The following is from the March 22, 2008 edition of “The Bridgeton News“:

By JASON LADAY

jladay@sjnewsco.com

BRIDGETON — The singer stood, microphone in hand, surrounded by collections of well-thumbed music books, stacks of cassette tapes, and Frank Sinatra albums and compact discs. Some are organized neatly on top of shelves lining the small sun-lit room, others are scattered haphazardly on milk crates, or on top of pieces of recording equipment and keyboards.

Microphone wires riddle the floor and lead to a small amplifier, then to a mixing board, which sits atop the playback machines now pumping a 20-piece band into the room through a second amplifier in the corner of the room.

There’s hardly enough space for two people to stand, and the singers straightens himself up in the center of the organized chaos around him and begins crooning the words to Sinatra’s “Day in the Life of a Fool.” He pauses half-way through the tune to comment on how the strings are too heavy, and adjusts the tuning knob on the playback accordingly.

A bomb could go off outside and his ear would probably still be focused on the strings.

This very well could be the sanctuary of city resident Frank Hartman, the 71-year-old owner of Hartman Roofing Company who has spent the better part of the past 11 years chasing his dream of a full-time singing career.

The attic-like space, which acts as Hartman’s amateur recording studio and practice space inside his Atlantic Street home, is dear to him, but Hartman’s true love is onstage, in the middle of a white spot light, singing Sinatra to a packed room.

“I can’t live without it,” said Hartman, sitting at his kitchen table, a proud product of growing up in the 1950s. “From day one in 1997, I’ve personally put out more than 4,000 fliers all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania; I’ve worked for every job I’ve ever had.”

His next show is no exception. Hartman will be performing for the first time in two years at the Higher Ground Coffee House, on Rosenhayn Avenue, this Friday. He will play three shows beginning at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. The $7 fee includes the cost of his own CD.

Born in Philadelphia, Hartman moved to New Jersey in 1966 with his wife, where he began pursuing a singing career after years of performing solely for his peers at his roofing job.

After a year of visiting local clubs, occasionally asking if he could play with the house band, Hartman landed his first three professional shows at Atlantic City’s Ambassador Hotel in 1967.

Two years later, he packed up his wife and three young daughters and moved to Florida, where Hartman earning money singing and dancing with an ensemble group during the week, and performed his one-man variety show on the weekends.

However, it could not last, as the money was tight and Hartman had just become the father of a new baby boy. The family moved back to Philadelphia and Hartman returned to roofing.

“It’s a talent that I love, that was given to me, that I had to suppress for the good of my family, to raise my children,” he recalled. “The music industry has changed tremendously since then; and it’s sometimes frustrating now that I’m back, to work so hard and sometimes feel like nothing is coming.

“But if I just sat and waited for that call to come, that would guarantee nothing; I just keep working at it, keep improving.”

In 1996, with his children grown and out of the house, Hartman decided to give his dream another shot. After a year of working on his sound, Hartman approached the owner of the Settlers Inn, in Medford, about a possible show, for a $300 fee, but was turned down flat.

Fortunately, a friend’s agent later convinced the owner to hire Hartman at a rate of $10 for every person who showed up for the performance.

The night of the show, after promoting himself every night until 2 a.m. after work, Hartman left the Settlers Inn with a check for $1,670.

“Most people just look at the bottom line,” said Hartman. “But that experience of just performing in front of people is worth all the money in the world.

“My goal is to sing to audiences around the world. I feel I’m at the level where that’s where I should be.”

Hartman’s “Tribute to Frank Sinatra” has been packing rooms around south Jersey since that show in 1997. A through-and-through showman, Hartman has never performed without a spotlight, even when singing in someone’s house. And he prefers the classic 40-piece orchestra to today’s more popular trios.

However, he is quick to point out his act is not merely an imitation or cover songs.

“I don’t imitate; I’ve studied Sinatra, looked to him as a mentor,” he said. “I learned how to sing through listening to him.

“Sinatra played with rhythm like a jazz musician would, that’s what made him so interesting, you never knew what he was going to do next.”

It is that unpredictable spirit the Bridgeton resident of 8 years has tried to bring to all his shows.

“I know a whole slew of people around here, so it’s going to make this show hard,” said Hartman of his upcoming performance at Higher Grounds. “I’m really going to have to be on top of my game.”

Hartman has taken on Sinatra’s “Let Me Try Again” as his theme song, as it mirrors his own story of leaving something you love behind, only to find yourself picking it up again years later.

When asked if he sometimes regrets giving up his singing career, at what was perhaps his prime, in order to tend to his family, Hartman pauses and seems to tear up.

“Yes, I have regrets of not pursuing my dream, but I would’ve regretted it even more if I walked away from my kids,” he said. “Sinatra may have been able to walk away from his kids, but there’s nothing on the earth that could keep me from my kids.”

Hartman’s variety show can be heard every Thursday at 11 p.m. on WVLT 92.1 FM.

The following is from the March 07, 2008 edition of “The Daily Journal“:

St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Millville invites the community to its second annual St. Patrick’s Day-Hooley from 6 to 11 p.m. March 15 at Centerton Country Club, Almond Road, Pittsgrove. The event will feature DJ Lou Costello of Oldies 92.1 WVLT and the sounds of the Celtic band, Birnam Wood. The event will also include a choice of three entrees, a cash bar, a silent auction, basket raffles and more. Tickets are $45 per person, $80 per couple or $350 for a reserved table of 10. For reservations or more information, call (856) 825-0021.