Video introduction to PowerPlay FYI and A Normal Life.

Here's a brief interview with PowerPlay FYI keyboardist, Ruben Agosto. It was recorded by Johnny Nevin (not seen) at All Over the Place Records (aotpr.com) during one of the CD mastering sessions for A Normal Life. Also not seen is, Dan Agosto. Dan and John were the mastering engineers who put the final sheen on the songs before sending them out for manufacturing. They also worked together on producing this video.

Profile: Peter Frank - Vocalist

Peter is the male lead vocalist in PowerPlay FYI. He can be heard on the band's soon to be released CD, A Normal Life. A recent review of the CD compares his voice to Robert Cray. Peter has also been compared to the likes of Luther Vandros and John Legend among others. Notably, during the 2010 - 2011 season of American Idol, Peter made it to Hollywood.

Following is a December 4, 2011 interview conducted by fellow bandmate, Ruben Agosto.

Ruben: So you went to Europe in 2010?

Peter: I sure did. I went to the Netherlands. I flew into Brussels and we drove four hours to Rotterdam and then drove to Middleburg. That's pretty much where we stayed. We toured from that location. We rehearsed in Middleburg at The Spot, this European band rehearsal place, and then we would tour all day - some bands had extra shows or would do radio interviews and would then drive back into Middleburg.

Ruben: I understand you did some stuff with Duffy or appeared with her.

Peter: Yes. Duffy was part of the tour as well. She was there for the Freedom of Music Festival. They call it the "Bevrijdings" festival in Dutch, which means freedom or liberty.

Ruben: You said something about Brian McNight too.

Peter: Yes. I was in Los Angeles last year [2010] in March. It was my Spring break at school and I went to visit some friends but I also brought a little crappy demo and some pictures and whatnot. A friend of mine was dancing at Hollywood Live and Brian McKnight happened to be the featured performer that night. He was hosting the week that I was there and basically he invited me back to sing at R&B Live the following week so I flew back to LA after being in Chicago for two days and auditioned for him one-on-one on a Tuesday and then he put me in the show on Wednesday and I performed the pre-show and post-show. It was a nice show. They shoot it in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard.

Ruben: How about the Gospel tour you mentoned to me once - was it Washington?

Peter: I was touring with a Gospel artist by the name of Ricky Dillard and another Gospel artist by the name of Donald Lawrence. The day I came back from Europe, I went on tour with Ricky Dillard, Kurt Franklin and Yolanda Adams all at one time because they were using the same singers for many of the sets. There was this Mother's Day tour we had going for about a week and a half in the D.C. club area and, yeah, that's what we did. And we had to learn everybody's music. It was a real big headache. Don't know how I did it but...

Ruben: Then of course, you were in the Chicago Children's Choir. What was that like?

Peter: That would be a very short experience but it changed my life. I was in it from 2004 to 2005 but through this, they got me booked to sing - Luther Vandros had died in 2005, then I sang "With A Christmas Heart" by Luther Vandros at the Four Seasons and Laurence Fishburne was there and whatever happened between Laurence Fishburne and his people, they got in touch with Wyclef Jean who was coming to town and they said, "you should get this guy, he sings like Luther". Then he had me open the show with, "A House Is Not A Home" and "Redemption Song" so that was kind of cool.

Learn more about Peter and become a fan at his Reverb Nation page http://www.reverbnation.com/pfrankshow

CD Review: PowerPlay FYI - A Normal Life

Our debut original CD titled A Normal Life is complete. While the official release is a couple of months off, we've been selling it at live performances as a thank you to our loyal fans. Now the real work begins - generating some broad interest.

It's a very new world out there where Super Bowl commercials are available on the Internet weeks before game day to build some buzz. The net is also an amazing world stage where local bands like ours can look out across the globe and find who's listening. The high-tech effort is very much under way but good old fashion passing out CDs got the first result.

And so today we're excited to share the first published review of A Normal Life. It's written by Terry Flamm and posted February 22, 2012 on his Broken Hearted Toy music review blog. Take a look using the link below. Add a comment if you like and enjoy his many other great articles.

CD Review: PowerPlay FYI - A Normal Life

"The Eyes Have It" is one of our favorite songs on the CD, A Normal Life, due out in February 2012. It was written two years ago and recorded during 2010 and 2011. It captures the spirit of a classic Tower of Power song, "Soul Vaccination", but this one is for the guys who can't get enough of those eyes.

You often hear guys talk about being a "leg" man, "breast" man or "booty" man but it's time we heard from the "eye" men. Join us in a rousing chorus all ye fine gentlemen, "The Eyes Have It!"

The CD is finally happening. Manufacturing starts in early December. It certainly took more time than planned but life just happens. With a band our size there's plenty of life to tend to. But we think that the effort was worth it. The CD, appropriately titled, A Normal Life, is all about musicians doing what they're passionate about despite any obstacles.

Most of the band members went out for dinner to enjoy each others company and to listen to the mastered tracks. We got a private room and brought along a PC, some headphone amps and lots of headphones. We shared a sense of pride at what we heard and the excitement level is high.

All Over the Place Records is the label for our CD which will be available as a physical product as well as a download. The official release date is not set but it will likely be in February 2012. We'll actually have the CDs in our hands in December and may have some pre-release sales for fans who come out to see us at Navy Pier Winter WonderFest on December 16 at 7:30pm.

We've posted a sample on YouTube at http://youtu.be/Q772IoJbj4Q. Take a listen. More news will be coming out here as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Debut of Two Original's

The debut of two songs from our upcoming CD took place on Mike Kara's, "Eye on the Community", internet radio show. "The Power of Love" and "The Eyes Have It" are featured at the end of parts 2 and 3 of a 3 part interview with PowerPlay FYI keyboardist and composer, Ruben. The previously release original single, "Amparo" is also featured at the end of part 1.

In addition to the original songs, demo covers of Michael Jackson's, "Thriller", Ne-Yo's, "Closer", and Jeniffer Lopez's, "Let's Get Loud", open each interview segment and showcase PowerPlay FYI's versatility.

This officially kicks off the buzz about the CD which will be titled, A Normal Life. Find out more about the title and the rest of the songs in the interview. You can listen to it at http://www.mikekara.com/radioshow.html.

A Normal Life: Status

Our debut original CD titled, "A Normal Life", is well on it's way to completion. The CD is a tribute to musicians living a "normal" life and "anormal" life - one life to make a living outside of music and another to pursue their passion to create and perform.

Status

Most of the instruments are done, the lead vocals are done and we just recorded some background vocals (pictured) to sweeten things up. A few more brass sessions and we're on our way to mixing and mastering this massive project. The graphic artwork concept is taking shape. Of course we need to make sure all the legal paperwork is taken care of too (we'll be calling, Bert).

We're targeting a late March to early April release. The buzz will start in earnest with an interview on the Mike Kara Radio Show, Eye on the Community podcast this month where we'll debut pre-release versions of some of the songs.

Enough dreaming for tonight. Gotta get up and go to work in the morning. ;-)