FINALLY!!!! A REPORER who GETS IT!!!!

Those of you who know me know I've been a Manilow fan since "Mandy" I wouldn't have that any other way, but it hasn't always been easy, not just for me, but for ANY of us. It definately hasn't always been easy for Barry. He's been the butt of countless jokes and has been criticized byt more critics who haven't given him a chance than an;y one human being should ever have to endure. I use to wonder how he got himself through all the ridicule. How do you pick yourself up and dust yourself off when you're getting bashed from what seems like every direction.

Those of us who hve loved the music and and stuck around all these years "get it" I've made so many friends by this man being the catalyst. We all have one common thread. We're all different in our views. Some of us obcessed by the image to the point it's psychotic, some overwhelmed by fantasy and forgetting reality, and then there are a chosen few who see Barry as two very different people wrapped up in one person. Even though we don't know him personally, some of us able to separate the two. It's that Gemini thing right???? NO it isn't it's just being able to see the hints of reality he gives onstage. He lets his light shine through and those few of us still out here who can distinguish between fantasy and reality can see it and take it for what it's worth. Each one of us connects with Barry on different levels. For some, it's just the music that keeps bringing them back. For others it's all of it. He's an entertainer and that's what he does best. He's been here so long because he's learned his trade. He knows what works and what doesn't. By the time you've gone through a show if you have ANY heart at all, you feel each and every emotion possible because BARRY believes in musical abilities. I've watched him grow from this scared little "shy guy" who didn't know the first thing about what to do on a stage to a grown man who now knows what to do without a thought. He just does what he does, and he knows we'll be here for as long as he is.

You ask what all this is leading up to??? Why do I feel the need to say all this now??? WELL! An article from a Wilkes Barre PA paper came to my inbox today that brought me to it. I've read good reviews in my time, I've read some that were so bad I couldn't finish them, but for some reason THIS ONE stood out amongst any I've read in a very long time. This reporter looked beyone the craziness that might have been in the audience around him and LISTENED to and WATCHED BARRY!!!! As you will see from the article, he appreciates the music!! He respects the entertainer! He just GETS IT!! I found this to be refreshing and it made me smile.

I'm so proud to call myself a MANILOW fan!!! NOT a FANILOW!!! I'll shout it anywhere !!!!

Here's the article.


Manilow-mania takes over Wachovia Arena
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BY ALEXANDER CHOMANCITIZENS’ VOICE MUSIC CRITIC
Published: Friday, February 6, 2009 4:06 AM EST
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Pop music’s most prolific crooner of the post-Sinatra age returned to town Thursday night and this time proved what happens in Vegas doesn’t always necessarily stay in Vegas.Pop music’s quintessential singer/songwriter Barry Manilow, brought his Las Vegas show, “Ultimate Manilow,” to the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza before an audience of 6,500 people and proved why he still maintains such broad appeal in a concert that featured material from his “Greatest Songs of the 80s” along with a collage of Manilow staples.It was Manilow-mania all over again as the Brooklyn-born performer proved why Northeastern Pennsylvania is one of his “favorite places to play,” offering up many of the songs that have reached gold for him in four different decades. He’s been writing the songs for sure and a whole generation of listeners have been buying them up since “Mandy” first hit the airwaves.The always congenial host wasted little time belting out the favorites as versions of “I’m Coming Back,” “Miracle,” “This One’s For You” and what he called the most romantic song in his catalog “Weekend in New England,” wooed the Wachovia Arena audience. Manilow croons his hits with an unapologetic sincerity whether they are odes to loves lost or romance realized. In either circumstance, few can translate the emotion as well as Barry.
Manilow worked the spacious arena stage with three female and one male backup singers. Musically, the 65-year-old entertainer was supported by a talented 10-piece band.Manilow is the definition of audience friendly. He laughs, smiles, brings audience members on stage and seems to do all of the right things that make an audience feel like he has come to sing for each one of them personally. And that’s not an easy feat either folks. This guy is something special.Manilow’s offering of power ballads ignited the crowd like few others can. Renditions of “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Could It Be Magic,” “Bandstand” and, of course, “Copacabana,” proved his register has maintained an artistic quality envied by artists half of his age. Manilow’s songs have stood the test of time quite nicely, thank you.The audience also was content to look past his youth-wishful Botox treatment complete with spiked hair and glitzy tie. After all, when “Daybreak,” “Ready to Take A Chance Again” and “Looks Like We Made It,” sound this good, who really cares, right?In addition to his catalogue of hits, Manilow also showed reverence for his predecessors delivering hits from decades gone by. Whether it was his versions of “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Anyone Else But Me” or “Love Is a Many Splendor Thing,” Manilow took his historical patronage to a whole different level.He may not be the darling of the critics, he might not be eclectic enough to grace the cover of the hip, arty music magazines, but Barry Manilow is positively adored by his core audience. Something he never ever has lost sight of.Barry Manilow is a consummate entertainer. He works hard at it and his audience acknowledges that effort. So do his fellow artists like the late Frank Sinatra and the legendary Bob Dylan. Before you write him off as the sultan of smaltz, listen to this guy closely. Of melody and rhyme, he knows quite a bit.Just ask his fans.

Just One Of Those Days

Did you ever have one of those days when you just wish you didn't exist? How about if you could just be invisible and see if anyone who says they love you missed you even noticed you weren't around? Forgive me for the tone of this blog today, but it's how I feel.

I'm not gonna go into the lengthy story that would give a background to these feelings because it's too much to write and i don't wanna bore anyone. Let's just suffice to say the following.
1. I met my current husband in 1983 at church. You'd think that would be a wonderful place to meet someone right??? You'd think that someone would prove to be a good person right??? WELL WRONG!! He use to be this wonderful caring even tempered man who would do anything on earth to make anyone happy even ME!! I never saw any signs of the slightest bit of mallace. No temper HECK rwe rarely even faught. If we did disagree we talked about it and it was done!!! That is until I married him in 1989 and things have gone downhill since. He's become this person I don't even know anymore. I have come to realize over the past few years that I'm here merely for convenience and now I'm not even sure I'm here for that anymore. We have two beautiful children together, They are priceless to me and I'd never leave them. Not if I can help it anyway. He's become angry, mentally abusive to all of us and today is just one of those days Ijust wanna crawl in a hole and ceace to be. My oldest daughter hasn't been to school in 5 days because she's been ill. I didn't tell him she didn't go yesterday because i just didn't want him to yell. He's forgotten how to talk. He's forgotten how to express feelings without screaming them and last night I was told that my daughter would be sent to jouvy and he didn't know where I was going... I'm called everything from bitch to God knows what He looks at other MEN and says he's KIDDING when I know differently but I just want him to admit it..... WHY am I stillhere you ask... I dunno. I really can't find that ONE reason anymore. Kinda reminds me of an old Reba McEntire song "You're the first Time I've Thought About Leavin" The only difference is that in the song she finds another man and that's her reason. My reason is merely to find peace for me and my girls. No more yelling, No more disrespect NONE OF IT.

I don't know what I'd do without my friends. My TRUE friends. The ones who have been there through everything. If I ever lost any of them, well I'd truly feel like I'd lost everything. There's already ONE who has slipped away but my hope is that one day she'll realize that I truly dolove her and I'd do anything on earth for her, and if I did, I never ever meant to hurt her. I hope that somehow she one days knows that and will find her way back in my life someday.

I just feel so unneeded. I feel like I should have done so many things differently in my life to change the course of it and now I really don't know where to start. I know the first place will be with God because HE is the one who will bring me through all the rest, no matter how bad it gets. I know we have to suffer through the bad to feel and appreciate the good, and i know that he is the one who will help me handle all of it. Then there are my friends who are always there for undying support.

Thank you to each and every one of you who have been there for me through everything. My mistakes, my laughter, and my tears. I love each and every one of you, I'm just very sad today. I'm sad and feel very alone and scared. That happens sometimes when you've been hit with a dose of reality.

Just For Laughs

I got this in my e mail today and since I know a LOT of people need a laugh right now hope this gives one!



I am sure you will be laughing your head off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! after reading .....

Have you ever spoken and wished that you could
immediately take the words back...
or that you could crawl into a hole?
Here are the Testimonials of a few people who did....
FIRST TESTIMONY:
I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow
and asked loudly,
'How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?'
I turned around and walked back out and never went back
My husband didn't say a word...
he knew better..
SECOND TESTIMONY:
I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls.
I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using.
After browsing for several minutes,
I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store.
He asked if he could help me.
Without thinking, I looked at him and said, 'I think I like playing with men 's balls .
THIRD TESTIMONY:
My sister and I were at the mall and
passed by a store that sold a
variety of candy and nuts.
As we were looking at the display case,
the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help.
I replied, 'No, I'm just looking at your nuts.'
My sister started to laugh hysterically.
The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away.
To this day,
my sister has never let me forget.
FOURTH TESTIMONY :
While in line at the bank one afternoon,
my toddler decided to release
some pent-up energy and ran amok.
I was finally able to grab hold of
her after receiving looks of disgust
and annoyance from other patrons.
I told her that if she did not start behaving
'right now' she would be punished.
To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening,
'If you don't let me go right now,
I will tell Grandma that I saw you
kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!'
The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange.
Even the tellers stopped what they were doing.
I mustered up the last of my dignity and
walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow.
The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY:
This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days
and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will,
in the future, likely think before she speaks.
What happens when you predict snow but don't get any!
We had a female news anchor that,
the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't,

turned to the weatherman and asked:
'So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?'
Not only did HE have to leave the set,
but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!
Now, didn't that feel good?
Pass it on to someone you know who needs a laugh
and remember
we all say things we don't really mean,


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From Pollstar .com - Gigs & Bytes

Gigs & Bytes:
Fanilows Boost Manilow
Thursday, Oct 23, 2008 1:01PMNever underestimate the power of dedicated fans.
Barry Manilow has a new album dropping Nov. 25. Called The Greatest Songs Of The Eighties, Manilow's latest effort has him covering some of the biggest pop hits of that decade, including a duet with Reba McEntire on "Islands In The Stream," as well as renditions of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" and "Arthur's Theme (The Best That I Can Do)."
Here's where the fan power comes in. Within one day of Manilow's official site sending an e-mail blast to fans announcing the new work, the album shot up from No. 1,912 to No. 8 on the Amazon bestsellers chart.
Now, if only we could harness the fans' energy for our automobiles. Just think of the possibilities!

Original post url: http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewnews.pl?NewsID=11601

My Thoughts on the new 80's CD

The Greatest songs of the 80's is the 4th in Barry's series of decade CD's. He started with Greatest Songs of the 50's and has made it to the 80's! I think this is gonna be my favorite of all of them because this is my era!! I have so many memories both good and bad tacked to some of these songs, and who better to recreate them than Barry Manilow?
Rather than give the entire track listing, I'm just going to give my thoughts on a few of the songs that made the cut.
Islands In The Stream has never been one of my favorites, but i am a HUGE Reba McEntire fan!!! Reba loves to cut up and have fun with her music and so does Barry. I'm sure this will be a great "ham it up" song and I think it will be fun. I can't wait to hear it.
I've Had The Time Of My Life! Dirty Dancing was one of my favorite movies. I've watched it countless times and the ending was almost the most anticipated part of the movie. This one's gonna be GREAT!
Against All Odds I like Phil Collins, and I'm glad this one made it. I use to play this all the time and warm my vocals up. It's a beautiful song and it holds a lot of meaning.
Right Here Waiting. I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. I was riding in the car with my mom heading to somewhere, and as it started to play i remember telling my mom what a beautiful song it was. I love it to this day, and I'm sure Barry will do it justice.
These are just a few I wanted to comment on. Barry is a musical genious who puts his stamp on anything he chooses to try. We'll all have different opinions, my hope though is that we can keep them as posative as we can. Let's try not to complain about he should have done this or that!! let's just thankhim for the music and the time he's taken to do this and uplift him a bit rather than being so negative. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in wha tWE want and it isn't about what WE want, it's about what BARRY wants us to hear.
Barry manilow Greatest Songs of the 80's in in stores November 26!!!!! 40 LONG DAYS and counting

Barry Manilow On KOST 103.5 - October 10, 2008

My Sincere Condolences to Keely Vasquez

Today's entry is heartbreaking to me. I am an older sister of a brother who was inlisted in the US Army in Airborne Infantry from the age of 19. I can't imagine how I would feel if I lost him in the line of duty! I just can't.

Keely Vasquez Lost her Brother Gary J Vasquez age 33. Sgt 1st Class Vasquez was stationed in Afganastan when he lost his life. Those of us who have been fans of Barry and have seen the shows have come to love and admire Keely and so I'd like to take this moment and let her know she and her family are in my prayers today. God is so good and he's the ultimate giver of comfort so I'm lifting she and her family up today.

God Bless You Keely
R. I. P. Sgt Vasquez

Sgt. 1st Class Gary J. Vasquez, 33, of Round Lake, Ill., was a Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha senior engineer sergeant

Soldier from Highland killed by blast in Afghanistan

A soldier from Highland, who was on his third tour in Afghanistan, was killed Monday when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. First Class Gary J. Vasquez, 33, enlisted about nine years ago and was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he lived with his wife, Sarah Vasquez.

"He loved his job. He was happy to be doing what he was doing," Vasquez's brother, Barry DuHasek, said. "He basically indicated that he always wanted to be a soldier,"

DuHasek said Vasquez had served in the 82nd Airborne Division and was an Airborne Ranger before he became a Green Beret of the U.S. Special Forces.

Vasquez was riding with Capt. Richard G. Cliff Jr., 29, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Sgt. First Class Jamie S. Nicholas, 32, of Maysel, W.Va., according to the Department of Defense. All died in Yakhchal, Afghanistan, from wounds from the explosion.

The three soldiers were Green Berets, assigned to the First Battalion, Seventh Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg.

The Defense Department listed Vasquez's home as Round Lake, Ill., but family members said Wednesday he was from Highland.

"His personality was larger than life," DuHasek said. "He was probably one of the funniest people I've ever met. He was my best friend and my brother."

Vasquez graduated from Highland High School in 1992, and earned a theater degree from Illinois State University, DuHasek said. He enjoyed reading and spending time with his dogs, Smash and Medea.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah; his mother, Margaret DuHasek, of Highland; his brother, Barry DuHasek, of Highland; and his sister, Keely Vasquez of Chicago.

Vasquez was preceded in death by his father, Frank Vasquez, a lieutenant colonel who served in Vietnam.

Arrangements for Vasquez are pending at Spengel-Boulanger Funeral Home, 101 Ninth St. in Highland.

U.S. officials have said violence in Afghanistan is up about 30 percent this year over 2007. More American soldiers -- 112 -- have died in the country so far this year than in any year since the 2001 invasion.

Contact reporter Maria Baran at mbaran@bnd.com or 239-2460. Contact reporter Jacqueline Lee at jlee@bnd.com or 239-2655.