It’s Thursday night. You and your friends don’t know what to do. It’s New York City, so you want to see something live. But what? Everyone has an opinion. Do you go see a comedy? A drama? A musical? Grab drinks? Maybe just something short. Nobody can agree. All seems hopeless.
Enter Serials, a must-see late-night competition at The Flea Theater. Teams of actors perform five “episodes” of five original serial plays, ten minutes each. All genres welcome. Audience members vote on their top three. The winning serials continue the next week with a new “episode.” The losing serials get canceled, and the team starts again next week with a new premise. But there is a catch: each episode is written in the week leading up to the performance, and teams have only six hours to practice before showtime.
Photo credit Simone Grossman
The creativity on display in Serials is endless. Two of the plays, “The Amazoning Race” (writer Gina Femia) and “Raise Your Glasses,” (writer Marina Tempelsman) featured original songs. The sci-fi thriller Swan Song, a new pilot (writer Oscar Cabrera), was performed almost entirely in eerie silence. Serials feels a lot like Saturday Night Live would if the SNL cast decided that comedy was too limiting a genre. It’s professionals pushed to new, strange places by pressure and competition, and the results are pure pleasure.
The performers are all members of The Bats, the resident acting company for The Flea Theater, and the shows are directed by some of NYC’s most exciting freelance directors. The night’s MCs, Peter McNally and Annie Perales, provide banter between the performances and a recap for returning stories, one of which was on its 8th episode. Each attendee gets a drink ticket which they can use before the show or during intermission.
The format is ingenious. A returning customer will never see the same show twice, and faithful attendance is rewarded with new episodes of their favorite stories. About half of the audience had seen Serials before, and I got the feeling that the show has a dedicated following. The mood is friendly and welcoming; the MCs handed out ice cream sandwiches to first-time attendees at the top of the show.
Serials provides something uniquely modern and millennial to the theater: a sense of ownership and shared interaction. Swipe right if you would like to see more. Swipe left if you’re not interested and you might see something completely different next week. If you’ve seen Serials once, you’ll want to come back again and again.
Serials starts at 10 pm at The Flea Theater and lasts about an hour and a half with an intermission. Tickets are available here.
Few musicians have logged more television time than Paul Shaffer. In addition to being David Letterman’s bandleader and sidekick from 1982 to 2015, Paul was part of the band on Saturday Night Live for nearly five years. He also starred in the CBS sitcom A Year At The Top, hosted the VH1 game show Cover Wars, and appeared in the classic comedy This Is Spinal Tap; there is a long-standing rumor that Paul was offered the role of George Costanza on Seinfeld.
Off-screen, Paul’s credits as a musician are also very impressive. He got his start in musical theater, serving as musical director of the Toronto production of Godspell, eventually finding his way to Broadway in New York. While still in the SNL fold, he was a major creative force behind The Blues Brothers. Early into his Late Night With David Letterman tenure, he played keyboards for Robert Plant’s post-Zeppelin band The Honeydrippers and contributed the impressive synth solo to Scandal’s “Goodbye To You.” He co-wrote the song “It’s Raining Men” for The Weather Girls, which went Top 10 around the world and has since been covered by RuPaul and The Spice Girls’ Geri Halliwell. He has also released several solo albums, one of which Grammy-nominated and two of which produced by Todd Rundgren.
Paul has not slowed down his leaving the Late Show With David Letterman. He has been the musical director of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony since its inception. He was the musical director and on-screen accompanist for 2015’s Primetime Emmy-nominated A Very Murray Christmas. Last year he recorded his third solo album alongside his Letterman bandmates, Paul Shaffer & The World’s Most Dangerous Band, as released via Sire Records on Mar. 17; it features vocals from Dion, Jenny Lewis, Bill Murray, Darius Rucker, Shaggy and Valerie Simpson.
In support of The World’s Most Dangerous Band, Paul and band will be appearing at the Theater At Westbury on Apr. 22. One night earlier, the show comes to Montclair’s Wellmont Theater. Paul spoke to Downtown about his new album, the tour, James Brown, New York and plenty more. He can followed on Twitter via @PaulShaffer.
First, I wanted to ask you about the book you wrote a couple of years ago. Was it enjoyable for you to write the book in considering that you are primarily known as a sideman and a host and all that? Or was writing a book a completely different creative experience for you?
Paul Shaffer: Well of course it was. I was very much lucky to have David Ritz writing it with me. He is a pro, does a lot of music biographies, started with the Ray Charles book that he did back in the 70’s and Marvin Gaye and on and on…A lot of process was sitting with David and remembering stories that happened, and then you know putting them together with him and making a book out of it. I loved the process.
Sure. Was there a lot of material that was leftover from the book? A lot of stories that you still feel you hope to tell one day in another book or another form?
PS: Of course…I didn’t get to talk about about seeing Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas with James Brown and then hanging out with all three of them later on…That is a book in itself really, but yeah, I couldn’t put everything in there…That certainly was one of the things I realized about the book that I did write a little bit inside…
Speaking of things that are inside, a lot of people know of course that you co-wrote the song “It’s Raining Men,” but I was curious if you had been otherwise in the co-writing game, trying to place music with other artists. Or was that just a one-off for you?
PS: I have written a few other things but it was a sort of a one-off. My co-writer was Paul Jabara, who wrote a number of other hits including “Last Dance” by Donna Summer. I had back in the 70s, when I was working in the studio as a session musician, I had done arrangements for this guy. One song we did together was called “One Man Ain’t Enough,” so he was already working towards that concept…
Anyway, Paul called and said, “I’ve got this title I want to write and you were so great as my arranger. I would love it if we co-wrote this thing.” He said, “What do you think about the title ‘It’s Raining Men?’” I said, “I will be right over,” and that is how it came about. I have written a few other things, songs, I mean comedy songs of course. One called “Kung Fu Christmas” for the National Lampoon back in ’74… Really I just love to play. I just love the immediate ratification that you get from playing the piano and playing songs that I love. Writing was just never a priority with me…That is all I can say.
So you do have the upcoming show at Westbury with The World’s Most Dangerous Band and the album coming out on Rhino/Sire. Does that mean that you and the band are still fully intact and you hope to keep it going, even though you are not on TV every night?
PS: Well, we love to play together. Everybody is doing their own thing now…I brought everybody back together to do the album and there was just, I was in love with the reunion, you know. We all loved playing together and felt comfortable playing together. After all those years, now we speak the same language, so we did the record together, we had a great time together and it all, it made sense to do some live appearances, which we are going to be doing springtime. Everybody was interested so you know, simple as that…
For somebody who is a fan of yours and the other musicians for years on television but may not be so sure of what they are going to see live on tour, do you have a way of describing the show?
PS: Well, I am going to be telling a lot of stories…I would be bringing them out as stories about times on the Letterman show, different artists that we’ve worked with and then in many cases, backing it up with some of the music. You know. James Brown is a guy who was just such a great influence, my very favorite, and I got to play for him so many times on Letterman. Every time was a lesson…so you know I wanted to tell the audience about that and then you know demonstrate in songs…We are also going to be playing tunes from the new album.
Well, you’ve mentioned so far James Brown a couple of times. I remember you often coming in and out of commercial on Letterman, doing the James Brown cape routine. Is that something you ever talked about with him?
PS: With James?
Yeah.
PS: No…We got into a routine for, I think years, where every Friday I would do the routine and a different celebrity would come out and put the cape on. The pinnacle of it was when he himself did it, James Brown came out himself to put the cape on me. So you know, that was, I could have retired that after that. It was such a thrill but I did not get to…I never did.
PS: Yeah, I have read it, sure. I have read it in the history books, I did not get a chance to confirm it with him, no, in any of the conversations I had, but I believe it. You know, it makes sense. I remember, well, I am old enough to remember Gorgeous George and I remember his outfits and his capes and stuff. So if James Brown has to be pretty honest if he ever did it admit it personally…It would be an honest thing to say, “I got it from a wrestler.”
So you have the upcoming tour and you have the album coming out on Rhino/Sire. When you have a free moment, what do you like to do in your spare time?
PS: I have two kids, my daughter is 23 living, she is out of the house, but my son is a senior in high school still at home, and I just like to spend as much time with him as he has for me. That is my priority and I have my best times with him and my daughter too, so hanging out with them, that is it.
I must say that you created or at least you portrayed two of the greatest comedy characters ever between Artie Fufkin and your impression of Don Kirshner. Do you have aspirations to act or be on the camera without an instrument again?
PS: Sure, I love it. I found the experience very musical, especially comedy, comedy in front of an audience, because it is something like getting that reaction from the audience and the waiting for it and then going on with your line and timing is just perfectly. I enjoy it so much and getting that kind of response from an audience is just the same as getting a response for one’s music from an audience. I would love to do small acting, yes.
Cool, and back to the hobby thing, do you have a favorite restaurant in New York? I realize that you have been here for over 40 years in New York.
PS: Yeah. I still go to a place called Caffe Cielo, right near the Ed Sullivan Theater, so I used to have lunch there very often. Now they have moved farther down in the Theater District to 49th Street, but I still go there because there is a group of friends who have lunch at the bar. Also, Gallagher’s Steakhouse on 52nd it’s right by the old theater where I used to work. That’s a place I go for the oxtail soup. So those are the two places that come to mind.
Still a Midtown West guy, cool. And so finally, Paul, any last words for the kids?
PS: Well, yes, hey kids…That’s it. (laughs) You know keep your nose to the grindstone. and enjoy being a kid.
Ashley Graham at the Gala / Photo by Jason Kempin & Getty Images
Last week, nonprofit organization UrbanArtsPartnership celebrated its 25th Anniversary in New York City at the iconic Cipriani Wall Street with actress, activist and co-founder Rosie Perez as the evening’s emcee.
Saturday Night Live‘s Cecily Strong, actress Debi Mazar and actor Paul Schneider opened the night with a hilarious skit tied to arts education programs, the core of the Urban Arts Partnership. Supermodel Ashley Graham sparkled in Badgley Mischka and Jimmy Choos as she was honored for her commitment and contribution to furthering the organization’s mission, and fellow honoree Michael Ealy — who was unable to attend due to the snowstorm of last week — provided a touching message via video to the organization’s students and guests.
UrbanArtsPartnershipArtistic Board Member and award-winning artist Andra Day stunned in a Zara jumpsuit and Giuseppe Zanotti heels as she belted her hit “Rise Up,” dedicating the song to Perez and all of the organization, while singer Grace received a standing ovation for her a cappella performance of “You Don’t Own Me” after technical difficulties with the track music.
The evening wrapped with a performance by Darryl “DMC” McDaniels including hit “Walk This Way,” which brought the entire crowd to the dance floor. Additional notable guests in attendance included AJ Calloway, Lion Babe, Yolonda Ross, Allen Maldonado, Rotimi Akinosho, DJ D-Nice, Diane Neal, Ramon Rodriguez, Elle Varner, among others.
Since 1999, Raul Midón has released eight acclaimed studio albums. The latest of which — the aptly-titled Bad Ass And Blind — finds Raul showcasing himself as the guitar virtuoso he is known to be, while still genre-hopping and taking interesting risks. The fanbase of Raul probably includes many of your favorite musicians, as his list of collaborators includes Stevie Wonder, Shakira, Herbie Hancock, Bill Withers, and Jason Mraz; Bill specifically chose Raul to work with him on his first new composition in decades, as shown in the documentary Still Bill.
In support of Bad Ass And Blind, Raul will be headlining at The Highline Ballroom on Mar. 24, the date of the album’s release. One day prior, on Mar. 23, Raul will also be doing a guitar clinic at Guitar Center in Times Square. Downtown had the pleasure of speaking with Raul about his history with our city — he is originally from New Mexico — and what he has coming up in his career. He also talked about his surprising passion for ham radio.
More on Raul can be found at www.raulmidon.com. And Bad Ass And Blind can be pre-ordered here.
What do you remember about the first gig you ever played in New York? Where was it?
Raul Midón: As a musician? The first gig I ever played was with Shakira at Roseland. Then SNL. As a solo artist, the first gig I played was at a Chinese restaurant where the owner insisted on interrupting us during songs. She insisted that a guy had to sit in, the guy played spoons. It was also my last gig at a Chinese restaurant…
When did you first move to New York?
RM: I moved to NYC with my wife in May of 2002.
For you, is playing for a New York audience different than anywhere else?
RM: My mother was a New Yorker so it was in my blood, but since my mom passed when I was four, it was not actualized until I lived there. New York still remains one of the most relevant music scenes in the world.
RM: I’m playing material from a new album where I continue to explore eclectic songwriting, rapping etc. But I also have a couple of tunes that I explore modal tunes, tunes in complex time signatures. I have a new band — young cats from Baltimore who grew up with the church and a jazz education. I’m told we’re a good-looking group!
A lot of people call you a “one-man band.” When did you transition from performing into the traditional sense into more of a self-reliant performer?
RM: When I first moved to NYC, I needed to stand out in order to be noticed, so I did my best to cultivate that by creating a rhythm section with my guitar and voice.
Aside from your gig at The Highline Ballroom, what’s coming up for you? What can you tell me about your followup to Don’t Hesitate?
RM: I just got back from Australia and Dubai. After that I am on tour for my new album, Bad Ass And Blind, on Artistry Records. I’ll be going to the Singapore Jazz Festival, Japan and the U.S. then Europe through the summer.
Is there anything you haven’t yet accomplished but still hope to?
RM: So many things! I want to write a book. I received a full scholarship for college to study writing but I chose music and went to the University of Miami.
When not busy with music, how do you like to spend your free time?
RM: You would find it boring. I’m an amateur radio enthusiast. I have a 55-foot tower in my yard in Maryland. I talk to people all over the world on the radio. Lots of times when I go abroad, a ham guy will come get me at the hotel and then we talk on their ham gear to people all over the world!
Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?
RM: Nyonya’s in the Village. I was introduced to it by dear friends Henri and Grace! Cash only — right next to Ferraro’s Bakery! Divine Malaysian food followed by decadent Italian desserts…
Finally, Raul, any last words for the kids?
RM: Don’t do drugs! Just kidding. Kids, whatever you do, be good at it. Work at it. Study it. Be nice to each other.
As the sons of teen idol Ricky Nelson and actress Kristin Harmon and the grandsons of actor and bandleader Ozzie Nelson and actress Harriet Hilliard, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson are the third generation of famous Nelsons. Their debut studio album After The Rain, as released under the Nelson moniker, hit stores in 1990. It sold more than three million copies, its first single went to #1 and it yielded another three hit singles. The Nelsons released another album through Geffen Records, 1995’s Because They Can before going independent. And simply put, Matthew and Gunnar have never stopped touring or recording.
A one-off follow-up to 2015’s Peace Out, 2016 brought a new single from The Nelsons, “This Christmas.” A holiday-themed original, “This Christmas” was recorded along with Wendy and Carnie Wilson, two-thirds of Wilson Phillips. While The Nelsons did not bring their touring holiday show to our area, Matthew and Gunnar will return to New York with a pair of gigs in February. On Feb. 3, they can be seen at Cafe Carlyle, while Feb. 4 has The Nelsons playing at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury.
Downtown spoke to Gunnar Nelson prior to the release of “This Christmas.” More info on all things Nelson can be found at www.matthewandgunnarnelson.com; the brothers can be followed via @NelsonBrothers_ on Twitter.
What do you remember about the first gig you ever played live in New York? Where was it?
Gunnar Nelson: It was actually as the first and only unsigned band to ever play as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live in 1986!
Any idea when you will be performing live in New York next?
GN: I love playing at The Cutting Room. I think we’re putting together a play for Nelson there this winter.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York City?
GN: I’m a total foodie and there are of course wonderful restaurants in New York City. But my current favorite is Patsy’s — best Italian restaurant ever!
Have you ever encountered any other third generation celebrities?
GN: Third? Honestly, not to my knowledge. But second generation celebs? Funny that you ask. My twin and I just premiered a new original Christmas single called “This Christmas” that we’ve recorded with Carnie and Wendy Wilson of Wilson Phillips that we’re really excited about. I have nothing but respect for the girls — yes, I said girls, Matt and I will always be known as “the boys,” even though we’re 49! I admire the fact that they sold millions of records and had number ones of their own when they came from such legendary stock. For some strange reason that strikes a chord with me; please excuse the pun.
How did your collaboration with the Wilson sisters come about? How did you first meet them?
GN: We first met Carnie and Wendy before we were fully conscious humans. Apparently our folks socialized with their folks when we were all toddlers. We saw them next when we were handing them their very first Billboard Award, and stayed in touch with them ever since. Carnie’s been a great friend of mine for the past 25 years — mostly over the phone because of our busy schedule…This is our first opportunity to actually sing together. How cool.
Do you have a favorite song on your This Christmas album?
GN: Of course I do! It’s the single “This Christmas” featuring Carnie and Wendy Wilson! (laughs)
Beyond promoting your new album, what’s coming up for you?
GN: Well, this album is a big one for us. We always tour about 100 gigs a year, so that’s going to be a given for 2017. But I’m looking forward to doing more TV work. Who knows? Maybe a show with Carnie and Wendy too.
You were part of a very memorable episode of Celebrity Wife Swap and an interesting arc on Celebrity Fit Club. Do you feel that those reality shows represented you accurately?
GN: Different facets of my personality, yes. I don’t quit. I give 100%. And I’m a devoted husband and father. Family comes first for me.
Matthew & Gunnar Nelson with Wendy & Carnie Wilson
Overall, is there something you wish more people knew about Gunnar Nelson?
GN: I’m a chef, too! For me, life has “The Big Three,” the trifecta that makes life wonderful, puts the color in between the lines: great food, great music, and great love. I strive daily to make my life a living testament to all three.
So altogether, when not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?
GN: Well, as I mentioned, I cook a lot. But I’m also a dedicated “car guy.” I locate, acquire, restore, sell, and sometimes collect classic muscle cars.
This Christmas aside, what was your favorite album of 2016?
GN: I’m a huge fan of Blackberry Smoke. Their album The Whippoorwill is my absolute fave!
Finally, Gunnar, any last words for the kids?
GN: These are crazy times we find ourselves in. When our choice in our next president is between a criminal and a clown — frankly, I like to laugh, but that’s just me. But in times like these, it’s now more than ever that you have to rely on the only things that matter: your family, friends, and loved ones. Your family is what YOU make!
Accomplished in multiple musical fields, Rob Mathes is a noted singer, songwriter, arranger, music director and producer. As an arranger, he has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Elton John, Bono, and Panic! At The Disco, to name a few artists. As a producer, he has worked with Sting, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, and Beth Hart. As a music director — or “MD” — he has overseen high-profile performances at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden and the Super Bowl. Rob has also released several solo albums, which has led to him having two television specials on PBS. In turn, it is not particularly surprising that he is an Emmy winner and the recipient of Grammy, Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations.
On Dec. 18, Rob Mathes brings his annual holiday concert — 23 years and concert — to the Schimmel Center. Rob’s shows are known to feature world-class musicians, as including musicians from Saturday Night Live, The Late Show With David Letterman, and Paul Simon’s band. Rob spoke to Downtown about this year’s event, what else he has coming up for him, and plenty more. More info on all things Rob can be found at www.robmathes.com.
Where did the idea for the first Rob Mathes Holiday Concert come from?
Rob Mathes: My parents raised me as a Christmas kid. Once Santa came into view, I went into a kind of heat every year almost as if I was on a new anti-depressant. I loved the cold, the dark and the lights — everything — and I always saw the Christian part of the Holiday as this story about humility and grace entering the world right when it wanted a warrior. So from my teens I wrote Christmas songs. I admit a few were cheesy early on, but many came from the better tradition of Christmas music — i.e. the Bruce Cockburn record, the Ray Charles records. I grew up as a Pete Townshend and Beatles fanatic but who also listened to Stevie Wonder, Motown and Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite. It was schizophrenic but wondrous.
Eventually I started to accrue real credits and started working with great musicians in studios thanks to the legendary producer Phil Ramone, who hired me regularly as an arranger, guitarist and piano player. I decided to collect the best of this music, released a few independent CD’s, put some of these musicians together and started giving this concert. Eventually an amazing Rabbi from Stamford, Rabbi Mark Golub — who hosts a talk show on Shalom TV — started coming to the concert regularly and I promised him some music. It became a true holiday concert, the Menorah, the Manger, the sleigh and reindeer.
Did you know that it was going to become an annual tradition?
RM: I had no idea. People loved the first concert and grew attached to a few of the songs that became our “hits” so to speak, the song “William The Angel” — which I eventually ended up singing with The Boston Symphony at Symphony Hall years after the Holiday event became a perennial — and the blues-oriented “When The Baby Grew Up.”
For someone who hasn’t attended before, what should be expected? Are there particular things that happen every year?
RM: It is an odd one, Darren. The original songs fall firmly into the singer/songwriter tradition. I grew up on Dylan, The Band and Stevie, so I write an equal amount of music around both the piano and guitar and it is the kind of singer/songwriter stuff that you might hear on WFUV. On the other hand, I grew up being raised equally by my mom and aunt, identical twin sisters both of whom were classical musicians who married men they met at Yale Music School, my uncle who played with big bands and was a composer/arranger and my dad, who was a classical clarinetist but who secretly was a folk music fanatic.
Because of this, I also adore Ellington and Gil Evans, Vaughan Williams and Mahler and have written hundreds of arrangements for various horn sections and string sections. So we do straight up swing versions of some carols and even a couple of Instrumentals for my six-piece horn section — full of brilliant virtuosos — that groove like music by The Meters and The JB’s. It is quite eclectic.
Who is in your backing band this year?
RM: It is the same group that has played with me for 20 years. Will Lee, the legendary bass player and studio session star from New York City, who played on the David Letterman show since the very, very beginning, is playing bass. We have two drummers, the great Shawn Pelton from Saturday Night Live on drums and Joe Bonadio, who is also an astonishing percussionist. Billy Masters, who played with Suzanne Vega and Dar Williams for years and who was often a part of my Kennedy Center Honors band, is my guitarist. Ricky Knutsen, a composer and keyboardist from Brooklyn, has played every single show since 1993. The six Horn players are Jeff Kievit and Don Harris on trumpet, Aaron Heick and Andy Snitzer on saxes, Mike Davis and Jeff Nelson on bones. Between the six of them the credits are insane. From Sinatra to Aretha Franklin to Springsteen to Paul Simon to Nile Rodgers to The Rolling Stones, these are six of New York’s finest.
Vaneese Thomas and James “D-Train” Williams are also unsung heroes of the vocal scene in New York. D-Train had big hits in the 80s but, along with Vaneese, became one of the first calls for any background vocal session had on major records over the last 20 years. Between them they have sung with Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Luther Vandross, Alicia Keys, Sting, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, etc. It is a great band and, while the show can be said to be about music that people the age of 35 to 60 will relate to, it is not staid and tired. This is a muscular evening musically, emotionally resonant and alternately funky, warm, resonant and meditative. To say it is appropriate for all ages is both true and somewhat self-serving. That said, it is an evening/afternoon I am very proud of and a focal point in my year.
Aside from the Holiday Concert, what is coming up for you?
RM: I have been doing a lot of work with the David Lynch Foundation, having produced the Music Of David Lynch record, recorded at the ACE Theatre in L.A. last year. There will be a big David Lynch event at the Kennedy Center in the new year and I think I will MD that event. I am hoping to do some more arrangements for both Twenty One Pilots and Panic! At The Disco who I have worked closely with for years and produced one of their records. I will musically direct a tribute to Jimmy Webb at Carnegie Hall next spring. When Sting finishes touring the new record with his long-time band late next year, there are plans for a London production of his musical The Last Ship, which I orchestrated and musically directed. Other things are floating.
You are a singer, songwriter, arranger, music director and producer. Do you identify with any of those categories more than others?
RM: I always wanted to be a singer/songwriter 24 hours a day, but I was so obsessed with music and it was coming at me from all sides at home. My uncle playing Sinatra and Ellington, my dad playing Dylan and Pete Seeger, my mom and Aunt playing Gospel music and Beethoven. I wanted to understand Mahler’s 9th, Sinatra’s In The Wee Small Hours, Stevie’s Songs In The Key Of Life — my favorite record ever made — Duke Ellington’s Blues In Orbit, and Radiohead’s In Rainbows. Therefore all four of the monikers above stand and I can’t pick. Schizophrenic indeed.
You have been honored with Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Drama Desk Award honors. Which was your first nomination of note?
RM: The country artist Kathy Mattea won a Grammy for her Christmas record, the title track of which was my song “Good News.” That was not a personal Grammy nomination like my production of Bettye Lavette’s Interpretations, but it was the beginning and meant a lot. I won my Emmy Award for musically directing and arranging the Kennedy Center Honors show. That year I had done a massive multi-genre arrangement of “Here Comes The Sun” for Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, The Silk Road Ensemble, Emanuel Ax and Jamie Laredo and James Taylor, all conducted by John Williams. That was easily one of the most astonishing moments of my life. The point was to illustrate Yo Yo Ma’s musical playground and how he crosses borders. He was one of the honorees that year. Wow!
Awards aside, is there an accomplishment that you are most proud of?
RM: There have been moments that transformed me: Accompanying Al Green on piano when he sang “Amazing Grace” at the 9/11/02 Concert For America I musically directed for NBC. Writing and conducting a full orchestral version of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking” for an African Choir, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Bono and The Edge at Carnegie for Bono’s Red Charity last year. The first studio session writing string charts for Bruce Springsteen. He came up to me in the middle of the session at the old MSR Studios on 48th Street and told me “you’re my guy from now on.” Huge!
Musically directing and arranging the Obama Inaugural at the Lincoln Memorial. Co-producing a few records with Sting, who was a huge influence on me when I was young. Writing the National Anthem arrangement for Renée Fleming for the 2014 Super Bowl. Having Lou Reed personally thank me on his album The Raven for a simple string arrangement I did — a first. There are many more but these stand out.
Your list of credits is essentially a who’s who, between Beyonce, Bono, Elton John, Sting, Panic! At The Disco, Twenty One Pilots, Tony Bennett, Yo-Yo Ma…All sorts of genres, to say the least. How does work usually come to you? Do you have a manager or agent pitching you? Is it more word of mouth?
RM: My manager is Jonathan Daniel at Crush Management. He manages Sia, Lorde, and Fall Out Boy, among others. He has saved me in that most people like myself get called for “Adult Contemporary Music.” He has hooked me up with Butch Walker and Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy and many others. He has single-handedly kept me young — to a certain extent (laughs). He is smart and unpretentious. Super-important. But a LOT of my work comes from word of mouth.
Is there anyone you haven’t yet worked with but still hope to?
RM: I would love to work as an arranger with some younger hip-hop artists, because whenever I have written string or horn charts on those records, most of which were produced by my friend Just Blaze, he TURNED THAT SHIT UP! There is a spirit in that community and that music which just will not be denied. It is the center of popular music and has been for a while. So much of it is so vital, passionate and intense that when you bring in ideas coming from an arranger’s head, they get channeled in a way very unlike just a sweet string arrangement on a pop or rock ballad you can hear in the background.
I would love to produce a record of spirituals for Mavis Staples with a big gospel choir, orchestra and rhythm section. Mavis was great to me through the years when she came to sing some of my arrangements at the Kennedy Center. We performed a concert together in Connecticut. I think it is a long shot but I would love it.
When not busy with work, how do you like to spend your free time?
RM: With my three daughters and wife — Emma, Sarah, Lily and Tammy…Studying music, I want to look at every note in Elgar’s Violin Concerto and Stravinsky’s Le Sacre VERY closely. Reading the late and long Charles Dickens novels and re-reading The Brothers Karamazov. Writing my OWN music, one of the reasons the Holiday concert is such a joy).
RM: I am completely floored by the new Bon Iver record. I don’t listen to Beyonce’s Lemonade all the time but recognize both its power and its brilliance. Solange’s new A Seat At The Table record is beautiful and vibey and my daughter and I have listened to that a lot. I just discovered the band Fink from England and love the Jules Buckley arranged record they did with the Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Maybe my favorite though is A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead. The new Lisa Batiashvili — brilliant violinist — recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim is ridiculously great.
Finally, Rob, any last words for the kids?
RM: By kids you must mean young people. I say “get busy.” You are a better generation than we were, more talented, quicker and with more passion than I can even remember…I can’t wait to hear your music. Come to my holiday concert. You may dig it and, if you don’t, tell me what sucked and I will LISTEN. I am NOT one of the old, cranky musicians who says, “It ain’t Aretha. It ain’t the Beatles!” The talent out there is ferocious right now. I am blown away and, don’t forget, by the time Bob Dylan was 25, he had written “Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” “Chimes Of Freedom”, and “Blowin’ In The Wind,” not to mention the albums Highway 61 Revisited, Bringing It All Back Home and Blonde On Blonde. A word for the kids? “GO!”
