Clark: Spokane’s ‘Singing Server’ preparing for ‘Got Talent’

The “Singing Server,” he calls himself.

The moniker came a couple years ago, when he started crooning while waiting tables at his uncle’s Italian restaurant in the Spokane Valley.

But is Adriano Ferraro just another local musician with high hopes and an unusual gimmick?

Not when you hear him sing.

Smooth. Pitch-perfect. Adriano’s silky voice hearkens back to that bygone era of romance balladeers, say Perry Como or Andy Williams.

I learned that last Thursday night. The 37-year-old Spokane native was doing his Singing Server thing at Tony Ferraro’s Burgers and Bistro, the North Market eatery owned by his parents.

Adriano sang classics like “That’s Amoré” and “What a Wonderful World” while offering some of his mom’s homemade pastries to diners.

Later I popped his soon-to-be-released CD into the player in my car and got blown into the next level of Adriano appreciation.

Titled “The Singing Server,” the disc is filled with well-produced original songs that not only show off this man’s modern chops, but his songwriting skills, too.

(Check out www.adrianoferraro.com for song samples and details.)

Yep. Adriano Ferraro is the real deal, all right.

It’s no wonder he got a call to audition next month for “America’s Got Talent” at the Tacoma Convention Center.

Scouts connected with the popular NBC reality television show, he explained, had seen a feature story about his Singing Server routine that KXLY-TV aired last year.

The national talent show “liked the back story,” he added, referring to his Wednesday night table-waiting/singing gig at Ferarro’s Italian Restaurant, 11204 E. Sprague Ave.

Adriano said he has been preparing for the Feb. 19 audition.

“I’ve even been practicing with a buzzer,” he said, laughing.

Ah, yes. The Buzzer.

I haven’t watched “America’s Got Talent” other than to take a few fleeting looks while flipping channels.

But I do know that the variety of acts faces a panel of celebrity critics like Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne. In a nod to the old “Gong Show,” the judges can “buzz” their dislike for what they are seeing with a cruel press of a button.

But one buzzer won’t send you packing. The contest requires a consensus of contempt.

The trick, said Adriano, is to keep your head at the buzzer’s sound and keep on performing.

The better you do, the further you go. The ensuing TV face time can bring the exposure and fame that all artists itch for.

Of course, there is always the possibility of winning and becoming the next Big Thing.

“Paying my parents’ mortgage off” would be the first move that Adriano said he would make should he win the $1 million grand prize.

At this point, planting the Ferraro flag on the summit of Talent Mountain is the longest of long shots.

But Adriano said he already beat big odds just by being able to sing.

His childhood struggle with asthma, he said, caused one vocal coach to tell him: “You have a good voice, but because of the asthma you’ll never be great.”

So much for that prognosis.

But his talent didn’t come easy. Adriano worked hard and steadily to develop his voice. He ultimately was able to ditch his inhaler and follow his star.

The dream, he said, took him on a Greyhound bus to Nashville. It led him to sing in lounges and even on a cruise ship. It led him back to his hometown.

Where it takes him next is anybody’s guess. But it’s clear that Spokane’s Singing Server is enjoying the ride.

“This is a fun job,” he said. “I love the smiles it brings to people’s faces. When they come in with their faces lit up, I’m thinking how grateful I am to be doing something I love.”