Carol Burnette

---

Interview by: Mary Jensen

Like A lot of people from my generation, I grew up watching the Carol Burnett Show. I have been a fan of hers since I was a child so you can imagine how honored I was when she agreed to do a recent phone interview with me. I hope you enjoy My Time With Carol Burnett. 

Carol Burnett, an award-winning actress and best-selling author, is widely recognized by the pubic and her peers for her work for her comedic and dramatic roles on television, film and Broadway. She is most notably known for The Carol Burnett Show. Named in 2007 by Time Magazine as one of the “100 Best Television Shows of All Time.” The Carol Burnett show ran for 11 years, averaged 30 million viewers per week and received 25 Emmy Awards, making it one of the most honored shows in television history.

Carol’s most recent works:

Toy Story 4, out in theaters in June of this year, is a heartwarming, funny computer-animated film where toys come alive. Carol was cast as a green plastic chair named Chair-ol Burnett. “I’ve done voice overs for a few animated films. They’re great to do because there’s no makeup or hair to worry about. You can throw on a baseball cap, go in and read the script,” she said. When doing something like this cast members don’t usually even see each other. “I don’t like that part. You’re alone reading your lines and the director is reading everybody else’s lines. There is no interaction between the characters but it was fun to do. I enjoyed it,” said Burnett. 

A Little Help with Carol Burnett; an idea for a show that Carol’s manager, Steve Sauer, came up with about kids spontaneously helping celebrity guests solve their dilemmas with brutal honesty. Carol thought it was a great idea. They cast a panel of children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old. “That way they don’t sensor what they say,” said Burnett. “They just blurt it out. When they get a little bit older, they kind of think about what they are going to say. So, this way, the kids are just bluntly honest,” she said laughing. “It was a lot of fun and the kids were all smart and delightful to work with” The show premiered on May 4, 2018, on Netflix; now streaming all 12 episodes.

Sunrise in Memphis; the film adaption of the story of Carol Burnett and her late daughter Carrie Hamilton is in the works. Focus Features is giving the film treatment based on Carol’s own 2013 bestselling book, Carrie and Me; a memoir about her relationship with Carrie. After overcoming her painful teenage struggle with drug addiction, Carrie lived her adult life of sobriety to the fullest, achieving happiness and success as an actress, writer, musician and director before losing a hard-fought battle with cancer in 2002 at age 38. “It’s being written now,” said Burnett referring to the film. “I am thrilled about it because I want the world to know what kind of a girl she turned out to be and what a wonderful person she was.” Burnett will be co-producing the film along with Tina Faye and Steven Rogers (who produced I, Tonya.) The film will follow the highs and lows of Burnett’s life as a working mother, actress and producer; all told through her relationship with her daughter, Carrie.

Carol’s Earlier Works:

Burnett originated the role of Princess Winnifred in the 1959 Broadway production of Once Upon A Mattress; the hilarious adaption of the fairy tale, The Princess and The Pea. The musical went on for a total run of 244 performances. There have been 3 television adaptions (1964, 1972, 2005) over the years. Burnett played Princess Winnifred in the first two; then in the third one she played the Evil Queen and Tracey Ullman played Winnifred. “The first version pretty much had the original Broadway cast,” said Burnett. “Back then it was just like doing the Broadway show only they were taping it. Now a days it would take a week or two at least,” she said.

Burnett explained how her schedule was during the Carol Burnett Show; “We were very organized so it was a pretty normal schedule. I could take the kids to school and pick them up after rehearsal. We had dinner together every night except Thursday and Friday. That was Orchestra night and the night we taped,” she explained. “We had weekends off, a week off every three weeks, summer’s off, a week for Easter and two weeks for Christmas.” 

“What is an average day like now?” I asked.

“Well, it varies but, normally when I’m home my husband and I go out with friends, we do crossword puzzles and watch movies. Kind of normal stuff,” said Burnett laughing. “My husband (Brian Miller) is a music contractor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He is very busy now because of the summer shows.”

Since the conclusion of The Carol Burnett show in 1978, Burnett has written several New York Times bestsellers including 3 memoirs. She has over 20 film credits to her name and has produced and starred in numerous television specials. 

Currently, Burnett can be found on stages across the country presenting her live Q & A format An Evening of Laughter and Reflection. “I’ve been doing this tour for over 30 years with the inspiration coming from doing the live Q & A all those years ago on my show,” said Burnett, referring to The Carol Burnett Show. Burnett fielded questions from the audience to kick off each episode and that’s how the segment was born. “There were never any plants in the audience. It was always just the audience raising their hands and asking question. And that hasn’t changed,” said Burnett.

During An Evening of Laughter and Reflection, Burnett will take questions from the audience and show video clips from her shows in a format that stems back to the legendary openings of The Carol Burnett Show, where her studio audience had an unfiltered opportunity to engage Carol with questions and receive spontaneous answers. 

At the end of the interview, I told Carol I had wanted to start off with something funny. I said, “I was sitting there at work trying so hard to come up with something witty and cleverly funny. I mean, you are the funniest person I know. I got nothing.” Well, Carol thought that was funny. She laughed and laughed so I guess mission was accomplished after all. I thanked her and that was My Time with Carol Burnett.

 Interview by: Mary Jensen

Vicci Martinez (Daddy) and Emily Tarver (Officer McCullough) met on the set of Orange is the New Black and fell in love. Now they harmonize about their love and their life. I caught one of their shows during Women’s Week in Provincetown this past October.  

I really enjoyed watching the interaction between Vicci and Emily on stage. They have a cool relaxation with each other. Vicci played guitar and sang, and Emily joined in harmonizing. Emily’s easy comedic style shows through during their performance, adding a flare of uniqueness that made it even more enjoyable. “That’s just me being myself and They met during the taping of the last episode of season six. “We were between scenes when I noticed her sitting there,” said Vicci. “I went over to her and was like, can I sit next to you? Emily is just so funny. We talked and hung out on the set then I said, “What are you doing after work? It was immediate,” said Vicci during our recent phone interview. 

They never had any lines exchanged between their characters. Vicci played a drug dealer named Daddy in season six into season seven until they killed her character off chocking it up as a drug overdose. Emily arrived on the show as Officer McCullough, in seasons four through seven. Season seven aired this year and was the final season of the hit Netflix series.

Although they were in the same acting gig and have been writing and performing music together since early 2018, they are each unique and multi-talented in other areas as well.

The music Vicci and Emily are working on is not ready yet but they and can’t wait to share it with you. 

Vicci Martnez

You may remember Vicci Martinez as a finalist in NBC’s season one of The Voice in 2011. The soulful, acoustic-based singer/songwriter had been performing since the age of 16 and had several albums under her belt prior to the show; including some label released recordings as well as some self-releases. 

“I was playing live music for a good ten years by then so when The Voice came to Seattle one of the people that worked in the casting crew was from there and knew about me,” said Vicci. “They reached out to my management. I went in with the attitude that I’ll go and enjoy myself and I ended up enjoying it to the end,” she said. 

Vicci had been in a bit of a lull at that time with her music, so The Voice was just what she needed to give her career another boost. “It helped me to get used to the nervousness that comes with big live performances. I went from playing small clubs to live television,” she said.

Vicci said she learned violin at age five, so she grew up doing that then went to guitar at age twelve. “Now I kind of dilly dally on instruments for recording purposes, but my main squeeze is my guitar.”

Her Dad used to take her to listen to jazz and would try to get her to sing on stage. “I was too nervous for that,” she said. “Then one night I decided to try it and I loved it. My Dad kept supporting that helping me get acoustic open mics and things like that.”

Vicci learned some breathing techniques in middle school choir. Other than that, she is vocally and acoustically self- taught.

Orange is the New Black was Vicci’s acting debut. “It was really random,” she says. “They googled the characteristics for Daddy, and I popped up in the search.” 

Vicci was living in Seattle at the time. They told her if she could get herself to NY in two days, she had the part.

“I didn’t even really have to audition or anything. I read lines when I got there but I just acted like myself and so it was easy. I wasn’t nervous because they said I already had the part.” 

She admitted it did get nerve racking doing some of the bigger scenes with the lead stars. “I didn’t know the directing lingo on the set. Some of my co-stars were gracious and would tell me what things meant,” she said laughing. 

Vicci said she was told the part of Daddy would last three episodes, but it ended up being twelve. “I had put my music on hold to play Daddy. I wanted to give it my best. I was sort of in limbo when the time ran over and not knowing how long I would be on the show.”

I asked Vicci if she is interested in doing any acting in the future. “My main focus has always been my music and now that we’re doing music together (referring to her and Emily) I want to concentrate on making our album. But if the right part gets thrown my way I would audition.”

Vicci has some of her music for download on iTunes.

Emily Tarva

Multi-talented, Emily Tarver most recently played Officer McCullough on the Netflix original hit series, Orange is the New Black. Tarver has a comedic background so why did she audition for such a somber role? “I audition for everything I can,” said Tarver. “I just want to get out there.”

“My audition was for 10am but I have extreme problems with sleep, and I slept right through it. I panicked and called my manager and begged her not to fire me. She told me to calm down and she called the office, and they were like, it’s no big deal. Just have her come in later,” said Tarver. She went in, read three lines and got the part. There was no call back or anything.

Orange ran for seven seasons (2013 – 2109). Tarver came on in season four expecting to shoot a few episodes. Her character ended up being written in through the very last episode of the final season.

The show was shot mostly in NY at Kaufman studios right down the street from where Emily and her girlfriend Vicci Martinez (who played Daddy on Orange) live. “We also shot in upstate NY at the Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Hospital. It has been abandoned for years so Orange gutted it and built their own prison set there,” said Tarver.

With Tarver being so naturally funny and a comedian I asked her how she got into and stayed in character for the part of McCullough. “It was easy,” she said. “We were filming in the most depressing place. Such dim lighting and sad. The cast walking around in prison clothes and just the whole atmosphere made it easy to stay in character. As long as I can remember I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety, so I tapped into that as well.”

Tarver moved to NYC fifteen years ago to study comedy. “I went to a place called the Upright Citizens Brigadewhich is a comedy sketch improv school and theater,” she said. 

She did improve, sketch comedy and standup for about ten years before moving on to performing with a comedy band called Summer and Eve. “I started singing funny songs. That’s when I stopped doing anything comedic on stage that wasn’t with the band,” said Tarver. You can find the live album (recorded at Joe’s Pub in NYC) on iTunes. 

Orange wasn’t her first acting experience. “I met an agent at my last commercial audition class who said he had an audition for me the next day. I showed up and acted like I knew what I was doing. It was my first audition for anything ever. Then it just went from there,” said Tarver. “Then a manager that saw one of my commercials reached out to me. He asked me if I’d be interested in him representing me in terms of television and film. I was like yes! Is this how this works? Great!” 

In addition to Orange is the New Black, Tarver has starred in over 40 national commercials. she played Ms. Conant in The Big C on Showtime, played Pam on an improvised sitcom on USA called Donny and portrayed Brayla in the movie, Sisters. Her most recent work includes Lindsey on Blackish and Amy Parker on The Residuals. 

Taver’s talents don’t end there. She not only played herself on VH1’s The Best Week Ever, she also wrote for the show and has written a number of pilots for television. “I starred in and helped produce a short film in 2015 called Best Wishes from Millwood,” said Tarver. The film is about an unhappy housewife who is visited by a bicycle–riding stranger with wish-making cookies. You can find it on Amazon Prime.

I asked Tarver what her first love was. “That’s a hard one,” she says with a pause. “I would say comedy. I was in quire and did theater in grade school. I didn’t have a hard-core passion for theater, but it was fun and easy. I didn’t really take it seriously. It wasn’t my goal to be an actress. I found my love with comedy. My senior year in college I kind of changed courses. I was going to get my master's in psychology and be a therapist. Then I took an improv class as an elective and fell in love with that. I said screw it and that’s when I moved to NY to study comedy.

Tarver says she never took any formal acting classes but did take an auditioning class for commercials in 2009. “There’s a possibility that I’m really stubborn,” she said laughing. “If I think I can do something I don’t want anyone telling me how to do it. I think a lot of it was an overshot of confidence that maybe I shouldn’t have had but it all worked out. There is still I lot I don’t know though. Working on the set of Orange they would say things like back to one. I had no idea what they were talking about. I was looking for the number one on the floor. Turns out it meant go back to the beginning of the scene,” she said laughing again.

Now that Orange is the New Black has ended, what is on the horizon for Emily Tarver? She says she has auditions coming up and recently shot episodes for a new sketch comedy show that is going to be on Netflix in the near future.

 Interview by: Mary Jensen

I first heard Flight of Fire (FOF) on the third Melissa Etheridge Cruise. We were blown away and we weren’t the only ones. They were the buzz around the ship.

Unfortunately, the band has since split due to personal reasons: From their Patreon page, “It is with a very heavy heart that we announce Flight of Fire’s indefinite hiatus. Each and every one of you have played a major role in the incredible achievements that we’ve gathered over the years and we will never forget your kindness, love, and support. Knowing that our songs have positively impacted the lives of our fans yields one of the most beautiful feelings imaginable and we feel so lucky to have touched so many lives.

“In the wake of the Flight of Fire’s hiatus announcement, some of our members have started a brand-new project called, Stormstress. Stormstress promises to deliver electrifying riffs, thunderous grooves, and catchy choruses all while rockin’ a high energy live performance!”

I recently saw Stormstress at Women’s Week at the WayDownTown restaurant in Provincetown, MA. I wasn’t sure what to expect without FOF lead singer, Maverick. Honestly, they were beyond amazing! They played original Flight of Fire songs, Monster in the Mirror, She's A Badass and My Last Gamble. They did two Stormstress originals, Spinning, Summer Haze and a song from Venom and Mayhem (the twin’s project) called My Twin. Stormstress had only been performing for a week at that point so they played a few covers as well. Tanya said the band has other originals and are heading into the studio to record.

Stormstress is co-fronted by identical twin sisters, Tanya Venom and Tia Mayhem, singing in harmony while playing guitar and bass respectively, as powerhouse drummer Maddie May Scott lays down the groove.

Tanya and Tia sang little songs and made up jingles for fun ever since they were little kids. “We never really put the pieces together until way later,” said Tanya. They both played flute and clarinet in the school band. “I was the flute player. I liked playing the melodies and being up front. The star of the show,” she said laughing.

“At that point we were laying down the framework for what was to come,” said Tanya. I wanted to learn a more modern instrument. I said maybe we should learn to play guitar.”

The flute and clarinet weren’t Tia’s cup of tea. Right off the bat she switched to Bass Clarinet. “The Clarinet wasn’t cool enough. I really like playing the supporting lines to everyone above me. My parents told me I could learn to play guitar, too,” Tia said. “I was kind of interested on the low end so I chose bass. We didn’t even really know what a bass was at that time, but it seemed like the right choice and Tanya chose electric guitar. We started taking private lessons at the age of 13. It was the best feeling. We could play and we were pretty good at it.”

Then college came around and they both got into the Berklee College of Music in Boston. They both studied Film Scoring; Tanya studied guitar and Tia studied electronic bass.

Maddie is originally from the U K and moved to the U S when she was fifteen. She started playing drums when she was eleven. “I didn’t want to play drums, but my mother was like – you need a hobby. You don’t play any sports. She had just gone to this gig and there was a girl drummer in the band and she said, Maddie, you need to be like that. I was like ok, I guess. I started taking lessons with this jazz dude and I hated it so I quit. My mother said we have to find something you like about drumming.

Maddie was into rock at that time, so she contacted the drummer from Lizard, the band her mother had gone to see. The drummer’s name is Katie Elwell. “I took lessons from her for about two years. I was living in France then. I stopped taking lessons when we moved to the U S.” 

She was in a garage band in high school and then college came around. She got accepted to Berklee and UMass Lowell but chose to attend UMass. “I studied music for four months there and I love playing the drums,” she said. 

Maddie recently graduated from UMass where she studied Music Performance and Modern Languages (French & Spanish). She also enjoys gardening on Martha’s Vineyard where her mom lives.

If you haven’t heard Flight of Fire, then I suggest you download some of their music. I also encourage you to check out Stormstess’s music as well. They are equally amazing “Badedas’s” and will knock your sox off! If you enjoy Flight of Fire, you will love Stormstress. 

Interview by: Mary Jensen

Singer songwriter Melissa Crispo knew from the age of five that she wanted to be a musician. She was already singing into her hairbrush after all.

 “My cousins would ask me to play dolls or what not but all I could concentrate on were the drums in my uncle’s garage,” she said. “It went from drums to guitar to piano. Every instrument out there would turn my head as a kid. I couldn’t not do it. I had to pick up every instrument I could and it never went away. I’m 41 now and I still have my dream.”

Melissa’s parents wanted her to go to college but they knew she wanted to be a musician so they tried to get her in Berkley College of Music in Boston. She wasn’t accepted because she couldn’t read music. “I tried to take guitar lessons in high school and it was so boring for me trying to learn to read music. It was frustrating because reading music, to me, was like trying to do math which I’m not good at. So instead I’d pick up my guitar and play by ear; listening to bands such as Guns and Roses and Journey. I basically taught myself how to play guitar.”

Her parents were very supportive of her dream and decided to send her for voice lessons. The teacher told her parents I don’t want you to waste your money on vocal lessons. He told them, “She has something. I don’t know what it is but it’s not singing.”

“I didn’t start singing until I was 21,” said Melissa. “I started writing songs and while I was writing I was thinking someone has to sing these but I was always afraid to sing after that.”

Boy was that vocal teacher mistaken. Melissa wrote and recorded numerous solo projects, opened for Sophie B. Hawkins, Styx and Jefferson Starship. She has performed on the Melissa Etheridge Cruise for the last three years and has performed at benefits for Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation for many years. If Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks had a lovechild, you would get the powerhouse voice of Melissa Crispo!!  Her debut album A Break in the Clouds, her EP Tomboy and her brand-new album the 5th stage are available on digital download, live performances and at melissacrispo.com.

She says performing on the Melissa Etheridge Cruises has changed her life and opened up new doors for her. “Before the first cruise (in 2016) I had been playing music and singing for 16 years. I had even quit at that point. I was like, I need to forget about this dream. I need to think about saving for retirement and make some money. I was playing music but I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was running in circles,” she said and that inspired her song titled Running in Circles.  She wrote the first verse of that song 12 years before and was able to finally finish it.

She went to the Fire Academy and got her two-year degree and became a firefighter and paramedic. Then right around then the first cruise set sail and that changed everything. 

This was also shortly after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. Melissa Etheridge and the booking agent from the cruise decided they wanted to give some cabins away to survivors of the shootings and to breast cancer survivors. They contacted Robin Maynard, Vice President of the Pulse Foundation and Founder of Libby’s Breast Cancer Foundation. 

Crispo had been volunteering for Libby’s Legacy for over ten years, so Melissa and Robin knew each other well.  Robin told Melissa the story and that was her cue. “Oh my gosh! Can you get me on that cruise?” said an excited Melissa. I’ll sleep in a closet if I have to!” Robin spoke with the woman in charge of the booking and she asked what label Melissa was signed with. Robin told them she wasn’t and was local but that she is really good and a great song writer that just needed to be given a chance. The woman wanted a demo.

 “We sent them a demo of Tom Boy. It wasn’t even really recorded yet, so it was just a brief demo of it. The woman called me the next day and booked me on the cruise,” said Melissa. “I almost wasn’t going to do it.  I worked so hard at school and had student loans. Then I thought, but this is my dream and if I don’t take it, I’ll kick myself in the ass for the rest of my life. That is when things began to change for me. Finally, people can hear my music and not just the people in Orlando.”

“My wife, Candace is very supportive and believes in me. She told me I had to do it.” 

“You are a musician. Why would you change that? Why would you change who you are?” said Candace. 

“She told me I give away my power to people.” And from that, her song Take Back Your Power was born.

Things did begin to change for the New York red neck tom boy who now resides in Orlando. Doors opened for her including being invited on a country music cruise. “My music isn’t actually country but when playing acoustic solos I can pass for that by improvising.” 

With the cruises added to her resume, it is helping her to schedule performances at larger events such as Women’s Week in Provincetown and more pride festivals. “They can see my fan base is growing. I have many more fans from the cruises that are following me and buying my music,” said Melissa.

Melissa and her wife were friends for over 10 years before they decided to try dating. “She would come to my shows and we became friends. We were both single and dating other people here and there. I had a list of things I was and wasn’t going to do next time I was in a relationship. Then I realized that everything I actually wanted was right there in front of me,” said Melissa. “We were friends first and got to know each other and there were no secrets. Sometimes I think when people are dating they are trying so hard to impress and aren’t completely honest and that puts pressure on it. I think that is the best part about us and why our relationship is so good.”

Melissa wrote the song Turn It Up Loud (on her new album the 5th Stage) for Candace. “I surprised her at our wedding when I used it as my wedding vows.”

The couple’s daughter is named Lennon after John Lennon. “I’m a hug fan of the Beatles, and John Lennon is about peace and love,” said Melissa who wrote the song Letter to Lennon (also on the new album) for her daughter.

Melissa was happy to talk about her tattoos and what they mean to her. “My tattoo isn’t quite finished yet but it says all of my love. And if you look up Lennon it says lover or little black bird. I have a black bird on my arm. I have a sunflower on my arm because that is mine and Candace’s favorite flower. We had them at our wedding. Then I have a piano and a microphone and there will be musical notes for the song Turn It Up Loud.”

I asked her where she sees herself in five years. Melissa laughs, takes a deep breath and says, “I’ll answer that the same way I would have 20 years ago because the answer has never changed. I want to be a guest on the Ellen Show. I want to be a guest on Saturday Night Live and I would love to win a Grammy someday. Those are my top three and that will never change.”