Do you write on your piano?
I write in my head most of the time. Then I bring it to the piano and work out the arrangement more.
Do you hear the music or the lyrics first?
I hear both at the same time, or it ends up being a poem. If I'm writing it down on a computer screen and it's a bunch of words that fall out like that and I don't hear a melody then it will usually stay that and end up in the Musings section of my website. (laughs)
So where do you see yourself in five years?
I had a funny thing happen this year; I performed at a venue called Joe's Pub in New York, which is affiliated with the adjoining public theatre. Which is an incredible bastion of classic and contemporary theatre, which is something I grew-up going to and I live near it because I love it. I had an acting agent see me and be very passionate about wanting to work with me. Afterwards asking me, with knowledge, “Do you act? You're very funny, you had me rolling.” I guess it was mostly just my shtick about my family, and Jewish stuff, and stories about my songs. I was just being myself doing my thing as a musician.
It felt so ironic because I attended Shakespeare school at the public theatre, more than ten years ago. I put that all aside to pursue music hardcore. That was definitely a sign for me that I would like to get back into that. There is something about the community theatre that I miss. Something about being part of telling someone else's story, that I remember loving.
So I said “Oh 
great yeah let's work together! Whenever I'm home you can send me out on auditions.” That was about a year ago and I have been home maybe three days a month (laughs). This poor woman, who has such a beautiful sense of encouragement and enthusiasm on my behalf, is probably not taking me seriously at all. I keep telling her “Just wait; this is something I love and want to do. Thank you for seeing something in me.” That happens so rarely, as any type of artist, that someone just, out of the blue, comes along and has that faith in you. I was a teenager praying for that and it never happened. So all these years later I think it's neat that it was in seeing my music that someone saw that in me.
Article comments