Simply put, this is a bold and daring nightclub act for the modern world. Rather than pining for something nostalgic, Porter and the band clearly decided that there is magic to be found by throwing caution to the wind, discovering something new and invigorating in the music and simply having a good time.Chris Epting, Huffington Post
Though the Evolution of Cabaret is obviously a collective effort, it accomplishes something very singular for me. What I never saw coming was that it allowed me to do just that …evolve. Evolve as a singer and entertainer while expanding the supper club experience. In full disclosure, I’ve always felt I could perform in a traditional cabaret format but I just didn’t see where I could add anything new to the tradition, so I hesitated until this began to unfold. As this project began to take shape, I realized we had a fresh formula for presenting the music we grew up to. At that point, like anything else, it was just a matter of finding an audience for it. In short, this project represents personal growth by way of sharing my roots in popular music with the longstanding cabaret audience. The creativity and search is exciting to me. I always look forward to the next day of it.
Where did this all come from?
A few years back, guitarist and longtime friend, Wali Ali asked me to join him in a performance he was doing at Arts Westchester, in White Plains, NY. I agreed but surprisingly, he wanted us to perform folk songs as a duo! To put it mildly, I NEVER thought of singing John Denver or Simon & Garfunkel tunes though I loved those songs as much as anyone. In thinking about it, I probably assumed that for culture reasons I would never be asked or ever thought of creating a project to sing songs from that genre. For those reasons, THIS, was intriguing to me. I said …absolutely!
We debuted to a small, sold out audience in the art gallery of the Arts Westchester building. The success of the show inspired both of us to begin gathering material and he wanted to add musicians. We weren’t sure where this was going but it felt right so we just kept going. We began auditioning musicians and like the concept itself, the name and members of the group would evolve in search of the right fit until we had David Livolsi on bass , Danny Obadia on Piano and Erick Perez on drums.
Wali landed two long term runs for us at both The Porterhouse (of all names) in White Plains and The Watercolor Cafe in Larchmont NY. We’d sit on chairs and play these re-imagined arrangements of songs that Wali and I carefully selected each week. Audiences were growing and it was turning into a bit of a sing-a-long because we had no background singing, so I would ask the audiences to fill in the blanks in choruses. It was now evolving into an interactive, maybe even fun night …even a show!
Daryl’s House
On Halloween of 2014, Daryl Hall opened his club in Pawling, New York. Shortly afterwards we were able bring our evolving act to it. This was a huge step for us after experimenting in restaurants. It’s opening night. Word had spread and shockingly friends, family and now H&0 fans from all over the country came to check out the project. It would be our first sold out show of many at Daryl’s House. Daryl surprised me and joined us on stage at least 4 times during the course of our debut. I think it’s safe to say he was having a blast! The crowd of over 250 made us feel like every Wednesday and Friday night gig we played in those restaurants, mattered. It was truly a memorable evening.
One simple video
The decision was made that The Metropolitan Room, in the Flat Iron District should become our first New York City testing ground. I knew that despite a sparse amount of booking opportunities I’d be able to except because of my Hall & Oates touring and television schedule, in the long run, it would be best to choose a select, cabaret room like this. We also knew that our greatest challenge would be to connect with the traditional cabaret audiences of New York in spite of our non-traditional playlist and presentation. The contrast was …I’m coming from the concert stage. THIS, was music intimacy yet unseen. The great news …we were able to accept an offer from the famed cabaret room on 22nd Street on the strength of one video performance from our debut at Daryl’s club.
More Debuts To Come
We debuted at the Metropolitan Room in December of 2015 to another sold out audience and continued a successful, flex-residency through the 2016 season. Yet again, the reviews indicted that we should make another move. This time, Uptown. Next stop …Broadway. Jane Obadia (now my business partner), quickly landed the world famous, Michael Feinstein’s 54 Below. The Evolution of Cabaret was now headed to the beating heart of the cabaret world. The show debuted in July of 2017 to a sold out audience. The seamless performance was rewarded with rave reviews, standing ovations and the opportunity to return again and again. The mission continues with the addition of Joel Rosenblatt on drums, we are bringing a whole new and evolving concept to Broadway and the Supper Club Universe, world wide.
I’m no different then any other artist …I’m always in search of unique opportunities to grow. Evolution of Cabaret does that for me. …and to top it all off …I’m working with people I love.