Grobanite reports

Well, another year of chocolate and flowers and jewelry. What a waste ( except the chocolate) …….unless the jewelry is good…lol
If you are looking for a different gift for your Valentine, Hallmark is featuring a new Josh CD, made just for Valentine’s day. You might have seen the commercial on TV. It’s one of  the nicest ads on TV right now. Josh sings one of the new songs from the CD.  Add a bouquet or a heart filled with chocolate, and…..wala….perfect gift, and not too expensive.

Josh’s tour starts soon, the 17th. in Verona, NY. I would so love to be there, but the cost is too much. I’ll have to wait til he gets to Philly. I’m getting all jones up too see him again since all the apperances he’s made last week. Today Show, Conan OBrian, The View, Charlie Rose…..Now he’s in England at the Mermaid Theater. Then back to the US to start the tour. I hope he can get through all the snow. Now there’s a thought…..tickets to a Josh concert…..screw the jewelry! Now that’s a happy Valentine!

It’s here.  Winter has finally arrived.  It’s cold…..in the teens. We have had snow flurries on and off all day. Nothing that sticks, but nice.  I’m so glad the ground has frozen, NO MORE MUD ! YEA!!  The dog’s feet are not wet anymore. Maybe I’ll be able to dust and not have the house look like I haven’t touched in weeks.

There’s a commercial for Josh’s Hallmark CD. It’s 6 older songs with 2 brand new ones. He is in a bar singing, and sounds so mellow…..and the bartender and waitress are lovestruck.  It’s a cute commercial, and JOSH is in it!

Just a few more weeks til the tour starts……can’t wait to see him again.

The holidays are over, the tree is down, the decorations put away, the gifts integrated with the rest of the house, gifts returned or exchanged. The food is gone…..whew.   NOW WHAT?

We wait for the bad weather, snow , ice , sleet, cold. In the northeast, it’s in the 40’s…..no snow anytime soon. We do have rain,and ugly days. I miss the sun. Florida?

If you are a football fan, there are the playoffs, and then the SUPERBOWL Another  party! And in a couple of weeks, there is Valentine’s day….and then…….JOSH CONCERT TOUR STARTS !

The tour is in the USA until then end of April. Then he heads off to Europe. He’ll be back for the summer……but there is no schedule available yet. I get to see him only twice.  Maybe I’ll manage another concert in the summer.

Get your tickets as soon as possible, the venues will be sold out soon.

Ok, the big day is over, but not forgotten. I got to see Josh sing on GMA on Christmas morning. He sang “I’ll be home for Christmas” and did a great job. I was there!  when they recorded the clip.

My brother gave me a magazine called “Blender” it’s a music magazine. There is an interview with Josh about different stuff. Like, does he swear? Yep, creatively too. Does he get  booty calls? He gets booty texts…LOL…..2 of them. He is so funny and sarcastic. I love his sense of fun and humor.    Of course there are people with a broomhandle stuffed up their asses, who think that was just awful, and how disappointed they are in him…….DUH…….he’s a 25 year old GUY. Some people put him up on this skyscraper high pedestal. And when he steps off of it, they are so disappointed. Goofs. They just don’t get HIM…they get his music…..but not the man.

OK, it’s almost Christmas. Josh’s CD would make a great last minute gift for just about anybody. There is something for eveyone on the CD. Tickets to a concert would be a great stocking stuffer…..if you can afford it or find available tickets. Most venues are almost sold out, or there are only nosebleed seats left.

I’m going to two concerts….Philly and DC. I’d love to go to the first one, in Verona ,NY. That should be a great experience. By the time I get to see him, all the wrinkles will be ironed out, and things should be flowing smoothly. I’d love to see him that first night. He’ll be nervous, but excited. Anything can happen. It will sort of set the tone for the whole tour.  But due to financial considerations….like I need a new furnace….prevent me from going. *sigh*

Well, he is on a promotional tour now. Globe hopping from NYC to LA to England, to Norway to Chicago.  He will appear on Oprah on Monday Dec. 11. I can’t wait to hear him perform “So She Dances” It’s a wonderful song….a real grabber. The whole CD is awesome. I love all the songs……my favorite ?  it’s the one I’m listening to at the moment.  Of course I have the internet edition, it has 16 songs on it. ( plus the great DVD on the making of the CD) This CD is so Josh….so eclectic…and the strength and range and purity of his voice…….oh my……I listen to the CD every night as I go to sleep. I rarely hear the third song…..I fall asleep so fast with his voice in my head. He’s better than any other sleep aid.

Ok, After Josh was whisked away by the ’suits’ , we were getting ready to leave, and I spotted his water bottle by the piano leg. I asked one of the stage crew if I could have it, and he gave it to me. So, I now have Josh’s DNA and fingerprints. LOL

We left the studio , in the pouring rain, and grabbed a cab. We went to Barnes and Noble to get another CD and a wristband. We needed a wristband to get in for the signing that evening. We met a Warner Brothers rep at the store and she said that he will be putting out a Christmas CD next year…..for sure……well, we will see…..

We left the bookstore, and grabbed another cab, after getting soaked again. We went back to the hotel and moved me and my room mate to our new room. My room mate was not there, since she had been hit by a taxi the day before, and was in the hospital. She was released that afternoon. Unfortunatly she was unable to go to the signing…..what a bummer. That evening, off I went back to the bookstore, and found my friends. We waited inline for about an hour and a half. I got a security guard to get me a chair, so I didn’t fall over. We just stayed in one place all that time, then moved all at once. The signing was so very well organized. They filled a room of chairs, and when the room was almost empty, they let a bunch of people in. We lined up, row by row to see Josh. We were only allowed 2 AWAKE CD covers to be signed. No other item was allowed. They were trying to move things along….hury us up. But Josh wasn ‘t having that. He took his time with each person. He had something to say to everyone. Some , like me, he recognized from seeing them many times before, and he acknowleged us. Everyone felt that they were alone in the room with him during their 10 seconds with him. He has that charisma. He pays attention to you. He focuses on you. It’s amazing.

I went back to the hotel, and grabbed a bite to eat for me and my room mate. We chatted a little while and went to sleep.

The next day, I packed up and off I went to the train station…..to an uneventful ride home. I had to drive my room mate’s car, cause she had to stay behind and take a train straight home. She was unable to drive, and lived 8 hours away from me. Her car stayed in my driveway for a week, and then she and her friend came and drove it home.

All in all I had a great time. I love to visit NYC, but I could never live there.

We went to NYC to see Josh perform on good Morning America. He was also to appear on Reigs and Kelly. We went to Virgin Records Mega Store at midnight on Monday, to buy the new CD. ( we would need one for him to sign on Wed. am.) it was great to see old friends and listen to his CD at midnight. Virgin Records has an incredible speaker system…..you have to hear it to believe it……talk about surround sound….

Tuesday was a day of rest for me. We also listened to the CD a few times, and watched the accompanying DVD a couple of times…..Josh is such a natural clown. His humor is fast, like Robin Williams. I love it. My roomates did their own thing, and I watched TV. There were 4 of us sharing a suite. We had a full kitchen….big fridge, sink oven, stove, microwave, and coffee maker. Also there was cutlery and dishes and pots. There were 2 bedrooms and a sofabed. I love staying there….it’s in the center of everything,,,,,within walking distance from all the cool places on Broadway.

Wed, dawned rainy…..we were at GMA before the crack of dawn…..it was still dark. We waited outside the window, to get a number. We had tickets, thank goodnes. I was getting so tired standing , I finally gave it up and asked if there was anywhere I could sit. The producer who was checking us in, let me go in and sit on the ledge by the windows. I had a great view of the sound check, and even got some nice video. I also got a wave from Josh, and one of the band members. Josh’s manager and vocal coach also come over and said HI. They apparently recognize my face, from all the other times I have seen Josh. He was in great voice that morning…even though he usually sleeps in til 11 (and that is Pacific time) He sang You Are Loved ( Don’t Give Up) and one of the songs her wrote….February Song…and he plays the piano on the track. Then, as the crew broke down the set , and reset it for a Christmas song, Josh entertained us…..he was so funny….had us all laughing. Then just after doing one of his impressions, he was laughing, and then just that quick, he had to sing the Christmas song. He sang I’ll Be Home For Christmas for the soldiers overseas. I think it will be available on the net too. It was beautiful. We have been assured that he will be putting out a Christmas CD next year…..I sure hope he does.

Ok, Nichole has asked me to blog….so, I will.

I’ll be writing about Josh Groban, and my experiences as a Grobanite…..nothing too personal will be found here.

Josh Groban, for any who don’t know, is a young man with a huge, wonderful voice. He sings with such emotion and skill, it can make you cry. His music and voice either touch your heart and soul, or you just think he has a good voice. You either get it or you don’t. Some critics say he sings opera, he does not. He has a classically trained voice. He is a baritone, but he has only sung one opera like song in public. That was on the Rosie O’Donnell show. He sang ‘Matinata’

The last couple of years he has worked with his vocal coach and increased his range. He now can sing with a pure, clear falsetto. Very effective……

He is about to launch a 2 year tour, his second one. His third CD has just been released, joining his 14 million sold from his first 2 CDs. He is an internationally know star, and will be in Europe and Asia, and S. Africa on the next leg of this journey. His fan base has increased from older women ( not teens) to college and teens too. The spectrum of age goes from 5-6 year olds to great grannies. He touches is all in different ways. I just read on the boards about a young woman who has a lot of bad stuff going on in her life now, and was thinking about suicide. The lyrics to “You Are Loved (don’t give up)” gave her the courage and will to continue, and see her life go on.

I have spent a total of 4 hours trying to acquire tickets to the 2 concerts I will be able to attend. Spent $100 each! But it is worth it to me…….I just have to see him again in concert. His last tour, 2 years ago, I went to 12 concerts. Flew to Florida and California to see him. It was so worth it. Josh has gotten me up and out, traveling all over,….meeting new people. The grobanites are a great group of people. They help each other and the rest of the world too, through Josh’s charity foundation. Josh and his management appreciate us. They try to accomadate us as much as possible.

More to come……….