We take you to the recording studio as the Original Cast Album of "High Fidelity" is being recorded. We have interviews with Will Chase, Jen Colella, Tom Kitt, Amanda Green, Rachel Stern, John Patrick Walker, Christian Anderson and Jay Kleitz. Plus, you'll hear parts of many of your favorite songs from the show including the full length versions of "She Goes" and "Turn the World Off (And Turn You On)."

"High Fidelity" is on Ghostlight/ Sh-k-boom and is available on Amazon .

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You can listen to this interview and many other great features for free on Broadway Bullet vol. 116. Subscribe for free so you don't miss an episode.

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Broadway Bullet Interview: Backstage at the Recording of the High Fidelity Cast Album 

BB: Sh-K-Boom and Ghostlight Records invited me behind the scenes to the recording sessions for High Fidelity: The Musical and now that the show is out on CD as of last week, we've got a treat for you with interviews with tons of the people involved in the production, lots of snippets from the cd and even two full songs from the soundtrack. The CD is available now on Ghostlight, at Amazon and on iTunes.

(Clip of "Last Real Record Store on Earth")

BB: I'm talking with composer Tom Kitt!

TK: Hello!

BB: How are you doing?

TK: Great, thank you.

BB: Is this a busy day for you here?

TK: Yeah, it's a wonderful day. It's nice to be back with the score and the cast and the family of High Fidelity.

BB: Now this is all being recorded in one day straight, right?

TK: Yes; one day, and then we'll edit and mix next week and in the coming weeks.

BB: So how crazy is that - getting all the musicians on key and making sure they're all at one point together. I mean, they perform the show every night correctly, so how different is it for them coming in?

BB: Well, certainly because they haven't played it in about a month or so, it's amazing how much they've retained and how quickly they get right back into it, so I'm actually pretty in awe of everybody who just comes in and nails it in a few takes. It's pretty mind-blowing.

BB: So are you having fun sitting behind the booth?

TK: I love it, I love - you know, it's great that we get to document the show and hear all the music again and the voices, and it's just an incredible group of people, so it's thrilling to be back.

BB: So what are some of your favorite musicals that didn't run very long?

TK: (laughs) My favorite musicals that didn't run very long, wow. You know, it's hard to say because I haven't necessarily always been the type of fan of musical theater that gets to shows in a week and a half. So not in a sense... I just haven't seen that many, but certainly some of the Sondheim scores like Merrily We Roll Along that didn't get to run as long. And I love The Capeman score that I think ran for a couple of months.

BB: Capeman, that was the...

TK: That was the Paul Simon. Yeah, I mean that music is just beautiful and I just, I bought a ticket very fast to that show because of the work he did. So I guess those are a couple that I like, and then High Fidelity is at the top of my list, obviously. (laughs)

BB: Obviously! So are you working on anything else coming up?

TK: Yes, I have a show called Feeling Electric that is in development right now with Second Stage. We're hoping that there'll be a production soon. That's something that I've been working on for some time, and we were at the New York Musical Theater Festival last fall. So I'm thrilled to get to keep working on that show.

BB: Good to talk to you, Tom, and best of luck with the soundtrack and your other shows. And I have a feeling this show's going to find a life out there in the regional theater market as well.

TK: Thank you, I hope so, thank you for saying so!

(Clip of "Desert Island Top 5 Breakups")

BB: Now this is behind the scenes at the High Fidelity recording and I'm talking with somebody named Will Chase...?

WC: I don't know!

BB: I heard you're in the chorus of the show?

WC: I'm in the ensemble of the show - I do one line in the show. No - I do the swearing. I do all the swearing!

BB: Now, I imagine you're being kept a little bit busier than some others backstage here...

WC: Uh, yeah, a little bit. I came a couple of hours ago and we did a couple of things live and, you know, a couple things we do with the band playing tracks and stuff like that, but yeah, I've got a long night ahead of me, too.

BB: How many cast albums have you done before?

WC: Hmmmmmmmm... this one.

BB: This is your first cast album?

WC: This is the only one!

BB: You've done a lot of other things, so this is your first original cast, though?

WC: Well, Lennon was the first original cast but they decided not to record that, I don't know why, because that was a kick-ass cast. But yeah, this is my first one!

BB: So are you enjoying the experience?

WC: Oh my god, it's incredible. Well, it's great to hear the music again, you know, for us, who've been away from the show, obviously, because it closed, but it's nice to get back and listen to the music and remember how great it was.

BB: Now where are you from originally with that accent?

WC: Originally Kentucky. Oh, you can hear that? And I've not even been drinking, and it's not even that late! Yeah, Kentucky.

BB: So what's your favorite number in the show?

WC: Oh god, uh... I guess on stage it was probably "Nine Percent Chance," the end of Act 1, which is fun - when everybody, you know, Rob, Dick and Barrie their moments are culminating into one big gigantic moment and I think it's probably the most joyous, most fun. (Clip of "Nine Percent Chance") But then the second act for me was always a blast because I really don't stop. You know, I start the first song and then I'm never ever off stage again. So I always consider the second act one big, long number. So I guess the second act of the show is probably my favorite number. My favorite number to listen to (and I just heard the orchestration for it again) and all my friends who came to the show said that theirs was the Conflict Resolution where we do the rewind and we kick Ian's ass.

BB: Oh yes, that's definitely a crowd-pleasing…

WC: It's pretty fun.

BB: Is that being recorded here, or is that more of a... because it's a scene...

WC: Oh no, that's already been recorded and laid down. Yeah, that's definitely going on there.

BB: Can't wait to see how that comes across in the recording, because it's such a visual.

WC: Yeah, but so much of the show we're learning that - we're even learning doing it now - is that the narrative, where I had the narrative with the audience and, you know, had the relationship with the audience, that I can have it with the listener, too. So a couple scenes that I would normally be projecting out into the audience I can, you know, just talk to the listener in the headphones, which is kind of fun, too.

BB: If you had a favorite number of yours that's been cut? From out of town?

WC: You know, there was a great song at the end of Act 2. Now it's "I'm Sorry," the song I sing by myself, but we used to have a great duet called "Wonderful Love" that Laura and Rob sang. I think they thought it was a little too... we didn't need to hear Laura sing it with Rob at that point, it had to be Rob's to say "I'm Sorry" and that was it. But "Wonderful Love" was a great, great duet with Jenn Colella.

BB: Well, thanks for taking time to talk with BroadwayBullet while you're very bust here backstage.

WC: Sure, man! Yeah, right on.

(Clip of "Crying in the Rain")

BB: I'm with Rachel... Stern?

RS: Yep!

BB: And what was your role in the show?

RS: I played a character named Liz. I also played a character named Jackie/Janice, but Liz was my main role in the show.

BB: Now you have a real show-stopping number in the show...

RS: I do, I do! I have a nice little showstopper in the first act called "She Goes."

BB: Have you taped that yet?

RS: We just taped it about a half hour ago. As you can tell, my voice is much lower now than it was about an hour ago! Yeah, we did it in three takes, baby! One, two, three.

BB: So is this your first cast album you've recorded?

RS: It's not actually, I recorded the cast album of Tarzan last year. I was a swing in that show, so I only got to sing on a couple of numbers, but oh I really got to blow out a mic on this, this time around! It's been pretty great.

BB: Has the orchestra already laid down, or are you singing live with the orchestra?

RS: Oh, I wish! I wish I was singing live, "She Goes"... but they laid that down earlier today, and they are just smokin' on that track. It is such a fun, fun orchestration, they're just blasting, it's so much fun.

BB: Did "She Goes" go through any changes at all during writing, during the progression of the show?

RS: Absolutely. Well, I was not the original actor for the role, so it was originally actually a whole step higher, which would make a lot of people happy I'm sure if they were ever auditioning with that song because I sing very low. But yeah, it's much lower now and the dialogue has changed in it. The melody has stayed the same - I mean, I've kind of jazzed it up a little bit, but, you know, it's pretty much was Tom Kitt wrote, which is perfection.

BB: Well, good talking to you Rachel, have fun with the rest of your recording.

 RS: Yeah, you too! Thanks so much.

Listen to "She Goes" on Broadway Bullet Vol 116.

BB: I'm back in the green room with Amanda Green, the lyricist for High Fidelity. How are you doing?

AG: I'm doing great, thank you! So excited to be here.

BB: It's kind of a crazy day for you, I'd imagine, huh?

AG: Absolutely, absolutely. I'm so glad we're recording this record, and so great to see everybody so I'm having a great time.

BB: So has anybody flubbed a lyric yet?

AG: You know, I'm on them, they know that I carry a big whip. But no flubbed lyrics yet. They've been great, they've been amazing.

BB: So is this your first time recording a cast album, or…

AG: Yeah – I think, you know, I've done them before but it's usually like our friends…

BB: So on this scale…

AG: Garage band was the last thing, so yes, on this scale, definitely.

BB: What do you think of the experience so far?

AG: It's fantastic. (Someone cheers – "woohoo!" – in the background.) Yeah, I mean… some people don't behave, but it's great and they've – we did record a demo before we did the show but they feel so comfortable doing it and they know their parts and their characters so well that it's a snap and it's great hearing the songs again, so I'm having a great time.

BB: What is it like following in this business with such a legacy?

AG: You know, doing it is so much better than thinking about it – once you're doing it, you know, if I thought about it too much I don't think I'd be able to do it because it can be very intimidating. But it's – I grew up watching them do it and it's just so much fun to be doing it myself.

BB: I think, because you're definitely blending a lot of the classical influenced styles lyrically and still bringing a fresh sound to the stage. I was appreciative – I think you did a good job combining the intellect as well as a lot of modern euphemism.

AG: Oh, I appreciate that. I have such respect for his and Betty's work and it just made me laugh and I always think that it was, it still holds up – not still holds up, it wasn't that long ago – but it is contemporary for their time but it still doesn't feel dated, and I wanted to do that with this, you know, present day.

BB: So what was your favorite lyric that was cut out of town?

AG: Oh – we cut about 25 songs, literally, uh so… I think we had a song called "Let Me Touch Your Breast," which I was sorry to see go and a song called "I'm Too Tired (Not to Be With You)," which also I was sorry to see go.

BB: Now I heard a rumor – is it true that they're going to record a couple of the cut songs?

AG: We're hoping to be able to record "I'm Too Tired (Not to Be With You)" because Jenn Colella sings it amazingly well and it would be great to have it on record.

BB: Alright, well thanks!

AG: My pleasure.

(Clip from "I'm Too Tired")

BB: I'm here speaking with Jon Patrick Walker back behind the scenes of recording the soundtrack for High Fidelity, how are you doing?

JPW: I'm very well, how are you?

BB: Good. And your main character in the show is an acronym that I'm probably going to say wrong, so I'll ask you to say it…

JPW: Yeah, well it's TMPMITW – The Most Pathetic Man In The World. The guys in the record store never bothered to find out what his name was and so that's how they refer to him. And then I also played Bruce Springsteen. It was a great pairing to get to play sort of a rock star and then, really, the most pathetic man in the world, it was really kind of a fun combo for me.

BB: Now what's the deal, you don't seem that pathetic?

JPW: I don't know, you know originally in Boston I had a different character altogether. I was playing a guy named Johnny the Drunk, who was this character that came into the record store and was constantly getting tossed out on his ear and they just decided that, ultimately, the sort of 'drunk joke' was really limited and sort of clichéd and in a way sort of old-fashioned almost, sort of like a stock character from the 50s, the funny drunk! And so they decided to go with this other guy, this TMPMITW and they threw it at me on a Sunday night, they gave me the new pages and then Tuesday we put the new character in. So literally on my day off, on Monday, I lost and I made up a character and so it was a challenge, but it was a lot of fun.

BB: Now what's it like channeling the Boss onstage?

JPW: That was a great treat for me, you know I'm a big Springsteen fan and rock and roll fan and it was great, I got to watch lots of footage of him and yeah, it was sort of a fantasy come true. All the hours I spent as a fifteen year old air guitaring in my mirror and pretending to be a rock star – this was sort of, you know, as close as I can…

BB: Now have you cut this number yet?

JPW: No, not yet, we're gonna do it… I guess kind of late tonight.

BB: Well, Jon Patrick Walker, thanks for talking.

JPW: Hey, my pleasure, thanks.

(Clip of "Goodbye and Good Luck")

BB: Now we're back in the green room area speaking with Jenn Colella.

JC: Hello!

BB: How are you doing, Jenn?

JC: I'm very well!

BB: And you play Laura in the show?

JC: Yes, yes I do.

BB: So how crazy is the experience, cutting everything in a day?

JC: It's nuts, it's absolutely insane! It's been like a reunion and work all at once, so we're having a good time. But it's – doing it with the band is a little extra pressure and I found after a couple of weeks that I'd forgotten some of the songs… forgot how they go, rewriting a couple of them.

BB: Yes, I was just asking Amanda Green if anyone had missed any of her lyrics.

JC: I'm rewriting some of the melodies. Um, but I'm remembering them now.

BB: So what's your favorite song from the show?

JC: Oh, man, there are a lot of good ones. I enjoy "I Slept With Someone Who Handled Kurt Cobain's Intervention," that's a fun one. Yay!

BB: Good luck with everything.

JC: Thank you so much.

(Clip of "I Slept With Someone")

BB: Jay Klaitz and Christian Anderson, how are you guys doing?

JK: Alright!

CA: Good, thank you.

BB: Christian, what was the name of your character in the show?

CA: Um… it was um… uh… Cast Member: Dick!

CA: Yeah, I know, I was trying to think of my joke I was going to use, what was I going to say?

BB: Dick?

CA: No, no, 'Hi, I'm Christian Anderson and I'm playing Ben Brantley in the show.' (laughter) 'I mean Dick!'

JK: That is hilarious.

BB: For those who haven't seen the show yet, you have this kind of recurring song that your character just suddenly breaks into…

CA: Yeah, Dick sings "No Problem," he's ready to appease everybody – especially Rob, he wants to do whatever Rob wants him to do because he's a – he's a pleaser. Yeah.

BB: Now, when I saw the show it got quite a response from the audience. Why do you think that is?

CA: Well, it's a sweet song, but it's also kind of like a stuttering kind of song, you know? He's this – he's this, listen to me stutter… he says something, you think he's finished aaaand then he goes again and says a little bit more. And then you think he's done aaaand then he says a little bit more. So I don't know, it's funny, and it has it's like Dick is this very soft-spoken but then he has this big, huge cloud build. Yeah it's funny, it's a contrast.

(Clip of "It's No Problem")

BB: And Jay, you get what is kind of unusual for a supporting actor in a show, you get to close the show with a big number.

JK: Yeah.

BB: So how did that arise? It's fun, it's a fun number – I think it's great, it ends the show on a real high note.

JK: Yeah, I think that's just the way it was always was in the script. I mean it was an honor to do that, it was an incredible song and it was a hell of a lot of fun to sing, you know, it was – the script, I think it said 'Barry starts to sing like Barry White, Al Green and Marvin Gaye all rolled up into one' or something like that, so I mean that's obviously a very fun thing to do. It was a great time.

BB: Were you a fan of the movie The Commitments?

JK: Yeah, of course, of course, I get that! Yeah, totally.

BB: It has very much that vibe, it's definitely a fun number and so we'll probably hear a snippet from that right now.

JK: Great!

BB: Have you recorded it yet?

JK: No, not yet. But I'm excited to get in there and rock out!

BB: Right, well thanks for taking a moment to talk with Broadway Bullet.

JK: My pleasure.

CA: Thank you!

Listen to "Turn the World Off" on Broadway Bullet Vol 116.

BB: I want to extend thanks to Sh-K-Boom records and Ghostlight for the invitation backstage it was a lot of fun. You can find out more at Sh-K-Boom.com; you can find the CD at Amazon and iTunes.

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You can listen to this interview and many other great features for free on Broadway Bullet vol. 116. Subscribe for free so you don't miss an episode.

 or MP3 Feed with XML