New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
JIM BRICKMAN
PIANIST’S HOLIDAY TOUR BRINGS INDIVIDUAL ZOOM SHOWS TO NEW HAVEN, STAMFORD AND HARTFORD, HELPING VENUES .
Any performer can offer a livestream performance on Facebook; Jim Brickman is doing 30 shows live from Ohio, with one or two local venues a night getting a share of the revenue.
The solo pianist and songwriter with four gold-selling albums will livestream his Dec. 23 concert of “Comfort & Joy at Home” to friends and patrons of New Haven’s Shubert Theatre (and a sister venue in Ohio), where he was supposed to appear live before the pandemic forced a virtual tour. If you can’t wait for Dec. 23, he’s also doing shows for the The Bushnell in Hartford Saturday, Dec. 12, and the Palace in Stamford Sunday, Dec.13.
The versatile Brickman began his career in advertising and wrote music for ads and corporate use. He had a hit with “Valentine” for Martina McBride that “took on a life of its own” in the mid-1990s. Today he’s on several platforms, from PBS specials to writing such familiar tunes as “The Gift” (sung by Collin Raye and Susan Ashton) to theme cruises and a radio show.
Taking the uncommon step of doing individual ticketed shows began as an experiment over the summer, Brickman said in a phone chat recently.
“We tried it with ‘Christmas in July’ and did it this unique way ... with a Zoom room and the gifts that we sent. And it was really successful,” he said.
When a live fall tour was ruled out, Brickman and associates decided to do it like a regular tour but distanced with fan-focused details.
“We’re in different cities every night instead of one passive livestream that people just watch that is somewhat generic,” Brickman said. “And then (we) give back a portion of the ticket price to the theater so the theater could benefit in every local town and also get involved in offering something directly to their audience during this time when it is dark.”
The local arts venues have been pummeled by the pandemic, of course. This format isn’t lurcrative like live touring, but it is personal and upbeat.
“What makes (this virtual tour) so special is it’s really about the community and supporting the arts in New Haven and a place that I love so much (the Shubert); that theater is just breathtaking,” said Brickman, who has played the Elm City venue a handful of times in the past.
With a flock of adult contemporary hits and New Age Billboard-charting albums, Brickman said he wanted to replicate every aspect of what it’s like to go to the theater: “You walk in, you get your ticket, you get a program, you sit in your seat. You interact with me on stage; there’s a beautiful set. You go get ‘merch’ at intermission — CDs, snacks and all that.
“In order to accomplish all that, we decided to do a Zoom room, so I can see you; you can see me just like you would at the theater. And so the Zoom room provides an opportunity for literally a singalong, clapalong, laughalong. ... It’s just that the seat is your couch.”
And the gifts that he mentioned?
“For every ticket you buy in the Zoom room (from basic to meet-and-greet), we send you a Christmas stocking that arrives at your doorstep the week of the show with the program, the ticket to the show, hot chocolate, a CD of Christmas music, singalong lyrics ... to replicate the experience as much as possible.”
The shows are done in a “huge loft studio where I do my radio show, we film all of our Facebook Lives and my TV show,” he said. “It’s absolutely spectacular; it looks like a theater. ... I’m not a fan of ‘I’m playing the guitar on my couch.’ I get it ... But we’re taking everything we take on the road and building it in my loft in Cleveland. It’s perfectly set up; we have lighting, we have sound. And the sound is also amazing because it’s all direct-input right into Zoom.”
Asked if he’s able to deal with so many details and platforms because of his background in advertising and marketing, Brickman said, “Yes, to a certain extent. But I also feel like it’s common sense. I try to step back from it and always think about the audience’s experience. And take what I do and not veer off from the core of what I do best. So even though there are Broadway or country (he’s worked on) or it seems like there are disparate genres, the Broadway singers are singing my songs.
“But I know what you’re asking. I feel like my entire career, because of the style of music I write, is about delivering that idea of emotional connection, peaceful, calm — like that’s what I do,” he said, which are at a premium in difficult 2020. “So I just try to think of the right vehicle to present that to people.”
Hartford’s Bushnell Saturday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m.; Stamford’s Palace Sunday, Dec. 13, 5 p.m.; New Haven’s Shubert Theater Wednesday, Dec. 23, 7 p.m. Tickets for all shows,$125-$40, sold through www.jimbrickman.com