KidduNot.com Interviews Singer/Song-Writer Levar Thomas

These days everybody and they Mama are trying to get into the music/entertainment business. And with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people trying to get their foot in the door it makes it much harder for REAL artists with REAL talent to be seen, heard and ultimitely discovered. Although you have to sift through hundreds of Myspace/YouTube pages to find a truely talented artist, a find like unsigned singer/song writer LeVar Thomas makes it all worth it. Thomas' Myspace boasts over 41,000 friends, his YouTube vids have had over 10,000 plays combined before his page was deleted TWICE for unknown reasons. The South Carolina native, who now resides just outside of "The City That Never Sleeps" aka New York City took a minute out of his hectic schedule to talk influence, aspiration and inspiration on all things music.

KidduNot.com: Sup Levar? How's life treating you?
Life is good! I’m getting adjusted to the New York lifestyle and the sky is the limit.

KidduNot.com: Good to hear everything is well...so you've lived many places, tell us about the places you've lived and what you love about them.
I was born and raised in Beech Island, South Carolina, a small town 5 minutes outside of Augusta, GA. That will always be “home” for me. I get a warm feeling everytime I go home to visit and most of my family is there too, can’t beat that! I moved to Atlanta in 2002 to work my magic on the music industry there. I had the dream but I was very raw at what it took to get into it. You not only have to have the drive and the dream but the business savvy. Atlanta taught me the savvy. It was an environment that was like home just more urban. After being in Atlanta for 6 years I felt like I needed a fresh environment and point of view. About 7 months ago, I moved to New Jersey about 15 minutes outside NY. I love it here because there is such diversity. People performing around every corner, museums, shows, shopping. There’s never a shortage of things to do.

KidduNot.com: Okay let's talk music, when did you first realize you had talent?
I would have to say after I performed at Glee Club concert in middle school. The teacher was Mrs. Williams and she’d say “You have a good voice.” but I don’t think I realized what she meant. After the concert some parents told me I did a great job and I embraced it from then on.



KidduNot.com: You write great songs that are heartfelt and sincere, tell us where you draw inspiration from.
I draw inspiration from everywhere. It could be two random people interacting on the street, a tv show, or a situation family or friends go through. I tend to put myself in their shoes and imagine how they feel about things.

KidduNot.com: Who or what, would u list as your Top 3 influences and why?
My #1 influence is my family. No matter what, we are always there for each other, good or bad. My other two influences are musical. Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder. Luther Vandross is a bomb vocalist. He could do whatever imaginable with his voice and I aspire to be able to do that. Stevie Wonder is incredible all the way around. He has crazy vocal range, is talented on multiple instruments and writes songs about real life and love situations. He also has 21 Grammy Awards. I wanna be that guy!

KidduNot.com: Tell us about your upcoming projects and where people can get/hear your music, any album releases in the near future? I think your fans would love that.
Since making the move, I’ve been writing a lot. My immediate goal is to get a publishing deal to place some of my music with established artists. This has been my focus lately. I plan to release my own album when I can give it my full focus. Meanwhile, a few of my songs are for download at LeVarThomas.com and iTunes.

KidduNot.com: You have a song called "Come See About Me" which is amazing to say the least. What inspired that song? I know some couples that are going to be apart for awhile, leaving for college, Iraq and different places. Being a songwriter I imagined how that might feel and I wrote with that in mind. After a couple of days, Come See About Me was born.

KidduNot.com: Okay tell us something about you that has never been revealed in an interview.
I’m a nerd! I love articles about science, I watch a lot of National Geographic and try to catch Jeopardy daily. I score pretty well too!

KidduNot.com: You were recently named as the Winner of a $10,000 Grand Prize on ClipStar.com, how did it feel to win? It felt good. When the check got in I was jumping off the walls! The best part is knowing that people worldwide are into the music I create.

KidduNot.com: In conclusion, if and when you make it into the industry, what is it that you want people to get out of your music? Goosebumps! For real, I hope my music brings people closer together and inspires a new generation of singers and songwriters.

LeVar Thomas
Singer/Songwriter
http://www.LeVarThomas.com
http://www.Imeem.com/LeVarThomas
http://www.Myspace.com/LThomasMusic








"Ribbon In The Sky" Levar Thomas



The Virgo Signing Off...

Bernie's Memorial Service

Yesterday thousands of people gathered at the House of Hope church in Chicago to say their fairwells to Oringinal King of Comedy, Bernie Mac. The packed house included the likes of Jesse Jackson, Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Cedric The Entertainer, comedian George Wallace, Bruce Bruce, Juwan Howard, and the cast from Bernie Mac’s TV show Kellita Smith (who played his wife), Camille Winbrush, and Jeremy Suarez. It was a very emotional memorial service. Rest in peace Bernie Mac.




Via People:

Thousands of mourners came out for a Chicago memorial service honoring Bernie Mac Saturday.

Some fans slept outside overnight in hopes of securing a seat inside the House of Hope church on the city’s South Side, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Chris Rock, Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and Rev. Jesse Jackson attended the emotional service, in which photos from the comedian’s career were shown on projectors and the White Sox organization presented Mac’s widow Rhonda with a No. 1 jersey bearing his name, the paper reports.


Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and Andy Garcia also sent condolences.

During the service, Mayor Richard Daley remembered Mac as someone with “a heart and passion.” Daley, who met with Mac a few weeks ago, added: “He knew the street, he knew the people, and that’s why he was a king of comedy. He wanted to do something personally to get children away from the life of violence. . . . He never lost his soul in Chicago.”




Mayor Richard Daley recalled that Mac was in his office recently, asking how he could help fight violent crime in the city.

"He wanted to help get children away from a life of crime and violence," Daley said during the service. "That's why he's the king of comedy. He never lost his soul in Chicago."

Mac died Aug. 9 at age 50 of what his publicist said were complications from pneumonia. He had been at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital since the middle of July.

Samuel L. Jackson, who co-stars with Mac in the upcoming movie "Soul Men," spoke at the church, saying he knew Mac "was having some health issues, but he always said to me every morning that he was always good."

Isaac Hayes, who died Sunday, also stars in the movie, and Hayes' music was played during the service.

Jackson observed that Mac didn't mind the loss of privacy that comes with fame.

"He never turned that kid down for an autograph," Jackson said. "He always had time to shake a hand. He was always that kid from Chicago who wanted to make everybody happy and everybody laugh






His co-stars from the documentary "The Original Kings of Comedy" -- Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer -- took the stage together at the church.

Hughley recalled that he and the others eagerly awaited Mac's stage attire each night. He said: "Bernie would wear colors that crayons hadn't even thought of yet."

He said he met Mac in Detroit, but that Mac always wanted to talk about Chicago.

"All he talked about was his family and this city," Hughley said. "He loved this city."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Obituary- Bernie Mac

Bernie Mac's last moments with his wife and daughter as told by his sister-in-law.

VIA PEOPLE.com:

"He opened his eyes on his own and looked at Rhonda. She called his name, and he opened his eyes and nodded to her. She smiled at him and told him, 'Don't leave me ...'I'm waiting for you to come back.' He shrugged his shoulders, and she said that's when she knew he was tired. He signaled to her that his body was tired. "Rhonda, Mac's wife since 1977, and their 30-year-old daughter, Je'Niece, 30, were with him when he died. "[The doctors] were working on him," says Grossett. "They tried to resuscitate him two times. One time he came back for about an hour. Then he went into cardiac arrest the second time."

Prior to that, the couple had last communicated on July 31. "He told his wife [non-verbally] that he could breathe on his own, and he wanted the ventilator out. He motioned that he wanted it out," says Grossett. "What she will treasure the most is the fact that she was his wife for 30 years - and not only was she his wife, but she was his best friend. She's going to miss him dearly."

The sister-in-law says Mac's inflammatory lung disease contributed to his death. "He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission," she says. "But because he had it, his immune system was compromised. He had an infection ... He was on a new medication that suppresses the immune system, and that's where the pneumonia came from. "She reveals that Mac - having trouble breathing and running a fever - was actually hospitalized on July 24, eight days before the date given for his admittance. The actor was diagnosed with pneumonia and immediately placed on a ventilator. "He was critically ill when he was in the hospital," says Gossett. "He was in intensive care the whole time."

Mac's funeral is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 15, at an undisclosed location. The family requests that donations be made to the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis, 40 E. Ninth St., Suite 601, Chicago IL 60605.

Lord bless this family as they go thru this hard time in their life!