Tom Jones the Musical Demo Sessions

This is the second installment about the recording session we did in NYC for my musical Tom Jones the Musical. Yesterday I wrote about the first song we recorded: “About You,” sung by the incredibly talented Kerry Butler and Dan DeLuca.

Digging a Hole in the Ground

After we recorded Kerry, we moved onto “Digging a Hole in the Ground.” This song takes place in the second act. Tom and Sophie come face to face for the first time since Sophie discovered Tom slept with another woman. He’s now the boy toy to another woman, Lady Bellaston, a socialite and insatiable cougar. Tom is a reluctant boycycle and is only with Lady Bellaston because she’s Sophie’s cousin and he is using her to find Sophie. Sophie walks into Lady Bellaston’s parlor to discover Tom dressed like a dandy.

Anissa Felix

I was lucky to get Anissa Felix and Josh Tolle to sing the song.

Anissa Felix is a good friend of mine. I met her when she was in a production of Around the World in 80 Days at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, AR. She is incredibly talented, sweet beyond belief and drop dead gorgeous. Seriously. She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. I think it’s because she’s so beautiful on the inside. She just glows and not in a “hey, how do you like my new plutonium outfit” kind of way. She was the Diana Ross cover for the Motown the Musical national tour and she’s currently in Sunset Blvd on Broadway.

The key Paul and I recorded in made it nearly impossible for a normal human to sing. The girl’s notes were higher than Snoop Dog at an all-night party. But enter Anissa Felix. She nailed it. We had to take a few breaks between takes because she was in the stratosphere and it was 11:00 in the morning. But she was awesome.

Josh Tolle

Josh Tolle came in that afternoon to sing his part. I had never met Josh. He was recommended to me by Adam Kaplan, who was recommended to me by a mutual friend. So Josh didn’t know a soul.

It was a crazy week for him. He had a callback for a Broadway show and his trip to Europe was up in the air. (I found out he flew out to Europe two days after he recorded for me). He had recently been on the Kinky Boots tour so I knew he was good. And he was. He came in. Boom. Bam. Thank you, ma’am. He did a terrific job.

The Song

All of the songs in Tom Jones the Musical are influenced by the 1960s British Invasion. Here’s “Digging a Hole in the Ground.” I hope you like it.