A Little Bit of Press I Forgot to Mention

For the regular readers of the blog, this is all old news. For everyone else, here's a place the succinctly sums up everything I've been up to on the creative side:

http://www.salsation.com/bochinchera-zine/2006-06-01.html

Feel free to subscribe to the newsletter to receive future updates!

Thanks,
Nelson

Currently reading : Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 1) By Timothy Zahn Release date: By 01 May, 1992

Thank you J.B.!

If you clicked on the link thinking I was going to serenade an alcoholic beverage, you don't know me at all!

Actually, I am thanking my man Jason Bell, a fellow trumpeteer who introduced me to a band that I hated with a passion back in the day...

See, my freshman year of high school was full of a lot of experiences like girls...cars...band camp...girls...marching...girls...and the occasionaly rap vs. rock debate I had with everybody. In the 8th grade, I kinda made a name for myself for being a self-proclaimed musical prodigy (first chair trumpet player...DIG IT!) and I was heavily into rap thanks to Young M.C.'s Stone Cold Rhymin' debut. I was destined to be a great rapper at the time in my mind and made sure I was on top of the scene. The scene to me, of course, consisted of very old school rappers, unpopular or unheard of records, and basically everyone not on Yo MTV Raps! thanks to my parents subjugating me to an adolescent life of terrestial television. Since I knew everything there was to know at that age, I knew rap (not hip-hop) was the best musical art form in the world! Until one day...

At lunch time, freshmen were not allowed to go off-campus to grab a meal unlike everyone else (I still to this day don't know what made parents/faculty think that being a year older as a sophmore would give me a bigger sense of responsibility to not act a fool once off campus...many a mailbox suffered cruel deaths thanks to sophmores getting their delinquency rocks off during lunch). However, one upper-classman, hooked me and another freshman up with a ride to the mecca of all fast food - McDonalds! We all piled into his Grand Cherokee, kept our heads down as he drove off campus, and celebrated wildly as he drove around at our short-lived freedom. The coolest thing about J was that he had a CD player in his car which at the time was REALLY cool. In the deck he had a wildly known record known as Blood Sugar Sex Magik playing. I didn't know who the artist was but I was totally digging the rapping the guy was doing and the basslines. We listened to half the record and I kept in mind how good the record sounded to me. The production was impeccable and the sound was tight. I was mortified to find out this sonic masterpiece was by the Red Hot Chili Peppers; the same band that all the jocks, preppies, and utter assholes I knew at school were listening to was that same one I was bobbing my head to in the car! At that moment, my horizons opened up a little bit larger.

The reason I thought of all of this was because I was rolling in the MoMo (Murano) and a song from BSSM came on and I rocked out to it reminiscing about old times. So, thanks J for hooking me up with the Chili Peppers and inadvertantly turning me onto a style of music I would grow to play and love.

Currently listening : Blood Sugar Sex Magik By Red Hot Chili Peppers Release date: By 24 September, 1991

All of My Friends With Their Hands in the Air Screamin' "Party of Here! Party Over There!"

Have you ever been to a party where you wonder "What the heck were they thinkin'? This party needs some EMTs cuz it's dead!" Well, the party we threw this weekend had a built-in dojo cuz it's was totally kickin'!

We threw our Chicago-based wedding reception where we invited 100 guests of which each could've invited one other person for a total of 200 people. I estimate about 60-70 showed up throughout the night. We had set up a projector with various slideshows showing both the serious and very non-serious side of what went down in Cancun along with the professional wedding video. People laughed, smiled, and happily cried watching the videos/pictures. We also had a DJ bumpin' the tunes while interspersing the occasional karoake hit performed by various talented folks. The Nielsen girls took the stage and took the party by storm with their great voices while yours truly got the party goin' by bustin' a move a la Young MC with a little heart and soul via my man Huey Lewis. The food kept being rolled out and people snatched up thir favorite pieces of chicken, shrimp, cheese, pretzles, sweets, and who knows what else they served. It was great seeing people out of their element dancing to "Don't Stop Till Ya Get Enough". I never thought I would see IBMers move so quickly to the dance floor!

This party went well beyond our expectations (righteously so)! Thanks to everyone who came out and had a good time. I especially thank those that gave us a little somethin' somethin' to add to the house/bank account ;-)

Currently listening : And in This Corner... By DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince Release date: By 17 October, 1989

Bad To Good In The Ring of Just One Phone Call

I was having a trying day yesterday. Had a person that decided that we, due to their absence on previous meetings, had the duty and will to fill them in on everything we've spoken on in the last few weeks, which really ticked me off. I asked myself, "Man, didn't you set your Meeting Tivo? This is all old news!" I also had the Silent Lurker on the call. They're the type of person that joins a call unnanounced and listens in to capture intelligence to promote some secret, global agenda. Well, Lurker messed up and became audible due to a misunderstanding of what we were trying to accomplish. Damage controls were put into place to calm everyone down and restate the goal of our meetings.

I admit that my anger was completely my issue and I chose to hold onto that anger instead of seeing it for what it was. I was afraid that I wasn't going to do a "good" job of getting through the meeting, and that others were trying to steal my thunder/circumvent me on a task I had to take care of. So, I see it for what it was now and learned from it. But yet, I was in a bad mood.

Well, that changed after I received a callback from one of my recent auditions. I got offered two parts in an up and coming play! Wowzers! I felt my ego and spirits rise up quickly. I was like, "Hey, things are pretty good!"

Things were always good but I made them seem worse than they really were. Goes to show how things in this cosm we call life are completely up to us to create. I created both a bad day and a good day for myself. I think I'll stick to manifesting the good days cuz it feels good; feels even better when I get offered roles in something I love to do

The Global Unifer

Most people who know me well know that I'm not much into sports. The only Chicago-based team I like is the MLS favorites the Chicago Fire. My affinity for soccer (or should I say futbol ) stems from a few places such as my heritage, the simplicity of the game, or the fact I played it for 3 years as a kid. Therefore, every 4 years is a lot of fun for me because I get to live out the life a sports fan for 3 weeks and talk a lot of smack just like most guys do after their team loses against somebody.

This year has been more fun because I deal with a lot of Europeans at work. There's nothing cooler than getting into a meeting and trading our thoughts on the World Cup for the first 15-20 minutes! That's why we're the biggest computer company in the world! Globalization in all aspects. I love defending the US team against it's European critics on these calls:

"Ehhhhh....zeh Amerikahn team....eeehhhhhhhhh....zay are not gon' to ween because ehhhhhhhh....sock-uh eez not az popoolah az eet eez in Europe...and zeh team needs more ehhhhhhhhhh....time to get more experiance.....zat is wut I zink."

Calls go so much more smoothly after hashing out the effects of temperature on the ball after being kicked 2000 times. Very cool. Glad we can all come together on something at least once every 4 years.

Currently listening : Soccer Hits By Groove Machine Release date: By 24 February, 2006

Watch "Anonymous"!

Hey everyone:

I've posted Gone Blue's first pilot production of "Anonymous". Feel free to watch it here or on my main profile page. If you like it, drop some love or embed it in your profile!

Peace,
Nelson

Two For Two

Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend two auditions. For the first one in the morning, I got there 20 minutes early, did 15 minutes of warm-ups then joined the group for a group warm up to get an inkling of whom I would be doing scenes with. Everyone was really nice! I hit the stage 5 times and did really good scenes. I'm happy with my audition.

Later last night, I attended another audition along with what seemed probably 60-80 other people over the course of the night. My group was probably 35-40 deep. The director made sure everyone felt as comfortable as possible by having everyone introduce themselves at the very beginning, thus, we could all be more comfortable as well as have bragging rights that we "auditioned for XYZ with ABC" (nothing like alphabet descriptions to describe an audition to other people). So, I got paired up with two other folks and off we went with script in hand to read, learn, and act out a very, very, hilarious scene where everybody's lines and emotions end in innuendo. We pulled it off and had a great scene. I performed a little lounge act afterwards at the director's request and watched others perform their individual talents.

We went out together afterwards and it turns out one of the guys I auditioned with is also from Texas! We reminisced about San Antonio and Austin and had a pretty good time. I was joined by a lass I had auditioned with for Conservatory and we played catchup/Conservatory tips & advice for a few moments. Her recollection of my audition was so different than mine. I remembered my first scene being ok and she remembered it being awesome Hey, who am I to argue with her!? LOL. So, it was cool to get some props by someone I auditioned with.

I feel pretty good. Tonight I've got a party to attend so I will take some time to celebrate my 2-0 audition day. Regardless of the outcome, it was a good day.

Currently listening : All Because of You By U2 Release date: By 03 November, 2005

Note: This was originally posted on MySpace with comments at:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&FriendID=16074757&blogMonth=6&blogDay=16&blogYear=2006

It Ain't Cute! It's a Pimp Machine!

Hey all:

The end of the Tracker is era is upon us. I got the Murano over the weekend. Here are some cool attributes of the Murano that I really enjoy:

1. I can start the car on the first turn of the key.
2. When the tachometer reaches between 2500 and 3000 rpm's, a smooth shift into the next gear occurs.
3. I can fit huge apes into the car and every monkey is comfortable.
4. When I go over a bump or a pothole, it doesn't feel and sound like Godzilla has decided to move to Chicago and start wreaking havoc on my car.
5. When I raise the rear gate of the car, it actually stays up! Holy Toledo! No more of a need to prop a granola box in the struts to keep it from falling!
6. People stop laughing and pointing at me when I pull into the valet.
7. No more siphoning gas from my neighbor's Lexus RX350...wait...scratch that...this thing sucks up gas too! Oh well, at least it doesn't leak it...
8. I have so much more room I can fit a lot more than 25 Latinos in it for a leisurely drive.
9. The tint on the back windows make me feel like I'm a VIP when rolling in it to VIPs to sit in the VIP section. It's a VIT to me.
   
10. I can tell the temperature in both standard AND metric! I'm all set for the rest of the free world now!

So, head on over to the car auction to get the Tracker if you want it. I'm gonna be famous some day, so, go get a piece of history while you still can. I'm sure they will auction it in exchange for two goats and a rubber chicken.

Currently listening : Cars By Fear Factory & Gary Numan Release date: By 24 August, 1999

Anonymous

I've co-written a script for a 5 minute TV pilot entitled "Anonymous" regarding 3 strangers meeting at an AA meeting and the wackiness that ensues. We shot the pilot yesterday and I will be spending all weekend editing it to get it ready for submission. If we get selected over the thousands of other pilots, we will be awarded $50,000 to shoot a real version. Wish me luck!

P.S. I woke up with "Made for TV Movie" by Incubus in my head. I think that's a great sign of good things to come!

Currently listening : A Crow Left of the Murder By Incubus Release date: By 03 February, 2004

My First Black Comedy Club

My First Black Comedy Club
Current mood: refreshed

I went to Jokes and Notes last night to reignite my standup comedy appearance schedule. I got there at 5:30 PM to go on stage at 8:15 PM. I was incredibly nervous going up on stage last night because I could've been more comfortable with my material, but I had written well over 7 minutes of it so I knew I could pull stuff out of my hat when needed. When I went on stage, the crowd was gracious and laughed at a majority of the jokes! I stuck to my bread and butter material and chose to improvise a little bit. I felt I was on there only 2-3 minutes when in fact I was probably up there 4-5. I got the whole thing on tape and plan to see if it's something I want to post up for all to view.

I met a lot of awesome comedians that inspired me to continue going. Deon Cole held it down and showed me what being comfortable on stage is really all about. It gives me something to aspire to as I continue down this path.

Currently listening : Every Man for Himself By Hoobastank Release date: By 16 May, 2006

Improv on Demand

I got the chance to do some musical improv yesterday. I went to Second City to meet up with a friend to discuss a script we're working on. My class that day got cancelled for some mysterious reason. I show up at the training center and see an ad for the musical improv jam. I called up my buddy and ask to postpone the meeting for an hour and a half while I hit the stage with a bunch of strangers and sang about UFOs, trolls and ogres, and my best friend checking out my sister at the gentlemen's club. What a blast!

Currently listening : The Sopranos: Music From The HBO Original Series By Original Television Soundtrack Release date: By 14 December, 1999

Stand-Up and Be Heard

I woke up yesterday morning at 4 AM and couldn't get back to bed for some reason. While tossing and turning in bed from 4-5 AM, I imagined an entire standup routine. I couldn't shake the fact I kept thinking about it, so, I wrote all of it down in the early morning. So, now I actually have new material for me to do next week.

I went and saw a showcase a fellow comedian was in, and the love for standup came back. Out of all of the comedians I saw that night, no one "killed" per se. Lots of good material out there. I think that the comedians were a bit too dependent on the crowd response which, once again, was full of other comics, and we're a retarded bunch of folks and can't seem to give the laughs up easily.

I feel I am in good shape for next week. Look for dates on the page for location and time.

Currently listening : Every Man for Himself By Hoobastank Release date: By 16 May, 2006

The Omen

Two more omens were given to me this week by my Tracker to go get a new car. I got a moving violation recently for busting a "Yewie" when I was going to my Second City class. I am awaiting my beautiful ID to return to me assuming they will accept the payment of $145 to take online defensive driving. I wonder why I brought that violation into existence...

Yesterday I took the car to go get the emissions system tested. My car failed! LOL. So, unless I fix my car's issue, I won't pass the test until the "check engine" light turns off regardless of wheter or not the issue is emissions related So, I have 20 days to get a car or my license gets suspended. I know I created this issue for me to kick my butt into high-gear into getting a car.

Damian ain't got jack on my Tracker...

Currently listening : How Does Your Garden Grow By Better Than Ezra Release date: By 25 August, 1998