Growing up in the Brooklyn projects...
I was so encouraged to perform by my gramps that it always
stayed with me. In high school, I picked up the guitar and started
writing songs and performing once again. By the time I was 23,
I became the proud owner of a New York delicatessen. Everyday
while making sandwiches for the lunch crowd, me and the boys would
be putting on quite a show behind the counter. It made their wait in
line seem much quicker because once again, I found myself performing.
They didn't care how long it took, even though we were the fastest kids
on the block. That experience of owning the deli has given me a world of
stories. I'm not sure if they came for the food or the performances, but
there was always a line around the block.
Sometime later, when I moved to California, I got into the hospitality
business once again. A different act every night on the restaurant floor.
I was orally telling stories for many years but never once did I think
that I'd ever have my stories written down. I can't write. I can't type. I can't spell. I'm computer illiterate. How the hell does a guy like me from
the projects have two books published? It's unbelievable to me.
Like it's been my whole life, magically, the right people show up at the
right moment to help me do the things I feel inept to do. As my wife
Pat would say, for thirty eight years of marriage, all I've done is talk.
Tony Albano - Two-time Book Author, Storyteller & Speaker