www.GigSmacked.com - New Blog!

Hello all followers and fans: I will no longer be posting updates to this blog but please follow me to my new blog http://www.gigsmacked.com, a free blog for aspiring writers, performers etc.

After careful consideration of time spent vs intended results I don't have time to keep up with this blog for the time being. Better to be honest than delusional right?

Thanks for your understanding and thanks for supporting Basic Training!

Hallelujah!

The US Tour was a huge success and I have been reading scripts sent to me from producers who caught my show in smalltown USA. You just never know who's in the audience. Did a great interview on Fox News Charlotte and you can check it out here.

Reading a book called Crush It and I highly recommend it if you have the gusto to follow your dreams. Keep your eyes peeled for the new blog and an updated kahlilashanti.com website, the changes to www.basictrainingnyc.com are already in place.

Getting tired of having the same conversations with fellow actors about 'Kahlil how did you do it' so this new blog will answer all of that and more from a creative and business perspective. Working with one of the freshest business minds in the live gig industry to bring the thunder to the internet.

Thanks for following and best believe my absence from the blog means I got something cooking so feel free to join the Facebook Fan Page for immediate updates as well: http://tinyurl.com/yc22bk4
More soon!

www.kahlilashanti.com

Business...it's Business TIME!

I'm thoroughly enjoying the business side of this journey. Several opportunities have presented themselves since opening in NYC and several 'talkers' have fallen silent due to their inability to deliver. As they say in the military: their mouth wrote a check their ass couldn't cash. In those situations it's good to be the Basic Training bank.

I've taken up a cause with a colleague to better educate performers on how to protect themselves from the sharks in the water and increase their earnings potential through a little homework and common sense. Leverage seems to be the only thing that matters and with people asking me to sign contracts they don't expect me to read I've learned to call the bluff. For the past two years I've been slowly building a side business: consulting for a very successful talent agency who sends me on the road with their high visibility artists who need help tightening their business game but don't speak that language. And to think I learned it all from Tops In Blue.

Got a chance to hang out at Simon Cowell's 50th birthday in London a few days ago and I enjoyed sharing stories with a few entrepreneurs. One thing is for sure, lots of room at the top. Hope to see you there. My next stops on this journey involve me hitting the stage again so here's the nitty gritty:

Oct 16,17
Hampton, Virginia
American Theatre

Oct 19,20
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Manship Theatre

Oct 21-25
Charlotte, NC
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

The meetings in Los Angeles were a huge success and there is good news on the way.

Did two private shows in Phoenix AZ at the Western Arts Alliance Conference for a total of about 14 people. Can't get much more private than that - BUT you never know who's in the audience. (I say stuff like that to keep me encouraged). Just thinking out loud - what use is a blog if you only get to read the good stuff eh? Such is the life of a make-it-happen-er. Tim Fox, Emily Threlfall and the team at CAMI were on top of things so I'm confident that it will lead to bigger and better things. Tony Lepore flew in and nailed the cues. True professionals.

We found an awesome and huge house for a bargain and other than the new fridge that leaks water we're slowly moving in and getting used to the new neighborhood. I've always wanted a fireplace and now we have one. Too bad I have to travel so much but it makes being at home that much sweeter. Countless people told me I'd never find anything like this for so cheap. I truly believe my expectations are reflected in my results. Like mom used to say: "If all you talk about is the negative then that's exactly what you'll find."

Glad to have a house and thankful to have a healthy family and a gig, that's for sure.



Having kids is a great way to remind you that time is flying. Zion is growing so fast I find myself wondering where the time went. Truly a constant wake-up call to not waste time on people or things that aren't worth it. We only get one go-round and I plan to make mine count. I want to leave my wife and son with more than a paycheck to paycheck existence. It shall be done. Gotta do better.

Los Angeles

We found a house! It's gorgeous and big and just what we hoped for. I believe expectations are reflected in results. Regardless of what people told us 'we wouldn't find' we stuck to our guns and decided for ourselves. Not really a lesson learned but a theory enforced. Nobody knows me better than me. And my wife.

In Los Angeles for three days of marathon meetings with managers and tv execs. Makin it do what it do! Gotta go - next meeing starts now!

USA Today

Lots of people have been asking about US dates and they have definitely come a lot slower than I'd like. But timing is everything and I have a plan to get some more US dates confirmed for 2010. Let's see if I still got the touch!

For the Fall of 2009 we have some sweet gigs so please come and say hello:

Sept 3
Phoenix, AZ
Herberger Theater Center
http://www.herbergertheater.org/node

Oct 16,17
Hampton, Virginia
American Theatre
http://www.hamptonarts.net/american_theatre/artist_info.php?products_id=3013

Oct 19,20
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Manship Theatre
http://www.manshiptheatre.org/site.php?pageID=3&eID=4169&backpage=pageID7eq737an7calstart7eq71254376861

Oct 21-25
Charlotte, NC
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
http://www.blumenthalcenter.org/default.asp?blumenthal=59&objId=1125

Don't forget to become a fan of Basic Training by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/nhonqc.

The end of Oz.

It has been way too long. Finished the tour of Australia on Aug 3rd and spent a week in New Zealand to try and relax. It's good to be back in Vancouver and the apartment hunt has begun. A place to call home has always been an issue for me, never really had a city to call home until now and it's no fun playing the game of viewing prospective places. It's kind of like dating but worse because when you date somebody you can usually tell by the sound of their voice if they're your type or not. A chic with a deep voice might have some trouble gettin to first base if you know what I mean. But with apartments people make them sound amazing in the ad and then you show up to find a sh** hole with shared laundry. But we keep swingin and I know we'll find a place soon. Maybe it will have a jacuzzi!

The rest of the cities in Australia were lovely, let me try to break it down for ya:

Wollongong - Our FAVORITE place. Such a wonderful experience. Great audiences and stunning scenery.
Darwin - Wish we could've had more time to see the outskirts.
Cairns - Gorgeous
Brisbane - Spent time with Ingrid and Harry which was such a treat. Great people.
Lismore - Yeah! Stayed at Suzanne's Hideaway. Highly recommended. Gorgeous scenery out in the mountains.
Newcastle - Reminded me of Harlem.
Sydney - Not all it's cracked up to be. The workshops with the at-risk kids made it all worth it.
Parramatta - Great food, great time.
Bathurst - The venue manager is a one man theater machine. Go Steve! (I think that's his name)
Warragul - Hit pretty hard by the fires. I don't remember the shows.
Bendigo - No comment.
Horsham - No comment. (email me and I'll tell you what I really think)
Geelong - What a beautiful theater. It's a pretty interesting seaside place.
Albury - One of the best stops on the tour. The Hothouse Theater company is way ahead of their time in so many ways. They really do a first class job from A-Z. Honoured to work with them.

Simon and Anne-Louise gave us a great send off from Sydney and we are so thankful to them for all their help.