Oh What A Night...

Hey All!

Today was one of those exceptional days that come around where everything seems to fall into place. A day you write about, so here goes.

Woke up this morning to a beautiful sea of white snow. Two feet to be exact. And from the window, simply gorgeous. I did have to go out into it, but unlike the slush of the other day, this one was fresh powder and it kept on a-coming down hard. I left an hour early just so that I would have time to walk slowly and enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, I am SO ready for Spring to come, but this was just sort of magical, if I do say so.

First up, "Law & Order". Whilst I usually play Drunken Frat Boys and the like, this time I was a business man. Not sure how to take that, Peter Pan that I am, but hey, it officially keeps my status as a working actor/entertainer active. Most of you know me, and I am the Silver Lining/Disney Character guy, so it should come as no surprise that I find being on set, overwhelmingly fun and exciting. We shot in Chelsea, and though it took 5 hours of sitting around before we started, once we got going, we plunged right through, filming take after take until it was just right.

At first we were told we might be there until 1 or 2 am, and delays due to weather made that seem a strong possibility. However, because of the weather, and the fact that not too many people on set lived in Manhattan (except me), they decided to get it done quickly and wrap early so that everyone could get home to the outer boroughs. This meant that we got out of there at around 5pm (which was still 10-11 hours). Knowing how much free time I had on my last shoot (Mercy), I decided to take the trusty Netbook along with me. I'm glad I did, and I got a message from Memphis the Musical that they were trying to fill the seats today (again, the weather) and had a special deal.

I immediately called up the fabulous Danielle De Luca, my kindred spirit with whom I've had extensive conversations about the virtues of this amazing musical. I knew that she was dying to see it, and although I had already been three times, I never tire of it and was down for seeing it again. Danielle was super thrilled at the offer to go and so a plan was made to meet up at the theater at 7. I rushed home, changed and headed on down early, arriving at 6, just to make sure I could still get tickets. The special deal filled out the two tiers of the 2nd and 3rd levels, but I had the extreme luck of getting the last two available Orchestra Seats. Yes! D was even more excited to hear this and so I waited for her until we ended up meeting in front of the Shubert at 7:20.

We went in and I told her how much she was going to love this and that my good friend Bryan Fenkart was in it, and how I would point him out when he came on stage. We opened the playbill so I could show her his picture, and imagine my surprise when a slip came out that declared that Bryan would be going on as the Lead Huey Calhoun tonight! Too amazing (again thank you to the big guy upstairs)! I have to say, he brought down the house and had me in tears (and subsequently, Danielle too) for the entire show. If you have a chance, please go see this. We laughed and cried and danced and clapped and maintained a long ovation. Bryan sent me a text letting me know that my name was on the list at the Stage Door and so to come backstage and hang out.

So D and I went, she got to meet the cast and praise them, I got to do the same, especially Bryan and Montego. Danielle and I then marveled at the beauty of being on a Broadway stage and I was, of course, a little choked up reminiscing about my previous times on Broadway. I had forgotten how fantastic the view is from that side of the room. We met up with Victoria, as well as Bryan's brother and his friend. Once Bryan was ready, we all caught the yellow line in Times Square to the D-Lounge in Union Square. There we ran into the always fun Kate, got settled in and waited for Bryan to hit the stage.

He came on and played tunes from his CD "Imperfect Man" as well as a little Billy Joel (who Bryan really, really reminds me of song wise) and some stuff from his new album. How he could do this after the laborious job on Broadway earlier is totally beyond me. He literally rocked the room, playing guitar and piano in harmony with his amazing voice. Afterwards, we all hung out for a while, before heading our separate ways. Danielle and I had a chance to have a long conversation in appreciation of the beauty of tonight. Finally, we went our ways (D and I) and can't wait to do it again soon.

So here I sit at 4:26 in the morning, still on a natural high from the electric energy of tonight. And I can't wait to see what the Universe has for me tomorrow.

Ok, that's about it for now. Take care and all the best. Remember, enjoy what you can when you can.

See you on the B-Side,

Richmond Chandler

February is turning out just fine...

Hello All!

Well, it's been a little while since my last blog. Sorry, I've been relatively busy recently, and when I am on the computer, I must admit, I'm usually on FB or Twitter. So, I thought it was high time I came and updated my blog.

I've added a new feature on my MySpace page (the only one that allows music). I've placed a box with samples of my piano playing. All you have to do is click on the song, and it will play for you in it's entirety. I have placed various styles from classical to rock ballad to soundtracks here for you (or any interested party) to hear what it is I sound like. As this is part of my professional life, I'm often asked for a demo, and now here is an easy way to have access to one.

At the present time, you can only listen to them, they are not yet available for download, for logistical reasons. But you can enjoy them. Please let me know what you think - even if you don't like them, let me know why. I'd appreciate any genuine feedback. Thanks.

On the acting front, things have started to pick up a bit. I signed on to play a small role in an Indy film. I'm a man from Ireland, accent, Gaelic speak and all. Totally awesome. I just finished a small, yet featured role on the NBC series "Mercy" which will air in about a month. Originally, I was hired to play a rowdy drunken Irish man (seeing a theme) at an Irish fair, but once there, they decided to change my role to something a lot friendlier (let's just say it includes balloons) and a lot more face time. Fun.

I'd forgotten how much I love being on a set. The whole dynamic and electrical feel - all the energy and all of the talent. Phenomenal. I didn't even mind filming at night in Jersey City in 20 degree weather for hours on end. I was just too pumped.

Next up, small roles on NBC's "Law and Order" and the CW (WB)'s "Gossip Girl" Yes, I know I keep saying small roles, but so what? Roles are roles and how many people out there can say they are actually working actors? I can, and that's enough for me. I just love being a part of it all.

I saw the amazing Parry Adams perform over on Park Ave South and 30th (Desmond's Tavern). It was, as usual, an awesome show. Kate, Nicky, Mike, Mark and Brian also were there, and we had fun bar food, rounds and rounds of Guiness and Jamesons and listened to the other performers afterwards. One that surprised us: Paper June, which turned out to be darn good. Thanks to her brother Eric for slipping me her CD. Too Cool.

After that, we headed over to Rodeo Bar on 2nd Ave. Kind of a Western Place in NYC. It was OK, but I wasn't feeling it there and the staff wasn't very accommodating, so I bailed. The rest of the group decided to stay behind. I then headed over to Stonewall to say hi to Chuck and Mikey. The place was pumping, but I said hey, stayed for a drink and headed over to Pieces.

At Pieces, I ran into my very good friend Billy (the fireman). I also ran into my friends Noah, Dave, Dan, Gregory and that dude from Percy Jackson. We shot pool (always, always be on Billy's team), did about a 100 shots out of test tubes, drank corona's and hung with performance artist "Machine Dazzle" who was just a hoot. My favorite part though, was the DJ incident.

I approached the DJ, who was doing a great job and had the room packed and moving to the beat. I asked him if I could "Rick Roll" the room in honor of my friends Danielle and Jaron. He agreed and played Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" which made the crowd go even more wild, and everyone, everyone knew the lyrics. Too too awesome!

Finally at around 4 Billy and I left and I got some Mexican food. Then home. Me to the Upper West Side, Billy to Long Island. After that, bed.

Today, I had an old fashioned date night, complete with a fantastic dinner and a show. Not much more I want to say about it, I'd rather the details stay private. But it was grand. Really grand.

So that's what I've been up to. And looking forward to the next projects. Ok, that's about it for now. I'll keep you posted. Take care of yourselves!

See you on the B-side!

Richmond Chandler

Happy New Year 2010

Hello All!

Happy New Year, 2010. Wow, 2010. I remember being a kid, watching Space 1999, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, etc. and thinking that the year 2000 was so far away. Prince told us to "Party like it's 1999" and of course, who could forget Y2K? Whatever that was. Yes, by the year 2000, I was waiting for my very own Landcruiser a la Luke Skywalker, communicators like on Star Trek and Computers with vast resources and a camera built in so that I could see people when I spoke to them (insert Sci-Fi show title here, since they all had it).

And you know what? I have a communicator via my web enabled flip cellphone, a netbook with vast resources by way of the internet, and skype so I can see people as I talk to them. The only thing missing is the Landcruiser. Oh well, what the deuce anyway, I live in Manhattan, so there really is no need. I have ample means of transportation in NYC.

So now here we are a decade (a decade!!!) into the 2000's and while some things have changed, some have stayed the same. What I've learned is to just live in the present, and face tomorrow when it actually comes. The rest will take care of itself.

I had a fantastic New Years, albeit busy. I started off at a party with a buddy from California who usually can be found in Times Square on New Years, then I won front row tickets to see Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden. I was really thrilled, and took along someone equally happy to be there with me.

Mariah was the consummate performer. Wow what charisma she has. I couldn't take my eyes off of her the entire concert. She began by arriving high above all of our heads in a red sleigh singing "All I want for Christmas" and proceeded to go through her songbook, with many wardrobe changes and personal stories along the way. There was a tribute to Michael Jackson, and Mariah reworked Diana Ross' "Love Hangover" to mosh it with one of her songs. Amazing.

At around midnight, the countdown began, and she counted us off, when Madison Square Garden exploded with fireworks, streamers, confetti and balloons. It was overwhelmingly exciting, I tell you. And there is something so surreal about having Mariah Carey sing Auld Lang Syne to you at the Garden. She closed with "Emotions", encored with "Hero" and gave us a memorable and wonderful night.

From there, I had been asked to perform at a place downtown at around 1:30 am and Mariah let out about 20 minutes before that. So I hustled there and was happy to find that someone needed to go on before me, so I had a little breathing room. We raised money for Broadway and Performers and generally had a blast. After 3 sets though, I was beat.

Next thing I know it was after 9 am, so we all went out to breakfast and chilled for a while and then I headed home to get some rest before having to meet people later that day. I finally strolled in at noon. Now if that doesn't make you feel like a rock star, I don't know what does.

In addition to those great memories, I have also been lucky enough to catch some Broadway too. I saw the amazing Ron Bohmer in "Ragtime" before it closed, and I've been to see my friend Bryan Fenkart in "Memphis" twice already in a week's time. I cannot recommend this show highly enough. I hope it runs for a long, long time and let me just predict some Tony awards in their future. By the way, Bryan is performing at the Bitter End downtown NYC on Jan 11, if you are in the city and want to see a great show.

Ok, that's about it? How was your New Years? Hopefully, you had fun, let go of the past and are anxious to move forward. Speaking of which, I wish a year full of laughter, love, happiness and joy and most of all, music. Peace be with you and remember to be good to one another.

See you on the B-side,

Richmond Chandler