Page 13 - Irish Examiner USA

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not allow myself irony, One of the new tunes is defi- me, music/ book by my col- in the cast and bandmate Ben Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones,
wordplay or abstraction. On nitely just foot-stomping laborator Jacinth Arons on drums. Sting/The Police, Steely IRISH
the album there are two ver- country rock which I’m not Greywoode), was being pro- (Book/lyrics by me, music by Dan, Paul Simon, and Jethro
sions; one with the Dirty mad at. Come hear it! duced at NYU’s New Studio David) Tull with the usual caveat
Waltz Band backing it up and on Broadway (Tisch Drama) I was co-nominated for a that I don’t necessarily’sound EXAMINER
one that’s recorded live on Q: As to your activities literally during last year’s Helen Hayes Award for Best like my influences (except
producer Ben Sollee’s porch, over the last year… holiday show (I had to miss Sound Design for a song I Suzanne Vega probably).
with just my guitar and him RH: Band-wise: We’ve that performance ). Since was commissioned to write There are plenty of other |
playing tenor banjo. You can played some really great then, we’ve been honored to & record for the Woolly modern/recent bands I love,
hear the crickets. shows including regular have the show presented at Mammoth Theatre produc- but these are the Formative
On the other hand, a song nights at the Rockwood the Tony-Award winning tion of “Gloria.” Nick Ones. December
like “Perfume” — about Music Hall (including our Theatreworks’ Silicon Valley Stephens produced and Looking at them all
‘crossing over’ after death “P’Easter” gig in the spring); New Works Festival. played on the recording. together I guess the “why”
and the unfinished business have done first time appear- Developed at the O’Neill I played the role of always had to do with the 11th,
we leave behind — is not ances at The Cutting Room Center, it showcased at the Olympe des Gouges in “The intelligent adventurousness
straightforward or literal at and the Shapeshifter Lab in National Alliance for Musical Revolutionists” at Playhouse of the songwriting… both in 2019
all. It’s more like a hallucina- Brooklyn, the SoFar Sounds Theatre Festival at NYC’s on Park in West Hartford the lyrics which were full of
tion and the music — elec- Series NY and DC; and vari- New World Stages where it CT; the cast then won the imagery and the fantasti-
tronic samples, digital per- ous house concerts in was one of eight shows cho- CT Critics Circle Award for cal/theatrical and the some-
cussion and slightly other- Brooklyn and upstate. I sen blind from 219 submis- ‘Outstanding Ensemble’ and times funny and often weird
worldly layered vocals — played solo sets at SoFar, sions to be presented to we are up for a number of while still being often super
reflects this. Hartford Theaterworks in industry from across the Broadwayworld awards as personal and true… I do not
Now, with the current CT, and the NY Songwriters country. We are now repre- well. I think that’s it. get bored listening to these
band, I’m excited about the Circle at the Bitter End. We sented by Abrams Artists songs.
way different voices are also very memorably played Agency and are talking to a Q: Okay, so who are your I also deeply love Irish tra-
actively shaping the songs. In the world famous Kripalu few regional theaters about favorite artists and why — ditional music and I know
rehearsal, there’s lots of ideas Yoga Center in The production. and who have you met? that pops up in my work all
flowing and the set includes Berkshires this November As mentioned, bandmate RH: I haven’t met any of over the place. ‘The
one or two things not com- and have been invited back David Kornfeld and I were my music heroes actually! I Magician’s Daughter’, an
posed by me. for the Spring. accepted into The Civilians met James Taylor once and album largely ‘about’ and in
There’s also starting to be Theatre Company’s R&D that was exciting but we did- the wake of my father’s death
variations in instrumentation Q: And as to other non- Group where we spent a year n’t talk about music and he is heavily influenced by
which is fun. We’re working Band news… developing a rock/theatre isn’t on The Big List. Sufjan Stevens’ album ‘Carrie
on a new tune now where I RH: It’s been a big year. piece about the human brain, As to The Big List, it’s the and Lowell’ which he wrote
play piano (!) and Matt plays My graduate thesis musical culminating in a presentation usual list of those who were about his mother’s death and
electric guitar (though that “Iron John: an American at The Lark Playwrights’ really formative and influen- which I was listening to
may not be ready by 12/13). Ghost Story” (lyrics/book by Center featuring David and I tial: Suzanne Vega, Joni obsessively at the time. C