Kickstarter

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well!  By now all of you should have received your pledge rewards.  If you have not then please let me know and I will make sure you get them. 

Here is the latest update on Daniel in Babylon.  I have formed a Limited Liability Company for the purpose of taking Daniel in Babylon to the next stage.  Yes folks, we are in Phase Two!

What does that mean?  Simply this...as soon as  we raise the necessary budget and find a suitable theater, it is totally possible for Daniel in Babylon to premier as early as the end of November!  Yes - you heard that right!   If the pieces fall into place then this can happen!  It is not a guarantee and the dates could get pushed back due to theater availability, etc...but it is always good to set a goal! 

How can you help?  For starters, if you know anyone that might want to be an investor or if you want to invest in Daniel in Babylon, please email me at Lenny@danielinbabylon.com.

Secondly, we have a website called www.danielinbabylon.com - check it out!   I will be transferring your email addresses to the mailing list and with your permission I will start sending out newsletters with the latest info.

I will be in touch!  Have a great month and stay out of the Lions Den!

Lenny

Hi Everyone,

We are on track!  Everything is progressing!  Here is an update of the last two weeks!

December 11 - King Darius Sings - If you recall, when we stopped at the end of November we had recorded  the rhythm section of the music and the chorus.  In the next eight days we would be adding the cast and one or two more instruments.  Today, Avraham Berk came in and sang the part of King Darius The Mede.  He is in Act Two scenes two and three.  Avraham is a Berkley School of Music graduate who lives in Israel.   He has been on many albums with me, most recently, Derech Haor and Still Not Quite on Broadway.   Avraham sang his part beautifully and even played trumpet on two songs in Act One.

December 13 - No Hockey But.... - As we know there is no hockey because of the NHL lockout.  To our advantage we got the organist for the New Jersey Devils to come in and lay down keyboard parts for the musical soundtrack.  Pete Cannarozzi has actually played on Shlock Rock albums going back to 1990 when he appeared as the keyboard player on Lenny and the Shlockers.  He also was recently on the Kosher Cake CD.  Pete did an awesome job and now we hope the NHL figures things out so Pete can get back to work!

December 17 - Daniel and his Friends - Today is a big day.  Ten hours of recording in studio.  Chandler Mogel, Brian Dunne, Angel Reynoso and Shaliek Rivers are here to sing the parts of Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael and Azariah.  They have contrasting voices which makes for a great blend of singing.  Brian, Angel and Shaliek finish their parts by 3:30 PM and Chandler stays until 8:45 PM.  All of their parts are done!  What a day....very intense.   All the actors love the music! 

December 18 - A Day of Wizards, Advisors, Governors and Grand Vizier's - There are 22 cast members including the chorus.  Not all the parts have big roles.  In this case Jonathan Rimberg, Mark Infield and Avromy Weisberger came in to sing the smaller roles.  Today they were court bystanders, a group of Chaldeans, guards to the King, wizards, governors and grand viziers.   They sang small parts of 5 songs.  I also partook, singing with them as part of the Wizards and Governors.  It was a lot of fun.  

December 19 - Arioch The Executioner, King Belshazzar and King Nebuchadnezzar - The last day of singing is unreal!  It starts off with Jordan Hirsch who plays the part of Arioch The Executioner.  This is a fun small part of four songs requiring a bass/baritone voice.  Then Courtney Coletti comes in and sings the part of King Belshazzar.   He is the King who in his arrogance throws a party with the golden vessels of the holy Temple.  As you can imagine, that does not end well for him.  King Belshazzar is in Act Two scene one and consists of four songs.  At noon, Kevin Osborne comes in.  He sings the parts of King Nebuchadnezzar.   A total of eight songs all in Act One.  Kevin has been on one album with me before.  He is an awesome performer and singer and his credits include Moving Out - the Broadway musical of Billy Joel's music.  And so at 4:30 PM on December 19th we officially went into the production phase. 

What does that mean?

All 25 songs are in the hands of engineer Ethan Bill.  He will mix and master the musical and after my approval will send it off to be manufactured or downloaded, etc...  We are right on schedule for a late January shipping date. 

At that point we raise the funds and with the help of G-d debut off-Broadway sometime in mid to late 2013.  Yes, it is a long process but well worth it!

You will hear from me next when we are ready to ship out your pledge packages!

Stay in touch - Lenny

HI Everyone,

I just wanted to update everybody on the progress of the project!  As you know, my goal is to send out the CD's, scripts, tee shirts, downloads, etc... sometime in the middle to the end of January. We are on track for that!

Here is what has happened so far!!!

I was supposed to arrive in NY on October 28 but Hurricane Sandy set us back one week!  After being delayed for three days, I landed in NY on Thursday November 1.  On Friday, we had our first production meeting.  The meeting was with Steve Bill our musical director and the studio was operating on a generator!  Here is a log of each day of the studio experience.

Friday November 2 - A 3 hour review with the musical director, Steve Bill.  He has done 12 albums with me and is great to work with.  The meeting goes smoothly.   We go over all the songs and a few minor changes are made in terms of a couple of chord changes and a couple of arrangement modifications.  We are scheduled for recording on Tuesday November 6 - if power is restored!  Luckily, the studio gets power back over the weekend.

Tuesday November 6 -  The rhythm section is made up of myself on piano, Steve Bill on electric guitar, Dave Keyes on bass guitar and Mark Ambrosino on drums. This is the same rhythm section that recorded No Limits with me.  I loved working with them in 2009 and it was a great time now as well.  We spend six hours recording and put down Act One Scene One and the first song in Act One Scene Two.  All told, around 29 and a half minutes of the musical is recorded.   Ethan Bill is the engineer.  This is Ethan's fifth project with me.  He is an outstanding engineer with great vision and creativity!

Wednesday November 7 - We spend another six hours and record the rest of Act One.  Act One is currently one hour and three minutes long and consists of fourteen songs and four scenes.  Steve's favorite song is Time Passes On which ends Act One.  The guys are excited.  The music is varied but there is a theme which runs through the show! 

Thursday November 8 We are really rolling now!  Act Two Scene One goes down before lunch.   The guys are excited to finish the entire act today and we decide that if the energy is good - we will continue until the musical is finished.   After 8 hours in the studio we finish Act Two which is 44 minutes and three scenes long.  The music is now recorded.  There are 25 songs and one hour and forty seven minutes of music.  Next week we will do piano overdubs, guide vocal and the choruses.

Monday November 12 - I am in the studio with Ethan.  Today I will be fixing any piano parts that need to be corrected and singing the entire second act to guide the cast.  All my vocal parts will be replaced by the actors but they will need a guide to learn the songs.  Today goes smoothly and at the end of the day we have an actor auditioning for the lead roll! He is well prepared and sings the ballad "In The Lions Den" beautifully - Exciting stuff!

Tuesday November 13 - Today is a short day in studio.  One actor comes in to audition for the part of King Nebuchadnezzar.  He is on a very high level and a powerful singer.

Wednesday November 14 - The chorus section is in today and tomorrow!  LaJuan Carter, Marlon Saunders and Keith Fluitt are here to sing on all the choruses.  There is 12 hours worth of singing ahead!  What is unbelievable is the pitch, the enunciation, the dynamics.   These three singers can sing any style of music on demand with the right intonation and the right feeling!  They are fantastic and on we finish all the choruses of Act One. 

Thursday November 15 -  The chorus section is back for day two.  They, like the musicians who played on the project, love the songs and the project!  Day Two is also outstanding and we finish all the work that is needed.   My favorite part is ...well all of it!   I love all of it!!!  Wait until you hear it or better yet - see it on stage!

What Lies Ahead - In December we will be recording all the lead vocals which is approximately 11 different lead parts.  We will be overdubbing guitars and keyboards as well as darbuka.  Then we will mix the entire musical and go to production.  Stay tuned, as the second half of the recording of Daniel in Babylon continues!    My friends, the creative process is the best part!  I will keep you all in the loop!

Speak to you soon - Lenny

HI Everyone,

I hope you all have been doing well!  Here is a little update from Daniel in Babylon HQ!

We are now embarking on phase 2 of Daniel in Babylon on Kickstarter!  Thanks to all of you we funded and now it is time to start implementing. 

As you know we are estimated to be finished with this phase sometime during the month of January 2013.  Our first step is auditions.  We are holding them at the end of October and then we will be recording the rhythm section for the musical the first week of November.  It is very exciting and I am positively energized to take Daniel in Babylon and make it the best musical ever.  We have a very talented and experienced musical director in Steve Bill and we will be recording in his studio in New Jersey.  We have also been consulting with people in the Broadway and Off Broadway world and have been taking notes and making plans!   

I will be in touch with all of you shortly as we progress on this new adventure! 

Thanks, Lenny

Hi Everyone,

It is an amazing thing.  The outpouring of help and generosity that were shown to me the last 30 days  are not to be believed!  God gave me a gift and with it, I wrote a musical between the end of March and May 31 - but by your actions you have given it life.  It is a very long way to get to any theatre let alone Broadway!  We are still a number of steps away from those places but tonight you all gave Daniel in Babylon the chance to make it!  I will do everything I can to make it the best production possible and will stick to the plan!  I will produce the book and score and Cast CD and then - we will shoot for the stars!  Thanks again for a monumental 30 days!  We will be in touch soon!!! 

Your Friend,

Lenny