Tom Jones the Musical Demo Recordings

I’ve been chronicling about the recent demo recording sessions I did in NYC for my new musical Tom Jones the Musical. I worked with fantastic singers and am really happy with the results.

Say Goodbye to Tom Jones

“Say Goodbye to Tom Jones” happens late in the second act. Both Squire Western and the priggish Blifil want to get Tom Jones out of the way so Blifil can marry Squire Western’s daughter, Sophie. Blifil pays off people to say Tom killed a man in a duel. Tom is found guilty and sentenced to hang in the morning. Blifil and Squire Western are giddy with the news and sing the triumphant song “Say Goodbye to Tom Jones.” Squire Allworthy, Tom’s guardian, makes a brief appearance in the song.

John E. Brady

Me and the village idiot’s dimwitted cousin.

My good friend John E. Brady (the “E” stands foe “Eww.”) sings the part of Squire Western. I’ve known Brady a long time and he’s a jerk. I don’t know why I’m still friends with him. (Okay, truth be told, and don’t tell him I said this, but if you could have only one friend in the world it should be John Brady. He is fiercely loyal and will give you the shirt off his back, which is kinda gross because he sweats a lot.) John played Wiesel in Newsies! and Timon and Pumba in The Lion King. The most appropriate role he’s ever played was Ape Face in Freaky Friday. And John brought in his Newsies! pals Adam Kaplan and Dan DeLuca to the project. So I have to give him that.

Marcus Choi

I met Marcus Choi several years ago when he sang a song of mine for the “Marvels & Monsters: Unbound” event at the Japanese American National Museum. The event kicked off the “Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S.” exhibit, a curated exhibit of comic books representing four turbulent decades illustrating how evolving racial and cultural archetypes defined America’s perceptions of Asians.” My song “Evil is a Yellow Face” from my musical China the Whole Enchilada was chosen to represent the evil “Brain” archetype. I lucked out and was able to nab both Marcus and Jon Jon Briones. Score. Marcus and I hit it off and have been friends ever since.

Cullen Titmas

Marcus, Cullen, Nitwit, Anissa, Danielle

I wrote about Cullen in an earlier post. He’s awesome. Sadly I didn’t get any time to hang out with him but he’s a terrific guy. Marcus suggested him and I’m glad he did. Like I said before, Cullen was “One Take It’s Chinatown Jake.” He was awesome. You may have seen him in The Last Ship or The Bridges of Madison County or Avenue Q or a bunch of other shows. Or the local pub floor, face down.

The Song

Here’s “Say Goodbye to Tom Jones.” I hope you like it.