Sunday, January 8, 2012

Q&A with David Bryan

Because Dave Bryan doesn't get nearly enough love, here are a few questions from his Q&A on the Durham Performing Arts Center website:
You have been with the rock group Bon Jovi for more than 25 years. What do you think is the key to the band’s continued popularity?
Writing good songs, making good records, and always giving your all at every live concert.

During all the years it took for MEMPHIS to get to Broadway. What compelled you to continue with the process?
It’s not a sprint but a marathon! Every time we did a production, we worked on the show and we learned where it was and where we had to take it. A musical is very complicated. You have to create story, songs, and dance, and they all have to work together. The fine tuning process happens in front of an audience and that takes many, many hours to get right. But it was easy to persist, because I always believed that MEMPHIS is a show that entertains and tells an important American story.

How is writing song for a rock band different than writing songs for a Broadway musical?
In a rock band, you’re just writing for the voice of the lead singer. In a musical, you have many different characters you have to make sing. Still ultimately, a good song is a good song.

You have won many honors as a rock musician, including winning a Grammy Award. How was the Tony® awards presentation different than the Grammy Awards?
The three Tony® awards I won is unbelievably special. It was a long road with MEMPHIS, but I always believed in our show. To be honored and welcomed by the Broadway community for my work feels great. And it is just the start. Joe and I have a new show in the works called Chasing The Song (about American song writers from 1962-1964). We’ll continue to create new works for a long time.

Read the full Q&A here.

3 comments:

  1. Dave has the most music training of all the band members. Kudos to him for establishing himself as a composer. He will have a long "second career."

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  2. Yay for the David love!! I really *am* going to write those blogs I e-mailed you about, but I just have to figure out when. I thought I'd have time over the holidays, but that was a bust.

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  3. That's cool, Shannon, just shoot them through when you're ready. :)

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Thanks for giving me your time.