On September 25, 2010, at Brookdale Community College PAC in Lincroft, New Jersey, Jody Joseph will do what she does best: combine her music with her ongoing dedication to give back to the community.  Sharing a gene pool with opera legend Mario Lanza and garage band rocker-turned-chart buster Jon Bon Jovi, Jody’s style weaves strong [...]

For those of you unfamiliar with this operatic child prodigy, the Jackie Evancho story, as it has been played out on the popular television program America’s Got Talent, is both strange and beautiful:  strange in the sense that the voice emanating from this 10 year old girl is unlike any child’s voice in terms of [...]

Well, Taylor’s voice is not exactly the next voice you’ll hear, but you get the idea.  To hear the complete audio (technical glitches omitted) of Write On New Jersey’s own Kathleen Felleca’s groundbreaking interview with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, simply click the triangle-shaped “Play” button on the media player below:

 
 For you diehard fans, you may [...]

Most people fantasize about winning the lottery, kissing their jobs goodbye, and flying off to an island to romp carefree under the sun.  Not me.  For the past four and a half years, my fantasy has been to sit somewhere quietly with Taylor Hicks, the monumentally talented singer, songwriter, musician, and arranger. Just as Taylor was [...]

Don’t Turn Your Ticket In, Don’t Get Your Money Back at the Door:
Counting Crows, Augustana, and NOTAR at the Starland Ballroom
 
When an act as stellar as Counting Crows launches its set with a cover of Van Morrison’s Caravan, it speaks volumes about the soul of that band: where it’s been, where it’s headed, and where [...]

For those of us not in the public eye, our brushes with celebrity can provide an escape from the humdrum nature of daily life, as well as a subject of conversation when someone asks us “what’s new?”  During my own life in the greater New Jersey area, I have personally encountered many personalities from the [...]

Lady GaGa is at it again!  The celeb who seems to cause controversy wherever she goes is embroiled in yet another hullabaloo:  this time with Beatles’ fans.

The picture above shows the entertainer whom some have labeled as “Hot Tits” for her use of an exploding brassiere during a recent performance (see image at right) seated [...]

Given the doom and gloom press with which we are constantly bombarded, we often struggle to grasp positive news.  For the next few minutes, you can forget what’s burning on your browser’s home page and the screaming headlines in the newspapers.   Instead, settle in to read something uplifting: the story of a beloved Big Easy [...]

Some monarchs wear jewel-encrusted crowns; others are more like earth angels.  Those souls in the latter category seem to have been born with special gifts that allow them to uplift thousands and thousands of their fellow human beings, even after they have departed this earth to claim their heavenly wings.  Known for innovation and integrity [...]

I cry at commercials.  Not all commercials, only those that are shot in and include familiar touchstones of my beloved New York City.  Thus, did this geek whose TV viewing once relegated primarily to documentaries and concerts get suckered into watching The Apprentice.  Understand that for most of my life, midtown Manhattan was my old [...]