Budd stays true to herself after 30 years in showbiz
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 19, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 UCLA Performing Arts Actor and vocalist Julie
Budd brings her own vocal style to UCLA as she performs at
Schoenberg Hall, April 21 at 8 p.m.
By Luiza Gevorkyan
Daily Bruin Contributor
Even in the chaotic world of show business, some people stay
true to their creative sensibilities. Vocalist Julie Budd is one of
those few.
Since the age of 12, when she was discovered by
producer/director Herb Bernstein, Budd’s musical choices have
catered to an older audience instead of following popular
trends.
She will make a one-night appearance in Schoenberg Hall on
Saturday. Her performance is a one-woman-showcase of songs from her
new CD “If You Could See Me Now.”
With her roots firmly in classics written by American musicians
like Duke Ellington and Irving Berlin, Budd has built a career that
doesn’t rely on cultural whims. She is a down-to-earth person
who shapes her own reality and has fun with it.
A Brooklyn native who loves to talk, Budd is intriguing because
she has survived show business for more than 30 years.
Her voice is a finely tuned instrument. She excels in
articulation and phrasing, and has a lyrical, soprano voice.
Audiences expect to be awed by the peaks and valleys it can
reach.
Her personality, as well as her show, is a slice of New
York’s theatrical and musical heritage. Even her speech has
hints of a New York mother’s accent.
“Los Angeles has always been a very lucky place for
me,” Budd said in a phone interview from New York. But she
noted that, “The problem with Los Angeles is that there
aren’t that many places to sit down and perform for a period
of time. It’s not like New York, which has shows every other
block.”
An active stage performer, Budd doesn’t mean to imply that
she will simply sit down and perform in her concert.
“It’s theatrical,” Budd said.
“It’s musically dramatic. There’s nothing passive
about my show. I’m not one of those precious cabaret singers;
I’m a concert artist, period.”
Fans of musicals, cabarets or anything New York shouldn’t
miss the opportunity to see Budd’s show. Music from giants
like Rogers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and George Gershwin
will fill the hall.
She chooses to stay with the classics, because that’s
where she is comfortable.
“My career is like a great black dress. I like to think of
myself as steady classic, as a stable influence in the
industry,” Budd said. “It’s a really good place
to be, actually, because you’re not dangling somewhere.
“The day I get up in the morning and I am not interested
in what I’m doing anymore, that’s when I’m going
to have to start moving on,” Budd continued.
Budd’s chosen spotlight has come with some territorial
problems. Ever since she was young, critics expected her to become
the next Barbra Streisand. Like Streisand, she has always appealed
to older audiences. Her music doesn’t chase the market and
her voice bears an uncanny similarity to Streisand’s.
But Budd doesn’t want to be Streisand’s shadow,
although the association has helped her fame. These days, she
doesn’t worry about the connection. She doesn’t even
mention it, unless asked.
In part, she wants audiences to see her show so she can finally
bury her comparison to Streisand.
Budd’s true idol growing up was not Streisand, but the
actress Julie Andrews.
“I remember hearing Julie Andrews sing and I thought it
was the most glorious voice I had ever heard in my life,”
Budd said.
She justifies her opinion with a philosophy that she took as a
child from Andrews.
“One of the great influences of Julie is that she never
chased the market,” Budd said.
So how does she want to be remembered?
“Well, it’s kind of early to have a
retrospect,” said the 47-year-old Budd, laughing loudly.
“But if I had to think about how I was going to be remembered
““ that people had a wonderful time at my shows.”
MUSIC: Tickets to see Julie Budd are available
for $45 and $9 for UCLA students with a valid I.D. at the Central
Ticket Office, (310) 825-2101 or online at www.performingarts.ucla.edu
and at all Ticketmaster outlets.
