Donna Loren’s Shindig

I really enjoyed singing on my first online show. Hope you felt the same if you tuned in. So many blessings occurred. It began with my husband, Jered, who found StageIt.com on the internet. One day recently, he invited me to watch and listen to an online live concert starring John Oates of Hall and Oates fame. It was so cool to see a superstar ‘up close and personal’ performing and interacting with fans from the privacy of his home. His other half started a popular internet series, Darryl’s House in much the same way. I was hooked!

“Please schedule me to do a show on Stage It“, I asked Jered, and it evolved from there. A musician of note, Bob Glaub, bassist for Crosby, Stills and Nash, who played on my album Love It Away recommended a pianist who began rehearsing with me. Carl Byron helped me select material and create smooth transitions between each song as well as show off his other attributes on accordian and ukulele. Then I met Al from  Germany. He had just moved from Hamburg where he was raised, and has established a successful career via YouTube. Al, Jered and I clicked. Al is proficient with video so he offered to film the show as well as light the room and run the webcam. We then talked about sound which turned into an introduction to his friend Sven, a sound engineer and artist in his own right. All in all I was feeling like I had a professional team to make my first show on Stage It happen. And so, the date was set: August 26th. I later discovered that my daughter Anna’s band, That Dog were reuniting after 10-years and performing at the Troubadour in LA the same night!

I thought about the songs I sang on Shindig, my favorite TV show EVER. I decided to begin my set with You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin, a song the Righteous Bros. premiered on Shindig, catapulting them to stardom. I had never sung this song before so Carl and I created an arrangement that would suit me. Singing it really got me off to a great start. I followed that with the first song I ever sang on Shindig, Wishin’ and Hopin’ and then went on to Shakin’ All Over, which was always one of my favorites and it seems so for others by the show of support on YouTube. When I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jack White of the Whitestripes, he said he watched me sing it on YouTube! He subsequently recorded it with Wanda Jackson. Gee, maybe he’ll record me one day….I would love it. I also included It Only Hurts When I Cry from Beach Blanket Bingo and essentially encored with a track from my EP, Donna Does Elvis in Hawaii, entitled (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear. Thirty-three minutes of bliss went by and when we wrapped up the show my crew had grins from ear to ear. Jered was my #1 fan telling me,”you really should do this again”. And I will, at least twice before this year ends. I’m planning for October and December. In the future, I’ll invite friends to enjoy cocktails and participate in the music. Stay tuned for some surprises…