Publication: The Capital Times Author: Rob Thomas Date: October 17, 2013 People taking photographs of you. People staring at you, and tweeting and texting about what you’re doing. Man, just talking to Harry Connick, Jr. on the phone in the newsroom, you feel a little residue of the effect he has on people rubbing off on you. As a Grammy-winning singer, actor and all-around Big Easy heartthrob, Connick can certainly cause quite a stir. But even sitting in the eye of the pop culture storm, taking a break from his new gig as a judge on “American Idol,” Connick comes across as a genuine guy, funny and genuinely thoughtful. His laconic friendliness belies how incredibly busy he seems to be – on top of balancing his new “Idol” job with a fall tour that brings him to Overture Hall on Monday, Oct. 21, he’s planning to star in a new sitcom for Fox that will mix comedy and live music. (He also called me “bro,” which was cool.) Connick talked about his role on “Idol,” the personal songwriting on his new album “Every Man Should Know,” and what he and Peyton Manning have in common while performing: RT: How does it feel being at the American Idol table? HCjr: It feels great. It feels kind of surreal in a way, because I've watched the show for so long. You remember that show "Will and Grace?" They ended the season once with Grace – I think she knocked herself out on a lamppost or something – and you see this horse, and a guy comes up, but you can’t see his face. And I remember watching that laying in bed with my wife, and I was like “Oh, wow, I wonder who that’s going to be." And it was me! I didn’t know that was going to happen. When I got on the set, there’s a piece of me, regardless of how long I’ve been in show business, that said “Man, I’m on 'Will and Grace.'" "Idol" is kind of an institution now and a significant one, in that it’s pretty much the way new artists are heard. And to be that guy is really cool. RT: What do you think is important about you bring to being a judge? HCjr: I don’t know how important what I bring is, but I know what I’m trying to bring, which is honest, concise opinions that aren’t necessarily couched in praise. If I don’t think somebody can sing, I think there’s a nice way to say it, but essentially the message is "I don’t think you can sing. Thank you for your time.” I don’t think I’ve said it like that, but I also don’t want to send mixed messages by saying “I didn’t like that performance, but listen, you’re really good.” I think that’s confusing. I think it’s nice to be concise, to be honest, and to be specific. I’m a musician. If somebody is singing flat, I know they’re singing flat. If somebody is using a pentatonic scale incorrectly based on the harmony, I’m going to tell them, "You’re not singing the right notes, and here’s why." I don’t like to be professorial or clinic, but I think there’s times when it’s okay to be technical. When you’re watching "Monday Night Football," and Jon Gruden starts talking about whatever he talks about, like "double screen wide banana Omahas," you don’t know what that is, but doesn’t it feel nice to be led by the hand through the jargon to understand the game better? I think it’s nice to have judges that know what they’re talking about. I may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I do know a little something about music. RT: So much of what you hear in pop culture is either hype or hate, it must be refreshing to actually be honest and forthright. HCjr: And be specific. When you watch dancing shows, like "So You Think You Can Dance," they talk about technical dance terms all the time. Why don’t they do that on music shows? Why is music the only venue where people say 'Oh, sing what you feel!" No! Education can actually help some of these kids. Man, I grew up in New Orleans, with the best educators in the world. It didn’t hamper or squelched my passion, it enhanced it. We’re going to Omaha tomorrow, and there might be some kid who never had a lesson. But, boy, imagine how much better he or she would be if they knew a little bit more about the craft. It’s not going to take away from their soulfulness. RT: How was the summer tour? HCjr: It was great, man. My shows change every night, and it’s a little risky, because not planning anything leaves the door open for crashing and burning. But the upside is that the people get something that’s uniquely crafted for them, and I think they appreciate it. RT: Some of these songs on the new album are very personal. It’s one thing to write them or sing them in the studio. What’s it like to sing them in front of thousands of people. HCjr: That’s a great question. I hadn’t really done that. I’ve hinted or poetically alluded to personal things that people wouldn’t catch. But there are specific personal references in these songs. Sometimes I weep, and sometimes I open my eyes and look out and say, “Oh, crap, I’m in front of a whole bunch of people.” Because I’ve gone somewhere. It’s a little scary going into some of these songs, and I have to take a deeper breath than usual sometimes. But that’s what I signed up for. RT: Could you have made this record at 25 or 35? HCjr: No way. Even the references to my mom, I didn’t handle that well. There’s no excuse for it. I’d be talking to someone like you, and they’d ask me, “Tell me about your Mom, I heard she died when you were 13.” And when you answer that question eight times a day, you’re like “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I was pretty arrogant about how I handled it publicly, because I didn’t know how else to do it. I didn’t talk about it, I didn’t write about it. I’m 46. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. When I went down to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, people were like "Are you going to write a song about this?" And I was like this is bigger than music. I always felt like it would trivialize the important things in my life to write a song about it. That may not make sense because I’m a singer and a songwriter, but my emotions felt bigger than anything I could document in a song. Now I don’t feel like that anymore. I think it’s time to start writing a little closer to home. RT: Does writing about stuff help you deal with it, or do you have to deal with stuff before you can write about it? HCjr: That’s such a great question, man. Maybe subconsciously it does. I’ve already dealt with it. It’s fulfilling to explore it. In a way, it may be worse, because now I have to revisit it night after night. But I have a different perspective on it now. There’s a line in one song about how my wife never met my mom, but "if she were alive, she would be so happy to know that I married you.” Those are nice things to sing about. RT: You have all kinds of styles on the new album, from gospel to country tunes. How do you do all that different stuff in concert? How big is your band? HCjr: I have five horns, bass, drums, piano, guitar and strings. We bounce all over the place. That depends on my performing experience, what I think is appropriate for that point on the show. I might do a ballad, and I might feel the audience wants another ballad. I might be wrong, but I’ll do another ballad. Or I’ll do an upbeat country tune and my trio will jump in. It’s really just all over the map. RT: You must have great players. HCjr: They’re ridiculous. I throw curveballs at them all night long. I’m not comparing myself to Peyton Manning’s greatness, but you know how he never huddles. That’s exactly what’s going on. They’re playing audibles all night. RT: You have all these different projects – I just read last week that you’re doing a new sitcom for Fox. What drives you to pursue all these things? HCjr: I have a really short attention span, and I love performing. If you sent me into a room with a big lump of clay, and say you can’t come out until you make something, it might suck, but the idea of smashing that stuff around and making something, that’s just how my brain works. That’s like drugs to me. I’ve wanted to do this sitcom for a long time. There’s really never been a four-camera sitcom with music. The only one is “I Love Lucy.” The idea of doing that is the greatest thing in the world, and working with the Stangel brothers, the head writers for Letterman, I’m just the luckiest guy in the world. Because that will be the first time I get to do everything under one roof.