From the early days of Talking Heads, David Byrne has been developing unique and fascinating new ways to present his music to the world. There’s no finer example of this than the jaw-dropping American Utopia show, which the NME called “The Best Live Show Of All Time”.
Today we are delving inside the process of creating and performing the show from its early touring incarnation through to the wildly successful Broadway run that has just triumphantly resumed at the St James Theatre. I talk to key members of the band and cast about the show's merging of rock concert with modern dance piece and Broadway show, the innovative staging and unique challenges of reconfiguring classic songs for the show, the costumes, memories from the road, celebrity encounters, working with Spike Lee on the film version, how they went from collaborators to family and the challenges and joys of finally bringing the show back a year later than planned.
Thank you to cast members Angie Swan, Bobby Wooten, Chris Giarmo, Mauro Refosco and Stéphane San Juan for sharing their insights and stories, to Aussie queen of rock radio Zan Rowe for joining me to break down what makes the show special and publicist Michelle Farabaugh for making the whole thing possible.
Listen in the player above or download the episode by clicking here.
Subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts here or search 'My Favorite Album' wherever you listen to podcasts.
My Favorite Album is a podcast on the impact great music has on our lives. Each episode features a guest on their favorite album of all time - why they love it, their history with the album and how it's influenced them.
Jeremy Dylan is a filmmaker, journalist, concert promoter and photographer. He directed the the feature music documentaries Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts and Tommy Emmanuel: The Endless Road.
Edited by Ellie Willoughby.
Produced by Georgia Mooney.
If you've got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a line at myfavoritealbumpodcast@gmail.com.
LINKS
- American Utopia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
- Jeremy Dylan's website, Twitter and Instagram.
- Like the podcast on Facebook here.
- If you dig the show, please leave a rating or review of the show on Apple Podcasts here.