LGBTQ news and entertainment
Matt Zarley continues his “UnCOVERED” series of videos with the very recent “Up” by Olly Murs & Demi Lovato.
Zarley is joined by the gorgeous and uber-talented Haviland Stillwell, who joined him previously on his cover of the Oscar winning “Falling Slowly.”
Fun video. You can see the two have great chemistry and have no problem clowning into each other’s space 🙂
Award-winning singer/songwriter Matt Zarley continues his UnCOVERED series of cover songs with the Tony Rich hit “Nobody Knows” from 1996.
From Zarley: “This song reminds me of why I love 90s music so much. I used to play the original Tony Rich Project version incessantly.”
You can find Matt Zarley on iTunes here.
Second in out singer/songwriter Matt Zarley’s “UnCOVERED” series, he takes on Whitney Houston’s last single – “I Look To You” from her album of the same name.
I’m a huge Whitney fan, and loved this song written specifically for Whitney by R Kelly. But while the recording was good, it didn’t soar the way you wanted it to.
The album was meant to be a kind of “comeback” for Whitney to show she still had it, but while the voice was still quite the gift it clearly showed wear and tear by years of abuse.
I remember Whitney appearing on Good Morning America to celebrate the album release, and she performed this song. For the first verse, the cameras were close up on Whitney as she sang live, but once the song got going it was clear the recording’s vocal was dropped in and the cameras switched to long shots to help hide the lip sync. I think she just wasn’t able to handle the song live by that point.
I think the song finds it’s “destiny” in Zarley’s cover here. It builds and takes off the way you really want it to.
This is a lovely tribute to Whitney.
Award-winning out singer/songwriter Matt Zarley launches a new series of cover songs titled “UnCOVERED.”
Zarley takes requests for songs to strip down and focus the attention on the lyric and melody. Plus, he shares some little known facts about the song being covered.
First up, Sam Smith’s mega-hit “Stay With Me.” About the recording, Zarley admits he had some trepidation:
“I didn’t wanna touch this song because I wasn’t sure what I could contribute…since Sam Smith’s original is pretty flawless.
But this was the most requested tune for this series so it felt obvious.”
Out indie artists Tom Goss, Jeb Havens, Dennis Hensley and Matt Zarley unite (kinda like the Avengers, but not…) to bring you this cover of John Meyer’s “St. Patrick’s Day.”
Favorite shot has to be Tom Goss shirtless in the middle of this wintry tune.
I’m a fan of all four, so follow them on their respective YouTube channels:
Award-winning singer/songwriter Matt Zarley releases this acoustic version of his song “Somebody For Everybody” with guest vocals by the fab Shoshana Bean and uber-talented Jeb Havens.
The song began as a uptempo/dance track early in the genesis of Zarley’s hopefulROMANTIC project. But once done, he decided he wanted the tune to have a more subtle setting.
Three terrific musicians here, kids.
“There’s somebody for everybody, you’ve just gotta believe…”
Happy Valentine’s Weekend!
After a successful crowdfunding campaign, a concept that went from music album to musical short film, plus film festival awards, Matt Zarley’s new album hopefulROMANTIC is finally available.
hopefulROMANTIC is a universal story about loving, letting go, and holding onto faith that
there’s somebody for everybody.
And it’s not only a new album – it’s two! Zarley has released a “pop versions” CD of the songs that comprise his award-winning short film of the same name, and a movie soundtrack with the film versions of the songs.
Check out the new albums on iTunes and Amazon.
And check out his latest music video (taken from the film) featuring the iconic George Takei in his role as “George O’Mei” who helps Zarley’s character find renewed hope on his journey to romance.
Plus – check out part of my interview with George Takei from the red carpet at the LA preview of hopefulROMANTIC:
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OUTmusic Award winner Matt Zarley covers Avalon’s “Don’t Save It All For Christmas Day.”
From Matt:
This is one of my favorite modern holiday classics. If you’re not familiar with the tune, check out the original by Avalon. It’s unbelievable.
Celine Dion and Clay Aiken also offer up their beautiful renditions of this sweet holiday tune.
Hope u enjoy!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Matt offers the track as a free holiday download.
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| From L to R: Brad Takei, George Takei, Matt Zarley and Benjamin Pollack |
This weekend I was invited to attend the first screening of the new musical short film hopefulROMANTIC by award-winning out singer/songwriter Matt Zarley.
Starring Zarley – along with Chuck Saculla, Jolie Jenkins and the uber-wise & wonderful George Takei – the film is a universal story about loving, letting go, and holding onto faith that there’s somebody for everybody. The film is practically dialogue-free with the narrative articulated solely through Matt Zarley and Emmy & Grammy award-winning Andy Zulla’s soulful pop score.
After the film, I moderated a Q&A with the creative team including Zarley, Takei, Saculla plus director Benjamin Pollack and director of photography Chris Ekstein.
I also conducted interviews on the “orange carpet” before the screening where I kept my inner “fan boy” in check as I interviewed openly gay TV legend (and internet wiseman) George Takei – who is EVERYTHING you want him to be and more. Serious honor.
Also in attendance were tons of favorites from the LGBT entertainment world including singer/songwriters Tom Goss and Jeb Havens, Haviland Stillwell of the upcoming Magic Mike XXL, recording artist and Broadway fave Shoshana Bean (who contributes vocals to the soundtrack), “Fashion Police” writer Dennis Hensley and many more.
About hopefulROMANTIC from Matt Zarley:
“When I first started writing the music for this, I was deeply in love. The original plan was to write a simple little EP of love songs. I was so happy and I wanted everyone to know it.
“A few weeks into the process, my relationship ended abruptly without warning. I was devastated. It was hard for me to access a lot of positive loving feelings at the time. Out of that temporary writer’s block, I wrote ‘Constantly’. As I was finishing that song, I began to rethink my project. What was originally gonna be a 5 song EP of love songs suddenly took a turn.
“I had decided to construct a narrative… a journey with music being the guide. Having had an extensive background in Broadway and musical theatre, it seemed natural to finally merge my two worlds together. Much of what I was writing about was also what I was experiencing in real life. Thru this creative journey, I began to heal myself.
“In the end, my faith and belief that there’s someone out there for all of us was restored. Holding onto the eternal cliche that ‘everything happens for a reason’ couldn’t hold more truth for me now.
“I’m convinced that had I not loved as deeply as I did and had I not been so devastated, this project surely wouldn’t have happened. For that, I’m thankful for my once broken heart.”
If the Sunday night audience is any indication, the future looks bright for hopefulROMANTIC. The crowd was clearly with the filmmakers from the opening notes of the driving “I Just Knew,” to the quietly heartfelt “Let Me Let Go,” to the sweeping emotional release of “Hopeful.” As the film credits rolled, the entire audience stood with applause and approval.
Matt is currently submitting the musical short film to film festivals now. Check out the trailer for the film below, along with pics from the evening.
All photos by Nina Prommer unless otherwise noted.
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| George Takei and Matt Zarley at the premiere of “hopefulROMANTIC” |
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| Cast members Chuck Saculla, George Takei and Matt Zarley with director Benjamin Pollack (hat) |
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| Recording artist and Broadway favorite Shoshana Bean with Matt Zarley |
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| From Broadway and the upcoming “Magic Mike XXL” – Haviland Stillwell |
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| Hottie singer/songwriter Jeb Havens with Matt Zarley Havens co-wrote one of the songs featured in hopefulROMANTIC with Zarley |
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| Matt Zarley beams on the “orange carpet” at the premiere of his short musical film hopefulROMANTIC |
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| Music hotness in the house! Singer/songwriters Tom Goss (L) and Jeb Havens (L) on the carpet |
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| Interviewing Matt Zarley on the “orange carpet” of hopefulROMANTIC |
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| Interviewing TV legend George Takei (photo: Michael Caprio) |
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| Moderating Q&A after the screening of hopefulROMANTIC |
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| I finally met super-talented singer/songwriter Tom Goss! (photo: Michael Caprio) |
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| With Jeb Havens on the “orange carpet” I’m a huge fan of the singer/songwriter (and hottie) whose video cover of “Fast Car” went wildly viral recently |
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| Hubby Michael and I on the “orange carpet” |
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| Hiding my inner fanboy as I chat with legend and LGBT hero George Takei (photo: Michael Caprio) |
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| With Matt Zarley at the end of the night |
The second music video preview of Matt Zarley’s upcoming musical short film, hopefulROMANTIC.
From Matt:
hopefulROMANTIC is a universal story about loving, letting go, and holding onto faith there is somebody for everybody.
The practically dialogue free narrative is articulated solely thru Matt Zarley & Andy Zulla’s soulful pop score.
Zarley co-stars w/ George Takei, Chuck Saculla, & Jolie Jenkins.
Directed by Benjamin Pollack.