THE STAR SCOOP:
Prince William and Kate are a hot couple who have their first anniversary…

DR. CAROLE LIEBERMAN:
This is an exciting time!

THE STAR SCOOP:
So tell us more about your connection to them and where Kate fits into what you do as a renowned “Media Psychiatrist.”

DR. CAROLE LIEBERMAN:
My book “Bad Girls” came out around the same time that Kate got engaged. I did some research into their background and I started talking about how I call Kate the quintessential good girl who used bad girl secrets to catch her prince.

I started talking about different examples of these bad girl secrets and of course, one of the prime examples was the sexy dress that she wore in her college fashion show…that was the moment that the prince turned to his friend and said, wow, she’s hot. She went from being someone who he thought of as just a friend, a classmate, to someone who he was now romantically interested in.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us more about the dress!

DR. CAROLE LIEBERMAN:
There was an auction in London of the dress. I went there to bid on it. That is an iconic symbol of the concept that every woman can find her own prince of a fellow. I ended up being outbid for the dress, but I did get to be friendly with the designer, and I suggested that she make replicas, which she ultimately did.

She made a limited edition of copies of the dress, and I am dubbed the U.S. Ambassador of the Kate Middleton dress, which means that if you want to buy that dress in the United States, the only place you can get it is from me. http://www.badgirlsbook.com/ and http://www.badgirlsbook.com/#!__store

THE STAR SCOOP:
One concern is that it seems a bit contradictory for someone who is maybe a good girl who is a little more reserved and shy maybe, to make that leap to potentially wear a dress like that. They may look at the dress and think, I could never wear that.

DR. CAROLE LIEBERMAN:
It did take a lot of daring. It does take a kind of leap of faith to do that. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, that she made the most of her assets…it was, that also attracted him, was that she had the nerve, she had the audacity to walk down the runway wearing this.

That was as attractive, as eye-catching, as what she looked like…it was the idea of being with someone who could be that much fun or have that much daring or have that much self-confidence to do such a thing. I talk about fake it until you make it. Even bad girls have a faux confidence. Anybody can smile, have a nice smile.

THE STAR SCOOP:
And can you talk more about your book and these bad girl secrets?

DR. CAROLE LIEBERMAN:
It’s not turning good girls into bad girls. I am trying to give them these secrets that bad girls use to attract and keep men. How I arrived at this, aside from my background as a psychiatrist, I interviewed over 100 men who had dated or been married to bad girls.

I distilled down what the attributes were…how the girls looked, how they dressed, how they behaved, what their dogs were, what their house was like, just anything and everything. The way I define a bad girl is a woman who has had a dysfunctional relationship with her father, to start off with, that makes her feel unlovable. And then, these women, when they grow up, they become attracted to bad boys, which was my first book.

Then they get hurt by one or more bad boys, and at some point, these women take their heart off their sleeve and harden it because they don’t want to be hurt anymore. They give up on ever being loved and instead, they go after something, they settle for something else.

For example, the gold-digger. It’s not that she really wants to have credit cards instead of love, it’s just that she doesn’t feel she’s ever going to get love, and meet her prince because she’s convinced now that she’s not lovable.

What they all have in common is that they make the man feel like the biggest stud on the planet. Why I wrote the book is to help men and women find love.

NOTE: Don’t miss out on the Polka Dots & Moonbeams party, which is a Fashion Nite Out. Women will have the chance to see a mini fashion show where Kate’s dress will be modeled. Then there will also be the opportunity to buy one of the replicas of the dress, which are limited edition. For more info visit: http://www.drcarole.com and http://www.badgirlsbook.com/

THE STAR SCOOP:
Since “X Factor” ended, how has your life changed?

CHRIS RENE:
My life has changed crazy because I’m on a mission right now. I’m doing a radio tour. What else has is going on is I’ve been recording like since the day after the show!

So I must say, as I have been saying it, there’a song out there, and it goes, [singing] everyday I’m hustlin’, hustlin’, hustlin’…that’s what I’m doing today…to go out there and show my talent and do my songs.

The CD is almost finished. I just wrote a song in the car right now. I’m going to go record it. There’s about four songs left on the CD, then we will be releasing it in the summer time, maybe even earlier.

But I’m on the grind, and it’s nonstop action. So many different cities, so many different states, flying over everywhere, going to every radio station, promoting “Young Homie” which is on iTunes, and also the “Young Homie” video, which is on VEVO. We just filmed that in Santa Cruz, my hometown with all locals.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Talking about “Young Homie” a little bit, in the original version that you performed on “X factor,” there was that lyric that talked about how it’s “been two months now.” In the version you released as the single, it’s been changed to “Yeah, it’s been nine months now” – how did it feel for you to change that lyric?

CHRIS RENE:
Incredible. It felt really, really good doing that and to actually have it have meaning to it, because it’s truthfully in my life today. Incredible, incredible.

And it’s cool ’cause as I do live shows, and it continues to change, and I think that could be very, very awesome, because I’m able to do that and stick with it, you know?

THE STAR SCOOP:
What can we expect from your upcoming album? Will it be similar to the style of ”Young Homie?” Will there be any collaborations?

CHRIS RENE:
We got a few collaborations for it, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen with them at this point.

You can definitely expect something different than anything out there right now. Anything that’s out there, this is very unique. I’m a singer but I’m a musician as well.

There are artists out there that do that, which, you know, are great, like Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake plays guitar and sings, dances, does that.

But the uniqueness about what my CD is going to be is it’s going to be what I like to call ringing, which is my style of, I mix rapping and singing. So I sing, I rap. It’s not like the rap that you hear out there. The message is totally opposite and the cool thing about it is that it’s honest.

Like I’ve been saying, it’s honesty and when it comes to being honest, not everything is peaches and cream, so there’s going to be a lot of realness on the CD…about my life and then there’s some awesome stuff that I’ve overcome today that people don’t know about.

So there’s going to be a lot of answers. A lot of positive songs, a lot of pop dance songs, and a lot of really interesting stuff that [will] keep people hooked in. I’m really excited.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Do you plan to release your other original song that we got to see on “X Factor” called “Where Do We Go From Here?”

CHRIS RENE:
I do, I do! I’m not gonna tell you guys when though, ha, ha, ha. It’s funner that way [laughs].

THE STAR SCOOP:
When you got to go on “Ellen,” L.A. Reid was there with you. Tell us more about working with L.A. Reid and how he is helping you with your career.

CHRIS RENE:
L.A. is overlooking everything I do, every song I make, who I’m working with…he’s on this project 100% and every time I see him, I’m like, what’s up man, and he’s says, my man, what’s up?

We’re just doing this, we’re moving forward, and he’s like, yes we are, yes we are. So he’s the boss…he knows what’s killin’ it. It’s good to have a mentor like that off the show, to have a great, real relationship. He’s looking out for my dreams. He saw something up on that stage and he’s helping me find it.

THE STAR SCOOP:
To all the people who watched you “X Factor” and everybody who became a fan, maybe they just came on to “Young Homie,” What would you like to tell them all?

CHRIS RENE:
I would just tell people to stay tuned, because there’s a lot of things that are just really exciting here. I’ve barely begun.

And I would just say thank you for anyone out there supporting me, because it’s just changed, like literally changed in ways that I could have never imagined…and it’s because of the people that believe in me and that are with me on this journey.

It’s a great motivation for me. I’m inspired and I hope I can entertain and reach as many people as possible.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Is there anything else that you think is important that people know about you? Any fun facts?

CHRIS RENE:
Fun facts…about my heritage, which is Creole – that’s black and French. And German, Indian, Swiss. Not everybody knows that about me.

Official Site: http://www.chrisreneofficial.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mrchrisrene

THE STAR SCOOP:
How has your character, Dina, evolved as you’ve gotten to play her so far?

AINSLEY BAILEY:
She started off as this smaller character. I think the role has kind of grown, which has been really awesome. I think with the growth of the size of the role, I think that her relationship with Deuce is also parallel in that growth.

They’ve kind of become like an old married couple, almost! Me and Adam have a lot of fun playing with that. We’ll be bickering with each other one minute, and they’re all lovey-dovey the next. It’s really fun.

THE STAR SCOOP:
How do you and Adam [Irigoyen] get along in real life? What is your relationship like?

AINSLEY BAILEY:
Thankfully, we hit it off great, like as soon as we met each other. Because that would have been really awkward if we did not get along [laughs]. We get along really well and he’s hilarious.

I tend to spend most of my time with him on-set, because we’re in all the same scenes. He’s very funny, so we joke around a lot.

THE STAR SCOOP:
“Shake It Up” has been one of the big hit shows for Disney. What has made it so successful?

AINSLEY BAILEY:
I think kids love the whole dance thing. I just think it’s something that was really fresh and new and that hasn’t really been done before. I think that’s been a big factor.

I also think that they have a really good cast of different characters. There is a lot of variety on the show. It’s not just the same cookie-cutter characters. I think kids have really responded to that. They all have their favorite character that they relate to.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Your character, Dina, was a small role originally, and is now a regular character. That’s got to feel good for you, to know you have that popularity and to know that people were connecting with your character so much!

AINSLEY BAILEY:
Yeah! It’s been so exciting. When I first auditioned for it, it was originally just a little co-star, just a couple scenes in one episode.
Thankfully, they decided to bring me back.

It’s the first television show I’ve worked on, so I was so thrilled when I thought it was just going to be one episode, and now that I’ve already filmed 12, it’s been, I mean 12 times what I expected to be originally! It’s just been really, really exciting and I’m so grateful. I just can’t even believe it.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Since “Shake It Up” is the first TV series, how would you describe the experience?

AINSLEY BAILEY:
It’s been such a good learning experience. I take acting classes as well, but there’s no acting class quite like just being on set.

It’s really interesting to see how a TV show is actually made and how it works. Everytime I watch TV or a movie even, I always think of it in a very different way than I used to.

The cast has been so sweet, and it really is like a little family. The crew is amazing and everyone just welcomes you with open arms. That was really comforting, because I was definitely a little nervous. I kind of felt like the new kid at first. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about.

THE STAR SCOOP:
There’s an upcoming episode that is going to be a big milestone for Dina and Deuce.

AINSLEY BAILEY:
It’s called “Wrestle It Up” and that one, yeah, it involves a new male guest star and there’s definitely a surprise in store.

I think that was a really fun episode to film just because I think it kind of threw their [Dina and Deuce's] relationship for a loop. I think the viewers will get a kick out of it, just because it’s a little unexpected.

THE STAR SCOOP:
People love to hear set stories and behind-the-scenes info. Do you have any stories of things that have happened or anything that sticks out in your mind so far?

AINSLEY BAILEY:
My favorite one – and I keep telling this one, but it sticks out in my mind as my favorite: In one episode we got to eat ice cream, and we had these big giant tubs of ice cream.

It was so good. I don’t know where they got it from, but it was some of the best ice cream we’ve ever had. Me and the girls kept taking bites from it between takes just because it was so yummy.

The prop guys were like, just so you know, it’s our only tub of ice cream! And we were like, nooo! We definitely kept sneaking little treats.

THE STAR SCOOP:
For all of the fans and people that really enjoy watching you, what would you like to tell them?

AINSLEY BAILEY:
Oh my goodness, thank you SO much! It’s been completely unexpected. When I booked it, I didn’t think anyone would know who I was or anything. So being recognized in public, and doing interviews like this, it’s just such a blessing. I just can’t even believe that this is my life right now.

I’m just so thankful that I’m at a point in my career where there are some kids out there who actually know who I am or even care, and that I can make them smile by taking a picture with them or an autograph or whatever it may be. So just thank you so much!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ainsleybailey
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ainsleyofficial
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ainsley-Bailey/131353260264451

THE STAR SCOOP:
How would you compare “Insomnia” to “Boys or Girls,” your other single that did really well on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Charts?

JESSICA LABBADIA:
I do think that they are, in a way, completely different but at the same time, we try to come up with concepts. “Boys or Girls” was more of a pop/rock song and “Insomnia” is pop/dance. We do try to keep the concept interesting and relatable to people.

MELISSA LABBADIA:
“Boys or Girls” is about something really different that we went through actually personally, about a guy that we were interested in that we didn’t know if he liked boys or girls. So we were like, no one’s really touched upon this subject yet, so why don’t we write a song about it?

I think that people thought it was really different and really cool for us to do a song about something like that, but make it fun at the same time. We did have a bunch of dance remixes done for “Boys or Girls” as well as “Insomnia.” So that’s why people reacted so well on the Dance Charts.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us more about your new song, “Insomnia.”

MELISSA LABBADIA:
It’s a little bit different from our other material. It’s a lot more pop/dance, which we love. It’s the direction that we’re really taking right now with our music. We’re really happy about that.

THE STAR SCOOP:
The title of the song refers to liking someone so much you can’t sleep. Can you relate to the song? Have you experienced that yourself?

JESSICA LABBADIA:
Yeah. We write all of our songs about life experiences that we’ve gone through, so we definitely can relate to that. I think a lot of other girls who are around our age or even a little bit younger, a little bit older, can relate to it.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What should people expect from the rest of your sound going forward? Is it all going to be in the same vein as “Insomnia?”

MELISSA LABBADIA:
Definitely along the same lines of “Insomnia,” all of our new music is pop and with a little bit of dance flavor to it. Something that people can dance to and have fun. Our other two new songs that we have been working on recently, “Baby I” and “Limitless” are pretty up-tempo, dance/fun songs also.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You just shot a video. Tell us more about the concept and how that was as an experience.

JESSICA LABBADIA:
Shooting the video was amazing. We tried to just make it more about L2 and who we are. Who is Melissa, who is Jessica, really to get to know us…what we look like, our mannerisms, our image, our sound, glamor shots.

There wasn’t a heavy story line because we wanted the viewers to get to know us, who L2 is.

MELISSA LABBADIA:
It was a great experience…We did have two guys in the video, so you kind of see the relationship and how there is this little obsession that we have about these guys and just always thinking about them, so we did have that little bit of a story line. And they’re really cute!

THE STAR SCOOP:
You guys were tweeting about your song “Beautiful” being on “Khloe and Lamar.” Was that something you knew about? How exciting was that for you?

JESSICA LABBADIA:
It’s so exciting. We actually don’t know really when our songs are going to be on, so we make sure we put it on and we just listen and we get surprised every time! It’s an awesome surprise. We love the Kardashians, the show, and Khloe and Lamar. We love all that.

“Beautiful” was actually featured on Kendall’s Sweet 16 during her slideshow. So that was awesome. It’s a really great accomplishment and we’re so thankful.

MELISSA LABBADIA:
Kendall’s Sweet 16 definitely brought a lot of different people to listen to our music. That’s really been great.

“Beautiful” is a song that we wrote about two years ago. So it’s been out for a while, and we’ve had it on iTunes for awhile, and then the Kardashian’s have just been playing it on a bunch of different episodes.

It’s also been on “Kourtney and Kim,” and “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” So it’s really great that they’re featuring it so much! We love the show and we love them.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What should we know about you, separate from the music? Any interesting facts that maybe we don’t know yet?

JESSICA LABBADIA:
we’re kind of different. Some people ask like, who would be the messy, kind of not spacey, but a little free-spirited. Melissa is more organized and she’s, I guess you could say, the brainy one. I don’t know, right?

MELISSA LABBADIA:
We have two different personalities. Some people don’t really get to see the differences between us. I’m the older one, and Jess is the younger one. So we both have our different little personalities that people can connect with.

Jess is the edgy, really spit-fire, feisty [one] and I guess I’m more the classy, sophisticated side. When we come together, we both really bring something different to the table. It’s cool because some people may not know that we are different because we are so much alike, also.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Do you have any sibling rivalry or fights just working together as sisters? Does that ever get hard for you?

JESSICA LABBADIA:
We’re definitely each other’s best friend. It does get difficult sometimes working with your sister because you don’t have to reserve yourself. You can just say whatever you’re feeling because you’re so comfortable with each other. Sometimes that causes fights.

We have the same vision, creatively, so sometimes we fight but we’re each other’s best friend and we get along great.

MELISSA LABBADIA:
We love working together. It’s amazing to be able to work with your sister and your best friend. We do everything together. Not even just music, like, literally everything. It’s just our parents and us in our family. We don’t have any other siblings.

It’s just so amazing that we both love to do this and that we both can do this together…to be able to write songs together and to be in the studio together, it’s just really incredible [and] fun.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Is there anything else you would like people to know?

MELISSA LABBADIA and JESSICA LABBADIA::
We are working on a new single that should be coming out within the next few months. It’s called “Baby I” and we’re working on a new music video for that also. Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/l2official because we tweet all the time. Also, on Facebook: Facebook.com/l2officialmusic and our other info is up on our website, which is l2officialmusic.com. And our YouTube, too: youtube.com/l2official.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us about the just-released video for “3 Words” and also a bit more about this song, which we love.

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
The video, I thought, really came out beautiful. I liked what I read [of the treatment] and I thought it had a really cool narrative story with the dancing, and I’m not much of a video performer so [laughs]…it was focused more on telling the story through the dance.

The song is just real honest, lyrically. Everyone has kind of been through this…it’s real relatable, I think. It talks about how sometimes those words, I love you, can’t really bring back the spark that once existed in a relationship. That’s kind of the sentiment of the song, written by a great accomplished writer, David Hodges. I was honored to work with him, of course.

THE STAR SCOOP:
It’s been a little while since your last album came out. So catch us up! What have you been up to?

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
Wow, a whole lot! I’ve been able to travel back and forth to Asia and mainly Japan and release music there, and tour there.

The funny thing about this album is I actually released it back in March, in Japan. So I went over there. This album has actually been done for a long time, probably about a year now…almost a year. I feel like it’s great to finally have it come out, a version of it, in the states. I’m excited.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Your new album, “Let’s Get To What’s Real” will be out here in the states in March. What should people expect?

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
“3 Words” is actually the most commercial sounding song I have on the album. It’s actually going to be a bonus track on the album. The title, “Let’s Get To What’s Real” is also the title of another song on the album, and I just wanted to get back to real music, and kind of just create an album that’s real, organic, raw soul, with real instrumentation. Kind of like what the Foo Fighters said, not relying so much on machines.

It’s real raw, it’s real soulful, and it’s topical. It’s just honest, the best word I can use to describe it.

I’ve never gotten to make an album like this before, and be involved in all the processes. I co-wrote every song, and co-produced it all and arranged the vocals, arranged horn sections…really got down and got my hands dirty with the mixing with my partners, from start to finish. This album is more cohesive than anything I’ve done before, and that’s what I love about it.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Are there any specific tracks that really stand out for you?

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
Yeah, there are so many. They are all so personal to me. But “Self Control” is a real fun one, and “Gather Round” is another real fun one. You can dance to them and “Self Control” is gritty and soulful and sexy.

And “Gather Round” is just kind of like a party song, a let loose kind of song. Every song has personal meaning to me. It was so much fun to write and record and build, and create.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What do you want fans and listeners to take away from the album?

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
Just to appreciate an artist is trying to evolve and grow, and mature, an artist who is trying to just keep doing this for the rest of his life. I think people will dig it, and appreciate it. Not everybody is, and I’m okay with that.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You’ve been doing a lot of charity work. Can you talk more about what you’ve done and the charities you work with?

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
There’s going to be an event in DC in March, called “Idols on the Hill.” It’s an event I’m going to play at, involving Idol finalists who’ve been involved in the “Idol Gives Back” and various charities that “Idol Gives Back” has partnered up with.

I’m always doing something with the JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation You know, I’m a Type 1 diabetic, so if there’s any chance I get to do whatever I can to help raise money and awareness, bring attention to our plight…I’ve been real fortunate to have a platform to be able to use that as a vehicle, if nothing else, just to bring some attention to this and do whatever I can to help find a cure.

THE STAR SCOOP:
For fans who want to keep up with you, we know you’re active on your Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/elliottyamin), of course, but for those who are reading this, what would you like to say to your fans?

ELLIOTT YAMIN:
I wouldn’t be talking to you, at this very moment, if not for them. I just want them to know how much I appreciate the love and support out there and they afford me this opportunity, that really is a privilege, to get to do what I love, and not too many people I know and grew up with, especially where I come from, you can’t really say that.

And it really is a privilege and an honor. I’m just grateful. I’m in debt with the gratitude I have for the fans out there.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You recently released your album, “Take Over.” Tell us about what the sound is like.

LEXY PANTERRA:
Yeah! It’s my first album and it’s pop/trance music. So I have some 6 minute songs on there, and radio versions as well. It’s the type of music you play in the club, basically, and feel good and have fun.

There’s one slow song, as well. So I think it’s a mixture of songs.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What are a few tracks you’d recommend for people two check out to get a good feel for what the music is like?

LEXY PANTERRA:
I have two music videos, one is to “Feel The Light” and one is “Heaven.” They’re both on YouTube.

They’re both different. Same genre, but one is more trance and one is more electro. So they can get a feel, definitely with those two videos.

It was really fun doing the music video [for "Heaven"]. It only took one day to do all the inside shots. And then another day to do the rest. So it was only a two-day shoot, but they were long, long days, definitely. But I enjoy it.

My favorite [song] personally is a song called “What Do You Want From Me.” It’s one of the last songs on my album. That’s my favorite to perform. The other songs are pretty cool.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What inspired you to go this route with your music?

LEXY PANTERRA:
I’m a dancer as well, so I needed something that, when I go on stage, I’m going to be able to dance as well. This was the only way to go, basically, where I can actually have fun and jump around on stage. That’s how I came up with this.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You do have a big dance background! Tell us more about that.

LEXY PANTERRA:
I’ve been dancing since I was a little girl. I was with Bloc Agency, which is a huge dance agency, and the music was kind of taking over, and so I couldn’t really go on any auditions anymore for dance, so I had to leave them.

I’ve done Tap, and Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Hip Hop. I now teach Hip Hop as well. When I can, I teach dance at a middle school. I go to competitions and stuff like that, so I get to still do it. I get to still dance.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You did the off Broadway play, “The Playground.” How was that and do you hope to do more plays?

LEXY PANTERRA:
It was amazing. It was my first play/musical and it was a street rock musical written by Michael Leoni, and I played a prostitute [laughs]. And a drug addict. I got to play a very interesting role. It was really, really fun.

Right now, I want to do more shows and start performing more places, but I would love to be in a musical. I would love to do it again.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What else should we know about you?

LEXY PANTERRA:
I used to ride Motocross. I love to do that but then I had to stop because it’s dangerous and if something happens…my singing career could be over like that, you know? I still go out to the track with my dad, he races as well, pro. Pretty much, music is my entire life.

Check out Lexy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lexypanterra

THE STAR SCOOP:
We want to talk about your book, “Agorafabulous.” How would you give us the quick, two-minute summary of what people can expect from it?

SARA BENINCASA:
The book is a hilarious and heart-warming romp through one young lady’s struggle to deal with mental illness, boys, messy hair, sex and other important things.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Can you give us a sneak peek about some of the stories we’ll encounter as readers of your book, without giving away too much of course.

SARA BENINCASA:
I talk about a time in my life when I was afraid to leave my house, so I got to have a very close, loving relationship with the objects in my house. So you know, there’s that of course.

I talk about when I work at a kind of spiritual retreat for this really crazy dude, who was kind of this gay diva of self-help. I talk about when I tried to get myself admitted to a hospital but failed because they felt I wasn’t crazy enough.

I talk about a time when I had a one night stand and the condom broke, and I went to Planned Parenthood for Plan B and got accosted by a protester and saved by these like, angelic planned parenthood escorts.

It’s adventures in North Carolina, in Boston, in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, in Texas, just all over the place. It’s pretty fun and it’s sort of a wacky romp through the United States of America.

THE STAR SCOOP:
It’s done in a comic way, it’s supposed to be funny. How did you approach these serious topics comically?

SARA BENINCASA:
I found that so long as I am making myself the butt of the jokes, I am not mocking people who suffer with the disorders that I talk about. As long as I am the one who is being mocked, or who is the punchline, then I think it’s okay.

I also find that laughing into the darkness is the best way to deal with it. That’s a general philosophy that guides my comedy and it guides my writing as well.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What was the motive behind your decision to share your story in the written form?

SARA BENINCASA:
I’ve always wanted to write a book. My training since I was a little kid has been to be an author. I really always had that as my aim. Doing comedy was really a way of getting my writing on stage and performing my writing so that I could immediately hear back whether it was funny or sad, or what.

I actually started performing the book first. I wrote it on stage, doing my one woman show, “Agorafabulous” in 2009 and 2010. I finished doing it at the end of 2010, and in 2010 is also when I got my book deal. It was a great way to try jokes out live and see how they landed.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You’ve been through a lot. How has humor and comedy helped you get through everything?

SARA BENINCASA:
My sense of humor really helped me get through the darkest time and it continues to when I struggle with agoraphobia and depression and panic attacks still to this day. More depression than anything else, now.
Absolutely, humor has been an integral part of my survival strategy. I’ve been lucky that I was exposed to comedy here in New York and was encouraged by someone who had just left the comedy industry to start doing stand up a couple of years ago. Over time, that has become a wonderful way for me to deal with whatever life throws at me.

But at the time that I write about in the book, the book begins when I was 18 years old, and ends when I had just been doing comedy for a few years. So the bulk of the book is devoted the time period before I discovered comedy.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Who will “Agorafabulous” appeal to?

SARA BENINCASA:
I think it will appeal particularly to young women, college age and in their 20s…that’s the time period that it follows.

Even if they’re not in that age range, for anyone who has had a friend who suffered from depression or anxiety or for anyone who has dealt with that themselves, I think the book will be appealing.

Also, if you’re just a comedy geek, it might be interesting.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Do you worry about how people would react to your book or sharing your personal stories?

SARA BENINCASA:
Oh, sure. I’m nervous about it because it’s so intimate. It’s so much about me that there’s really no way of escaping a kind of feeling that folks who think the book is stupid think I’m stupid.

But a gift that comedy has given me over time is…experience with people who just don’t like what you do. They just don’t like what you do for a variety of reasons. You can’t possibly know.

One great thing about doing comedy, primarily on the Internet is that I’ve gotten tons of feedback, a lot of it negative. So I’m used to people calling names or making comments about what I say or what I do or what I look like. So that’s actually been a pretty good thing…good training for reviews and things like that.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What would you like people to take away from your book?

SARA BENINCASA:
I would like them to take away the idea that people with mental illness are not scary or evil. We just, to differing degrees, deal with sickness that we have to manage. Some of us have more advantages in the resources that we can use to manage it or not.

I think also, I would like for people who are dealing with depression or anxiety to feel less alone. Mostly I want people to laugh and cry. Like if I can get those two physical reactions out of people, I will feel I have succeeded.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What’s coming up next for you? Will you be doing any readings of the book and what kind of other things will you be up to in this new year?

SARA BENINCASA:
Yeah, I’ll be on tour in February and March. I’m doing a 9-city tour. So if you go to sarabenincasa.com/shows, it will tell you where I’m going to be. I’m doing sort of combination book reading, comedy show signings.

I’m working on a second book. It’s a young adult novel. It is an updated of The Great Gatsby, set among teenagers, and Gatsby is a girl. So that’s keeping me busy and that’s really fun.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us about the EP, “The Patience EP.” What’s the vibe and sound of the EP?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
Each song is definitely different, they all kind of have a different sound, like…indie, folkish sounding rock, there’s another more sort of pop song, so it’s all kind of different.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What can we expect from the full album?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
I’m still finishing it up. There’s another 4 songs I have to record. The EP is a lot different than my first album.

I’m really excited for the album. I think that I have more personal songs on the album. They mean a lot more to me, I would say. On the EP there’s a couple songs that mean a lot to me, but there are songs on the album that I’ve been writing for a long time.

THE STAR SCOOP:
The song “Oh Darling” has been a big hit. Why do you think people have taken so well to that song? And what can you tell us about working on the song?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
It’s so weird to me because I wrote that song so long ago. We put out a long time ago, and there was no crazy action. People were like, oh, I like the song…it’s cool. And then I got signed and they put it out…and then people started listening to it.

I just wrote it about this girl that I liked and I just had a crush on her. I think that people are connecting to it because everyone has felt a crush or everyone has that, oh, I wish they would like me back and maybe we’d be in love and it’d be great, you know what I mean?

THE STAR SCOOP:
Who has influenced your music and helped shape you into the artist you are now?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
I would say a lot of singer-songwriter stuff, like John Mayer and Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson. But I also love more indie bands. I like Colbie Caillat.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Is there anyone in particular you hope to get to do a duet with or work with in the future?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
If I could do a duet with somebody, it’d probably be with Taylor Swift. That’d be pretty awesome.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You’ve got some tour dates coming up as well!

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
Yeah, we do! We’re going out on a six week long tour. That will be awesome.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What is Plug In Stereo like, live and up close?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
The new songs are a lot more fun. It’s cool. We kind of play upbeat songs and a couple older songs, and it’s just kind of a fun thing. We play all different styles throughout the set. It’s really chill for the most part.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What do you want people to take away from coming to see you live or listening to your music?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
A lot of them, they’re jump around and have fun and just kind of enjoy the dancing. I like it when people enjoy themselves but listen to the lyrics and try to get something from it. I spend a lot of time on lyrics, try to make it mean something. Try to take something bad and try to turn it into something good…maybe change their lives a little bit, you know?

THE STAR SCOOP:
What would you like to say to your fans?

PLUG IN STEREO (a.k.a. Trevor Dahl):
Just please pick up the EP, and follow on Twitter and Facebook. Just keep updated. We’ll be touring and putting out the album pretty soon…thank you so much!

Photo Credit: Kirstin Knufmann

THE STAR SCOOOP:
Tell us about the awesome site you founded, TheStream.tv.

BRIAN GRAMO:
theStream.tv is live [and] interactive. You show up, and watch something that looks like television, but you’re very much a part of making it happen as it’s happening.

THE STAR SCOOOP:
What can people actually do that makes that interactive or involved?

BRIAN GRAMO:
What makes it truly interactive is that most of the shows utilize a role called the chat technician, or the IM Girl or the IM Boy. So while you have a host and co-host, you also have this person that is checking in with the chatroom and seeing the voice of the viewer throughout the show. So as the show is being streamed live, through this chatroom (we use Justin.TV to do this)…that chat tech is the voice of the viewers.

If the conversation in the chatroom starts to go one way, but the show is going another way, we constantly have the chance to check in and realign each other. Comments from the chatroom truly affect the show moving forward. That’s just the general interaction. A lot of the shows are geared toward actually playing with you – games that you can win something.

We have a show where me or a celebrity guest is drawing things on my iPad and people in the chatroom are guessing that and the more guesses you get correct, the better chance you have of winning what the prize is. We’ve given away XBox’s T-Shirts, video games, movies…

THE STAR SCOOOP:
You’ve been talking a lot about the people in the chatroom, the audience. Do you have a sense of who your prime audience is, and who this content most appeals to?

BRIAN GRAMO:
Sure. The majority of the people watching the stream — it’s certainly male skewed – [are] 18-34, people interested in gaming, technology and music. We do have a fair amount of music on the show. Going back to the interaction part, we were doing our music show and somebody asked for a band to play a song, and they were like, we can play that, we’ll just play that next.

That said, even though we’re male-skewed in 18 to 34, it’s an odd experience for me demographic-wise…it’s a place on the Internet where a 14 year old girl and a 60 year old guy can be in the same chatroom, and it’s actually not creepy. In any other situation, I’d be like, no this is not a good idea. I think that’s the most unique thing about it. I can’t think of another situation where there is an eclectic and diverse group of demographics can kind of be in the same chatroom, and it’s all good.

THE STAR SCOOOP:
What inspired you to found theStream.tv?

BRIAN GRAMO:
I was watching a lot of things online that were getting to this, I think. Some people had an online show, some people just doing music videos and answering instant messages, and I was just like, I think what would be cool is having a whole channel of interactive shows that all focus on a different topic.

We started it out of my bedroom, and people had so much fun doing it, the performers had fun doing it, and the viewers had fun watching, and we got more and more people, so that motivated us to start doing more shows.

Eventually I was doing four shows out of my bedroom…so I went to all the people we were doing shows with and I was like, hey guys, if we get a studio and I bring in like four more shows, I think we could bring in enough cash [and] we could pay the rent on this small studio…that was what we called the 2.0 Studio and that was like 300 square feet, but now we’re in the 4.0 studio. It’s like five years later and the 4.0 studio is 4000 square feet at the corner of Santa Monica and Vine…HD equipment, tons of lights…We’ve had 1500 episodes and guests from television, film and it has been really fun!

THE STAR SCOOOP:
What would you like people to know about theStream.tv if they’re going to take something away from reading this?

BRIAN GRAMO:
That’s it. Not a lot of people know about it, you know? What I’ve found is when people find it, they really like it. People find it and they like it and they realize it’s very honest in an age of prompter news shows and manipulated reality shows and talent shows that show you people that are not talented…I feel there’s a lack of honesty in television. When you watch, you really know it’s honest.

You’re really hanging out with a bunch of people that are making a show they’re passionate about. I think that’s why people really like it. We’re just there to have a good time, whether we’re playing music or we’re playing a game or we’re having a show. It’s a good time for someone that’s into the topic of that show. We just want more people to know about it!

THE STAR SCOOOP:
Where do you see theStream.tv in the larger picture of where we are today as a community in the online world?

BRIAN GRAMO:
I think what we’re doing for the community is providing all these talented people and all these up-and-coming artists in the Hollywood area the platform to be really creative and look really good and reach an unlimited amount of people. And people are using us for that. We’re letting people come in and do announcements for a contest or have a tournament and we are working with other people in the live streaming community.

In the end, I didn’t set out to make a show in particular, I set out to make a studio that will let artists have this sandbox to be creative and not worry about the production. I think a lot of times the production value is kind of what takes away from a project. So if you’re an artist and you’re up-and-coming in LA, we take you, and we know we’ve been an incubator for talent.

A lot of the talent we’ve brought on…have gone on to be on network television or to be in a movie or something. We’re giving these people the chance to just worry about being creative, just worry about being a performer…You’re watching great performers all the time.

Update:
They just launched a new show called ”Inside Horror”  and you can read more here:
http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/49667/new-genre-based-chat-show-inside-horror-debuts-january-10th-thestreamtv