HoustonBernard's Blog

The Sound Of Recording Artist, "Houston Bernard." By John Frazier Published Yesterday Music Rating: Unrated John Frazier According to his bio at www.houstonbernard.com , Mr. Houston Bernard has been touring the world promoting Human Rights and Free Speech since 2003. He has worked as musical supervisor and actor for movies such as, "2 Minutes Later" and "Will You" with director, Robert Gaston. On top of that, his first album was in the top 10 Indie Albums for Advocate Magazine, and his video for, "Say Goodbye" (Kas Gamble Remix featuring Raistalla) was voted the # 2 Video of 2007 on MTV/Logo. Now to be honest with you, I had never heard of Houston, as his type of music and his audience, I would not be a part. From our first hello, I had a feeling that this would not be my best interview and I'm sure I wasn't his best, however at the end of the interview, I found myself liking him and connecting. Taste in music is just like taste in fine wines or sexual preference, it is what it is. One man's heaven is another man's hell. If you are a lover of music, I would say to give Houston Bernard a listen to, by visiting YouTube and also visit the link above. While visiting the website, you may purchase everything "Houston Bernard." He has a loyal following, as if you visit his "My Space" webpage as of to date, he's had about 2721 profile views thus far. While visiting MySpace.com/HoustonBernard, you can treat yourself to about four different re-mixes of "I Feel Gorgeous", after the 3rd listen, it starts to sound good to you. If you google, he's all over the place. Speaking with him, vocally, he reminds you of Johnny Depp. Ladies and Gentleman, introducing Mr. Houston Bernard. THE INTERVIEW John: Where are you from? Houston: I was born in Oklahoma but grew up in Alaska, Massachusetts and Brooklyn. John: And which area do you mostly identify with? Brooklyn? Houston: mmm, yeah, that's where I came out with my artistry and discovering who I was. John: You are totally a new artist to me, I will probably ask you really stupid questions, but its so our readers will know who you are as well. What type of music do you sing? Houston: My current album is a mixture, rock, acoustic, some ballads, its very different than the last album. John: What's the name of your second album? Houston: "See The World." I traveled the world, and got a chance to see the world first hand. John: What lessons did you learn, traveling the world? Houston: We can learn from other people. John: Will you be promoting in the states? Houston: I will be doing some shows, I wont be doing any tours yet. I toured for 5 or 6 years straight, so I'm not interested in doing it but I will be doing a couple of shows here and there. John: Are you single? (involved) Houston: Yes, I got engaged. I spent last summer in Providence Town, doing a show, working, I was partying all the time, every single day, but then I hit rock bottom, stopped everything, I got clear headed, started seeing things differently, got into a relationship seriously and its nice. John: Are you gay, straight, bi? Houston: I'm free, I don't like to chose, I think you connect to a human being, you connect with them, you connect in many different ways. The person that I'm with I connected in every way. (Then he fast forwarded to his new single.) Speaking of the single, "I Feel Gorgeous" which was inspired by the summer at Providence Town, there are 16 re-mixes of that, and we've got a video coming out and I will be hosting on Logo network to release that. The last video, a song from the album called, "Say Goodbye" that was voted # 2 for 2007 on Logo. John: I thought this CD was just released? Houston: The album was just released June 23, but I had a single that lasted for about a year. (laugh) John: And how old are you? Houston: I'm ageless. John: And your music is universal? Houston: Definitely. It's leaning towards the love generation, I would say, they're upbeat, party tunes, its very positive, a couple of the ballads are from films, a film called, " 2 Minutes Later", Mike Gaston Pictures. I worked with director, Robert Gaston, I was also musical supervisor. The DVD comes with a movie short called, "Will You?" and there's also an acoustic song and I also acted in that. John: I'm really looking forward to listening to your music. Sounds like you've been doing this for a while. Houston: Yeah, since I was born. John: When did you realize that you could sing? Houston: I remember when I was growing up and had one of those "Bee Gee's" play guitar's, had the picture of the Bee Gee's on it. I enjoyed singing, being a little ham. I always performed. Did some Elvis impersonations . Did some modeling, nothing really came through till I came to New York. There are 15 tracks on the album, I produced 99% of it. John: Going onto your website, can we hear samples of your music? Houston: You can go to the website or I-Tune. John: Do you have any duets or background vocals on your CD? Houston: One guest performer, his name is T-Boy from New York City, I've been working with him for quite a few years. He was one of my back-up dancers. His performance is art in itself. I asked, "why don't you have any music out there?" "You are definitely a performer. He said, " I don't have anyone to produce me." So I told him, once I learned how to produce, I would produce him. John: If you had a chance to work with a performer, who would you choose? (Sing with?) Houston: I don't know. (We decided to come back to that question later.) John: What's your favorite word? Houston: Love. John: And which word do you dislike? Houston: I dislike the word, "Cracker." For those of you who don't know what that word means, it's a word that cuts and hurts just like the "N" word. He experienced being called this when he arrived in NYC, and lived in Bed Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He was called this more than a few times. As we continued to talk, Houston asked about my novel, of which, I became somewhat shy. He turned the tables on me. We both laughed. John: Do you prefer to have a gay audience or a straight audience? Houston: I prefer to have a gay audience. (The fights that he experienced while he preaching "human rights." was in a straight arena. He loves the gay audience where the energy is positive.) As for his music and his career, he remembers his friends and has allowed some of them to re-mix his music and to be a part of his musical journey. Houston: I just thought of a performer that I would like to work with. John: Who? Houston: Will Smith. I was totally surprised since his music is totally for a different audience. He even told me about the time that he performed with Bryan Adams, who pulled him up on stage. Just in case you are wondering, Houston is 6'2. So he's idea for modeling, print work, and also run way. Now as I reflect and write this interview, Mr. Houston Bernard has a new fan and its me. You read it here at GBMNews.com