When writing a theatre lyric, I do my absolute best to bury myself in the environment of whatever character I’m writing for.

Writing as a homeless man = a night under the pedestrian bridge that connects central and south Austin

Writing as a couple of ‘just graduated from high school’ deadbeats = locking myself in my room for an entire weekend with junk food, beer, and DVDs of guilty pleasure comedies from the 90s

Writing as a 19th century stripper possessed by the spirit of a ruthless outlaw= um, now that’s a little tricky…

I mean, the outlaw part isn’t tough…I’m pretty much an outlaw…But, what is the process of writing for the opposite sex?  I started to have this conversation with my writer friends, but we thought it would be much cooler to put on a show about it.

So, come check this out….

Tyler Phillips Music, in association with Kamelrock Productions and Elysia Segal, presents the fifth concert in the Name ‘N Lights Cabaret Series – COOTIES, an evening of original theatre music for the opposite sex. Some of the city’s most exciting new composers and lyricist take on the task of writing for characters of the opposite sex. This quickly approaching event wil feature the works of Tyler Phillips, Andrew Heyman, Jennifer Stafford, Sam Salmond, and more! Just a $10 cover (collected in cash at the door) and a two item minimum gets you in!

7:30p, Friday, April 2nd
The Main Stage at The Broadway Comedy Club
318 West 53rd Street (between 8th & 9th Aves)
For reservations: 212-757-2323 after 2PM daily

$10 cover charge, plus two item food or drink minimum.

The cover will be collected in cash at the door.
The minimum may be paid by cash or credit card.

• I like soda and ice cream = I like ice cream floats.

• I also like tigers and cotton candy = The zoo is fabulous.

• I’m all about rock and roll and musical theatre.  So is this guy, Andrew Heyman.

Andrew is an exciting new theatre writer with a Jersey punk/rock background.  I dig his stuff so much, that I asked him to share the stage with me at the next Name’NLights Cabaret Show.  Don’t miss “Rock-Away Beech“, an evening of original theatre rock, this coming Monday at the Laurie Beechman Theater.

Back in the day, (now we’re talking Dick Rodgers, OH2, Berlin, and the bros Gershwin)  Broadway WAS pop music. Somewhere along the way, that slipped away – Probably the fault of those rock and roll rebels with their slicked back hair and crazy, hip-shakin’ dancing… As much as I would’ve liked to have heard Sondheim on MIX 96.1 growing up, I just think it’s safe to say that more people were jamming to Boyz II Men than “Passion” on their portable CD players in the early/mid 90’s.  Look, the great American art form is a living, breathing thing.  It is going to grow.  It is going to change.  Lately though, I feel like B-way has been kickin’ it old school in a fresh new way.  With the breakthrough of shows like “Spring Awakening”, “Passing Strange”, and “American Idiot”, we are seeing the return of popular music styles to the Broadway Stage.

These types of shows are opening up new realms of possibility for theatre writers who grew up with their hands wrapped around the rosewood neck of a six string rock machine.  My good friend Andrew, is a great example… I sat down with him to ask a few questions about his personal journey from overdrive to overture.

You grew up in Jersey – a stone’s throw away from Broadway and also the birthplace of some killer rock music.  Can you describe your earliest experiences with rock and with musical theatre?

I have two older brothers, both of whom ensured I spent the first ten years of my life listening to U2, Styx, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and ABBA almost exclusively.

Around 1994, my brother did “Pippin” at Stagedoor Manor. I’d seen a fair amount of musical theatre by that point, but I’d never heard anything that combined modern pop sensibilities with theatrical music. I fell in love with a lot of the songs in that show, and I spent that entire school year listening to only the “Pippin” original cast recording and Green Day’s “Dookie.”  I guess that explains a lot, doesn’t it?

When did you decide that you wanted to write theatre music?

I played in a punk band throughout high school, and it never occurred to me to even try to write theatre songs until I got to college. The social scene at Princeton is built around these co-ed frat-type things called Eating Clubs. I was distraught when I didn’t get into the one I wanted, and I decided to get involved with as many other things on campus as I could to try to, well, find a place where I belonged. While on that quest, I applied for and was accepted into the writers’ workshop of the Princeton Triangle Club, the school’s student-run musical comedy group.

That was the first time I saw that musical theatre could provide a more expansive storytelling landscape than the pop and rock and punk songs I’d been writing up until that point. So I decided to try to combine them all.

Are there any rock bands that you feel have a theatrical sense of composition?

Of course, there are tons. The two that spring to mind as particularly influential for me are Iron Maiden and AFI.  There’s so much that’s theatrical about Maiden, from the guitar solos to the stage shows, but their songs also tell stories in ways that most pop songs don’t. Bruce Dickinson is the mouthpiece for these crazy tales about satanic rituals and dead soldiers and native americans.

AFI’s exactly the opposite: their frontman portrays himself as the modern equivalent of the Byronic Hero, and that’s pretty damn theatrical right there. And there’s so much storytelling going on just through Jade Puget’s guitarwork, it’s fantastic.

To me, the term “rock musical” has always seemed so ambiguous. What musicals, would you consider “rock musicals”?

To be perfectly honest, unless you’re Freddie Mercury or maybe Ben Folds, I think it’s very difficult to write *real* rock without the guitar as the driving instrument. I mean, the advent of rock and roll corresponds directly with the rise of the electric guitar. There’s a reckless and wild quality inherent to the instrument that the piano lacks, and that quality is essential to rock and roll, I think. To that end, the rock musicals that seem the most “authentic” to me are written by songwriters whose background is in the pop idiom and whose main instrument is the guitar – shows like Hair, Tommy, Passing Strange, and American Idiot.

As someone who writes exclusively on guitar, do you feel limited in any way by the piano-based nature of musical theatre composition?

Well, I’ll tell you this: for some reason, you never think to use recit when you write on guitar. I don’t know why, but I think there’s something about the instrument that doesn’t lend itself to that. But I don’t think that’s a “limitation.” I wouldn’t say there are any real limitations to writing musical theatre on guitar – it’s just…different. Writing for piano and writing for guitar require very different approaches, and you will always get very different results. You don’t have that left hand available on guitar; if you want a bass line, you either have to hear it in your head while you’re writing or go back and create it after the fact. But honestly, I find that sort of liberating. The nature of writing on guitar allows me to focus on what is to me the single most important aspect of a song: the vocal melody.

You are quite the guitar aficionado.  Tell us about your collection…

I guess you could say I collect electric guitars, if five is a collection. They all have names that begin with “A.” I didn’t do that on purpose with the first few, but once I saw the pattern it was too late to turn back. I’ve got a Gibson Les Paul Standard (Andriana), a Gibson Les Paul Junior (Andromache), a GPC Matt Skiba Signature (Aurora), a Danelectro Dano ‘63 (Alicia), and a Danelectro DC-12 (Anastasia). I’ve also got an electric mandolin that my girlfriend insists on calling “Amanda.”

Your musical “Together This Time” is an inspiring an exciting new blend of rock music and theatrical storytelling.  Where did the idea for this show come from?

Both Zac Kline – with whom I collaborated on this show – and I are big fans of Haruki Murakami’s novels, and I’ve always been fascinated by the way Murakami uses the trope of dual worlds in his writing. Like in “Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World,” for example. One world seems real, the other fantastical. But as the story progresses the lines blur and the worlds begin to intersect. We wanted to examine this idea through the lens of a creator moving back and forth between his real world and that of his creation, and to use it as a springboard to explore the toll it would take on his relationships with his family and friends. Zac has this weird penchant for writing about writers, so we decided to make our protagonist a novelist. Write about what you know, right?

My musical goal with this show was to make it as naturalistic as possible. That is, we wanted these characters to be real people, and I wanted them to sing the types of songs that real people would sing. I tried to make the score accessible to a modern audience raised on pop and rock, and I hope it serves as a means for them to connect with the characters.

Are you currently writing anything new?

I’m working on various projects. I’m always looking for ways to combine my interest in Greek mythology and Classical literature with music, so I’m working on a song cycle based on the Homeric Hymns to the Olympian gods as well as a musical adaptation of Sophocles’ “Ajax.” I’m also just beginning work on a couple film adaptations, but it’s too early to really talk about those.

Call the Laurie Beechman Theater @ (212) 695-6909 to make your reservation for ROCK-AWAY BEECH (full description below)

ROCKAWAY BEECH
March 1, 2010 Monday, 9:30PM
Laurie Beechman Theater
407 W. 42nd St, NYC
call for reservations 212-695-6909
$5 cover (+$15 food/drink minimum)

A Jersey punk and a Texas rocker take the stage to share some showtunes that really rock! With the help of a truly rockin’ band, some of the composers’ favorite vocalists kick it up a notch to light up the Laurie Beechman Theater. Don’t miss this one-night-only exploration of character and drama through the timeless and expansive sounds of pop/rock.

featuring the vocal talents of Elysia Segal, Kasey Marino, Kristy Glass, Paul Wyatt, Amanda Savan, Shira Kobren, Chris Gleim, Derek Carley, and Sebastian Fabal

Beyond its relationship with the aforementioned “holiday”, 2/2 is a very special date.  Today marks the one year anniversary of my first cabaret show in New York City.  Click here for some nostalgia.

After doing some reminiscing and looking into my own metaphorical shadow, I’ve decided to break the rules.  I’m gonna go ahead and warm up the year with back to back cabaret shows. Segue into a plug….  Be sure to check out the next two shows in the Name ‘N Lights Cabaret Series (at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, 9 and 42 in Manhattan)

Party @ Our Place
Mon, Feb 22 @ 9:30
$7 cover (+$15 food/drink min)
If you think two composer/lyricists living together in a wee Bushwick apartment sounds like a recipe for epic musical fusion, just wait until they throw the freshest cabaret bash of the New Year! Roommates Samuel Salmond and Tyler Phillips trek across the Williamsburg Bridge to host an evening of original tunes by some of NYC’s most exciting young writers. A talented group of NYC
vocalists will rock the Laurie Beechman Theatre with a wide variety of pieces by Andrew Heyman, Sebastian Fabal, Jacob Yandura, Kellen Blair and the hosts themselves.

Rock-away Beech an evening of original theatre rock by Andrew Heyman and Tyler Phillips  at the Laurie Beechman Theatre Mon, March 1 @9:30

A Jersey punk and a Texas rocker take the stage to share some showtunes that really rock!  With the help of a truly rockin’ band, some of the composers’ favorite vocalists kick it up notch to light up the Laurie Beechman Theatre.  Don’t miss this one-night-only exploration of character and drama through the timeless and expansive sounds of pop/rock.

See you there!

*a whistle pig is a groundhog, ugh…

The way I see it:
Resolutions are basically these commitments that get the boot once the 1/1 hangover kicks in.  I already have plenty of commitments that I don’t see through…keeping secrets, showing up to surprise parties on time,  feeding my fish, flushing the toilet, etc…  Look, I’m not gonna be a bump on the log this year or anything.  I just like to set goals instead.  Goals are challenges.  I really dig a good challenge – like playing the team with the red jerseys in little league basketball that randomly had an eleventh grader. See, I’m more likely to lose 10 pounds this year if I call it a goal rather than a resolution.  Check it:

RESOLUTION, something you see through
GOAL, something you score!

RESOLUTION, I promise to flush the toilet
GOAL, I challenge myself to flush the toilet

RESOLUTION, I plan to lose 10 pounds this year
GOAL, I challenge myself to not have donuts and steak in my mouth at the same time

Goals sound cooler and, hey, I like to accomplish stuff.  Let’s face it, No Child Left Behind didn’t hook up me up with the ammo to execute daily conversation with the accuracy of a Jane Austen character, but I’m pretty sure it’s grammatically impossible to accomplish a resolution.  Just sayin’…

Here are some of my musical goals for 2010…

Last year I put up a total of four cabaret shows.  This year, I CHALLENGE myself to do six. The NYC cabaret circuit is something I’ve really grown to dig.  I’ve grown to dig it so much, that I’ve started my own cabaret series to promote the works of new theatre writers. The Name N Lights Cabaret Series is always on the lookout for new voices in theatre writing, so don’t be afraid to give us a holler if you want in.

Although these one-shot cabaret style concerts are a load of fun, it sure has been a long time since I’ve run a show.  There are an endless amount of magical things involved with running a show, but my favorite thing to experience is watching a random group of people grow into a family over the course of read-thru to closing night – AND it doesn’t end there.  We theatre people know that the relationships made during a run can last a lifetime, on and offstage.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who got to know their best friend doing a Larry Shue play.  Point: Whether it be a limited run in a hot Manhattan space or a three act opera performed for my roommate and my stuffed animals, I CHALLENGE myself to run something this year.

I got my gigging legs early on. Starting around the age of 11, I rocked the bass all around the San Antonio blues circuit with my buddy/guitar genius Will Owen-Gage. We’d gig so much that our instruments became extensions of our bodies and the tunes we played became instinctual parts of our vocabularies. After a while, I started playing with my own groups.  I tried my hand at band leading, arranging for all different types of live combo music, and sitting on what ever instrument I could learn.  Looking back on all that, I realize how live music making came to me so organically. I took a long break once I started writing theatre but I think it’s about time to get back into all that lovely craziness.  This year, I CHALLENGE myself to start an awesome band and play some rockin’ gigs.

I’ve got a lot to accomplish this year and I bet you do to.  Let’s get right to it, yeah?

2010 is just around the corner. We want to get a lot of stuff done, right? Here’s the deal:

Recently, I got a hold of a journal I kept during my first year of high school. I was amazed to see how active I was and how many different things I saw through, wholly. I wrote my first musical that year. I conducted an orchestra for the first time. I wrote my first ballet – and it actually got performed!
It’s understood that I was 14 and not every project was platinum, but the important thing is that I was finishing things – A lot of things. This city is full of fantastic distractions but I’m not gonna blame my decrease in productivity on east coast babes and sweet local jazz. How do we achieve our goals and still get to do all the cool stuff that the city has to offer? Some advice I got from my orchestra director in high school… write your goals down. What is it that you want to get done today? This week? This month? Cross that stuff off as you dominate it. It worked for me back then, and hey, I bet it will work now. Kick your goals in the face and then treat yourself to an evening out at the Bowery Ballroom, Birdland, or maybe just a nice sugar kick at Dunkin Donuts. They just reopened the one by my apartment. I’m all about that.

I arrived in NYC in Sept of 2008 with nothing but a suitcase and a guitar. I did my fair share of moving along with the tide in ‘09 and I am extremely fortunate to have made some rockin’ friendships and experienced some killer musical fusion. I did my best to improvise in 2009, but 2010 is going to be all about clobbering some goals. I’ll be setting those in the next entry. What are some of your goals for 2010? Talk it up!