-By Kimberlye Gold
This month:
John Corbett at the Mystic Theater!!
I can't live without Sex & The City. I watch the watered-down episodes on TBS over and over like a crazed addict, somehow believing if I just hold on, somehow the girls will come back to their senses and come back to me. And the guy I really wanted to see Carrie end up with wasn't BIG, it was AIDIN, if she had any sense besides fashion. That "strong/sensitive true blue thing" just slayed me.
So when I heard AIDIN, I mean John Corbett, was gonna be playing MUSIC at Hotel Utah in SF and the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, I was SO there. He was opening for two other artists I'd never heard of, Tony De Luca and Joe Firstman. I didn't know what to expect, and frankly, I didn't care. (Neither did the mostly female audience, dolled up and armed with cameras and picture cell phones.)
JC and his trio hit the stage at 8pm sharp, him wearing a red, ruffled (Seinfeld would call it puffy) shirt, black vest and jeans, and sporting long hair, a beard and moustache - total transformation. Carrie would have been shocked!
Turns out my boy is quite an accomplished Americana-style singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar player who worked that stage (and us) like he'd been doing it forever. Has a record coming out in July. Who knew? A little bit country, a little bit bluesy rock 'n roll, hell, he even did a cover of "Help Me Make it Through The Night" that did Kris Kristofferson proud. Weirdly, his singing voice still sounded like AIDIN to me. "So who came here to see if AIDIN could sing?" he teased us right away.
I couldn't help but notice that the bass player looked familiar. Turns out it was Louis Ruiz, who I'd been in a band with backing up a Madonna-wanna-be artist named TUESDAY KNIGHT in LA back in 1985 and hadn't seen since!! Oh my God! Charlotte would say it was destiny. Miranda would roll her eyes, and Samantha, well; I can't repeat here what she'd probably do. Carrie would follow her heart - and do what it took to get the story, so I approached the stage immediately after the set. Louis recognized me right away, exclaiming "Kim Gold!", hugged me - and brought me back to meet John, after he greeted the hoard of AIDIN/"My Big Fat Greek Wedding"-worshippers seeking autographs and photos.
I was armed and dangerous with pen, paper, and disposable camera, ready to conduct an impromptu interview and ask incredibly astute, philosophical questions about acting vs. music that he would find so engaging and we would bond intensely, and then...
"What can I do for you?" John Corbett asked me, with that voice I knew so well. When I dove into "Tell us about your decision to pursue music now," ready to explain how I wanted to champion his endeavors like I did for Juliette Lewis. He said, "Let me stop you right here. I don't talk about what I do. You can write whatever you want. I don't talk about my acting influences, I don't talk about my musical influences and I just do what I do. If you like it, great. That's all I've got for you." OH. I was stopped dead in my tracks, stunned into silence. This was NOT the way I had scripted it in my one-track-mind. "But," he said, with a twinkle in his eye, "I WILL give you a hug," and put his arms around me, working me like he worked the crowd. I took what I could get, tossing my Kodak to Louis, then I handed them both a copy of my CD, Sycamore Street - and got the hell outta there.
I couldn't help but wonder, in a world filled with chance encounters, and things meant to be, would I have done anything differently? It's like Berger and the Sex & The City writer guy on Oprah said, "He 's just not that into you". OR maybe just journalists...
Shameless plugz 'o da month:
Justin Schwartz for the best massage ever, and he'll bring his table to you for a great price (!) 510-213-0875
Best chiropractic treatment from Dr. Patrick Sitzman 25 Evergreen Ave., Mill Valley 415-381-2700
Best cut, color & cost by Shonna for Rockstar Hair (for musicians only!) 415-819-9397
Remember sometime back I said Miggs was going to be the next big band out of the Bay Area? Well, as usual, I'm right! MIGG's new CD "Insomnia" is a delicious blend of classic pop and contemporary alternative, forming the perfect sonic union: great vocals, innovative songs with lyrics that dig deep, yet resonate on a universal level, and melodies that stick with you for the long haul. Well done! Go to www.miggsband.com or pick it up at Borders Books, Amazon, Tower Records or Barnes & Noble.
Buy my CD SYCAMORE STREETwww.cdbaby.com/kimberlye
Come to my next monthly Nashville style Songwriters-in-the-Round show at the 142 Throckmorton Theater in Mill Valley (throckmortontheater.com for info).
Congrats to my brother Kirk Goldberg and his new wife Jana!
Happy big 4-0 to the illustrious publisher of this little newsrag!
Ta ta!!###
To read other articles by Mizz Gold, click here!
Kim can be emailed by clicking here!