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| I'm Jerry Giles I'm an actor, an actor that sings. I have a great love and respect for the music of Neil Diamond. From the first note of the intro to the final note, I want to embody all that Neil gives to song. I want to know what he was thinking when he wrote it and why. I want to know how he felt when he was singing it to millions around the world at arenas like "The Greek" or "MGM Grand." |
| My goal as a Neil Diamond tribute performer is simple: I want you to remember how you felt when you heard Neil's songs. You sang along and danced and waved your arms in unison with the thousands beside you at concerts. You listened alone in your car on the way to work in the morning as you tapped out the beat on the steering wheel. I want you to remember those feelings, and then I want to take you back to them! The audience is as big a part of my show as I am, because I am there for them! |
| "There's a magical spontaneity on stage that makes every performance special. The audience is half of the equation. You need them, you want them, you've got to have them. Without them there is nothing." Neil quoted before "Live at the Greek" in 1976. |
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| As I aluded to above, my journey to the stage has been an interesting one. I played guitar and sang for many years in coffee houses, pubs, bars, weddings, etc., for whoever wanted to hear me sing. That's how I earned money through college. After college, aided by a monkey puppet named Josh, I delivered over 2000 singing telegrams. I moved to L.A with all intentions of being another great singer/songwriter a la Neil. I fell in love with acting and have worked somewhat steadily over the years in that field. (check out the resume page) I slid away from music and performing live. I really missed it. Then, several years ago I realized that I could combine my loves of acting, singing by performing the songs of Neil Diamond...as Neil Diamond! |
| I'd always been told how much I sounded like Neil so I decided to study his sound, his moves, his passion. I try to re-create those "Hot August Nights." Come along with me! Mine is a tribute to the living legend and the joy his music has brought to millions, including me! I am first and foremost, a fan of the music and I treat it that way. Whether I play guitar with a live band or sing to tracks, I bring Neil into the room with me! That's why I've had the opportunity to perform for thousands of screaming fans as a Neil Diamond Tribute! |
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| I was born in Alabama but as a child growing up in the 60's I lived mainly in Florida. I grew up in the shadow of Cape Canaveral during the height of the space boom. My favorite musical group as a kid was probably Simon and Garfunkle. I loved their harmonies. Plus, I had a brother almost my age and we were sure to become like them. The first time I felt the real power of music was when I heard Christopher Plummer sing "Edelweiss" in "The Sound of Music." We moved back to Alabama and I finished high school there. Christmas of my junior year my mom and my older sister gave me and my brother guitars. For me that was "all she wrote." While I never became a great guitarist, but am still trying, I found a fantastic means of expression that I count myself lucky to have. It was my senior year that my brother and I first got on stage in a talent show singing, you guessed it, a Simon and Garfunkle tune. We didn't place in the finals, nor should we have, but had a great time. I went to college at Jacksonville State University where I played tennis for them. From time to time I studied music there also. I had a terrific voice teacher named Dr. Andrew Toney. While on one particular summer break, the tennis coach had asked me to teach tennis at a camp in Massachusetts. I took the job and while there met a guy named Ziggy who, after law school, wanted to be a music exec. He wanted me to be his first big "find" so a year after college I headed west to sing and write. While waiting for things to hatch in the music world, Ziggy suggested I take some acting lessons so I'd be as comfortable in front of the camera as I was in front of the microphone. (It seems there was this new medium for music called MTV so people were doing these things called "videos.") During my very first acting class with Bill Sorrel I knew that acting was my real love and that I'd like to sing as a sideline only. That is unless I could find a way to do both. Thankfully for me, years later I did find a way to do both. |
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| Neil Diamond |