Ex-WWTBAM contestant coordinator was on AI

[MarleysGh0st]

I happened to catch the Philadelphia auditions episode of American Idol while home in NJ. That was when they featured some dreadful rejects, including one memorable stalker. Well, guess who he is?

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa ... nanza.html

Paul Marturano, of Upper Makefield, had two choices when he decided to audition for American Idol.

He could be Paul, of Paul and the Toasty Walkers, and work his Billy Joel-flavored nightclub stylings. Or, he could be Pauly Nipple of the Hairy Aureolas comedy duo and clown his way in front of the cameras.

If you saw - or heard of - the man who sang about stalking Paula Abdul, then you know which one he chose.

...

Marturano settled in Bucks County after he had spent two years as a contestant coordinator on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He lived in a New York hotel where the contestants were housed.

"It was great fun for a while," Marturano said. "But then you've got to decide whether you're going to have a life or work 80 hours a week."

He eventually left the show and settled in Bucks County in a sizable Upper Makefield house. He, and his "very good friend" Susan Vescera, who works for Marturano's company, Off the Edge Productions, L.L.C., manage singer Milo "No Sex Allowed" Turk, whose audition also aired during American Idol's Philadelphia show.

Any primetime contestants remember Paul?

[peacock2121]

I remember Susan. She was one of the two coordinators during the first season of Syndie BAM. She lived at The Lucerne. She was 'the head one". She is the one who helped me get my driver's license back after hours.

She was not happy about the hours and the lack of a life either.

[peacock2121]

Was Paul a bad singer?

[MarleysGh0st]

Was Paul a bad singer?

What he was singing was so creepy, I don't think anyone noticed the quality of his voice.

[littlebeast13]

I happened to catch the Philadelphia auditions episode of American Idol while home in NJ. That was when they featured some dreadful rejects, including one memorable stalker. Well, guess who he is?

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa ... nanza.html

Paul Marturano, of Upper Makefield, had two choices when he decided to audition for American Idol.

He could be Paul, of Paul and the Toasty Walkers, and work his Billy Joel-flavored nightclub stylings. Or, he could be Pauly Nipple of the Hairy Aureolas comedy duo and clown his way in front of the cameras.

If you saw - or heard of - the man who sang about stalking Paula Abdul, then you know which one he chose.

...

Marturano settled in Bucks County after he had spent two years as a contestant coordinator on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He lived in a New York hotel where the contestants were housed.

"It was great fun for a while," Marturano said. "But then you've got to decide whether you're going to have a life or work 80 hours a week."

He eventually left the show and settled in Bucks County in a sizable Upper Makefield house. He, and his "very good friend" Susan Vescera, who works for Marturano's company, Off the Edge Productions, L.L.C., manage singer Milo "No Sex Allowed" Turk, whose audition also aired during American Idol's Philadelphia show.

Any primetime contestants remember Paul?

Holy crap! That was Susan Viscera's assistant, right? He did our contestant meeting since she was unavailable (I wonder if he also did Ed's the day before?)....

Too bad I don't watch that crap....

lb13

[peacock2121]

Was Paul a bad singer?

What he was singing was so creepy, I don't think anyone noticed the quality of his voice.

Too bad - all of the 'tips' people give about trying out for Idol include being careful about song choice.

Of course, he might have just wanted the publicity and that gave it to him.

[MarleysGh0st]

Of course, he might have just wanted the publicity and that gave it to him.

The parts of the article I didn't quote explain that that's exactly what he wanted and what he's been getting, since that one minute of infamy.

[silvercamaro]

With this jog to the memory, I remember him from April 2001. I never met Susan, because she was somewhere else -- on vacation or dealing with a health problem? Paul was taking care of her dogs, in addition to taking care of contestants at the late Empire Hotel. He was a great guy.

Amaz and I were on the same show that week, and ghost appeared on the day before.

I saw Paul's Idol appearance, but I didn't recognize him from that or make any connection. I did think he was funny, though.


Edited to correct year, I think.

[earendel]

I remember Susan. She was one of the two coordinators during the first season of Syndie BAM. She lived at The Lucerne. She was 'the head one". She is the one who helped me get my driver's license back after hours.

She was not happy about the hours and the lack of a life either.

Susan and Paul were the two coordinators when I was on the show - Susan took care of things the first time, and Paul the second time. What I remember about Paul was that rather than provide transportation for elwing and me to go to the studio, we walked.

[Bob Juch]

Paul's MySpace page is:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... d=46425083

It has his recordings and videos.

[hermillion]

I remember Susan. She was our coordinator at the Lucerne, and very helpful. After my win I asked for some "goodies" to take back to my students, and she brought me a bag with a box of 100 pencils, two tubes of the gold BAM coins with Meredith's image, and a stack of phony money. I handed the stuff out as treats for my students for the rest of the year.

[silvercamaro]

I remember Susan. She was our coordinator at the Lucerne, and very helpful. After my win I asked for some "goodies" to take back to my students, and she brought me a bag with a box of 100 pencils, two tubes of the gold BAM coins with Meredith's image, and a stack of phony money. I handed the stuff out as treats for my students for the rest of the year.

I wonder if that was the last season to have a BAM coordinator at the hotel. Exactly one year later, there didn't seem to be anybody to watch out for the contestants beyond the Lucerne staff.

[cindy.wellman]

I remember Susan. She was our coordinator at the Lucerne, and very helpful. After my win I asked for some "goodies" to take back to my students, and she brought me a bag with a box of 100 pencils, two tubes of the gold BAM coins with Meredith's image, and a stack of phony money. I handed the stuff out as treats for my students for the rest of the year.

I wonder if that was the last season to have a BAM coordinator at the hotel. Exactly one year later, there didn't seem to be anybody to watch out for the contestants beyond the Lucerne staff.

So, no 'night before let me see your TV worthy outfits' meeting any more? The front desk probably had fun with that!

[TheConfessor]

Marley, thanks a lot for posting this. I had no idea that Paul Marturano was the guy who did the stalking song on AI. That's very cool!

Does anyone know how a 32 year-old got on the show, despite AI's 28 year-old age limit? Don't the producers check IDs? Does this mean they were in on the act, and knowingly allowed it to happen?

I talked to Paul and Susan Vescera several times, especially at their headquarters in Room 1124 of the Empire Hotel. They were both great people and a big part of the whole WWTBAM experience. I knew that Paul was an accomplished musician. He sat in on keyboards with Les Paul at least once, during Les Paul's weekly Monday gig at the Iridium Lounge, which used to be in the basement of the Empire. (It later moved to 50th and Broadway, and last I heard, Les Paul is still playing on Monday nights.) Paul M. also has done gigs on cruise ships and in Atlantic City lounges.

Paul used to walk Susan's dogs in the little patch of green space north of the Empire Hotel. The last time I saw him, he told me about his band, and sheepishly told me its name, The Hairy Aureolas. I tried to look them up on the internet, but didn't find anything. Now I know that I was misspelling the name. I assumed it would be spelled "Areolas."

Paul performs both as a serious singer/songwriter (Billy Joelesque) and in the comedy music genre. I'm pleased to hear that he has opened the door to national recognition, and I hope he can capitalize on the opportunity.

You can hear several of Paul's songs and watch some videos at these sites (the Hairy A stuff may not be appreciated by those with genteel and sophisticated tastes in music):
http://idleidols.com/paul-marturano/
http://www.offtheedgeproductions.net/Pa ... index.html
http://www.myspace.com/4paulm
http://www.offtheedgeproductions.net/ha ... index.HTML
http://www.myspace.com/thehairya

[Ritterskoop]

Does anyone know how a 32 year-old got on the show, despite AI's 28 year-old age limit? Don't the producers check IDs? Does this mean they were in on the act, and knowingly allowed it to happen?

There was a 44-year-old man on the first week this season, and last season there was a fellow in his 50s or 60s who had lost his wife to cancer. They are only featured on the early episodes, and are not qualified for the Hollywood round.

[MarleysGh0st]

Marley, thanks a lot for posting this. I had no idea that Paul Marturano was the guy who did the stalking song on AI. That's very cool!

You're welcome, Ed! I never met Paul or Susan, but it surprised me, too, when I saw this article in my regular Google News search for WWTBAM-related articles.

The impression one gets from casually watching the audition segments of AI is that these rejects have absolutely no idea how terrible they are. This article shows that at least some of them are being deliberately awful to win that snippet of national air time.

Does anyone know how a 32 year-old got on the show, despite AI's 28 year-old age limit? Don't the producers check IDs? Does this mean they were in on the act, and knowingly allowed it to happen?

Obviously, TPTB knew and were in on the act, because it gave them a bit of the entertainment they were looking for.

Then there was the guy at Philly who they sent to get his chest hair waxed, with the camera following him...

[JBillyGirl]

I remember Susan Vescera very well from my May 2001 appearance; she was a real sweetheart! I'm having trouble remembering Paul, but the more I think about it, I think she must have had an assistant and he must have been there. Wow -- small world!