Old toy trains, little toy tracks

Little toy drums coming from a sack

Carried by a man dressed in white and red

Little one, don’t you think it’s time you were in bed

Close your eyes

Listen to the skies

All is calm, all is well

Soon you’ll hear Kris Kringle and his jingle bells…

 “It took me twenty years to become an overnight success” ~ R Miller

     Roger Miller  wrote Old Toy Trains back in1965 for his young son  and released it in 1967.    The popular children’s singer/songwriter Raffi recorded it back in 1983, and it was a favorite in our house when my brothers and I were small.     I    love a few of the non traditional Christmas songs because they’re wrapped up in   family memories, and I make sure I slip this song in every performance during the Christmas season.  It serves as a timeless reminder during the busiest season of the year that I will soon   have a break to enjoy some time in the warm house filled with the giant blue spruce, and the fireplace roaring, on the edge of the quiet mountain.

     So, in response to those who have asked and waited patiently for me to add another post here, this is the first spare moment I’ve had in a very long time.  School is finally out and I have a few days before another gig.  Needless to say, my life has been a steady flow  of non stop madness as I entered my junior year at Westfield.  In addition to playing 1^st chair with the Westfield State Wind Symphony and  1^st chair with the Westfield State Big Band,  I have also  continued to  play locally throughout Western Ma and have begun  to make my way out to Central MA and  some of the  prestigious clubs in  the Boston area.  

    Though marketing strategies have helped to bring my name to other areas, the greatest strategy is being a consistent performer and reaching out to those in the audience with the right music , and walking away with another contact, and another job.   I want to thank everyone who has given me a home or venue to perform in this year,  the new friends and fans I’ve met along the way, as well as my supportive   old friends, and especially my family who never fails to be the familiar faces in my audience, no matter how tired they are.

     I am especially grateful to my Grandpa who has managed to hang on despite a difficult year of illness, and setbacks.  You’re a fighter. Rock on. 

     I would also like to say a special thank you to Wilbraham Country Club who never fails to make me sit down and eat a delicious home cooked dinner whenever I perform there.  You’re generosity is warm and comforting in the midst of my chaotic life, and I appreciate it.

     To Ron & Linda ,  you generate more fun in an audience  than anyone I know. 

     To Linc & Janice, I love you both.  “Don’t Stop Believing”.

     To my mom and dad,  thank you for that slice of humble pie, and for always being honest and for   encouraging me to surround myself with    people who are greater than I am. You know exactly how I work.

     Lastly, Thank you to all those who have a left a mark on my career musically You make me strive to be better.

   Since Christmas time is steep with traditions for many of us, I have a  small story  I would like to close with.    My Grandpa Lis who was a butcher all his life, ran a small   mom and pop store here in town.     He    retired when I was small, and I   grew up on stories of how people came from all around to buy his famous smoked apple wood kielbasa and seasoned roasts.  After retirement, he continued to provide   for a few special customers and family on the holidays out of a re-constructed smaller version of his store, down in his basement. Though,   I remember my dad helping out and grinding for kielbasa season when we were small, I had never actually watched.  I had surely never watched him roll a roast, and I always took the delicious “melt in your mouth meat” for granted ,  as it always made it’s way to our   holiday table .  We were very little when we learned that the end piece of that meat was something  to fight over,  and we would stand over the roast like three little vultures waiting for a  sliver of the flavorful  end.

   This year, Grandpa Lis announced he was done; he was too old….too worn out…too tired.     My mom begged him to make one last one and show her the   “secret” so she could keep his tradition going for our family.  He finally relented. 

     On the day of my last final, I raced home to tag along, anxious to finally learn the family secret.     As I   watched the 83 year old master at work, so  clearly in his element, and   working with the ease   and grace of a much younger man , I was surprised  to realize that his craft was no less of an art form than my own.  I was glad I watched.     He proved to be a patient teacher as he explained every step to my mom and he made her promise never to reveal the secret.   

     She cooked the roast on Christmas day; 18 pounds which took almost 5 hours.  She fawned over it like never before.   My dad laughed at her, telling us   she developed a relationship with that piece of meat, and in my heart I know that she did; so did I.    It was to be the last roast my grandpa will ever make for our holiday table.

     Once again, the years melted away as we stood over the   delicious meat, fighting the urge to elbow each other and shriek “me first!”  Instead we   waited quietly  as the end slice slowly  dropped onto the platter,   and it was  divided  so   we could each taste a sliver of the  very tender last “Grandpa Lis roast”    To Grandpa Lis, thank you  for all the great holiday  roasts over the years; long live your  secret and your tradition.  Cheers! Here’s to hoping   my mom paid attention.  Merry Christmas!

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all…..

    John Lennon wrote the first part of this song and its unknown   how much Paul McCartney really contributed.   In My Life was released in 1965 and Rolling Stone rated it 23^rd.   It made a comeback in 2000 and it always gets a good response  when I play it.

     I really can’t remember a time when our house wasn’t filled with music. One of my favorite corners in our playroom was stocked    with all kinds of musical instruments, everything from bagpipes to accordions to marimbas, and we made a lot of noise.     The Christmas after I turned 2, Santa brought my brother Ian an electric drum set and it came with a real working microphone, and he liked it well enough, but   he liked his train collection more. I was the one who latched onto it and carried it everywhere with me.  A few months later we went to a Raffi concert out at Symphony Hall and    I couldn’t stay in my seat. The staff had to keep reminding me to “quiet down” because I was dancing and singing as if it was my show. LOL.    Later that summer when my youngest brother was born, I stood on the coffee table in our living room and sang the National Anthem. No one knew where I learned it and no one gave it much thought until many years later.

    For the next 3 years, I told anyone who would listen that I could play piano. Since we didn’t own a piano, my parents were upset that I was making up stories. Finally, when I was 6 years old, my grandma and grandpa (who believed in me as only grandparents would)   surprised me with a keyboard for Christmas.  Santa had already brought the   gift that I really wanted;     a big  fire engine with real working sirens and lights   and it was my favorite, until I saw that keyboard.   I sat down and played the National Anthem…and I grinned triumphantly as everyone quietly watched and I yelled    “ See!  I told you I could play!” That night, I discovered I could play anything I could hum and I was hooked. There was a lot of talk about what to do with me, and it was finally decided that I would take classical lessons with a neighborhood piano teacher.  And so began my weekly journey with Mrs. H who scolded me more times than I could count for relying on my ear, and not learning to read.   But then when I was having trouble, I would hear Mrs. H softly hum, and sure enough I would play. If it hadn’t been for her and her classical background, I would never have learned to read.

By the time I was 10 years old, they knew I could play piano, and I was running out of keys on the keyboard.   We went to the Big E that fall, and they couldn’t tear me away from the Falcetti Music Display in the Better Living Center.  I had discovered a beautiful Yamaha Digital Piano and I was glued to it.     I looked wistfully at it. I played it.  I ran my hands along the smooth wood top and I dreamed.    It was a lot of money, and I had just taken up Sax, but it didn’t hurt to wish.  A couple of weeks later as I was peeking out the window on a Saturday morning,    I watched a delivery truck back up the driveway.   I yelled excitedly…”Hey Mom…there’s a piano truck in the driveway”.   My mother said…”They must have the wrong address”.  I shrieked….”Mom…they’re unloading a piano”!  She replied…”Well they’ll just have to pack it back up when they hear they have the wrong address.  Why don’t you go out and ask them who they’re looking for?”  I ran outside to ask, and I turned back to the house jumping up and down and yelling “They’re looking for me!”  

   From that day until I graduated from High School…I sat at that piano every morning before school, and for hours after school.  My grandpa made me a custom shelf that fit over the piano and held all my books and sound equipment, and that corner of the living room became mine.   It was the piano I learned to play and sing my very first pop song-  Disney’s Lizzie Maguire’s “This is What Dreams are Made Of”, and it was the very first song I sang publicly .  It was painful long journey, and   I thought sure Mrs. H would jump on the band wagon with me, but she said “Noah, I am a classical teacher.”   It took me   6 months to learn to play it and another 6 months to learn to sing it while I played, and some days I cried and my family looked at me like I was crazy. And my mother would say “Walk away.  Just give it a break”, but I couldn’t.   I couldn’t walk into the room without touching that piano.  In fact, I still can’t.  Saturday mornings, I roll out of bed and sit in my pajamas at that piano.

At 12 , when I was good enough to  play out at events….we’d pack up the huge piano which was not portable in any way…and we’d take  it everywhere.   It took 3 of us to carry it and despite wrapping it in blankets; my beloved piano was taking a beating. One night before a gig , one of the keys snapped and I recalled  the repair mans name who worked for Falcetti Music,  and feeling desperate -   I called him at his  home.  He told me sternly never…never  to call him at home again.  LOL.   He didn’t come out and fix it anyway, and I never called him again.     A few days later,  my  Grandma and Grandpa were sitting in the driveway when I got off the bus,  and they took me out to buy  a portable piano and … it accompanied me to all my first gigs and was a witness to my many mistakes and blunders in those early days. 

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to learn the keyboard.  A mentor and fellow musician owned a Tyros 2 and it became my ultimate dream .  I began saving all my gig money, and one afternoon, when I hadn’t saved nearly enough, I came home from school, and there was something covered on our front porch.    My parents had surprised me with the Tyros 2 and it became my new best friend - literally.  It wasn’t very cool for a teenage boy to sing and play piano and I was taking a beating at school, and a new friend was just what I needed.      A year later, when I realized how much I depended on the keyboard, I took the money I had been saving and  bought myself a second one which I keep in my recording studio.  I also use it   as a back up and   when I have two gigs in the same day.

     Many people mistake the keyboard for a sort of karaoke machine in which you can just punch in a song title, and play the piano piece while it provides background accompaniment, but that’s not  so.    The keyboard may be used   as a piano with a full range, though there are only 66 keys, and it takes some getting use to.  There really are no songs to punch in, though there are a few pre-recorded beats that are definite intros to some familiar cover songs.   Typically,  when I  write a song or  find  a cover I want to learn,  I  first   choose a beat out of the hundreds on the keyboard.  Often times when I can’t find a particular beat that I have in mind, I’ll make my own or download one online from a selection of thousands which costs about $10 per beat. I then begin layering the song.  Every instrument I use in the song is pre-recorded separately, and layered on top of one another.   Some of my songs, especially rock songs have up to 40 and 50 parts pre-recorded.  When you’re looking for that nice fat sound, and don’t have a full band behind you, it’s the only way to make it sound somewhat realistic.    It’s like anything else, the more time you put into it, the better it will come out, and the more buttons you will be pushing when you perform it.  Multi tasking and being able to think quickly are necessity for learning the keyboard.  I have become an expert at both and those skills have carried over to every area of my life including school.

      After a few years of playing on this band in a box, and understanding it’s every capability, I knew exactly what I was looking for in terms of upgrades, and when Yamaha came out with the Tyros 3, I was less than impressed.   They finally got my attention when they came out with the Tyros 4, and after spending hours researching it, I decided it was going to be my next big purchase. And so here I was;   back to bringing   my own lunch and coffee to school so I could save every spare penny.    

On a snowy   weekend in February, I played out at the Delaney House, and   was surprised to see so many old friends in the audience (thank you  for the memories, it was like old home night for me) ,and the  timing couldn’t have been better as  it was becoming more and more     difficult to see my Grandpas empty seat this winter .   Having always been my greatest and most faithful fan, he’s    been in and out of the hospital struggling with his health, and his lack of presence weighed heavily on each of us.  I was even more surprised when I   saw a couple of close friends…Linc & Janice Griffiths, sitting with my family.

 I met  the Griffiths back in 2008   when I was performing at the Big E.  They were sitting in   the audience  enjoying the show ,   and  3 months later  they  emailed me and sent me out to   Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth  Camp  out  in  NYC during Christmas,   out of the kindness of their hearts.   Though they have become like family to us over the years and often show up at my events, I was surprised they made the trip during the snow storm, and was glad to see them.    During my break,  Janice   handed me an envelope, and said “Merry Christmas Noah. We want you to have this”.

 Nothing could have prepared me for the contents.   Inside  was a bank check for $3000 and a memo that read: For Your new Tyros 4.  I was completely blown away and  had to choke back tears  when I tried to return it and they refused , saying  …”your music and your family bring us such joy and you’ve worked so hard to buy your own  sax and we want to do this for you.”   Amazing.  I am surrounded by a circle of amazing people.

My Tyros 4 arrived the day after the huge   snowstorm.  The day after my dad’s truck broke down and he could barely plow, and our driveway was a force to reckon with. The snow banks were so high, it was like driving through a tunnel to get up  to our house, and when I called my mom to remind her to watch for the driver, she told me not to count on anyone making it up.   A few hours later, the driver  made it halfway up, and was looking for a path to the house when my mom ran out on the porch.  He yelled….I don’t know how I’ll get this to you, and she said “ Oh thank you!  Thank you! Thank you for coming in this weather! You’re the best.   My son has been waiting for this, and he will be so excited.” And with that reception he must have felt he couldn’t disappoint her.    He swung the piano up on his shoulder and struggled through the deep snow to the house, and my mom hugged him.  I couldn’t get home from school soon enough.

I look back over the years and I am so grateful to have so many good people in my life.  It isn’t just the pianos that hold such sentimental value for me  with each of their stories to tell, and places they’ve been,  but it’s the people who have believed in me and loved me enough to  make them happen.  God Bless each of you and many thanks ……..

 In my life…..I’ve loved you all.    

Let it be Christmas everywhere
In the hearts of all people both near and afar
Christmas everywhere
Feel the love of the season wherever you are
On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe
Big city streets where a thousand lights glow

Let it be Christmas everywhere
With the gold and the silver, the green and the red
Christmas everywhere
In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds
In the eyes of young babies their first fallen snow
Elderlys’ memories that never grow old

Let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let every heart sing let every bell ring
The story of hope and joy and peace
And let it be Christmas everywhere
Let heavenly music fill the air
Let anger and fear and hate disappear
Let there be love that lasts through the year
And let it be Christmas
Christmas everywhere………
 

       I learned Alan Jackson’s Let It Be Christmas  a few years back at the request of a fan  and though  the melody was catchy, I       didn’t  have an appreciation for  the song  until I broke it out this year.    It had a lot of words,    no climax, no bang,  no dynamic range,  and  no grand ending.  It  just didn’t go anywhere.  But, I’ve come   to realize that when you sing  or listen to 50 Christmas tunes in succession, it’s always a welcome change to listen to something simple and  sweet that   hits home and  makes you sit back and  reflect, and that is exactly where this song goes.

    I  finished my first semester of my Sophomore year at Westfield State on December 17^th and it was    an endless rush of activity and commitment throughout these last few months.   I’ve barely had time to breathe   between gigs and school.      I brought a travel bag and  two suits to school everyday ,  and  managed to wear the heels right off a pair of  expensive dress shoes my grandpa bought me.  For  the first time, I    had to run between gigs with my family to get  our annual  big blue spruce  I was glad they were so accommodating and also thankful  they waited until 1AM to  decorate it  so I could be included.  But of course I missed all the drama of wiring branches and tying another giant tree to the wall.     

      Nevertheless,  despite my full schedule,     I was excited to make it into Big Band this year on Bari Sax. I went in for my audition with an open mind knowing I would need to be grateful for any chance that I was given, and that chance came on the Bari.  I’d never played it before, but I sure did learn it quick.  LOL.         I surprisingly made first chair Alto in Wind Symphony and was very honored to have this position.  I really didn’t expect it as I was the only one still playing on my old student model horn that I had been using since 6^th grade.   Embarrassing?  LOL.  To say the least, and    more than I’d like to admit.   I caught some flack for that old relic, and though we’ve shared a lot of good times and memories, and I have a deep affection for the old girl, she has officially retired this Christmas. She earned it.

     Yesterday, I purchased my first professional  Alto Sax- a Selmer.  I had my eye on it for quite some time.      All the extra gigs I picked up this season,  and all the saving  paid off .    My heart was pounding , my  hand was shaking  and my stomach was  a little sick as I wrote out the  check for $4000, but I have never felt prouder of any accomplishment in my life.   I had to pinch myself this morning when I rolled out of bed and saw it sitting there staring me in the face.  One thing I have learned for certain this semester is that I will never regret my decision   to go to college for music.    I’ve come to realize that  I have  plenty of time in my life to do whatever it is I want, and    that although music may well be an inborn talent, there is a whole other side of music that is  needed to perfect ones musical abilities, and bring them to another level. I’ve been  considering a Doctorate in Classical.  I may teach college one day, but who knows ?

     I was   glad to finally have a breather during the   Christmas season so that I could finally  spend some time at home with my family.   Of course , I’d forgotten that  this household  is also a rush   of activity   as the holidays approach,  and no one is exempt from any holiday preparation .          As we’ve grown older, my mom insists we call upon our culinary skills and passes out what she calls “assignments” a few days before Christmas. The  menu  is carefully planned,  prepared from scratch, and it doesn’t matter if you like to cook or not, if you live in the house, you get an assignment.             My brother Ian usually gets  the  appetizers for Christmas Eve.      My dad always does the  same baked  squash, and mashed potatoes for Christmas Day.    Devin  always volunteers for cutting    all  vegetables and fruits needed for recipes… mostly because he has an affection for sharpening any kind of blade,   and this year…. she trusted me with her prize winning New York Cheesecake .      I guess I had proved myself  this past summer  when I  made her  a Pineapple Cream Angel Cake for her birthday…which was actually my second attempt.     The first cake I completely  ruined   and  I had to go to Big Y and buy more eggs and start over.   She said the second cake  came out “exquisite”.    (It actually tasted better than it looked) but anyway….. I got the Cheesecake  assignment.    I was sure I could pull it off. I’d   watched her whip up this cake hundreds of times. 

     I was losing faith in my ability when I  had some trouble right from the beginning crust.  Then    while I was mixing the batter, the top chef  discovered I forgot the salt and then there seemed to be too  much batter to  fit  in the pan.   She accused me of putting in 6 packages of cream cheese instead of 5… and then  9 eggs instead of 7…   and there was some fierce growling for a few minutes as she considered this predicament.  But, in the end she said I made the perfect cheesecake.   

      There is something to be said about the camaraderie of cooking  together  in the familiar kitchen . The fireplace blazing, and  The  quietness back here on the mountain makes it seem as though we’re shut off from the  world , and never fails to  take us back to those Christmas memories when we were small.  My favorite was the week before school let out for Christmas break.     Each year my mom made about 20   Christmas bags full of   home made cookies for each of our teachers.    She’d  crank up the Christmas music extra loud,  let us snuggle in our sleeping bags sprawled  in front of the kitchen fire and we’d sing loud ,   roast marshmallows,  drink hot chocolate, and sneak the warm cookies  as they came out of the oven.  It was pure crazy chaos.   

      We laughed as we watched an  old home video when Devin was about 3.  Santa arrived at the house huffing and puffing with our sacks of toys.  As he struggled through the front door, his  coat was riding up and   his belly was very pronounced and  very square. (Apparently he was stuffed with  a pillow) .   My mom was  nonchalantly trying to squish him into shape for the annual picture when  Devin blurted out     “Mama,  doesn’t  Santa  looks like he swallowed a present this year”?     

       One of our funniest memories was   the last Christmas that Devin    believed in Santa. Ian and I were in High School and felt a little foolish   playing along , but we did what was expected so we wouldn’t ruin it for him.   Santa was just about ready to make his exit when Devin asked him how he landed the sleigh without snow.  Santa explained that he used wheels on his sleigh when there was a lack of snow, and sensing Devin was becoming too nosy,  he made a quick get away .   Devin dropped his toy bundle and excitedly exclaimed “I’m going upstairs to look out the window.  I want to see how he takes off and where he goes.”  My mom looked panic stricken for a minute and   screamed like a maniac in a hideous voice she drew from god knows where “Nooooooooooooooo! Doooooooooooon’t!”  Ian and I exchanged glances and burst out laughing.  Ian said ”good one mom…that was natural.”  LOL.   She sounded like a wounded demon howling.   After all these years,  I finally understand her howl.  She  created  so much  magic  for us, and  it really  must have been difficult  for her  to watch it disappear little by little as we got older.   

      Little does she know, the magic will never completely disappear. There will always be a part of us that remembers the    laughter and memories shared  with our  family, The familiar smells  of a fresh cut  blue spruce and cookies baking, lumpy Santa’s ,  the thrill of wrapped presents under our tree,  Crackling fires , hot chocolate  and loud Christmas music.

Wishing everyone  a bright and shining  holiday season.  Merry Christmas!    

The ring he sent

With her heart she tucked away

And the kid that no one wanted

He had something more to say

Come Dance with Me and be my world

Fall in love and you will see

There’ s really something more to me

Don’t listen to them or what they say

Have some faith we’ll make it through

I’m gonna spend my life with you…….

    During an English assignment this past year in which we had to examine  love stories, I realized I was sitting  right on top of a really poignant  story,  and I was determined   to turn it into a song as a tribute to two of the most important people in my life.    Dance With Me was inspired by my grandparents and like any good love story, the knight in shining armor comes to the rescue, only it was my grandma who rode in on her white horse so to speak.   It’s a story that’s been told over and over in our family with its roots dating back to 1941 when my grandpa was a little boy and lost his mother tragically in her 8^th month of pregnancy.  He was just 5 years old, when he and his 7 siblings were signed over as wards of the state by a father who didn’t want them.

    My grandpa spent the next 13 years, separated from his family and living among strangers while being bounced from home to home.  It was a time of uncertainty and his childhood was lonely and   bleak. He was used for labor, food was sparse, beatings were frequent,   and love was non-existent.  When he landed at a farm down the road from my grandma in the early 50’s, he discovered what he had been missing, and the two young teens fell head over heels in love…despite their vast differences.

     A few years later,  while  she graduated valedictorian of her class,  he took a job at a chicken factory to scrape enough money together to buy her a hope chest for her graduation gift.   Shortly after, when he joined the air force, the two agreed to date others only to discover they couldn’t live without one another, and he sent her a diamond. Uncertain what their future would bring, she tucked the ring away in her hope chest and kept it a secret for many months. When he finally came home…..she was wearing the ring.  The rest is history.

  Theirs is    a story of faith, hope, and devotion as they moved through a life time full of celebrations, trials, tribulations, and illness, and   allowed their love to conquer as they have continued to remain deeply faithful and committed to each other, and to our family.  They have just celebrated their 74^th birthdays and I’m so grateful for all that they are.  For a boy who never knew any love and for a girl who had only love to give,   Dance With Me is written for them, about them, and where it all began…their high school prom.  The hope chest is still at the foot of her bed.

The season is upon us now  

A time for gifts and giving

And as the year draws to a close

I think about my living

The Christmas time when I was young

The magic and the wonder………

Finals are over, my Christmas gigs have ended,  and  it’s time to kick back with my family and enjoy the holiday.

Our holidays are steeped  with tradition, and Christmas has  always been a magical time filled with wonder,  for as far back as I can remember.

In our house, Christmas begins the day after Thanksgiving.  This  is the day we head out in search of finding a perfect  giant blue spruce. The day is cleared of all other obligations because  it usually takes us all day to walk through acres and acres  of trees at the farm,   and  to  finally agree on one that we all like.

 My youngest brother Devin,  chopped it down this year since  he has  developed this insane fondness for chopping wood.    It takes all of us  to hoist it up  in this  extra large  stand (custom built by my dad).    It’s bolted to a 3ft square of plywood to give it extra stability , and  then wired to the wall.   Some   branches are  trimmed and then others are wired into empty spaces, and it becomes transformed into  the perfect tree.     Everyone who catches a glimpse of it , remarks “Wow- where did you get such  a nice shaped tree”  LOL.  If they only knew.

 Santa Claus has been making his annual appearance in our family for the past 75 years or so,   bringing bundles of gifts wrapped in sheets each Christmas Eve.    We are true believers and  learning the family  secret of Santa is  almost like a right of passage that   comes in time as we get older.  If clothes could talk, we’d be in real in trouble  That familiar red suit  has a lot of history tucked inside and a lot of stories to tell.

  When my mom was small, my great grandpa who passed away when I was 3 months old, was Santa.   On Christmas Eve, he would put on the suit and make his way to every house in the  family.   No-one ever caught on that it was   the parents who read the letters to Santa, and put those special gifts in the white sheet bundles, tied with red satin ribbons for Santa to bring.

  As  my great grandpa got older, he   retired his position to my grandpa, who in turn retired the position to my second cousin,  who then  retired the position to my uncle.  It was my uncle Glenn  who made the rounds to our house when my brothers and I were small.   Only one year when I was 10 ,  my uncle Ricky stood in   because  I was getting too nosey and remarked that Santa laughed just like Uncle Glenn.    He was so afraid we would recognize him that he wore the wig backwards and it completely covered his face. My mom and my grandpa laughed so hard there were tears streaming down their faces. 

 Three years ago, the beautiful suit made it’s way to my oldest brother Ian .  So at the moment,   I live with Santa Claus, and some day the suit will be passed to me  when Ian has a family.

   December 1^st was letter writing day in our house, and the letters were mailed off to the North Pole as soon as we finished.

One year my mom cried when my older brother was 7 , and wrote all he wanted for Christmas was Peace on Earth. She secretly tucked that letter away and we found it a few years ago and had a good laugh. He was always the rule follower and I was the one who worked  hard to have some self-control. 

  One year, I ripped the entire front off my advent calendar and stuffed  all the chocolates in  my mouth at one time,    and then  I had to watch while  my brothers  ate a chocolate every day for the rest of Christmas .

  No matter what great things we did during the month, it was  always the  day before Christmas Eve that was my favorite. My mom would start baking which lasted right until Christmas Day. She would  fill our house with great smelling food  and  make all our favorites, and she always let us help no matter what a nuisance we were.  

 When Christmas Eve arrived,  we could hardly contain our excitement .  The table was filled with great food, and my grandparents would arrive bringing gifts .  We were dressed in matching outfits (my moms crazy idea), and we were kept busy while one of them snuck out with the hidden bundles  for Santa. 

The familiar knock on the door and the sound of  ringing jingle bells still makes me hold my breath after all these years.  My brothers would quietly grin and thank him, but I was always the one who kept him talking and wouldn’t let him go.  I wanted to know where his sleigh was parked, if the reindeer were hungry, what they ate, if I could feel his beard, how the weather was , what the landing was like, etc. Lol.  He’d be trying to make this quick get away and I was folllowing him out the front door firing questions at him.      

One year he forgot his bells on the front step (I must have asked too many questions) and we held it for him until the following Christmas.    True believers, that’s what we were.   When the other kids at school laughed at us for believing, it didn’t matter. Too us,  he was as real as he could possibly be , and he walked through our door every Christmas Eve bringing 3 big bundles of toys from our lists. 

After all these years, I finally realize how selfless it was for our parents to allow the man in the red suit to take credit for most  of our greatest gifts, and I suppose that’s the real secret.

Once again , it’s Christmas Eve…and I’m feeling the old familiar excitement…even though it’s been 3 years since my youngest brother learned the secret.   My mom has been cooking since yesterday afternoon  and  our house is filled with the familiar smells of  pumpkin and spices ,  sweet potato cake, caramel gingerbread, and  home made candy .    The suit has been ironed and pressed, and    I’m hoping he has an easy landing.  

   Enjoy the magic and wonder of the Season.  Merry Christmas!

My New Car

Dreaming……..

Come Sail Away- Graduation- June 7, 2009

I’m sailing away,
Set an open course for the virgin sea,
‘Cause I’ve got to be free,
Free to face the life that’s ahead of me

On board, I’m the captain,

so climb aboard,
We’ll search for tomorrow on every shore,
And I’ll try, Oh Lord I’ll try, to carry on

I look to the sea,

Reflections in the waves spark my memory

Some happy, some sad

I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had

We lived happily forever, so the story goes,
But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold
But we’ll try best that we can to carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above my head,
They sang to me this song of hope and this is what they said,

They said come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me lads,
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me,
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me baby,
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise,
We climbed aboard their starship, we headed for the skies

Singing come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me lads
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away,

 come sail away with me……….  I love that song.  It was written by Dennis DeYoung….lead singer for Styx.  I wish I wrote it and then again, I wish I was the lead singer for Styx.  Ha ha.  I  was surprised and honored to be invited to sing at my HS graduation back in June and there couldn’t have been a better song.  It speaks for itself..and  it was a perfect way to end that chapter of my life.

I had a great summer.  I finally bought a car.   All that saving and riding the bus when all my friends were driving cars finally paid off.   It didn’t feel so good at the time, but now it feels great knowing I worked for it and paid for it myself, and it’s really mine.    Now if I can just afford gas..I’ll be golden. Lol

We slept out  in the back field all summer in a ginormous canvas hunting tent, our grandparents  surprised us with a couple of years ago. It’s pretty cool that at 73 years old….they still enjoy the great outdoors.  We had our last big campout, Columbus Day weekend, and it was a bone chilling 30 degrees when we woke up that morning. There’s nothing quite  like  waking up to  breakfast outside….. hot coffee brewing, eggs, homefries, bacon ….…and a layer of frost covering everything. Lol.  It gave us one last time to sit around the fire and recount   memories of another summer gone by.    

Musically speaking-   I’ve been  very lucky to stay busy,   and grateful  to all those willing to hire a    small town dreamer to  share some music. Playing  out at different venues has forced me to learn different genre’s of music…and I have a whole new collection of songs that I continue to add to weekly. I learned one thing…the audience likes change.  Same old, same old gets old.  

I’m also writing and writing…and writing .   I suppose I’m  a  bit of a backwards writer…I hear the music in my head and then once I have the music written..I put lyrics to it. Maybe it’s because music has always been more important to me than words, and it’s the music that makes a connection to words for me.   I think this last song that I’ve written might be something good. I haven’t put it up on the site yet because I know it can be better.   Now and then   when I ‘m playing out, someone will request an original and….everyone seem to like this one.  Anyway, it’s called Summer Smile and it’s about a girl I see every summer and I never have the nerve to ask her name….so her smile has become her trademark for me.

I’ve been learning more on the recording end…and the more I learn….the less satisfied I am with the projects I’ve already completed.  That’s the story of my life.  I’m constantly working to be better…to sound better, to   write a better song,  to play better,  to have stronger vocals,  and that’s why…  I have no life. Lol.     Someday I hope it pays off.   Kind of like riding the bus and waiting for the car.

One of the hardest things I’ve had to do is give up my acceptance to  Berklee.  The price tag was just too high.  But I’m still gonna shoot for that  in a couple of years…or maybe NYU.  I know in my heart that I belong out  there where the music is.

  On the other hand, I really like Westfield State and I’ve met some really good people there..some very talented people. I play Sax in three ensembles and it‘s a lot of work and constant practice.    Next semester I’ve decided to go out on a limb and take musical theatre.  I have limited acting experience so this probably won’t be pretty. There are some advantages about staying in a local college for me.   I  get to commute and eat home cooking,   work the local circuit, and  play piano and sing until the early morning hours  up here  on the side of our mountain without bothering anyone.  Well on second thought….

   On Halloween,  I walked down to the main road in my gorilla suit to hand out candy … and when I pulled off my mask to take a breath… one of the neighbors yelled over.. “Hey ..aren’t  you the singer?”.  When I nodded … she said “Wow..you play late.  We like to sit on the back stoop and listen for you”.  “I’m sor”…. I  began.. and   she grabbed me and had her husband snap a picture. Lol.  I’m sure if I ever get famous that ape picture will surface  in the National Enquirer under some crazy caption like “Singer leads double life as an Ape”. At least she wasn’t complaining.

Well..that’s about all the catching up I can do.    Check out my events page when you’re looking for a night of music.      I’d like to thank all my friends for dropping in to see me when I’m playing locally.  It’s  good to see the audience grow and it’s always great to see some familiar faces in the crowd.

Christmas is coming and I’ve got a full load.  Stop in ..say hello..sing a song or just…Come Sail Away With Me.

Little darling.  It’s been a long cold lonely winter; Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here.  Here comes the sun  doo da doo doo, here comes the sun and I say “it’s alright”.

Nothing like a good old  Beatles tune to sum it up; there have been so many changes this winter.  It’s been a season of growth , opportunity and learning, and I’ve realized that though I’ve been performing more than half of my life…the journey  is really just beginning. 

 It was great to  get together and reminisce   with  my old singing friends Sam, Meg, and Traci. It seems like only yesterday we spent endless rehearsals together, laughing, joking, and doing what we do best..singing.    It felt good to sing one last time before Meg left for Broadway.  May we all find the strength to follow our dreams,  and never forget where they started.

In March, Traci and I played at the Community Ball to benefit the Domestic Violence Task Force in my hometown. It was a good benefit, good food, and  we had a great time providing dinner music,  but I’d like to thank EMOTION  for inviting me up to play pop star for a few minutes.  It was  so good to feel young , and I only broke a small bone in my leg when I jumped off the stage. lol…just kidding.

On a personal note..I’m glad to say my Grandpa finally recovered from his broken leg, and finally decided to get his butt out of bed (3 long months) and do some serious fishing with us.  There’s nothing quite like reeling in a big trout !  I would know that… because , so far this season I’ve only reeled in some bass and perch!

Besides fishing..I’ve been staying fairly busy on the music scene. I was lucky to have a unique opportunity to be a  guest performer on The Joey Reynolds show out in NYC this April,  thanks to my good friends Linc & Janice Griffiths, who continue to provide me with   many  opportunities and connections.  It was a great experience and  it provided me exposure to over 4 million listeners on over 200 radio broadcasts. Also…a special thank you to Joey Reynolds, Myra Chanin, their guests, and the tech crew for making me feel so welcome and plugging my music and website. 

 Speaking of the website…I would  like to say thank you to Brian Zaik .  This website has been instrumental in driving business for me, even though I’m still trying to work out some of the kinks.  I’m happy to announce that I’ll be providing some vocal and piano lessons this summer as requested.

Before this winter, I had only written one  song back in 2007…A Thousand Times A Day.  After I received some negative comments about the song as well as my writing abilities,   I tucked it away, and never wrote again… accepting  that it  probably just wasn’t my thing.  A couple of days before I  was ready to leave  for Debbie Gibsons camp, she sent  an email telling everyone to bring a portfolio of original songs.   I was embarrassed  as I arrived with my one lone song ; all the others vocalists had huge books, and folders.   I reluctantly volunteered my song  so Debbie could help me fix it, and was completely surprised when she told me she loved it just the way it was ..and she wouldn’t touch it.  She worked with me all week, and she helped me realize that  I can write lyrics and music .  It’s amazing how a few words of  encouragement can  carry us into territory we thought we had no business in.  I’ve written several songs this winter, and have a few more almost ready to go… Thanks  to Debbie & Tim at Electric Youth.

I  finally found some time  this winter and built a home studio in a spare room in my house .   I’ve been teaching myself to record using a pro-tools program I bought last summer from a teacher at singing camp.   (thanks Mr.Gomes..I’m enjoying it despite all the  looks I got for buying MORE equipment..lol).   Everyday is a learning experience for me  and I imagine there will never be an end .  I will always strive to be better..perfection .  I’ve recorded all the songs on this website except  for the Christmas tunes.  The music is all me ..overlaying instruments on the keyboard.  The vocals and harmonies are all mine too except on Come Sail Away..I used Traci Mnich for that high harmony   (thanks Mark for sharing some tricks).  I love the freedom  to experiment and try different things with my vocals as well as  with  song choices and genre’s of music.  It is definitely helping me grow as a musician as well as a vocalist.

 I learned not to worry about who thinks I’m musically obsessed; oh that’s right …I never worried about that. Lol.  I am who I am, and I am intensely compulsively musically obsessed (thank you God and thank you Grandpa for blessing me with such gifts). My obsession has led me to a decision  to major in music, and I’ve been accepted into the 3 colleges I applied to, as well as their music programs   (thank you Mrs. H for all your great notes over the years,  and Luke for always encouraging me and believing in me..and thank you Mr. Falcetti for your heartfelt advice.) I realize there is no way, that I can devote myself to another job when this intense  musical passion won’t let go of me.

I discovered I love NYC and all it has to offer.  Each time I go back, I feel it calling me. I learned that stretching my wings and growing up comes with a price, and that new doors are constantly opening even when the old mysteriously lock. I’ve found that  most people are exactly who we think they are, and we just have to accept that.  I’m grateful to have  the stability of a good family who will always be my island and who will always stand behind me and be  supportive in all that  I do.  I’ve learned that success …according to Linc ……will come if you continue to look forward, think positive, have a vision, stop dwelling on things that can’t be changed,  reach out to  every opportunity big or small,  have faith and most of all NEVER give up.  (thank you for your wisdom and your energy Linc. I will never forget you running around the block in NYC at 1am-lol)

I’ve  found tons of angels out there, and I want to thank every single one of them for touching my life in some way.  To all of you who visit my website  and feel compelled  to drop me a line-many thanks.. and keep your emails  coming.  I enjoy hearing your comments. 

Finally… I’ll be turning 18 in a few days, and with graduation around the corner, more changes will be coming.  There’s a big world out there waiting for me. I hope I can do it justice.

I was inspired to write “Angels Among Us” when I received a generous Christmas gift from two people I hardly knew.
I met Lincoln & Janice Griffiths back in September when I was performing out at the Eastern States Exposition. They were in the audience several times that week and purchased a copy of my first CD that I recorded in 2006. Later they emailed that they had found a music camp for me out in NYC and sent this message….”We want nothing more than to provide a worthwhile experience, and a possible connection to a hard working and deserving young man. Please accept our gift, it will make our Christmas complete”.
Since then, they have promoted my music and hand delivered CD’s all over the states, and provided endless opportunities and connections for me, simply because they believe I have something to offer the world and they want to help me achieve my dreams.
They’ve become close friends, and a great sounding board for me…celebrating my accomplishments and offering words of wisdom. They’ve made me realize how many great people have been in my life giving endless faith and support to a small town dreamer. Many thanks to my family and friends, and to Linc & Janice…You are the Angels Among Us.

Noah Lis with good friend Traci Mnich and Debbie Gibson

Christmas was a blur this year, as I had a full season of gigs, and then headed out to Deborah Gibson’s Electric Youth Performing Arts Camp in NYC the next morning. It proved to be a really great  well rounded learning experience and I  honestly came home a different person.

We had instruction from 9:30am- 6pm daily and I was in my element in this high energy work environment.   It was great to meet so many other enthusiastic people; the teachers were all professional instructors who had flown in from LA to work with us. They were a positive bunch who encouraged us to work together and build off of each others ideas. The students came from all over the states, including one girl from Canada, and the majority was interested in being Broadway performers.

We had classes which included dance, music theory, song writing, acting, etc. and they also brought in several speakers and other professionals  to work with us. I had a vocal lesson with Madonna’s coach. She listened to us sing and taught us some individual techniques to make our vocals stronger . She had only positive things to say about my pipes! We performed for some Broadway actors who came in and worked with us. We learned about licensing songs from an ASCAP representative, and we concentrated on songwriting skills. We danced and I will admit..I’m lacking in dance instruction, though I had good intentions.  At least, I didn’t injure  myself or anyone in the class with my klutzy dance moves.

I spent a good chunk of my time songwriting with Deborah Gibson and a teacher named Tim Kobza from LA. I enjoyed working with both of them, and we had a lot of fun.  Deborah proved to be a real star, performing with a smile on her face despite having come down with a terrible flu. She is definitely one of the most genuine and positive people I’ve ever worked with, and I learned a lot from her.

I pulled out a song that I had written two years ago, and surprisingly they  loved it, and asked me to perform it more than a few times.  They also encouraged me to sing my original for the end showcase when the industry people were invited to “look us over”. Two  Broadway actors wrote a script around my song, and it worked out well. I wrote a few more songs during the week, as well as the music for another girl who wrote  some heartfelt lyrics about war.  Camp ended with open mic and lots of goodbyes, and photos.   Back to my world.

I am hopeful that good things are coming..I’m ready to fly.