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Saycon Music Project: THANK YOU

May 23, 2013

Each of you has helped to make these things happen with your words of encouragement, re-tweets, and donations and I’m so thankful for that!

Thank you , Thank you, Thank you!

If you did not learn about the Saycon Music Project campaign in a timely manner please let me know and show your support!

I’ve been recently made aware of folks who may not have realized we were fundraising due to a major email glitch.

There is still an opportunity to help us reach our goal through Paypal using sengbloh@aol.com We were able to raised $8,661 and still have a goal of $14,500. Please help us reach that goal!

PS- CLICK HERE to see who won our Motown the Musical ticket raffle for the Saycon Music Project!

Saycon Sengbloh
Saycon Meets Quincy Jones

May 16, 2013

Saycon greets Quincy Jones after Motown performance! photo by Bruce Glikas

” Mr. Jones its so nice to meet you! Ooooh and you smell good!” yep those were the words I said to a man who has been credited as the king daddy-o of modern jazz, orchestrations, and pop music! “I played Martha Reeves,” I nearly screamed in his ear! “Maaaartha!!!” he responded and laughed with genuine joy and affection. The cast each had their own moments with him as he held court with us for a nice amount of time after our Tuesday night performance. I was thrilled to meet him at this point in my life and career although I met him years ago as a teenage in the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta when our group performed at a birthday party for Jane Fonda. This somehow was much different though. In this incarnation I’ve read his biography, obsessed over his performances as he conducted the Rat Pack concerts in Vegas (I have the DVD box set), and google the fun questions like “Guess who scored the theme song for the hit tv sitcom Sandford & Son?” I’m a little obsessed and totally inspired by the lexicon of music that flows through this man’s mind! From the soundtrack to The Color Purple to Michael Jackson’s Thriller this man’s music shaped so much of the sounds my generation and generations before me have come to know and love. To meet him after performing in Berry Gordy’s Motown was a thrill simply because Quincy Jones, a statesman of music has the rare a true and absolute peer in someone like Berry Gordy. They are the two men who’s influence help to guide one of the most talented performers the world has known, Micheal Jackson. Good times indeed. What a great omen to meet such a great music man on the first day of several studio sessions to come for my Howlin’ project. with less than 48 hours to meet our goal, he was certainly a positive reminder of what a person can do with talent and creativity.

Visit the link below to support my album fundraiser by May 17th:

http://Indiegogo.com/projects/Saycon-Music-Project
Watch the Cast of Motown on Good Morning America

April 18, 2013

We have officially opened and I can’t wait to share my personal photos from opening night but to recap leading up to it I last wrote about preparing form Good Morning America! Well now we’ve done it and it was amazing. I’ve been busy spreading the word about the Music Campaign but I just had to share this link! Better late than never! LOL Many have seen it already but in case you missed it here is the cast of Motown on Good Morning America! Click! Click! Click photo or copy and paste link at the bottom!

Click Here to Watch on ABC!

Saycon Sengbloh, Rebecca Covington, & N’kenge performed as Martha Reeves, Betty Kelly, and Rosalind Ashford also known as “Martha & the Vandellas”

Copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/motown-musical-cast-preview-ready-dancing-streets-performance-18879821
Saycon’s Music Project: We Need Your Help

April 15, 2013

My name is Saycon Sengbloh. I’m an artist.

http://Indiegogo.com/projects/Saycon-Music-Project

I create art to entertain people, I sing and act night after night to bring people joy! And it is my hope that you can be a part of the new project I’m working on a personal movement that represents where I am in my life as an artist: Howlin’.

All the time people ask me when you gonna do a full album? Are you putting out new music soon?! Well the answer is yes! I’ve embarked on a new music project, with the working title Howlin’. I’m an artist so that title could change but the essence of what I’m doing and the songs are true to my heart, originals written by myself, and my co producer Jason Webb and songs written by some of your favorite popular soul and blues music icons with special writers to be announced in the future!

Soul music and pop music are close to my heart so much so that I dream in music, I dream of voices singing and that’s no lie! I grew up loving music in Atlanta with my face close to the speaker as Prince’s first album “For You” spun on the record player bringing me to tears, I enjoyed the sensual tender rasp of Sade and as a teenager the Soul fuel hip-hop of Ceelo Green with Goodie Mob and Outcast ( the first hip-hop group to win album of the year at the Grammys) was the soundtrack to my young life. Why am I sharing all of this with you? Because its my hope that you will be a part of my journey. Help me to keep original soul music alive.

Howlin is Popular Soul music.

soaked in Rhythm & blues

washed in Hip-Hop

and sprinkled in Country—

too much to describe as you can see, DONATE NOW to get hear the album and truly see what I mean! Thank you ! Thank You! Thank You!

The life of an Artist depends on community!
Motown Musical’s Jason Webb: Musician Composer Extraordinaire

April 11, 2013

Jason Webb is one those people that takes you by surprise, a quiet unassuming presence, a peaceful rock even in a room full of turmoil. But don’t let that fool you, he is quietly taking the NYC music scene by storm one project at a time and his latest is “Love Lead the Way” presented by the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir. “Love Lead the Way”, a record he produced just debuted at #5 on the iTunes gospel chart! Jason Webb co-wrote half the album and orchestrated as well.

I’m excited to work with Jason on my first full length album release, Howlin’. My history with him started on Broadway and we are fast becoming friends, (his house parties are amazing) and he has been a part of many amazing shows but I’m filled with pride when I think of the work Jason Webb has been a part of this year! He has indeed been a part of history read below:

America’s Inaugural Choir

Proud. It’s certainly not a big enough a word to describe my emotion on Inauguration day 2013, I was preparing for the day ahead, watching the Inauguration ceremony when I looked up and saw Alicia Olatuja, one of NYC’s most beautiful vocalists, in the middle of my television screen, her mezzo-soprano voice filled my speakers. I did some recording at her home studio in Brooklyn a while back and had just seen her over the holidays so her bright eyes were a pleasant surprise. But then it all clicked in my head and I remembered the project that Jason Webb, my neighbor and associate musical director of Motown the Musical has been working on. For the last few weeks Jason had been burning the midnight oil for many days helping to perfect the music that would come to represent the U.S.A. on one of our finest days. The 2nd inauguration of our 44th president, Barack H. Obama. As a part of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir Jason shines in music production arranging, and vocals and I’m so proud to know him. I’ve worked with him on several productions including The Color Purple the musical, and also a reading of The First Noel a beautiful soon to be produced holiday musical he co-created as a commissioned work at the Classical Theatre of Harlem. I love working with Jason he is a force behind the keys and in front of the mike bringing out the best in every musician and singer he works with. He’s one of NYC’s up and coming musicians to watch, his hands have blessed a lot of projects from gospel to theatre. Visit his website to learn more about him.

Click here to download the recording of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” as performed on Inauguration day

Click here to Watch the Brooklyn Tabernacle performance again and relive the magic of Inauguration Day
Motown on Good Morning America

April 4, 2013

Tune in today Thursday April 4th, 2013 from 8:30- 9:00 AM to see myself, Saycon Sengbloh and the exciting cast of Motown on Good Morning America! I’m looking for everyone’s support on this one! I’ll be singing and appearing as Martha Reeves singing Dancing in the Streets along with Brandon Victor Dixon as Berry Gordy! Also the cast will be featured along with Ryan Shaw as Stevie Wonder, and Jesse Nager, Donald Webber Jr., Ephraim Sykes, Julius Thomas III, Jawan Jackson appearing as the Temptations. Martha and the Vandellas are Nkenge, and Rebecca Covington! Check us out! Plus stay tuned for the Crowdfunding campaign for Howlin music!
Mommy Uncensored

April 2, 2013

If you’ve never heard of Mommy Uncensored let me be the one to tell you! This web series is hilarious and packed full of the types of shenanigans our parents never told us about when we were growing up! The star of the show, Charity J, is hilarious as a young mom, “Karen Wright”, who tries to do the right thing for her kids and husband while balancing a household and crazy situations all at the same time. Charity and I were actresses together in the Freddie Hendricks’ Youth Ensemble of Atlanta and we went to highschool together and so years later its good to see her performing again. I love this show!!! It just may be the next “Awkward Black Girl” for all you folks familiar with the underground comedy web series, in terms of having the sort of cross over appeal but sort of more like awkward black mom. Mommy Uncensored is shot on location in Atlanta, GA, one of the entertainment industry’s hottest hubs, and also my hometown. Also starring in the series are the hilarious Reemo Rod Thomas, Shannon Byrd, recording artist D. Woods, Jelani Akil Jones, Kelly M. Jenrete, and Lillian Lee plus numerous guest stars . Produced by Shimone Woodberry, Nikki Towers, Adrian Dukes, and her husband and partner Justin Jordan.

The Pool Cover up episode is one of my favorites. I mean she goes in on the subject of post baby body! For all the folks talking about celebrities and the “snapback” body, this episode is for you! And for all my folks out there who dug the Southern Pin-Up EP my music is featured in Episode 6: Mission Impossible. I’ve been excited about this show for a while because the stars and co-stars and producers of the show are people I’ve known for years, my friends are truly talented, and making strides as independent artists! Add this series to your daily online watching! You won’t be disappointed I’m quite proud! Click the links below for more Mommy Uncensored.

xoxo,

SayTalks

http://www.youtube.com/user/MommyUncensored?feature=watch

http://www.uncensoredmom.com/

https://www.facebook.com/uncensoredmommy

https://twitter.com/1uncensoredmom
Saycon Sengbloh: Motown in NY Post Sunday Fashion Special

March 19, 2013

Its been a busy few weeks. With previews for Motown underway I have been in rehearsal non-stop as we change and tweak our wonderful Motown the Musical into perfection that will be revealed on opening night. In the midst of that we are promoting the show and that has been fun. During the Christmas season we did several events. And just last week we did a fun fashion shoot for the NY Post featuring fun outfits for the spring. We shot it early before rehearsal one morning, a spectacular feat considering how the long the days have been. Anyway, I was excited to see the final pics and the article finally came out this past Sunday in the New York Post. We were interviewed as we got our hair and makeup done and the writer took a few quotes from there. It was nice to reminisce about the Jacksons concert I went to as a child, and to really think about the meaning of doing a show like this. Valisia and I took some pics together, Brandon and Valisia shot some together, Charl and Brandon shot some and the 4 of us did some group shots as well. Luckily it was all about the girls in this shoot Valisia and I changed several times while the men added a hat or 2. LOL I loved the jewelry and shoes to and getting my make-up done. Valisia, like Diana Ross, somehow manages to look extra tall in her outfits! The bigger the hair the closer to God! We had a blast and headed back over to the theater for a full day of rehearsal afterwards. On our way back we stopped on the corner of 49th and gazed up at the huge Motown billboard in the middle of Time Square. Feeling pretty darn good. Get your tickets now, were selling like hotcakes.

Sepia toned glow at the New York Post. Brandon Victor Dixon, Saycon Sengbloh, Charl Brown and Valisia Lekae evoke a time gone by in 60’s inspired fashion. Original photo by Anne Wermiel for the NY Post.

Saycon behind the scenes at NY Post studios photo by Joe Perrota

Saycon
Saycon Sengbloh’s Backstage Hair Moment

March 5, 2013

During tech week we spend alot of hours backstage and onstage waiting as the design team sets lights and sound cues on the actors to help to bring our show to life. I’m being constructive lol between my scenes had to have a hair moment! Thanks to Andrea for snapping pics and to Sydney for the hairspray, gotta love a good flat iron press. Who needs a hot comb? Should I wear this style for opening night or the Tony Awards? What do you think?

Saycon
The Working Actor: Tech Rehearsal Survival Kit

March 3, 2013
Motown is counting down until we start previews so that means its technical rehearsal time also known as the infamous: Tech Week! Lord have mercy! Technical rehearsals can be amazing and challenging time. This is the time when the cast leaves the rehearsal space and goes into the theatre onto the new home space: the stage! My main goal during this time is to remain comfortable, ready for action, and able to adjust to change. The fun part is bringing a wonderful show to light but the hardest part about tech week can be managing your time and personal life outside of the theatre during the tech process.

Andrea Dora and Saycon Sengbloh using backstage tech time to work online.

Top thing to consider:
- The hours are much longer than they would normally be during the 8 show week. You could be in the theatre from Noon to midnight.
- Time management: Remembering and scheduling personal appointments during your spare hours. Because during technical rehearsals the majority of your time is spent onstage.
- Keeping tags on friends and family and maintaining relationships while adjusting to the new schedule
- Really preparing yourself for your new show, figuring out your backstage traffic i.e. water break moments, warm-up areas, costume changes, wig changes, make-up, and accessories
- Great time to bond with your cast mates and make the show gel
Actors let me tell a few things I do to make tech week a success. Whether it lasts for 2 days in a short regional production or 2 months of tech and previews for a Broadway show it can be the ultimate challenge of an artist . Shows look easy to the audience and there’s a reason for that.

Check out this quick video for Tech Survival tips:

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