Please Don't Stop the Music

Oh hey! So, it’s been a crazy week. I’ve been in the middle of a move from Harlem to Brooklyn. I love my new spot, but I hate that period of transitioning from one place to another. I bought some new furniture from Ikea, and yesterday I hosted an “Ikea furniture building party.” Woot woot! Party over here, ain’t no hammers over there…

No?

Okay, I’ll stop.

Anyway, I had some friends come over, and it was a lot of fun putting my desk, dresser, and bed together. I think the fact that I bought pizza and drinks for everybody helped (I don’t think anybody likes me that much to sacrifice a Saturday night to spend building furniture with me without a reward).

I’ve also been doing some rehearsals this week. Next Sunday I’m participating in an opera reading that I’m really excited about! It’s great music, and it’s about Harriet Tubman. It should be a great time. I’ve also been practicing my songs “Stay with Me” and “On the Edge” because I’m performing those this Thursday at a fundraising event!

That reminds me: so, my buddy Marcus Miller, an amazing saxophone player, does a gig most Wednesdays at Café Addis (125^th and Amsterdam). I actually got to perform “Stay With Me” with him and his band this past Wednesday. It’s absolutely amazing how much great musicians really bring music to life. The drummer, bassist, and Marcus (on sax) took the song to a completely new level. There was a big grin on my face that I was trying to hide so that I could stay focused on singing and playing the music.

In the spirit of music, I also wrote another song this week. It’s a fun piece that I can’t wait to share with people. But don’t worry, I’ll be releasing another song this month, and one in mid-February in preparation for Laugh and Shout Part 2 (Feb 25^th).

Okay, that’s my random week: moving, rehearsing, performing, writing. Gotta love it.



New Year, New Title: Back to Soul

Wow. Happy New Year! It’s great to be back. One thing I love about the new year is that it always gives us a moment to step back and evaluate where we are and where we want to go. My blog is now called “Back to Soul” as opposed to “What’s the Point?” This change was sparked by a new direction that I’m taking artistically. While I am still working as an actor in the city, I am making a concerted effort to prioritize my music in the next year. I have been writing a lot of music, and I am currently assembling a band. I would self-classify my music as soul, but it is also heavily influenced by gospel, blues, funk, and R&B.

If you haven’t already, please check out my revamped website at www.LumumbaSeegars.com. At the website, you can listen to and download my original music, watch videos, and stay updated on my upcoming shows.

I’m going to keep this entry short, but I do want to say that I will be writing a lot more regularly this year. Every Sunday, I’ll have a weekly reflection of some sort (and maybe some in between!), so I hope you’ll come back for more!

Laugh and Shout

Yea, it's been a while since I've posted. Lots of stuff has happened, but I don't think I need to go into details here. Just know that a couple of things are still true. (1) I'm still broke. (2) I love life so much right now.

Moving on. So, I just co-headlined my first show in NYC! It was a venue called the Duplex Cabaret Theater in the w. village. I did the show with a friend of mine, Kristen "KJ" Jones. Please check her out because she is pretty awesome. The show was a huge success. I did two sets, she did two sets, and we did some fun stuff at the end together. Look out for another collaboration in the future. For now, I've posted some of the songs that I did at the show this past Friday. Check them out! If you like them, comment and spread the word. If you don't like them, just pretend like they don't exist :).

Be back soon...



Do what you do

Oh snaps, son…I’m back!

First of all let me thank the editors of the DAP for giving me a paid vacation.  It’s good to be back doing this writing/reflecting thing.  Let’s get to the business.

Auditions.  I love them.  But wait, I actually do.  No, no, I don’t like the sitting around and not even knowing if I’ll be seen (welcome to the wonderful world of going to Equity Chorus Calls when you’re still non-equity or an equity membership candidate).  But what I do love is the chance to perform and get in front of people.

Pause.  Let’s do a flashback.

Last year in April, I went on my first audition for a professional show.  I was crazy nervous.  Shaking.  I didn’t know what I was going to do if I didn’t get the gig!  I remember waiting to hear back—I was thinking about it all the time.  Luckily, I got the job!  It was an amazing time, and I grew immensely.

The next audition I had, I was still crazy nervous, but not as much.  I walked into the room with my head a little higher, and I put some more of the bass back into my voice.  I got a callback, but didn’t get the gig.

I remember my mom asking me, “What was wrong with you?  Why didn’t they like you?” I laughed and told her that sometimes you’re just not right for a part, and it says nothing about you as a person.  Internally, though, there was definitely some doubt.

As I auditioned more and more in Atlanta, I became less and less nervous each time.  I was getting used to it. I stopped thinking about auditioning as just a one-time opportunity to get a one-time job.  Instead, it was a chance for me to show somebody my talent and an opportunity to do what I love: perform.

Now, this isn’t to say that every audition has been great.  I still remember an audition last December in which I started a song a few keys too high.  Hot mess.  Or when the auditor asked me to tell him something interesting about me, and I responded: “Umm, I’m very passionate about anything I do.” (SERIOUSLY, LUMUMBA?! WTF WERE YOU THINKING WITH THAT ANSWER?!).  See, already I’m getting pissed.

Breathe in.  Breathe out.

Anyway, all of this is to say that you just have to go in there, and leave it all in there.  Just like when I get on stage and throw my entire self into my work and leave it on the stage, I have to do the same at auditions.  Yes, it’s important to critique yourself in order to get better, but a lot of times it’s just as important not to overanalyze things.  Do your best, and let it go.

When I first got to NYC, I was lucky to land my first few auditions.  Now, I’ve been having one of those periods where I go to auditions and usually don’t hear anything back.  To be honest, of course I would love to be landing gigs.  But I’m also realistic.  I know I won’t get everything.  And I’m just crazy happy that I get a chance to sing in front of people who sit there attentively and watch me do what I do best—whether if it’s just for 16 bars or a full song.  I walk in confidently, deciding that I’m going to make sure the next 30 seconds or few minutes of my life will actually be fun.

So yeah, I still hope everyday that I’ll get some email or a phone call that will be the beginning of some crazy awesome gig (shoot, or just any gig), but I also know that these things take time.  I’m building a foundation.  Getting my name out there.  And I can already feel that with each audition, I’m getting better.  I’m learning what works and what doesn’t in the real world.  In the world in which I audition not just for fun, but to eat.

What’s the point of standing on the plank without enjoying the breeze?

What's the real objective?

I shall begin with a question: Why would a guy wear a suit (like a full suit, with a tie!) and a durag in public? I can’t breathe.  Anyway…

So this week I began training for a new job! I’m working as an actor educator in a program that puts on original shows (acting, dancing, singing, improv) in order to educate and raise awareness in 5^th-12^th graders about issues like HIV/AIDS, sex education, prejudice, violence, drugs, etc.  It was my first audition in NYC (back in June), and I’ve been very excited to get started since I received the offer to join the company.

What I love most about this work is that it gives me a chance to fuse two passions of mine: performing arts and activism.  One of the reasons I first shied away from being an actor/singer was because I felt like I had to make this HUGE DIFFERENCE in the world.  And in order to do that, I thought of certain professions that led to that: lawyer, politician, teacher, social worker, preacher, and the list goes on and on; however, being an artist wasn’t on that list.

Yet, when I look at this program that goes into schools and uses theatre in order to teach kids about incredibly important issues, it reminds me that I can use my passion in order to make a difference in the world.  Usually when I tell people that I want to be an artist, they respond in some form of, “Oh my!  I can’t wait until you make it big!”  Now, I have nothing wrong with making it big (and I love the support!). Making it big means having mad money.  And every time rent is due, or when I have to pretend that I don’t care about fashion (when I really do want to buy more skinny jeans!), or when I have to eat leftovers of the same pasta for the 7^th day in a row, I realize that I could use more money.  Yet, you don’t have to make tons of money to make a difference as an artist!

And the fact that I don’t have to be rich to leave a dent in the world through my passion is liberating.  It’s invigorating.  It takes some of the pressure off of reaching for the wrong goals.  Again, I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong in wanting to be rich.  But if making great art is my SUPER OBJECTIVE then I will pursue situations differently than if “getting rich” were.  See, life is just like acting: find your objective, and chase it relentlessly!  And be true to yourself, of course.

This revelation leads to the real point: the performing arts, even when not directly engaged in activism, can have a profound effect on people and the world.  I’m not going to go into a sermon on this topic, but I wish to only ask you to think of some movie, song, or play that has touched you.  Some particular piece of art that has inspired you.  Made you happy.  Expressed love when you couldn’t.  A character that was angry when you couldn’t get mad enough.  A character whose heart bled with suffering when you thought you were alone.  An issue that you thought was black and white, but was shaded with the complexity of inclusiveness by the characters in a scene.  A song that you had to listen to on repeat from 125^th Street all the way to Flatbush Avenue because your soul wouldn’t let it go. 

I’m very fortunate to be working in a situation in which I can directly use my art to help people and to change lives—save kids from making choice that will severely limit their opportunities in life or their ability to live at all.  But the next time you watch television, go see a play, listen to a song, or watch a movie: think about how you related to that piece of art, and then how that connection impacted your relationship with the world around you.

I’ll end with a an answer: The guy wearing a durag might have had an important meeting in which his waves/hair had to be TIGHT, and the importance of that meeting far outweighed the uninformed and uninvited opinion of me or any other random, judgmental person on the street who should have been minding his own business.

His objective: get to this meeting with tight hair?  Definitely a possibility.

My objective: make great art that positively impacts people.

What’s the point of making moves when you don’t even know your objective?