osodecanela | Will I be the next River Idol?

I am so jazzed!

Stopped off at the Russian River Eagle last night to see Jeffery for a couple of minutes. I needed to discuss something. I knew he's be there, as it was Kareoke night and when Dan is running Kareoke, Jeffery is rarely far. I hadn't realized I'd be walking into the beginning of the River Idol contest.

I'd heard Dan announce it a week or so ago, so the word that there was a competition starting was floating around somewhere in my psyche, but that the contest was starting last night had slipped my mind. They'll be going on weekly, every Tuesday at the Eagle in Guerneville thru July 20th; they'll pick two finalists each week for a total of 10. Then on July 27th the finalists will compete for the title of River Idol 2004.

So I walked in totally unprepared, but figured, "Hell, why not give it a try?" I was the 3rd voice of the night to sing. Went for the old Gershwin standard, "Someone to Watch Over Me", probably one of the most beautiful ballads ever written, at least if you ask me. There were some awesome voices singing last night. Two women I'd never seen before showed up from Petaluma and let me tell you, both of them had pipes! Joshua, no slouch in the pipes department herself (damn, how she gives me goosebumps every time I hear her sing!), said she knew one of them from Kareoke at the Santa Rosa Flamingo, and that the woman does almost any Bonnie Raitt song proud. She was of course doing one of those tunes.

There were 8 singers last night, and several minutes were allowed between each number to give the 4 judges time to score each performance. Then when everyone was finished they disappeared downstairs to tally the scores. Twenty minutes or so later, they returned. Each of us was called out, back into the spotlight for a group photo and then they announced the night's winners. I was finalist #1! You could have knocked me over with a feather. So I am $10 richer for this portion of the contest, with another $20 in a bar tab to use at the Eagle (the way I drink that should last me until next year's contest) and I'll be back in 5 weeks to compete again. The thing that really excites me is I'll be on the CD! The finalists and the ultimate winner of the competition, the 'River Idol' will be cutting a CD to raise money for charities in our community. So, "Someone to Watch Over Me" will be one of the tracts, and perhaps another, if I will the competition. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to sing for the finals.

Joshua kept telling me, "I told you so!" God, how she strokes my ego! I could listen to this woman read names out of the phone book, her voice is that beautiful. She's a big woman of color, with the voice of an angel, if you'll forgive the cliche. The very first time we met, a mutual friend introduced us, just before it was my turn to sing at the RRR's Thursday Kareoke night. Interestingly enough, I chose "Someone to Watch Over Me" that night as well. When I returned to the table to continue our conversation, Joshua had tears on her cheeks. She'd actually been moved that much by my rendition. I was both floored and very flattered. We chatted during another performer's song and then it was Joshua's turn. She sang "I Am Changing" from the play Dreamgirls. The play's a musical, loosely based on the rise of Diana Ross and the Supremes. I saw the original cast on Broadway 20 odd years ago. In the play, one of the girls in the group is kicked out because her sound if 'too black'. The group is trying to cross over from R&B to the Pop charts and make it with a larger American audience. At the close of the first act, now on her own, the lead character sings "I Am Changing". The song is big. The woman is big. This is the song that launched the career of Jennifer Holiday, who brought the entire audience to their feet when she sang that song on Broadway. I know. I was there to see and hear it. Joshua is every bit as good as Holiday was. Maybe better. Not that Joshua believes it. I had gooseflesh everywhere from listening to her. And this is the woman I left in tears when I sang "Someone to Watch Over Me".

So we shall see what the competition holds for me. I have to figure out what I'm going to sing for the finals.

Weaver