"Spyder and I want to express out sincerest thanks to all of the amazing firefighters who did a miraculous job of saving homes and lives in the Springs fire here in California! It was a wild night and God Bless them for their diligence and their bravery!! You Rock"
From benatargiraldo.com
Pat Benatar knows how to rock. Her feisty tunes have earned her four Grammys and three American Music Awards, and she was the first female artist to be featured on MTV. But the 60-year-old mom of two (Haley, 28, and Hana, 19) isnt stopping yet. She and her husband, Neil Giraldo, are just finishing a small spring concert series before beginning their main tour across the US and Canada on June 7, 2013, all while recording Neils Christmas album. While the singers no stranger to the stage, shes just as likely to be in her kitchen. Between shows, Pat chatted with WomansDay.com about her family recipes, her garden in Maui, HI, and her cookbook thats coming out this winter.
Where did your love of cooking come from?
It came from my husbands love of eating! I didnt cook all that much when I first met him, but he loves foods half Sicilian. I decided that I better start learning how to cook.
Are your daughters as into cooking as you are?
Yes, my older daughter, Haley, is an excellent baker, and my youngest, Hana, is an excellent meatball maker.
What are some of your favorite meals to prepare?
We do a lot of Italian food. Were carnivores, so its a ton of grilling, braising, stews, things like that. And, of course, Sunday gravy and pasta.
Do you have any family traditions centered around food?
Holidays are big. We bake cookies at Christmastime and do a big ham at Easter. And then we have this other thing from my Polish side: At Christmastime, we also do pierogies, Polish dumplings. My mother has an amazing recipe that was handed down from my fathers mother so we make these in my kitchen and theyre all over the counter.
When youre on tour do you still cook?
We have to eat out quite a bit, but we cook on days off. We have date night on the bus! I drag all these pots and pans, and I have to have a stove and an oven. And then I bring all kinds of portable things, like a griddle and a GrillMaster. I bring a Crock-Pot so I can stick food in there in the morning and itll cook all day. The girl who does production assistance backstage, she and I cook when we have a couple days off in a row. We get banquet tables from the hotels, and then we cook in the parking lot. The band and crew get to eat. Its really great.
Whats your specialty?
I have the most amazing chocolate-chip cookie recipe in the universe. And all the stuff that I cook when were in Hawaii; the fruit there is ridiculous.
What do you grow in your garden in Maui?
Normally we have arugula, different lettuces, all of the herbs. Basil grows like a weed, so we use it as a bush, like a hedge. We also have eggplant, cucumber and tomatoes. And then we have bananas, mangoes, papayas and passion fruit. You cant eat a mango on the mainland ever again once youve tried one there!
Were excited to hear about your upcoming cookbook! What will it be like?
Itll be filled with my family recipes, but the best part? It wont be a straight cookbookll have lots of photographs and stories, like how a particular recipe was born. Youll be making some fabulous food from this cookbook.
Check out the original interview by Anna Dysinger for Womans Day here.
From benatargiraldo.com
Familiar words these past months...but, oh so true!
In January, Spyder and I had the great pleasure of performing before an enthusiastic crowd at a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. It was an amazing evening. For 90 minutes everyone forgot their troubles, and came together in solidarity for their community. I was fortunate, as you know, to have grown up in that community. Spyder who grew up outside of Cleveland Ohio, and had a vastly different "urban" childhood experience. marvels at my unceasingly, happy memories of this idyllic town. I weave romantic tales of parades, Christmas tree lightings, clamming, homecoming games, great Italian ice and fellowship.
On October 29,2012Hurricane Sandy rolled into town and did her best to destroy as much of that as she could. People lost everything...cars, boats, all of their possessionstheir homes. We werent there, but we watched in horror as the news and media outlets documented it all. Friends and family updated us continuouslyit was heartbreaking. And when it was over the devastation was staggering.
But then something began to happencall it yankee spiritor maybe the tenacity of generations of immigrants who were our parents and grandparents, handed down to all of us. People came together, they picked themselves up, did what needed to be done, helped their neighbor and started to rebuild their lives.
My cousins, who are all in construction, were there in the trenches and said it was miraculous!
Miraculous yessurprising, no. I would have expected nothing less from this dauntless group of people!
There is still so much to be done. Please continue to donate your time, money and most of all your fellowship. Spyder and I are so happy to have helped in our small way. We stand ready to continue that support in any way that we can. God bless you all. Lindyyou truly ROCK!
From benatargiraldo.com
The Morgan Leigh Band Wins Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest.
Band Leader Among Top Female Singers on American Idol Season 12; Will Open Concert Featuring Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo plus Loverboy.
OMAHA, Neb., June 13, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- The Morgan Leigh Band has won the chance of a lifetime: opening a concert featuring Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo plus Loverboy and performing before thousands of people at the Bank of the West Celebrates America concert. Bands from across the country competed in the annual Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest on Facebook for the chance to perform at the June 28 concert at Memorial Park in Omaha, Neb.
The Morgan Leigh Band is a pop/country group based in San Marcos, Calif. The band is led by Morgan Leigh, who was among the top 50 female singers on American Idol season 12. In 2011, Leigh began songwriting with fellow singer-songwriter, Paul Coughlin, and assembled other talented musicians to round out The Morgan Leigh Band: Lindsay Nydegger on lead guitar, John Alexander on drums and Dave Garcia on bass. They began touring Southern California in the summer of 2012, playing shows at The House of Blues, San Diego County Fair, The Ruby Room, Jimmy Loves and many other notable venues and fairs.
"Thanks so much to all our fans who voted every day for us," Leigh said. "You will never know how much we appreciate your support. We are so excited to open the Bank of the West Celebrates America concert with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, and we cant wait to join everybody out in Omaha."
"We are pleased with the nationwide participation in our Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest. It was a really close competition. We were impressed with the caliber of the talented musicians, and we thank them for participating. We also thank everyone who recommended their favorite band and voted on Facebook," said Robert Dalrymple, Executive Vice President, Bank of the Wests Midwest Division. "We are excited to have The Morgan Leigh Band open the show at Bank of the West Celebrates America, one of the largest free outdoor concerts in the West."
The Morgan Leigh Band won the Bank of the West Celebrates America Opening Band Contest by receiving the most votes in the contest held on Facebook. Bands from coast to coast entered the Facebook contest. A panel of judges, which included music and talent representatives fromCreative Artists Agency, Warner Atlantic Records and Romeo Entertainment Group, narrowed the band entries to five finalists. The public was invited to vote for their favorite finalist on the Bank of the West Facebook page May 28-June 9.
Bank of the West Celebrates America is a 23-year Omaha tradition and officially kicks off the citys July Fourth festivities.
About Bank of the West: Founded in 1874, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, offers a full range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 600 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states including 39 in Nebraska and 23 in the Omaha metropolitan area. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees.
facebook.com/BankoftheWest CelebratesAmerica.com
Check out the original article at sacbee.com
From benatargiraldo.com
PAT BENATAR AND NEIL GIRALDO CONCERT AT THE FREEMAN COLISEUM ON JUNE 18 MOVED TO 6:00 P.M.
Concert Goers can also attend the Game 6 NBA Finals Viewing Party at the AT&T Center.
SAN ANTONIO (June 17, 2013) Due to the excitement of the NBA Finals, the Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo concert at the Freeman Coliseum will begin at 6:00 p.m. Pat Benatar, and guitarist husband Neil Giraldo, will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. so Spurs fans wont miss any of the action when Game 6 tips off at 8:00 p.m.
As an additional benefit, anyone attending the concert will be able to watch the Spurs take on the Heat during the Game 6 NBA Finals Viewing Party at the AT&T Center. Concert ticket holders will be allowed entry to the viewing party by showing their ticket at the door.
Tickets for Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo start at $39.00 and can still be purchased at ATTCenter.com or at the AT&T Center Southeast Box Office.
From benatargiraldo.com
Our sincerest apologies to everyone at The Citrus County Fairgrounds who had tickets to see us tonight but our performance is being postponed due to conditions at the venue that could have made the evening unsafe for us, our crew and the audience. Stay tuned!! We hope to reschedule this date sometime in the very near future!!
From benatargiraldo.com
To clear up what happenedand to put to rest any and all rumors
Deborah Nader, the promoter for the Citrus Fairgrounds charity fundraiser show, failed to meet the contractual obligations for safety.
Our crew arrived first thing this morning to find substandard staging and unsafe conditions...and Nader was nowhere to be found until approximately 3pm!
Despite the repeated attempts of our representatives insisting that the infrastructure of the stage be fixed, by approximately 5pm the situation was still not resolved and it was deemed not safe to put one single piece of our equipment on that stage. We even had an independent structural engineer called in to assess the situation. He concluded that the stage was indeed unsafe and required that it be "modified" before anyone would be permitted to perform on it.
By this time (after 5pm) it was now logistically impossible to load in our equipment and do our show (for everyones reference, load in normally takes place at9AM to allow enough time to have everything properly set up for the show).
Since this performance was compromised and we were not comfortable with the safety of a jerry-rigged stage, the decision was made to postpone the show until a later date when the safety of the audience and our crew, etc. could be guaranteed.
Please be aware that the fee for the evening has been put into a separate account to be held until the performance takes place....and we vow to reschedule this event with a professional "A" level promoter who will not compromise everyones safety!
We are sorry to all our fans and the three charity recipients (WoundedWarriors Project,Habitat for Humanity and theUnited Way) that this unfortunate situation occurred. Everyone loses.
We hope that this will encourage better and safer business practices by promoters everywhere.
We do not take lightly our obligation to our fans and the charitable organizations.But when it comes to safety, we simply cannot compromise.We were ready willing and able to deliver our show -- but the stage was not!God forbid something would have happened, as weve all seen before, and someone were to get hurt. Its simply unacceptable to put people in this position and thats exactly the position we were in.Spyder and I have been performing for 35 years... all over the world... and this is the first time we have ever walked away from a show....ever! It is difficult to make the tough decisions, but we stand by our decision tonight knowing that no one was put in jeopardy at one of our shows. The last thing we ever wanted was a repeat ofthe tragedy in Indiana with Sugarland and the Cheap Trickstage collapse in Ottawa.
From benatargiraldo.com
"Neil and I regret that we had to postpone last Friday nights show in Florida. The safety of our fans, crew, and band must always come first. With the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair a few years ago, staging and production requirements are at an all-time high. The production and staging requirements were unacceptable. There simply was no option. We apologize to everyone who came to see us. But safety is paramount. We are working to reschedule the performance. In the meantime, all monies have been set aside until the show can be played. Thank you to all who support these three great charities." - Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
From benatargiraldo.com
Were so sorry that there havent been a lot of updates on the website in the past few months! We want to thank everyone for a great summer season and for all of your amazing support. Spyder and I are finally home and looking forward to some much needed down time with family and friends. We have a lot of great things in the works for Fall, and hope to see everyone out there again before you know it! Stay tuned for future updates!
PS - A special merchandise sale happening soon!!
From benatargiraldo.com
Phew!!
Crazy first few days of the November tour! Yall have been amazing!! Dubuque, Wisconsin Dells and Chicago.....so such fun! So enthusiastic! Looking forward to a great three weeks on the road!
Our fans ROCK!! P & S
From benatargiraldo.com
Please help our dear friend, Maria DAngelo win! And please join us on December 7th at The Childrens Life Saving Foundation fundraiser!
Pat &Spyder...
Please CLICK THROUGH ON THE FACEBOOK LINK BELOW, AND "LIKE" THIS POST about our great friend Maria DAngelo, who runs the Childrens Lifesaving Foundation! Her charity- the Childrens Lifesaving Foundation- which we greatly support- could win $25,000 from LOreal Paris USA, and make Maria the next LOreal Paris Woman of Worth! (#WOW!)
From benatargiraldo.com
Thanks Arizona!! Great last show-our 101st!! Thanks to everyone who came out these last few weeks. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful year of touring. Thank you to our amazing crew who made it all seem effortless. Wishing you all a beautiful holiday season! See you in 2014!!
Pat and Spyder
From benatargiraldo.com
What an amazing night!
Thanks to all who came out to support the Childrens Lifesaving Foundation. Special thanks to our fellow musicians/actors for donating their talents, our crew who made everything run smoothly,t he staff and volunteers who always astound us with their tireless dedication to the cause and of course Maria, Sean and Francesca who are angels among us!
It is an honor to know you all.
Blessings, love and light - Pat & Spyder
From benatargiraldo.com
Pat and Spyder will be performing on the finale of The Sing Off, set to air on Monday, December 23rd on NBC, at 10:00/9:00 Central. Dont miss it!
From benatargiraldo.com
Its been less than two weeks (and over 1,000 crescendos) since The Sing-Off special premiered, but next Monday, its already time for the season finale. And, of course, you cant have a singing competition finale without special guest stars.
EW has learned exclusively that, in addition to season 3 winners and a cappella phenoms Pentatonix, Pat Benatar and Neil Geraldo will also be taking The Sing-Off stage to belt out their 1984 chart-topping hit We Belong. Naturally, there will be the usual suspects performing as well: Jewel will duet with Home Free, Shawn Stockman with Ten, and Ben Folds with Vocal Rush. And it just wouldnt be The Sing-Off without Nick Lacheys group, 98 Degrees, stopping by to perform ll Be Home for Christmas.
For a roundup of whats been happening this season (Puns! Blazers! Ultimate Sing-Offs!), check out our recaps over on PopWatch and watch the exclusive videoto the see the three final groups perform Michael Jacksons Man in the Mirror.
From benatargiraldo.com
Spyder and I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Wherever you are, may the spirit of the season fill you with love and light. Health, happiness and prosperity in 2014!
We look forward to seeing your smiling faces out there!
Buon Natale!
The Giraldo Famiglia
From benatargiraldo.com
Thank you all for your sweet birthday messages, cards and flowers! 58th &61st birthdays!?Not exactly sure how that happened, but here we are, haha!
We had a lovely "shared"dinner with our daughters and my mom. Then my amazing husband whisked me off to our favorite, romantic hideaway in Montecito! I am blessed! Spyder had a great birthday as well! He spent the weekend golfing and visiting with our dear friends from Northern Ca..
Love and light to you and yours!
P&S
From benatargiraldo.com
It has come to our attention that Busch Gardens is an affiliate of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. In light of this we have opted to cancel our February 22, 2014 performance at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL.
We want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding.
Pat and Spyder
From benatargiraldo.com
Were excited to announce that we will be joining Cher on her Dressed to Kill tour kicking off our 35th Anniversary!!
The run will begin in Phoenix, AZ on March 22 and wind up in Detroit on April 12th.
Check out our Events page for links to purchase tickets. A limited number of VIP Packages will be available for all dates.
We cant wait to see you all out there!!!
From benatargiraldo.com
Happy Birthday to our oldest daughter, Haley!
You have been a joy in our lives since the moment you entered the world! You are a loving person.....sweet, intelligent, talented and beautiful in every way.
Your Poppa and I wish you a wonderful day. We love you!
From benatargiraldo.com
