2011 Draws To A Close

I’ve never been a fan of the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  It always seems that the world stops spinning – or at least slows down – for the entire time.  While that’s not so bad for a little bit, I’m usually ready for the world to “start spinning” again well before it actually does.  Some of that has to do with my own version of “Buddy’s Blues”.  I’ve never been great at simply relaxing and doing nothing for long – except, of course, when I can’t relax or do nothing, in which case it’s all I can think about doing!

As luck would have it, I’ve had plenty to occupy me this year – rewrites, meetings, putting songs I’ve written down on paper – not to mention things like errands and bill paying and other all the other glamorous parts of being in show business.  But, to keep myself from having too much relaxation, I thought I’d take this time to look back on 2011 here in the old web site blog. 

It has been a busy year for me – the reading of my musical The Distant Bells at the Roundabout in March, continued writing of my new dance number for Radio City throughout the year, all of the work from start to finish on my Out of Context: The Songs of Michael Patrick Walker, and my first meetings up to the completion of the first draft of the new original musical I’m writing with Rick Elice. 

When I put it all in one block like that, it sounds like a very busy year – and it was.  But I’m struck by the fact that, before I wrote this blog, I was thinking I wished I had done more in 2011.  Funny how our perception of things can be different when we’re in the midst of them as opposed to being “outside” them.  Which, really, is my thought for the end of 2011 and the start of 2012.  It’s hard to appreciate things or to keep them in perspective while you’re in the midst of them.  I’m very fortunate in the opportunities I have and, while I – like most of us – want more opportunities and most success, I look back on 2011 with gratitude and excitement for what has been and what is yet to come. 

As we all go into 2012, I hope we all experience happiness, joy and fulfillment.  And, most of all, I hope that the Mayans were wrong…Happy New Year!

Video from Birdland #1

Just a quick post - I've started to upload some videos from my Birdland show last week to my brand new You Tube channel.  More to come but, for now, enjoy Andy Karl performing Never Added Up live!

Out of Context is finally here!

Well, it’s been two days since the official release of Out of Context: The Songs of Michael Patrick Walker.  I would’ve blogged about this on the actual day, but it’s taken me 48 hours to recover from the amazing release concert at Birdland!  I was definitely stressed out putting the show together – there were a lot of moving parts to manage and I had to handle pretty much all of them!  But, in the end, it was a huge success, it was all worth it and a fantastic crowd was on hand to help celebrate the release. 

Me at Birdland

I’ve performed at Birdland a number of times over the last few years – but always as a part of somebody else’s show and almost never with a show that had even one song that I wrote in it.  So to suddenly find myself on stage doing my own show of all my own material – and hosting and playing piano for it – was a big old jump in the deep end of the pool. 

Noah Galvin

It was made even better by being on stage with a group of amazing musicians and singers – all there to make me look better than I could ever look on my own!  I have to say a huge thank you to the singers who sang their hearts (and lungs!) out for me – Andy Karl, Betsy Wolfe, Jim Stanek, Kenita Miller, Julie Foldesi, Noah Galvin, Peter Friedman, John Tartaglia, Andy Mientus and Lauren Kennedy. 

Andy Mientus & John Tartaglia

And an equally huge thank you to the musicians who played every song with artistry and skill – Claudia Chopek, Clay Ruede, Mary Ann McSweeney, Brian Koonin and Michael Croiter.  And an extra special thank you to Michael Croiter and Yellow Sound Label for having faith in me and the album and being so amazing at every step of the process from day one.  I’m honored to have the album released on the Michael’s and Bill Sherman’s label. 

Kelli O'Hara records "Moonflower"

While the Birdland show was a huge project for the last month or so, it would not have happened without the album so I also need to thank the wonderful people who sang my songs on the CD itself – Anne L. Nathan, Kate Wetherhead, Andy Karl, Lisa Howard, Telly Leung, Michael Arden, Andy Mientus, Kelli O’Hara, Noah Galvin, Jim Stanek, Rachel York, Peter Friedman, Kerry O’Malley, Natalie Venetia Belcon and Cheyenne Jackson.

Finishing the album and doing the launch concert gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment, but it’s also just the finish line on one project, so as much as I’d like to relax and kick back, it’s on to the next thing.  Right now, I’m in Costa Mesa, CA for a few days performing with Chita, then it’s back home to NYC for the opening night of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the premiere of my brand new Rockette number – I’ll be talking about that in an upcoming blog post. 

For now, though, jump on over to the Albums page and check out Out of Context – and don’t forget to buy your copy on Amazon or iTunes!

Out of Context #2

Well, things are really rolling now!  The physical CDs arrived yesterday and, while I've been looking forward to that moment for months, I was surprised how holding one in my hand actually hit me.  I've seen and heard everything about the CD a million times, so none of it is "new" to me, but there's something different about it actually existing in its final form that is very, very cool!

The press stuff is starting to ramp up both for the Birdland concert I'm doing on Monday November 7th at 7pm and for the release of the actual album the next day.  I've been doing some interviews which and polishing the orchestrations for the concert and it's coming down the line like a freight train, so we better be ready!  I've mentioned the amazing people singing on the album and doing he concert before, but the here is the track list for the CD:

1. All About Me - Anne L. Nathan
2. Weird Little Man - Kate Wetherhead
3. Never Added Up - Andy Karl
4. Irene - Lisa Howard
5. Different Kind of Man - Telly Leung and Michael Arden
6. More - Andy Mientus
7. Moonflower - Kelli O'Hara
8. Sometimes - Noah Galvin
9. Finding Me - Jim Stanek
10. Pour Poor Me - Rachel York
11. The Wall - Peter Friedman
12. Sometimes - Kerry O'Malley and Natalie Venetia Belcon
13. I Believe - Cheyenne Jackson

For the concert, Andy Karl, Peter Friedman, Andy Mientus, Jim Stanek and Noah Galvin will be there from the album as well as Ann Harada, Kenita Miller, Julie Foldesi, Betsy Wolfe, Lauren Kennedy, John Tartaglia and Tyler Maynard.  I'll be playing piano with Michael Croiter on drums, Brian Koonin on guitar, Mary Ann McSweeney on bass, Claudia Chopek on violin and Clay Ruede on cello.

You can't hear the CD quite yet, but if you go to amazon.com you can hear snippets and whet your appetite for the full album.  And come on down to Birdland (315 West 44th Street, NYC) this coming Monday November 7th and be the first to hear it all and get your own copy of Out of Context: The Songs of...well, me!

Out of Context #1

It's been far too long since I've updated things here - especially with all of the things I've been up to since my last post. Where to start, where to start...? How about here - I've spent much of the spring and summer planning for, recording and completing my first album, Out of Context: The Songs of Michael Patrick Walker. It's a collection of thirteen songs, pulled out of context from the shows they were written for and sung by an incredible group of Broadway singers. Make no mistake, putting together an album like this is a lot of work - both for me and the other people involved - but it's also a lot of fun to do!

Picking which songs to include, figuring out who best to sing them, arranging and orchestrating the songs, recording the band, the vocals, the overdubs, figuring out the cover art, mixing, re-mixing, etc, etc and on and on! It's a lot of work but I couldn't be happier with how it's all come out and I can't wait for everybody to hear the finished product. The official release date is Tuesday November 8th, 2011 and the album is being released on the Yellow Sound Label. It will be available on Amazon.com and iTunes as well as out of the trunk of my car...if had a car.

The album itself features a few songs from The Distant Bells, a few songs from my trunk, a song from being theo and maybe even a re-imagined version of an old favorite. I'll be talking alot about the album in the coming weeks but for now I want to share two things with you all. First, the cover which hasn't been widely released yet - and here it is:

I kind of love it and big thanks to Asaf Shakham, the graphic designer on the album who did a wonderful job bringing my concept for the cover to life. By the way, you haven't lived until you've spent a half hour "picking a penguin"...

The other thing I want to share right now is that I'll be doing a live concert at Birdland here in NYC on Monday November 7, 2011 at 7pm. Featuring live performances of many songs from the album, it will also be the first place you can buy a copy of the album - so I know you'll want to check that out! Info for the show is here:

Monday November 7th and 7pm

Broadway at Birdland, 315 West 44th Street

For reservations call 212-581-3080 or visit http://www.birdlandjazz.com/event/71183/

Broadway at Birdland Presented by Jim Caruso

I hope to see everybody there and check back often (must more often than every six months!) for updates on this and several other exciting projects I've got in the works!

29 Hours?! That's Crazy!

Yesterday afternoon was the reading of my new musical, The Distant Bells and, first and foremost I have to say that it went very well. But for those of you unfamiliar with these kinds of things, it was a 29-hour reading. That means it was a very basic reading of the show. The actors stand - most often at music stands - with a binder holding their script and score. There are no costumes, props, set or lights. There is no staging aside from standing up and moving to your music stand when you're in the scene and sitting down in your chair when you aren't. A stage direction reader helps to fill in anything the audience needs to know and wouldn't get from just a reading and the music is played by, in this case, a skeleton orchestra of piano and drums.

The 29-hour part comes from the fact that each actor is limited to 29 hours of rehearsal. Now, that might sound like a lot of hours per person, but it most definitely is not. When you consider how much music has to be taught, learned, worked and polished along with character and scene work, those 29 hours fly by like a monkey in Wicked. On top of that, the creative team is usually (as we were) making changes every day to improve and hone the piece. It's a crazy week and, frankly, it is a minor miracle that any 29-hour reading ever comes together - and yet, most of them do.

Finally, on the last day of the reading, people arrive - producers, actors, agents, friends, etc - to sit in metal chairs flat on the floor under the florescent lights and see the show. It's not anything close to what the show could/would ultimately be but, in many ways, it is the purest form the show will ever take. It is about the show, the story, the characters, the music, the lyrics, the dialogue and that's really about it. It is about the actors and their portrayal of the characters to an extent, but, even that is secondary because, in such a short rehearsal period, nobody expects fully realized performances.

More changes?! The cast of the

reading of The Distant Bells

So, in the end, we do these readings to "see if there's anything there". To learn from the living portrayal of the characters as embodied by the actors. To learn from the audience response. To learn from just hearing the material come alive. In some cases, the material proves weaker than you thought on the page. In some cases, the talent of the actors elevates the material and makes it seem better than it is. Figuring out which is which is a major challenge to a good creative team.

In the end, it remains to be seen if The Distant Bells will have a future life and, if it does, what form it will take and how it will all unfold. But, I do know that, yesterday, the amazingly talented cast did me very proud! I am so grateful and indebted to Chita Rivera, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel York, Andy Mientus, James Snyder, Chris Sieber and Jason Tam! The entire creative team and staff of course has my heartfelt thanks as well, but I must single out two people that I first worked with on Altar Boyz so many years ago - my music director, Lynne Shankel (who is brilliant and wonderful in so many ways) and my director, Stafford Arima (without whose tireless insight and talent I would never have survived!). Also, a big thank you to Todd Haimes, Jill Rafson, Stephen Kopel and the Roundabout Theatre for allowing us to do this reading under their auspices.

As I relax today I find myself torn between quoting two things from the show. The first one is the last lyric in the show: "Okay, time to see what happens next". And the second is the first spoken line of the show: "Men are like Picassos - most of them are fucked up". I wrote them both and, even though the second one doesn't apply to this moment, I just like it, so I'm gonna keep them both in my head for now!