John Kapelos Live!

I had a neighbor who was teaching himself to play the saxophone. He was so shitty, I was always relieved to see his cat in his window – it insured he wasn’t kicking it around the living room.

I got to sit right up front for some real sax players – major pros – on Saturday, when my friend John Kapelos performed his jazz album live at Vitello’s.

John is a prolific actor, having appeared in over 200 films and TV shows (he was Mr. Arzoumanian, the owner of the cinema in The Shape of Water), but singing brought out an interesting side of him. He was so nervous when I visited him backstage before the show. I assured him he was going to kill, and that the crowd was great and the band was superb.

And what a band. 18 pieces! Four trombones! Lots of spit valves being dumped! Plus all of the saxophonists would switch up and play clarinets, flutes, and piccolos, so it was more like 32 pieces.

John sang every song from his new album “Too Hip for the Room”, and it was so fun and funny. Many of the songs evolved from his days as a member of Second City in Chicago. He closed out the show with a fitting, super jazzed-up cover of “Don’t You Forget About Me”, the theme song from The Breakfast Club, John’s first big film.

John told me afterwards he couldn’t have done without both his girlfriend Heidi and me as focal points in the audience, and it made me somewhat emotional. But I think of John as a brother and that’s what we do. We support. And I had a blast. And I can’t wait for him to do more shows.

You can download John’s Album on iTunes here. You will love it.

Don’t Text And Drive.

Just pull over until you’re done using your phone. That’s what I do. I've been on the side of the road since 2015.

Douchey Or Delightful?

House on the beach around the corner from me stays in Corona commercial mode.

If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?

I’m perfectly fine with commercials for prescription drugs using actors. But they would be so much better if the actors had to act out the side effects, too.

I’m also okay with commercials not using actors, though I don’t appreciate the need to emphasize these “real people”. I understand the intent – these aren’t scripted testimonials, but it still promulgates the myth that actors are entirely phony. Maybe this is just playing out in the space between my TV and my eyeballs. But still.

On the contrary, actors are the best. We sacrifice to pursue our dreams, and few people do that. We have guts. We have to walk into an entirely stressful (and sometimes career-changing) situation – an audition – and access our emotions. And we’re smart. We have to know a lot about a lot in order to play someone in which we have little in common. I love actors.

When I was with Jay Mohr the other day, I told him something that I hold very true. Whenever people ask me if it’s scary not knowing where my next paycheck is coming from, I tell them, “You know what the scariest thing of all is? Knowing exactly where your next paycheck is coming from for the next 40 years.”

Jay loved it and he wrote it down. Expect him to use it on his podcast soon.

28 Seconds Of February.

The best thing about February is that you can buy a shitload of chocolate and everyone assumes you have a girlfriend – and not a grudge with your neighbor’s dog.

Here’s my February, one second per day:
 

Good Dude.

I ran into the guy who delivered my pizza a couple nights ago at the gym and he didn’t even remember who I was. Never meet your heroes.

On the other hand, I spent yesterday afternoon at the home of comedian/actor Jay Mohr (I apologize, but I can’t talk about why), and he is an outstanding guy.

Not only is Jay as funny in person as I’d hoped he’d be, he’s incredibly outgoing. He spends his afternoons coaching the Palisades High School wrestling team. (He was in the middle of taking ridiculously copious notes while watching video of his team’s meets.) We instantly bonded over our similar New York area upbringings, love of the New York Jets (Jay believes together he and I could win a Super Bowl with two drafts), and quoted a lot of Goodfellas, which Jay is convinced is a perfect, yet still underrated film. I agree.

I have a great new friend/mentor, tough to find in showbiz. I’m a lucky guy.

Today’s Tender Greens Special: Grilled Foot.