The Weekly Newspaper of Manhattan Beach Herald Publications - El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 Vol. 9, No. 8 August 6, 2015 Inside This Issue Certified and Licensed Professionals...................6 Classifieds............................3 Film Review..........................3 Food.......................................5 Looking Up...........................2 Pets........................................7 Seniors..................................6 Weekend Forecast Singing for His Supper and (Hopefully) One Million Dollars See Singing, page 2 Friday, August 7 Partly Cloudy 74˚/64˚ Saturday, August 8 Sunny 74˚/63˚ Sunday, August 9 Sunny 75˚/64˚ Pet Rescue Can Change Your Life Harbor Shelter volunteer Amy with Vincent, who is available for adoption. Vincent is as gentle as can be -- a well-behaved boy who’s looking for love! He’s super affectionate, easy on the leash, takes treats nicely, knows his basic commands, and enjoys playing fetch. If you are looking for a four-legged hunk of love, please consider adopting Vincent (A1560365), 6 year old neutered male pit bull. Without a doubt he is sure to be your best buddy, devoted companion, and forever friend! Harbor Shelter, San Pedro, 310.548.2632. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h75VFH5YPlQ By Nancy Peters The claim to fame for Arnold Livingston Geis, and his pals Kevin Blickfeldt and David Castillo, along with new singing group partner DeMar Neal, may be coming in the form of a 10-year-old competition TV series, America’s Got Talent (AGT). Back in February, Kevin contacted Dave and Arnold and suggested they send in an audition tape to AGT for this milestone season. Thus, began a journey that could potentially put the new singing group on the “map” in Las Vegas, with a headlining show and a $1,000,000 prize. The young men put together a required audition tape for evaluation by producers. The tape was viewed sometime in February. In March, after hearing that they were moving on to the in-person producer’s audition, they showed up at the designated location. That resulted in a scheduled filming to be on the TV show, which took place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on April 11. There they were judged by the celebrity judges (Howard Stern, Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Heidi Klum). The new season of AGT began in May 2015 and although the group of four young men were a blip during the first introductory clips of future talent, it was not until Tuesday evening, July 7 that VOX was introduced during the last 25 minutes of the two-hour show. VOX was informed on that Monday to inform their family and friends to watch, by the way. Arnold explained further, “We knew we had been chosen and were being filmed in the holding room where all the talent is filmed and interviewed. However, until the show was broadcast, we had no clue what made it to the show. “The interaction with the judges was fun. Having the name of the group–VOX–be made fun of by Howie Mandel was amusing. The fact that Howard Stern thought we were a ‘boy band’ like ‘N Sync’ was very comical, especially seeing his reaction as I began the performance of the Puccini aria from Turandot, which is a famous aria from the opera. We had two songs prepared for the judging performance. “We chose ‘Nessun Dorma’ because it is a great way to showcase our voices. But it is familiar to the public after The Three Tenors and Luciano Pavarotti brought it to the attention to non-opera goers during the 1990 World Cup Opening Ceremonies,” he said. “Before we went to the audition, which meant sitting around for hours, from 7 a.m., we decided during that week what to sing. Kevin would be our spokesperson with the judges. We sang to a track. With the clapping and screaming from the audience, because we didn’t wear ear monitors, we couldn’t hear the music very well. By that time, we knew ‘just sing what we know and hope for the best’,” Arnold said, laughing at the situation. “We definitely surprised the judges, the audience, and the television viewing public. We received four ‘Yes’ votes. They took us out onto Hollywood Boulevard with a camera crew following us and filmed us like we are real celebrities! It was pretty surreal.” When he was a young boy, Arnold sang in his school choir and at church. Recognized for tremendous talent with his operatic tones, skip forward after high school and Arnold is in California, at Biola University studying Voice and Musical Performance. He meets the girl of his dreams, Rachel Hellerman, a fellow Voice major. After graduation, Arnold applies to the Masters in Music Performance program at the University Of Southern California (USC). He meets two young men in the same program and strikes up brotherly friendships, based on mutual respect of each other’s talents, senses of humor, common interests in classical opera, and the friendships continue after earning their respective Master’s Hoods. Fast forward two years and each man, Kevin Blickfeldt, David Castillo, and Arnold Livingston Geis, is embarking on their separate singing careers, including performing with the Los Angeles Chamber Choir, Los Angeles Opera, and various other performance groups/venues. They are supportive of each other’s successes and careers. And they make the audition tape… In 2013, Arnold and Ray (Rachel) tie the proverbial knot. They actually became engaged when Arnold proposed from the stage after the curtain call during the final performance of the El Segundo Oceanside
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