|
Updated 12-2011 ((Make sure to click your "refresh" button so you can get the latest news))
December 2011: James has just finished a 3 song demo that he would like to share with his fans, free of charge. We will start posting the songs this months, so make sure you check back if they are not all up. These songs are complete (no samples) and they will be up here for an unspecified amount of time. The demo includes music from the mucical "Fanny", "Boy From OZ", and a song called "Al Di La" in Italian (you won't want to miss this one!).
James got resolution on the Marriott dispute. Marriott Corporate finally got involved and looked into the matter. Once they did, they found out that there was not sufficient record keeping to the Marriott protocol and he was immediately informed by them that the smoking charges were reversed.
November 2011: This website went dark for one day in November after James' BLOG about Marriott Hotel blasted out the server. Over 100K hits!!! Way to go everyone! We thank you for your emails and messages of support here and his twitter "James_Anest" He invites you to continue to follow this saga of white collar crime against the consumer on his BLOG, TWITTER, and his Facebook Fan Page!
November 2011: James recently posted about a Courtyard Marriott Hotel in San Diego that decided he needed to part with 280 dollars, so they charged him that amount for "smoking in his hotel room". James doesn't smoke. Check out this incredible story of white collar crime on his blog. www.jamesanest.com/blog
November 2011: Just finished recording a demo of a few songs and has been performing in several private engagements in Seattle, San Diego, Calgary, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara.
October 2011: James has been in Luzern, Switzerland performing with Entree Entertainment's Singing Waiters for two weeks. Photos and Video has been posted on his Facebook Fan Page. ...Once he returns, he will be back in the studio for more recording.
May 2011: Get James' first Ring Tone download-FREE. "Lead Me Lord" from his first CD entitled "Calvary Street" is now available as a free ring tone. RIGHT Click HERE and click "save link as" and then download it where you can find it. Once you download it, import it into your iTunes and then upload it with your phone host program. This particular ringtone is in .mp3 format and should work on most "newer" phones. Blackberry, etc. ENJOY!
March 2011: James recently returned from a successful concert in the country of Belize, singing for the opening of a new theater with partial proceeds donated to a local Women's Shelter.
Happy New Year Everyone! Hoping we all have a safe and prosperous 2011!!
Shout out to Theater Director, Janet Miller! A 2010 Ovation Award Nominee, Janet was recently interviewed by the LA STAGE TIMES about her nomination. She was kind enough to name James as one of the "Must See Actors in Los Angeles" -- Click HERE for the complete article.
James has a BLOG. Click on the hyperlink or copy and paste www.jamesanest.com/blog into your browser. For those of you who have not yet sent James an email to get your free Mp3 of George Gershwin's "Embraceable You", please see his BLOG for details or send him an email at jamesanest@live.com with "Embraceable" in the subject line.
DATE UPDATED: James' Los Angeles CABARET debut at Sterling's Upstairs (Vitello's in North Hollywood) has been posponed due to conflicting projects. Please check back for updated information regarding the new date. Currently, the creative staff will include: Pianist/Arranger James Lent; Acclaimed Director Janet Miller (Marvelous Wonderettes, etc etc...); Writer and Music Advisor: Henri Campo, and Video: Vier Moreno. This all new show will include music by Kern, Previn, Sondheim, Loesser, Legrand, Bacharach, and many others.
James recently performed the principal role of KING ODIN in an elaborate staged reading of "The Invincible Breed", produced by Spellbound Pictures (Pamela and Mark McClafferty) in Hollywood. The production included many top musical talent with music written by the legenendary Bassist, Stanley Clarke.
James is now on TWITTER and FACEBOOK (see the "Links" Page). Look him up, TWITTER: "James_Anest" and FB "James Anest".
7-2010: ASTARTE, the famous acid rock multimedia ballet produced and performed by the Joffrey Ballet (Music by Acid Rock Group, Chrome Circus) in 1968 is currently being made into a documentary by Director, Charles Kiselyak. James has been attached to this project from its inception and will soon be in production. James is slated to perform 2 French Arias for the work. A screening is planned at Lincoln Center in NYC the end of 2010. More information to be posted as it becomes available.
James has been working hard these past few months on his upcoming follow up to his first recording "Calvary Street". The yet to be titled EP promises to be his most diverse recording to date. Attached to the project is Ron Pedley (CoProducer) and Michael Annas Allaf, Musician and Engineer. Please check back for more more information (as well as a sneak listen) and an official release date.
New video of James as "Franz" in Mel Brook's "The Producers". Go to the "Media Page" and scroll down to "Producers".
11-14-2008: Performance for Sarah Palin in Anchorage, Alaska: As a surprise engagement, James entertained all of the living present and past Governors of Alaska in Anchorage, singing Broadway and Opera. Among the distinguised, current Governor and former VP hopeful Sarah Palin and 7 former Governors. This began the year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Statehood.
This Summer 2008, James performed as a special guest at the Centennial Celebration for St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Omaha, NE.
Distinguished guests included Academy Award Winner Alexander Payne as M.C., Acclaimed Author Nicholas Gage, His Emminence, Metropolitan Isiah of Denver, His Emminence, Archbishop Demitrios of America.
Please go to the "Gallery Page" for photos from this fabulous event.
For our European Visitors: New T-Shirts are now available through Anteater Recordings. Anteater is a premiere High Fidelity Recording Label that specializes in hard to find recordings. Check out the Anteater Store on the "Buy Page" or see the link here - The Anteater Store (T-Shirts and more)
Note: Not available in North America as of yet...Shipping of these shirts are to Japan, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece and other European Countries. Please see the website for a complete list. We hope to expand this soon. Thanks!
To return to James' Website while in the TShirt Store , just hit the "back arrow" on your browser.
James had the distinct privelge to sing "So In Love" from the Musical "Kiss Me Kate" to Patricia Morrison at the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Banquet in Palm Springs for the Desert AIDS Project. Ms. Morrison introduced the song on Broadway opposite Alfred Drake in 1948 and is on the original cast recording of the show. Other attendees included America Ferrera from "Ugly Betty", Judith Light and Betty White.
9-6-07: LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, the famous operatic tenor died this morning. He lost his fight with pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.
For those of you who don?t know who Maestro Pavarotti is, let me tell you. He simply was one of the best singers this world has EVER known.
Last night I could not sleep...bleary-eyed, I flipped on my computer to do a little work, and saw the sad news. I felt a loss. Not only because I?ve spent the better part of my adult life studying, singing, and appreciating opera, but more, knowing that most of the world would not even know who this great was, if it weren?t for the ?Three Tenor? phenomenon that began in the Mid 90?s. Digressing, I think about that first Three Tenor CD, listening to Pavarotti singing ?Nessun Dorma? with a sound that, to this day, still gives me chills (and honestly, that hardly EVER happens). I then have to chuckle a bit when I think about that same CD, with Domingo, Carreras and ?Pav? singing the English Medleys?OK?that was pretty silly. ?Toooonaaaeeet tooonaaaaeet, eeeet aaahhhhlll beeegahhhhhn toooonaaaeeeet??, and so on. Even that, a real schooling in how to sing vowel to vowel.
I also bring up the ?Tonight? example because Luciano enjoyed working with musicians of other genres. He wanted to not only ?have fun?, but also understood the 3 Tenor phenomenon for what it was. Using his new-found popularity, he proceeded to bring opera to millions of otherwise uninterested listeners through Sting, Zuccero and Bryan Adams, to name a few.
After I saw the news on my computer this morning, I didn?t really feel like doing any work so, I went back to bed. I have awaken now to write you these thoughts-a first time author of such thoughts on this website.
I close by saying a few things to consider?
?Elevate mediocrity long enough and it will soon become the norm?.
This version of an old saying comes to me often. But here I feel it?s most applicable.
Pavarotti was not the ?norm?. He was even an anomaly in his ?hay day?. And in his time there were dozens of fantastic singers. Of all genres. A time when microphones, sound boards, sound engineers, looping, auto tune, digital enhancement, vocal doubling, and yes, even lip sync-ing (it?s not just for Milly Vanilli AND It?s still a common practice used today by several major live pop artists. Especially those that sing a lot while dancing. Now you know).
Thanks for media, the mediocre has arrived folks. We are being told what to like. Just think about all those movie ads. ?Best of the year?, ?a must see??Nauseating. It permeates throughout our lives. Art, in most regards, has been censored and dumbed-down to the point that most of it has absolutely no meaning. Even the ?news? we get has been so watered down, spun and slanted that it?s not the news anymore. It?s a video tabloid.
So here we are. What do we do? Well we have choices. We can flip the switch. Scratch the surface and see what lies below. How about starting with ?Nessun Dorma? by Luciano Pavarotti. Here?s a link I found on the web. Download it. Sandwich it into your iPod or wherever you play your music. Scroll lower to see the English Translation of that Puccini Classic. Copy and paste the translation if you like.
I?ll drink one for you tonight Pav.
James
NESSUN DORMA from the opera Turandot by Puccini:
None must sleep! None must sleep!
And you, too, Princess,
in your cold room,
gaze at the stars which tremble with love
and hope!
But my mystery is locked within me,
no-one shall know my name!
No, no, I shall say it as my mouth
meets yours when the dawn is breaking!
And my kiss will break the silence
which makes you mine!
(No-one shall know his name,
and we, alas, shall die!)
Vanish, o night!
Fade, stars!
At dawn I shall win!
News
James most recently shot a commercial for Cellular South. He'll be seen fly fishing-a skill he learning fising in the streams of Nebraska.
Jon Naples, composer of James' latest recording "My November Guest", has been in deep rewrites for his musical stage adaptation of "The Glass Mountain". James is slated to perform the lead role of "Richard" at the next reading. Check back for more information on this front.
My November Guest is now in full distribution. The latest to carry the album is payplay.fm Payplay is an up and coming site which features unrestricted mp3 downloads which can be played on ANY mp3 player. And the prices seem to be very competitive. See the "links" page for the direct links to James' music. You can also buy it on this site.
Pat Dannatt of the North Platte Telegraph wrote a great article about James and My November Guest. Please look under the "Gallery" tab and then under the "Promotional" strip. There you will find that article and others.
Amoeba Music in Hollywood,CA & Berkeley, CA now carry "My November Guest" and "Calvary Street". For more information on location, etc. Call 323-245-6400 (Hollywood) or 510-549-1125 (Berkeley).
|
