5 Things You Didn't Know About Me

There's this crazy version of a chain letter going around the blogsphere where bloggers are posting "5 Things You Didn't Know About Me" and then challenging five other bloggers to do the same. Tag, I'm it!
I was tagged by Joan Stewart (The Publicity Hound), who was tagged by Denise Wakeman of the Blog Squad. So I'm in good company. Here are my surprise revelations:

1) For about 15 years -- in my 20s and 30s -- I did stand-up comedy on a regular basis. My stage name was Royce Kelly. (I thought Bob Baker was too bland.) I was best known for the song parodies I came up with.

2) I've also been semi-active in theatre over the past 20 years. I've acted in plays, directed plays, written and performed sketch comedy, put together improv troupes a la Whose Line Is It Anyway. All fun stuff!

3) I have a longstanding interest in video production. In my 20s, I took every video class offered by St. Louis Community College. In the '90s I hosted a local cable music video show. More recently, I've been involved in indie film projects and just bought a digital camcorder. I plan to crank out a lot more video content on YouTube.

4) Ever since I was a little kid, I've enjoyed doing impressions and sound effects with my voice. I can do a decent Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Carson, Zig Ziglar, as well as singers like Michael MacDonald, Elvis and more. Oh, and I can simulate the sound of bird wings flapping using my tongue.

5) I don't just write about music -- I've been an active musician for 30 years. I play guitar, sing, and write and record my own songs. Check out some of my original song samples here and here.

That was fun. Now I tag David Hooper, Scott Ginsberg, Chris Anderson, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, , and Curt Rosengren.

-Bob