Category: General

You can’t help but be magically transported to the holiday season as soon as the witches’ hats and ghoulish decorations are exorcised to the attic and there is no remaining proof that eight pounds of solicited candy found its way into (let’s be honest…you and) your children’s happy bellies.

Though the fond remembrances of turkey, football and intermittent napping creep in and out of our consciousness during the month of November, our emotional compasses unapologetically point directly to the sensational sights and sounds of, well, just the best holiday EVER!

I would like to ease the burden of what can become the nucleus of stress during what should be the most magical time of year – finding the perfect gift that won’t be returned or hilariously regifted back to you the following year (as a passive-aggressive reminder that your gift kinda sucked sorry not sorry)

THE perfect gift for THE perfect time of year is optimism. It’s the perfect companion to the collective lessons we’ve learned throughout the year and our preparations to move forward into the next.

All it takes is a smile or a kind word to family, friends or strangers who may find their way into our daily routine. Offering sincere kindness and joy can make a bad day so much better, an unwise decision more acceptable or an intimidating obstacle effortless. We forget the most simple, amazing power we possess to put smiles on people’s faces. As an entertainer, I have a wonderful opportunity every performance to entertain with optimism and to be a joyful champion of my audience, of my friends. We will sing, smile and laugh our way through a long day or a tough week. 

‘True happiness comes from our ability to unselfishly give the best part of ourselves to others.’ – Joel Henry, Owner of The Eighty Eights Show

So, as you get ready for a busy year-end celebration, generously give your gifts of kind words and optimism to your acquaintances, friends, and family, and be prepared to receive more than you could ever imagine…Happy Holidays!!

I recently had a few special moments after a show with a good friend and colleague talking about the evening, our journey in the entertainment industry, and with a few smiles both agreed that we wholeheartedly love what we do so much that we would still do, what we do, even if we didn’t get paid for it. Crazy, right?! Giving it all away for free just for…for what? Well, since you’re here, I’d love to share my time and thoughts with you about entertaining (or performing) with heart.

It was about a year ago in a small town south of Austin. I once again had the wonderful opportunity to perform for an amazing audience (someday I will no longer have the opportunity to write sentences like that, so I cherish each and every time I get to do so). People were singing along to all the standards – Sweet Caroline, Don’t Stop Believin’, Piano Man (the list goes on), and dancing around the piano…everyone (including myself) was having a great time. At the end of the night, I received many compliments and was greeted with smiles and handshakes. All of it warmed my heart, but none of it quite like the personal story one special woman shared with me. It had been months since she had been out of the house. She had been crippled by a debilitating disease, and after many, many months of rehabilitation and healing, she had decided to celebrate her recovery by going out. She went on to tell me that with the pain and sickness she endured, she lost her smile and her joy. She then gave me a warm hug, smiled and thanked me, and I’ll never forget the gratitude in her eyes as she, and her family and friends, laughed and enthusiastically recalled special moments from the evening. THAT is a cool memory…

Fast forward a year, and once again, enjoying the wonderful opportunity to do what I love to do…sing with, play for and entertain an amazing group of people. It was another great night. At the end of the performance, when my partner and I were visiting, a woman stopped and thanked us for the show. We humbly reciprocated and thanked her for her kind words, then she went on to tell us about her son in the audience. There was a young man to our right about 4 rows back in a wheelchair. We, of course, were aware of this young man because we take mental notes and snapshots of the audience throughout the entire night. She said that communication with him was often difficult, but tonight he had a smile on his face the entire performance and sang along to every song. Her smile was accompanied by a warm hug and I again saw that indistinguishable look of gratitude in her eyes…(I hope you’re starting to see my point…)

As with anything, you need to make money. It sucks, but it’s true. I’m not here to pontificate on the love – hate relationship we all share with the almighty dollar. What I am introducing is an interesting question, would you still do what you do without getting even one red cent to do it? Would you do IT for free? Freely give your incredibly important time (which none of us ever have enough of), selflessly share your passionate pursuit of excellence, generously devote your unique talents to create an exceptional experience for your clients?

Those who answer YES understand that the ultimate payment you receive by selflessly sharing your heart in your professional endeavors far exceeds the value of any man-made paper and plastic. We may not be able to pay our mortgages with warm hugs and sincere gratitude, but as our hearts and souls grow fuller, it makes each moment we breathe richer and the special memories we make a boundless treasure.

I recently had the opportunity to perform at the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters in Frisco Texas. Whether you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan is irrelevant to this blog, but understand, fan or foe, the DCWH is a facility that exceeds every standard of excellence. IT is AWESOME (not in the tubular or totally excellent kind of way…in the truly f’ing awe inspiring way).

Whether it’s the million dollar chandelier proudly poised above the main atrium, the five Vince Lombardi trophies, or Jerry Jones landing his personal Dallas Cowboys embroidered helicopter on the outdoor practice fields, the ultimate tone has been set at this world-class facility…go BIG, go AWEsome, or go home.

So, with such a great precedent being set by Jerry Jones and company, how does this effect you and me? Well, if you seek greatness, whether greatness to you is achieving top professional accolades or perhaps sought in a more personal arena, like being the best parent or partner you can be, please read on…if not, go home…

We’ve all heard the cliche ‘If You Can Believe It, You Can Achieve It’. I believe that is part of the picture of greatness, but not the complete picture.

First, you must understand that you deserve greatness. If you don’t feel you deserve greatness, well, I guess no further explanation is needed…

OKAY you yell, ‘I DESERVE GREATNESS’…congratulations, you have now graduated to the second step…B-E-L-I-E-V-I-N-G and visualizing greatness. We now start to mentally and emotionally create our perfect picture of greatness – we see it and we FEEL it. Maybe it’s driving (rather fast) down the road in your Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet on a sunny day with beautiful blue skies and the warm wind on your face, maybe it’s holding a trophy with your name on it and ‘The Greatest’ or ‘The Best’ magnanimously etched into the polished gold leaf below your name, or it’s your child giving their gracious acceptance speech at the Oscars and recognizing your love and acceptance and crediting you as their hero. All of the sights, the smells, the emotion of that great moment…it moves us towards greatness.

BUT…

Just believing is NOT enough…between the BELIEVE and ACHIEVE is a lot of disciplined effort and excellent hard work. The stuff nobody sees. We must ACT, and act in a way that tirelessly promotes greatness. I think what we will find, and those who have experienced greatness know, is the greatness we aspire to ultimately permeates every part of our existence. We become great individuals – mind, body and soul – and are able to make amazing contributions to our family, our friends and our community. WE become the beacon in the night, WE become the warm smile and welcoming hug after a very long day, WE become the new standard of excellence…

be your own WORLD-class headquarters…go BIG, go AWEsome and be GREAT!

It’s time for the special event. There has been plenty of preparation and planning, from practicing to updating and editing song lists, to reviewing the clients’ requirements and requests, and finally preparing for efficient and successful travel, load in and optimal setup.

Now the simple stuff is out of the way, the stuff anyone (or anyone is this business) can do — coordinating the entertainment logistics for the event. Simple stuff. The not-so-simple-anyone-can-do is the other 99% of the event, the most important part of the event…the performance.

The performance is all about the audience. 

The songs that are played are all for the audience.

The words spoken by the entertainers are to the audience, about the audience and all for the audience.

That’s the magic of what we, as entertainers, DO. The absolute coolest thing about a private event is walking into a beautiful venue full of a bunch of people who you do not know, and who do not know you, sitting down in front of that audience who has no idea what to expect and is perhaps (and respectively so) a bit apprehensive, and after two hours of singing together, dancing together and laughing together we all walk away with a mutual admiration, a deeper understanding that the last two hours were something very special, a moment that will never be duplicated and always fondly remembered. 

When an ‘event’ turns into a memorable, exciting ‘experience’. That’s what we DO. That’s why we DO.

That’s The Eighty Eights Show and the ultimate legacy we will continue to proudly earn.