I got back yesterday (Sunday) from Jersey. I have one word for my experience - A.W.E.S.O.M.E!! It was what I thought it would be and more. I got to meet the rest of the band and the tour producers. Everyone was so nice and the band is like a family. After a painfully long flight, I made it to my destination. Once I was shuttled to the hotel, I got to meet everyone. I had my own beautiful suite overlooking this awesome hotel. I was kind of nervous so I took a long bath and chilled until it was time for the lobby call. Once we got in the Lobby, everyone was hugging me and saying that they had heard so many things about me. I was very humbled by all the compliments that I was told Mr. Hayes gave me. Once we made it to the venue, they showed us to our trailer (trailer!). It was stocked with food, water, towels, and a comfy leather couch. Because this was a music festival and the temp was about 95 degrees, we made sure that we drank plenty of water before the performance. One of the other singers took me to the back of the trailer to go over the choreography to some of the songs. I could feel myself getting more nervous by the minute. Someone came to our door and said “15 minutes til showtime, guys!” I was thinking, “this is what you always wanted to do, so don’t go out there half-steppin”. Once it was time for our segment, We stood on stage for what seemed like seconds and all of a sudden you could hear “MR. ISAAC HAYES!!!” Everyone started screaming at the top of their lungs and it was on. The crowd was the BOMB. They gave off so much energy!!! I was crunk. I put my performance face on and let it rip. I caught the glances of a few fans in the front row and waved. They were looking like, “oh my God, she waved!”. An hour and a half later as we hit the last note of the finale, “Shaft” I was dripping sweat and breathing hard like I was on “Solid Gold”….

side note: You remember on Solid Gold when the acts would finish their performance and when the song ended they would just be standing there staring into the audience with their chests heaving like they had really worked hard? I used to LOVE that!

I digress…

So I was looking like that and I wanted to laugh but I kept a straight face. When we left the stage people were screaming while we were making our way to the trailer. I was smiling and waving. It felt nice. They probably were screaming for Isaac, but it was nice nontheless. Back at the hotel, there were fans in the lobby talking to Isaac and snapping pictures like crazy. I walked past the mob, trying to go unnoticed to my room when Isaac made eye contact with me. He held his hand out for me to grab it and told me, “you were blowing, girl!”. I was like “thank you, sir. It was an honor” He smiled and squeezed my hand while the fans watched me walk away. I thought to myself, Isaac is a really nice guy. After all, HE’S the celebrity. If he hadn’t said anything, that would have been alright with me. He had already paid me nicely and put me up in a great hotel, gave me spending money and fed me. I thought that was “thank you” enough. He still took out time to say thank you to me while he was being admired by adoring fans. I learned a valuable lesson that night. Needless to say, the mad respect that I had for this man has like multiplied 1000 times. I leave for Brooklyn Thursday. We’ve got to do 2 shows - One in New York and one near Chicago. I’ll keep you posted. Big Ups to Mr Hayes for treating his band with such dignity and respect.

Tags: Music