In this CYInterview, you will gain some interesting insights into nail care and aesthetics, in addition to hearing some tidbits about Jenna’s celebrity clients. You can read the highlights and listen to our conversation in its entirety below:

Listen to the entire Jenna Hipp CYInterview:

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When speaking first about the latest trends in nail styling, the beauty industry veteran says the following:

“It’s funny to hear you say nail styling because I created that term because there was no term for celebrity. Everyone, we were just called celebrity manicurists and I didn’t want to be called a celebrity manicurist because what I did was so much more than being a celebrity manicurist. So I made up the term nail stylist like five years ago. So now, it’s really fun to see other people are starting to use the term… Starting to see the trends change is just seeing how nails have evolved in just the last five years…I create the trends…As me and other nail artists that are in the industry we’re all good friends and a lot of us in New York too have really worked hard to get the technology that has been coming our way onto the celebrities which in turn makes them more popular.”

With Ms. Hipp’s belief in all things green and eco-friendly, she tells us she does not use any beauty products on her clients that contain hazardous chemicals. Jenna says this is a big issue in the beauty industry, where there things are that might be harmful to health.

“It’s basically impossible to find hand and foot care [products] that don’t have parabens and sulfates and tons of chemicals and fragrances in them. So I use more skin care products…but they’re not hand and foot products at all. They’re skin care for your face and for your body and I just use them for your nails and I find that my clients so appreciate the fact that I’m not using products that contain harsh chemicals on them… It’s my mission to educate people and make them excited not about, not make them scared about what they’ve been dealing with, but make them excited about new alternatives and new technology that’s coming our way or even just taking it back to the basics, cleaning with baking soda and lemon juice. You know, you don’t need Clorox.”

One of Jenna’s celebrity clients is past CYInterview guest Zoe Saldana [see here]. She talks about Zoe – the lead actress in Avatar – as well one of this year’s Oscar nominated actresses, Michelle Williams.

“Zoe, she’s just such a free spirit and she’s just so open and so, I mean she walks in the room and no makeup and no hair done, but she’s got the most fabulous outfit on and the most perfect shoes and the most perfect handbag. She’s so put together and so classy, but then she sits down and she’s just like, is like the girl from you know the Bronx. I mean it’s just the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but she’s so relatable in so many ways and to so many people. I just feel so privileged…

She’s [Michelle Williams] on a completely different spectrum. Zoe is just very laughy and outgoing and very, very bubbly all the time whereas Michelle is very calm and very Zen. You walk into the room and you feel like you know everything is just gonna be ok, nothing’s wrong and it’s never chaotic around her. She does have you know her very close friend Busy Phillips with her getting ready all the time. So it’s just so fun. I feel like it’s like you know little girls getting ready and to be able to watch them play and laugh. They’ve been friends forever so I feel like I’m involved in their secret little world.”

Speaking about French manicures, Jenna says it is time to move on from a style that is no longer cutting edge:

“I’m not a fan of the French manicures at all anyway. I think at the time it was revolutionary and it was great, but now what’s happened is that with the length and with the shape that has, the square shape and the long square shape of the French manicure is just the biggest no, no really because the porn industry is taking it over and it’s, you will not see it on celebrities, but you’ll see it all throughout the Midwest. They still have their big long gels and their big long acrylics and it’s time to take them off.”

Focusing on the French pedicure, the celebrity nail stylist believes that style should have never taken foot:

“I think French pedicures should never happen and should never have happened and should never happen again. And I love a natural looking toe, but definitely to make your toe look like it needs to be cut is not a look that I think is attractive at all.”

In these challenging economic times, the beauty stylist tells us what she believes is the best way for women to save money on their nails and make them longer lasting:

“Don’t have impulse buys. Go through your wardrobe and go through your makeup kit and figure out colors that you’re gonna be able to wear with all of your clothes and your makeup and find complimentary colors. Don’t see a color and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love that color.’ And not think about what it’s gonna look on my skin tone or what it’s gonna look like with different outfits because then you get home and realize you’re never gonna use it. You put it in a drawer somewhere and then you don’t wear it for three years and then you grab it and use it and it chips off and it goes bad…The nail polish only lasts like a year. So get a color with what your when and where you’re gonna wear it.”

Jenna Hipp’s official website is here.

You can find more information about Nailing Hollywood here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Listen to the entire Racquel Bailey CYInterview:

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Focusing on her billboard, Ms. Bailey is an example of someone who took a chance. Some people believe, that in life, things take time to develop, particularly with respect to opportunities and recognition in the film industry. Other individuals want to approach success in a different way, with hopes of more immediate results. Ms. Bailey had this to say about her billboard message:

“I’m an actress from New Jersey. I decided to put up a billboard in Atlanta, Georgia for the reasons to capture the attention of Tyler Perry. My billboard says, ‘Attention to the top filmmaker in Atlanta, I want to be your next leading lady.’”

In an attention grabbing entertainment industry, sometimes talent is overlooked. Ms. Bailey, however, is an example of a real talent who understands that if people do not know about you, your work or your abilities, the prospects for success are slim:

“What happens when you decide that you want to be an actress, it is a different profession other than becoming a doctor or a lawyer. There is no guarantee that you will have that great success. When I decided to put the billboard up, what would make me different than everybody else because that’s what really matters, what makes you stand out from the crowd and when you’re putting out headshots and resumes and you’re going through the routines of going back and forth to auditions and just hoping that you’ll get the call. And sometimes it’s who you know, sometimes it doesn’t even matter if you’re good or not and I decided to set myself apart from the pack.”

Racquel Bailey's Billboard to Tyler Perry

Racquel is not just someone taking a shot at being cast in a movie; she’s acted in Law and Order, various off Broadway performances and commercials. She is an experienced performer with skills. But as with so many things in life, it is all about being recognized by the right people:

“I’m not looking for just to be 15 minutes of fame. I’ve actually been doing this for about 10 years now, maybe even 11 professionally. I’m a working actress, but so many of us are. We’re working, but we’re not being recognized for our talent and ability ‘cause there’s so many of us striving for the same thing…I was a reporter on Law and Order. I’ve done many off Broadway productions. I’ve done, let’s see, Cleopatra, I’ve done For Colored Girls, I’ve done Down the River…I tend to kind of gravitate towards the classics.”

Ms. Bailey says she is open to other acting opportunities, even if Mr. Perry never contacts her. Her comments on the acting business should be of interest to fellow and aspiring performers:

“You have to want it. You have to be determined. It is not something that’s gonna come to you tomorrow. It is not for the weak. You have to be strong and be able to stand time because you can’t expect overnight success with this…I think what makes an actress very versatile is when she opens herself to work with many different directors and many different producers.”

Racquel Bailey has provided us with an important lesson. To succeed you have to make things happen. You have to take action and go after what you want. Hopefully, someone in Hollywood will give her a chance. She has big dreams:

“I have a quote that I like to live by and it says, ‘I have nothing to lose but everything to gain…I want the gold. I want the Oscar. I am gonna be honest with you. When I started, when I decided to become an actress, that’s what I’ve been working for. I want the Oscar.”

You can watch Racquel Bailey’s reel and find out more information about the actress at her official site http://www.racquelbailey.com

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Get ready for swimsuit season by reading the highlights of this CYInterview with Jessica Gomes or listening to it in its entirety below:

Listen to the entire Jessica Gomes CYInterview

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While in school in Australia, Jessica tells us she dealt with racial criticism and bullying. She reflects back on that ordeal:

“I was but one of the only sort of Asian girls in my primary school and high school and I did deal with a lot of racial criticism and it sort of blew my mind because I grew up with a European father and an Asian mother…I wouldn’t change anything that has happened to me…I realized at the end of my schooling that, ‘Hey, I got something different. So I’m just gonna roll with it.’…Obviously it’s very harder to as a young girl, you know, growing up in a school where people are bullying you and teasing you about how you look and where you’re from. You know, I always felt sort of out of place and you know I guess it’s great that I was able to model and get out of there.”

When speaking of having a Chinese mother and a Portuguese father, Ms. Gomes express that it sets her apart. She also tells us what we should know about her:

“My mother is Chinese. My father is Portuguese and it’s great. It really is something different and I like to call it, I’m ethnically ambiguous…I don’t walk around in a bikini all day long. I swear. Because some people think you know, they’ll just look at those photos and think that you know, wow, swimsuit model. You know what I mean. But I’m also a fashion model…Obviously there’s a lot of other dimensions of me. I’m not just sort of a swimsuit pinup girl. I’m also a human being.”

Though Ms. Gomes agrees she hasn’t had a chance to showcase her Portuguese ancestry, as a person with Chinese roots she concurs that Asian people continue to be underrepresented in the American media and entertainment culture:

“I definitely think so. I think that there’s a real opening for you know, Asian actresses and musicians and you know I think that they’re should be more Asians and things on the cover of magazines. There’s such a big Asian culture in America and I think that it’s important that you know we acknowledge those people that are in the Asian community that are making history and doing amazing things. I just get really proud when I see an Asian person that’s doing great…I go for castings sometimes and they say, ‘Oh, we just don’t think you’re Asian enough you know, or we think that you’re too Asian.’ Like I’m a chameleon. It just depends what they’re looking for…I feel like I’m making game changes and I feel like I’m you know, inspiring people and I feel like I’m something that’s new and fresh.”

With summer season not too far off, the SI Swimsuit Model tells us how she stays in beach body shape and gives us some beauty tips:

“I eat healthy and I eat really good foods. I dance a lot. I work out at Tracy Anderson and I do aerobic dance classes in a heated room. I also try and get in occasionally some yoga to stretch my body and I just get plenty of rest and I don’t drink alcohol and I just eat really healthy and normal. Like you know, I have three meals a day, some snacks in between, I eat all whole foods. You know I try to keep it all organic and drink lots of water, lots of coconut water and just, I’m very active. I’m always moving around keeping busy and I’m a firm believer in happy mind, happy body…

I think that you’ve gotta keep it simple with beauty. I’m lucky enough that I get to try an array of different beauty products, but I think the most important tip I can give is make sure that you wear SPF on your face every day, you know if you’re out and about. I think that’s really important and just keep to the simple steps of you know cleanse, exfoliate moisturize. I think that’s really important and always use an eye cream and you know make sure you’re taking your makeup off every night before you go to sleep.”

You can follow Jessica Gomes on Twitter here.

Jessica Gomes’s FB page is here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

Some people live their lives by design. That design has, as its foundation, a philosophy upon which it is based – something that gives their lives particular meaning. Other people live their lives by default. They have a philosophy which says, “What will be, will be; it’s out of my hands; it’s up to fate, etc.” Or they do not even bother to consider their nature, the nature of the universe, their place in it and what they should or shouldn’t be doing.

Let’s face it. While there are people who live purposefully, there are many individuals who have never defined their lives’ purpose. They live by default. Their philosophy is not bothering to have a philosophy.

The way we approach life indicates the type of philosophy of living we have or do not have. What does this have to do with the financial state of the United States of America? Plenty actually. We human beings often divide knowledge into arbitrary categories, so that we may understand things more readily. Fine. Yet, if we become overspecialized, and consequently forego a generalship of life, our knowledge base falls under the weight of contextual lack.

Are your eyes glazing over? Are you bored? Hey, you might be. In a world of fragmented text messages, reliance on email when a phone call would be better and a mainstream media largely driven by cycles of scandal – which is the triumph of the superficial – instead of paying attention to what is ailing society – which would be a triumph of substance – our attention span has become so diminished that once something calls for some thought off lots of us go to something requiring less mental candlepower. Not better. Just less work.

So, if you are not bored, or do not feel the need to go read a nine word message about nail clipping, bear with me.

The finances of the United States of America have come undone for the same reason society is subsumed by an obesity epidemic and the diseases and disabilities that go with it. In a word, overconsumption. We have been blessed by bounty for so long, that we have forgotten to consume cautiously. Instead, we think that all the good things the nation has enjoyed over time are owed to us. A review of nature tells us otherwise.

If we overeat, we get fat.
If we overspend, we go broke.
If we believe that we are entitled to our dreams, absent working to make them come true, we are emotionally underfunded.

Because, as a nation, we have under-saved, over-borrowed, over-consumed, over-eaten and under-exercised, we are now facing a constellation of infirmities – fiscal and physical – threatening us individually and collectively.

It is time to get our house in order. It is time for solutions. It is time for discipline. And discipline – which is nothing more than focusing on a goal and working toward it with positive energy – does not call for being unhappy or trudging through life on a treadmill of grim determination. On the contrary, disciplining ourselves to focus, especially on what ails us, will return us to health; the health of our bodies, our balance sheets, our minds and our spirits.

Accordingly, we have brought Ric Drasin back to CYInterview. Ric has been with us before, discussing his exploits in the original Gold’s Gym, as a workout partner of Arnold Schwarzenegger, as a golden age bodybuilder, professional wrestler and actor, among other things. [See Here] and [See Here]

Considering that a major area the United States will have to focus on to effectively control its financial future is healthcare – encompassing such programs as Medicare and Medicaid, which present the nation with titanic unfunded liabilities – it makes sense to look at ways to improve our health and diminish a burden partly caused by preventable disease. Doing this calls for converting a system of sick care into a system that teaches us how to stay healthy.

Collectively adopting good diet, exercise and rest patterns, I believe, can go a long way to relieving the strain on our current system. What is the true toll of overeating and under-exercising in dollars? What is the cost of bad personal health habits, moneywise and otherwise? Isn’t it time for a change? And yes, some people will find a call to individual responsibility and a change of habits to be a quixotic undertaking. Poor them!

Ric was kind enough, in this over 20 minute CYInterview, to discuss the good word about diet and exercise. What makes Mr. Drasin a compelling speaker, is that at almost 68 years old, he continues to maintain a dynamic personality and physique – after more than 5000 professional wrestling matches. Perhaps, it is his diet and exercise routine that has kept him going where many others are now but shells of their former selves.

Does Ric, whose YouTube based program, Ric’s Corner – covering the golden age of bodybuilding, as well as related topics – come off preachy when talking about working out? Not at all. He is a down-to-earth, good guy, who speaks from experience. His CYInterview makes for a good listen.

Maybe if we all started taking better care of ourselves, we could alleviate a goodly portion of the strain which our healthcare system is under. Better health means less money spent on being sick. That makes us physically and financially better off.

Looking at life as a whole, rather than breaking it down into pieces without context, might help us relieve many of the ills society is facing. Life is a series of interconnected processes. It is time we realized those connections once more.

CYInterview editor Chris Yandek joined Ric and I for this CYInterview.

Listen to the entire Ric Drasin CYInterview:

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You can find out everything about Ric Drasin and Ric’s Corner at his official website at http://www.ricdrasin.com

You can reach me with your questions and comments at Jay@CYinterview.com

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter here.

There are few men who knew or did more for boxing than Bert did. Now, with the bell having rung for his last round, and with the judges cards in and tallied, it can be announced that, by unanimous decision, Mr. Sugar can be declared the most iconic boxing writer/historian of current times.

It was December 2006 and the Rocky Balboa movie was about to hit theaters. To coincide with the movie, a few different sets of DVDs were released looking back at the previous five Rocky movies. On one of the DVD sets titled Rocky Collectors Edition, boxing historian Bert Sugar does a commentary voiceover with boxing trainer Lou Duva about the first Rocky movie. It was at that time that I had my first opportunity to converse with Bert. I had really enjoyed our first CYInterview [see it here]. I was still very much a rookie at that time, but Mr. Sugar was gracious and giving.

Time flies, as it always does, and boxing had been getting interesting again. In 2011 with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao continuing to dodge each other while taking other fights, the sport showed glimpses of its former intrigue. With a little assistance from a longtime contact, I got back in touch with Bert in May of 2011. He remembered me and was happy enough to talk about the Manny Pacquiao and “Sugar” Shane Mosley fight. He was also was kind enough to speak on numerous boxing topics.

If there is one thing that stands out in reuniting with the boxing historian, it was that my colleague Jay Bildstein was able to finally speak with someone he held in such high regard. For those who don’t know, Jay is a big boxing fan. In that May 2011 CYInterview [see here], Bert shared his thoughts on the future of boxing:

“The future of boxing around the world is excellent, in the United States, a little less so. You have to understand that the United States has a sports public if you will, that as opposed to when boxing was one of the three major sports for the first 50 years of the last century along with baseball and horse racing, there are now 46 different sports on the American landscape or platter…So it’s lost it’s place. It’s lost its following and Americans have always liked big things, they like big cars, big bank accounts, big chested women and big boxers. We’ve been a heavyweight oriented sports constituency or sports group. The lighter weights have not interested us as much as they have around the world.”

In September of 2011, I would hook back up with Bert for another CYInterview [see here]. This time he and I spoke about the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz fight. If you knew Bert Sugar, you knew one thing; he was always good with words and using things from history, science or any other area of knowledge and tying it in with a fight or a fighter. He did this speaking about Mayweather before his fight with Ortiz:

“Here he [Floyd Mayweather] is at 34 fighting with all the frequency of Halley’s Comet. He’s had two fights in 42 months and the last one 14 months ago and you don’t know when age or rust is gonna set in. In fact, if you look closely, there is a minor erosion I can point out as if he’s just coming off his peak and that is he doesn’t move as much as he used to. He only takes one or two steps most at a time.”

In November of 2011, my last CYInterview with Bert Sugar [see here], we spoke about the Manny Pacquiao /Juan Manuel Marquez fight. In that CYInterview, Bert also remembered the late great boxing legend Joe Frazier:

“Joe Frazier has always been thought of a hyphenate, part and parcel, Muhammad Ali. You would always say Ali-Frazier. You’d never say Frazier-Ali even after Frazier won their first fight in 71. Ali was the headline. That said, with poor Joe’s death on Tuesday, Joe Frazier stood alone without that hyphenate, without that Ali attachment and became just Joe Frazier, one of the greatest champions of all time, big enough in his own right and he threw a left to gain front page coverage in the NY Times on a stand alone one without Ali basis as one of the ten greatest heavyweights of all time, my rating”

My last question to Bert, in our last CYInterview, was an ongoing question about whether Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would ever get in the ring. Bert stuck to his belief the fight would never happen.

“Good. Call me when it happens will you. For three years I said it’s never going to and I will stick to that.”

Bert sugar never had any intentions of retiring. On numerous occasions, he would say this of why he continued to cover boxing and be one of its most important voices:

“I’m just doing whatever the heck I can do. As somebody once asked my son, ‘When is your dad’ meaning me, ‘gonna retire?’ And his answer, ‘Well let’s see, he drinks a lot, smokes a lot, he BS’s a lot and he gets paid for it, what’s he gonna do if he retires? Smoke a lot, drink a lot, BS a lot and not get paid for it? And not watch boxing?’ So I’m really having the most fun I’ve ever had with my clothes on.”

He was always full of laughs. In our last conversation, I had been aware that Mr. Sugar had just gotten out of the hospital and was dealing with some health related issues. At the end of 2011, going into the New Year, I called him to wish him a happy holiday and said I hoped he was feeling better. It was the last time we spoke. He told me he was better at the time. What I remember most from that call was how much he appreciated the gesture that I called to see how he was doing. Bert was a class act.

Over the last year Bert Sugar had become one our CYInterview regulars. I thank my colleague Jay Bildstein for encouraging me to track down Bert. Thanks to that, I was able to speak with him on various occasions over the last 10 months of his life. Though part of me is crushed writing this, I feel truly honored that I knew one of the greatest writers, minds and voices of the last 50 years in the sports media world. Thank you Bert for giving a young media buck all the time in the world, even when you weren’t feeling well. It was truly an honor and privilege speaking with you. You are one of the last greats from a legendary sports media era.

We at CYInterview prayers and best wishes to Bert’s family during this difficult time. Thank you Bert for what you brought to my life and my colleague Jay’s life over the last year. I will never forget the things I learned from you.

To recap, below is a link to all four of Bert Sugar’s CYInterviews.

You can listen to all of them in their entirety. They are worth checking out.

CYInterview 1 with Bert Sugar

CYInterview 2 with Bert Sugar

CYInterview 3 with Bert Sugar

CYInterview 4 with Bert Sugar

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

This year the Hitman series, a video game about the world’s deadliest assassin, Agent 47, comes out with its latest installment entitled Hitman: Absolution. Marsha, with her unmistakable British accent, is voicing Agent 47s closest confidant, Diana Burnwood. The role in the video game is sure to bring Ms. Thomason lots of exposure, as well as new fans.

Many will recall Marsha as Nessa on Las Vegas or as Naomi on Lost. Both Las Vegas and Lost are no longer in production, but Ms. Thomason’s work made her known to many television viewers. In the CYInterview below, Marsha Thomason speaks about her career, as well as who she is personally. She also talks about how she dealt with a Twitter imposter. (Incidentally, the imposter was following @ChrisYandek under her name. When Marsha took control of her account, she continued following me.)

Listen to the entire Marsha Thomason CYInterview:

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Chris Yandek: Before we get into everything, what do you want people to know about you away from the world of acting?

Marsha Thomason: “Oh wow. Not much really. (Laughs) I’m quite a private person. I don’t know. No, nothing much. I’m just a human in the world.”

CY: Well, there you go then. You know what I’ve noticed over the years you know about British performers? Is that you guys kind of have this different view of the world of acting compared to Americans. I think many of you guys see it more as a job you love and then you go home and there’s the rest of your life. Is that how do you see it?

MT: “Definitely. I mean and it’s always been that way. You know, I started acting when I was 14, my goodness and I remember the grownups, the adults that I was working with, they would say you know, ‘Well, I’m going to work. I’m going to work.’ Whereas to me it was like, ‘I’m going to shoot. I’m going to film.’ You know it was like this exciting and then I quickly learned that you know it’s just a job. It’s just a job.”

CY: Yeah.

MT: “There’s nothing too special about it.”

CY: In my analysis, I think you’re somebody who plays serious roles like Nessa from Las Vegas, of course Naomi on Lost and of course Diana from White Collar, but at the same time I think you like to have fun. Is that how you are in your own life?

MT: “Absolutely. I really, you know it always surprises people that I’m actually funny because I think maybe it’s the English thing. I don’t know. I’m always cast in these serious roles it feels like, but you know one day I’d like to do a comedy. I really would. I mean I’ve been in comedies, but I’m usually the straight person. I really would like to do that. I’ve come close a few times to doing a comedy and it hasn’t quite worked out and hopefully one day it will.”

CY: Well, I hope it does for your sake. I’d love to see another side of your acting craft of course.

MT: “Yeah.”

CY: You know. White Collar now has been going strong for a few years here. What’s it been like to be part of another TV show that gets to have a long run and you get to work with the same people for quite a while?

MT: “Oh you know, I’m so lucky and I realize it every day. You know, I keep, you know as exciting as it is and I try to live each day and enjoy the moment, but there’s always that knowledge that one day it will end you know. So every year we get to go back is such a blessing and I do. You know, it’s pilot season here in L.A. right now and you know, they’re gonna make all these pilots and they’re gonna be on television, some of them you know and they’ll be canceled within a day and I just really, I’m so appreciative that I’m on this show where I get to work with great people you know every day year after year.”

CY: Yeah. Absolutely. There are many great performers out there like yourself as you’ve mentioned and I feel like the reality TV culture has taken away opportunities from some of your acting colleagues to find work. Do you feel fortunate in that sense as you just mentioned because of that?

MT: “Absolutely I do and I think you’re right. I mean, you know, that’s definitely been the case in England. You know I have a lot of actor friends obviously back home and they don’t have as many channels in the UK. I mean they certainly have more than they did when I was growing up, but it’s not like here we have a booming cable industry and you know and network TV makes great stuff too as well as the reality stuff. So I feel like sure it’s had an impact, but compared to these smaller countries where you know they don’t have as many channels, it’s had a profound impact.”

CY: I think most people would say how do you go from being a Brit over there and how do you get over to America? I think that’s the question people always ask when a foreigner comes over to America and starts getting all these roles.

MT: “Well, I’m one of those awful people who you know I just had a really lucky break. You know I started acting in England like I said from being a kid and I worked consistently over there and then they were, Fox were looking to cast somebody in Black Knight and they couldn’t find a black actress over here who could do an English accent, which is not say that they’re aren’t any, but they didn’t find one. So they came to England and you know I was lucky enough to get the job and that helped me launch my career over here.”

CY: Yeah. I think it’s just interesting in itself how you were a foreigner who comes over here because so many don’t have that experience, let alone in America being an American performer and getting an opportunity. But when you’re the foreigner and you come here and then you blow up in America, that’s just so rare, even more rare.

MT: “Yeah. I feel really fortunate. I mean it sounds like [word unintelligible], but it’s true. I feel really fortunate.”

CY: Yeah. More than anything else I wonder you know going forward now, of course, and you know expanding out to acting opportunities as we’re talking about this next project, you know I am not a big game/video game follower or anything like that, but the Hitman series is the one franchise I do follow coincidentally. It’s the only thing I really pay attention to. So when I heard you were voicing/acting/playing Diana Burnwood, agent 47s closest friend/colleague, did you feel honored? In Hitman: Absolution we finally are able to see her. But all of us Hitman gamers live for Diana and understand her importance.

MT: “I know. It’s amazing. I made a joke the other day I’m only playing Dianas in the last couple of years.”

CY: Yeah.

MT: “It’s funny. I’m Diana Barrigan and I’m Diana Burnwood, only Diana Bs. Yeah, I mean it’s, I’m a bit of a gamer and I was definitely aware of the Hitman franchise and so when the opportunity came I jumped at it ‘cause you know it means a lot to a lot of people. But you know my Twitter’s been blowing up since it was announced I’m part of it and I can really see that it really you know has quite an impact on a lot of people’s lives.”

CY: Well, working on a video game seems to have a lot of artistry the way you were showing it in the video for your preview thing, but this is gonna introduce you to a whole new audience as you just mentioned.

MT: “Absolutely.”

CY: Do you think it is something that performers overlook being part of something like this.

MT: “Definitely because I think there’s a snobbery about it, you know but I think things are changing actually because we have Andy Serkis doing all this wonderful motion capture work, amazing incredible work in the last decade and that’s how we shot Hitman. You know I was in the motion capture, in the suit with the darts and the camera in my face. It was a very interesting, different, creative experience and I think people do undervalue it and I think that’s a mistake.”

CY: And the question I wonder is how does an actor audition for a video game? Is it a different process or is it just like everything else? How does one find out about it? That’s interesting.

MT: “It’s slightly different. It was more about the voice actually and so I recorded some of the dialogue and sent it to the people, the powers that be and they liked my voice and that’s, we went from there really.”

CY: Well, wonderful. It almost seems like, you know, watching you put this video game together it almost seems like it was almost Avatar, like almost kind of.

MT: “Oh totally. That’s what I was saying on the day. I said, ‘You know I feel like I’m in Avatar right now.’ It was very, very cool interesting. I’d love to do something like that again. I really would.”

CY: As you know there are probably millions who have been anticipating the next installment of the Hitman series because it’s been a very long time. I think it’s been four years if not five. So can you at least tell me something about Hitman: Absolution for the fans out there? Can you tell me something?

MT: “No. No. No I can’t. I’d get in a lot of trouble. There’s a lot of secrecy around this project and I’m certainly not gonna be the one to let the cat out of the bag.”

CY: Well, there you go then. Do you have an idea when the release is of course? Is there a release date yet ‘cause I couldn’t really find anything on that. Any idea on that yet?

MT: “Yeah. There isn’t one yet actually and I’m not, it shifted around a couple of times and I’m not sure, but it’s definitely going to be this year.”

CY: Ok. Well, thank you very much on that. Ok, let’s talk about a few more of your other roles. What I could never understand is why you departed from Las Vegas after two seasons because you really balanced out the entire cast.

MT: “Oh. Thank you. You’re so sweet. Well, they let me go. You know. I don’t know. You’d have to ask them.”

CY: I just don’t get it. I really don’t get it.

MT: “Neither did I.”

CY: You were the serious good looking woman on the show and then, of cours,e there were the other good looking women and they had their own spunk as well, but you were like the serious work for corporate keep an eye on what’s really going on, understand what’s really going on, not get caught up in all the hoopla. And it was like, why do you get rid of the opposite character on the show. She balances out the entire cast and I just couldn’t understand it.

MT: “Neither could I.”

CY: And I didn’t enjoy Las Vegas after that as much to tell you the truth.

MT: “Well, thank you.”

CY: Was it as crazy to work on that show as it seemed?

MT: “At times. Yes. Absolutely. But we didn’t shoot in Vegas. You probably know that.”

CY: Yeah.

MT: “We shot in Culver City in a warehouse that they converted into a casino. It was pretty incredible. I mean you really felt like you’d been transported to Las Vegas. They did an amazing job. And then I think subsequently after I left the show they moved to Sony Studios I think, but we would shoot a bit at the beginning of the season in Vegas and that was crazy. You know when we shot the pilot, we shot at the Mandalay Bay and we had to shoot in the quiet time, which you know a casino never closes. So I think we started at you know two in the morning through and a 12 hour day. Oh it was rough. So rough.”

CY: One thing I’d love to clear up with you, after season five [sic] was slated not to come back and it didn’t come back, there were rumors you were going to be brought back. Was that just a rumor?

MT: “Absolutely just a rumor. “

CY: Well, thank you very much for clearing that up because there was a lot of hoopla.

MT: “I wasn’t even aware of that hoopla.”

CY: Yeah. There were numerous conversations about the possibility of them bringing you back. Go look online. And I was like, I can’t believe that. I’m like ‘cause you know we never got a real official ending. How would you sum your Lost experience?

MT: “Oh it was amazing. I was a huge fan of the show. You know, I know Dominic Monaghan from back home and so you know this was his big new TV show and I started watching from the beginning and I was hooked immediately. Then I came in season three and I was just that first day that I went, I had been shooting for about a week before I actually went to the beach and when I got to the beach with everybody there it was so surreal. It was really an incredible time. I felt like I was a part of something that those seminal TV shows, Mad Men’s gonna be one of them we talk about for years. Twin Peaks is one of them and Lost too and it’s amazing I was part of that.

CY: Favorite role?

MT: “My favorite role?”

CY: Yeah.

MT: “Wow. You know I think it’s Diana right now. I really, I love working with the guns, I love working in New York, I love playing an FBI agent, I adore the people I work with. This, I really do think this and I know you know it probably sounds like bullshit because, of course, she’s gonna say that, it’s the job she’s on now. But this truly has been one of the most special times for me working on White Collar.”

CY: You’ve had four seasons on the same show. You had two seasons on Las Vegas. You came into Lost in the middle of that thing. I would obviously call this your favorite thing because you guys are gonna be back again this summer I believe for a fifth [sic] season. This is your longest running project. Why wouldn’t it be your favorite?

MT: “Well indeed. Well put.”

CY: Well put indeed. Ok. Now a little CY mystery as I always like to call it. Just for the people who know out there, some of you do know this, me and Marsha have been longtime Twitter followers and I believe what happened, now help me clear this up because I really want to know.

MT: “Ok.”

CY: What I believe happened is that there was some random person out there pretending to be you, you got control of your Twitter name, you cleaned out all of your followers and you kept a few people in the list that you liked and over the years you just kept following me and is that really what happened?

MT: “That’s exactly what happened. Yeah. It came to my attention and this happens to a lot of actors, there was somebody totally pretending to be me for at least a year having full blown conversations with followers. You know, ‘Headed to a meeting with my bodyguard.’ Hello, Marsha T doesn’t have a bodyguard. That’s hilarious. You know, just engaging with fans, talking about my hubby and this, I mean it was actually really offensive because you know you’re pretending to be me. And so and it’s very difficult, it may be easier now, but it was at the time kind of difficult to prove that their fake and you’re the real person. And so.”

CY: What happened? How did you go through that process? I’d love to know.

MT: “I had a little bit of fun with it actually because I got the boys from the show to take a picture with me with the New York paper.”

CY: With the New York Times, with the New York Times. Yeah.

MT: “Yes. That’s right and then that helped fast track it and then somebody from publicity at USA kind of took control of the situation. By the end of that day it was done. But I had been aware of this fake Marsha for a little bit and didn’t know what to do about it. And Facebook makes it really difficult. There are fake pages of me on Facebook as well. I have a real one, but that’s not easy either. And there was somebody on My Space pretending to be me as well.”

CY: Well, I’m not surprised by that. What was curious to me was though you had like 700/800 followers that you clear everybody out and you left me there and I love that. I really appreciate that.

MT: “Well absolutely. I could tell you were a class act.”

CY: I appreciated that more so than anything else. I always enjoy your tweets and I hope you enjoy mine. I always try to entertain and inform. It’s like, because usually I get the follow from the celebrity after the interview and it’s like you’ve just been there for a few years.

MT: “Yes.”

CY: And it’s just kind of one of these random things and you follow like 77 people. [Marsha follows about 100 people now]

MT: “I know. I don’t follow many people at all.”

CY: Ok. Thank you so much for clearing that up. And that’s quite fun. I’m glad you finally got a hold of your life and you deserve that obviously.

MT: “Thank you. Thank you.”

CY: I don’t know if you have a middle name, but either way are you adding or changing it to Diana?

MT: “(Laughs) I have a middle name that I’m not really fond of and no I’m happy with, I added my name, another name when I got married. So I have three. I’m good.”

CY: Ok. Well there you go. And of course as you know as you mentioned earlier, I understand this and I would love just a little quick story if you don’t mind. You know, I always enjoy that busy people find happiness. So did love find you while you were working? Is that what happened?

MT: “That’s exactly what happened. Yeah. It’s hilarious ‘cause my husband’s actually from my hometown and so here I moved 6000 miles away to Los Angeles and found a man. We were shooting something for the BBC in Belfast and I met somebody. His parents live 15 minutes away from my parents.”

CY: I think that that’s just so wonderful.

MT: “Yeah.”

CY: I’m not someone who pries into people’s personal lives, but it’s just so wonderful when you’re working because as you very well know it’s a very lonely life because you’re just…

MT: “Absolutely.”

CY: …constantly working and to find happiness along the way, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.

MT: “Oh thank you. You’re very sweet.”

CY: Marsha Thomason thank you so much for joining me today. Of course, catch her in White Collar. When’s it coming back this summer? When’s it starting again this summer?

MT: “I’m not sure. June probably.”

CY: Ok.

MT: “We usually start in June.”

CY: Ok. Thank you very much. So catch her in new episodes of White Collar, of course, in June, of course, repeating on USA. Finally, what do you still want to accomplish, hopes for the future? I know you mentioned you want to be in a comedy, but anything else?

MT: “You know I really love television. I mean film’s great and I was, of course, enjoy being in film, but when this is over I want to be on a show like Modern Family which, of course, every actor is saying right now. I love comedy. I got to do those two episodes of Two Broke Girls and it was really to make people laugh is just a lovely thing and I’d love to do something like that.”

You can fall Marsha Thomason on her verified Twitter here.

Marsha Thomason’s official Facebook is here.

You can find more out about Marsha Thomason on White Collar here.

You can order a copy of Hitman: Absolution and find out more information here

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

Aside from his acting work, Rob Riggle has served for 22 years in the Marines, originally enlisting at the age of 19. For nine of those years he was on active duty. For 13 years he has been in the reserves. Rob is a fascinating individual, who believes a person can wear more than one hat in life. You can read the highlights of our conversation or listen to the entire CYInterview below:

Listen to the entire Rob Riggle CYInterview:

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Rob Riggle’s latest project is in the movie 21 Jump Street, out Friday in theaters nationwide. The movie stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. It is about two people who could not stand each other in high school but later become friends during their time together in the police academy. Mr. Riggle tells us about his role:

“I play a character Mr. Walters. I’m the gym teacher/track coach and you know for this role I just kind of went back and pulled from my experiences, some of my coaches in my past and different people I’ve met through my life’s journey and the alpha male type kind of guys and I just plucked from them and tried to make, put ‘em into the character of Mr. Walters…I actually credit some of my high school coaches, not just my teachers, but some of my high school coaches for setting a great example and really putting me on a good path…It’s a really fun, action comedy that people are gonna enjoy.”

As for his 20 plus years as a Marine, on both active duty and in the reserves, Rob shares how that part of his life has impacted him:

“I am in the Marine Corp and I served in Liberia. I’ve served in Kosovo. I’ve served in Afghanistan. I was at Ground Zero moving rubble by hand. Those have big, big impacts on your life. They make a difference. They are things that you take with you and you draw from when you’re an actor, all those emotions to go along with that you remember those.”

In a world where many of us are taught to focus on one goal or profession, Rob Riggle shows that you can pursue diverse interests. Many will say that the military and acting are incompatible worlds. However, it’s obvious the comedic actor has not limited himself:

“I’ve always had a passion for it [acting]. I have a passion for comedy. But that doesn’t deter me from doing other things. So I also had my pilot’s license when I was in college. So when you graduate as a theater and film major from college you’re gonna be a waiter or a bartender. I also could’ve been a pilot. So that’s what I did. I pursued flying for a while and then realized I needed to go follow my heart and try comedy and acting…I think that you can wear more than one hat in this lifetime. When I’m a Marine I put on my Marine hat and I conduct myself accordingly. But I love comedy and I’m a comedian. And so when it’s time to play, I play and I have a lot of fun doing it. And I’m just lucky that I live in a time and place where I can pursue my dreams so that’s a good thing.”

Last year Rob appeared with Tom Hanks in the movie Larry Crowne, also starring Julia Roberts. He talks about his experience working with the two time Academy Award winner:

“It was awesome to do a scene with Tom Hanks, it’s surreal. You wanna pinch yourself and you wanna stand up and call all your friends and say, ‘I’m doing a scene right now with Tom Hanks just so you know.’ So it was hard for me. I had to calm down and focus and really just you know focus on doing, trying to do the character as best I could ‘cause it is an awesome experience…I learned patience and control and that’s a good thing to have when you’re an actor.”

Rob speaks of his hopes for the future as he continues to build his acting resume with noteworthy roles:

“I want to keep working. I don’t want much. I’m not gonna ask for the world. I just want to keep working and have an opportunity to work with really quality good people. And if that happens I’ll be a very happy man.”

Photo by Scott Garfield.

21 Jump Street opens in theaters nationwide this weekend. You can find more information about the movie here.

Rob Riggle’s official website is here.

Rob Riggle’s official Twitter is here.

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

With the media’s focus on Rush Limbaugh last week, Ms. Allred comes back for her latest CYInterview to discuss why she believes Mr. Limbaugh should be held accountable for his actions.

You can read the highlights or listen to the entire CYInterview below. Featured columnist Jay Bildstein joins me for our latest round with Ms. Allred:

Listen to the entire Gloria Allred CYInterview:

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Aside from a potential prosecution, Ms. Allred tells us if she thinks Sandra Fluke could sue Mr. Limbaugh for slander:

“Well, I think that she and her attorneys if she has any, I’ll make a guess that she does, you know are assessing that. But certainly if it’s false and accuses her of that, I think that she has a strong argument that she has been slandered…She [Sandra Fluke] has not contacted me so I wouldn’t draw any conclusions about whether I would or would not take her case. Obviously if she contacted me I would respond to her and be happy to provide whatever advice she was seeking.”

As far as the possibility of Rush Limbaugh being prosecuted under the Florida Statue [see statute here] which makes defaming a woman by falsely and maliciously claiming she lacks chastity a misdemeanor, Gloria says this about her letter and the prosecutors:

“I know they’re certainly aware of it so I know they’re in receipt of it, I know that they’re in receipt of it, I know that they know there’s press interest in what their response is going to be and so we’ll see what their decision is.”

In response to the Drudge Report covering her in the feature headline, “Gloria Goes Wild,” Ms. Allred responds to the attention she has received from one of the most trafficked news platforms on the Internet:

“I know that obviously the Drudge Report is a very conservative leaning publication and so my, they have a way of knowing what might be of interest or kind of being in touch with what might be interest to their reader base, their viewer base and so my sense of it is they thought that, you know that this would be of interest to their readers. Frankly that’s the way I see it.

It doesn’t matter to me whether I’m a headline there or not, but it is of interest to me that they thought it was so newsworthy that they would headline it and let people know what’s happening and I’m happy for them to know what we have done as long as they understand what we really have done. I actually didn’t call for his arrest as they headline says. I called for an investigation and for them to consider prosecution, but anyway this is their extrapolation of that.”

You can find more information about Gloria Allred at http://www.amglaw.com and http://www.gloriaallred.com/

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/chrisyandek

You can listen to the entire CYInterview or read the highlights below:

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After a ruling last month declaring the banning of same gender marriage unconstitutional, Gloria takes us through the entire history of Proposition 8 and tells us what is ahead:

“It’s interesting because Prop 8 of course was the proposition passed by majority of people in California who voted and which once again banned same gender marriage in California. In other words, it prohibited marriage equality. And that came after we won a victory where we were able to strike down Prop 22 which was essentially the same language as Prop 8 and the court found that was unconstitutional in California to deny the right to marry to same gender couples. So that a result of our case, 18,000 couples were able to marry, but then Prop 8 was passed banning it and so then the second time the California Supreme Court, they upheld Prop 8 and so marriages stopped.

Then came the federal case challenging Prop 8 and that’s been winding its way through the courts, the lower court, Judge Walker found that it was unconstitutional under the United States Constitution, a denial of equal protection due process. That was appealed by the Prop 8 supporters, the proponents of Prop 8 to the ninth circuit United States Court of Appeals which just decided last week to affirm the lower court decision. In other words, to say that, ‘Yes. It is unconstitutional.’

And essentially what they said was it’s unconstitutional to pass an initiative like Prop 8, a proposition which takes away rights from a minority that had been afforded privilege previously which is what happened in California. Something like what happened in Colorado years ago where they were, took away, you know, where they took away from cities the right to prohibit discrimination against persons who were gay and lesbian.

In any event, the most recent thing is, there’s an interesting article in the LA Times today that now the Prop 8 supporters, proponents are considering asking the entire United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that’s 11 judges to accept the rehearing of this case, en banc, as it’s called where, but it’s gonna take a majority of all the judges to decide that they want to rehear what the United States Court of Appeals did. They may decide they’re not gonna grant a rehearing. Then the next stop is to, for the Prop 8 supporters to seek the United States Supreme Court review of this matter which they may or may not accept, but probably will and that is where ultimately this case is going to be decided.”

With the current composition of the U.S. Supreme Court, what does Gloria Allred think about the Prop 8 case being heard by them?

“I was less optimistic before the ninth circuit ruled because I was worried about it going to the United States Supreme Court. However, the way the ninth circuit decision is crafted, written, it’s very, very narrow. It only really applies to California, doesn’t apply to all the other western states in the United States which ninth circuit decisions usually do apply to all the rest of the states. Technically it does apply, but it really only applies where there has been a right afforded and then that right was taken away. That only happened in California. If it would’ve happened in any of the other western states, it would apply. But it hasn’t happened anywhere else. So given that it will only apply in California, the justices of the United States Supreme Court may say, ‘Ok. Fine. We’ll let it stand for California.’”

Gloria says she is more concerned about women’s rights/equal rights than ever before:

“Yes. Especially with the current Republican debate about birth control and health plans that somehow they want kowtow to you know to those who would want to limit birth control access in terms of health plan coverage. They would not want to require employers as part of their health plan coverage to cover birth control, not pills or contraceptives. That’s really important not only for the obvious reasons that you know, so many women do use birth control. But also to prevent birth or that is contraception to conceive, but for another reason, which is about half of all the people who use birth control pills are using it for a different reason, a medical reason to treat cysts for example or other reproductive health issues that women have.

Nothing to do with trying to prevent getting pregnant and I spoke with a woman today who had that same problem and you know that, so a lot of Catholic employers do in fact hire people who are not Catholic and they should be able to have a health plan which covers birth control contraceptives. It’s not cheap. It may be cheap for their millionaire, multimillionaire Republicans who think that it’s cheap to buy birth control. But you know they’re a lot of poor people in this country or working poor who just can’t afford it and to deny them the health coverage for the contraceptives I just think is wrong.”

On the subject of women’s rights and equality, given the current composition of the United States Supreme Court, Gloria explains why it’s very important President Obama gets reelected:

“I think it’s very important. It’s very important because, of course, he will have the opportunity to appoint justices to any vacancies on the Supreme Court of which there may very well be some in the next term. He’s had an opportunity to appoint. He’s done a great job. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, excellent choices. But you know, they’re gonna be more vacancies and this really can have a huge impact on the law. So yes, it’s important and I think there’s gonna be a stark contrast between President Obama and any one of the Republicans who ultimately is nominated.”

Last year, Ms. Allred participated in a CYInterview [see here] about civil rights, as well as the need to have compassion for people who do not have things many of us take for granted. The outspoken attorney agrees with my colleague Jay Bildstein’s proposal that our political leaders take a cut to their own salaries in order to lead by example during a time calling for collective sacrifice. She liked the idea of those salary cuts being made before making cuts that would impact the rest of us, particularly the impoverished and less fortunate:

“Well, I like that idea a lot. I think it’s a great concept…You see people who are elected following the money, the money that got them elected. They’re gonna be accountable to their special interest money that they have received and it’s the people who have donated to their campaign and what they represent and what they want. In a way they’re proxies. They should be a proxy for the people of the entire district or state that they represent, but instead they seem to be more interested in making sure that the flow of their campaign dollars continues and so they’ll vote the way that those who contribute pretty much want so that they can stay in office because once they’re in office, I think their main goal is just to stay in office or to seek higher office.”

Recently, pop music superstar Rihanna released two songs which she collaborated on with former boyfriend Chris Brown. Many will recall that Mr. Brown physically assaulted her in 2009, on the night of the Grammys. Gloria believes the pair should donate all the money made on this project to a battered woman’s shelter:

“It’s a unique situation where we have two people who are involved in a highly covered, high profile situation involving violence against Rihanna who was the victim now seeking to profit off of that coverage by doing something together. This is, it’s pretty, I think it’s horrible. I think they should donate all their profits to a battered woman’s shelter, which I doubt that they will do. In addition, I do think it sends a bad message and I’m concerned about her.

Maybe this is just professional singing, but you know, if they get back together, I don’t really see information that says that he’s completely changed, that he doesn’t have an anger management problem anymore. In fact to the contrary, given a very strong and belligerent email that he sent to people who criticize the Grammys for giving him a Grammy and you know was a very, very harsh email that he sent out. It sounds as though maybe he still has a lot more to do in terms of working on anger management issues. And we all remember her face full of bruises from him after that incident in question. And you know I’m concerned about her safety or about the safety of any other woman who might be in contact with him and who might be in an intimate relationship with him.”

When it comes to a woman returning to a man who has abused them in the past, Attorney Allred says it’s very common for the woman to go back and to suffer physical abuse again:

“It’s very common for them to go back and it’s very common to be abused all over again because nothing changes in his, you know, if he doesn’t get help and even then I’m not sure that it is really effective. He’s just gonna continue the cycle of violence which is essentially sweet talking her, giving her gifts and flowers and then ultimately taking control again and then battering her because he doesn’t like what she said or did and then you know, then begging her forgiveness and starting the cycle all over again. Nothing changes except that usually the battery gets more intense over time, more severe and more frequent.”

You can find more information about Gloria Allred at http://www.amglaw.com and http://www.gloriaallred.com/

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/chrisyandek

While Ms. Chante continues to search for a music deal in America, thanks to the Internet it is still possible to witness all of her greatest music moments. An in depth review of her music career rounds out this CYInterview.

Putting aside Ms. Chante’s music accomplishments, there is something compelling which she reveals in this CYInterview. Three years ago this week, Keshia Chante was reported by the worldwide media to have been cast in the role of Aaliyah, in a biopic about the late singer’s life. Subsequently, there were published Internet reports that the movie was set to begin filming.

Time passed and nothing came of it. So what happened with the Aaliyah movie? For the first time, Keshia has decided to tell the world. She knows that many fans want to know.

You can read the transcript and listen to the CYInterview below:

Listen to the entire Keshia Chante CYInterview:

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Chris Yandek: I want to say before we get into all the art, what do you want people to know about you that we don’t?

Keshia Chante: “Well, thank you, thank you for the interview. Something that I want people to know, I think for maybe your audience, people that might not be familiar with me, I would say that I have been an R&B singer releasing albums since I was 16. I’m 23 years old now, but I’ve been in music for about eight to nine years. I’ve seen some really exciting U.S. opportunities with my video Bad Boy that was on BET. I did the Chris Brown, Bow Wow, Shortie Like Mine video and a couple of magazine tours that took me across America to different malls and events. So I’ve been kind of bubbling under in the U.S. and I’m hoping to do something hopefully this year there.”

CY: Yeah. I always find the stories interesting of the artist like yourself who is based outside of America, in your case Canada, of course, and you know I was reading as I was going along and doing research for this interview, many people were wondering well, you know like, why don’t we see her more in America? You think you haven’t had enough of a chance yet to show your stuff in America?

KC: “I don’t think. I mean, I have to say, all my opportunities in America have just been based on my fans really going hard for me and certain people in the industry believing in me and giving me those opportunities. But at the end of the day, I’m a Canadian artist signed to a Canadian record label that has always been true. I’ve had a brief stint with an American label and that was all kind of politics and a little bit weird, but for me to even have any U.S. opportunities when I am a Canadian signed artist is not really common you know for all my peers that are Canadian artists they don’t, they haven’t had the same opportunities as me. So I’m definitely very grateful for what I have had. I would need to sign a deal in the U.S. to do that and we’re definitely shopping right now.”

CY: What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned along the way through your career and then, now, for yourself thus far?

KC: “Some important lessons, I think one, being a songwriter is extremely important as a singer. It’s important that people connect with you in a real way. You want to be able to share everything with people. People want to connect to something and sometimes people hide behind other strong writers who don’t really get to show what they want to say. So I think being a songwriter and working on that’s really important. I would say being strategic, being on time, being consistent. It’s a typical thing. Work hard, play hard and things happen for you.”

CY: Looked at some of your earlier stuff and I’m thinking to myself, you know, a lot of throwback to the 90s music, R&B, pop music that the people love you know thinking back 20 years ago and that’s where you started your career. And did you always want your music to be different and you know have a sound that reflected an earlier time.

KC: “Well, I don’t feel like my music has ever reflected a certain time just because I was always very current. When I first put out Unpredictable, that’s definitely a sample, I agree with that, Shook being a sample for sure. Bad Boy, Does He Love Me?, those were all, when those came out, there was nothing like that on the radio and they sound dated now because those were seven, eight years ago,, but I would say that I have always been just trying to be consistent with my age. I always did that even at 14.

I was never half naked. I was never talking about things I didn’t know. It was always very young songs. I met a boy at a parking lot and he wanted to go on a date with me and I always wanted to keep it age appropriate; because it’s what’s real. It’s what’s authentic and I think that’s what people my age, at that time would’ve deserved, would be real honesty towards them and nothing that would make them feel pressured to grow up or anything like that.”

CY: Well, I think your sound is definitely unique when you look at the artist of that music from that time and you think about what was out during that time and then you think about and, you’re like, there was nothing like it.

KC: “Yeah.”

CY: There was really nothing like it. And I was just like and I was doing research and listening to all your things the last few days, I’m like, you know, for the times that it was when she was coming up and just starting as a teenager, there was not any music like that.

KC: “No there wasn’t and there weren’t any teen artists. There were barely any. I remember Avril Lavigne came out right after and that was kind of the times. There wasn’t really anybody doing that. I know that we definitely did look past in 90s music and we were really thinking about that when I came out in I believe 2002 or 2003 to be exact. But I remember during that time we were definitely thinking about the Brandys and the Monicas and the Aaliyahs and what they were doing during that time. We were making really fun, really appropriate age music in my opinion and we wanted to keep that consistent.”

CY: What were you hoping to accomplish with Night & Day?

KC: “Ah, I wanted to, I definitely wanted to control what I was doing and I definitely accomplished that. I went in the studio, I had the exact idea of what kind of music I wanted to make, what I wanted to talk about from vocal arrangements to production. It was already in my head and I was lucky enough to have enough amazing people that knew how to make it happen. You know, amazing piano players or amazing drummer, guitarist, I had that, those musicians that I needed. What I wanted to accomplish was I really wanted the night side to be dance. I wanted it to be fun; I wanted it to be pop; I wanted it to be a 23 year old girl in Vegas. That’s what I wanted my night side to be.

And my day side, I wanted it to be R&B. I wanted it to be like my first and second album. I wanted to just kind of open the diary a little bit and make it a little bit more personable R&B music and I really feel like I’ve accomplished that and I’m hoping to work on part two you know. So I think that’s really fun. “

Keshia Chante's Latest Album Night & Day

CY: I think that looking at that scenario when you look at Shooting Star, it’s definitely Las Vegas, night life feel definitely. I think of that right away and I was thinking about that. It definitely, Shooting Star is a song of the times and you could tell that is from, you know, 2011, 2012. This is definitely a current song for the times. How would you compare your newer music compared to the music you did earlier in your career?

KC: “It’s really interesting because the way that the music industry and just the way that consumers were in 2000, 2002, 2004, around that time, it was different. Songs had more time. They had more of a moment. You’d hear a song and you’d probably listen to that same song for a year and a half. It would really live, it reminds you of a moment for I think that type of music. I feel like now, music is very next, next, next, next, next. It’s what’s new, what’s fast and it’s kind of, things don’t get to live as long in my opinion. But my previous songs, I feel like the singles especially R&B again, very teenager, driven, very young. I felt the new music compared to that again, 23 year old girl going through love, going through heartbreak, going through, you know table dancing, going all those things. But I think it’s definitely more mature, the subject matter is different.”

CY: Yeah. I agree with you 100 percent. And as far as just general society goes, I think it’s always in this society that we have today, you know, with the 24/7 news cycle, the 24/7 Facebook and Twitter cycle, everything is what’s next. It’s not just music. This is the world. Everything is what’s next.

KC: “No. For sure. 100 percent.”

CY: You know, I think looking forward now and we’ll talk about a few others things ‘cause I was quite interested because I’ve been following you for a very, very, very long time actually on your Twitter. Years actually.

KC: “Really?”

CY: And I thought to myself, you know you were just kind of always sitting there and then here we are today finally doing this interview and I was doing research and I’m like, it’s time to bring her through. Yesterday, of course, was Aaliyah’s birthday. She would’ve been 33. A few years ago there was talks of you know, playing her in a movie of her life and I just wonder for myself and everyone out there what really happened?

KC: “It’s kind of funny to talk about it just because it’s not something that I should be or supposed to be talking about, but I think you’re fabulous. So what I will say is, for me, being in L.A. and being in the acting world, having some really incredible agents, working with agents, obviously have Beyonce and Chris Brown on their roster, there’s been a lot of really cool opportunities that have come my way. I did meet a few people production company wise that are developing the Aaliyah movie and they spoke to me about playing her in the biopic of her life.

It got into the news and I remember I was actually on a flight, I was sitting on a flight, I can’t remember where I was going, but I was with my team at the time. And I was sitting at a flight and I remember my phone went off like crazy and people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, like, you’re in the movie. Blah, blah, blah.’ And I was getting all these links. It was like Perez Hilton, it was all these blogs and I remember I landed and I got a call from Aaliyah’s lawyer and Aaliyah’s family. And from my understanding, there are people trying to create a movie and Aaliyah’s family are still mourning her loss and aren’t ready to share her story and create a film. So there’s a bit of back and forth thing with her family and with creative people.

And I know that they would bless a movie being created, they’re just not 100 percent comfortable and unfortunately from my understanding they don’t have complete control of her estate. So a movie could technically be made without them green lighting it and I kind of think that’s unfortunate. So I want her family to be on board and to be happy with it. It’s still kind of lingering in the air. I would love to play the part. I know there’s a lot of things that I would want to do physically vocally to nail it. I think it. I’m a huge fan of Aaliyah. She was a role model for me, still inspires me to this day and I would want to do it justice and exceed people’s expectations of it.”

CY: I just want to say to you, you know this is a world outlet where we have presidential candidates [see here] and [here] and major stars and we had Robert Wagner [see here] exclusively remembering his great friend Liz Taylor. So we break things here. So for you to tell us what really is going on because on the Internet there are so many mixed messages about what happened with this, what didn’t happen with this and I thought to myself, you know, besides talking about your music, I’m like, we should really get a clear answer on this one. We really should.

KC: “Yeah.”

CY: And.

KC: “Yeah. And for me, I’ve always wanted to kind of talk about it, it’s just really, it’s uncomfortable. I don’t want to disrespect her family. I know that they’re, they don’t like it. They don’t like when they get calls from people, like, ‘Oh, I heard this about your daughter. I heard this.’ Because it’s painful for them. So I know that the lawyer and even them and even my team who have kind of like you know, it’s happy, it’s better for everyone to not really speak on it and I just feel like you know, I’m not supposed to speak on it, but I know in this situation, yeah, it’ kind of, it’s a long time coming and I know people really want to know what’s going on. So yeah, I definitely think this was the perfect time to tell you.”

CY: Thank you. And before we go on and moving along, I think that could be your Selena moment. Do you feel like that could be your big moment?

KC: “Oh my gosh, for me, you know, that would be amazing, but genuinely for me, I want my kind of moment, whatever that may be in terms of being international and getting a tour worldwide, which is something we’re working on, but I think for me, I really want to be known as Keshia and my music. I think if that was to do as amazing as Selena or exceeding that, I would be extremely grateful. But I definitely don’t want that to be my kind of moment in America, my first time nationally. If it happened that way, that’s the way God intended for it to be. But I mean it’s not something that I’m sitting there like, this has to be it. You know, I want to use this as my opportunity to make it happen, definitely not. But if it happens that way, you never know how the cookie’s gonna crumble.”

CY: I feel like you know and we’re sitting her you know the day after she would’ve been 33. I wonder if you feel for yourself is there any kind of bigger responsibility when people say you know, you’re carrying on the torch for Aaliyah or you are like her or you are the artist that resembles her today. Do you feel like any kind of bigger responsibility there?

KC: “Because I looked up to her so much like, I remember I was bawling. I remember I was in bed for the longest time, at least a week. Just like, it was so hard for me. I grew up with her and I wanted to be just like her. It was always weird because you know, my hair, obviously my hair’s real and it’s straight and it’s, that’s the way that it is and in school people would always say I looked like her and I never, I genuinely never tried to put any effort. Even in the Unpredictable video and my Bad Boy video, so many people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, she looks like Aaliyah.’ I was never, we never sat there and said, ‘Let’s try to mimic or find inspiration from that.’ It was always me being me.

But I do look at, I look at a lot of her work and she was so ahead of the times. She’s very futuristic. And I think it’s important if you’re gonna take anything from what she’s done, is to be authentically you. She was the only artist in kicks, baggy pants, dancing, even in videos she had snakes. She was doing things before all of our pop artists were doing them now. So I think if you’re gonna take anything away from that, it should just be authentically you and thinking outside of the box. That’s something that I admire from her and she just had swag. I loved her swag. It’s crazy.”

CY: Absolutely. Ok, a few fun things and then I’m gonna let you go.

KC: “Yeah.”

CY: One of my biggest supporters is Shontelle Layne and I told her I was gonna be interviewing you and she said, sometimes Americans fans confuse her for you and that Canadian fans are so annoyed by that. Ever heard that?

KC: “That we, no, you know what, I have never actually heard that. The most recent one that I heard, I always hear like different things. I’ve never heard the one about Shontelle which is so cool though ‘cause she’s an awesome, she’s an awesome artist. But I remember for example, I ran into Chantal Kreviazuk not too long ago and she got me confused for Keyshia Cole and I guess she had like a little tiff with Keyshia Cole in the studio. She kind of thought it was me for a second. So I think she has beef with me for a minute and then she’s like, ‘No, no, no. Oh. You’re Chante.’ I heard that which is kind of weird. But Shontelle, yeah, I know that especially my management team and me being Trinidadian, the fact there’s a lot of back rooting in the islands. And I know that my manager knows Shontelle very well. And I know even that Rihanna had my first album before she came out when she was still living in Barbados. So I know that I gotta make a trip to Barbados soon for sure.”

CY: Keshia Chante, thank you so much for joining me today, let’s wrap up with something fun. What are your hopes for the future?

KC: “Ooo, hopes for the future, will definitely be doing a tour worldwide, you know releasing albums in America, so many cool fans I’m dying to meet, like I really just want to meet them ‘cause they’ve been going hard for me for so long and hopefully get to do something special for them. I know that would make them really happy. Just living life, I feel really lucky to be making music and be making music for this long and living this dream of mine so I just want to keep doing that. I would love to get into fashion and films and filming and finding artists one day. But I have a huge list of goals. It would take a year to tell them all to you. You’d probably hang up the phone by then. There’s a lot of things.”

CY: I wouldn’t hang up the phone. We’ve done almost 90 minute segments here, but hey, I mean, you want to write out a list for me, you want me to publish that alongside the interview of your goals, I’ll be happy to tell them to the world to you, whatever you want to mention.

KC: “Aww, you’re so sweet.”

CY: I don’t have a problem doing that. It was great talking with you. Hang on with me, of course, and thank you for you know coming into my world, we break things here, we get people to tell the record straight and I’m glad that we figured out some things today and it was very great speaking with you.

KC: “Yeah. Oh it was a pleasure speaking to you. You’re awesome.”

You can purchase a copy of Keshia Chante’s album Night and Day here.

Keshia Chante’s official website is at www.keshiachante.com.

You can follow Keshia Chante on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KeshiaChante

You can email Chris Yandek at ChrisYandek@CYInterview.com Chris is available for interviews to comment on anything featured on CYInterview.

You can follow Chris Yandek on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/chrisyandek