theclubsinger

My parents got to endure my desire to sing on a very regular basis.  “Do you think that’s your key?” I’d hear them yell, and sometimes   “Are you sure about that one?”, or   “Didn’t you do that one already?” They had to yell because I was in a different room; they would be in the den and the piano and I were in the living room – with the door closed. “Could you tone it down a little bit?  We can’t hear the television!” – this was a popular one.  Since I could play the piano, I put in an extra effort to coordinate the singing with the playing – it took quite some time to play naturally along with the singing – the foot pedal thing was extra tricky.  I suppose I was pretty loud. And annoying.  It didn’t help that the piano wasn’t quite in tune: it wasn’t real bad, but it was off just enough to contribute to the overall unpleasantness that was coming from the living room. I was particularly fond of Melissa Manchester’s ‘Don’t Cry Out Loud’ …  I think my version of it was making my parents sob. They never came right out and said “Could you just stop, please?” but I pretty much knew that I stunk – and I didn’t care. I kept right on trying. And trying. And trying … I just loved to sing. 

At my first year in College, a friend of mine (who was frequently high as a kite) said I was really good at singing and should pursue it.  Perhaps she saw how much I wanted to do it and was just being a very good and very wasted friend, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. Bolstered by her words and some new-found College confidence, I graduated from geekdom.  I had grown into some pretty good looks and was offered a modeling contract. Well, kind of… at 5 foot 8 and 115 pounds, they said I had to lose ten pounds if I wanted to make a living at it! Whaaat?   I said no. So after one year of College, I dropped out to go for it. I loved to sing and play the piano and I could envision myself playing in front of a throng of adoring fans. But more importantly, I needed to sing. I had to do it – I was meant to do it!

Armed with my Rhodes electric piano and sheet music, I practiced.  A lot. I lived in an old apartment building on a beach block of Atlantic City –it was the kind of place you could hear a toilet flushing three floors up. It didn’t help that my apartment was on the ground floor – simply turning on the piano and playing a Middle C would result in at least one cranky old fart screaming at me to ‘turn it the F down’. I’d turn the volume knob down as low as it could go. If someone was walking anywhere in the building, the footsteps drowned out my piano. I was playing pleasant, airy stuff like Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ and the standard ‘That’s All’ – it was tough to get anything done in this joint and I found myself singing in my car more than in my apartment – but at least I was able to let it rip.

I had moved to Atlantic City thinking I could get into a band situation with the new casino boom in town. My thoughts were this was the perfect way to ease into the music business.  My first audition happened to be someone I knew of – Flo DeRosa!  She and I were in the same marching band in high school!  She was the only girl drummer –and she was amazing.  I was impressed  and thought that it was so cool she was starting her own rock band.  She was looking for a lead singer to do Benatar, Heart, The Pretenders – this was right where I wanted to be.   I felt really good about this.   As she led me into the dimly lit basement where the audition was, she turned around, grabbed my arm and moved into within six inches of my face and said, “Catey, you don’t have to hide your feelings.”  “Uh … wah?” I saw the lips moving but the words made no sense.  “What did you say, Flo?” I asked. She uttered, “you know what I said … you don’t have to hide your feelings with me.”  So here was my first official audition with a band and I’m getting hit on – by a woman!  This was startling to me.  I would have liked to think I was cool about it and go with the flow, but this wasn’t what I had in mind at all.  And out the door I went without singing a note.  Not a good start …I was wondering if all band people were sleazy. 

Within a couple of weeks I heard about an opening for a female singer with a working casino band. They had an ad in the paper but I had an in.  I had been putting my feelers out with my area friends, telling them to keep me in the loop, etc. and up to this point, they only assumed I was good based on me telling them that I was. I played keyboards .I could sing. I looked great – oh yeah -this gig would be mine!!  I was so full of myself … and that day I had the perfect hot chick outfit on. I swaggered in and based on initial reactions by the band, things were going quite well. Then they asked me to actually audition. Ye Olde Ghosts of Grimsford came by for a visit – we all had to endure about three minutes of an extremely painful rendition of Elton John’s ‘Your Song.’   I whispered – yes, I whispered it because I was barely able to breathe… “it’s a little bit funny … this feeling inside ….”.  my legs were shaking so badly I looked like I was having some sort of attack. The bandleader didn’t exactly hide his wincing. Actually, everyone in the room was wincing – and so was I by the end of that train wreck.  Damn, that was freaking embarrassing.  But I was mad this time. Mad at myself for thinking I was good. So I practiced more. And I didn’t care what the neighbors yelled.

I decided to get some real training and signed on for lessons with a singing teacher at a prestigious Philadelphia Music school. I was amazed at the sounds that came out of Anna Maria Lochetto’s  mouth – she was all opera, and made it seem effortless.   My goal was to learn Heart and Pat Benatar songs, join a band and become a rock star —  this was the type of stuff I needed to work on. She showed me a lot of basics, including vocalizing warmups: BELASIGNOR-A – BELASIGNOR-A … over and over and over ….I relied on these basics every day I sang and am grateful to have learned them from her.  I can still hear her grand operatic version of  ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ ….it was really something.   It didn’t take me long to realize I might be wasting my music lesson dollar with this woman. 

I tried another teacher, who was purported to be ‘Philly’s Best’ according to music insiders.  I was thrilled to be meeting with Sol Ross, and signed up for an intro lesson with him at his downtown Philly music studio.  I came into his office and it was a small room with a piano in it that took up ¾ of the room.  I sat at the bench waiting for him. He soon came out to greet me, a small, older gentleman – he hardly looked show bizzy.  He seemed nice enough, though –  kind of salesman-y.  He asked me a few questions and then said ‘well let’s hear you, kid’.  I started playing ‘That’s All’, and began to sing: “I can only give you love that lasts forever… And a promise to be near each time you call ” …. And then he waved his hand in my face and said, “Okay, Catey,  I don’t need to hear any more – you can’t sing.”   Initially I was taken aback by the blinding speed of his assessment. Then I’m thinking why couldn’t he have said  ‘you need some work’, or ‘you have potential.’  Then he blurts out ‘well you will need to have lots of training.’  Now this dweeb just pissed me off – I might have been 20 years old but I knew when I was getting worked.  I was out of there.  I wasn’t interested in getting soaked by some putz and I made up my mind that I was going to practice my butt off, working on the basic techniques I had picked up from Mrs. Lochetto, and just keep on singing.  

I re-enrolled in college again, deciding to pursue music theory and minoring in piano. I knew I needed to work on my skills and figured it was smart to be around serious musicians. I soon learned I could be in the chorus, and jumped at this opportunity to sing. I also took a sight singing course, and the following semester had the gumption to try out for Chamber Choir, which was the premiere group for vocalists. 

I’m pretty sure Dr. Leroy Stinson, the Director of the group, wasn’t a fan of mine because  I can still picture him glaring at me on occasion.  I wasn’t off key, because I wouldn’t have made the group.  Maybe it was my tone – he was all about the voices blending and I guess he heard something coming from my general direction that made him make a face. He never said anything – he just gave me a serious eyebrowed look. WTF?  Who knows?  Oh, I failed Chamber Choir. The good Doctor gave me an F for not returning my sheet music in time. 

On the upside of my return to College I got an A in everything else, including performance.  I’m not really sure how or when I turned into a ham, or if I just had a really good day for my piano jury (recital). I recall my fellow classmates, many of them tremendous pianists, twitting around absolutely terrified about the juries – they reminded me of ME at Grimsford.  They seemed ridiculous, since I thought they were all so good anyway.  They just had to perform for three teachers in a small recital room… they were nuts!  So when it was my turn to play, I sat down at the piano, looked over at the three teachers and smiled – and then for the first time, performed.  I had an audience. I played Mozart’s Concerto in A Minor with just the right amount of passion and drama.  I slam dunked it. That was a very good day for my ego. 

Soon after that, I saw a newspaper ad looking for a female lead of a newly forming Rock Band. I had been practicing my BELASIGNOR-A’s and my Benatar stuff rigorously.  I was confident I could deliver a rocking rendition of ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’.  That particular evening as I walked down the steps for another basement audition,  I didn’t feel like any of the Grimsford’s Sea of Heads were around. My legs worked. I was still breathing normally. I was pumped by these guys rocking Zeppelin jams in a basement and I finally felt like I fit right in. I had the looks, the outfit – and most importantly, I was prepared –  and I remembered how to sing.  I hit them with my best shot that day …they offered me the job on the spot and I was officially, and finally the lead singer of a rock band.