Category Archive

Andrew Briskin - February 24, 1968 - August 27, 2012 Damn. I already have tears. This one is hard. Andrew’s passing was a surprise. The details aren’t important. The impact of his vision, passion and love is. You wanna know the origin story or my indie music career? It starts here. Andrew is the ethos of indie music entrepreneurship in ... Read More

The start of it all... I had just been dropped from Atlantic Records and forced from my star accommodations on the upper east side to Hoboken, NJ. I had picked up some catering shifts when I got a call from an old producer friend about the show. Below is the Wikipedia summary of my first national appearance on NBC’s The ... Read More

After taping an episode of The Apprentice, you’re immediately told to sign a six month confidentiality agreement and wait until the episode actually airs. I knew that the nation was going to see a little bit of what I do, so with the help of my mentor, I considered trying to pull together an album to sell on my website ... Read More

A life of it’s own. This never happens in the business, but someone at one radio station caught wind of “I Should Go” and added it to their corporate-run radio stations. No label behind me. No manager. No coercing. And it just…took off. You’ve heard me tell this story in concerts before. I call my mom up to say, ‘“Mom! … Read More

Through a strangers eyes… These days, people aren’t generally interested in album reviews. We’re a word-of-mouth social media driven society now. But back then, the reputation of writers and their publications was everything. It’s how people found out about music. And the first time a stranger lends there “authoritative” viewpoint to your innermost creative musings – which music is subjective … Read More

A time for honesty While the songs from One of The Ones, my debut album, were written about relationships I had with other guys, I had not officially come out on The Apprentice. I had not even really spoken candidly about it during the XM Cafe interviews. But if I had learned anything from the past eight record labels that ... Read More

…and I’m in the eye of the storm. I must say, I miss LGBT media. It was before we added the QIA, the plus sign, and we were not corporate and mainstream like we are today. It was still punk to be queer and the spirit of nonconformity was still alive and well. In the early 2000’s, gayborhoods were thriving, … Read More

...one love song at a time. Having three national television features within a four month period was an instant game changer for me and my little independent debut album. And while The Apprentice performance was facilitated by the producer I was working with just prior, the opportunities with Days Of Our Lives and Young And The Restless came about via ... Read More

finding my freedom “Coming to terms with my sexuality has been too hard of a road for me not to own who I am now.”

My love affair with Chicago begins… Over the years I’ve had a good relationship with the writers at Gay Chicago Magazine. They continued to support me all the way through and after the 2010 Tony Award win. They were one of the first publications to cover my debut album.