Legends on Ice!

I can’t wait to tell you about this week’s show and this time, I get to tell you about it from a whole new perspective… as an assistant stage manager! When Todd, the stage manager, asked me if I’d like to help him out for “Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons Tribute on Ice,” my answer was a nonchalant, “sure – whatever you need.” Excited because it would be something new to try, but a little nervous because I wasn’t sure I knew what the heck a stage manager even does, I masked it all with nonchalance. But I vowed to do my best and see what happened!

I arrived at the Sears Center donned in black (so the cameras and audience couldn’t see me behind the performers) Todd handed me a headset and showed me how to use it. A voice, fuzzy with static, came across his walkie-talkie and he quickly turned and said...”15 minutes ‘til Act One… call 15 mins.” Uhhh – call who? How? On the headset? Wait, where did Todd go? I thought, okay – who would need to know… the performers, duh. So, I headed to Frankie’s headquarters to let them know we’d be rehearsing in 15 minutes followed by the skaters’ dressing rooms. Rehearsal went great – choreographer Lea Ann Miller kept a close eye on the details and directed everyone over the headset. My job was pretty easy – do whatever Todd tells me to do. This included hunting down skaters if they weren’t in their places, getting the zamboni ready for intermission and helping skaters on and off the ice before and after their routines. The bonus part of my job was seeing how a show comes together. Between choreography, lights, cameras, sound, cueing, performing, the band, Frankie, the Four Seasons and hosts Peggy Fleming and Craig Hummer, it’s amazing the shows come together at all – that’s a lot of people that have to be on the same page!

But the show came together beautifully. Before the band and singers went on stage, they all circled up for a prayer. And although Frankie’s getting up there in years, he was still witty and when he cracked jokes and I could imagine the decades of charisma and talent that made him the legend he is today. The crowd showed up and seemed to know every word to every song that played. I was astonished that Lea Ann could run a whole show over a headset from whatever booth she was in.

It was a toss up who the crowd loved more – Frankie or Brian Boitano. Every time he slid onto the ice, fans went wild for Brian. Watching him skate to one of Frankie’s biggest hits “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” I looked around me and the beaming fans and couldn’t help but lean over to Frankie’s assistant tour manager and say with a smile, “Brian Boitano skating to ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You?’ There are a lot of dreams coming true in that audience right now.” He laughed with me. It’s been 20 years since Brian took home his Olympic medal, but you’d think it was yesterday by the cheering from fans.

Michael Weiss also delivered an unstoppable performance – eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd more than once. As I ran back and forth from dressing room to dressing room, letting people know when and where they needed to be, I noticed Michael diligently practicing his routine on foot, stretching and warming up to whatever he was listening to on his IPHONE. My next goal is to find out what he listens to as he warms up. Other skaters like Yuka Sato, Silvia Fontana, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, Naomi Lang & Peter Tchernyshev, Steven Cousins and more were incredible and I can’t wait to see how it turns out on NBC. The show will be aired Sunday, Nov. 2 from 4 – 6 p.m. EST – don’t miss it!

The show wrapped up and everyone headed to the after party in the club section of the arena. Fleming Jenkins Winery supplied some amazing wine and fans took the opportunity to get their favorite skaters’ autographs. A couple of ladies even stopped me and asked for my autograph and I laughed out loud as I told them I wasn’t a skater. Two didn’t believe me and thought I was lying just so I wouldn’t have to sign autographs. That’s even funnier – I’ve never been asked to sign an autograph and if I was, I certainly wouldn’t say no.  It was another unbelievable show!

Gettin' real with Shae-Lynn

On a spur-of-the-moment errand trip with Shae-Lynn Bourne yesterday, I had some time to get a Canadian’s perspective on an American situation… the economy.

Our conversation flip-flopped from serious ponderings along the lines of, “Canada isn’t hurting yet, but I’m sure we’ll feel it soon” and about how powerful the U.S. is and how we didn’t see how any country could escape the ripple effects of our declining economy. Shae-Lynn dropped a little Suze Orman financial advice on me and asked if Suze’s statement that Americans grow up hearing “bigger is better whether you can afford it or not” was true or not. I tried to explain the depths of American materialism by describing my need for retail therapy and how, after a bad day, sometimes just walking into a Target makes everything better, whether I buy anything or not. Things got very real on the way to the bank.

On the lighter side of things, we talked about the kind of music Shae-Lynn likes to dance to on the ice. As a very-decorated champion - we’re talking World Ice Dance Champion, ten-time Canadian Champion, four-time World Bronze Medalist and World Silver Medalist – she has probably danced to nearly every genre of music. She mentioned that she likes to dance to a wide variety of music, especially fun, pop music and sometimes has a hard time getting into routines to elevator-ish music. After watching her at the “Smucker’s presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds” show in Ohio, it seems to me that she could dance to ANYTHING. One of my favorite routines was her cowgirl routine, where she lasso-ed a guy sitting in the front row. (I later heard he was spotted taking pictures with the rope she tangled him up in). As we speak, the gals (and by gals, I mean the star-studded, champion female cast for tomorrow’s show) are rehearsing a routine to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons’ “Grease” that I think will be super fun to watch and maybe one of the ones that Shae-Lynn likes to do. I believe the guys will also be in the routine.

Back to things getting real, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these skaters aren’t just amazing athletes, but amazing PEOPLE too. What I'm about to say is super cheesy but if this blog was a magazine, it would have the “Celebs are just like us…” section where stars are caught on camera doing really normal things. There would be photos of the girls shopping and the guys reading the paper in the hotel lobby. You’d see pictures of them towing their luggage around, running errands and grabbing a bit to eat. There would be a photo of our “just-this-once” Starbucks run before rehearsal (which is turning into a regular morning trip) or pictures of them on their phones and Blackberries. They'd have bed-head and be wearing workout clothes most of the time. They are just very down to earth people.

A little history about a lot of legend: Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

I know what you’re thinking.

“For a figure skating blog, you sure write a lot about music.”

Well, today is going to be no different but I promise that tomorrow, I will focus on figure skating. It’s just that today, I haven’t spent any time with the skaters – they’ve been out on the ice since 9:30am at the Sears Center rehearsing for the “Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons Tribute on Ice,” in Chicago so I can’t exactly report back on their antics.

Wait – I’ve got a little tidbit about figure skating!! I did sit down with costume designer Denis Pizzacalla and ask him a question that’s been on my mind – “What happens with all those stunning figure skating outfits when the show is over?” (and most importantly, is there any way I could get one in a size 4? I feel that it would be great to have one in my costume box in case of an emergency – is that weird?) Denis said that he takes them home with him and tries to recycle them or make other costumes out of them. It felt wrong to ask if I could get one, so I didn’t. But it’s good to know where they end up. It’s great that they make more than one appearance out on the ice.

Since Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons are headlining the upcoming show this weekend, I’m going to fill you in on a few fun facts about Frankie. Tickets can still be purchased by clicking here. Again, this makes for great pub trivia game questions, so don’t miss this:

Frankie’s real name (it’s a mouthful!): Francis Stephen Castelluccio

Frankie’s real age: When The Four Seasons finally made it, their age was something of an embarrassment. They were a good ten years older than The Beach Boys. The record companies thought no teenagers would listen to a band in their thirties. Valli was 28 when "Sherry" became a hit, and the record company thought it would be better if he were considered 25, so his age was changed. (The Internet Movie Database)

There are about a million hits to go over starting with 29 Top 40 hits and five number one hits with the Four Seasons including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll,” and “December, 1963 (oh, What a Night).” As a solo artist, Frankie had nine Top 40 hits and two number one hits, “My Eyes Adored You,” and “Grease.” His best known solo recording maxed out at number two in 1967, “Can’t Take My Eyes of You” which confuses me a little bit. How can you have number one hits, yet your best known recording top out at number two? Hmmm....(Wikipedia)

More recently, Frankie and his music made appearances on The Sopranos. His Web site says, “The characters often spout their admiration for Frankie Valli. Tony Soprano bragged that he used the same florist as Frankie. And Frankie himself, in an acting role, guest-starred in Seasons 5 and 6 of The Sopranos as mobster Rusty Millio – until Rusty’s unfortunate demise in a hail of bullets.”

Frankie grew up in a public housing project—Stephen Crane Village—on the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey. As the character of Tommy DeVito, Frankie’s friend and fellow Four Season, says in Jersey Boys: “If you’re from my neighborhood, you got three ways out: You could join the army. You could get mobbed up. Or—you could become a star.” At an early age, Frankie chose Door No. 3. When he was seven, his mother took him to New York City’s Paramount Theater to see Frank Sinatra. “I saw Sinatra coming out on stage,” Frankie recalls, “and the way he was lit up, it was like he had an aura around him. I decided then and there that’s what I was going to do—be a successful singer.”

If you consider five decades of timeless hits and cameo invitations on popular tv shows 'success,' than yes, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons have 'made it.' Now let's see if they can deliver the kind of show that we have come to expect from our favorite figure skaters!

I've Got A Fever...Of the Skating Variety...

...And the only prescription is champion figure skaters coupled with a dose of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!

Kristi, the other half of this skating insider dynamic duo, will be blogging, twittering, texting, phoning, emailing and more from this fantastic skating event. So stay tuned.

As I sit at my kitchen table (my make-shift home office) in four layers of shirts and sweats, a ski hat and gloves, typing away in the early morning light of yet another beautiful Colorado fall day; I watch as the sun slowly rises from the East, gently kissing the earth, blanketed in the slightest layer of frost, creating a mysterious vapor effect that dissipates like a cloudy dream. As the vapor rises in unison with the condensation leaving my breath I realize two things: I really need to invest in a heater of some sort, and the 2009 skating season is upon us!

As I giddily shriek this last statement, jumping out of my seat and voraciously clapping my hands, my dog Cody lifts his head with great effort and grunts a long sigh of annoyance at my childish display that has disturbed his third nap of the morning.

Just to be clear about the above outburst, I'm generally a “dude’s, dude” as they say. I like to drink beer and confabulate about the fairer sex and sports…Granted I’m a fair-weather fan that only watched last year’s World Series because my home team, The Colorado Rockies, were in it for the first time, and hearing east coast commentators scramble to have info on Colorado was hilarious… “Well John, I didn’t even know Colorado had a baseball team until today and I believe this quaint little state just transitioned from horse-drawn carriages to motorized vehicles in the past month…” OK that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.

I’m not huge into sports but skating is definitely doing it for me. There I said it…I love figure skating! I'm learning, through research and meeting these amazing athletes, all there is to soak up about the sport. I can rattle of names and titles like no other and it’s particularly hilarious to throw in skating ice-breakers during football gatherings at my home that go something like this: “So fellas, who’s pumped for the World Skating Championship in LA this March..." (awkward pause) "...I mean this is the best of the best in the competitive figure skating world! I hope Lysacek nails a quadruple axle for the US…high five? Anyone?”

I could care less that my friends don't get figure skating. I'm pumped that things are kicking off in full swing for this amazing sport.

Here's the layout of some of the major skating events so you can mark your calendars accordingly:

Saturday, October 25, 2008: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Tribute on Ice
This spectacular Disson show is at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Tickets are still available and range from $42 to $162 seats on the ice. The skating cast includes Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano, 3-time US National Champion Michael Weiss, World Champion Yuka Sato and much more. Get your tickets at the Sears Center Box Office or at www.searscentre.com
or by calling 1-888-SEARSTIX. See all the upcoming Disson shows at www.dissonskating.com


Thursday October 24- Sunday October 26, 2008: 2008 Skate America
This weekend long show at the Comcast Arena in Everett, Washington, is the first of six events in this year's Grand Prix Series and will showcase the talent of 60 top skaters from 15 countries.
For more information go to: www.2008skateamerica.com

March 23-29, 2009: 2009 World Championships
This event, to be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California is a qualifier for the 2010 Winter Olympics. L.A. beat out bids from Budapest, Hungary, and Helsinki, Finland to host the event. For more information go to: www.usfsa.org

January 14-24, 2010: US Figure Skating Championships
Spokane, Washington will host this electric night of skating performances just 18 days before the Winter Olympic Games. For more information got to: www.spokane2010.com

February 12-28, 2010 & March 12-21, 2010: 2010 Winter Olympic Games
Vancouver, Canada is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Only 16 months (466 days to be exact) remain until the world comes together once more to witness the greatest display of skill, strength, teamwork from top athletes from around the globe. For more information go to: www.vancouver2010.com

Tis the season to skate!

Who IS Peter Cetera?

I underestimated my parents' generation of music... again. It's not the first time and it certainly won't be the last. But please let me tell you how Peter Cetera and the Cleveland Pops humbled me by their performance in "Smucker's presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds" last Saturday night in Youngstown, Ohio.

When I first heard that Peter Cetera would be headlining the show, I thought, "WHO is Peter Cetera? And if I don't know him, how the heck is this show going to sell tickets?" The nearly sold out show proved me wrong, wrong and wrong on all accounts. Let's break down the answer to that, question by question:

Who is Peter Cetera?

A Chicago native, Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitar player and producer probably best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career. (thank you Wikipedia)

Trivia game factoid: (if you are like me and partake in pub trivia games then you'll want to listen up - this could come up at any time): The band Chicago originally started out with the name "The Big Thing" (what?? ahahahahaha), before becoming "The Chicago Transit Authority" and later shortening it to "Chicago" after getting complaints from the real CTA.

"Chicago's" first big hit was "25 or 6 to 4" and went on to author hits like, "Where do we go from here?" "Wishing you were here," "Happy Man," "If you leave me now," "Baby, what a big surprise," and "Hard to say I'm sorry." If you don't recognize them by name, do peruse Itunes and take a good listen... I'm SURE you'll know them.

Anyhoo, in 1985, Cetera and "Chicago" went their separate ways, and Peter blessed us with the theme to Karate Kid Part II, "Glory of Love." The song went on to win an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures and a BMI Film & TV Award for Most Performed Song from a Film. It was also nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Song, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Male Artist. It's just an all-around awesome song.

And just when I was sure it couldn't get any more awesome, top national, world and Olympic figure skaters decided to perform to it for their finale this weekend! The nearly-sold out arena was beside itself - fans of all ages cheered and screamed, and although I didn't see any, it would not have surprised me to see a tear or two.

With the power of an orchestra such as the Cleveland Pops to back him up, Cetera delivered an unbeatable performance and threw in a couple of Christmas songs to preview the upcoming holiday season. The skaters did exactly what we knew they would do, and performed magically. Sasha Cohen did a 'duet' on the ice with Brian Boitano, and other greats like Todd Eldredge, Jennifer Robinson, Yuka Sato, Jamie Sale & David Pelletier, Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Michael Weiss performed too... it just doesn't get much better than that.

But there's good news and there's bad news. The bad news first... the live show already happened. The good news... if you missed it, you can see it on NBC on Dec. 25 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST. The even better news? If you own a TIVO (or happen to get one from Santa on Christmas Day) you can watch it over and over and over again.

Another quick trivia game factoid before I leave you: Cetera's trademark singing style would develop as a result of having to sing for a period of time with a wired-shut jaw after getting into a brawl at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 1969. (according to Wikipedia)... which reinforces my belief that everything happens for a reason, and sometimes we are just not allowed to know why until much later.

I'm not alone in thinking the show was incredible... check out these reviews by fans and show-goers:

Ice Skating Offers Warm and Fuzzy Feeling

Hot Ice, Cool Sounds

If I wasn't a champion figure skater, I would....

(Sasha Cohen and Brian Boitano perform in "Smucker's presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds" in Youngstown, OH)

If I could do it all over again, I'd be a professional salsa dancer. There's something about the passion, precision, rhythm and heat of it that makes my heart beat a little faster and my body want to move. While I will be starting lessons soon, it's just a fact of life that I missed the window to be a professional... and that's okay.

But what would you be if you could do it all over again? It's a rhetorical question, and this weekend in Youngstown, Ohio for the "Smucker's presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds," I found myself debating it after overhearing Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen talking about what she feels she is missing out on by choosing to figure skate. It was very ironic hearing an Olympic medalist ponder on the things she wants in her life... which just happen to be things that I have and tend to take for granted.

"As athletes, we fine-tune our bodies to reach our greatest potential. But what about our minds? What do we do for our minds?" Sasha threw question after to question on the table for Todd Eldredge, Jennifer Robinson, Shae-Lynn Bourne and other skaters on their way home from a delicious dinner with Youngstown locals and Congressman Tim Ryan.

Sasha mentioned that she wishes she could be in the university atmosphere among peers and thought-provoking professors. She said she wants to be involved in debates. She talked about stocks often throughout the weekend, and when she wasn't rehearsing on the ice, it was likely she was in the production office checking her portfolio and the market. As the youngest skater on the cast list for the show - she's 23 years old - she embodied youth and idealism, and seemed to yearn for many of the things I find my friends, classmates and co-workers immersed in. Politics, the economy, debate, beliefs, insightful discussion and more.

On a lighter note - and perhaps as an outlet to balance all of the serious competition and self-discipline in her life, she talked about cooking. Sasha loves to cook and I believe I heard it mentioned that if she wasn't a skater, she might like to open her own bakery.

Here are some recipes I found online that are credited to Sasha:

Sasha Cohen's Warm Chicken Salad Delight Recipe

SASHA'S FAMILY OATMEAL COOKIE RECIPE
(from Sasha's journal - Dec. 18, 2006 entry)

A few of Sasha's favorite ice cream recipes

Enough food - back to the real reason we're here - figure skating! It's no easy feat to be a champion figure skater. Most of the skaters - if not all - began when they were teeny-tiny kids, and found themselves practicing for hours on end. Being a champion can mean 4-8 hrs of rehearsal each day. It can mean sacrificing friendships and relationships to move around the country to train with the best coaches in the world. It can mean gory injuries (someone once landed a jump in Sasha's leg with their skate - hear about it in an interview here). It can mean missing out on pursuing other interests like higher education or other occupations.

But in return for the sacrifice, there is glory. There is the satisfaction of knowing you are one of the greatest contenders in the world in your field. There is the fulfillment of dedicating yourself to something you love and getting to spend your life pursuing it. You get to inspire thousands - if not millions - of people around the world through your craft. You get to travel and meet people, perform for adoring fans, and use your success to help raise awareness for important causes around the world.

And when the day is done, you can crawl into bed at night, physically exhausted from your sport and hopefully, excited to wake up tomorrow and get back out on the ice to do it all again.

Bloggin' from Bloomington

Hey all, Sara Evans here checking in from the Corn Palace! Honorary guest blogger for the day. Ok, maybe not so much. But I did just spend an hour pretending to be her “for tv purposes.” Sounds glamorous, but I was merely a stand-in so the tv crew could frame shots with the skaters and Sara as well. The view from the stage is pretty nice, though the lights can be rather blinding! Can’t see all the action on the ice though, depending on the lighting for that particular number. Oh yeah, and the Skating for Life show is actually taking place at the US Cellular Coliseum, although their sports venue back in the day was called the Corn Palace. That would have been classic though, a skating show taking place in a building covered with corn! We are in the heart of corn country here in Illinois. Coming in on the little plane from Chicago we marveled at the miles and miles of corn fields. Bloomington is also the home of State Farm Insurance and Beer Nuts (no, they are not made with beer…). The airport is lovely, the hotel we stayed at had character and best of all, Starbucks was conveniently located right across the street. Couldn’t ask for more!

So anyway, back to the skating. Looks to be a wonderful show for a great cause. If you didn’t know, the performance this evening is a benefit for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the renowned breast cancer foundation. Every participant in the show has been touched by the disease in some way, shape or form. This day in age, it is actually hard to find someone that hasn’t been affected by cancer. The skaters will perform a number in tribute to a family member that has battled the disease. Our host, the lovely Peggy Fleming, is herself a survivor of the disease. At the same time it is a tribute, it is also a celebration. Sara and her band are a-rockin’ right now, powering through the dress rehearsal. The skaters feed off of the energy of the live music, and reflect it in their performances for you! Since the show will be starting shortly, I better sign off. I leave you with a few behind-the-scenes moments:

~Props to Jozef and Steven for sucking it up and traveling with us all day Monday straight from the Phoenix show (this included a 4am call time!).

~Monday night practice, which turned into a dance class with Jennifer Robinson showing the gang a few moves.

~Skaters bundled up in the freezing practice rink on Tuesday, then warming up with a hot meal at Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant.

~Emily Hughes taking time out to skate with a contest winner (6 yr-old Addison) before practice this morning.

(Thanks to guest blogger, Kristin!)

What it's all about...

(Kevin Jonas, Kristi Yamaguchi, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas chatting in an interview)

The show was amazing! How amazing, you ask? So amazing that it took me nearly two days (and 15 hours of sleep) to back to a normal, functioning state so that I could write this blog.

I’m trying to pick a good place to start… should I start when show day did, at 6:30 a.m. when the craziest of the Jonas Brothers fans began lining up outside of the U.S. Airways Arena – even though the show didn’t start until 5 p.m.?? Or perhaps I should start when the skaters began rehearsing at 10:30 a.m. They woke up bright and early ready to hit the ice nearly all day to perfect their choreography and make sure the night went without a single hitch.

Perhaps I’ll get sidetracked before I even begin and talk about driving the Jonas Brothers band from the hotel to the arena and asking the brilliant question: “So, you guys ever played a show like this – you know – choreographed to dance or skating or on the ice?” I was politely corrected by who I think was the keyboardist when he said, “um, yes, we’ve actually played shows like this and we’ve played on the ice before.” They then went on to tell me how they’d just flown in from Europe the day or two before. I think that next time, I probably won’t ask any questions.

But I think where I really want to start is with the REAL star of the show… Kristi Yamaguchi. It is, after all, the “Bayer Healthcare Diabetes Care presents Kristi Yamaguchi Friends & Family.” And I think it’s safe to say that she might’ve been one of the busiest (and hardest working!) ones out there! Between rehearsals for group routines, practicing the special number with her daughter to ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,’ visits to CrocPond’s Fat Cat Animation Studios to meet the super talented crew over there and hear the inspiring stories and cartoons that are being created for children there, interviews with various media members, an extra-special interview with Nick Jonas about his campaign to help kids cope with juvenile diabetes, taking the entire cast to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, she was a BUSY gal.

The most amazing part? With her busy schedule, she still took the opportunity to spend time with her adorable daughters and equally adorable husband, Bret Hedican of the Carolina Hurricanes. (Okay – adorable may not be the right word to describe Bret – perhaps handsome? Good-looking? You get the point.) It’s very obvious that Kristi’s friends and family are her #1 priority even when things get hectic… ESPECIALLY when things get hectic. Her many family members were happy to step in and watch the girls when Kristi had to head to an interview or help out whenever needed.

On and off the ice, this weekend was truly about friends and family. Children ran (and skated!) circles around their champion figure skating parents while friends watched from the edge of the ice and cheered in support. Fans and their friends filled the arena and screamed for their favorite celebrities until their voices were gone. It was a magical evening to celebrate the most important people in our lives… our friends and family!

Don’t worry if you missed the live show! It was recorded and will air on NBC on Nov. 8, 2008 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. EST. Even if you were there, be sure to tune in for surprises and special moments you might’ve missed!