ICM APAP Showcase feat., Simply Three, Puddles Pity Party, Mario Cantone, Chris Mann

The electrifying trio of Glen McDaniel, Nick Villalobos, and Zack Clark, together known as Simply Three, has been captivating audiences worldwide with high-octane performances since 2010. Acclaimed as “having what it takes” (Boston Philharmonic) and “highly imaginative and well played” (Maine Today), Simply Three continues to receive praise for their ability to impress listeners with a multitude of genres that span from Puccini and Gershwin to artists such as Adele, Coldplay, and Michael Jackson. By reshaping convention through this style of genre hopping, the trio continues to seek the true essence of classical crossover with original works as well as innovative arrangements that showcase their technical virtuosity and heartfelt musicality.

With an ever-growing online popularity, Simply Three is creating a renewed excitement for instrumental music through inventive music videos that have captured the hearts of millions of YouTube viewers across the globe. Furthermore, their works have gained great critical recognition by publications such as The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, and RyanSeacrest.com, as well as mainstream artists themselves. Chart-topping rockers OneRepublic praised Simply Three’s version of their hit single “Counting Stars,” exclaiming they “LOVE this ‘Counting Stars’ cover!” Additionally, GRAMMY®-nominated R&B sensation Janelle Monáe proclaimed the trio’s project of her hit singles “Cold War” and “Tightrope” to be “an honor” while making it a highlighted feature of her personal website.

Simply Three has old school training but a new school sound. Their quest to look beyond the scope of possibility has led them to collaborate with some of the world’s most creative musicians, including Kellindo Parker (Janelle Monáe) and Jeff Smith (M-Pact), in hopes of creating a new, fresh genesis for string playing. With this, the trio is able to merge shows into a unique synergy of thrilling performances and tone-rich sounds not soon to be forgotten.


A 7-foot clown walks into a bar. He motions for a soda water and sits there staring at his drink. The year was 1998 and Puddles the Clown had wandered into the Star Community Bar in Atlanta, US where bartender Big Mike Geier first laid eyes on the sad, silent clown.

"There was a heaviness about him," says Geier. "I could tell he wasn't in the mood to chat, so I pretty much left him alone except to pass him the mustard when he pulled an onion and a heel of bread out of his pocket. A couple weeks later, he came by the bar and gave me a flyer to a show he was doing at a flea market. The sound system was crap, but his voice blew me away. I've been in my share of bands and wasn't expecting much from a clown singing karaoke from a boombox. But I'll be damned if his singing didn't get me all choked up."

Since then, the two have become close friends, with Big Mike becoming somewhat of a tour manager/confidant as the pair travel around the globe with Puddles Pity Party, Mike speaking on behalf of Puddles as the clown chooses to stay silent.

It was Halloween 2013 when Puddles then teamed up with Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox to record a captivating version of Lordes' hit song "Royals," which instantly went viral on YouTube, getting over nine million views (and still counting). The "sad clown with the golden voice" captivated audiences and media from around the world and the rendition went on to sell thousands of copies on iTunes.

Originally from River City, Puddles Pity Party began his travels with a guest spot on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live tour, followed by performances in the incredible immersive theatre show, "Sleep No More" in New York as well as starring in Seattle's Teatro ZinZanni. He has toured the US and Europe with esoteric rock band EELS, performed Austin's Moontower Comedy Fest, Montreal's Just for Laughs, Belgium's Gent Fest and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Recently performing his sold out show at London's Soho Theatre, Puddles is now making his Australian debut in Adelaide and Melbourne in 2015, where he will then continue to trot the globe with his Pity Party, singing his sad pop anthems for all the party people.

"Puddles gives an emotive performance that resonates with all kinds of folks," says Geier. "The crowd really responds to him. There's something about a giant sad singing clown that comforts us, let's us know it's ok to feel, to show our feelings. It's a sad and beautiful world, and we're all in it together, even when we're totally alone."


Mario Cantone, the celebrated New York stage actor and stand-up comedian, gained critical acclaim with his Tony-nominated one-man show "Laugh Whore," from its appearance at the Cort Theatre on Broadway to the Showtime special. The previous theatre season saw Cantone starring in the Tony-winning "Assassins" by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. Both hit shows were directed by four-time Tony-winner Joe Mantello.

An accomplished stage actor, Cantone has appeared on Broadway in the role of "Buzz" in Terrence McNally's award-winning dramatic comedy, "Love! Valor! Compassion!" and "Stephano" in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" at the Public Theater.

He starred in the 2007 release of Sony's animated film, "Surf's Up," and appeared in the hilarious film "The Aristocrats." On television, Cantone can currently be seen as "Anthony," Charlotte's wedding-planner-with-attitude, now that HBO's "Sex and the City" is in syndication on TBS, E and many other stations, as well as the "Sex and the City" movie franchise. On Comedy Central, Cantone's performances have been featured on "The USO Comedy Tour," "Chappelle's Show," and various other network specials.

Cantone has performed his irreverent stand-up comedy at a wide range of venues, including Carnegie Hall, where he warmed up jazz great Shirley Bassey, to performances at Atlantic City's Borgata and Atlantic Club, headlining at Gotham Comedy and Caroline's on Broadway. Over the years, his routines have included musical parodies of Judy Garland, Jim Morrison, Peggy Lee, Bruce Springsteen and Liza Minnelli.

Cantone got his start hosting the local New York children's show "Steampipe Alley," where the comic slipped in sly pop culture innuendo that adults could enjoy. His other television credits include appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman," "Jimmy Fallon," "Oprah," "Martha," "The Today Show," and throughout its 15 year run, multiple appearances on ABC's "The View."


Chris Mann certainly shined as a finalist on The Voice, but his star has risen even higher since the hit show's second season. In 2012, Mann signed with Faircraft/Republic, a new label formed by renowned producer/music executive Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige). His debut full-length album, "Roads", introduced a whole new generation to the classical-pop genre and shot straight to No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart and made the Top 5 on Billboard's Classical Chart. Upon its release, he gave numerous high-profile television performances, including playing for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as part of TNT's "Christmas In Washington" special, appeared on The Today Show, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and NBC's "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" Special.

He kicked off 2013 with a performance on Conan as well as his very own PBS Special helmed by award-winning producer Ken Ehrlich titled "A Mann For All Seasons". The show features special guest appearances by multi-platinum artist Martina McBride and Mindi Abair, and is a re-creation of the Elvis Presley '69 Comeback Special with Chris performing in a boxing ring on a Sony soundstage.

The aptly-titled "Roads" represents the culmination of a long and challenging journey for this gifted and dedicated young artist, who'd been pushing forward against what had appeared to be overwhelming odds. After studying opera at Vanderbilt in Nashville, the Wichita, Kansas, native had spent years singing in clubs and auditioning for record labels without a nibble, until three years ago, when one classical label took a chance on him. Mann was working on what would have been his debut album when he was abruptly dropped, the victim of a wholesale regime change at the company. Devastated, he started working behind the scenes as a session singer on Glee, and occasionally getting on camera as a member of the fictional vocal group The Warblers. He was making a decent living, and for a while he managed to convince himself that it was what he should be doing with his career.

"I never doubted my talent, but I had so many people not know what to do with me that I started to think I was weird," Mann explains. "So I spent the next couple of years doing pop, until I realized I was wasting my time, and my voice, trying to dumb it down. I decided to go back to the genre I love—what I'd dedicated my whole life to learning how to do—classically based pop music."

When he strode onto a soundstage at Sony Studios to perform Andrea Bocelli's "Because We Believe" for his Voice audition, Mann was more nervous than he'd ever been before a performance. "It was a combination of knowing that this was bigger than anything I had ever done before and realizing that it could change my life," he says. "I just sensed that that something different was gonna happen this time—something good."

Mann's intuition was right. He killed it that day and was selected to be on Christina Aguilera's team. "As the first serious classical singer on one of these shows, I couldn't believe it when I kept getting voted through, week after week. These people who kept voting for me were my fans—they gave me back my confidence and helped me find my true voice."