November 12, 2024 • 37 mins
This week, Tommy is joined by pop music royalty. JC Chasez is widely known as being a lead vocalist in the multi-platinum selling group, NSYNC. The group has sold over 50 million records, and JC was responsible for writing and producing many of the songs on the NSYNC albums. JC is now jumping into the musical theater world and teaming up with producer and composer Jimmy Harry on their new musical theater concept album, “Playing With Fire,” inspired by the timeless novel Frankenstein. Today, JC opens up about what reuniting with his bandmates over the last year has meant to him, that text message from Ryan Reynolds about Bye Bye Bye being featured in Deadpool & Wolverine, how he sees the momentum continuing with NSYNC, if he would revisit another Christmas album with the guys, why he wanted to jump into the world of musical theater with Playing With Fire, why he is so connected to this work, the relevance of the themes of Frankenstein in 2024, what’s behind some of those sexy songs and lyrics on the album, writing songs for NSYNC vs. writing songs for theater, the superstar on Broadway who gave him advice for this new project, if we might see JC on stage anytime soon, what he feels the most proud of when looking back at his career, why he is so grateful to millennials, and so much more.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy Di Dario. Today I have pop Music Royalty
on my show. Yes I Do You are in for
a treat. J C. Chase is widely known as being
a lead vocalist in the multi platinum selling group in Sync.
My fellow millennials, when I say that n SYNC was
a pivotal part in our adolescent years, I know you
(00:23):
get me. InSync has sold over fifty million records, and
Jac was responsible for writing and producing many of the
songs on the n Sync albums. Now. What's amazing about
in Sync is their music is beloved by all age
groups and all generations, and it even popped up in
Deadpool this summer with their song Bye Bye Bye exploding
once again in one of the top films of the year.
(00:44):
JAC is now jumping into the theatrical world and he's
teaming up with producer and composer Jimmy Harry on their
new musical theater concept album called Playing with Fire, and
it is literally fire. It is inspired by the timeless
novel Frankenstein. Everybody knows that story and Jac is a
feature vocalist on the album and the songs are so sexy,
(01:05):
so dramatic, and oh my god, they're so good. I
need to see this on stage immediately. So between celebrating
his iconic contributions to pop music and then diving into
this new exciting chapter, Jac and I we cover it all.
So let's see if today we can get Jac to
say something that he has never said before. Jace Shouse,
(01:30):
How you doing, mom? Man?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I'm good. How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I am fantastic. I'm so excited to be chatting with
you today. I am such a big theater and musical
theater fan. I mean, I'm not gonna say I'm an expert,
but I have seen many shows, and I live in
New York and it's a huge part of my life.
So ah, I'm just so excited to dive into playing
with fire. But before we dive into that, we're going
(01:53):
to celebrate you a little bit in some amazing moments
in your life. If you're cool with that.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, yeah, sure. I was about to say we're on
the same page in terms of being very excited about theater.
The only difference is I'm in LA and New York.
Everything else you said, I'm like, oh, so we're the
same great.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, one hundred percent. I think I was looking at
my November December calendar and it's like five shows on
and I'm like, yes, yes, this is what I love.
I love the art of it all. So it's awesome.
I can't wait to dive into that. But I feel like,
here we are. It's beginning of November. The holiday season
has officially kicked off, and for me, it's not quite
the holidays without the Instant Christmas album.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Hey that's a good one, And I'm going to.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Go on record, and this is a pretty bold statement,
but I am going to go on record right now
JC and say that that album is one of the
greatest albums of all time, of all time.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I think it stacks up well as a good Christmas
record of all times. As a wild statement, a music
that's out there, but I will definitely appreciate the sentiment.
I think it's a I think it's a solid Christmas
record for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So you busted out during the holidays.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I so I always go family, family first, So it's always,
you know, as soon as as soon as the holidays
kick in, I go into family mode.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So yeah, yeah, Well, like I said, it's a great one.
It's it's it's something that brings joy, which we all
need in this world more than ever. So I think
that to have a collection of work like that out
there is just so cool and it always keeps a
life of its own. Now, you can't say that about
a lot of art. That's why I'm saying it's one
of the most iconic albums ever, because not all albums
(03:28):
live up to the years that come, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, no, for sure. Look, it's it's a fun thing,
you know, and it's it's it's always kind of a
bit of a giggle and a nod to you know,
the moments when you're walking through the grocery store and
you're like, oh okay, or wherever you're walking and you
hear the tune. It's it's flattering, you know, because certainly
(03:54):
people make new Christmas music every year, so for people
to go back to ours is it again, it's a
huge compliment.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
You probably can't ever escape Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, can you?
It just pops up.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I think it's fun though, I think it served. It's
like when we were writing it, it ended up being
exactly what we wanted. We just knew we wanted something
that was joyful, and we wanted something that had energy,
and we didn't want it to feel like you had
to I don't know, just almost feel overthink it. You
(04:27):
just have a bit of fun. It's a fun Christmas
song and that's what we were trying to make and
when we were writing it, and I think that is
translated in when we were making it, the purpose translated.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And do that video pops up on my YouTube the
other day with like the Big Sled and the cgi Snow,
it's pure camp, it's pure fun.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well you know, it's also like, hey man, we don't
have a lot of money to make Christmas videos, so
this is gonna be what it is. And we owned
it right. It was just like again, silliness, fun. You
don't have to make the most elaborate thing to enjoy
yourself when you're watching it or or when you're listening.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So yeah, for sure, for sure. Well I'm going to
go on record again and say it's safe to say
that the world will be ready for a follow up
Christmas album whenever you guys are ready, We're ready.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Okay, that's a wild idea.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Actually, ooh, your interest is peaked.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I've never thought of that.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Wait. Really, Yeah, that's okay. Come on, there's so many
songs to cover and as a writer you can write
so many new ones.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
That's wild. Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
No, I may need producing credit on it. Nast to
the idea.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
It's like I want to be the EP.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Well, we'll talk about that later. We'll talk about that later. Jason,
you had some amazing moments over the last couple of
years with the guys. I mean, twenty twenty three, you
reunited for the VMA's, you did the one night only
showing La for Justin. These moments are are bringing so
much happiness enjoy to people. Like I said earlier, it's
a theme I guess of this conversation given the day
we're on today, which everybody listening. We're recording this on
(06:02):
the election day, which just has the world upside down.
So for you, what was it like sharing those moments
again with the guys?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
It was fun. Look, anytime we get together, it's always
there's always something special, you know, because we had such
a great run and we have such a great history
with one another. Because it really, look, it made our
lives wonderful. The opportunity to create things that you literally
dream about and and for us to be able to
(06:33):
come together and make those things for all those years,
it made everything else in our life moving forward possible.
And so whenever we're with each other, it's like, you
can't It's like, I love those guys, and I can't
thank them enough for you know, for our chemistry and
for the opportunities that we shared together and and and
(06:54):
because those opportunities still provide opportunities for us and so
and and and Yeah, when we're together making things, it's
also very exciting, especially after not doing it for a
long time. You're just curious, and that aspect is very fun.
You know. There's almost like you know, we know, you
know where we each rest in the in the world
(07:17):
of harmony and things like that, because we've done it
so much over time. But you know, given that everyone
has gone in different directions exploring, when you come back together,
you go, hey, what's changed, you know, because everything that
you learn along the way changes your perception and how
you listen to things and how you sing things, and
(07:38):
and so it's fun to get together with those guys
now and just kind of experiment a little bit and
play a little bit, and uh, and so it was
certainly fun on the two songs that we did. Look,
the troll sing is a blast. You know, we got
to to live out a cartoon, you know, dream and
and and Justin made that possible bringing us into his
(07:59):
Trolls world. But I also think it was a lot
of fun singing the song Paradise for his record. You know,
it was it was kind of like it was something
that he had written and you know, and he had
an idea for and all of a sudden, you know,
he heard it in a different way one day because
when we were originally talking about doing something after we
did the Trolls song, Justin and I were talking about
(08:21):
it and we were kind of going back and forth
between two songs. Actually he played me two records and
then and then all of a sudden, it was like
I was like, all right, well, you know, I was
listening to them, and it was just like, let's figure
it out, you know. And then all of a sudden,
it was like, you know, down down the road when
we started talking, he was no, no, no, it's this, this
is us. This is like, this is the love letter
that we you know, this is our appreciation and love
(08:45):
letter to the fans that have been kind enough all
the years. So that was the purpose of that and
it was totally fun to do.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Yeah. Yeah. Are you a sentimental man? Like do you
get nostalgic and have these moments where you're like, oh
my god, I can't believe I get to this still
with my best buddies and here I am, and there's
an appetite for it, Like, do you feel that.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I I'll say, there are others in the band that
are probably more sentimental than me. But I'm appreciative, I
think because I always like, you know, I certainly love
you know what we've done, but I always get excited
about the future. You know, even when you say the
election and so on, I'm I'm positive about the future.
Whatever happens, you know, today, the goal will be that
(09:29):
every day that I step forward, I'm going to be
trying to be my best self and have the best
effect that I can on others around me. And so
I look at every day as an opportunity to do that.
And so I think, while I'm I can be slightly sentimental,
I'm always excited about the future.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah. Well, it's a good way to live, right. You
appreciate the present, but you live in the past. No,
you can't live in the past. You can't. You have
to celebrate. Like you said, you celebrate the unexpected things.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Celebrate the past, but you know, you live in the
next out and you try and create the best now
you can by looking forward and doing doing the right
things moving forwards.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Yeah. Yeah, well it's evident you have the mentality because
you created something brilliant, which we're going to get to
in a minute. But I do want to celebrate the
past one more time because this summer, y'all were in
one of the hottest movies of the year, Deadpool, and
that song Bye Bye Bye had a life of its
own again. I remember driving in an uber in New
York and hearing that on the radio again, and I'm like,
(10:29):
wait a minute, I'm a millennial, Like this is on
the radio. Why this is so cool?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Like for you, we never like, we never saw it coming, man.
You know, we just thought it was really really cool
that somebody wanted to use or not somebody, but obviously
Ryan wanted to use the song in the film. And
when we first you know, got to look at us like, hey,
you know, the Deadpool film wants to put your song
in the movie. You're like, Oh, that's cool. I wonder
(10:55):
how they're going to use it, like what you know,
but look, they're create over there, and they they like
to have fun. And that worked out perfect because you know,
we're like that as well. We'd like to have fun.
And so when we first got wind of it, and
when we first signed off, it was only for X
amount of time. And then down the road in the project,
(11:17):
they reached out again. They were like, we need to
use more of the song. You guys good and we
were like, yeah, have fun, do your thing. And then
and then ultimately Ryan reached out and texted all of
us and he was just like, so it's taking on
a life of its own and we think you guys
are going to love it. And and that's when he
(11:38):
invited us to come to the premiere and things like
that to see it, because he was genuinely, really really
sweet and he expressed some wonderful enthusiasm about it. And
we love the way it turned out. I mean, like again,
funny wins.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
So yeah, and the guy who danced in that suit
was great. But I do have to say I'm a
little disappointed you didn't pop out of the suit after
that dance number.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Oh no, man, Look, he got stunted. I don't know
what I'm gonna do with like a sword, and I
don't know if I have the comornation at this at
this stage in life, I'm gonna leave that, like the
swords and the fighting choreo to the experts. And yeah,
I'm happy to share the dance and we'll keep it
at that.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And to put a button on this instinct portion of
this interview, you know, knowing the impact that all of
these amazing moments have had, and you know, from the
VMA's to the show in La it's a deadpool, its
a trolls and so on and so on, how do
you see the momentum continuing with the guys.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Look, the fun thing is we're always talking to one another,
you know, and so you never know what idea could pop.
Right now, everybody's focused on projects, you know. Justin's literally
on tour and you know, and I'm gearing up this
project right now, so my focus is playing with fire.
But we're always talking in the background, and it only
(12:58):
takes like one idea, so anything's possible, you know. And
that's the fun part about us. It's just we're one text,
one phone call, from something.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Anything is possible, including perhaps one day watching your show
on the Broadway stage, which I certainly certainly hope is
the case. Playing with Fire is your musical theater concept album.
I was listening to it in the gym and I
was like, oh my god, these songs are brilliant, they
are so good, and you can't listen to everything, every
(13:35):
musical theater album in the gym, but this, oh my god,
it maybe the ballad.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Maybe the ballads. You might you're allowed to skip the
bout in the gym, but then you know you have
If you want to listen to the baut later at
home while you're stipping a glass of wine or something,
you can do that.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
But I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. The
ballads have so much heart and like soul that you
you do want to hear them, you don't want to
skip it. So let's start with share with everybody what
exactly is Playing with Fire.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So Playing with Fire is a remake of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
It was inspired by my writing partner, My writing partner,
Jimmy Harry. His mother was a playwright and she wrote
a play call Playing with Fire, and she framed Mary
Shelley's story in a way that was unique to other
(14:22):
versions of Frankenstein that I had read or seen, and
that she made the focus really about a conversation between
the creature and the creator, Victor Frankenstein, and everything pops
from that conversation. Everything happens because of that conversation between
these two characters. And by framing things that way, I
(14:47):
was emotionally affected in a way that I wasn't, you know,
maybe reading the original, because I felt like the original
I was always like a third party, just reading an
adventure in a way. And the way that this is framed,
every time you hear the Creature or Frankenstein speak, you're
(15:08):
hearing it from their perspective, the character's perspective, so you're
living through an experience through their emotion and their feeling.
And that excited me. And so after reading that, you know,
Jimmy and I started talking. You know, Hey, let's just
start with one song and see what happens. If there's
(15:28):
magic there, we'll we'll continue to walk down that road.
And if there's not, hey, you know, we tried to
do something totally different because I don't know if anybody
would think about a musical for Frankenstein, and that also
excited me, is you know, I just thought it was
a different, fun, exciting thing to do. And we we
(15:49):
wrote music for it, not all the music, but some
of the music, and then we did a thing where
we went up to the Playwright Center and Anneapolis and
a guy named Jeremy Cohen opened the doors to the
Playwright Center so graciously for us and brought in some
actors and we got to hear some of Barbara's book,
(16:12):
Jimmy's mother, Barbara's book against the music, because we didn't
know if it was going to work, and what we
learned was there's something there right. The music is doing
something to the material. And that's when we got really excited.
And then we noticed some flaws in what we were doing, obviously,
but that's the exciting thing, you know. We go, oh,
(16:34):
this gives me an idea. This makes me believe that
we can do this. But this also gives me another idea.
And that's when Jimmy and I went back in and
started rewriting our version of the book because the music
had changed the material as well, and so now all
of a sudden, we're developing something where we can really
make our mark and feel like we have something valuable
(16:55):
to offer the story in the theater community by musicalizing
a classic tale like Frankenstein.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
And there really is so much depth and soul to
the lyrics and the music and all of the singers
who are on this, including yourself of course, and you
feel everything that you guys are trying to convey in
the story. What about this made you so invested? Like
why did you connect with this work in the way
that you did? Well?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
The initial thought was even just hearing that, you know Frankenstein,
you automatically, at least I automatically went Wow, we're living
in a day and age now where the story is
more relevant than ever we're up. You know, humanity and
technology are really you know, at this crossroads where it's like, hey,
the thought of AI and how we have to be
(17:44):
responsible for this thing that we've created, and we're having
these conversations now about that. That's really interesting to me.
And the more we started writing, as much as it's
a part of the story, it's not the heart of
the story. The heart of the story that we've developed
is humanity. It's like, it doesn't matter what happens, it
(18:06):
doesn't matter how much technology is developed, It doesn't matter
all of these What matters is that nothing can take
you know, the humanity from anyone and so we focused
on that aspect and what we ended up with was
not just you know, a humanity and technology story, but
(18:29):
a story about a father and a son working through
some very difficult, heart wrenching, serious issues. And that was
beautiful to me. It was like, oh, we've tapped into
something special. You know, you go into it thinking you know,
people in robots, and then you come out the other
(18:50):
side you go, oh, this is all This is a
story about humanity, and it's all about humanity, and it's
being in the The center stage is you know, a
father and a son and someone's great love and so
having a perspective that felt like it was fresh. I
got really excited about that as well.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So innovative, it's so creative, which I think is probably
as an artist, one of the most exciting things for you.
The songs. I feel like the songs could be on
the radio some of them. They're so good. What was
the one I loved? Oh you used to touch me.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I was like, damn, Jayson, this is fiery. Oh my God.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
The surprising thing about that record is, look, we wrote
it as an up tempo and because we wanted to
have energy and really to drive it. It's a taunt, you know.
It's the creature kind of poking at his creator, like, Hey,
you're calling me hideous, you're calling me a monster, you're
calling me all of these things. Guess what. And it's
(19:49):
almost like an you're talking to an ex. It's like, yeah,
you know what, you used to put your hands all
over me. Think about that for a second. I'm so ugly. Huh,
you used to love me, you know, think about that
when you say all these horrible things. And and so it's
it's a great way for the creature to kind of
kind of put it in the scientist Frank Stien's face.
(20:11):
The thing that really surprised us was, you know, we
wrote it as an up tempo, and we sang it
as an up tempo. But one day we were just
kind of messing around and we decided to just kind
of play it in the air, like you know, on
the piano over here and on the guitar o we're here,
And we realized how interesting the song was. Stripped bear
(20:32):
as well. So that's when you know that, you know
there's a little bit more there. You know, you go, okay,
this could literally be you know, a big, you know,
bounce around, you know, energetic piece, but it can also
like cut you. When you play it broken down, it hurts.
(20:53):
And so that's when we knew that that song was
was special.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
So yeah, well there's a lot of special songs on
this man. And I think it's it's so cool that
you're evolving your artist thry to tap into musical theater,
which is a completely different art form. But I guess,
at the end of the day, a writer as a writer,
And maybe I'm wrong here, but did you feel like
it was a pretty easy transition for you writing songs
for so many years and in sync and as a
solo artist and then writing songs for this or was
(21:18):
it a very different thing for you?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
It was very different, But I was also excited by that.
The thing is again, as people and as artists, we
want to continue to evolve, we want to continue to grow,
And I liked the idea of taking on a project
that was a bigger picture project. And I also felt
like because of my background in all of the years
(21:41):
of learning and being on stage and being in studios
and writing and reading and seeing films and stories and
seeing how people connect to their audiences emotionally. I felt
like all of those years of information prepared me for
this moment in a way and made maybe ready when
Jimmy and I started talking and saying why don't we
(22:03):
write a musical? And it was like, you know, when
it came out of my mouth, it was like am
I crazy? Or am I ready? And it was once
we started the process, I just fell in love with it.
And so I think, if anything, all of those years
doing all of those other things prepared me for this
moment and has given me a unique voice to share
(22:27):
because I don't want to write the same musical that
another musical writer is going to make. I think that's
the exciting thing. If you go see a sign Hom piece,
you know you're going to get that. When you see
a Weber piece, you're going to get that. And so
I think it's exciting to have a different kind of
voice enter the space and we'll see how how audiences
(22:48):
react to it.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
So well, it's very evident you're you're so passionate about this,
shining so brightly, and I can feel it through the screen,
which is always such a rewarding thing when you're talking
to an art is there's genuine love and passion for
what you're doing. And I know a few of your
peers have tapped into this, right like Duncan Chic with
Spring Awakening, and I think some of their shows and
(23:09):
projects Max Martin with a Juliet. Have you gotten any
advice from peers in the business about maybe bringing this
to the stage and what that entails.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
You know who. I had a great conversation actually recently,
just days ago with Nicole Sharesinger, right, So she's doing
Sunset Boulevard.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I saw it three times.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah, dude, So she she called me up and you know,
and brought me backstage and stuff like that because I
told her I was going to be in town and
I was like, I'd love to see it, man. I
love supporting you. You know. She's always great whenever I'm
working on something, she wants to hear it, and she
wants she always is a great person to bounce ideas off,
because again, an experienced, intelligent, talented, you know entertainer. It's like, hey,
(23:51):
when somebody's willing to share their point of view with you,
you take it, and so she's been incredibly kind about
that stuff over the years. So I went and saw
the shit and I just told her. I told her
obviously that she's absolutely amazing in the show, because she is.
But then we just started talking about different things and
what her run up to it was like, you know,
(24:12):
and how it was something that she had always wanted
to do. She's like, I always knew that I wanted
to do something in theater. I just always knew. I
just never knew, like, you know, what's the project, what's
the time in my life? What is it? You know?
And this project came along for her and it's literally
it's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen
on stage, you know. But talking to her, she was like,
(24:36):
this is what I went through in the early parts
of it, and this is what I was inspired by.
And she goes, you know, think about this, think about that,
think about this, and and so it was really fun
talking to her, and I think, you know what, what
she shared with me has excited me even more to
move forward, you know, because again I'm excited about the
subject matter. But I think seeing her on stage and going,
(24:59):
you know know what, we've kind of walked in identical shoes.
She came from a band. I came from a band,
you know, and she makes music all the time. And
now she's up there and she's found a way to
use all the things that she's learned over the years
to connect with the with those audience, you know, with
her talents, and to connect with the audience with her performance.
And I'm and I'm hoping that same kind of knowledge
(25:22):
base gives me an opportunity to create those connections.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
So yeah, I love the parallels between the two of you,
and how cool to have that support system. And what's
so interesting to me is, you know, pussy Katzel's in sync.
You guys created music very different from musical theater. Right
when I was listening to you, I thought, oh my god,
has he been in intense vocal training for the last
decade because he sounded amazing then, But now it's like,
(25:48):
you're stretching your voice so much in a way that
I think only musical theater can allow you to. Same
thing with Nicole. When you hear her on that Sunset
Boulevard album Are Live, You're like, oh my god, how
you know? And your sounds in these projects are very
different than the sounds in the band. It's still great,
but very different.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Well, you know, because they're also you're also thinking about
the room. You're thinking of Look when you're I guess
it's just a different approach. But when you say, you're
singing different notes in a different way, and that's purposeful,
you know. It's like when I approach some of these
these bits, when I'm singing them, you know, they have
(26:28):
to be kind of laid bare, let loose, you know,
because you're playing a creature, you know, so if you're
getting into character and that character has been through hell
and back, you have to kind of strip away a
bit of that armor and let yourself go with a
bit of reckless abandon And that's how we approach some
(26:49):
of the singing parts, and in some of the writing
as well. It's like, these aren't things that I would
say maybe in a pop record, right, but this character
has put me in this position, and I have to
honor that and I have to push myself. And so
you're hearing a bit of that, and so that's again
part of the process. And I think that's one of
the great things about theater is it gives everybody an
(27:12):
opportunity to push themselves because you want these characters to
come to life. You want these characters to be the
fullest realization that you can make them, and so in
order to do that, you have to push.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
So through creating, playing with fire, and through seeing people
like Nicole doing her thing in Sunset Boulevard. Do you
have the stage bug? Like, do you want to be
on the stage? We see you on the stage.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
When I started this project, I didn't think about it.
I just was like, I was so just focused on
making it. I just was like in my mind, I'm like,
I have to make this thing. I literally I turned
into Victor Frankenstein in terms of being obsessed. Jimmy and
I we would just go in the studio and we
were so determined to make this, and we're determined right now.
(28:09):
You know, this is only step one in a long
process and we know that, but you know, we just
looked at it as an opportunity to share the journey
with the audience instead of just kind of throwing everything
at them at once. Go Hey, this is where we're going.
Do you want to be a part of this? Come
to the next thing that we do. And I think
it's great to build your audience, and that's what we're
(28:29):
doing through this process. In terms of being on stage,
though again I've started to think about it now. I
actually didn't think about it in the beginning. I just
wanted to, you know, make this thing, but I would
be open to it. The only problem you have to
deal with with me is is that I'm going to
want to make something else. So because while you know,
the time you spend on stage is the time that
(28:49):
you're not in the studio. And actually, to be perfectly
honest with you, I have Jimmy and I are already
talking about more ideas, which is kind of insane, but
you know that's just the kind of creators we are,
you know.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, yeah, Well, I feel like if you were to
be on stage, you have to now keep kind of
in theme to the project you're working on. So it
would have to be like a jeckal and Hyde reboot
on stage or like a Phantom bring Phantom back. You know,
I could see you in that vibe.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Well, I think anything that I would be on stage
with for like a run of something would probably be
something that I would want to have been a part
of creating. That being said, we do have one that
we've already written aside from this, and that would be
a fun one and it's nothing like this, because why not.
But but I think the connective tissue in terms of
(29:43):
me being in something or be being a creator and something,
I think it more boils down to because I don't
see Phantom as a Jesus Christ superstar, you know. I
think they're two very different shows created by Weber, and
so I think that you're allowed. I think you're allowed
to have range when you're being creative in the theater
(30:05):
space as well. Now, well, some of the melodies you
know live in the same family, probably just because it's
you're talking about the same writer. But I don't necessarily
think that you have to be to be kind of
boxed into a genre. You have to I have to
go where my heart takes me and where I'm inspired,
(30:28):
because I think the best product that I make is
from truth, and so so when I when I'm out
there and I'm truly believing in what I'm doing, That's
when I'm at my best. And I think people can
kind of sniff that out.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Well, that's why you've had such longevity, right, and that's
why you're continuing to do amazing things, and it's scary
to take on something like this. It's a big leap
of faith. You're putting your blood, sweat, and tears in it.
It's a different thing for you and your fan base,
but you have such a burning passion for it that
you said, I got to do it and I got
to see this. It's that you like what I did.
There burning passion, but it's it's seriously, it's an amazing
(31:07):
thing that you're creating, and I imagine that you must
be very proud. And when you look back at your
whole career and everything you've accomplished, what do you feel
the most proud about.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I think I'm proud of the relationships that I've created.
I don't think it's like any one project that I'm
super proud of. I think I'm more proud of the
people that I've met along the way and been able
to work with and the impression that we've left on
one another. Very rarely, you know, knock on wood, but
very rarely do I have a bad experience, because I
(31:40):
am a bit picky fair. But the thing that I'm
proud of is the friends that I've made along the way.
When I think back to the to the mouse Club,
and I think, Wow, I've made some lifelong friendships there.
And even if I don't talk to those people for
years at a time, ten years at a time, I'm
appreciative of them and I can tell them that I
love them because again, they're part of me. And everything
(32:01):
about that situation, it came in on a high note
and it left on a high note, and it was
a beautiful situation. And the same thing with the guys.
It's like, when we came together, we had a genuine
enthusiasm about what we were doing, and when we came
in together, we were pushing for everything the right way.
And when we decided we had made the run that
(32:22):
we had aimed to make, we went out on a
high as well. We were thankful for everything and we
felt like, you know, we were doing the right thing
and and so and that's that's I think what I'm
most proud of is I'm thankful that all the experiences
that I've had have been experiences that I'll look back
on and say, I've made a friend along the way,
(32:43):
and I feel like I did it the right way.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Jason. The name of the show is called I've never
said this before and as we wrap up, I finish
every interview by asking my guests, what is something that
you've never said before? And that question can mean anything
you wanted to mean. So take the floor, my friend,
what would you like to say today?
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I've never said I'll be a monster before? Whether maybe,
just maybe. I think that's probably the best thing I
can come up with it right now because it's such Again,
that's a deep well of a question. That's a great
that's a great question to pose to people.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Thank you. You know it came from I cover a
lot of you know, movie premieres and press junkets where
you got three minutes or five minutes with someone and
I'm like, like, man, you can't have a real conversation here,
and I always see people wanting to share a different
side to them. So that's where it was born. But
you know what that that answer is very on brand
for this conversation, So I like it. I like it
(33:44):
a lot. JC Before we go, I'm going to share
one thing that my friend shared with me. My friend Lisa,
when I was telling her about this interview today, was
so excited. She's a huge fan of your work, always
has been, loves this new concept album supports.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
All you know, it's a weird but yes.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Yeah, yeah, she but she thinks it's genius. And I
think that's what's cool is a lot of your eurog
fans are now coming with you onto this journey and
it's a pretty magical thing, you know. And she said
to me, an in sync reunion of any kind would
heal the millennial generation. When you hear that, well, what
(34:21):
do you feel? Because that is an amazing statement.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
It's incredibly humbling, that's for sure. You know, when you
are yourself, I don't know you. You just think you're
going through life being you, and and sometimes you know,
really it's the kindness of strangers that is going to
put things into perspective. When someone that you never met before,
that you don't know, shares an act of kindness, it's
(34:48):
humbling and then I look, I appreciate it to the moon.
So but it's also hilarious that that would be the
context you could heal the millennials.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
You of the power, You of the power, My man,
jac Thank you. This was such a blast. I loved
you know, hearing you celebrate, hearing us celebrate some of
your past work, but really diving into this new project.
Like I said earlier, I am such a fan of
theater and musical theater and that creative space. And I
hope you keep going with this. I hope you have
massive success with this. I hope that I see you
(35:21):
down the block in New York City doing the show
on stage. And I believe in it, So keep going.
I think it's a really special thing you have.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Thank you man. Again, I think I think it's it's
inspired me in a way that I haven't been inspired
in a long time. And so I'm thankful just to
be feeling this way about working on a project. And
I hope that the voice that Jimmy and I are
bringing to the theater world is something that people find
(35:51):
interesting on some levels.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
And how can we continue to support.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
PWF Musical dot com. You know, you connect you with
all the music, all the socials and everything like that,
and hopefully you can you know, if you go check
that stuff out, you can follow the journey of this
whole thing, because again, we just released a record. This
is the beginning, right so you know, next thing, you know,
we're going to be in a building, so we're singing
these songs live on a stage and addressing the book.
(36:17):
We're thinking about a concert first and then going from
concerts into workshops and then all these other things. But again,
this is the beginning of the process and where it
goes will be up to anybody who is reaching out,
who is curious about it. It'll the project will literally
be in everyone else's hands.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Well, rock on, keep it going, and in the meantime,
keep healing a generation.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
That's the goal.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Jay Z, Thank you so much, my man, thank you.
I've never said this before. It is hosted by me
Tommy Diderio. This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Piglisi
at iHeartRadio and by Me Tommy, with editing by Josh
Shua Colaudney. I've Never Said This Before is part of
the Elvis Duran podcast network on iHeart Podcasts. For more
(37:07):
rate review and subscribe to our show and if you
liked this episode, tell your friends. Until next time, I'm
Tommy Diderio.
Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy Di Dario. Today I have pop Music Royalty
on my show. Yes I Do You are in for
a treat. J C. Chase is widely known as being
a lead vocalist in the multi platinum selling group in Sync.
My fellow millennials, when I say that n SYNC was
a pivotal part in our adolescent years, I know you
(00:23):
get me. InSync has sold over fifty million records, and
Jac was responsible for writing and producing many of the
songs on the n Sync albums. Now. What's amazing about
in Sync is their music is beloved by all age
groups and all generations, and it even popped up in
Deadpool this summer with their song Bye Bye Bye exploding
once again in one of the top films of the year.
(00:44):
JAC is now jumping into the theatrical world and he's
teaming up with producer and composer Jimmy Harry on their
new musical theater concept album called Playing with Fire, and
it is literally fire. It is inspired by the timeless
novel Frankenstein. Everybody knows that story and Jac is a
feature vocalist on the album and the songs are so sexy,
(01:05):
so dramatic, and oh my god, they're so good. I
need to see this on stage immediately. So between celebrating
his iconic contributions to pop music and then diving into
this new exciting chapter, Jac and I we cover it all.
So let's see if today we can get Jac to
say something that he has never said before. Jace Shouse,
(01:30):
How you doing, mom? Man?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I'm good. How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I am fantastic. I'm so excited to be chatting with
you today. I am such a big theater and musical
theater fan. I mean, I'm not gonna say I'm an expert,
but I have seen many shows, and I live in
New York and it's a huge part of my life.
So ah, I'm just so excited to dive into playing
with fire. But before we dive into that, we're going
(01:53):
to celebrate you a little bit in some amazing moments
in your life. If you're cool with that.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, yeah, sure. I was about to say we're on
the same page in terms of being very excited about theater.
The only difference is I'm in LA and New York.
Everything else you said, I'm like, oh, so we're the
same great.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, one hundred percent. I think I was looking at
my November December calendar and it's like five shows on
and I'm like, yes, yes, this is what I love.
I love the art of it all. So it's awesome.
I can't wait to dive into that. But I feel like,
here we are. It's beginning of November. The holiday season
has officially kicked off, and for me, it's not quite
the holidays without the Instant Christmas album.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Hey that's a good one, And I'm going to.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Go on record, and this is a pretty bold statement,
but I am going to go on record right now
JC and say that that album is one of the
greatest albums of all time, of all time.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
I think it stacks up well as a good Christmas
record of all times. As a wild statement, a music
that's out there, but I will definitely appreciate the sentiment.
I think it's a I think it's a solid Christmas
record for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So you busted out during the holidays.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I so I always go family, family first, So it's always,
you know, as soon as as soon as the holidays
kick in, I go into family mode.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So yeah, yeah, Well, like I said, it's a great one.
It's it's it's something that brings joy, which we all
need in this world more than ever. So I think
that to have a collection of work like that out
there is just so cool and it always keeps a
life of its own. Now, you can't say that about
a lot of art. That's why I'm saying it's one
of the most iconic albums ever, because not all albums
(03:28):
live up to the years that come, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, no, for sure. Look, it's it's a fun thing,
you know, and it's it's it's always kind of a
bit of a giggle and a nod to you know,
the moments when you're walking through the grocery store and
you're like, oh okay, or wherever you're walking and you
hear the tune. It's it's flattering, you know, because certainly
(03:54):
people make new Christmas music every year, so for people
to go back to ours is it again, it's a
huge compliment.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
You probably can't ever escape Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, can you?
It just pops up.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I think it's fun though, I think it served. It's
like when we were writing it, it ended up being
exactly what we wanted. We just knew we wanted something
that was joyful, and we wanted something that had energy,
and we didn't want it to feel like you had
to I don't know, just almost feel overthink it. You
(04:27):
just have a bit of fun. It's a fun Christmas
song and that's what we were trying to make and
when we were writing it, and I think that is
translated in when we were making it, the purpose translated.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And do that video pops up on my YouTube the
other day with like the Big Sled and the cgi Snow,
it's pure camp, it's pure fun.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well you know, it's also like, hey man, we don't
have a lot of money to make Christmas videos, so
this is gonna be what it is. And we owned
it right. It was just like again, silliness, fun. You
don't have to make the most elaborate thing to enjoy
yourself when you're watching it or or when you're listening.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
So yeah, for sure, for sure. Well I'm going to
go on record again and say it's safe to say
that the world will be ready for a follow up
Christmas album whenever you guys are ready, We're ready.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Okay, that's a wild idea.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Actually, ooh, your interest is peaked.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I've never thought of that.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Wait. Really, Yeah, that's okay. Come on, there's so many
songs to cover and as a writer you can write
so many new ones.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
That's wild. Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
No, I may need producing credit on it. Nast to
the idea.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
It's like I want to be the EP.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Well, we'll talk about that later. We'll talk about that later. Jason,
you had some amazing moments over the last couple of
years with the guys. I mean, twenty twenty three, you
reunited for the VMA's, you did the one night only
showing La for Justin. These moments are are bringing so
much happiness enjoy to people. Like I said earlier, it's
a theme I guess of this conversation given the day
we're on today, which everybody listening. We're recording this on
(06:02):
the election day, which just has the world upside down.
So for you, what was it like sharing those moments
again with the guys?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
It was fun. Look, anytime we get together, it's always
there's always something special, you know, because we had such
a great run and we have such a great history
with one another. Because it really, look, it made our
lives wonderful. The opportunity to create things that you literally
dream about and and for us to be able to
(06:33):
come together and make those things for all those years,
it made everything else in our life moving forward possible.
And so whenever we're with each other, it's like, you
can't It's like, I love those guys, and I can't
thank them enough for you know, for our chemistry and
for the opportunities that we shared together and and and
(06:54):
because those opportunities still provide opportunities for us and so
and and and Yeah, when we're together making things, it's
also very exciting, especially after not doing it for a
long time. You're just curious, and that aspect is very fun.
You know. There's almost like you know, we know, you
know where we each rest in the in the world
(07:17):
of harmony and things like that, because we've done it
so much over time. But you know, given that everyone
has gone in different directions exploring, when you come back together,
you go, hey, what's changed, you know, because everything that
you learn along the way changes your perception and how
you listen to things and how you sing things, and
(07:38):
and so it's fun to get together with those guys
now and just kind of experiment a little bit and
play a little bit, and uh, and so it was
certainly fun on the two songs that we did. Look,
the troll sing is a blast. You know, we got
to to live out a cartoon, you know, dream and
and and Justin made that possible bringing us into his
(07:59):
Trolls world. But I also think it was a lot
of fun singing the song Paradise for his record. You know,
it was it was kind of like it was something
that he had written and you know, and he had
an idea for and all of a sudden, you know,
he heard it in a different way one day because
when we were originally talking about doing something after we
did the Trolls song, Justin and I were talking about
(08:21):
it and we were kind of going back and forth
between two songs. Actually he played me two records and
then and then all of a sudden, it was like
I was like, all right, well, you know, I was
listening to them, and it was just like, let's figure
it out, you know. And then all of a sudden,
it was like, you know, down down the road when
we started talking, he was no, no, no, it's this, this
is us. This is like, this is the love letter
that we you know, this is our appreciation and love
(08:45):
letter to the fans that have been kind enough all
the years. So that was the purpose of that and
it was totally fun to do.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Yeah. Yeah. Are you a sentimental man? Like do you
get nostalgic and have these moments where you're like, oh
my god, I can't believe I get to this still
with my best buddies and here I am, and there's
an appetite for it, Like, do you feel that.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I I'll say, there are others in the band that
are probably more sentimental than me. But I'm appreciative, I
think because I always like, you know, I certainly love
you know what we've done, but I always get excited
about the future. You know, even when you say the
election and so on, I'm I'm positive about the future.
Whatever happens, you know, today, the goal will be that
(09:29):
every day that I step forward, I'm going to be
trying to be my best self and have the best
effect that I can on others around me. And so
I look at every day as an opportunity to do that.
And so I think, while I'm I can be slightly sentimental,
I'm always excited about the future.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah. Well, it's a good way to live, right. You
appreciate the present, but you live in the past. No,
you can't live in the past. You can't. You have
to celebrate. Like you said, you celebrate the unexpected things.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Celebrate the past, but you know, you live in the
next out and you try and create the best now
you can by looking forward and doing doing the right
things moving forwards.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Yeah. Yeah, well it's evident you have the mentality because
you created something brilliant, which we're going to get to
in a minute. But I do want to celebrate the
past one more time because this summer, y'all were in
one of the hottest movies of the year, Deadpool, and
that song Bye Bye Bye had a life of its
own again. I remember driving in an uber in New
York and hearing that on the radio again, and I'm like,
(10:29):
wait a minute, I'm a millennial, Like this is on
the radio. Why this is so cool?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Like for you, we never like, we never saw it coming, man.
You know, we just thought it was really really cool
that somebody wanted to use or not somebody, but obviously
Ryan wanted to use the song in the film. And
when we first you know, got to look at us like, hey,
you know, the Deadpool film wants to put your song
in the movie. You're like, Oh, that's cool. I wonder
(10:55):
how they're going to use it, like what you know,
but look, they're create over there, and they they like
to have fun. And that worked out perfect because you know,
we're like that as well. We'd like to have fun.
And so when we first got wind of it, and
when we first signed off, it was only for X
amount of time. And then down the road in the project,
(11:17):
they reached out again. They were like, we need to
use more of the song. You guys good and we
were like, yeah, have fun, do your thing. And then
and then ultimately Ryan reached out and texted all of
us and he was just like, so it's taking on
a life of its own and we think you guys
are going to love it. And and that's when he
(11:38):
invited us to come to the premiere and things like
that to see it, because he was genuinely, really really
sweet and he expressed some wonderful enthusiasm about it. And
we love the way it turned out. I mean, like again,
funny wins.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
So yeah, and the guy who danced in that suit
was great. But I do have to say I'm a
little disappointed you didn't pop out of the suit after
that dance number.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Oh no, man, Look, he got stunted. I don't know
what I'm gonna do with like a sword, and I
don't know if I have the comornation at this at
this stage in life, I'm gonna leave that, like the
swords and the fighting choreo to the experts. And yeah,
I'm happy to share the dance and we'll keep it
at that.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And to put a button on this instinct portion of
this interview, you know, knowing the impact that all of
these amazing moments have had, and you know, from the
VMA's to the show in La it's a deadpool, its
a trolls and so on and so on, how do
you see the momentum continuing with the guys.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Look, the fun thing is we're always talking to one another,
you know, and so you never know what idea could pop.
Right now, everybody's focused on projects, you know. Justin's literally
on tour and you know, and I'm gearing up this
project right now, so my focus is playing with fire.
But we're always talking in the background, and it only
(12:58):
takes like one idea, so anything's possible, you know. And
that's the fun part about us. It's just we're one text,
one phone call, from something.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Anything is possible, including perhaps one day watching your show
on the Broadway stage, which I certainly certainly hope is
the case. Playing with Fire is your musical theater concept album.
I was listening to it in the gym and I
was like, oh my god, these songs are brilliant, they
are so good, and you can't listen to everything, every
(13:35):
musical theater album in the gym, but this, oh my god,
it maybe the ballad.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Maybe the ballads. You might you're allowed to skip the
bout in the gym, but then you know you have
If you want to listen to the baut later at
home while you're stipping a glass of wine or something,
you can do that.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
But I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. The
ballads have so much heart and like soul that you
you do want to hear them, you don't want to
skip it. So let's start with share with everybody what
exactly is Playing with Fire.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So Playing with Fire is a remake of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
It was inspired by my writing partner, My writing partner,
Jimmy Harry. His mother was a playwright and she wrote
a play call Playing with Fire, and she framed Mary
Shelley's story in a way that was unique to other
(14:22):
versions of Frankenstein that I had read or seen, and
that she made the focus really about a conversation between
the creature and the creator, Victor Frankenstein, and everything pops
from that conversation. Everything happens because of that conversation between
these two characters. And by framing things that way, I
(14:47):
was emotionally affected in a way that I wasn't, you know,
maybe reading the original, because I felt like the original
I was always like a third party, just reading an
adventure in a way. And the way that this is framed,
every time you hear the Creature or Frankenstein speak, you're
(15:08):
hearing it from their perspective, the character's perspective, so you're
living through an experience through their emotion and their feeling.
And that excited me. And so after reading that, you know,
Jimmy and I started talking. You know, Hey, let's just
start with one song and see what happens. If there's
(15:28):
magic there, we'll we'll continue to walk down that road.
And if there's not, hey, you know, we tried to
do something totally different because I don't know if anybody
would think about a musical for Frankenstein, and that also
excited me, is you know, I just thought it was
a different, fun, exciting thing to do. And we we
(15:49):
wrote music for it, not all the music, but some
of the music, and then we did a thing where
we went up to the Playwright Center and Anneapolis and
a guy named Jeremy Cohen opened the doors to the
Playwright Center so graciously for us and brought in some
actors and we got to hear some of Barbara's book,
(16:12):
Jimmy's mother, Barbara's book against the music, because we didn't
know if it was going to work, and what we
learned was there's something there right. The music is doing
something to the material. And that's when we got really excited.
And then we noticed some flaws in what we were doing, obviously,
but that's the exciting thing, you know. We go, oh,
(16:34):
this gives me an idea. This makes me believe that
we can do this. But this also gives me another idea.
And that's when Jimmy and I went back in and
started rewriting our version of the book because the music
had changed the material as well, and so now all
of a sudden, we're developing something where we can really
make our mark and feel like we have something valuable
(16:55):
to offer the story in the theater community by musicalizing
a classic tale like Frankenstein.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
And there really is so much depth and soul to
the lyrics and the music and all of the singers
who are on this, including yourself of course, and you
feel everything that you guys are trying to convey in
the story. What about this made you so invested? Like
why did you connect with this work in the way
that you did? Well?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
The initial thought was even just hearing that, you know Frankenstein,
you automatically, at least I automatically went Wow, we're living
in a day and age now where the story is
more relevant than ever we're up. You know, humanity and
technology are really you know, at this crossroads where it's like, hey,
the thought of AI and how we have to be
(17:44):
responsible for this thing that we've created, and we're having
these conversations now about that. That's really interesting to me.
And the more we started writing, as much as it's
a part of the story, it's not the heart of
the story. The heart of the story that we've developed
is humanity. It's like, it doesn't matter what happens, it
(18:06):
doesn't matter how much technology is developed, It doesn't matter
all of these What matters is that nothing can take
you know, the humanity from anyone and so we focused
on that aspect and what we ended up with was
not just you know, a humanity and technology story, but
(18:29):
a story about a father and a son working through
some very difficult, heart wrenching, serious issues. And that was
beautiful to me. It was like, oh, we've tapped into
something special. You know, you go into it thinking you know,
people in robots, and then you come out the other
(18:50):
side you go, oh, this is all This is a
story about humanity, and it's all about humanity, and it's
being in the The center stage is you know, a
father and a son and someone's great love and so
having a perspective that felt like it was fresh. I
got really excited about that as well.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So innovative, it's so creative, which I think is probably
as an artist, one of the most exciting things for you.
The songs. I feel like the songs could be on
the radio some of them. They're so good. What was
the one I loved? Oh you used to touch me.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I was like, damn, Jayson, this is fiery. Oh my God.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
The surprising thing about that record is, look, we wrote
it as an up tempo and because we wanted to
have energy and really to drive it. It's a taunt, you know.
It's the creature kind of poking at his creator, like, Hey,
you're calling me hideous, you're calling me a monster, you're
calling me all of these things. Guess what. And it's
(19:49):
almost like an you're talking to an ex. It's like, yeah,
you know what, you used to put your hands all
over me. Think about that for a second. I'm so ugly. Huh,
you used to love me, you know, think about that
when you say all these horrible things. And and so it's
it's a great way for the creature to kind of
kind of put it in the scientist Frank Stien's face.
(20:11):
The thing that really surprised us was, you know, we
wrote it as an up tempo, and we sang it
as an up tempo. But one day we were just
kind of messing around and we decided to just kind
of play it in the air, like you know, on
the piano over here and on the guitar o we're here,
And we realized how interesting the song was. Stripped bear
(20:32):
as well. So that's when you know that, you know
there's a little bit more there. You know, you go, okay,
this could literally be you know, a big, you know,
bounce around, you know, energetic piece, but it can also
like cut you. When you play it broken down, it hurts.
(20:53):
And so that's when we knew that that song was
was special.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
So yeah, well there's a lot of special songs on
this man. And I think it's it's so cool that
you're evolving your artist thry to tap into musical theater,
which is a completely different art form. But I guess,
at the end of the day, a writer as a writer,
And maybe I'm wrong here, but did you feel like
it was a pretty easy transition for you writing songs
for so many years and in sync and as a
solo artist and then writing songs for this or was
(21:18):
it a very different thing for you?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
It was very different, But I was also excited by that.
The thing is again, as people and as artists, we
want to continue to evolve, we want to continue to grow,
And I liked the idea of taking on a project
that was a bigger picture project. And I also felt
like because of my background in all of the years
(21:41):
of learning and being on stage and being in studios
and writing and reading and seeing films and stories and
seeing how people connect to their audiences emotionally. I felt
like all of those years of information prepared me for
this moment in a way and made maybe ready when
Jimmy and I started talking and saying why don't we
(22:03):
write a musical? And it was like, you know, when
it came out of my mouth, it was like am
I crazy? Or am I ready? And it was once
we started the process, I just fell in love with it.
And so I think, if anything, all of those years
doing all of those other things prepared me for this
moment and has given me a unique voice to share
(22:27):
because I don't want to write the same musical that
another musical writer is going to make. I think that's
the exciting thing. If you go see a sign Hom piece,
you know you're going to get that. When you see
a Weber piece, you're going to get that. And so
I think it's exciting to have a different kind of
voice enter the space and we'll see how how audiences
(22:48):
react to it.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
So well, it's very evident you're you're so passionate about this,
shining so brightly, and I can feel it through the screen,
which is always such a rewarding thing when you're talking
to an art is there's genuine love and passion for
what you're doing. And I know a few of your
peers have tapped into this, right like Duncan Chic with
Spring Awakening, and I think some of their shows and
(23:09):
projects Max Martin with a Juliet. Have you gotten any
advice from peers in the business about maybe bringing this
to the stage and what that entails.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
You know who. I had a great conversation actually recently,
just days ago with Nicole Sharesinger, right, So she's doing
Sunset Boulevard.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I saw it three times.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah, dude, So she she called me up and you know,
and brought me backstage and stuff like that because I
told her I was going to be in town and
I was like, I'd love to see it, man. I
love supporting you. You know. She's always great whenever I'm
working on something, she wants to hear it, and she
wants she always is a great person to bounce ideas off,
because again, an experienced, intelligent, talented, you know entertainer. It's like, hey,
(23:51):
when somebody's willing to share their point of view with you,
you take it, and so she's been incredibly kind about
that stuff over the years. So I went and saw
the shit and I just told her. I told her
obviously that she's absolutely amazing in the show, because she is.
But then we just started talking about different things and
what her run up to it was like, you know,
(24:12):
and how it was something that she had always wanted
to do. She's like, I always knew that I wanted
to do something in theater. I just always knew. I
just never knew, like, you know, what's the project, what's
the time in my life? What is it? You know?
And this project came along for her and it's literally
it's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen
on stage, you know. But talking to her, she was like,
(24:36):
this is what I went through in the early parts
of it, and this is what I was inspired by.
And she goes, you know, think about this, think about that,
think about this, and and so it was really fun
talking to her, and I think, you know what, what
she shared with me has excited me even more to
move forward, you know, because again I'm excited about the
subject matter. But I think seeing her on stage and going,
(24:59):
you know know what, we've kind of walked in identical shoes.
She came from a band. I came from a band,
you know, and she makes music all the time. And
now she's up there and she's found a way to
use all the things that she's learned over the years
to connect with the with those audience, you know, with
her talents, and to connect with the audience with her performance.
And I'm and I'm hoping that same kind of knowledge
(25:22):
base gives me an opportunity to create those connections.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
So yeah, I love the parallels between the two of you,
and how cool to have that support system. And what's
so interesting to me is, you know, pussy Katzel's in sync.
You guys created music very different from musical theater. Right
when I was listening to you, I thought, oh my god,
has he been in intense vocal training for the last
decade because he sounded amazing then, But now it's like,
(25:48):
you're stretching your voice so much in a way that
I think only musical theater can allow you to. Same
thing with Nicole. When you hear her on that Sunset
Boulevard album Are Live, You're like, oh my god, how
you know? And your sounds in these projects are very
different than the sounds in the band. It's still great,
but very different.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Well, you know, because they're also you're also thinking about
the room. You're thinking of Look when you're I guess
it's just a different approach. But when you say, you're
singing different notes in a different way, and that's purposeful,
you know. It's like when I approach some of these
these bits, when I'm singing them, you know, they have
(26:28):
to be kind of laid bare, let loose, you know,
because you're playing a creature, you know, so if you're
getting into character and that character has been through hell
and back, you have to kind of strip away a
bit of that armor and let yourself go with a
bit of reckless abandon And that's how we approach some
(26:49):
of the singing parts, and in some of the writing
as well. It's like, these aren't things that I would
say maybe in a pop record, right, but this character
has put me in this position, and I have to
honor that and I have to push myself. And so
you're hearing a bit of that, and so that's again
part of the process. And I think that's one of
the great things about theater is it gives everybody an
(27:12):
opportunity to push themselves because you want these characters to
come to life. You want these characters to be the
fullest realization that you can make them, and so in
order to do that, you have to push.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
So through creating, playing with fire, and through seeing people
like Nicole doing her thing in Sunset Boulevard. Do you
have the stage bug? Like, do you want to be
on the stage? We see you on the stage.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
When I started this project, I didn't think about it.
I just was like, I was so just focused on
making it. I just was like in my mind, I'm like,
I have to make this thing. I literally I turned
into Victor Frankenstein in terms of being obsessed. Jimmy and
I we would just go in the studio and we
were so determined to make this, and we're determined right now.
(28:09):
You know, this is only step one in a long
process and we know that, but you know, we just
looked at it as an opportunity to share the journey
with the audience instead of just kind of throwing everything
at them at once. Go Hey, this is where we're going.
Do you want to be a part of this? Come
to the next thing that we do. And I think
it's great to build your audience, and that's what we're
(28:29):
doing through this process. In terms of being on stage,
though again I've started to think about it now. I
actually didn't think about it in the beginning. I just
wanted to, you know, make this thing, but I would
be open to it. The only problem you have to
deal with with me is is that I'm going to
want to make something else. So because while you know,
the time you spend on stage is the time that
(28:49):
you're not in the studio. And actually, to be perfectly
honest with you, I have Jimmy and I are already
talking about more ideas, which is kind of insane, but
you know that's just the kind of creators we are,
you know.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, yeah, Well, I feel like if you were to
be on stage, you have to now keep kind of
in theme to the project you're working on. So it
would have to be like a jeckal and Hyde reboot
on stage or like a Phantom bring Phantom back. You know,
I could see you in that vibe.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Well, I think anything that I would be on stage
with for like a run of something would probably be
something that I would want to have been a part
of creating. That being said, we do have one that
we've already written aside from this, and that would be
a fun one and it's nothing like this, because why not.
But but I think the connective tissue in terms of
(29:43):
me being in something or be being a creator and something,
I think it more boils down to because I don't
see Phantom as a Jesus Christ superstar, you know. I
think they're two very different shows created by Weber, and
so I think that you're allowed. I think you're allowed
to have range when you're being creative in the theater
(30:05):
space as well. Now, well, some of the melodies you
know live in the same family, probably just because it's
you're talking about the same writer. But I don't necessarily
think that you have to be to be kind of
boxed into a genre. You have to I have to
go where my heart takes me and where I'm inspired,
(30:28):
because I think the best product that I make is
from truth, and so so when I when I'm out
there and I'm truly believing in what I'm doing, That's
when I'm at my best. And I think people can
kind of sniff that out.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Well, that's why you've had such longevity, right, and that's
why you're continuing to do amazing things, and it's scary
to take on something like this. It's a big leap
of faith. You're putting your blood, sweat, and tears in it.
It's a different thing for you and your fan base,
but you have such a burning passion for it that
you said, I got to do it and I got
to see this. It's that you like what I did.
There burning passion, but it's it's seriously, it's an amazing
(31:07):
thing that you're creating, and I imagine that you must
be very proud. And when you look back at your
whole career and everything you've accomplished, what do you feel
the most proud about.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I think I'm proud of the relationships that I've created.
I don't think it's like any one project that I'm
super proud of. I think I'm more proud of the
people that I've met along the way and been able
to work with and the impression that we've left on
one another. Very rarely, you know, knock on wood, but
very rarely do I have a bad experience, because I
(31:40):
am a bit picky fair. But the thing that I'm
proud of is the friends that I've made along the way.
When I think back to the to the mouse Club,
and I think, Wow, I've made some lifelong friendships there.
And even if I don't talk to those people for
years at a time, ten years at a time, I'm
appreciative of them and I can tell them that I
love them because again, they're part of me. And everything
(32:01):
about that situation, it came in on a high note
and it left on a high note, and it was
a beautiful situation. And the same thing with the guys.
It's like, when we came together, we had a genuine
enthusiasm about what we were doing, and when we came
in together, we were pushing for everything the right way.
And when we decided we had made the run that
(32:22):
we had aimed to make, we went out on a
high as well. We were thankful for everything and we
felt like, you know, we were doing the right thing
and and so and that's that's I think what I'm
most proud of is I'm thankful that all the experiences
that I've had have been experiences that I'll look back
on and say, I've made a friend along the way,
(32:43):
and I feel like I did it the right way.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Jason. The name of the show is called I've never
said this before and as we wrap up, I finish
every interview by asking my guests, what is something that
you've never said before? And that question can mean anything
you wanted to mean. So take the floor, my friend,
what would you like to say today?
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I've never said I'll be a monster before? Whether maybe,
just maybe. I think that's probably the best thing I
can come up with it right now because it's such Again,
that's a deep well of a question. That's a great
that's a great question to pose to people.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Thank you. You know it came from I cover a
lot of you know, movie premieres and press junkets where
you got three minutes or five minutes with someone and
I'm like, like, man, you can't have a real conversation here,
and I always see people wanting to share a different
side to them. So that's where it was born. But
you know what that that answer is very on brand
for this conversation, So I like it. I like it
(33:44):
a lot. JC Before we go, I'm going to share
one thing that my friend shared with me. My friend Lisa,
when I was telling her about this interview today, was
so excited. She's a huge fan of your work, always
has been, loves this new concept album supports.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
All you know, it's a weird but yes.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Yeah, yeah, she but she thinks it's genius. And I
think that's what's cool is a lot of your eurog
fans are now coming with you onto this journey and
it's a pretty magical thing, you know. And she said
to me, an in sync reunion of any kind would
heal the millennial generation. When you hear that, well, what
(34:21):
do you feel? Because that is an amazing statement.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
It's incredibly humbling, that's for sure. You know, when you
are yourself, I don't know you. You just think you're
going through life being you, and and sometimes you know,
really it's the kindness of strangers that is going to
put things into perspective. When someone that you never met before,
that you don't know, shares an act of kindness, it's
(34:48):
humbling and then I look, I appreciate it to the moon.
So but it's also hilarious that that would be the
context you could heal the millennials.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
You of the power, You of the power, My man,
jac Thank you. This was such a blast. I loved
you know, hearing you celebrate, hearing us celebrate some of
your past work, but really diving into this new project.
Like I said earlier, I am such a fan of
theater and musical theater and that creative space. And I
hope you keep going with this. I hope you have
massive success with this. I hope that I see you
(35:21):
down the block in New York City doing the show
on stage. And I believe in it, So keep going.
I think it's a really special thing you have.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Thank you man. Again, I think I think it's it's
inspired me in a way that I haven't been inspired
in a long time. And so I'm thankful just to
be feeling this way about working on a project. And
I hope that the voice that Jimmy and I are
bringing to the theater world is something that people find
(35:51):
interesting on some levels.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
And how can we continue to support.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
PWF Musical dot com. You know, you connect you with
all the music, all the socials and everything like that,
and hopefully you can you know, if you go check
that stuff out, you can follow the journey of this
whole thing, because again, we just released a record. This
is the beginning, right so you know, next thing, you know,
we're going to be in a building, so we're singing
these songs live on a stage and addressing the book.
(36:17):
We're thinking about a concert first and then going from
concerts into workshops and then all these other things. But again,
this is the beginning of the process and where it
goes will be up to anybody who is reaching out,
who is curious about it. It'll the project will literally
be in everyone else's hands.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
Well, rock on, keep it going, and in the meantime,
keep healing a generation.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
That's the goal.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Jay Z, Thank you so much, my man, thank you.
I've never said this before. It is hosted by me
Tommy Diderio. This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Piglisi
at iHeartRadio and by Me Tommy, with editing by Josh
Shua Colaudney. I've Never Said This Before is part of
the Elvis Duran podcast network on iHeart Podcasts. For more
(37:07):
rate review and subscribe to our show and if you
liked this episode, tell your friends. Until next time, I'm
Tommy Diderio.
Host
Tommy DiDario
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.