Singing in the...garage!

I sing along with the radio as I'm sure you do too, whether you admit it or not.


Since getting on the satellite radio bandwagon a year ago, I have been able to fulfill my love of Broadway music every time I'm driving in my car, sitting in my office (via internet), or relaxing at home, thanks to the home unit. Living in central Texas, we only get the occassional touring show for Broadway shows of some seasons ago or college productions of the tried and true musicals. Satellite radio gives me the new Broadway music just as soon as the cast recording comes out - or sometimes before thanks to Seth Rudetski's bootlegging (or connections).


I sing alot. I sing loudly. I don't sing well. Thankfully I am aware of all those factors - especially the latter which helps me avoid embarrassing my self at karaoke bars and parties.

Because music means so much to me, I do make efforts to see live music as well as listen to it on the radio. Friday night I went out to hear my friend, Kevin Ahart, sing at one of his regular gigs. Kevin performs American Standards (the Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, etc. songs) with his own flair. In the last few years he has developed his own interpretation of them so each time I hear him, it is fresh and new, not a live-juke-box version of songs I've known most of my life. On the way downtown, of course, I was listening to music on the radio and singing along. As I pulled into the parking garage, a song from one of my favorite musicals came on and I knew all the words without really even thinking.

It did not take long to find a parking spot and I pulled in and got out of the car with the tune still going. I had only taken a few steps from my vechicle when the echo hit me. The tune I was certain was in my head, wasn't: I had stepped out of the vehicle belting just as loudly as I had been in the car and parking garages, being essentially concrete caves, have amazing resonance.

I'm no Bernadette Peters, but I know that everyone for three levels of the garage heard me declare, "I'm just a girl who can't say no!"