People who are smothered in Awesome-Sauce

Since I've moved to Hollywood, I have met so many crazy-talented people. I'm thrilled when I find out some of these ingenious folks are from the Bay State, like me! Which brings me to the first edition of: (dun Dun DUN) "Awesome-Sauce People". From singers, directors, models to MMA fighters, keep an eye out for these ...

Awesome

Sauce 

People. 

Cassie Cardelle 

SINGER/SONGWRITER/DANCER/MODEL/ACTRESS

Fellow Massachusetts native, Cassie Cardelle, has decided to relocate from Boston to Los Angeles to continue pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. Attending an audio engineering school while finishing her second album, this New England Revolution Cheerleader plans on bringing her East Coast motivation to the West Coast.
  
Currently Max Talent's Miss June 2011, Cassie will also be featured in the upcoming issue of "Cookie Magazine." Although Cassie is a singer/songwriter, a passion for the production side of the music industry runs in her family. Her grandfather, record producer Rik Tinory, worked with one of my favorite bands, Aerosmith! Now, she's starting up an entertainment company ("CardRx Entertainment") with her father. Cassie's EP, "Suburban Diva" is currently available on iTunes.

Follow Cassie on Twitter.com 

@cassiecardelle 

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 My next featured phenom-tastic person I haven't technically met, but Chuck O'Neil is the most exciting athlete I've seen on The Ultimate Fighter since Ryan Bader. Raised in Bourne, MA, Chuck is currently fighting out of Rockland, MA. He's fought all over Massachusetts and in his 4 years as a professional fighter he's racked up 2 title belts and a record of 8-4. Seven of those wins were finishes (often by TKO). Chuck was on a 3 fight win streak until Chris Cope took the decision on last Saturday's Finale of The Ultimate Fighter - Season 13. I'm not worried about Chuck though. Anyone who followed The Ultimate Fighter this past season knows Chuck did more than just impress UFC President, Dana White, with a bout that nearly blinded his opponent. Chuck went from being an Alternate for TUF13, to becoming Dana's Wild Card pick, coming back with a win against Javier Torres sending Chuck to the quarter finals of the season.

Maybe I'm just a sap for a heavy Boston Accent, but Chuck O'Neil is one of those fighters that gets me excited about Mixed Martial Arts. Having a perfect record is all well and good, but I tend to root for the fighters with the most character and heart.

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Old Lady and Panman

The other featured brilliant-pants person I would like to introduce you to is actually a two-parter. First, we have "Panman", a serial-killing chef "with the recipe for murder."  Last month, Panman's feature horror/comedy film was premiered in Hollywood. It's called, "PANMAN: The Movie".

Co-Director and star of the horror/comedy, Tim Pilleri, is a long-time friend of mine. I first met Tim during a production at The Middlesex Community College Theatre Company. He was a major influence in my wanting to become a writer and actor. Tim wrote a play entitled "Pilgrim" complete with John Smith, Pocahontas and a drunk Irish Priest. Quite sincerely, it is the finniest play I've ever seen. 

On a personal note, I was recently abducted by the "Panman Promotional Van". I was forced to watch the most amazingly epic cimematic adventure of my life time. I laughed, I cried, I think may have even peed a little. 

Check out a video of me being abducted.

Tim Pilleri, Panman, Amber Marie Bollinger

at the "Panman" Premier in Hollywood

"Panman: The Movie" will be showing at select film festivals across the country this Halloween. Keep a watchful eye out for that and new music from Cassie Cardelle. And Big Congrats to Chuck O'Neil, one of Massachusetts own, making it to Las Vegas to fight at The Palms for UFC fans.   

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Gravity Rides Everything: Exercise

Gravity Rides Everything: Exercise: "How do you make yourself remember how good it feels to get up and get some exercise? I wouldn't say that I'm by any means completely seden..."

Boston Bound

I was so excited to come home to Massachusetts and visit for a week. There was so much on the agenda, I was worried that I would not be able to fit everything in. I'm very happy to say I accomplished just about every thing that I wanted to do while visiting my home state. I flew on a red eye Tuesday night, arriving in Logan on Wednesday. I flew Virgin America and it was amazing. I highly recommend flying Virgin, purple lights, relaxing-spa-like music, it made the whole plane feel like first class. Although I had very little sleep on the way over, I was wide awake when I saw my mom pull up to the terminal!

"I want Dunkin' Donuts." I told her, explaining that there are no Dunkin's in the great state of Cali-for-ni-aye. After getting a mocha iced coffee, we headed to my brother's house to see my perfect nephew, Callum. He and I laughed and played and joked around. He has a great sense of humor for a five month old.

The next day I spent the whole day with my sister. We went to the mall, went shopping and bought some cute new out fits. I was especially happy about this mirror I bought, we each got one because... well because I think it's cute that we have matching mirrors! We got our eye brow's done and the went to her house and had veggie burgers for lunch - which by the way - were delicious!

That night we went to JJBoomers for some serious karaoke. There were so many people there and I was so excited to see everyone. There were friends I hadn't seen in 15 years, co-workers I hadn't seen in 10 years, it was an extremely nostalgic night.

Me, Ashley, Val

Friday I spent the day in Springfield, visiting my old work, Aeropostale in the Eastfield Mall, have dinner with some friends and then Karaoke, of course, at Applebee's Boston Road with Vinnie the Hitman and DJ Denise. Visiting the people who had donated money for me to audition for Idol was amazing. It really felt like the last year had come full circle.

Saturday was the big day, the whole reason I flew 3,000 miles across the country. The Hometown Expo was even more amazing than I thought it would be. I got to meet Ashley Rodriguez, which was awesome, along with meeting, and jamming with, Randy Vera - a bad ass guitarist who I look forward to working with in the near future. Also, I was able to judge the "Hometown Idol Singing Contest"! Nineteen kids sang and everyone did a great job, I had no idea Walpole, MA was filled with so much talent! Everyone working at the Expo was so nice and I can't wait to go back next year.

Saturday night I attended the Annual MCZ Awards at my old College Theatre Company, The MCC Theatre. Thomas Orion did a great job hosting, with co-host Courtney Jones. I was glad to have a chance to visit the theatre while I was in town.

Sunday was spent with family, at my cousin Maggie's graduation party. The food was great, all my family was there and it was so nice to see every one. I just hope my cousins, Maggie and Jack come visit me in Hollywood soon!

  

Maggie, Jack, Kerri, Hannah, Felicia, John Kim, Callum, Ryan and Me.

The last two days of my trip was spent with friends and family and I am so glad that I was able to see my nephew as much as I did. He is getting so big, and I hate not being around to hang out with him, but I am so appreciative of the time I do get to see him and when I am the cool auntie that takes him to Disney Land, it will all be worth it.

You can take the asshole outta Mass but...

I'll always be a Masshole. I have been missing home so much lately, so I'm super stoked that I get to visit home soon. There are so many people that I want to see! For starters my sister, who I'm just crazy about. She recently was inducted into the national honor society and I wasn't there to celebrate with her. I guess one of the costs of following your dreams is missing important events in the lives of the ones you love. But I will make up for lost time soon...

I'm also excited to see other family members as well. My mom of course and my brother and sister-in-law and MOST OF ALL my lovely nephew, Cali. He and I are very tight. He tells me everything. I love the little guy and I just want to snuggle his little face. He's only a few months old but already, we just click.

I'm also excited to see my friends! I miss everyone so much, Chris and Josh, Chrissy, Jessy, Caitlin, Thomas Orion and so many more... I can't wait to Karaoke with my friends in both eastern and western Mass. I can't wait to go back to Applebee's, where my Idol adventure began almost exactly one year ago.

A major highlight of my trip to Massachusetts is, obviously, the reason I'm going! THE HOMETOWN WEEKLY EXPO! There will be a Hometown Idol singing contest and I am going to get to meet Micky Ward and Dicky Ekland!

Living in Hollywood is a dream come true, but I'll get home sick no matter where I go. I'm glad that even if I live 3,000 miles away, I can always call Massachusetts home.

I Love Dogs

Aren't they Perfect?

Me and Mr. Brutus

Look at that face....

Puppy Salem

Big Girl Salem!

Me and Salem, grazing. 

 Lil' Kim

The Count Down To Hollywood Week

I will never, in my life, forget the day I met Steven Tyler. We are both from the same region of the country and I was, hands down, most excited to meet him. It was a very rainy and I had waited all day by the time I got in front of Steven Tyler, J.Lo and the big dawg, Randy Jackson.

When I walked in the room Steven looked at me confused for a minute, probably because I was so nervous and figgity... but then I started to sing and Steven started to smile. When I finished he just kept smiling and then I went so far to rap about... I don't even know what... and Mr. Tyler cracked up laughing and seemed to like my energy.

I remember when I heard "You're going to Hollywood!" I crouched down and curled up in a little ball. I closed my eyes so tight and was scared I would wake up at any second. I remember thinking "Everything is going to be different from now on." and I decided right there, in that moment, that the next day I would quit my job. If you want something in life, you need to go and get it. No one is going to hand it to you on a plate so I decided, no matter what happened on Idol, I was going to move to California and live in Hollywood.

The next day we got back to Massachusetts and I went straight to the mall. I went to my boss and told him that I quit and he was floored. "You're going to just up and go? No job, no where to live, you're just going to go?" he said. I told him how I've always wanted to go on an adventure but I never had the resources or opportunity to go on a really great one, but now this is my chance. Being able to finally say good-bye to a regular job was one of the best moments of my life.

I spent weeks getting outfits ready, packing and re-packing my luggage, making arrangements for my dogs and all the other last minute craziness that I had to deal with before going off to Hollywood Week. David drove me to Logan airport and then he hopped on a flight just a few hours later to follow me to the west coast. I was very fortunate to have some one there for me to give me constant support. David is truly my better half and he is always there for me whenever I need him.

To Audition, Or Not To Audition For American Idol...

Living in Hollywood has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I'm proud of growing up in Massachusetts and I wouldn't change it for anything, but I always knew that there was an adventure some where else for me.

After I moved to the western part of Massachusetts with David, (Living in Sixteen Acres in Springfield, working at Aeropostale at the Eastfield Mall and hanging out in Ludlow and Chicopee) I noticed major differences between Lowell and Springfield. But even though I was finally getting exposed to living some where new, I started to really get a hunger to see a different part of the country.


I was sitting at home one day when I got a message from my friend, Denise, (See photo to the right) asking me to go on a road trip. It turned out that she wanted to encourage me to go and audition for American Idol. I remember looking at my computer screen and thinking "I don't want to do that." Reality Television is a risky thing to sign up for, and it doesn't always work in the way you want it to. I'm a very emotional person and I talk very fast when I get uncomfortable and well, simply put, I have a major tendency to put my foot in my mouth. 

I mentioned to David that Denise suggested this idea and he said it would be fun to take a road trip to New Jersey. Denise and her husband Vinnie run karaoke at a local Applebee's in Springfield where I spent every Friday while living in Mass. Vinnie-The-Hitman actually had a fund raiser to help me with the costs of traveling to New Jersey for the audition.

We packed up the car and headed for East Ruthaford, NJ where the cattle calls were held at the Izod Center. 20,000 people turned out, which meant that's how many people I had to audition in front of. As we sat in the huge stadium I started to do what I do best: ramble to the people sitting around me. Commenting on different people's crazy outfits, talking about how it would be to meet J.Lo, just trying to pass the time. "You shouldn't be here," I remember one girl said to me, "You should be on The Last Comic Standing." I thought to myself, "Telling jokes would be way harder than singing..." and I brushed it off. "Section D" was called which meant it was make it or break it time for little me. I was trying not to figit as I stood in line, everyone in groups of four, slowly walking to our designated judges, or more specifically producers.

David and I in line waiting for my Idol Audition

As I waited for my turn to sing, there was a 15 year old girl standing next to me in line. She kept looking at me funny and finally I said "What?" she shrugged and said, "I don't think I want to stand next to you, you look like you sing good." I laughed, but I took it as a clue that my pretending not to be nervous was working. Finally, I approached the producers and I was called to sing first in my group. In my pink skirt and grey sweater, I took a step forward and belted out "Gimme Gimme", putting everything I had into my audition. The three other people in my group sang after me and we all stood waiting to know if we got a ticket threw to the next round. "Alright, thank you everyone, it's going to be a 'No.' for today." As I stood there I felt so hurt, rejected and embarrassed. I had given my all and it still wasn't good enough. I started to walk away when one of the producers stopped me. "Wait," he said, "We would like you to stay and move on to the next round." I started to cry, "Really? You mean it!?" I was so happy, the feeling of validation was more gratifying than anything I had done professionally up until that point. My only worry was becoming the "William Hung" of Season Ten.

To be continued....

I want to fight in a cage.

With former Light-Heavy Weight Champ - Mauricio Shogun Rua

I love cage fighting. To be respectful, it's called Mixed Martial Arts, but I prefer calling it cage fighting because it gets my adrenalin pumping! I didn't always love cage fighting, but now it's a passion of mine, right up there with show-tunes and stand-up comedy. I was first introduced to MMA in the Summer of 2009 when my husband, David, insisted on watching a reality show on spike entitled "The Ultimate Fighter". Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson coached a number of talented fighters that season, including a personal hero of mine, Brendan Schaub.

Being intverviewed by Brendan Schaub 

at the UFC Expo in Boston.

"This is gross." I said to David, as I watched a cage match for the first time. Every time someone landed a jab, started in on serious ground and pound or started bleeding I'd hide behind a pillow and cringe. But then slowly I began to enjoy watching Rampage and Rashad constantly argue with each other on the reality show. Rashad would call Rampage stupid or something, and Rampage would do just that and put a hole in a door. Getting to know them as characters slowly sucked me into MMA.

The Ultimate Fighter Winner of Season 8, Ryan Bader

Finally, David convinced me to go out with him to a bar and watch an actual Ultimate Fighting Pay-Per-View Event. It was UFC107, Penn Vs. Sanchez and as we sat, watching one fight after another, I started to enjoy the commentary more than I enjoy most television shows. "Is that Joe Rogan?" I asked David, who I'm sure was sick of explaining the sport to me by this point, and he confirmed it was Joe! As I sat confused I asked again, "The Joe Rogan that was on News Radio and Fear Factor? Stand-up comedian Joe Rogan?" by now David was emerged in the fights, but still gave me a "Yes, Dear". That night BJ Penn won the bout and I got so enthralled I started running around the bar impersonating BJ licking the blood off his gloves.

One of my favorite UFC Referees, Mario Yamasaki

So, one of my favorite stand-up comedians is explaining this sport to me in a way that I can actually understand and is entertaining while doing so. Naming submissions as they're being executed and explaining how and why they're effective in the octagon. Joe goes so far as to say what a fighter is going to do and before you know it, their doing it. But don't let me take away from Mike Goldberg, who Joe playfully calls "Goldie". I'm a huge Goldberg fan as well. (He retweeted me once on Twitter!) Joe and Goldie, are admittedly, one of my favorite parts of watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

George Rivera and Howard Wilson are about to beat my ass.

Recently, David and I have moved into a house with roommates, one of which is an MMA fighter. Curtis Hembroff, (of Kenai, Alaska) is currently 4-0 in his professorial MMA career. Having recently moved to Hollywood for fight training, I'm thankful to not only make a new friend, but to have an in home personal trainer, as well.

Mike Swick was so nice, he took a picture with me 

even though we had followed him into a VIP Private area!

Someday I hope to commentate with Joe and Goldie, but until then I will settle for watching the fights at Capitol City in Hollywood - that place has the sickest screens you could ever dream of watching a fight on.

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, 

doing what they do best.

The One Woman Wrecking Ball.

Hello to all of you blog enthusiasts out there!

I want to start by thanking you for reading my blog. I'll admit - I'm not usually a very computer savvy person, but since moving to Los Angeles, I have become friends with Lee the computer genius and long story short, I finally have a blog.

 

Personal Photographer:

Caitlin Carrigan

For those of you who just stumbled upon this page - allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Ashley Sullivan, I am from Massachusetts and if you Google my name, the suggestion is "Ashley Sullivan Is On Drugs" which makes me laugh so hard I could eat my own face. Currently I'm residing in Hollywood, CA. I got booted off Season 10 of American Idol, but I stayed on long enough to have a panic attack, rock it out with "The Hits", forget lyrics on stage, go to Vegas, get married at the Little White Chapel (where my hero, Dame Britney Spears was married) and sing on the Beatles Love Stage at the Mirage Hotel.

There is much more to me than Idol, but I would be lying if I didn't say that Idol is a huge part of my every day life now. Being on the show was crazy in a lot of ways, and I intend to have posts dedicated to just telling about my, although brief, life changing experience on Reality Television.

As for life after Idol, I just want to make people laugh. That's all. Since I no longer have the luxury of having a camera crew to document my every move, a blog sounds like an aweseomsauce alternative. Again, thanks for checking out my Blog and please come again soon!
Love,
Ashley Gertrude Sullivan