Well, talk about being in the right place at the right time...Here I was eating dinner with my friends Lewis Matheney and Gary Lee at this awesome Ukranian restaurant "Veselka" in the west village in Manhattan, when in walked a crew from the Food Network.  They were shooting segments for Rachael Ray's Food & Travel show on the Food Network and asked if it would be ok to ask me a few questions about the food.  Me, being the shy, withdrawn wallflower that I am, of course said "YES!" and then wondered why I didn't have a copy of my new CD "Miracle" surgically attached to my face at the time.  The producer interviewed me as I was eating a bowl of split-pea soup.  They also got me chomping on a meal of cabbage rolls (not the Italian kind, which I love, covered in tomato sauce) but rather in a traditional Ukranian mushroom sauce, which tasted phenomenal!  Being a somewhat fussy eater (difficult as my mother might say) I was pleasantly surprised! I liked it!  My friends cracked-up when I took a bite and mugged to the camera and said something in Italian about the food to Racheal...and the photographer was like, um, don't say that.  It wasn't that I said anything wrong, but that it was a segment on Ukranian food, not Italian food and they wanted to keep it focused. *sigh, well, it was a fun experience!  I'll let you know when it airs...some time this summer the producer said.  Hey Rachael, have your people call my people, we'll do soup!

Had a blast in the wee hours this morning with my buddy Howard Monroe and his producer, the lovely & talented Powerful Pierre. (who, by the way, made me a mean cup of java which is highly needed at a quarter til 7am!) Howard, the morning chat guru and chief commander at WVLY...As you can read on his show blog, Howard, Steve Mazure (WTRF-TV7 Morning News Anchor) and myself had a joint broadcast together back in the late 90's, where we took our television morning program "on the road" to a local restaurant.  We'd chat with folks, have local bands play -- LONG before the morning news shows were doing this genre!!!  We had a lot of fun and as Howard alludes, was probably some of the best TV & Radio in the Ohio Valley at that time.  It had never been done before (a weekly scheduled simulcast of radio/tv) and we had a terrific working relationship. We took the show on the road every Thursday morning.  I also provided weathercasts for Howard's morning news program daily, and we would gab about my singing gigs or whatever might be interesting to us in the news that day.  I loved our chat sessions, which some days, had little to do with the weather!  This is also when Howard dubbed me, "The Singing Weatherman", a title, I have to admit, I cringed at initially, since I had never sung an actual forecast.  I was merely a Weatherman, who happened to also be a singer.  But I have to give Howard the lion's share of the credit in helping me promote my early musical endeavours.  His "Singing Weatherman" title stuck almost immediately and I am sure is the reason we were able to generate so much interest in my music early-on.  Depending on where I am in the world, I occasionally will call in to Howard's show -- for example on September 11th this year, I phoned in, since I live within sight of the Fireman's Memorial in Manhattan (it's literally out my window about 100 ft.) to talk about my experiences on that fateful day and what I could see right outside my window -- people placing flowers at the memorial. Howard's been a terrific friend and supporter from the get-go!  Grazie Signore Monroe as always!!!    Check out Howard & Pierre right here -- you can listen live on the internet and take part in their live chat as well.  Enjoy!

Had an awesome time this morning on WEIR Radio's AM Express with Tammie Beagle.  Tammie is a Weirton, WV gal and we go WAY back...to the days when I was a Morning TV weatherman and her days on WWVA Radio, plus our families know eachother.  So, it was more like having your morning coffee and gabbing with a cherished friend, rather than a typical interview situation in an unfamiliar station in an unfamilar town.   Tammie graciously played "I'll Be Home For Christmas" from my "Miracle" CD plus the little ditty that's getting all the buzz, "Itty Bitty Baby Born In Bethlehem".   Always nice to see familiar SMILING faces and to feel the welcome of an old friend! You can find out more about Tammie's AM Express by clicking here http://www.weir1430.com/program.html