“America Idol” Cuts Josiah Leming & Kyle Ensley

Did anyone see this kid on “American Idol”? According to his “story segment”, Josiah Leming is 18 and living in his car. He had an amazing first audition (after which he cried), was whisked away to Hollywood (where he cried some more), had a good run with his first Hollywood week audition (I think he cried), and bombed his final performance before the judges (also causing him to cry). There were a few others scenes here and there where he, you guessed it, cried. He was definitely emo.

But I was really digging on Josiah’s music, his story, and my gosh, the kid is as cute as a bug’s ear! I mean, you just want to pinch his cheeks and give him a big hug. Truth be told, it’s the same feeling I get whenever I see a picture of Leeland Mooring of the band, Leeland. When I interview the band in Atlanta, I just wanted to hug Leeland because he’s so dang cute. I did gush about his cuteness after the interview. It wasn’t a crazed fan sort of gush, but an older sisterly feeling, “Like-you-are-adorable-and-you-make-me-smile” sort of gush. Anyway, it’s cool because Leeland’s mom is also a gusher, so I’m sure the Mooring boys and the rest of the band are used to it.

Anyway, we’re not talking about Leeland Mooring; we’re talking about Josiah Leming. It’s sort of freaky how their names rhyme, isn’t it? Last night the Top 24 was announced on “American Idol” and to the shock and dismay of many, Josiah went home. I took it personally, and when Josiah cried, I cried, too. He was one of my favorite contestants. See, that’s why I hate “American Idol”–I can’t stand how emotional I get over the whole thing.

I did manage to find Josiah’s MySpace, which has some of his original songs. I can’t stop listening to his piano ballad “Razorblades and Hand Grenades”. The song definitely shows maturity beyond Josiah’s years. I even added the song to my profile (which I can’t access right now because someone was “phishing” my account. If a bunch of you got invites for Macy’s gift cards or something, I’m really sorry about that).

Then there was this other guy, Kyle Ensley, a dorky-looking kid with a great set of pipes (funny post on Kyle and another funny post). Naturally, I thought Kyle was awesome and he seemed like a really nice guy. Why do we always get contestants that are hunky guys with gel soaked hair and egos the size of Texas? Or weird little choir boys, who can sing, but they make be feel strangely uncomfortable? Give me a nerd like Kyle Ensley, who was cut last night much to Simon Cowell’s objection.

I also discovered another “Kyle Ensley” on YouTube, which could perhaps be the same guy. It’s hard to tell from the video. If it is, then our Kyle can rock out to bluegrass and play mandolin (View video). I love mandolins–it’s a Chris Thile/Nickel Creek thing.

Here’s a video of Kyle’s introduction to “American Idol”. I mean, he wants to be the next governor of Oklahoma–what’s not to love?

Can we get a recount on Kyle?

Josiah Leming and Kyle Ensley are both young and have the potential for very bright futures, although Kyle’s may be in politics. I salute both of these young men for being bold, stepping outside their comfort zones, and having the guts to go on “American Idol”.

There was this clip on Tuesday night showing Kyle arriving in Hollywood to find two girls in his assigned room. I wish I could find the whole clip, but this is all that was available thus far. Too cute.

My Top Discoveries of 2007

“Psych“–It’s an awesome T.V. show on USA Network starring James Roday as “psychic” detective Shawn Spencer, who isn’t really psychic, but pretends that he is. It’s great and the new season starts on Jan. 11.

“Pushing Daisies“–I love this show so much that I blogged about one of its actresses, Kristin Chenoweth  (read “Snooked on Pushing Daisies” here).

LOTS OF MUSIC–I’ve been introduced to many a good musicians and bands in 2007 through my work with YMX, but here are some of my new favorites.

Brandon Heath–great singer/songwriter with a great heart for God and worship.

Grey Holiday–hilarious and deep; great combo.

David Klinkenberg–makes me wish I hadn’t given up so easily on violin lessons in 4th grade, yet I’d probably never be as good as this guy.  He’s amazing to see perform live.

Nickel Creek–they’re good together and Chris Thile does a great job flying solo!

Leeland–Yeah, I didn’t listen to them before 2007, but I’m glad another year didn’t go by without their music.

Hairspray: One of the cult classics I had never indulged in until its remake.  I love Nikki Blonksky.

High School Musical 2:  I don’t know about this Zac Efron kid, but Lucas Grabeel is cute!

Fred Weasley is NOT DEAD! After the final Harry Potter book was released there was some confusion.  An apparent misprint in the book says that a wall fell on him.  That’s completely inaccurate.  Fred’s alive and well–I don’t care what you say.  If you don’t believe me, read this!

Marley & Me is a great book about a man and his dog.  Plus, the New York Times best-selling author and I live in the same zip code!!!

Potter Puppet Pals is a website that makes funny Harry Potter parody videos using puppets.

Facebook–why didn’t I sign up sooner?  If I’m not your buddy, I should be.

Macs may be better, but I still can’t afford one.

And, last but certainly not least, the wonders of Animal Planet and The Discovery Channel.  There’s a show on Animal Planet all about meercats and another about apes–how cool is that?

The Fiddle Man

I borrowed the above image from David’s website because David said I couldn’t use the pics I took of him because he claims he had pizza all over his face, which he didn’t. I figured he wouldn’t mind because I wrote this highly flattering post about him.

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out with a talented musician named David Klinkenberg. OK, we weren’t really “hanging out” as much as getting lost in my Tracker driving around Easton, PA while looking for a place to get some grub and conduct an interview. But, hey, we had a good time; there was a screaming sling shot monkey involved, it’s all good. I was a bit afraid I would somehow damage David while borrowing him from the tour, but I returned him safe and sound. After dropping David back off at the venue, I bought Sarah a Christmas present, then met up with Sarah herself where we ran into SANTA CLAUS outside of Dairy Queen (Of course, I took a picture. I’ll post it tomorrow). Finally, after all that commotion we both headed back to the State Theater in Easton to catch David and the rest of his gang perform.

David (or “Klink” as some people calll him, although I never actually heard anyone call him that) is a fiddle player touring with Jim Brickman (who’s an internationally-renowned pianist according to the program bill), Richie McDonald (he used to be the lead singer of Lonestar) and Anne Cochran (she’s a singer and she really wants to be on “Dancing With the Stars”. If you’re a fan of Anne Cochran, start a petition and hook the lady up!) The show was pretty spectacular with singing and piano playing and fiddling. Plus, Anne Cochran wore some splendid sparkly outfits, dazzling the audience both with her voice and her attire.

Sarah and I found David Klinkenberg to be the real star of the show…and not because he was clearly the best-looking guy on stage or because I interviewed him earlier in the day (although those two factors certainly helped), but because he was the most unique performer I’ve seen in a long time. He took the stage with his fiddle and his body moved with each and every stroke of his bow. It was if he was dancing on-stage with the fiddle, a waltz for two. There was something magical and spiritual about his performance. Unfortunately, David only did one full song solo, but he commanded the stage.

Generally, I interview authors or Christian rockers or youth ministry people and David doesn’t fit into that demographic. Yet interviewing him about worship, music, and random other topics was delightful because not only is he candid and frank, with biting wit, he’s someone who’s actually out there using his talent tremendously for God in a venue that most people in their 20′s/30′s (There is some debate on how old David actually is, since he wouldn’t tell me, but he’s somewhere between 14 and 38) don’t consider a “mission field.” I don’t think that David thinks of himself as a big missionary, just a guy with a fiddle playing for God and the people who happen to be sitting in the audience.

Anyway, you should definitely check out David’s website or his MySpace for more information on his music…or just wait until my article about David Klinkenberg is published on YMX…or do both. Book him at your church for a spring or summer concert–everyone will love him and the teenage girls will think he’s cute. Rock on, Fiddle Man, rock on! (I’m not really sure why I started calling him “The Fiddle Man”, but I did and now I just can’t stop.)

And a big shout out to Elyse from L.A.B. Media who hooked the whole thing up. She definitely deserves a screaming sling shot monkey.

By the way, David is a fan of CHRIS THILE, the guy from Nickel Creek. He says that Thile is the best mandolin player there is, which makes me hope that I’ll get one of Thile’s solo albums for Christmas. David also likes Leeland and Derek Webb, but I think he liked Chris Thile more.