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Jul 21st, 2010
"The Rage Monthly"
July 2010
By Jeff Chandler
“Sing me a song, you’re the piano man.” These lyrics from Billy Joel have special meaning to Michael Cavanaugh. None other than Billy Joel discovered his talent in a Vegas nightclub. Joel felt that Cavanaugh’s exceptional skill as a piano player and singer would be a perfect fit for his Broadway musical Movin’ Out. The show was centered around the rock and pop sounds of the iconic Billy Joel. Cavanaugh won numerous accolades in the Broadway production and hasn’t stopped his rhapsody in rock and roll since. Michael Cavanaugh is giving two very special performances with our San Diego Symphony on Friday, July 23 and Saturday, July 24 as part of the Symphony’s Summer Pops 2010. The Rage Monthly spoke with the talented showman, Cavanaugh, who will present this time around “The Music of Elton John and more” on a beautiful summer night in San Diego.
Michael Cavanaugh began playing piano at age seven. “One of the first things I learned was “It’s Still Rock n’ Roll To Me” by Billy Joel. [Quite a hint of destiny for Cavanaugh there!]…actually the very first song I learned playing and singing was “Beth” by KISS. I took lessons for a few years but I never really put much into reading music. I know theory but I’m not a good reader. I rely on my ears for pretty much everything.”
2001 was a very important year for Cavanaugh. During that year, the kind of stuff that people believe only happens in movies…happened to
Cavanaugh. He was discovered by Billy Joel and soon found himself belting out over 20 songs per night, six nights a week on Broadway in Movin’
Out. He shares a bit on that time period in his life. “It was obviously exciting Very, very exciting and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I was singing the whole thing. There was no dialogue in the show so every vocal sound in the show came out of my mouth. If I’m doing my own show now and I’m not feeling good and there’s a song I can’t do, I have the ability to cut that song. That’s only happened once in all the shows that I have done. But in a Broadway show…you can’t cut anything. The amount of pressure on you is very high. Sometimes when I didn’t feel well, it was like being a dancer
on stage with a broken foot. Though I had a great vocal teacher in New York and she got me through it. Anybody who’s done Broadway will tell you,
‘Broadway is tough.’”
Michael Cavanaugh has been performing all over the country with symphony orchestras since 2008. What does the combination of his piano playing, voice and the symphony inspire in Cavanaugh as a performer? “It’s unbelievable. I’m used to it now. But I still absolutely love it. When we first did it, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I’d been playing in rock bands my whole life. To be surrounded by a string section or a harp or woodwinds…it’s just unbelievable. It’s such a full sound and it just changes and takes it to a whole other level of musicality. I think it just raises the bar for everything.”
For these July performances Cavanaugh is spotlighting the songs of Elton John. He describes just what the music of Elton John means to him.
“Elton John is a legend. I think everybody knows that. It’s similar as a lot of Elton John fans are fans of Billy Joel. He’s great. He’s got these unbelievable
ballads like “Candle in the Wind” or “Your Song.” You don’t get any bigger than that. Plus the great Rock and Roll songs like “Crocadile Rock” and “Pinball Wizard” which is amazing. We do that with the orchestra. I’m a huge Elton fan. It was the perfect next step for us after “Billy Joel and more.” The crowds go crazy and the response to this has been great. These songs are just timeless and classic.”
Michael Cavanaugh
with The San Diego Symphony
“The Music of Elton John and more”
619.235.0804
sandiegosymphony.com
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