I was the 17th Test Tube baby to be born in New York. I don't know if that has anything to with my being really laid back and kind of on the shy side, but it does explain my affinity for a nice piece of glass.
Fast forward to me at 16. After a mad dash out of New York, I find myself in Montreal. To support myself, I join a traveling circus that was the progenitor of what was to become, in later years, the Cirque du Soleil. Although only a ½ day’s travel by bus from my humble South Bronx birthplace (St. Francis Hospital on St. Anne’s Ave), I was worlds away from anything I had ever experienced. While there, I fell under the spell of a vivacious trapeze artist – Veronique la Chatte – Veronica the Cat. Her real name was Coco Charisse and she was the niece of famous Hollywood femme fatale dancer, Cyd Charisse. She was older than I was and willing to educate me in the ways of life and love. She also sparked the fire of dance within me, a flame that burns to this day. After a couple of years of tumultous bliss, she left me to return to her ex-lover, Jacques, who was a lion tamer with the show. He was horribly mauled and died an agonizing death 3 weeks later. That incident is why, to this day, there are no animals in any Cirque du Soleil show. Coco was inconsolable; she went to Europe with the troupe and I returned home.
Back in New York, the music scene was jumping and just like that, I found myself involved in the music business; being the very talented listener that I am. I rode the wave for a few years, participating in the requisite heavy drug use and mandatory orgies commensurate with the lifestyle.
When the orgies started getting too impersonal (I guess I was maturing) and when they expected me to start paying for my own drugs, the scene quickly paled for me. I switched gears and started drinking heavily, which immediately qualified me for a life in film and television.
And that's where I am today, a post-production supervisor for a major television concern. I don't drink anymore because you only have to give that impression of hard-drinking sociopath to get in the door. Once you're in, you're free to be yourself, although, sadly, a lot of people just keep hitting the sauce, which accounts for a lot of the programming being aired these days(you think a sober guy came up with reality television?).
Seriously speaking, I try to be as open minded, outgoing and involved in as many different things as possible because I actually am very introverted when left to my own devices. I try my best to stay in the moment because I have so much going on. Definitely try not to take myself too seriously.
I'm a fan of almost any type of music, with Rock and Salsa being my main prefrences. I dance Salsa/Mambo and am a proud member of the Casa de La Salsa dance company. Check us out below at the June 2006 Connecticut Salsa Congress.
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