Monthly Archives: July 2010

Jul28

BLOG: Inspired.

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BLOG: Inspired.

It’s 2:54am.  I felt the need to write a quick blog to tell you how much I am getting into the sequel of “Dream Catchers” now!  I’ll admit it was a slow start.  The thing I hate about sequels and why I don’t usually plan to write them is because of the pressure.  Everyone who has read “Dream Catchers” are in love with Jordan and Haley.  Heck, I’m in love with Jordan and Haley–which is why I even considered writing a sequel.  I wanted to explore their characters more.  But I don’t want to ruin them or what I created in the first book.  So with that fear, it was hindering the flow for me a bit–I was cautiously taking the first few steps.  Now, things are moving along!  I have over 18, 000 words written.

I’m hoping to promote “Dream Catchers” more while I write the sequel.  So if you enjoyed the book, please pass it onto a friend or send them the link to purchase it.  I need to spread the word!  Also, if you could pass around links to my Twitter page and Tortured’s Twitter page as well, that would be great!

www.twitter.com/authorsandylo
www.twitter.com/torturedband

I would love to hear from you guys on here…please post a comment!  Thanks! :)

Hugs, Kisses & Stars,

Sandy Lo

Jul24

BLOG: Change is the only thing that's Constant.

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BLOG: Change is the only thing that's Constant.

Hey guys!  I figured you don’t always get an insight inside of my life aside from my status posts on Facebook and Twitter.  I want to start blogging more regularly, this way I can update you on my progress with my novels and you have something to read from me in between.  Here it goes…

With every year that passes, I find myself evoking change.  As a child, I had no say in anything.  I was the youngest of four.  My parents were both close-minded.  I was taught to think everything was “weird” or “crazy”.  I wanted to change it all.  I wanted to change who my father was.  I wanted to change how my mother felt about him.  I wanted to change the fact that my siblings were older and moving on from childhood, because I thought they were moving on from me as well.  I suppose this need and want for change is why I’m so accepting of it now.  In fact, I welcome change while my siblings fear it.

Change is inevitable, though.  Why not embrace it?

The things I have strived for in life are things that were somewhat frowned upon in my family.  My parents wanted me to be practical.  I was never practical.  I always dreamed big.  My mother, God love her, used to call me a modern day hippie.  I’ve always been a free spirit who loved the differences in people and kept an open-mind.

When I began my own magazine at eighteen, it was something no one took seriously.  It was only when I took my dad with me to interview Jessica Simpson, that he realized I was actually doing something productive.  My mother didn’t need me to take her on any interviews to realize how big of a deal it was when I presented the Backstreet Boys an award.  And all I had to say to my brother was, a million people read StarShine Magazine.  Still, one thing mattered to everyone and still matters to them this day…money.

I realize money is a necessity.  So is happiness, though.  Writing and meeting interesting creative talent makes me happy, with or without compensation for it.  One day, I hope to make a living off my books.  I also want to keep working in the entertainment industry.  Maybe not as the editor of StarShine Magazine, but maybe as a publicist or working in some other realm of the industry.

To invoke change, you have to make change.

In 2011, I am making the biggest change of my life.  I’m moving to Nashville, Tennessee.  Why?  There’s not one particularly grand reason, like I have relatives there or friends.  There’s little small, possibly insignificant-sounding reasons.  Like when I was 10-years-old, I saw a movie called “The Thing Called Love” that was about a songwriter from New York who moved to Nashville to make it big.  Or how about the fact that Nasville IS “Music City”?  Maybe because my next novel takes place in Tennessee and I want to see what it’s like to live in the south.  Maybe I want to move out there because I’m tired of New York.  Or maybe because I want to live in a completely new, unknown place and make a life for myself all on my own.  All of these reasons are why I want to move to Nashville.  I could probably find a bunch more, too.

With that change set in motion, I’ve decided I need to re-evaluate my time management.  Juggling a full-time job, a magazine, and writing novels is tough.  Not to mention, trying to get an agent, promoting those novels and finding time for family, friends and sleep–I’m wiped out.  Something has to give.  So, not being able to part with any of those things–I’m condensing them.  I’ve been running StarShine Magazine for 9 years.  That’s a long time.  Without much of a staff, I’m doing just about everything, and it’s exhausting.  Especially when every once in a while, your website gets hacked into or the webmaster decides to stop doing it.  I’ve been through a lot with it.  Plus, I manage 3 Twitter accounts, 3 Facebook pages and 2 MySpace pages.

So, gradually, StarShine will be a section on this website: www.sandy-lo.com.  I will still interview celebrities when I can and post about new music, movies, etc.  But it can no longer be the chunk of my life it once was.  Writing novels has been part of me for longer and has been dying to make its way into the forefront of my life.

I just hope the StarShine readers and artists will understand and support me in my writing career.  I hope you guys will still check out the site and see what I’m up to–I’m sure in Nashville I’ll be interviewing some awesome country stars!

Change is difficult, I know.  Believe me, it took a lot to make this decision.  However, with the decision made, I’m excited for the future and all the doors this will open.

Hugs, Kisses & Stars,

Sandy Lo

Jul20

StarShine Interviews our Artist to Watch MATISSE!

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StarShine Interviews our Artist to Watch MATISSE!

StarShine was able to get some one-on-one time with our 2010 Artist to Watch, Matisse, a couple of weeks ago to find out more about this new Jive recording artist.  Not only has this girl got the look and the sound, but she’s got the personality to boot!  Matisse is easy to talk to and as sweet as can be.

After our interview, she invited us to check out her show at Mega Jam in Medford, NY the weekend after.  Matisse performed like a seasoned pro and had the crowd singing and dancing along in the blistering heat to her single “Better Than Her”.

Now, enough of us rambling on how wonderful she is–find out for yourself in our interview with Matisse!

Sandy Lo (StarShine Magazine): We’ve been introducing you to StarShine readers, but for people who don’t know who you are…In your own words, what would you say sums you up best?

Matisse: Wow, there’s a lot. [laughs] This might take a while. I’ve basically been singing my whole life. I’ve spent half my life in Connecticut and half my life in London. I have a twin sister who I sang with up until two years ago. I come from a very musical family. My father was in bands and as we got older we would go to the pubs and weddings and sing with him. Ever since I’ve been 4-years-old, this is what I’ve known. I can’t see myself doing anything else. So we started writing over in the UK and we finished high school there. We decided we weren’t getting enough of the American sound that we wanted and we moved down to Atlanta where I spent three years working with people like Dallas Austin who discovered TLC and worked with Madonna. And then Tricky Stewart who did “Single Ladies” [by Beyonce]. We had a song on the Step Up 2 soundtrack after signing with Interscope Records in L.A. And we’re over in the UK promoting that, did a video for it, touring, and my sister decides that she doesn’t want to do it anymore. She wants to leave the group and go back to school. She was inspired by Obama and wanted to get an education. [laughs] So I was left on my own, which has actually been the best thing. Things have just fallen into place. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s been good. I actually worked with the same people on this album—Dallas Austin, Tricky Stewart, Ne-Yo. My sound is pop/R&B basically, but my first single “Better Than Her” has a little bit of a dance element, which is kinda strange…

SS: That was written by Kevin Rudolf, right?

Matisse: Yup, mm-hmm. So yeah, now I’m just out there—finally out of the studio. I’m finally doing it after all of these years.

SS: Who are some of your inspirations?

Matisse: Definitely Madonna, Blondie, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Bonnie Rait, Michael Jackson, Prince, Tina Turner—you know, the big ones!

SS: Now where do you see your music fitting in amongst those inspirations?

Matisse: I don’t know—I always say I listen to so many different genres and I think everybody—this generation—does, with i-Pods and everything. So I feel like I have a fusion of everything. I loved Aerosmith and Bon Jovi as a kid and actually even Michael Jackson—with electric guitars—I try to incorporate that into my music. It’s definitely melodic. I feel R&B music the most out of everything. But I don’t know—it’s hard to compare myself to other people out there. I’m just doing music that I feel and trying to stay in my own lane and not compare myself to others.

SS: Have you written any of your own songs yet?

Matisse: I have—with my sister, we wrote everything together. Then when she left, I had never written by myself—we were always a team. The A&R person I was working with had worked with Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson, so his style was to give songs and I definitely wanted to be a part of it. So it’s been a combination. Like Ne-Yo wrote a couple of songs, Claude Kelly…

SS: It must be cool to get songs from Ne-Yo especially.

Matisse: Definitely! My priority is good songs. If Ne-Yo wants to write me a song, I’ll take it. [laughs]

SS: When is the debut album coming out?

Matisse: Probably fall, I would say. We’re just working on this first single. Akon just got on “Better Than Her”. I thought he was going to do a little part, but it’s really become a duet. He’s got two verses, so I think that’s going to be the new single. We’re just waiting for that to be mixed. So yeah, for the album—hopefully fall.

SS: Now what are you going to be doing leading up to the release? Of course, press…

Matisse: Press. I’ve been doing a lot of shows. Really a lot of radio stuff. Just promoting the single.

SS: Has there been a moment so far in your career that you’ve said “Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening!”?

Matisse: Um…hearing my song on the radio, of course was definitely a surreal experience. I always heard artists saying “Oh my God, I heard my song on the radio!” I imagined what it would be like. I was in the car with my dad. I never listen to the radio now when I’m in New York unless I’m in the car. It was weird—I almost didn’t even react, like it didn’t seem like me or something! And then definitely having Akon on my song. I’ve loved Akon for so long. When he told me, I thought he would just say like [sings] “Akon!” [laughs] He said he wanted to be on the whole project. So hearing our two voices on the song was definitely a cool thing.

SS: Do you have a favorite song on the album so far?

Matisse: Hmm…I really like “Selfish”, which is one of the Ne-Yo songs. It’s a ballad. I like singing it the most. I’m a ballad girl. It’s a different twist. My whole objective has been to come from a strong perspective as a girl. I feel like there’s a little bit missing—especially for young girls. So even in the ballad—nothing is coming from a victim place. That was the important thing for me—to be empowering. This song—I feel it the most.

SS: Did anyone ever give you a really good piece of advice?

Matisse: I grew up with LuLu—who’s big in the UK. She’s older now. She has just kind of led by example. She’s huge and has been around for years. Everywhere she goes around Europe, everybody knows who she is, but she’s still so thoughtful. I think the key is to not believe your own hype. It’s a job and that’s what I’ve seen in her. She separates her work from her personal life. And I think to realize that we’re all the same. Just because people know you doesn’t make you any better. My sister had open heart surgery and I’d look at the surgeons and think “God, they’re doing amazing things everyday”. They’re the most humble people. They would never be “Well, I’m amazing because I just saved someone’s life”. Whereas sometimes in this business you get people with huge egos, and I think we are not the ones who should have that attitude. They should, but they don’t. So I’m certainly not going to get like that.

SS: And for my last question, if you could dedicate any song in the world to your fans, which song would you choose and why?

Matisse: Oh my God…

SS: That’s my hard-hitting question. [laughs]

Matisse: That is hard. I always loved…”Because You Loved Me”. Like your strength. My voice when I couldn’t speak. Eyes when I couldn’t see…yeah! I think that would be good! Hopefully I’ll have more who will love me as time goes on. [laughs]

Follow Matisse on Twitter: www.twitter.com/matissemusic!

Jul18

Aaron Carter Talks New Music, Michael Jackson + Struggles in New Interview

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Aaron Carter Talks New Music, Michael Jackson + Struggles in New Interview

Back in 2002, StarShine’s coverage of Aaron Carter’s Winter Party tour put our name on the map! When he was a teen, long before Bieber fever was ailing the world, girls were yelling “Oh Aaron!” After management struggles, public family feuds and many growing pains, Aaron is rising out of the ashes from child stardom and into a 22-year-old do-it-himself music artist!

Now, StarShine is here hoping to help put Aaron back on the map! With an upcoming show in New York this month, new music on the verge of dropping, and thousands of Twitter followers—it sounds like Aaron has a nice head start to reclaim his thrown as the Prince of Pop.

Sandy Lo (StarShine Magazine): Hey Aaron, how are you?

Aaron Carter: How are you?

SS: I’m good. Good to talk to ya. First off, I asked some of our readers if they wanted me to ask you anything specific. And of course, they wanted to know if you were really engaged?

AC: Actually, I am NOT engaged. So um, you know, we all go through our ups and downs and our trials and errors. Sometimes going into a relationship—you think it’s going to work and it doesn’t always turn out that way. The important thing, for me, is always to keep moving forward.

SS: Now, you’re finally coming out with new music with a more grown-up sound. What has the experience been like going from a childhood star to becoming a man in the music business?

AC: There’s definitely been a lot of limitations as a child. My parents were very strict. I had to stay on the bus by myself and my dancers had to ride in a different bus. And now that I’m older—I’m a young man—and I love women. I love seeing them there supporting me and it’s just a great feeling. At least they can see that I’m there giving my heart and soul. At the end of the day, music chose me, I didn’t choose music.

SS: When you started out, was a music career something that you truly wanted or that you felt pressured into by your parents, and because you looked up to your big brother and wanted to do it because of him?

AC: Well, exactly. Having a brother who was eight years older than me…My brother would come home from touring when I was five, six, seven and bring all these big bags and stuff like that; it would make me excited. It made me always look up to him pretty much in every way. Do you have a younger sister?

SS: I don’t. I’m the youngest.

AC: You’re the youngest. Well, as the baby—we tend to always look up to our older siblings, especially when it comes to there being three girls and two boys. It makes it difficult—there comes competition.

SS: Oh, definitely. Did you feel that your parents kind of encouraged that competitive nature in your family? I know my father always pitted us against each other.

AC: You know, I never got the inclination that they wanted us to compete, but deep down…There was always competition. 90 percent of our lives revolved around entertainment and it still does. It’s very difficult. Growing up that way, we barely got to see each other. Now as the media and the internet started coming out, it makes it even more difficult. My own family starts to speculate things and I start to speculate things and it makes it difficult to have a relationship when you always have TMZ and you’re always hearing on CNN about something else, and it’s very hard. It takes a lot out of you.

SS: How do you feel your relationship with your parents has evolved? Is it better now?

AC: Well, you know…it’s kind of like relationships. You get older…To me, there’s only certain things you can really focus on. You can focus on your family, but with me it’s a very complicated situation. We grew up with not having anything to all of a sudden becoming millionaires. Then everything changes. It’s just been very difficult.

SS: Over the past few years while you’ve been working on your music, you’ve kind of kept a low profile. Did you feel you needed that time a little bit away from the spotlight?

AC: I definitely needed some down time. I wanted the down time to figure out who I was and if music really did choose me. It seems to be the only thing that is very therapeutic to me and it’s like an unconditional love. Music, for me, treats me very unconditionally and I always find myself going back to it.

SS: I know that you and Michael Jackson were friends and I’m so sorry for your loss as well as the rest of the world’s loss. Have you taken any comfort in reflecting on your relationship with him and knowing he is now at peace?

AC: I kind of have some animosity. I knew Michael personally and we grew up very similar. His death, for some reason, made people realize, but only for a minute—that their negativity in this world is what brings everybody down. It’s a very touchy subject for me. Michael was a very timid person. The world made him timid, but he also felt he had to continue to keep himself out there and show his face because he had all of those fans. He really did love his fans. That was the only thing that kept him going—was his fans and that he wanted to make the world a better place. When he said that, he wanted to help people be more positive and be more caring and giving. It didn’t really happen. People just mourned over the fact that he died instead of realizing what he did. That’s pretty much all I have to say.

SS: Let’s talk about Dancing with the Stars. You made it pretty far and did really well. I’m an avid Dancing with the Stars fan, so… [laughs] What has that experience brought to your life?

AC: It’s brought a lot of patience. It’s brought a lot of discipline, maturity. I learned a lot from Karina [Smirnoff]. She’s an amazing teacher. At the same time, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I dealt with some very serious problems while that was going on. There was a lot of drama that a lot of people didn’t realize that I had to go through. I guess sometimes that’s the cards that you’re dealt. I was able to do the best that I can and I had a great experience on it. I even watch the show now and I’m so happy everyone has gotten so far. I kind of felt that I could have gone further and I did everything I could. I even watch back [my performances] on YouTube and I’m like man, I just don’t understand. This world has become a popularity contest and that’s not what it’s about for me. It’s about music and being a real entertainer.

SS: I’m sure Dancing with the Stars has brought a connection back to you and your fans, at least I hope. How has your connection remained with your fans over the years?

AC: That’s the one thing that’s keeping me driven. I haven’t stopped at all. I produce, I write, I do my own music and my fans have always been there for me. I have my ups and downs. I try to keep my life a lot more personal. Yes, I have issues with my family and stuff like that. But I want to be someone that shows no matter the obstacles you go through, it’s important to enjoy the life you have and be happy. Instead of dealing with stuff that’s like a circle, it’s important to get out of that circle and keep going forward, you know?

SS: Very well put! In the past, you’ve done some acting. Is that something you’ve thought about getting back into?

AC: Yeah, I mean it definitely depends. To be honest with you, I’m so in love with music that it’s all I want to do. All I want to do is show people what I’m made of and what I’ve become and what I put myself through and what I’ve been through. I don’t want a pity party because I have no regrets. If I regret anything that’s happened in my past, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have the knowledge I have today. Everything works out, to me, the way it’s supposed to.

SS: So let’s talk about your love—your music. I’m sure you have an album in the works. What can you tell us?

AC: The most important thing is I want it to be real. I want it to feel good. I want people to enjoy listening to it. I want it to bring emotion to them. I want people to realize music gets you through—it’s not always everything, but it gets you through. The opinions of my fans and seeing their comments from not just girls, but guys all over the world telling me that my music has gotten them through so much—I look at it and it’s amazing that I can inspire so many people.

SS: You know, I’ve followed your career for a while and I remember seeing you live for the first time when you were twelve…

AC: [laughs] Those were amazing times. It was like the middle of my learning experience. A lot of people don’t realize, I was performing seven years before that. It’s just my life; it chose me and I miss it so much. I’m going to get it back. I don’t mean to sound arrogant or cocky, but I’m confident. I feel like that’s the way to really achieve your goals in life. That’s a very important message that I tell a lot of people—Be confident within yourself, but still care about other people and consider yourself an equal.

SS: That’s really good advice.

AC: Thank you.

SS: When can we expect the new album to come out?

AC: You know, the business has changed. I’m waiting and still perfecting my craft. I want people to get the best of me. I want to do the best I can until it’s over. I haven’t set a complete direction for what I’m doing. Growing up in the industry having 5 albums, people expect this bubblegum stuff from me and I loved that stuff. I really did have a great time, but now, I want people to see how I’ve grown and who I really am. My album, I want to appeal to everybody. Hopefully I can get it out around 2011. That’s my year and I’ve said that about 2010, 2009, 2008, but everything happens for a reason. You just have to keep moving forward. Sometimes you’re in situations that you don’t need to be in. I’ve dealt with a lot of people. I’ve dealt with Lou Pearlman, one of the biggest crooks in the whole industry. I’ve learned and that’s why I surround myself with people who believe in me and who don’t “yes” me. I love constructive criticism from people with positive energy.

SS: You’re performing at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, New York on July 30th. What can we expect from your live show?

AC: Right now, it’s going to be a track show. It’s going to be me showing people my vocal side. I want them to see my artistic side and the writing I’ve done and the charisma and stage presence—being there for people. Right now, I’m getting back out there slowly to let people know, hey, here I am. When it comes to the big shows, we have crazy concepts and ideas. It’s going to be amazing. It just takes that effort on my part. It’s 20 percent of the effort from everyone else, but 80 percent for me. There have been times where I haven’t put it all in. But now is my time. It’s not my time for any other reason than it’s what I love to do. We have a lot of great plans coming up and some big news that I can’t talk about right now, but there’s some big stuff going on.

SS: I’m excited to hear about it—I saw you posted it on Twitter. Thanks for following us, by the way! [laughs]

AC: You’re welcome!

SS: I really look forward to seeing you at the show.

AC: I can’t wait to see you there and it’s going to be amazing. I appreciate everything you’re doing. Thank you very much!

Keep up to date on all things Aaron Carter, follow him on Twitter: www.twitter.com/aaroncarter7.

StarShine will be bringing you much more AC for you later this summer, so keep checking back right here at www.starshinemag.com and follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/starshinemag!

Jul12

Ben Bledsoe Talks Acting, Val Kilmer, Music & Natural Reunion Tour?

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Ben Bledsoe Talks Acting, Val Kilmer, Music & Natural Reunion Tour?

Ben Bledsoe is best known for being a part of the band Natural as well as for his international success with his solo album, An Insomniac’s Guide To A Lonely Heart, but now he’s also making a name for himself where he originated–acting.  With a slew of TV guest spots on hit shows like “Glee”, “The Mentalist” and “CSI”, and after filming “Riddle”, a movie with Val Kilmer, which will be released in 2011, Ben is proving he has more than just music to offer the entertainment world.  StarShine spoke to our old friend Ben recently over the phone to discuss his growing career and possibly a Natural tour…

Sandy Lo (StarShine Magazine): We haven’t done an interview in a long, long time. I think the last time was when your solo album came out.

Ben Bledsoe: Jeez, yeah, it’s been a while.

SS: So what have you been up to since then?

Ben: Well, since it came out, I actually did quite a bit of touring. Probably about two years. Throughout the states—I did a bunch of stuff with Seventeen Magazine. They had this whole Rock Your Prom Tour I did and then a bunch of Radio Disney stuff. Then I did a European tour for a couple of months and did a bunch of TV, and magazines and photo shoot stuff—the whole nine yards. Then I sort of started realizing through the whole process that part of what I really loved about the music industry was the fact that I was in a band with my best friends. And so not having that anymore—like I still love writing the music and recording it—but touring is kind of weird on your own. Even though I had a road manager and I’d meet up with friends on the road, it was strange. So I sort of realized what I wanted to get back into since I had started the band—Natural—I did acting for years before that. I had to stop acting to pursue the band and so I said, you know what, I did the solo album—which did a lot better than I expected it to.

SS: It did great!

Ben: Yeah, I was pretty happy with the outcome. I just released it on my own and apparently people cared and supported it, so it was really great. But so…I told my manager at the time I was moving to L.A. and I’m going to pursue acting. I’m still going to do music, but I’m going to focus mainly on acting. I feel it was something I left behind that was going really well. Since then, I’ve just been acting. I got an awesome manager out here and a bunch of great agents. I’ve been doing a bunch of TV. I did an episode of “House” and I worked on “Glee” and “CSI”.

SS: I saw that by the way!

Ben: It was such a little thing. I initially tested for one of the leads on “Glee” and I went in eight times for this thing. And it was down to me and Cory Monteith. I met with Ryan Murphy, the creator, a couple of times. Basically what it came down to was they were going more theatrical. So I brought in a few theatrical songs and then Cory brought in some rock & roll like song. He walked out and I was like, ‘Dude, I’d pick you right now! That was so much more interesting than whatever the heck I did—some medley of some music.’ He obviously ended up getting that role, but they wanted to get me in on the pilot in hopes of building a character. So that was that. Let’s see, what else…I did The Mentalist and I just finished filming a movie called “Riddle” with Val Kilmer. We filmed it in Pittsburgh. I was there for about a month and a half. It’s like a psychological thriller. It’s a really interesting script, so I’m curious to see how it turns out. It’s not a horror film, but it definitely has the thriller side to it. It’s this story about this girl and her brother…I’m sort of responsible for her brother going missing because of a mistake I make. So I start out being this jerk in high school and I try to be a much better guy and help her find her brother. It’s a long, long story about her brother being sort of stolen and hidden in this town that has a bunch of secrets.

SS: It sounds like a cool story…

Ben: Yeah, there’s a lot of detail to it, so I can’t give it a full amount of justice. It was awesome to work on. It was a really fun movie.

SS: Do you know when it’s supposed to come out?

Ben: I don’t know. Now what’s going on is…they have theatrical distribution, but we don’t know when they’ll be doing the release. The soonest it would probably be would be next year. They’re going to get all of the edits done by the end of this year and it would probably be out by 2011. It just depends on whether they want to release it around Halloween time since it’s a thriller or if they want to make it like a summer release. We shall see. They don’t let us know a lot of those details, so… [laughs]

SS: Yeah, you’re always left in the dark. [laughs] What was it like working with Val Kilmer?

Ben: Crazy! He is definitely a consummate professional. I didn’t realize this until afterward. I got off the set and someone was talking to me about him. He was the youngest person to ever get accepted into Juliard. Or get a scholarship—something like that. And I kind of understand why after working with him. He’s just so far beyond what is needed. He’s sort of a genius. But he was kind of crazy, to be honest with you. Between every take, he was playing pranks on us. He definitely kept it a lively set, which was fun.

SS: Is there an actor you would love to work with that you looked up to?

Ben: There’s a handful. Some of them are just our generation of great actors. I’d love to work with Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and there’s a lot of female actresses that are that same caliber. I feel like since I grew up in the TV and movie industry, not many people who wow me as far as the celebrity factor. But a few have crept through…honestly a strange one for me was Dan Castellanata, the voice of Homer Simpson. I ran into him out here and I feel like no one would even know who he was. He’s sort of an under the radar actor. For me, I was a die-hard Simpsons fan and so when I got the chance to maybe do a show with him, I got pretty excited about that. And also, because I do a lot of voiceover work out here—like commercials and animation and stuff like that. That’s another reason why I look up to a bunch of people who are much bigger in the animated world. I don’t know—I have weird taste, I guess.

SS: No, you actually appreciate the art and other aspects of the craft. So I was looking at your Wikipedia page and it says that you were in “Hairspray” and “Crybaby” on Broadway. Is that true?

Ben: No, I wasn’t. [laughs] I don’t know who updates the Wikipedia page. There’s a big casting company in New York called Chelsea Casting. They do all the major musicals. They’re awesome. So they called me for a few different things: “Crybaby” and “Hairspray”. I started out in theatre when I was younger—when I was like eleven—and so for me, I did theatre for five years. When I started getting back into theatre and auditioning for Broadway, I can honestly say it’s the only time in my life that I’ve been detrimentally nervous. I went into the casting room for “Crybaby” and John Waters, who wrote “Crybaby” and “Hairspray” was in the room. It was him staring straight at me and an army of thirty people watching me audition. I was just a train wreck! It was the worst thing I’ve ever done. You know how you hold a piece of paper and it shakes comically? That’s what I was doing. It’s funny because I don’t get nervous during TV or film auditions. I don’t get nervous on stage and I’m not a nervous person. But God, those auditions…I think me being on the thirtieth floor of a New York building auditioning for a Broadway show, I think it just shook me funky. That’s why I’m much happier being in the film and TV world where I feel more comfortable.

SS: That’s funny. So I wanted to talk about Natural a little bit. I’m sure fans of Natural are still wondering if you guys keep in touch and ever talk about something together again.

Ben: Actually, Michael, the drummer from Natural is my best friend still. He lives out here in L.A. and we see each other pretty much every day. We’re working on a few different projects together. He’s in a new band called Capra, which is signed to Hollywood Records. Their lead singer is on a Disney show, so it’s kinda delayed their release, but now the label is doing a major release, so that should be really exciting. And we’re working on a few projects together—Michael’s involved in a few TV shows that are music related, so I’m helping him write a few songs for them. Patrick lives out here as well, but I actually don’t get to talk to him that much, but I see him once in a while. And we hang out and it’s a good time. Marc and I talk. We e-mailed just the other day. He’s doing really well. He’s out in Europe right now—he still lives in Germany. He has this haunted attraction called Terenzi Horror Nights. Since it’s in Europe, they can get a little crazier. It’s at this theme park called Europa Park. They just take over the whole park for September and October and they just go crazy with it. I haven’t been yet, but I think I might go this year. And J…I actually haven’t spoken to J in a while, but I’ve heard he’s doing really well. We’re all still really good. There have been talks—a promoter had asked us a while back, but we were all doing different things at the time. I think we’re all still up to it. We might do it as a comeback tour one day just for the fun of it, but we haven’t talked too much about it. Maybe you should get that started.

SS: [laughs] You want me to get it started?

Ben: Yeah, get it started!

SS: Alright, you want me to start a rally of Natural fans and see what they say?

Ben: Definitely!

SS: Okay, I’ll put it out there. I’ll start tweeting about it.

Ben: Alright! If you get enough tweets, maybe I can make something happen.

SS: Alright, I’ll put it out there and see what comes back. So now, what’s in your future as far as acting and general life? [laughs]

Ben: L.A.’s a funny town. There’s a lot of amazing places out here, but I’ve lived out here a couple of years now and it never felt like home. I just a few months ago found this house that’s super comfortable. It’s just perfect. It was built in 1923, which I love—it’s an old school kinda house. It’s right in the hills, so it’s really quiet and it has a nice view. I never thought I would care about any of that, but it’s just so relaxing. I finally escape to my house instead trying to get out and being bored inside. It’s been great for me creatively. I’ve been doing a lot more songwriting. We’ll see what happens; I don’t want to promise anything. I’ve got a studio set up in my house, so I may record an album. There’s also a couple of TV shows…There’s one show that would be filming in the UK. Right now, I’m the top choice for. It’s perfect for me. It’s half-animated and it’s half-live action and it’s about a singer. So the half that’s live action, I would film in the UK for about three months and then I would come out to L.A. to do all the voiceover and singing parts. It’s sort of the perfect gig because it’s all the worlds that I love involved in one project. I’m looking forward to that. I’d tell you the title, but they keep changing it. There’s a lot of things on the horizon. This year’s shaping up to be pretty great.

SS: I’m really excited for you. For my last question, would you like to say anything to your fans?

Ben: A couple of things…first, they’re the greatest. That’s such a standard thing, but it’s the truth. I don’t think the fans understand how much it means to anybody that they really take to heart the things we put our heart into. For me anyway, I go full-passion into anything I do creatively. Finding people who care is really an amazing feeling. So yeah, thank you all. Also, I want to sort of apologize for being M.I.A. for a while. I’ve just recently decided to become much more social online and be part of the new media out there. I have a Twitter account (www.twitter.com/benbledsoe). I’m going to be doing a new Facebook thing. I just feel it’s not so much me building anything. I just feel like there’s been so many things I would have loved to spread to the fans that have been there so long and let them know what I’ve been up to that I just haven’t done. If anybody’s still interested, I’m going to be updating you now on all the goods. I’m doing a new version of my website, too.

You can check out that new version of Ben’s website at: www.benbledsoe.com.
Also, check out Ben on MySpace: www.myspace.com/benbledsoe and Twitter: www.twitter.com/benbledsoe.

If you would like to see Natural do a reunion tour, make sure you Tweet us at: www.twitter.com/starshinemag!

Don’t have a Twitter account?  No worries!  Submit a comment to this article telling us how much you’d like to see Natural on tour again!  If Ben gets enough fans asking about a tour, he will do his best to make it happen!

Jul8

Follow Sandy Lo, Tortured & StarShineMag.com on Twitter!

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Follow Sandy Lo, Tortured & StarShineMag.com on Twitter!

Connect with Sandy Lo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo.  Sandy updates followers on her novels, fun things she’s involved in, quotes, and events.

Connect with Tortured on Twitter: www.twitter.com/torturedband.  Interact with characters from Sandy’s novel “Dream Catchers” by replying to their tweets.  Jordan, Sebastian, Darren & Danny post what’s going on in their day as well as with the band.  Note: Sandy Lo is really the one tweeting as her characters.  Have some fun and follow Tortured!

Connect with StarShine Magazine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/starshinemag.  Get the latest entertainment news, interviews + reviews when StarShineMag.com is updated!