MY OWN DAMN VOICE! MY OWN DAMN SONGS! JIM CARREY!

 SUMMER SUN CONCERT SERIES! EVERY SATURDAY IN AUGUST. Every show will be different...

This past August 6, 9pm, I kicked off my SUMMER SUN CONCERT SERIES at The Palms Bar / Show Lounge in West Hollywood, CA. I'm scheduled to do every Saturday in August. I always need a place to work out new material - practice.

I recently revisited some unreleased songs I wrote that I thought were pretty good. One of the songs, "Money Love & Pain" struck my fancy so I decided to do it in the show. It felt good to sing it that night. The sound is good in the club.

The show had several bumps in the road, that I guess, only I would notice but I started to be vocal about it trying to get a laugh. But, some of it fell flat. Sometimes in comedy when you think it's funny in your head you keep harping on it trying to get a laugh but it doesn't always work. Oh well...it didn't work.

But I feel I did an ok show. A lot of the show was original material. A stark difference from my usual expected impressions. It's really bizzare to me how some people have severe unfavorable reactions to this. BUT for people who had never seen my show...they seemed to really like the show!

Don't get me wrong...I love my Divas. I love doing the Voices. I love doing the Voice Impressions but I am a creative talent beyond just impressions. I NEVER in my life wanted to be a one-trick-pony. I will NEVER be a one-trick-pony. Even during my Marilyn Years, I did not ONLY do Marilyn. I did her for the first 15-20 minutes then I would go backstage to change and come out with an opening song as myself and start doing the Voice Impressions after that. That was my show, that's how I did it. It worked for many years.

I'm a songwriter now and a recording artist in my own right. I recorded a global hit and an original album, so if I choose to sing a couple of original songs that I WROTE, don't hate me so hard! Trust me they're good songs and my own damn voice is NOT bad either. I have a nice voice. I like it. It may not be Barbra or Judy or Cher or Billie Holiday or Patsy Cline or Eartha Kitt - but my voice is MINE!  Just enjoy the ride and don't get bitter if I don't do Barbra Streisand or Bette Davis. Open your mind and give me a chance to show you more talent than you ever thought possible. That being said, I do love my Divas. They are ALL extensions of me. They've inspired me as an artist. I grew up with them. I hung my dreams on them.

Playlist at The Palms Bar/ Show Lounge August 6, 2011:
1. SUMMER SUN
2. HISTORY REPEATING (Shirley Bassey)
3. MONEY LOVE & PAIN
http://soundcloud.com/jimmy-james-3/demo-money-love-pain-jimmy
4. DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY (Cher)
5. COME RAIN or COME SHINE acapella (Judy Garland)
6. MAYBE THIS TIME acapella (Liza Minnelli)
7. SECRET (Madonna)
8. LOVE IS A LOSING GAME (work-in-progress Amy Winehouse)
8. LIKE U DO (Duet Boy George & Jimmy James)
9. FASHIONISTA

Sammy Davis Jr. asked Frank Sinatra, "Frank how can I make it in show business like the big guys?" Frank Sinatra said to him, "You gotta do your own thing. Stop the impressions. Be Sammy Davis, Jr. Be the best you."

This brings to mind a famous quote from Judy Garland: "Why be a second rate version of someone else when you can be a first rate version of yourself."

Jim Carrey came to Hollywood and started out doing impressions. He was damn good and damn funny. But he knew he had to be original. He believed in himself and persevered with his own originality.  Where would Jim Carrey be if he just settled for being a Voice Impressionist? Maybe Vegas?...Ok...but probably not doing multi-Million Dollar Block Buster movies.

Jim Carrey doing impressions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsVHhBFGSps

I looked up some inspiring quotes from Jim Carrey. 

JIM CARREY QUOTES:
At the Comedy Store I started to get known doing impressions and stopped doing that because I saw where it was leading and so because I did that I was able to excel to another level without being known as the comic impressionist.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

Some nights it was a melee, literally, where I'd be standing trying to defend myself for what I was doing. People would be screaming at me to do my old act, and getting actually violent and angry at me.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything, or creating anything. Period. If you ain't desperate at some point, you ain't interesting.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

I've had incredible blessings, unbelievable fortitude and at the same time there's always a balancing factor to my life and generally what it is, you pick up the book on comedians and I'm not in it.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

I just want to be myself.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

I'm very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. Life is too beautiful.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

If you've got a talent, protect it.
Quotation of Jim Carrey

Originality is really important.
Quotation of Jim Carrey