Holiday Cheer..

One of the most lucrative moments of the yearfor the singer is the holiday season. Rather than stay home and watch Charlie Brown pout over his lame tree, everyone and their mother would rather go to a Handel and Hayden performance while imagining snow covered houses from 19th century England.

Damn you, Thomas Kincade and your cozy paint-by-numbers gifts.

This is the time of year we've been waiting for. Good ol' Jesus money. And not a moment too soon, because no one loves giving and receiving presents more than singers!
So for those of us who do not have chruch gigs, or were never called back for Handel and Hayden, we are left to our own devices to help pay the bills. Though picking up an extra shift at Starbucks might seem like the easiest option, who in their right mind wants to arrive at an empty store 7am on Christmas Day to serve hot coffee to the few customers who show up only to get a brief escape from the family traffic or are dying for an apple fritter.
No, this will not do.
For those of us who do not have church gigs, and simply have to carefully budget this holiday, I ask, What better way to enjoy the holidays than inspire and donate our gift of music to those in need? One event crosses my mind. A fire in Cambridge just made 20 people homeless a mere 2 days before Thanksgiving. One of the residents was a founder of a dance company here in Boston, and a great friend of the arts. She is now living in BU housing and has nothing. Our job as singers is not to make a living to support ourselves, but to support others. Simple acts of presenting a concert with a small admission fee and donating proceeds to these families displaced can bring the hardest of hearts to melt. So I ask of all of us, lets do something different this season. Inspire those around us by our talents and provide inspiration and hope for the Tiny Tim that you know.
Thomas Kincade can still kiss my ass.