Guest Host: Sid Davis

Sid Davis  grew up in a small farm community in Southwestern Ohio. The youngest of four children, he was recognized as a distraction in school classrooms. He attended Ohio University’s School of Communications; squeaking by the school’s stringent admission requirements of a transcript, a check and a pulse.

At OU, Sid was mentored by a professor; acclaimed  television writer, Dr Melvin Helitzer.  Helitzer called Sid one of the sharpest young writers he’d mentored. Upon graduation, Sid  took a  job at a small radio station as advertising salesperson and a copywriter. He loved writing. He hated selling. He made a decision to leave the job and possibly pursue a career in entertainment.

When Sid broke the news to his wife that he had no job, she informed him she was expecting their first child. Sid’s underlying goal of making a living from his creativity had to be put on hold. Sid hated being a salesperson;  but was good at it. “I don’t like selling any product or service I have no control over.” He left the insurance business and began working in the airline industry as a baggage handler.  He attended aviation tech school, working 16 hour days for two years, and became airline technician, eventually transferring to Charlotte, NC.

During his airline tenure at the  Charlotte airport, Sid enjoyed walking around the terminal and observing behavior.  He penned, Space Available; a hilarious suspense story about an airline baggage handler who travels the country to track down a man who stole his identity.

Life changed for everyone after  9-11.  The financially devastated airline industry resulted in Sid receiving forced retirement.  He used the time to explore stand-up comedy at Charlotte’s Comedy Zone and in  Toastmasters; where he placed at the top of the North Carolina humor speaking contests for two consecutive years.

Sid was a huge hit at the 2012  San Luis Obispo Comedy Festival and the audiences  voted him into the festival’s Best in Fest Showcase. Sid returned to the SLO festival to be voted “Best in Fest” again  in 2013 and 2014. In 2014 comedy legend Joan Rivers was looking for an opening act. The demanding Rivers and her manager viewed hundred of audition videos.  After seeing 30 seconds of Sid Davis she declared, “Get him.  He’s terrific!” Check out Sid Davis’ unique style of quality comedy and you will agree with Joan Rivers: Sid Davis is Terrific!

Thursday

Tommy Emmanuel

Give a listen to “Old Photographs,” the closing track on Tommy Emmanuel’s It’s Never Too Late, and you’ll hear the distinctive squeak of finger noise as he runs his hands across the frets of his Maton Signature TE guitar. It’s an imperfection in the performance that players typically try to eliminate in practice, and in the hands of a less-secure musician, that sound could easily be edited from the recording with Pro Tools recording technology.

But in their own way, those imperfections are perfect. For all of the masterful technique and flashy ability that’s brought Emmanuel recognition among the world’s greatest guitarists, that finger noise lets the audience know he is one of them. That click conveys warmth and humanity. And it demonstrates an honesty in the sound. It’s that integrity that makes It’s Never Too Late a guitar album that’s believable to both studied guitarists and everyday music fans.

“It’s all about the feeling of the music,” Emmanuel says. “And it has to make me feel something. I’m still playing for myself, you know, because I figure if I please me, then I’m pretty sure I’m gonna please you. And that’s not an arrogant statement, it’s just quality control.”

Quality is laced throughout It’s Never Too Late, the first regular studio album featuring Emmanuel completely solo without guests since 2000. A friend and follower of the late Chet Atkins – who christened Emmanuel a Certified Guitar Player, making him one of only five musicians to receive the C.G.P. distinction from the master – Emmanuel easily skates between musical styles, playing with blues in “One Mint Julep,” infusing Spanish tradition in “El Vaquero” and exploring folk in “The Duke.”

An accomplished fingerstyle player, Emmanuel frequently threads three different parts simultaneously into his material, operating as a one-man band who handles the melody, the supporting chords and the bass all at once. That expert layering is evident in It’s Never Too Late on the quixotic “Only Elliott,” the calming title track and the gorgeous “Hellos And Goodbyes.”

There’s a science to assembling the parts, and Emmanuel’s technical gift has earned him multiple awards from Guitar Player magazine and made him a Member of the Order of Australia, an honor bestowed by the Queen in his homeland. But the average fan could listen without even considering the precision behind the work, focusing instead on the artful tension and release of Emmanuel’s melodies. That’s how he intends it.

“I write as if I’m writing for a singer,” he explains. “I don’t think, ‘Ah, it’s just a solo guitar piece.’ I try to imagine I’m playing with a band or with a singer, but then I play the whole thing as a solo piece and look for ways to give it space.”

Emmanuel was destined, perhaps, to become a world-class musician. Given his first guitar at age four, he started working professionally just two years later in a family band, the Emmanuel Quartet. He never learned to read and write music, but he and his brother Phil were dedicated students of the instrument, creating games that helped them identify chords and patterns. They became adept at picking out the nuances of complex chords, a talent that takes most musicians years to develop.

Thus, Emmanuel had the music – and the showmanship – and in short order, the music had him.

“When I was on stage people lit up,” he recalls. “I didn’t know what it was, but it made me kind of show off and do all the things that cocky little kids do at 6, 7, 8 years old. Music was the worst drug I ever had, and I’m still hooked on it.”

Emmanuel pursued it with a passion, continuously working in a variety of bands through his school years, including the Midget Safaris (a new name for the Emmanuel kids as they covered surf music) and the Trailblazers, a high-school group that played weddings and parties. After graduation, Emmanuel became one of Australia’s most in-demand rock musicians, playing guitar in a succession of bands, including one of Australia’s best-known acts, Dragon. He supplemented that with a side job as a studio musician, playing on albums by the likes of Air Supply and Men At Work, and on commercial jingles.

It was a rewarding period, but it had its limitations, too. Playing the same set list night after night can turn the road into a chore. And working in a band prevented Emmanuel from making full use of his extraordinary talents and expressing his entire artistic voice. He ventured out on his own and began to treat his shows like a jazz musician would, eschewing set lists, improvising his way through many of his songs to capture and shape the mood of the room.

In that process, he was able to latch onto something bigger – a sense of community with the audience and a trust in whatever was in the cosmos that night.

“When I play, I feel like I’m plugged into something,” he says. “I don’t know what it is, and I don’t really want to know. I just want to know that it’s there.”

He could certainly sense the support. In addition to the standing ovations from his audiences, the recognitions rolled in, including two Grammy nominations, two ARIA Awards from the Australian Recording Industry Association (the Aussie equivalent of the Recording Academy) and repeated honors in the Guitar Player magazine reader’s poll. He’s also been named a Kentucky Colonel, received several honorary degrees and shared a key moment with brother Phil on the world stage, performing during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney.

Playing instrumental music that works in any language and travelling nimbly with a small tour group of three – Emmanuel, a sound engineer and a merchandiser – he was able to build a global audience that encompasses not only Australia, but the U.S., the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.

And he earned the opportunity to work with the likes of Eric Clapton, Doc Watson, John Denver and the incomparable Atkins. Emmanuel teamed with Chet on a 1997 project, The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World, which proved to be Atkins’ final project. Atkins practically handpicked Emmanuel as his creative heir, though he never intended for Tommy to be a simple clone.

“The things he respected about me were the things that I respected in myself, which is I stole as much as I possibly could from him, but then I made everything my own,” Emmanuel says. “I totally went in my own direction, and he really admired that about me. I told him, ‘I can’t be you, and I don’t want to be you. I’m me, and I’m gonna get on and do what I do.’ And he said, ‘That’s right.’ He said, ‘There’s enough people out there doing the worst job of trying to play like me.’”

The “me” that Emmanuel has established is one with a can-do spirit. The message behind his work is optimism, and that’s a clear part of the ethos in It’s Never Too Late, a title inspired by the birth of a daughter, Rachel, just months before he turned 60.

“When you have a child at my age, boy, do you have a reason to get going,” he says with a laugh. “You have a lot to live for.”

He channeled that inspiration into the album, half of it recorded in a spurt of energy in Nashville, his current home. When he did a benefit in Los Angeles, Emmanuel found extra time to work with recording engineer Marc DeSisto on the remaining tracks, and the atmosphere was so great that he revisited several of the songs he’s already put down.

“I loved the sound, so I re-recorded some of the earlier stuff that I’d done because I was playing it better,” Emmanuel says. “There was more bounce, and there was more joy in the music.”

So it is that Emmanuel is moving cheerily forward, trusting that the optimism in his work will provide the same inspiration for the audience that the process provides for him. The frenzy in “The Bug,” the upbeat buzz of “Hope Street” and the serenity that blankets “Miyazaki’s Dream” all link into some form of positivity and possibility.

It inspires Emmanuel, and it’s his hope that the indefinable spirit in those songs in turn inspires the audience.

“I know why I’m here,” he says. “I know it’s not brain surgery, I know I’m not saving someone’s life. I’m just a musician trying to do his best, but each one of us has to do that, and that’s what makes the whole thing work.”

Emmanuel embraced his individuality when he set out on his own as a musician. It required a change in his thinking and a belief in his unique destiny. Accepting that change at every stage of life is the point behind It’s Never Too Late. And that includes accepting the imperfections – the finger noise – along with the obvious accomplishments.

“We are all creatures of habit, and 99% of people play the same tapes over and over in their subconscious,” Emmanuel says. “We see things that way because that’s who we are, it’s coming through our filter, so let’s change the filter. It’s never too late to make your life better.”

Friday

Ron White

Comedian Ron “Tater Salad” White is best known as the cigar smoking, scotch drinking funnyman from the “Blue Collar Comedy” phenomenon. But with two Grammy nominations, a Gold Record, three of the top rated one-hour TV specials in Comedy Central history, a book that appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List, and CD and DVD sales of over 10 Million units, Ron has established himself as a star in his own right. Over the past 5 years he has been one of the top 3 grossing comedians on tour in the United States.

Ron has always been a storyteller; relaying stories from the time he was a boy growing up in a small town in the middle of Texas oil country to selling windows for a living in Arlington to performing in sold-out theaters and arenas as a headlining comedian all across the country. For two decades he lived the life of a struggling comedian bouncing around to comedy clubs and driving to gigs in his beat-up Nissan pickup truck to becoming a successful middle act club comic. He paid his dues.

Then it happened. From January 2000 through March 2003, Ron performed with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy in the highly acclaimed “Blue Collar Comedy Tour,” a show that played to sold out audiences in over 90 cities and grossed over $15 million dollars. Warner Bros filmed the tour and “Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie” was released as a major motion picture in theaters in March 2003 later premiering on Comedy Central as the highest rated movie in the channel’s history.

Ron’s first solo comedy CD, “Drunk In Public,” was released in November 2003 showcasing the insightful and hilarious White, who manages to be both razor-sharp and blunt. Also that year, his first one-hour comedy special, “They Call Me Tater Salad” earned Comedy Central the highest rated Sunday in its history. The DVD/CD has sold over 2.5 million copies to date and has been certified Multi-Platinum.

Ron’s second one-hour special, “You Can’t Fix Stupid” was filmed in January 2006 at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, TX. The special aired on Comedy Central to 4.5 million viewers to make it the 3rd largest audience in Comedy Central’s history and the #1 show in prime time on basic cable. The CD premiered at #14 on Billboard’s Top 200, ranked #1 on the Billboard Comedy Charts for 9 consecutive weeks and was nominated for a Grammy Award. Ron also received a second Grammy nomination that year for the CD, “Blue Collar Comedy Tour – One for The Road.”

In June 2006, Penguin Books released Ron “Tater Salad” White: I Had the Right to Remain Silent…But I Didn’t Have the Ability. The book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller List. It perfectly sums up Ron’s life and his comedy and is filled with over 80 illustrations by acclaimed artist Mathew Shultz.

Ron had a supporting acting role in the feature film “Sex and the City 2,” and has a role in the upcoming “Horrible Bosses” (starring Jennfier Anniston and Kevin Spacey) and “Jayne Mansfield’s Car” (Billy Bob Thorton and Robert Duvall).

In business, Ron co-founded his own media company “Organica Media Group” along with acclaimed Producer Michael Blakey.

Josh Blue

Perhaps best known as the comedian who puts the cerebral in Cerebral Palsy, Josh Blue centers much of his self-deprecating act around his disability. He exploded onto the national comedy scene by capturing the attention and endearment of the country as the winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Having already established himself as one of the most sought after comedians on the college circuit, his weekly appearances on Last Comic in the summer of 2006 expanded his fan base exponentially. Josh starred in Comedy Central Presents: Josh Blue, which received rave reviews from fans and critics alike and was named the 11th best special on the network in 2011. Most recently, Josh debuted a one-hour Showtime special, Sticky Change, where he cracks jokes and tells stories about everything from being a white African-American, to dealing with cabbies who think he’ll pay in sticky change. The special is currently available on Netflix. He has appeared twice on Ron White’s Comedy Salute to the Troops on CMT and recently made his late night television debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Possessed with an undeniable likeability and comedic timing that belies his youthfulness; Josh continues to break down stereotypes of people with disabilities one laugh at a time. His stand-up routine is in a constant state of evolution and his off-the-cuff improvisational skills guarantee that no two shows are exactly alike.

Josh has appeared as a regular guest star on Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia and his story has been featured on Fox, CBS, ABC, and MSNBC. He was the first comedian to perform stand-up on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, was named Best Winning Reality Show Guest for his appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly, and made a standout guest appearance on Comics Unleashed. He became the first comic to debut a stand-up special on the big screen when 7 More Days in the Tank was shown in theatres across the country. Blue is set to appear in the sports based comedy 108 Stitches. Portions of the performance also aired on Bravo Network as a half-hour comedy special. Josh is a repeat guest on such nationally syndicated radio programs as NPR’s Talk of the Nation and The Mancow Show and has been featured in numerous print publications including People Magazine and The New York Times. Josh has also performed at the prestigious HBO-Aspen Comedy Festival, Comedy Central’s South Beach Comedy Festival, and The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. Josh has even become quite an Internet sensation with his top two YouTube videos over 3.5 million plays.

Josh was also a member of the US Paralympic Soccer Team and competed in Athens at the Paralympic Games, the world’s second largest sporting event. Josh is a single father living in Denver, CO with his son, Simon and daughter, Seika.

Pete Lee

Pete Lee might be the nicest person in New York City, but that’s because it’s impossible to sound aggressive with a Wisconsin accent. Pete was raised in Janesville, WI by divorced parents and a 19-inch television, which is probably why he pursued a career in entertainment.

In 2005, Pete flew to New York to make his television debut on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend. That same night, he met his future wife, and she made him move to Manhattan. Soon after moving to NYC, he was selected to perform at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, where he was voted a standout performer. In 2008 Pete made his network television debut performing on NBC’s Last Comic Standing finishing as a semi-finalist. That same year, he made his television acting debut on the CBS Soap Opera As The World Turns, lasting two episodes! At the end of 2008 he then shot his own Comedy Central half Hour Special, which earned him a “cult” following at comedy clubs, and the opportunity to perform over the next four years at 500 colleges across the country.

In 2010 Pete began producing and editing his own shows for the Internet which led to getting his own web show on MSN.com called New York Minute:30. His web shows attracted the attention of television talent scouts and in 2012 he was hired to be a writer and cast member on FUSE TV’s Video on Trial and the NFL Network’s Top 10’s. In 2013, Pete was hired as a cast member on VH1’s Best Week Ever, which debuted in January.

If you haven’t heard of Pete Lee yet, prepare to tell other people.