| Is it just me or is this absolute BULLSHIT? | |
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Posted by: |
sinecurea 03:20 pm UTC 08/09/11 |
| In reply to: | Interesting Interview With Ryan - steven_stuart 09:17 pm UTC 08/04/11 |
| Who is Ryan? Why is he so deluded? Why is this here? It's from a shitty free-hosted website - who read it? Does anybody care? Has Ryan actually written and performed any music? Again, why are we talking about him? > Q. When did you become interested in musical theatre? > > A. I wasn't one of those people who saw "The Phantom Of > The Opera" and "Sunset Boulevard" when they came out. I > knew nothing about theatre except, as children, we used to > send up "Jesus Christ Superstar". It was when I heard "Bat > Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell" that the journey began for > me. I thought it was like music from another planet and I > got interested in Jim Steinman. He led to Andrew Lloyd > Webber, Richard O'Brien and so on. My all-time favourite > theatre scores are "Carousel", "My Fair Lady", "Jesus > Christ Superstar", "The Rocky Horror Show", "The > Confidence Man", "Evita", "Sweeney Todd", "The Phantom Of > The Opera", "Miss Saigon", "Titanic", "Tanz Der Vampire" > and "The Scarlet Pimpernel". > > Q. What was the first musical you ever wrote? > > A. That would have been "Vesuvius" 2000. That was my first > attempt to write a musical libretto and I was pretty much > faking it. I don't remember what happened to the script > either. I remember wanting a stadium with a fully > functional volcano and a 300-piece orchestra playing "God > Works In Mysterious Ways" and "Justice Will Be Done". I > don't know what mum's view on the situation was but she > wanted me to write a book. I had a great idea for a > fantasy series that just got blown out of the window > because I grew up. Between that and "Vesuvius", I did a > musical about a killer house which was actually staged at > the house in 2000. It was called "Magnus Miriam" which, > later, of course... Technically, the first draft of "Don > Claude Devious" in 2001 is my real "first musical". > > Q. You met the composer of your current project in high > school. Can you tell us how that collaboration began? > > A. We went to the same high school and we never had much > to do with each other until we were put in the same class. > I don't remember why I took a class on water but there we > were. We sat next to each other and we both had a crush on > the teacher. We were always mucking about and, actually, I > remember the first serious conversation we had was that we > both knew about Jim Steinman. That was like an omen. It > was the omen. We then attempted to write a song about our > teacher. It was pretty tame until Adam wrote something on > the back. It got passed to her and he was suspended for a > week. > > He started back in time for an excursion to a sewage plant > where they took an accidental detour to a nudist colony. > It was there that we actually wrote our first song > together, "Trippy Hippy/or When The High Guy Cries". I > think we got half-way through the second verse when some > confused geriatric nudist came tottering by wondering, > "why the hell are these people in clothes?" Adam wrote the > tune, which is one of the only songs I can still play on > the piano, and I thought it was great. We recorded it as a > demo on school campus. The B side was a version of "Sweet > Transvestite" with me on lead vocal. We thought nothing > more of it so we kept writing one-offs... > > Q. When did "Don Claude" come into the picture? > > A. That was all happening at the same time. I actually > started "Don Claude Devious", as a fully conceived idea, > on September 11. I was working on lyrics in drama class, > because it was such a bludge, and one of the guys stole my > book. It got passed around the room, real humiliating, and > the teacher got it. I was expecting detention. I was still > cautious after the incident with Adam. Lo and behold, she > raises the book like a holy scripture and begins reading > from it like it was "Doctor Faustus". She proudly > announces that this would be the end-of-term drama > performance for our class. We didn't have a composer and I > actually remember her asking 2 jazz musicians. I told Adam > about it and he said, "well, I should be doing it!" > > So we met up to begin work on the 10 or so songs. I > remember missing a class in the morning, which was > something I did frequently later on, and I could hear the > sound of music trailing down the corridors. It was like > something out of a movie, totally cliché, and I followed > it and followed it and followed it. I finally came to a > rehearsal room with an upright where he was working on > "God Works In Mysterious Ways". That was the first song we > ever completed for the show and it's still, musically, the > most important theme in the series. But the end-of-term > performance didn't happen, probably because it was too > complicated to attempt in such a short amount of time. I > had thought about doing it as a movie but Janine said "it > should absolutely be a stage show". > > Q. "Don Claude" wasn't happening for a while there, wasn't > it? > > A. Yes. I got side-tracked with a musical version of > "Nosferatu". I was writing the music, as well as the book > and lyrics. I remember it was meant to be the opening > piece for the new performing arts centre at high school. I > don't exactly remember how that came about but there we > were. "Don Claude" didn't look like it was happening any > time soon, especially in high school, and me and Adam were > working on a concept album called "Psychedelic Wizardry". > > > He moved schools and I thought I would never hear from him > again. I continued work on "Nosferatu" and thought about > maybe doing "Don Claude Devious" with a new story that > could be done in schools and amateur groups. I thought if > there was a commercial way of doing it, it would be as a > tribute to "Beauty And The Beast" and fairy tales in > general which, I suppose, it could be but it's also > Sweeney Todd and the Count of Monte Cristo, those eternal > stories of revenge. > > Q. You and Adam also worked on a concept album called "My > Disease" and wrote for a few local productions? > > A. Yes. "My Disease" was done in the last years of high > school, and that was going to be an album like Pink Floyd > "The Dark Side Of The Moon" and "The Wall". We actually > went to a few recording studios to work on the album. We > did 8 tracks. The main demo was "A Saucerful Of Sally" > which was named after the woman in charge of the recording > sessions. But I wasn't happy with the way it sounded. If > you listen to the earlier demo of "Forever Young", it's > brilliant. But if you listen to "However Near Or Far" and > "Box Of Memories", it's alright, but it doesn't do the > songs justice. She actually turned down my vocals in the > most important bit of "God Works In Mysterious Ways". I > just thought the song became sort of pointless after that. > "Forever Young" was recorded at a different studio which > is now, sadly, defunct. > > "Box Of Memories", one of the major songs, came second in > a prestigious songwriting competition in Apollo Bay. The > person who won that was the actress who played Aunt Beru > in "Star Wars, Attack Of The Clones". We always smile when > her scenes come on. > > I remember we felt we had something, which we probably > didn't aside from the songs we recorded, and we wanted to > record it to the most professional standard. I remember > thinking "Silverchair", I love "Diorama" and "Young > Modern", and stuff like that. Eventually, Adam joined a > band and I got serious about doing "Don Claude" again. > > Around that time, yes, we were asked to write a song for a > local production of "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. That > was through Adam's dad, who's an absolute genius. That > wound up getting some awesome reviews and we continued > writing. Years later, when we returned to the scene of > "Don Claude", we listened to "A Saucerful Of Sally" and > "Forever Young" and sort of had our "Steinman moment." It > was like Jim pulling out "Neverland" and "The Dream > Engine" for "Tanz Der Vampire". The best songs were > revisited as theatrical moments in "Don Claude" which, I > believe, they always were. To hear the difference between > "A Saucerful Of Sally" and "Songs from Don Claude Devious, > Cannibal Rapture" is loads of fun. > > Q. Will Adam compose the sequels? > > A. It all depends on whether or not "Cannibal Rapture" > works out for us. And if it ended up being the next > whatever, it would only matter if we thought it was a > worthwhile creative experience. Ideally, he would compose > all of the instalments. Whatever happens, his music should > always be a part of it. It would be like "Harry Potter", I > guess, with the different composers referring to the > themes by John Williams. > > If "Cannibal Rapture" succeeds, the plan is to move > forward with "Don Claude Devious", which is the other half > of something that was originally one show. This is what we > worked on in high school and to complete "Cannibal > Rapture" and "Don Claude Devious" is to complete that > goal. I think the real turning point is whether or not he > will compose "Don Claude Devious, Dark Night Of The Soul" > and the others. I hope he does. > > Q. Could you tell us more about the sequels? > > A. "Dark Night Of The Soul" is my personal favourite of > the instalments and I will make every effort to make it > one of the high points. I also think it will be the last > chance to prove myself. > > Q. Finally, what are your plans for the new year? > > A. I...just got off the phone with Janine about a concert > staging of "Don Claude Devious, Cannibal Rapture" for > 2009. We presented "Songs from Don Claude Devious, > Cannibal Rapture" in an amazing listening experience at a > theatre and she wants to move forward. She has all these > amazing ideas. The planning and production of that > performance would begin in late January next year with, > hopefully, an opening night in March. Hopefully the > concert will be supported by the album and the promise of > a full production. It all depends on the public response. | |
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