ALBUM PODCAST with Joe Iconis and Jennifer Ashley Tepper

Try Again was written in July 2015, after Joe's musical Be More Chill opened amid a wave and hype and received a show-killing review from the Grey Lady. The song deals in the specifics of an artist's life, but the hope is that it is relatable to everyone. It acts as the final song on Album because, like the album itself, it is heartfelt, a bit profane, fuzzy, ragtag, unexpected, and pure. Here's to... survival.

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This group 11 O’Clock number is the centerpiece song from Joe's Bloodsong of Love. The entire original cast of that musical are featured on the track, along with a resplendent choir arranged by the oft-mentioned Joel Waggoner. Listen to find out if the written lyric is “lore” or “lure” and if “soul” is about a fish. This might be the song that best encapsulates the Iconis & Family ethos.

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Find The Bastard is about being on a mission and is the "theme song" of Iconis' Bloodsong of Love, his spaghetti western musical. Joe and Jenn discuss the style of theatre songs as stand alone songs and how the end of Album's track list becomes more and more like a live album as it wraps up. Performed by Eric William Morris and the original cast of Bloodsong of Love.

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Joe Iconis boldly asked the internet, "What does music mean to you?" and got a beautifully sentimental response from a Long Island high school student that inspired the vulnerability expressed in It's All Good. Another track from the musical, The Black Suits, on Album it is performed by the original cast of the SPF workshop: Jason Tam, Nick Blaemire, Lance Rubin, and Jason SweetTooth Williams.

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From Joe Iconis' musical, The Black Suits, Amphibian is a song about songwriting. It was a surprise hit in the show that audiences responded to with enthusiasm. William Finn advised Joe about not dwelling on the imperfect rhyme between the words amphibian and oblivion. Written in the voice of high school band members, the words fit the vocabulary of the characters singing them. Killer orchestrations by Charlie Rosen and vocal performance by Will Roland.

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"I'm gonna put a party hat on my cat", was an earworm that was stuck in Joe Iconis' mind for a long time until he brought it to fruition in the summer of 2012 for a concert at The Beechman. A woman sings about how she can solve all her problems by putting a party hat on her cat, dressing up, and putting on perfume. After trying a few different ideas, Joe finally landed on the concept of having the cat chime in and share their perspective. On Album, Lauren Marcus is the woman singing about her cat and Eric William Morris is said cat.

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This song uses technology as a metaphor. A robot's battery dies throughout the song while he dreams of being happy, human, and real. The production on this track is more electronic focused, incorporating synths and computer sounds. Performed on Album by the very human, Jason SweetTooth Williams.

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Tightrope Walker / Mountain Climber / Me is one of two songs that were written specifically for Album. Joe wanted to write a piece specifically for Molly Hager and remembered a half-finished song from 2012 that he thought might be worth a second look. The resulting song is a three-part story that explores a person's relationship to their drive. Molly Hager recorded this song for Album.

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The oldest song on the record, "Starting to Forget" was written when Joe was an undergrad at NYU. It's based on source material from Brighton Beach Memoirs and inspired by Joe's own grandfather who passed away a few years before he wrote this song. Joe's longtime, cherished collaborator Badia Farha sings this song on Album and was present the first time Starting to Forget was performed 20 years ago. 

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Him Today, Gone Tomorrow is a rock and roll banger created with Shakina Nayfack for her musical, Manifest Pussy, an autobiographical story of Shakina's journey to gender affirming surgery. This song's sentiment speaks to how the middle of a transition is just as valid as the beginning or the end. Performed by the goddess herself.

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