A Seven Year Old Superstar

Tuesday March 24th, 2009 - Rockford, IL/Lake Villa, IL

Today was all over the place but none of it was bad. I received a call to fill in at LT’s in Rockford, IL and I gladly took it. It’s a short drive there and back and I’ve done it several times before. I’m working the rest of the week at Zanies so this was a little bonus money.

I always liked Rockford. I bet I’ve worked there at least a hundred times over the years and with any luck I’ll work a hundred more. The people have been very friendly to me as a rule and it’s in a fantastic location accessible to Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, WI.

Another reason I like Rockford is being a guest on the ‘Stone and Double T’ radio show on WXRX radio. They have an open door policy and any time I’m in town I can go in and hang out on their afternoon show. I enjoy it very much and whenever I’m in town I try my best to stop in and say hello. They always treat me like I’m famous and I appreciate that.

There are a few famous people from Rockford like Suzanne Pleshette and Cheap Trick. In the comedy world Kip Adotta is originally from there and he’s always been one of my very favorites. I remember seeing him on the TV show ‘Make Me Laugh’ back in the day with guys like Bruce Baum and Vic Dunlop and many others. Kip was always very funny.

I met a young lady today who is going to put all of those people with myself included to shame and she’s only seven years old. Yes - SEVEN! Her name is Emily Bear and she’s a world class pianist. Not only this world either. If there indeed is life on other planets she’s got to be at the top of their list too. I’ve never heard or seen any seven year olds like this.

None of us really knew what to expect but when she came in the studio and sat down at the mike we all immediately knew we were in the presence of genius. This kid was full of an energy that radiated from her that is way beyond her seven years. What a gift she has.

My feeble little attempts at humor may have their place but I gladly took a back seat so I could soak in the vibe of a legitimate genius. I’d always heard Mozart was composing at a young age but to see an example of it in person was very impressive. It left us all in awe.

Some people just win the lottery in life. Emily Bear hit the power ball and then some. If there’s another seven year old anywhere with more going on than Emily I sure would love to meet that kid. Emily has it all. She’s amazing at what she does and a total peach pie to boot. She’s very much a child first and it shows. Her parents have done a wonderful job.

Her mom brought her to the studio and not only is she very attractive but she’s a singer and has appeared on Broadway. Her dad is the team doctor for the Rockford Ice Hogs and Emily is a beautiful kid inside and out. Good genetics plus good family equals good life.

I love kids anyway but it really blew my mind to see Emily handle everything so well in the interview. She was relaxed and I made her laugh out loud a few times by throwing her some lines she didn’t expect. Nothing took her out of the game though. She hung in there.

She was on the show plugging her gig with the Rockford Symphony on Saturday night. She’s also played at Ravinia in the Chicago area and has been on the Ellen DeGeneres TV show four times. FOUR. And I was thrilled about getting my one little spot just recently.

None of this has gone to her head and it was really fun to watch all this transpire as I sat in the studio and enjoyed the whole thing. Stone and Double T were loving it as well so it really came off sincere and it totally was. Stone even played a few of her songs on the air.

That’s what really blew everyone away. She’s on a level all by herself. She has released three CDs already and not only can she play like nobody else I’ve ever heard she WROTE most of if not all the songs on at least the last two. Wow. I am so impressed with that I’m speechless and that rarely happens but rarely does a person get to meet a child prodigy.

I have nothing to gain by plugging her website but go check Emily out for yourself and you’ll see why I’m gushing so much about her. It’s www.emilybear.com. Check out a CD and not only will you agree how fantastic she is but part of the money goes to charity too.

Not many people will ever get to experience what Emily is probably going to achieve in her life but I predict she will be fine and not flip out like the cast from Diff’rent Strokes. I could see that the music was just in her. It is a part of her being like her hair or her liver.

Here is a seven year old girl who is composing world class music but she’s still able to be a kid too. Her mother seemed very grounded and showed us a picture of her two other kids who are also apparently very grounded and normal. They don’t play the piano as well as Emily does but apparently few people do of any age. She’s the cosmic lottery winner.

It was a genuine thrill to watch this all transpire today. I could feel her talent as she was talking about it and then when we heard her songs it blew us all away. She’s very special. I wish I would have gotten her autograph or a picture taken with her but she did draw us a picture and signed it to Stone and Double T ‘and Dobie too’. At least I made the final cut.

The show tonight at L.T.’s was a big letdown after seeing Emily work. Here I am trying to make rent after a lifetime in comedy and she’s doing gigs with the Rockford Symphony at age seven. She’ll never have to do one nighters in bars to pay for her cell phone bill and that’s a good thing. She’s going to have a first class ticket in her life and I‘m glad for her.

The weather was pretty nasty on the way home and about a mile from my house I saw a car stranded right in the middle of a dark two lane road. I stopped to help and it was a cab driver from India. He thought his alternator fried but when we tried to jump it it wouldn’t turn over. We tried for quite a while and ended up pushing his cab off the road into a lot.

What really got my attention was how thankful the guy was that anyone stopped. I guess I don’t realize what it’s like to be a foreigner in a strange land and not speak the language well. I thought the guy was going to start crying when I offered to drive him home. It was no big deal to me but to him it was a major event. It feels good to be able to help people.