*all the blogs linked in here are because they explain how I ended up where I am.
Maybe I should not put three exclamations in the title line. Someone once told me that is the equivalent of shouting. I could have put it in all caps too. I’m not trying to shout at anyone in particular, but to shout out to all of you my faithful and truly loved readers, your friends, family and diverse spheres of influence. I…well we, need your help. Sit back, relax, read on and find out just what it is I ask of you.
Well it all started over a glass of port back in early April at a small little beatnik hole in the wall off State St. It was right around when I wrote: “The House of Lisanti is in Disarray“, wow that seems so long ago now. I went downtown with my friend Jules to pretty much cry about my desperate situation. Early on in the evening she ended up bailing on me for one reason or another leaving me sitting all by my lonesome looking rather pathetic at this tiny little table in the corner.
While there weeping in my $8 glass of less then stellar port this group of four people came up and asked if they could join me. There were plenty of available tables yet they were rather persistent. The ringleader of the group, this strange looking Australian dude just would not take no for an answer. Too distraught to put up any type of fight I agreed.
They asked what was a matter and my response was” you don’t want to know” To which they insisted to hear my story of deceit, heart ache, despair, destruction and ultimate heart break (although at that time I still believed I had a chance). You can read about that story in “Bowing Out“. They were pretty genuine people and all seemed like worthy and respectable individuals, traits very uncommon amongst many today. With their careful prodding and fun input the story took on a life of its own and when all was said and done I had four new friends.
Turns out the Aussie, Nick was throwing a party at his house the following day and invited me to come. Although my plans were to stay in bed for the next five days or so I decided to attend. The party turned out to be a ton of fun where I met heaps of wonderful people. About a month later right after “One Last Perfect Day” was dropped, Nick had another party, which I also attended. Trust me if you ever have the opportunity to go to one of his events make sure you grab the bull by the horns and show up. They are just about unsurpassed.
Since my life went down the crapper everyone loved to tell me that everything happens for a reason and other bullshit cliché stuff of that variety. Up until now I did not believe them and just frankly wanted to bash skulls in each and every time I heard that type of stuff. Now looking back I realize there may have been a lot of truth in that adage.
The thing about these parties is that I seldom know anyone at them because everyone is rather new to me. It is a completely different circle then I am used to traveling in. The majority of the attendees are really positive, hardworking, professional people all around my age, instead of the typical burnt out waste of space characters I usually choose to keep around me. I must admit it is a very refreshing change.
At this particular event I began talking with this pretty chill guy Ken, who ended up with in the course of a few casual question most likely just to be polite and make conversation got wrapped up into a string of tales from Lisanti Land. Poor guy. As it turns out he is a musician as well and we had very similar musical roots. Ken apparently runs this theatre company here in Santa Barbara with his lovely girl friend Kyra called Proximity.
Through the course of the evening Ken said he thought he could use me in the company. We exchanged numbers and then I cruised out to meet up with some friends at the Wild Cat, after all is there any other way to end a perfectly good Saturday? I think not. I was thinking it a 50/50 chance he would hit me up. I was sort of hoping he would though, because I have just recently been wood shedding on my horns hardcore and would love to work my way back into the arts.
About a month passed and I figured that Ken was no longer interested. It was no worries I was not sure if was ready to play in that capacity anyway. Then I got a call from him that he was having a potluck dinner meeting with the group and if I would like to join. I still sort of thought he was just trying to get me over so I would cook a banging dish for his group (I did my usual go to pot luck dish: Baked Ziti, it feeds a large number and is absolutely scrumptious, don’t worry I promise to post some new recipes soon). Turns out he was pumped to have me and so was everyone else there.
What an amazing group of people he had assembled for Proximity. With out even seeing them in action I could tell these artists were very talented (after experiencing their capabilities, I can vouch for the entire group). They were all so passionate about what they have going on. I had not seen passion like that since my early Berklee days and it was refreshing. It’s not about the money or the accolade, but just about the pure love of putting on an incredible performance and that warmed my heart more then anything has in some time.
Important! Read Here:
Why have I wasted your time with this pointless boring story you ask. First off you should all know by now I am rather long winded much like Hawthorne, except I am not paid by the word. Second I, we at Proximity need your help.
We are a very small group who are doing this for the love and not the money. Proximity is also a nonprofit organization (its legit and tax deductible!) This summer we are putting on a pretty big production of an original show written by group member Karina Richardson entitled Shandy Wilkes. It’s a pretty cool story that I will not get into here but will furnish a link to it at the end of this blog. All I can say is that it is guaranteed to be an excellent show. The plan is to run it here in Santa Barbara from August 10-12 at The Center Stage Theater and take it to New York City from August 18-20at The Robert Moses Theater.
To put on a performance of this magnitude it is not going to be cheap and this is where I am personally reaching out to each and every one of you. We are looking for donations (like I said before whatever you give can be used as a tax write off) from anybody looking to support something great. You can give as little as $1 or as much as you wish.
It’s not like me to go soliciting for money or I would have a donation button here on my site. Considering that, you have to think I must really have high hopes for this project. All I can say is that this group has given me something to believe in again, has helped me get my life back on track and allowed me to once again enter into the music world, a place I once swore I would never take part in again. I am very excited for this, but we can’t do it with out your help. So if you have anything to spare even if it is just $1, throw it in the pot cause every little bit helps.
You can donate and learn more about the project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kenurbina/proximitys-shandy-wilkes-in-sb-and-ny
Check out Proximity and what we are all about here: http://www.proximitytheatre.org/
Support this cause for no other reason then to get me back on the sax.
Thank you for listening.
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