I used to go to auditions all the time. Sometimes I wasn’t feeling great. Sometimes I was running late and ran into the audition room breathless and stressed out. I always sang anyway, even when maybe I shouldn’t have. “Hey,” said youthful arrogance, “even me at less than 100% is still better than everyone else, […]
Category Archives: Throwback Thursday
Does it Count as Throwback Thursday if You Use a Time Machine?
“I’m not really me,” she told me as she ran into the house and slammed the door. “I’m hiding from the other me.” Then she ran back outside, only to return a few minutes later, slamming the door again. “Ok, have you seen another one of me around here? I’m trying to stay away from […]
Infamous Gigs: My First Time on Stage
You know, I wasn’t always going to be a musician and performer. It took a couple of excellent teachers who saw potential in me to give me the courage to discover one of my greatest passions, and even then it was almost a disaster. When I was in 8th grade, the high school was auditioning […]
Infamous Gigs: The Crazed, Lute-Crackin’, Bag Whackin’ Butler
Sometimes, despite all of your careful planning, rehearsing, and memorizing, things can go wildly out of your control. There’s nothing you can do to avoid this. No number of back-up plans or contingencies can protect you from that most dreadful of earthly problems: other people. This is the story of the only time my voice […]
Infamous Gigs: My Wife’s Boss
Everyone there knew I was a singer. Her co-workers would ask my wife what I did for work, and she would tell them that I was a singer, and they were all very impressed. She would also tell them that I was a very good singer, but I don’t know if they believed her. I […]
Infamous Gigs: The Postal Museum
It all started because my good friend Mim, with whom I attended high school, moved down to D.C. and got a job at the Postal Museum. What?! Have you never heard of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum?! Then you are not a true museum nerd, D.C. buff, or semi-professional philatelist! Because, though it is not as […]
Infamous Gigs: The Bar Mitzvah in the Elevator
Last week you will remember that I told you all about the time my a cappella group was hired to sing at a Billy Joel-themed wedding, and that it was, shall we say, an adventure. I don’t know how much we got out of it, artistically speaking anyway, but what we did get out of […]
Infamous Gigs: The Billy Joel Wedding
Today I am starting a new Throwback Thursday feature called “Infamous Gigs,” in which I will attempt to tell the stories from some of my more bizarre and memorable musical jobs. Today I will tell you the tale of: “The Billy Joel Wedding.” Back when I was directing an a cappella group called Passing Notes, […]
How I Became a Bully, and What I Will Tell My Kids About It
Middle school was rough. If you don’t relate to that statement in any way at all, then you clearly did not go to middle school. Junior high, grades 6-8, ages 11-13, this terrible time in any young person’s life involves their body and mind going completely insane, and a sudden, new social world emerging in […]
My Real Name, and the Problems It Has Caused Me
Hello. My name is Adam Hall, and I am Tenor Dad. Phew. That is a load off! When I started writing this blog, it was mostly for my friends and family, but still I referred to myself as “Tenor Dad,” mostly because I thought it was funny to do so. Then, as my audience expanded […]