Making the move from baseball player to jazz musician has been quite a challenge for Bernie Williams.
“It did not matter how many home runs I hit,” the Yankees legend told Cheddar. “What mattered was, can this guy play [music]?...I had to work very hard to get my [music] degree and I’m very proud of it.”
The Latin Grammy nominee says that winning baseball games was easier than his second career. He earned a degree in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2016 and describes the process as “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Williams, a four-time World Series champ and five-time MLB All Star, is prepping for a debut at Café Carlyle on March 6.
And he said maybe surprisingly, the process isn’t much different from what he was used to on the field.
“A lot of the things that I did in baseball, outside of the physical aspect of it, came from the same source,” Williams said. “It’s a commitment to discipline, work ethics, no shortcuts, learning from your mistakes, and taking yourself seriously in both disciplines.
“The only difference is that when playing baseball, I can detach from the fans, I could detach from the audience … As a musician, you have to go on stage and invite everybody into your world.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yankees-great-bernie-williams-is-ready-for-his-cafe-carlyle-debut).
Paul Kermizian, the co-founder of the popular arcade bar, used to collect vintage games as a hobby. By combining that passion with his love of craft beer, he created a multi-location business.
Paul Kermizian, co-founder of the popular Barcade, says vintage games are like a "work of art." The arcade/bar combines 80s games, like Street Fighter and Pacman, with craft beer.
The gold medal-winning swimmer says she could only talk about the issue because she stands on the shoulders of Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt, who took the lead in breaking the silence.
The five-time gold medal-winning swimmer is already preparing for the next Summer Games. She trains for up to four hours in the pool every day and has to watch everything she eats, she told Cheddar Thursday.
The one-time Olympic gold medalist, who made history taking home a medal at this year's Games, told Cheddar that there's probably no way her body can "withstand another four years."
When former ESPN President John Skipper resigned in December, shockwaves rippled throughout the sports network. The Hollywood Reporter's James Andrew Miller broke details of the alleged cocaine extortion plot behind the scenes and joined Cheddar to discuss the channel's uncertain future.
One of Nike's top executives is stepping down over misconduct allegations. Airbnb is making it easier for people with disabilities to find rentals on its platform. We dive into the Theranos fraud scandal with the Wall Street Journal reporter who initially reported that something was off with the start-up blood testing company. And Tim Stenovec chats with Neil Patrick Harris about season two of his Netflix show "A Series of Unfortunate Events."
The Olympic gold medallist told Cheddar that, despite reports that the Winter Games had record low ratings, NBC was happy with the results. He said viewers have just changed how they access sports.
The fantasy sports platform is already building out a product that would allow sports betting, pending a decision from the Supreme Court, says DraftKings CEO Jason Robins.
Rex Tillerson is out as Secretary of State and CIA director Mike Pompeo is in. President Trump issued an executive order blocking Broadcom's hostile takeover bid for rival chipmaker Qualcomm. Olympic gold medalist and author Scott Hamilton joins us to talk about his figure skating career and his new book. Plus, Kristen Scholer sits down with Brooklyn Decker and Whitney Casey at SXSW to talk about their start-up Finery.
