Tag: RuPaul

#LIFTEMUP, Your New Pride Anthem

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date June 22, 2019

With Pride Month in full swing, New York City is alive with color and empowerment. This year, there is an added sense of importance in the air with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that began the movement for LGBTQAI+ visibility and acceptance. In the last fifty years, the movement has evolved immensely; moving from having to force visibility with violence, to having the ability to celebrate the queer community, and celebrate it loudly.

NYC musician, songwriter and DJ, Greko, is one of those loud voices, especially this year with the release of World Pride anthem: #LIFTEMUP. The song is a group collaboration featuring Greko himself, RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Sharon Needles, legendary Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry, groundbreaking Broadway superstar Peppermint, and iconic glamour queen Amanda Lepore. Streaming proceeds are donated to LGBTQAI+ charities around the world with the 5 artists choosing a different charity to align with every two months.

The song is vibrant, fun and uplifting, for both its catchy sound and its inspiring message of camaraderie and love. It’s timely, it’s meaningful, and it’s the perfect tune to blast as you celebrate pride, even after June ends.

The song premieres on June 23, 2019 with a music video and documentary to follow. The music video features all five collaborators from the song along with voguers from Haus of De La Blanca, Jimmy Webb of NYC boutique I NEED MORE, former team USA figure skater Colin Grafton, journalist Michael Musto, Nightlife legend Michael T, Musician Matthew Katz – Bohen and many other members of the NYC LGBTQAI+ community. The main set was a CBGB-inspired, brightly-colored room created by actor and multimedia artist Kyle Glenn, Co-director Courtney Brooks, artist Tana Torrent and set designer Mariano Rubin De Celis.

Greko invited Downtown to Blonde + Co Creative Agency who produced and directed the music video. The company donated their two studios in which #LIFTEMUP was filmed. I got to engage in conversation with Greko, Julie Stahl, Blonde + Co’s founder / Co-director of the project, and behind the scenes photographer Ann Lawlor. We spoke about the new song, its vision of empowerment for the LGBTQAI+ community, and the hard work that went into creating #LIFTEMUP to appropriately deliver its message on film.

Downtown: Can you explain a little about the shoot, Blonde + Co and this space?

Julie Stahl: We’re a creative agency and production company, we create campaigns and content all the way through. However, our wheelhouse is mainly beauty, fashion and lifestyle. Considering the cast of characters involved with #LIFTEMUP, we knew that we could create something so perfect for this project.

Ann Lawlor: It was an incredible shoot to be a part of. Everyone involved was extremely talented and supportive. The energy on set was completely contagious!

DT: How did the collaboration between you come about?

Greko: Well the 50th anniversary of The Stonewall Riots was a major catalyst in creating the song, and including all of these people. We were working in the studio recording the track, but there was no actual plan to do a music video. I didn’t have the ability or access to blow this out the way that I knew it needed to be done. You know, in order for a song to be effective in this day and age it needs creative media content. So through Ann, Julie and I became connected. We had a meeting here at Blonde + Co and after I explained the whole project, before I could finish, Julie was just like “yes, yes, yes, let’s make this happen.” Honestly, I didn’t know what that would entail, this is not my industry. I perform, I write and produce songs, but yea, this whole thing was very new to me, and Blonde + Co has gone above and beyond. They have given their absolute all to this project. As I’ve gotten to know the entire team here, especially Julie, you realize that people do actually care about the LGBTQAI+ community, and that there are true allies here for us. That’s the positive energy and take away I have from working with Blonde.

Julie: The funny thing was… so originally it was going to be a photoshoot, and then “oh let’s get a bit of video,” and I was like “no, this is bigger than that.”

Greko: There had to be about 80 people here on Monday for the video shoot. Everyone just donated their time, no questions asked! It was absolutely incredible. People flew into New York for this thing. It was really beyond my wildest dreams.

Julie: Yeah, everyone was just so generous, it was unreal. The Director of photography Jendra Jarnagin canceled a trip to California just to join us. I mean, when they learned about it and saw Mike’s creative vision, it was like “I’m in.” It was a beautiful moment, it really was.

DT: How would you describe your creative vision?

Greko: Well the song is called #LIFTEMUP and while the message is to be taken seriously, I wanted the music and overall vibe to be lighthearted with memorable dance hooks. I love NuDisco and house music, from my experience here in NYC, that’s what our community dances too. It’s the heart and origin of the modern artistic gay club scene. So to me, it was a really important element to keep alive throughout the song. However, we also wanted to be acccesible to the pop music world as well, which is difficult. You know, you try your absolute best, bounce ideas off people, attempt to follow the patterns and rules of songwriting et cetera… but you still never know what your audience will say about it. Lyrically, I knew the way I worded the songs message would make or break it. The themes within the song needed to be displayed in a special way. So I called Sharon Needles who is a wordsmith and creative genius when it comes to this stuff. Low and behold, she wound up co-writing a majority of the lyrics with me. We focused on being less cryptic and more straightforward.

DT: What would you say is the overall message?

Greko: The message of the song is to look out for people in the community who are struggling. If we are to face the world, we must face it together, and our responsibility is to empower the most marginalized and embattled among us. To #LIFTEMUP. Even if it’s the littlest thing! Be friendly, engage with people even if they aren’t your closest friend. Make more of an effort to ask how someone is doing with their job, relationships, or life in general. You never know what a person is going through, they might really need that interaction. I just think it’s our job to make the effort and be more aware of our LGBTQAI+ family around us.

DT: Can you talk a little bit about the people collaborating on the song with you?

Greko: I think everyone who is a part of this project has different personalities. There are five main artists – Debbie Harry, Sharon Needles, Peppermint, Amanda Lepore and myself. We all are good friends and fabulous freaks, but everyone really does have their own thing going on. So it’s kind of funny. I would say that in the end, we all strongly believed in this message, especially when we consider our own lives and experiences. Everyone’s a little rock n roll, everyone’s a little downtown New York, and you’ll see that the music video reflects that community.

DT: What made you have the initial idea?

Greko: Well at this point in my life I was thinking… I’m sick of writing things based around the same emotions and topics that most songs discuss. Being in love, breaking up, partying with your friends in a club, etc. We have enough music being released telling those stories. I wanted to do something that’s more impactful, specific and in your face. Something that talks to my people, my community. It’s like what Sharon Needles said on the day of the video shoot… she stopped everyone on set and said “I just want to thank everyone, this is a really big deal and it means something because there’s a twelve-year-old us that’s going to listen to this song and hopefully take something away from it.”

Julie: And it coincided with the 50th anniversary of The Stonewall Riots.

Greko: Oh yeah, well that was the big inspirational push for this of course. We all really related to the idea of lifting up people that surround you to make a difference. It took one bisexual trans sex worker to throw that first brick at Stonewall, and with that, her movement inspired others to join.

Julie: We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a lot more to accomplish.

Stream #LIFTEMUP starting tomorrow!

Tags Amanda Lepore, blondie, Debbie Harry, Greko, lgbtqai+, Peppermint, pride month, RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race, Sharon Needles

Culture Entertainment Music

Paul Shaffer on his Apr. 22 New York show, new album & more

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date April 4, 2017

Few musicians have logged more television time than Paul Shaffer. In addition to being David Letterman’s bandleader and sidekick from 1982 to 2015, Paul was part of the band on Saturday Night Live for nearly five years. He also starred in the CBS sitcom A Year At The Top, hosted the VH1 game show Cover Wars, and appeared in the classic comedy This Is Spinal Tap; there is a long-standing rumor that Paul was offered the role of George Costanza on Seinfeld.

Off-screen, Paul’s credits as a musician are also very impressive. He got his start in musical theater, serving as musical director of the Toronto production of Godspell, eventually finding his way to Broadway in New York. While still in the SNL fold, he was a major creative force behind The Blues Brothers. Early into his Late Night With David Letterman tenure, he played keyboards for Robert Plant’s post-Zeppelin band The Honeydrippers and contributed the impressive synth solo to Scandal’s “Goodbye To You.” He co-wrote the song “It’s Raining Men” for The Weather Girls, which went Top 10 around the world and has since been covered by RuPaul and The Spice Girls’ Geri Halliwell. He has also released several solo albums, one of which Grammy-nominated and two of which produced by Todd Rundgren.

Paul has not slowed down his leaving the Late Show With David Letterman. He has been the musical director of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony since its inception. He was the musical director and on-screen accompanist for 2015’s Primetime Emmy-nominated A Very Murray Christmas. Last year he recorded his third solo album alongside his Letterman bandmates, Paul Shaffer & The World’s Most Dangerous Band, as released via Sire Records on Mar. 17; it features vocals from Dion, Jenny Lewis, Bill Murray, Darius Rucker, Shaggy and Valerie Simpson.

In support of The World’s Most Dangerous Band, Paul and band will be appearing at the Theater At Westbury on Apr. 22. One night earlier, the show comes to Montclair’s Wellmont Theater. Paul spoke to Downtown about his new album, the tour, James Brown, New York and plenty more. He can followed on Twitter via @PaulShaffer.

First, I wanted to ask you about the book you wrote a couple of years ago. Was it enjoyable for you to write the book in considering that you are primarily known as a sideman and a host and all that? Or was writing a book a completely different creative experience for you?

Paul Shaffer: Well of course it was. I was very much lucky to have David Ritz writing it with me. He is a pro, does a lot of music biographies, started with the Ray Charles book that he did back in the 70’s and Marvin Gaye and on and on…A lot of process was sitting with David and remembering stories that happened, and then you know putting them together with him and making a book out of it. I loved the process.

Sure. Was there a lot of material that was leftover from the book? A lot of stories that you still feel you hope to tell one day in another book or another form?

PS: Of course…I didn’t get to talk about about seeing Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas with James Brown and then hanging out with all three of them later on…That is a book in itself really, but yeah, I couldn’t put everything in there…That certainly was one of the things I realized about the book that I did write a little bit inside…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHIm7ITmsjo

Speaking of things that are inside, a lot of people know of course that you co-wrote the song “It’s Raining Men,” but I was curious if you had been otherwise in the co-writing game, trying to place music with other artists. Or was that just a one-off for you?

PS: I have written a few other things but it was a sort of a one-off. My co-writer was Paul Jabara, who wrote a number of other hits including “Last Dance” by Donna Summer. I had back in the 70s, when I was working in the studio as a session musician, I had done arrangements for this guy. One song we did together was called “One Man Ain’t Enough,” so he was already working towards that concept…

Anyway, Paul called and said, “I’ve got this title I want to write and you were so great as my arranger. I would love it if we co-wrote this thing.” He said, “What do you think about the title ‘It’s Raining Men?’” I said, “I will be right over,” and that is how it came about. I have written a few other things, songs, I mean comedy songs of course. One called “Kung Fu Christmas” for the National Lampoon back in ’74… Really I just love to play. I just love the immediate ratification that you get from playing the piano and playing songs that I love. Writing was just never a priority with me…That is all I can say.

So you do have the upcoming show at Westbury with The World’s Most Dangerous Band and the album coming out on Rhino/Sire. Does that mean that you and the band are still fully intact and you hope to keep it going, even though you are not on TV every night?

PS: Well, we love to play together. Everybody is doing their own thing now…I brought everybody back together to do the album and there was just, I was in love with the reunion, you know. We all loved playing together and felt comfortable playing together. After all those years, now we speak the same language, so we did the record together, we had a great time together and it all, it made sense to do some live appearances, which we are going to be doing springtime. Everybody was interested so you know, simple as that…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBvCIzU_Y_Q

For somebody who is a fan of yours and the other musicians for years on television but may not be so sure of what they are going to see live on tour, do you have a way of describing the show?

PS: Well, I am going to be telling a lot of stories…I would be bringing them out as stories about times on the Letterman show, different artists that we’ve worked with and then in many cases, backing it up with some of the music. You know. James Brown is a guy who was just such a great influence, my very favorite, and I got to play for him so many times on Letterman. Every time was a lesson…so you know I wanted to tell the audience about that and then you know demonstrate in songs…We are also going to be playing tunes from the new album.

Well, you’ve mentioned so far James Brown a couple of times. I remember you often coming in and out of commercial on Letterman, doing the James Brown cape routine. Is that something you ever talked about with him?

PS: With James?

Yeah.

PS: No…We got into a routine for, I think years, where every Friday I would do the routine and a different celebrity would come out and put the cape on. The pinnacle of it was when he himself did it, James Brown came out himself to put the cape on me. So you know, that was, I could have retired that after that. It was such a thrill but I did not get to…I never did.

Is it true that James Brown lifted the cape concept from Gorgeous George, the old professional wrestler? Did you ever hear that?

PS: Yeah, I have read it, sure. I have read it in the history books, I did not get a chance to confirm it with him, no, in any of the conversations I had, but I believe it. You know, it makes sense. I remember, well, I am old enough to remember Gorgeous George and I remember his outfits and his capes and stuff. So if James Brown has to be pretty honest if he ever did it admit it personally…It would be an honest thing to say, “I got it from a wrestler.”

So you have the upcoming tour and you have the album coming out on Rhino/Sire. When you have a free moment, what do you like to do in your spare time?

PS: I have two kids, my daughter is 23 living, she is out of the house, but my son is a senior in high school still at home, and I just like to spend as much time with him as he has for me. That is my priority and I have my best times with him and my daughter too, so hanging out with them, that is it.

I must say that you created or at least you portrayed two of the greatest comedy characters ever between Artie Fufkin and your impression of Don Kirshner. Do you have aspirations to act or be on the camera without an instrument again?

PS: Sure, I love it. I found the experience very musical, especially comedy, comedy in front of an audience, because it is something like getting that reaction from the audience and the waiting for it and then going on with your line and timing is just perfectly. I enjoy it so much and getting that kind of response from an audience is just the same as getting a response for one’s music from an audience. I would love to do small acting, yes.

Cool, and back to the hobby thing, do you have a favorite restaurant in New York? I realize that you have been here for over 40 years in New York.

PS: Yeah. I still go to a place called Caffe Cielo, right near the Ed Sullivan Theater, so I used to have lunch there very often. Now they have moved farther down in the Theater District to 49^th Street, but I still go there because there is a group of friends who have lunch at the bar. Also, Gallagher’s Steakhouse on 52nd it’s right by the old theater where I used to work. That’s a place I go for the oxtail soup. So those are the two places that come to mind.

Still a Midtown West guy, cool. And so finally, Paul, any last words for the kids?

PS: Well, yes, hey kids…That’s it. (laughs) You know keep your nose to the grindstone. and enjoy being a kid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyy-b2Rg3uA

Tags A Very Murray Christmas, A Year At The Top, Artie Fufkin, Bill Murray, broadway, Caffe Cielo, Canada, CBS, Cielo At The Mayfair, Cover Wars, David Letterman, David Ritz, Don Kirschner, Donna Summer, Ed Sullivan Theater, Gallagher's, Gallagher's Steakhouse, Geri Halliwell, Godspell, Gorgeous George, James Brown, Jenny Lewis, Kung Fu Christmas, Late Night With David Letterman, Late Show With David Letterman, led zeppelin, Letterman, Marvin Gate, Montclair, National Lampoon, Paul Jabara, Paul Shaffer, Piano, Rhino Records, Robert Plant, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, RuPaul, Saturday night live, scandal, Seinfeld, Shaggy, Siegfield and Roy, Siegfried & Roy, Sire Records, SNL, Spinal Tap, The Blues Brothers, The Honeydrippers, The Spice Girls, The Weather Girls, The Young Divas, Theater At Westbury, This Is Spinal Tap, todd rundgren, vh1, Wellmont Theater, Westbury, Westbury Music Fair

Culture Dining Entertainment

Grubhub’s Kaitlyn Carl & “Kinky Boots” actress Blair Goldberg on Seamless’ “How New York Eats” campaign

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date January 4, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsBr4epEOOc

In late 2016, Seamless unveiled an interesting study as part of its “How New York Eats” campaign. The company compared the ordering habits of its regular customers versus that of Broadway casts, including Kinky Boots, The Color Purple, Hamilton, Waitress, and The Book Of Mormon. The cast of Kinky Boots, for example, ordered 847% more shrimp tacos, 795% more croissants, 324% more shrimp tempura rolls, and 286% more vegetable dumplings than the rest of New York City.

Downtown had the pleasure of conducting Q&A with both Kaitlyn Carl, Grubhub’s media relations and trends specialist, and Kinky Boots cast member Blair Goldberg. The interviews were conducted prior to Kinky Boots attracting even more A-List stars to its show, including Taylor Swift and Kevin Costner. Grubhub — which merged with Seamless in 2013 — can of course be visited online at www.grubhub.com, while Kinky Boots is on the web at www.kinkybootsthemusical.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmDh025Ffuc&feature=youtu.be

Where did the idea for this survey come from?

Kaitlyn Carl: Seamless launched its “How New York Eats” campaign a few months ago, which highlights how different neighborhoods choose from their local favorites that we have to offer. With the Theater District being located in the heart of Manhattan , we wanted to see how exactly how theater companies and their casts fuel themselves through the day.

Were any of the results especially surprising for you?

Kaitlyn Carl: Seeing the variety of foods across multiple shows was a pleasant surprise! It makes you think if perhaps each show’s demands, ranging from rehearsal schedule to genre, could give different cravings per cast. The most ordered foods at each theater ranged from shrimp tacos to sushi to grilled cheese sandwiches — representative of the diversity among casts.

The Grubhub survey said that your cast orders shrimp tacos 847% more than the rest of New York City. Is there a particular spot that you favor for tacos?

Blair Goldberg: Absolutely. You all MUST check out Otto’s Tacos — 705 9th Avenue — for some of the most delicious, cheap tacos you’ll ever have! My favorite is the Carne Asada Tacos. And the Churros? TO DIE FOR! Heaven!

What about for fried chicken sandwiches? Grubhub’s survey said that your cast orders those 226% more than the rest of New York City.

Blair Goldberg: I dig Lenwich — formerly known as Lenny’s — for sandwiches. Awesome and quick delivery, and a million options to choose from!

Are you proud of Grubhub’s survey results? Has anyone at your shows talked about the survey to you?

Blair Goldberg: Yes! We were actually all buzzing about it backstage when the survey came out! We LOVE to eat over at Kinky Boots, and you will consistently hear our stage doorman over the loudspeaker all throughout the show saying that more food delivery has arrived every night! Besides performing, I’d say eating is certainly my other passion. I’m hardcore.

Do you have a favorite restaurant on Grubhub?

Blair Goldberg: At work, it would have to be Schmackary’s, best cookies in the world. At home — FiDi, woohoo Downtown! — it would have to be Harry’s Italian.

Kaitlyn Carl: When I’m visiting our New York office, my favorite lunch is from Chop’t Salad. Always arriving quickly, their customer craft salads are my go-to! Another midtown favorite of mine is Alidoro. Their subs offer fresh ingredients, hand-sliced meats and cheeses and is one of the best sandwiches I’ve had while visiting New York.

Your show recently added Todrick Hall to the cast. Had you been familiar with his work before he was cast?

Blair Goldberg: Absolutely. Todrick is incredible and his viral videos are on another level. They are definitely worth checking out! As a huge Taylor Swift fan, my favorite is his “4 Taylor” video. Todrick has been nothing but gracious and wonderful to work with! We are so happy to have him as a member of our Kinky family.

Kinky Boots attracts a lot of celebrities. Who was the last visitor that had you starstruck?

Blair Goldberg: Katie Holmes! Or RuPaul! Both amazing!

Do you have a favorite moment within the Kinky Boots show?

Blair Goldberg: Yes! “Everybody Say Yeah” is our Act I finale, and it’s one of most phenomenally staged numbers I’ve ever been lucky enough to watch, let alone be a part of. I love looking at the audiences faces when we are performing that number. They usually have the biggest smiles plastered on their faces! I also love the finale (“Raise You Up”) because it is the heart of our show, and is all about the message to, “Just be who you wanna be.” It’s such an important message about learning to love and accept yourself and I consider it an honor to sing every night.

What’s coming up for Seamless in the New York area? Any new restaurants? Promotions?

Kaitlyn Carl: Seamless is constantly adding more local options for New Yorkers to choose from. For example, we just brought on Ivan Ramen and Westville, which are favorites amongst New Yorkers. Additionally, we recently just launched Gift Cards. Now it is easier than ever to give the gift of Seamless with friends and family by going to Seamless.com/giftcards.

Aside from Kinky Boots, how do you like to spend your free time?

Blair Goldberg: I spend lots of time in the Downtown area where I live with my husband and one-year old daughter, Lyla. We love exploring Manhattan together, especially now that she’s at such a fun age! Our neighborhood is so wonderful for families-we love having the Seaport right across the street!

Kaitlyn Carl: Food has always been a passion of mine, and whenever I have free time, I love to explore different neighborhoods and their unique restaurants. With Singaporean roots, I’m on a mission to find the most authentic Hainanese chicken rice in town. I will also gladly accept suggestions for the next time I am in New York!

Kaitlyn, do you often get to catch live events? Do you have tickets to any upcoming concerts or plays?

Kaitlyn Carl: Because I am based out of Chicago, most of my time in New York is spent working in our Midtown office. However, every time I do come to town I make sure I explore the city as best as I can. Last time I was in town, I visited Central Park and Lincoln Center and consumed some of the best food I have ever had in Chinatown and Williamsburg. I am a huge fan of the theater though! I was able to get my hands on a pair of Hamilton tickets for the Chicago show and am counting down the days until I go.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

Kaitlyn Carl: We were delighted to see that eating healthy was a priority among all casts — based on sheer volume, we found that the Theater District turns to Seamless for salads and protein-centric dishes. It’s representative of the fact that we have everything on the platform to fit every craving, whether it be something to fuel you for a busy rehearsal schedule, or something for your a cheat day, like a delicious cheesesteak from Shorty’s.

Blair Goldberg: Come check us out at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre! And bring some tacos, please! We’re hungry!