The stage.

 

“To this day when I hear that song

I see you standin' there on that lawn

Discount shades, store bought tan

Flip flops and cut off jeans

Somewhere between that settin' sun

I'm on fire and born to run.”

Having been to my share of live concerts, I have many vivid memories of being completely “blown away” by performers who have more talent than I could ever imagine having. They also have big speakers which can also “blow you away”.

I know I have thought about what it would be like to be on stage; I have only thought, because I have never really wanted to do it. If you heard my voice, you would understand. The closest I have ever come to being on a big stage happened in all places…L.A. I stood on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl, looking out over the seats—-fortunately with no one there. The one thing I remember was…it was not as large as I thought it would be, but then again if there were people looking at me I would have had no place to hide. 

Many years ago, I met an up and coming country music performer named David Kersh; we were representing a magazine called “Country Weekly” and to generate interest in the advertising community, we took him to some advertising agencies. Let’s just say, if country music was not their favorite format when we arrived, once they met a performer, and heard him sing, they were hooked. Unfortunately he didn’t have a long career, but he did get some unique exposure; actually, he posed for Playgirl Magazine and that killed his career. Spoiler Alert: I never saw the issue and didn’t have any desire to do so!

I did have the opportunity to speak with David for a while, and we discussed what it is like to be on stage, have control of a crowd, and then when it’s over walk off the stage. He said, “I hope it never ends, but I know if I don’t do it right, it will.” He was right—but how cool to have that perspective about the fragility of a career,

Watching careers rise and implode is nothing new. I have seen it in business, and when it happened it was painful to watch. But there’s the flip side…I have seen people do things that were exceptional, and boy do they leave an impression. I am not going to name names, but one time I saw a presentation that started with a video of “The Circle of Life;” it was all about how this company reached people of all ages, and when he was done, we gave him a standing ovation. He owned the stage!

The photo above was taken at Wrigley Field a number of years ago. Bruce Springsteen was playing when the skies opened and the rain came. Being the “boss” he continued to play and came out into the audience—-we all were in awe when we were being “blown away.”

Thanks for stopping by.