3rd Chance at Life

 I met Mike Falzone at the mall. Well, I actually "met" him last year, when I hosted BRENTAPALOOZA, an awesome multi-band music festival in Bridgeport. But I met him at the mall for this interview. And in true, "Hey, I'm a musician, I'm probobly gonna blow up soon" fashion, he made me wait. But it was ok, 'cause my pretzel bites were deeelicious. I've been a fan of his music since right before the festival last year. (go check him out here out after you read this k? k.) The music is good, but the dude is funny. Funny on stage, funny sometimes in person. But REALLY funny on YouTube. What? Yes, ladies and gents, this guy and others are proving the interwebs are the way to do the music thing. You get people to subscribe to your channel, or you put your tunes on facebook and  twitter, and the audience grows without a hell of a lot of legwork. Mike Falzone has been doing this for about five years now on 'the YouTube'. But more seriously for the last several years. He does a cover song or some other funny bit just about every week, and makes sure he interacts with every person who comments. The response to his work has been amazing. And the reason I am writing this, is because I am very excited about his new venture. He is about to fly to Orlando and take part in something called PLAYLIST LIVE. Falzone describes it as the the Lollapalooza of YouTube, with 50 artists and personalities performing. He doesn't really know what to expect, but he's siked to go. "I would love a music and comedy blend to be able to able to help me pay for my groceries, and I've recently decided that I don't want to work for anyone else anyway," Falzone says.
 Well, his attitude may have changed a bit since he ALMOST DIED TWICE IN A MONTH. Last fall, his appendix burst, he had two kidney stones, and then he had a pulmonary embolism (that's when a blood clot floats to your lungs. Check Serena Williams. Falzone did it first. And he lost his job while he was sick. Good times.) So, the 26 year old is on blood thinners, he isn't really drinking (imagine if you were 26 and told alcohol is just not a good idea), and he's thinking a tad differently. He's jumping on opportunites, he's hitting his music pretty hard. (Michael Mangini recently produced an EP with Falzone. Mangini has done albums with Joss Stone, the Jonas Bros and local band Kicking Daisies). "When you hear a doctor say 'you almost died twice in one month' you start to realize what wouldn't be there again. I am done getting mad at the small things. And I am very appreciative of people who watch my stuff on YouTube. I know how precious time is, and I want to thank them for watching," the guy who almost died says.
 He tours too, he just wrapped up a NYC, Philadelphia, Hamden CT and Cleveland tour, and according to his facebook posts, sold every show out. He says people travel from all over to see him, after following him on YouTube.
 Playlist Live is next. Then, who knows. Perhaps a mall tour? I asked him if he knew who Tiffany was. He said "I would love to hang out with Tiffany. She still looks good."

Plug it in people...and enjoy the musical ride. xoxo