Marnie threw me an insane surprise birthday party Friday night. I’m still a little dazed…partially because Alanna’s 12th birthday was yesterday, which I was WAY more focused on than my own birthday.

Never had a surprise party. I threw one for Marnie a dozen years ago, but that’s the sum of my surprise party experience. There were about 60 awesome friends and I have to say, I had NO CLUE it was coming. Mainly because my actual birthday is next week. Anyway, everyone brought guitars and we jammed for hours. It was a amazing bunch of people and I’m truly honored in this life to have accumulated so many cool friends. I would include pics, but I looked so stupid and genuinely surprised I can’t take it. Maybe later when I come down a little.

An excerpt from a scene during our Nov run of THE OBLONG BOX at the Write Act Theater’s Edgar Allan Poe night of one acts, adapted from the Poe story, written & directed by Steve Stajich, featuring Alan Bernhoft and Michael Gallagher. Shot from the audience using night vision mode, as the only lighting during this sequence was a flashlight.

My Acting Reel:

I’ll be appearing on stage in director Steve Stajich’s adaptation of EDGAR ALLAN POE’S “THE OBLONG BOX” for the next couple of weeks at the WRITE ACT REPERTORY THEATER, 6125 Carlos Ave, Hollywood, CA, 90028, between Hollywood blvd and Franklin. Dates are November 12, 13, 14 and 19, 20, 21 (Thurs, Fri & Sat nights) at 8 PM.

I’ll be performing along with a superb cast, including Mike Gallagher, Melanie Cruz and Frank Noon, with original music by Steve Stajich and Alan Bernhoft. The play is one of seven one acts being presented in the WRITE ACT Reperatory’s Edgar Allan Poe Festival. It is highly recommended you buy tickets in advance. Hope to see you there!

Hello! Our daughter, Alanna narrated the short film, “ME, YOU, A BAG & BAMBOO” which is playing at the prestigious HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL in two weeks!

http://www.hollywoodawards.com/festival.html

Saturday, October 24th at 5 PM at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood

Alanna is represented by OSBRINK TALENT  http://www.osbrinkagency.com/main.asp

More info about the film, directed by Lara Everly, produced by Lara Everly & Annika Marks, featuring songs by Alan Bernhoft

http://meyouabagandbamboo.com/

Come if you can! it is sure to be a star-studded gala event!

I’ll be performing on stage in EDGAR ALLAN POE’S “The Oblong Box” adapted and directed by Steven Stajich. I’ve been a lifelong fan of Poe, and Stajich is one of the top theater directors working today in Hollywood. The show will be at the Write Act Theater in Hollywood in November.

More details to come.

My friend, Ted Shred, one of the top animal wranglers in the film industry, needs our help. Serengeti Ranch, home to exotic animals in Acton, CA, was devastated in the recent Southern CA wildfires. The fires passed directly through the ranch destroying it. Because of the location fire insurance is not an option, this means they need our help to give these animals a proper home. The animals were all saved, some at the very last minute. Elephants, rhino, and many animal “stars” made their home here. There is a massive effort to re-build and return all the displaced animals to their home before the impending rainy season starts. They’re not just in need of money, there are many other ways to help these animals. Volunteers, equipment, tools, materials, water, etc. Click here to help http://www.rebuildingtheranch.com/index.html

a fawn and young bobcat, normally mortal enemies in nature, huddle together in an office corner in fear as the fires close in on their home.

video of Ted Shred at Serengeti Ranch aftermath http://www.rebuildingtheranch.com/index.html

slideshow of animals and fire devastation: http://www.rebuildingtheranch.com/photos.html

Actual footage during the fires after all animals had been evacuated:

Filmmaker Simon Benjamin made this music video for my song “The Dark Truth” from my CD “Cosmic Crooner”

“What I don’t know could fill volumes for the ages… what I should know- what happens next and what the page is… but something’s missing- wondering why I’m so denied inside… something’s breaking- I’m all alone with it, I cannot hide… yeah, here’s the dark truth- no speck of sanity is left in me”

“The night is cloudy, in my head the spectres gather for the kill… the sight is rowdy, I desperately attempt an act of will… yeah, but here’s the dark truth- no speck of sanity is left in me… yeah”

CLICK HERE to view more videos by Simon Benjamin

Hear more from the CD, COSMIC CROONER…

I’ve been a Beatles fan as long as I can remember. Probably as long as I could speak. It led to me becoming a musician and a lifetime of performing, recording, writing and singing music. I even play in those Beatles tribute shows where we wear the different costumes and have the exact equipment and play and sing Beatles songs note for note for excited audiences far and wide. I’ve met George Harrison in person and many, many musicians and friends who knew, recorded and hung out with The Beatles, individually and as a group. So I guess I’m considered a bit of an expert by some. (I’m really just a fan who has taken it to the extreme)

So in my travels I have read probably every book about the Beatles, their equipment, their pets- you name it, it’s been written. My all time faves have always been “SHOUT” by Philip Norman and “THE BEATLES” by Hunter Davies.

Until now.

I just finished Jude Kessler’s “SHOULDA BEEN THERE” It was an experience. A real eye-opener. If you’re like me, you’ve lived and re-lived special moments in Beatle history in your imagination over and over- the day John & Paul met, on stage in Hamburg, Stu Sutcliffe’s death, etc, etc. Kessler writes this extremely well detailed and researched (perhaps the most thoroughly researched book about Lennon or the Beatles ever attempted) in novel form. So the reader is sharing in all these incredible moments in music history as they happen. And it works. You can smell the damp streets of Liverpool. You stand with a young John in the rain at Julia’s funeral. You share in the excitement as Lennon convinces Sutcliffe to buy his first bass guitar. You check out this stranger called Brian Epstein with four suspicious young rockers in a dank Liverpool club.

Now much of the dialogue that is re-created is guess work on the author’s part, but it certainly strikes me as authentic and right on the money. I’m a musician who was living the same life at that age. I’ve seen my share of crappy backstage rooms in tiny clubs, and Kessler hits it note perfect. The humor. The camaraderie.

“SHOULDA BEEN THERE” is the first in a trilogy the author is completing about Lennon. It’s a must read for any true Beatles fan, who always wished for a time machine to travel back and live through those incredible events that made John Lennon, The Beatles, and a happier, more colorful world for all of us. I, for one, can’t wait for the next two parts.

A friend recently asked me advice on playing harmonica, specifically bending bluesy notes for the beginner. I’m no virtuoso (my Uncle George, on the other hand, is) but in performing as John Lennon with Beatles Tribute shows for years, I’ve got a pretty decent handle on the basics of harmonica blues. Here is my reply to my friend (thanks, Crystal):

…So I play blues harp, which is all bending. My Uncle plays a chromonica, which is very difficult(see www.myspace.com/ugeorge12- it has the button on the end and contains every note on the scale in semitones. A much larger, more expensive and long-lasting instrument than a regular harp. I would suggest getting a HOHNER BLUES HARP any key is fine- A or C are probably most practical the trick to doing those bluesy bends is to do it when you DRAW (inhale) you make a little sort of whiney shape in your mouth as you draw (kinda like whistling on an inhale) and voila! The blues harps are designed to bend easier for beginners One note: when using a HOHNER harmonica in a song(or any harp, for that matter) you want to use the FOURTH of the key the song is in For example, in the key of E, use an A harp. In the key of C, use an F harp, etc… Yes, the reeds are very sensitive on harps and weather can certainly destroy them. If your top few notes are gone, the rest of your reeds probably don’t sound too hot, either. A brand new harp sounds best in the studio. There are samples of this kind of playing on my CDs, BEATLESQUE TOO, www.myspace.com/beatlesque2 (se solos on “Rockin Little Baby” and “All Of The Time” and MRS SIPPY BONE www.myspace.com/sippybone (“GONNA GET TO YOU” has a pretty decent solo)

go here for some of the most excellent harmonica playing you’l ever hear: