Impressing an Impression

As a performer in NYC - I'm not naive - I know that I am in essence, a dime a dozen. (awwww...poor me...sad...)
Anyway, to keep me from killing myelf, I'm always trying to hone different skills or tricks that I can use to set myself apart from the pack. I mean, I don't always go unnoticed. My fifth grade teacher once told me I was a dime among nickels. That makes good "cents" to me!

One of my hidden talents is that I do vocal impressions. That's right, impressions. Does that impress you? It's a bit of a parlor trick that I usually bring out only on special occasions where I've been drinking heavily and surrounded by a good group of friends... in other words during a night of karaoke.

More recently however, I've been encouraged to bring out this trick and take it for a spin in other arenas. Perhaps there is a more plausible use for my hidden talent. For instance, "Vegas, Baby, Vegas" isn't officially dead. Impressions are really BIG in Vegas! Now the gears are a'turnin' in my head and I'm starting to think about how I might resurrect my old, fabulous Trudy Carmichael character from the ashes, and see if I can't work these vocal impressions into another show!

There is a much more pressing issue at hand, however. On Thursday I have been booked to do a set of vocal impressions under the appellation of "Cabar-aoke" for the show Variety Underground at the Parkside Lounge. It's essentially going to be a Cabaret set using karaoke tracks. I've been having visions of myself doing my impressions of artists such as Cher, Shakira, Britney and The Cranberries, dressed up in full drag queen regalia. (Of course instead of lip syncing to the tunes, as is custom in drag shows, I would actually sing the songs myself.) Is that a good idea? I've always wanted to be a drag queen! (well, not really, but drag sells!)

Today I was working out a possible set list of songs to perform at VU. Right now it looks like my 10-ish minute act will consist of a compilation/medley of the following: Britney's "...Baby, One More Time," The Cranberries' "Zombie," Cher's "Believe," and Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes." How's that for variety...underground?

So we'll see how it goes! I don't fully know what I'm doing yet but sometimes that's the best way to try out (or try on) something new.