Clay News!

Just got back. No rain. You have no idea how good that piece of news is, and how bad it would have sucked if it had rained. It is hella late and I can't stay up, but a few tidbits before I crash:

- He does several songs from his last album.

- He does a hysterically funny medley of TV theme songs.

- He does an even funnier medley of "classic songs" - including those great American standards, Big Butts, Sexyback, 1999 and Achey Breaky Heart. Yes, it worked. Yes, he can sing EVERYTHING.

Quianah Parker, who did not make it to the semifinals of American Idol even though she did go to Hollywood, proves that, since Carmen Rasmussen, Julia DeMato and Kimberly Caldwell all made the top 12.... it really isn't a singing competition.

Firecracker, please do not hate me. I got to see Clay Aiken from ten feet away the first time he ever performed "Lover All Alone" in concert... and I have to tell you this... that's the song he wrote. He loves it. He feels it.

It shows.

More later. Goodnight.

Hi Abrahammy! So glad you got home safe and had a wonderful time!! 10 FEET AWAY FROM CLAY!! I would have died!! A happy death of course!! I am not upset!! I can't think of anyone I would rather have 10 feet from Clay while he sings that gorgeous song than YOU!! well, except maybe me

I GOT IN THE CH CHAT ROOM!!! For the whole concert!! I know every song he sang!! I've seen pix and I am downloading lots of vids as I type!! Be sure and download vids to have as a keepsake of your amazing night! I do that! I have downloads of all the concerts I went to on VCD as well as my hard drive (and some on my laptop ) so I can re-live the nights!!

Did you hear about the M&G??? He let the winners of the M&G come to a nice room with couches and he sat and talked with them for 30 mins. before the show!! 30 freaking mins. to sit and talk with Clay!!! How amazing was that?? What a great guy! They said he was funny, sweet, happy, excited and nervous!! He said the show in Frisco will be shorter due to the fact that he was squeezed in between the soccer game and the fireworks and that the show in Houston will be longer and have more songs from ATDW and MOAM. I cannot wait for tonight's show to see what else he does!!

I am so very happy that everything turned out just wonderful for you and Clay and I can't wait to hear more from you!! Hope you are a getting a good rest!!
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July 3, 2007, 4:52PM
Clay Aiken embraces his inner dork

By JOEY GUERRA
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


When: 7:30 p.m. Friday July 6

Where: Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana

Tickets: $29-$105;

713-224-7575 or

www.houstonsymphony.org

Clay Aiken — despite the stylishly shaggy 'do — still isn't hip.

"I'm never going to be, and I'm fine with that. We all must embrace our inner dork," he says with a laugh.

Aiken has still managed a successful post-American Idol career as the soundtrack of choice for enthusiastic grandmothers. He performs Friday with the Houston Symphony, and he doesn't expect to see a lot of people his age in the crowd.

"People always come up to me and say, 'My grandmother's your biggest fan,' " Aiken, 28, says. "There's a misconception among these ladies that I'm cool and hip and now. And they think that by liking me, it makes them cool and hip and now.

"But shhh. We aren't going to tell them that I'm not cool and hip at all."

An affable Aiken took time to talk about his future as a talk-show host (maybe), turkey basters (keep reading) and how Claymates saved Jericho from TV extinction (seriously).

Q: Fans still get worked up over you. What's with the enduring Claymania?

A: I don't get it. I don't know why. They don't see me right now in my pajamas, with my hair all messed up, one contact out. There's nothing to be excited about, honestly.

Q: What's the most unique gift you've received from a fan?

A: You mean turkey-baster unique? Like that? Because I've gotten one of those. Let's just let you sit on that for a minute. (Brief pause.) And there it is.

The show Jericho . . . I loved it. I started blogging about it on my fan site. It got canceled, and I blogged about how upset I was. I said, "The Claymates can do anything. How do we get this show back on the air?"

Honestly, within a week they had organized a campaign amongst Jericho fans to send nuts to CBS. It kind of started in that place. And it's back on the air! It just blows my mind.

Q: Do you feel that Aiken love in Texas?

A: Texas is really a tough market for pop. I think sometimes the fans don't understand, and they think I hate Texas. I love Texas. It's just people there don't love me that much. You want me to come, you've got to come to the show!

Q: Any songs that didn't make the cut on A Thousand Different Ways?

A: Things other than covers. Sorry, I'm being way too honest today. How do I say this politically correctly? I was strongly encouraged by other sources to do an album of covers. There was the feeling that it might be successful because there'd been success with Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow doing covers. I guess the argument against that would be I don't have the reputation that Rod Stewart has. I really don't have the credibility that he has, so there's no reason for me to do them.

Q: Do you like the disc at all?

A: It did turn out to be something I was really proud of. My mom's always told me, 'Take lemons . . .' I think we really did that.

Q: Are you itching to do new material?

A: The goal for the next album is to go with one producer. The person we picked is very credible, has won Grammys and has really done an eclectic mix of stuff. The hope is that we'll be able to find really great songs that suit me and produce them in a way that . . . makes me hip without trying too hard. I'm sorry I'm teasing you, but you're getting more than anybody else.

Q: Do you hear anything on Top 40 radio that you can relate to?

A: This Rihanna girl — she's got a great voice. I really think she deserves to be where she is. . . . (But) what happened to Whitney Houston on the radio? Not literally — let's not go there — but what happened to that kind of stuff on Top 40? I think nowadays radio doesn't care how good someone sings. They just care whether or not people can fake having sex while standing up dancing to it. That's all they want.

Q: What was the first record you purchased?

A: I got in big trouble when I was 6 or 7. They had that Columbia House, seven albums for a penny or something like that. I was young enough to not really know what I was doing, and I stuck the little penny on. You want to talk about being completely not cool and hip? One of the ones that I remember was Crystal Gayle. God help me. It's somewhere around the house.

I don't know if that's my first album, but it's the one that I remember — and it's got a better story.

Q: What one record would people be surprised to find in your collection?

My brother's a Marine, and he's into this group called Breaking Benjamin. I don't know much about them, but I own that. I wanted to kind of see what he was listening to. There's a song called Diary of Jane that I think is pretty good. . . . Breaking Benjamin is going to kill themselves because they got mentioned in the same article (as) Clay Aiken. There goes the rep.

Q: You've got a great sense of humor. Ever consider hosting a talk show?

A: I'd be great. There are probably 15, 17 different shows I could pitch. One of the basic ones would just be going around and letting America tell their story. Everybody has a story, if you let them tell it. I'd love to do Charles Kuralt's On the Road again, somehow. I loved that.

But (by) the same token, I'd love to have a variety show. Like Andy Williams or Carol Burnett or Donny and Marie. I remember my mom watched the Mandrell sisters' show like it was some sort of religion.

Q: If you're the anti-cool singing star, who's the ultimate pop hipster?

A: I think that Justin Timberlake's going to have that market cornered for a while. And I honestly believe that he's extremely talented. He can believably pull out an album like (FutureSex/LoveSounds). I'm not a huge fan of that one, but I'm a fan of his.

Q: Will we ever see you bring SexyBack?

A: I'm actually going to do — God help me for saying this — with the Houston Symphony, a little bit of SexyBack. We're going to do a little medley of songs that people wouldn't expect to hear with an orchestra. I know that it's not going to be cool. I have no problem making fun of myself.

I could never pull songs like that off without knowing where my place is, and it's not as Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him. I'm happy to be the person who gets the old ladies covered.

joey.guerra@chron.com


www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/4941513.html
Here is a great interview in a Houston paper!

BTW, I think he makes it very obvious in this interview how he really felt about having to do a CD of covers. Just in case there was anyone out there who believed that is what he really wanted to do.

Here is the link to Clack from last night's show!

http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/Concert_Clack/Soft_Rock_Hard_Place_Tour_2007/Frisco/

If anyone needs help on how to download from there, just ask me!

Here are lots of great pix!

http://scrpkym.smugmug.com/gallery/3103200#169710643

So:


5:30 pm, Fort Worth, Texas. Abrahammy prepares for her trek to Frisco.

Blanket to sit on? Check.
Bottled water? Check.
Umbrella? Check.
Cell phone? Check.
Money? Check.
Keys? Check.
Gas? Check.

Am I forgetting anything? What could I possibly be forgetting? Getting in the car. Starting the engine. Am I forgetting anything?

Mapsco? Check.

Starting to drive. What did I forget? After fifteen minutes of driving, I remembered, and somebody in the next car might have heard me howl,

"Oh, Firecracker is going to kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill me!" I forgot my camera.

No way to turn back. Can't lose the half hour. I am navigationally challenged and I always have to leave some time to get lost. Which I did - but not too badly. Mostly I just didn't turn off the main highway to go to the venue fast enough, and I realized it quickly, and that's why I need my Mapsco.

Maybe somebody from the Clackhouse will have a camera? Maybe there will be an ARMY of people there with cameras and videocameras and cell phones that take pictures (provoking lively commentary from the man of the hour) and it will be OK?

Yeah, of course, it's a Clay Aiken concert and he hasn't been to Texas in three years. Clack galore.

So I get to Frisco High School, and I park and take the shuttle to the venue, noticing very carefully before I go that I parked three rows away from the shuttles and five cars up. That's important. Remember that.

I don't know how long these posts can be before they mess up stuff, so I am breaking it up. I got to the venue, and zipped around jump houses and very long lines for carnival games and extremely expensive light-up toys that only last one night. Mental note. Maybe it IS a good thing I did not bring my daughter, although she wanted to go - sometimes. (And sometimes she didn't, which is why I did not spend $50 on her ticket.) I find my way to Pizza Hut Park, and they check my bag for forbidden items.

They found one. They did not find fireworks, professional cameras, drugs, animals, or a gun. Not even a water pistol. They confiscated my half-drunk bottle of water. No outside food or drinks!!! Symptoms of a world gone mad. I'm a dangerous one!

So, I go to the concession stand to get a new bottle of water.

$3.50. Anybody who wants to see a sporting event in Pizza Hut Park MUST spend a minumum of $3.50 to avoid severe dehydration. That ought to be illegal, for crying out loud.

So I found my seat, and noticed I was one of very few people sitting without any companions. So I'm carrying Firecracker around in my head, trying to capture the essence of what is going on around me, remembering that I am the Wizened Women's reporter on the spot for the day's events.

They announced that once the soccer players had left the field, we may go to the field in front of the stage to watch the concert. I pat my blanket. So nice I brought that to sit on. I am, of course, at this moment delusional, but that's to be expected. After all, I'm the dangerous, wacky lady who had the nerve to bring bottled water to a Texas outdoors venue in July.

And then we are allowed to take the field and... omigod! People are RACING to the foot of the stage in frantic desperation, screaming like somebody just dropped a bomb. I start from only five rows from the grass and I still only get there when the crowd is already six people deep, panting at the foot of the stage.

Claymania is still this strong? Where were all these people when his last album came out? What's nice is that a lot of these people really are quite young. Pretty young girls. That's a hopeful sign for his career, I think.

I'm here abrahammy!! Hanging on your every word!!

I'm so glad I was there, even if it was just in your head and not physically! Though I would have given anything to really be there with you! If only I were rich enough to just fly to TX for a concert like so many Clay fans do!!

No problem forgetting the camera! It's Clay fandom. There will be more Clack that a hard drive can handle!!

BTW, the server at Clack Unlimited is having problems with all the Claymates attacking it!!

I'm going to have to go to work soon, so I won't be able to recap everything this morning. Here is the set list of the show, and I will make comments on a few things that struck me before I run out of time and have to eat.

Here You Come Again
I Want to Know What Love Is w/Angela Fisher
When I See You Smile

The West Wing theme song – orchestra only
TV Theme Songs Medley featuring:
Perfect Strangers theme song
Full House theme song
Laverne and Shirley theme song
Growing Pains theme song
Different Strokes theme song
Charles in Charge theme song
Who’s the Boss theme song
Golden Girls theme song
Gimme a Break theme song
Welcome Back Kotter theme song
The Jeffersons theme song
All in the Family theme song

These Open Arms
When the Lights Go Down – Quiana
Without You

"Classic American Songs" medley:
Like a Virgin
1999
Sexyback
Achey Breaky Heart
Opposites Attract
Beat It

Lover All Alone
Because You Loved Me
God Bless the USA (Proud to be an American)

I've watched American Idol for five years now, and I've had different singers that I followed and supported each year; Clay, Taylor, Sanjaya, He Who Shall Not Be Named Here...When Clay started to sing his first song, I grinned a little bit at the lyrics:

Here you come again
Just when I've begun to get myself together
You waltz right in the door
Just like you've done before
And wrap my heart 'round your little finger

Here you come again
Just when I'm about to make it work without you
You look into my eyes
And lie those pretty lies
And pretty soon I'm wonderin' how I came to doubt you

All you have to do is smile that smile
And there go all my defenses
Just leave it up to you and in a little while
You're messin' up my mind and fillin' up my senses

Here you come again
Lookin' better than a body has a right to
And shakin' me up so that all I really know
Is here you come again ...
And here I go

OK, buster, you disappear from public view, you don't come to Texas for THREE YEARS, and me, hey, I started VOTING for other guys! I even went to other concerts! I bought other albums! I even took a trip to New York to see a (really good) play! And here, you show up on my doorstep after all this time and expect me to just giggle like a little fangirl... yeah, OK, you did that quite successfully.

Shaddup.

The neat thing was, I've never been anywhere like that close to Clay in concert before - Constantine, yes, because Constantine has never been as big a deal as Clay in his heyday, but this is the first time I've been close enough to him that we could have had a conversation if the place had been quieter. He's a little heavier now than he was on Idol, and I can tell he's getting a little older - that's odd. I've now been watching Idol long enough that I can notice some of them age a little bit. Of course, it also says something about Clay - he's been in the spotlight long enough that I can see him age a little bit, and for an Idol contestant, that is rare. He did not flash in the pan. He's not the phenom he was four years ago, but he's still a household word and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

I will be honest with you; I did not love every song on Clay's last album, and the recent commentary from his interviews indicates that he didn't, either. I listened to I Want to Know What Love Is and When I See You Smile and... you know, it was great to be watching the Aiken again, and his vocals were stellar as always, but if it were anybody else I think I'd have been kinda meh about these two songs. He sang them as if they were exercises in vocal gymnastics, and he had all the tricks down, stuck the landing - but they weren't in his heart, and he wasn't having tremendous fun. Since there were other songs in the set that WERE in his heart, or were great fun for him, I noticed the difference.

This is the last thing I'm going to be able to comment on before I go to work: the theme songs medley. He began by having the orchestra play the theme from West Wing, and talked about how so many really good songs were TV theme songs. This is true. And then he gave us a demonstration, singing a great song about standing tall... on the wings of my dreams... which of course is the theme song to Perfect Strangers. (I loved that show.) And this led to a neat interactive guessing game between the cast and the audience; they sang a song and we had to guess what the show was they were singing or playing.

I laughed at the technique. Boy, this guy used to be a teacher. This is the same technique I use during storytime; after a serious story that's kind of long, you have a fun, interactive activity that the children can participate in and that's how you keep them from getting bored. It was silly, goofy, not at all "musically serious", but it was very entertaining and funny and it worked very well. It also underlined the fact that many of his audience... well... remember the theme song to Laverne and Shirley because... we, you know, WATCHED IT when we were kids... And Clay says he felt old at 27 because he recognized "Welcome Back Kotter."

Shaddup.

By the way, if in the Clack he sings "Who'd have thought we'd meetcha back here where we needja" and you hear some crazy lady shout "We needja BACK HERE IN TEXAS, CLAY!"

Um. That would be... me.

Abrahammy, what were you wearing?? JoJo taped "The Mad Dash" showing all the people running for the front! I saw a woman in jeans, a yellow shirt, carring a blue blanket and wondered if that was you??!! Watch the vid and let me know if you are in it!!

Here is another link for Clack since there are server issues today.

http://www3.clackunlimited.com/clack/Concert_Clack/Soft_Rock_Hard_Place_Tour_2007/Frisco/

Delightful review, abrahammy! Looking forward to more.

Bringing this over from The Clay Board:

Quote :

I just recieved an email from the woman I have being talking with at the Houston Symphony. Here are new songs Clay is planning to sing for the rest of the tour!


Quote:
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Hi Kati,

This program is subject to change but it looks like Clay will be singing the following songs:

Here You Come Again
Everything I Have
I Wanna Know What Love Is
When I See You Smile
Everytime You Go Away
These Open Arms
When The Lights Go Down
Without You
Measure Of A Man
After All
A Thousand Days
The Way You Make Me Feel
Listen
Lover All Alone
Because You Loved Me

That's an amazing list - well IMO it is!!

Abrahammy - What a great review! What a great show. I could almost visualize the whole concert. I know I heard the songs in my head with his beautiful voice singing them! I would love to go to one of his concerts. Usually though by the time I hear about anyone's concerts, it's too late, or the date and time is wrong.......something. Thank you for writing it for us!!!

Abrahammy, I am so glad you posted your feelings at The CH. I can't get over the people who do not get that this show was different because of the circumstances. It was not just a Clay crowd. He was smart enough to know that he had to put on something fun for a crowd full of kids and guys and people just looking to be entertained between the game and the fireworks! Why can't some "fans" just not put so much pressure on Clay He is who and what he is (which I happen to love and admire) and he cannot possibly be what some of these women expect.

Anyway, I wanted you to know I loved that you posted what you did!

THAT nonsense, Firecracker, is why I don't spend much time at the Clackhouse anymore. I discovered to my delight this Wednesday that I still enjoy Clay Aiken in concert every inch as much as I ever did. Whenever he comes near, I will be there, and that's a promise. But this shrieking demand that he be the Greatest Arteest in the History of Music and an Entertainer for the Ages on every song, at every moment, or they are "hurt and disappointed" (hurt? WTF?) just has me going insane. The Clackhouse is every bit as annoying as Greek Speak; one demands too much hearts and bunnies for a guy who isn't that nice, and one demands too much pretentiousness for somebody who, while a superb vocalist, is kind of a goofball who is still learning who he is musically.

More recap later. I have a houseful of kids and I really want to do a good, complete job on the recap.

You hit the nail on the head. He is a big cheeseball with an amazing voice, great sense of humor, and a really good heart. I also happen to think he is a cutie pie. He will never be a Rock God or change the musical landscape!! He just a really good guy who loves to entertain. I know he said he would be reading the boards for feedback, but I almost wish he wouldn't. Just do your thing Clay and screw'em!

Can't wait for the rest of your recap!!

Lovely recap! The TV shows medley reminds me of how Barry Manilow does a medly of all the commerical and tv jingles he's written. The man could have retired just on those. Just sat back on his ass for the rest of his life and let the money roll in.

As someone who's not a Claymate, but has seen his concert, I can say that his shows are stellar and you're guaranteed a good time.

Yay!! GE in the Clay thread!! Thanks for saying that about Clay's shows!! I couldn't agree more!

You can listen to an interview Clay did with one of the Houston radio stations here:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2007/07/listen_up_the_clay_aiken_inter.php

It's a nice long and fun interview. It is in two parts.

Abrahammy, it's great to hear how much you enjoyed the concert. I've read a lot of recaps and comments of Clay's and other performers' concerts and I think there are some people who are just prone to over-analysis and nitpicking. The performers put on a show and I think that what they have to offer is really part of themselves, similar to writers and others who create works of art, music, structures, designs, etc. Expecting them to change and mold to some people's preferences and expectations is out of line IMO. If they don't like or agree with what is offered, I don't understand why they don't just move on. There is a lot of great talent...something for most every taste.

Your recaps, including the one for Brel, are very descriptive and make the reader feel like participants in the experience. They are really good!

Let's see if I can get another segment of this recap in as a short break.

These Open Arms - Like I have said, I do not automatically love everything Clay does, and I thought his last album had far too many mediocre ballads that he did not feel deeply. This was one of them. I listened to a succession of beautifully sung notes with no strong emotional connection. I'm sorry, but that's what I saw. There's a reason why I feel it's important to point that out, and I will come to it later.

Then we had Quiana sing When the Lights Go Down.

Quiana was a contestant in the second season of American Idol. She went to Hollywood. She did not make the cut to the top 36. America never heard her sing. We did hear Carmen Rasmussen and Julia DeMato, and a whole crew of pretty white girls who were just awful singers in the Wild Card Round because America did not choose enough pretty white girls to satisfy Uncle Nigel in the semis. And yes, I am absolutely certain that was why they did that wild card round the way they did. They arranged for one single spot to be available for a guy, and it had Clay's name written on it from the get-go. (Chip Days was a sacrificial lamb.) Then they arranged it so that one of those vapid, awful girls would get in to provide the pretty factor. Trenyce and Kim Caldwell, who were judge favorites who did not make the audience cut, were also given Wild Card spots.

Quiana, who is not a pretty white girl, was not invited. If she had been in this year's American Idol, the only person in the cast who might have sung as well or better than she... was Melinda Doolittle. That year, she'd have stacked up well to Kim Locke.

This is not a singing competition. It never has been. Technical singing skill has always been only one factor even in the sometimes very arbitrary choices that the producers and the judges make when they are trying to fill demographics. It's why, when I voted for the heart and sparkle I found in Sanjaya Malakar, I didn't have a lot of respect for the judges' sudden conviction that only technique, sans showmanship, heart, or humor, could be used as a voting criteria. They take other factors into account, and some far less fairly than I do. And at any rate, if it's all about the vocals, please stop praising Chris Richardson so damned hard. Nasal is a form of torture. Thank you.

So Quiana stood up there and sang her heart out, and I thanked Clay Aiken for giving her work; she is currently doing better in show business than Julia DeMato is.

Then Clay sang Without You. Now THAT song, I think Clay really seems to like, and his voice soared on one of the best pure vocals I've ever heard him do. He's probably the single best pure male vocalist AI has ever produced... and yet the organization is not very pleased with him and not very proud of him, and they fought him winning even when he was singing rings around Ruben... why? Why would they be so adamantly opposed to a singer this fine if it's purely a singing competition? He was the best they ever had!

But he didn't look right. And he was kind of mannered and quirky. And Simon's very homophobic gaydar went off. And they pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed for a Ruben win as if it were a foregone conclusion even when Clay led the votes every week except the last one. Even when Ruben's voice went and the Velvet Teddy Bear sounded like he was gargling glass.

A singing competition. Riiiiiiight. Because of the way they treated Clay, I will never view that argument "a singing competition" with any respect. But boy, he sure sounded gorgeous on this song.

Quote :

he performers put on a show and I think that what they have to offer is really part of themselves, similar to writers and others who create works of art, music, structures, designs, etc. Expecting them to change and mold to some people's preferences and expectations is out of line IMO.

A lot of these people have an idea of what they WANT Clay to be rather than what he actually is. They want him to be The Greatest Musician Who Ever Lived. I was pretty fanatical right after he "lost" American Idol, but all I really wanted was for him Not to End Up Like Justin Guarini, and he didn't, so I was happy. He's a millionaire, he can make records whenever he wants, and it's been four years and I just saw him in concert this week. I got the Clay Aiken I wanted - a major recording artist who can go gold even on a bad concept album and will either perform or do philanthropic work for the rest of his life.

He could be compared to worse than Barry Manilow. Manilow doesn't have the best voice, where Clay does, but they can both put on a show and don't just sit there and sing.

It's not a singing competition, because if it was, Clay would have won. Nothing made me happier than when Ruben fell off the face of the freakin' earth. Like I said, except for Kelly and Carrie, the winners have not fared as well as many of the contestants who came in much further down the ladder. It is all about demographics and who is the least "threatening" to the American public.

Oh, and nasal IS a form of torture.

I love hearing about Clay's concert. On the day of it here in L.A. I will see if there are any close tickets. I checked and right now only far away ones are available.

Thanks Abrahammy! You are so right about AI!! Quiana has a spectacular voice. Angie gets a little screechy for my taste, but I am thrilled that Clay has given Quiana so much work. She's a doll too! Not AI's idea of a doll, but I think she sure is pretty!!

Barry just got 60 million to sing in Vegas for a year. I wouldn't mind seeing Clay get that deal!!

Frazz, are you going to try to go to The Greek?

The "Lover All Alone" video from the Houston concert is incredible! I think it is his best song yet. Since it's his own song, the interpretation is beautiful. I love it!

Janice, I have to agree! Such emotion went into that song. I think I will be lost for while watching and listening!

TwoP reports:

Quote :

Clay announced at the Houston show that he's going to be on a future charity edition of Who's Smarter Than a 5th Grader with the proceeds going to the BAF. The date will be announced soon.