs to lows and back again with his career, but one only needs to listen to his exciting, sometimes mischievous voice to start to understand where he's been. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/c983a6e7095f02f94985042f25d59c151753fe7d/original/img-5070.jpg?1398319318" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br>After Rusty was Rick Brantley (<a contents="rickbrantley.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rickbrantley.com" target="_blank">rickbrantley.com</a>), a songwriter I had never heard before, which reminds me another reason Nashville makes ls amazing. The fact that I could live here for anytime at all and not know who half the bands are in this town, is pretty typical of the scene. Rick had another great band with two of my other favorite musicians in town, Hank Born (guitar) and Kristen Rodgers (vocalist). There were songs that were pretty ballsy, rockin, and full of Springsteen-esque energy that made me fist pump, while another tender song called "Hurt People" brought the venue to complete silence. Overall, Rick worked hard to give a great show, and I'd go see him again.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/6454/b909262075b5922f26b2418e9988cd34b96e1d0d/original/img-5104.jpg?1398319880" class="size_l justify_center border_" />My favorite thing about going to a show in Nashville is the audience. It's still hard to get people to come out to shows, either because they just played a show, or are rehearsing for another, and don't have time to make it. But when they do come out, they listen, while other cities might just be trying to get drunk or take selfies. Don't get me wrong, that definitely still happens-but as a musician, you know when performing that your music is in good ears once it leaves the stage. <br><br>I'm so glad I was able to jump back into a moment in the Nashville indie music scene, if only for a night, and enjoy great music and great people once again!<br><br> <br><br> Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/28823372014-04-18T17:36:57-06:002022-05-31T21:43:28-06:00The One Thing That Can't be Beat in Music<span class="font_regular">Los Angeles was a busy town this past week, due to Coachella's two consecutive weekends of nonstop music. While bands waited for the second weekend to arrive, many played shows in and around LA, which is great for those of us who prefer to take a rain check on the whole Coachella experience. I went to Coachella a couple of years ago, and decided that if I ever go back, it's gonna have to be in style. The sun was intense, and the tent was an oven-plus we only had one little square of land to fit our car and two tents, not leaving a lot of room for much else. So next time, I'm talking RV with AC… shoot, hopefully I'll be playing the festival by then!<br><br>Anyway, instead of Coachella, we decided to see who was playing locally this week. To start was a tried and true favorite of mine, the funky duo known as <a contents="Chromeo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://chromeo.net" target="_blank">Chromeo</a>. Promoting their forthcoming album, White Women, these two kept it dancy and fun the whole time, playing some new tunes along with their hits like "Needy Girl" and "Fancy Footwork". The lead singer/guitarist, Dave1, isn't a phenomenal singer, but makes up for it showmanship. What makes Chromeo unique is the other member, P-Thugg, and his talkbox. It's slippery sound against the other synths and drum machines makes Chromeo stand out against another electro pop band out there. Pure fun, dance, and nothing but good times.<br><br>Next was <a contents="Broken Bells" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.brokenbells.com" target="_blank">Broken Bells</a>, with just as many synths and drum machines as Chromeo, but used in an entirely different way. While Chromeo kept you energized and in the moment, Broken Bells mellowed you out and took you to another world. The group, consisting of Danger Mouse and James Mercer of the Shins (along with some other players for the live show), was accompanied by swirling light shows and trippy graphics. Between just four guys and various changing of instruments, they created a symphony of music, with Mercer's effect-filled voice floating on top of it all. The two are not much for hyping up a crowd, saying barely anything the whole night, but they let the music do most of the talking, and it was magical.<br><br>However, by far the most electrifying performance was the third show we saw, from an artist who didn't </span>actually <span class="font_regular">play Coachella, but was in town all the same. His name was <a contents="Sam Smith" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.samsmithworld.com" target="_blank">Sam Smith</a>, a young British singer who has just started to break into the spotlight. It did not seem to matter that Smith's first full album hasn't even come out yet, because the roar inside the venue was deafening. This artist had barely been on the scene, yet people were SO excited. How is it that Chromeo was putting out its fourth fantastic album, and the amazing supergroup of Danger Mouse and James Mercer played a killer show, yet neither crowd was as jacked as this one? I put on my thinking cap…<br><br>Smith's band was great, but nothing out of the norm.<br>The songs are excellent and catchy, but subject wise, are nothing new and fairly simple.<br>He's got a cool look, but isn't overwhelming good looking.<br><br>What did he have the other two bands didn't have?<br><br>A truly incredible voice. When it comes down to the facts, an incredible voice (no effects, or auto tune) kills people. The songs could have been written 50 years ago (I mean, one of his big songs is called "Stay With Me"….really? thats it?), but it doesn't matter, because his voice connected emotionally to what he was singing, and he did it beautifully. Without a doubt, Sam Smith is here to stay, and only getting bigger. <br><br>There's more ways than ever to make music these days and actually find some success. The internet ties us all together, and technology makes creating even easier than before. But what's always going to separate the men from the boys is true talent, especially a voice. All three bands were amazing at what they do, but when the spotlight shines on the voice, it shines brighter than anything else. Gosh, I hate to make singers feel any more special than they already do. Just kidding…So if you play music, or especially write music, don't get too carried away on production, or the crazy chord changes...give the voice words and melodies that make it shine, and you'll touch your audience more than any other thing you could do. It's the clearest way to reach the soul, and always will be.</span><br> Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/16847562013-09-23T10:42:59-06:002022-06-01T19:16:50-06:00Last few shows...for nowHeaded to Texas for the last couple of shows, for me at least. Next week begins another adventure as I head back to Nashville to start working on Into the Woods with my good friends at Studio Tenn. Rayvon and I have had a lot of fun these last few shows, and I wanted to share some of the memorable moments for me. <br><br>-We flew in to play UNC Upstate on September 11th. Flying and traveling on that date really made me think alot about the tragedy, and after our show that night, the students and administration had a remembrance ceremony on campus that was beautiful, and I was glad I got to be a part of it.<br><br>-The ladies at Converse College were by far our most enthusiastic crowd, not quite sure why?...I've never signed people's arms before, that was a first.<br><br>-Because Elon was not too far away from Rayvon's hometown of Richmond, a lot of family came to see the show, which was special. It's always great to have your Mom clapping and shouting from the back of the room!<br><br>-The venue at Washington and Jefferson was really cool-a semi diner/coffee shop that gave us all free milkshakes. That's gonna need to go on the next rider.<br><br><br>This week, we've got a few gigs in Texas before heading to Nashville. Looking forward to the next month!<br><br>RossRoss Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/15498092013-09-04T16:25:00-06:002021-06-28T16:28:52-06:00On the Road<span style="font-size: small; "> The past couple weeks have really been a blur. I'm finally getting the chance to tour around these great United States playing music with my good friend Rayvon Owen (check him out! </span><a href="http://www.rayvonowen.com"><span style="font-size: small; ">rayvonowen.com</span></a><span style="font-size: small; ">), playing dozens of colleges from New Mexico to New Jersey. Definitely something I've always wanted to do, but man, traveling is no joke. Just a few things I have a new found appreciation for:<br>
Managers - people who organize and figure out the details and get you what you need when you need it<br>
Being 25 - which neither of us are...renting cars = goodbye money<br>
Having a tour bus + hired driver (also don't have) - Luckily, we've been able to fly most places, but that adds on rental cars or taxis, hotels, airports with lines and security, checked bag fees, etc. It would definitely be nice to get on a bus and wake up where I need to be the next day<br><br>
But seriously, its been a lot of fun, and I don't take for granted I've got a pretty cool job that I get to do everyday. I'll try to post updates on where I am and what I'm doing. We played Furman University this evening on an outside stage gazing over their beautiful lake. It was a fun show, but I forgot what humidity is like- I felt like I'd taken a bath by the end of the night! Tomorrow, its to Coastal Carolina. <br><br>
Goodnight,<br>
Ross</span><br type="_moz">Ross Bridgemantag:www.rossbridgeman.com,2005:Post/9359492013-06-13T09:59:33-06:002021-06-28T16:14:01-06:00My Fair Lady: A Bloomin' Success!Thanks to all the wonderful production and cast members for a fantastic three weekends of My Fair Lady at the Franklin Theater! An amazing experience, and an honor to work with you all. <br><br>
-Ross<br type="_moz">Ross Bridgeman