Interview

If Levi Kreis' acclaimed sophomore release, "The Gospel According To Levi", took us through the complicated and painful past of a young man growing up under the grip of religious fundamentalism, then it must have been cleansing for Mr. Kreis because there is no trace of hardship here.

"Where I Belong" is the most positive, uplifting offering we've witnessed from this piano man. We depend on Levi's pop sensibilities to write a contagious hook, but this time around, they simmer with southern soul that rings truer than any previous endeavor.

Levi Kreis released his debut album "One of the Ones" in 2005 following an appearance on NBC's hit reality show The Apprentice with Donald Trump. Combined with an exclusive CD premiere on XM Radio, the world's introduction to Levi began a firestorm of conversation. Songs from his debut CD have been featured on The Apprentice, Days Of Our Lives, and The Young And The Restless spawning national television appearances and radio rotation.

It started out as a kind of fluke. In what can only be described as a cosmic decree or twist of fate, playwright Ted Swindley stumbled upon the work of Patsy Cline for the first time while running the Texas Playwright Festival in Houston which presented plays with strong Texas themes. But it wasn’t until a couple of years later when one of his company’s two theaters was dark and he needed something quick to put in it that the seed finally took root.

In the early 1960s, wunderkind lyricist and producer Bob Crewe began writing with Bob Gaudio, who had risen to fame at age 15 when, as a member of the Royal Teens, he co-wrote the hit “Short Shorts.” The first Crewe-Gaudio collaboration, “Sherry,” was written by Gaudio and produced by Crewe. It became a #1 single in 1962 for The Four Seasons (fronted by Frankie Valli). The pair wrote many other songs for the group, including “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” another #1 hit single, “Rag Doll,” also a #1 hit, “Ronnie,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)” and “Connie O.”