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[0:00] Joe Iconis: Good morning Fort Greene. Hey everybody I'm Joe Iconis and I'm Jennifer Ashley Tepper and this is our podcast where we talk all about my album, ALBUM. Today we're going to be talking about the song Kevin. It's sung brilliantly by Andrew Rannells on the album and it's a song that's all about Brooklyn which is something that I really don't care about. Work and then back, back. Partying in Park Slope. So there's a song called Kevin. It's one of your many songs where it's named after a person like the title of the song is just a person's name. We love that aesthetic. Yes. Kevin, do you want to talk about who it's autobiographically sort of based on?

[0:43] Andrew Rannells: Yeah yeah absolutely. So I wrote this song in 2011. I was going to say 2013 but that's wrong. No I think it was 11. Yeah yeah 2011. 2010 and 2011 have a lot of play on this album. There's a lot of songs written in those years. It was very prolific.

[0:59] Joe Iconis: You were you were.

[1:04] Andrew Rannells: Yeah so yeah I wrote the song in 2011 and it was I wrote it for a concert that it was concerts. The concert was like songs about Brooklyn. Oh yeah. That was the where it was premiered. We're really learning how powerful a deadline is. Like we already knew that but in every situation it's like I knew the song for this Brooklyn concert. Yeah it's for it's for real. And I've never I've never lived in Brooklyn and actually don't have a lot of feelings about Brooklyn one way or another.

[1:28] Joe Iconis: It comes across in the song.

[1:33] Andrew Rannells: It's yeah but but I the reason I was like oh I want to write this was because my my my oldest best friend in the whole wide world is named Kevin Manganaro and he I've known him since since we were in second grade since so we were seven years old and he is just an amazing amazing guy and he went to school he went to NYU. I went to NYU as well. You went to NYU as well. And he was living in in New York City and he was kind of unsure about what he wanted to do and he was working he was like selling tickets for Broadway shows and and was just kind of generally like displeased with his his life. And he was always like the sunniest happiest guy. He's just like a true you know like a ray of sunshine.

[2:27] Joe Iconis: Yeah a ray of sunshine.

[2:36] Andrew Rannells: Yeah yeah. And and and at the time he was living in Brooklyn and just so over New York City. He was just completely over it and he and I saw how his kind of you know frustration his personal frustration turned into this you know real sort of aggression and this sort of aggressive apathy where it felt like he just didn't care about anything. Like everything was the same and it and it's and and it was a condition the sort of the sort of um you know confrontational apathy that I see in people or I had been seeing and lots of people.

[3:10] Joe Iconis: We've seen it through a lot of people through the pandemic.

[3:13] Andrew Rannells: Yeah. It's a very pandemic mood. It really is. That Kevin is having. Yeah um and so and so I was inspired by that to uh to write this song. And so um you know when I when I do the song in concert a lot of times I'll I'll dedicate it to Kevin. And I'll say that he's no you know he can't be here tonight. Um and it's always you know sort of implying that he's in prison but in fact he's not in prison. The real Kevin um did not do what the Kevin in the song does. And the real Kevin was like I'm frustrated in my life uh and so I'm gonna go to law school and become a lawyer. And he did. And now he lives in Boston and is moving back to New York because now that he's been away from New York um being a lawyer in Boston for many years he's like I miss it. I want to go back.

[4:00] Joe Iconis: Very different than the song.

[4:05] Andrew Rannells: Very different song. Yeah yeah. And so that the real Kevin has a has a has a has a much happier end. Um and I'm sure that uh that one day he's gonna get in serious trouble because I wrote the song based on him. And I say his name all the time and he's a lawyer. I've thought about that before because it is such a like what if. Obviously it's not real but in our world of like what did this person do.

[4:23] Joe Iconis: I know. Sorry Kevin Manganaro.

[4:28] Andrew Rannells: No I'm sorry. I mean like the damage is done. Yeah. You know it's like there's no taking it back now. So um yeah but I but the song you know the song itself is one that um you know so many people talk to me about and I'm so happy that there's finally a proper recording of it. And it's you know it's a song that also during the 2010-2011 period I was obviously very sort of frustrated um and and angry myself. And I think that that has certainly comes through in a lot of these songs. You know a lot of these songs are really balancing the like wistfulness and comedy with like intense anger.

[5:05] Joe Iconis: Yeah.

[5:11] Andrew Rannells: Um and Kevin is sort of like at the top of that. Yeah. It's also it's just such an incredible song as like a vehicle for an actor. Um I feel like you know obviously we have the incredible performance by Andrew Rannells who did it.

[5:17] Joe Iconis: Yeah. Incredibly in person and on the album.

[5:22] Andrew Rannells: And then I just have such memories also of like Taylor Trench singing it.

[5:27] Joe Iconis: Yeah.

[5:27] Andrew Rannells: And just like it's such a character piece in full. It's like a one-act play and a song to the extreme.

[5:32] Joe Iconis: Yeah. Yeah I mean I that's what I that's what I wanted. And you know the the song you know and so when I first you know started writing it it was um this idea of like wanting to dramatize that sense of aggressive apathy. You know wanting to actually take the audience on a on a you know on a journey with it. And I I kind of had the I had the ending of the song at the beginning. You know that that was sort of my way into the song. Where it's like I'm going to write this song um you know playing on the audience's preconceived notions of what they think a song like this is going to be about. You know and sort of like I loved the idea of kind of playing the audience and having them you know sort of go on this journey. Like oh it's going to be this this song making jokes about you know people in Brooklyn. And like this guy is so over it. And then it really surprises you.

[6:24] Joe Iconis: More than most songs.

[6:24] Andrew Rannells: More than more than most songs.

[6:33] Joe Iconis: Yeah um but you know I think that the that that the turn the song uh takes um and obviously I mean no one's you know listening to this or watching this without having heard the song. And so you know the turn is.

[6:38] Andrew Rannells: Listen to the album first people. This is a bonus content for you. Don't be spoiled.

[6:44] Joe Iconis: Yeah oh truly yeah that would be so that would be so cruel. Can you imagine anyone yeah it's like why?

[6:49] Andrew Rannells: But um yeah so you know in the song Kevin it's this guy and he's really over it. He's he's sick of Brooklyn. And there's you know jokes about Fort Greene. And then he says some increasingly uh off-color potentially offensive things. And so we're sort of in the like oh this guy is really bad. But he's like kind of funny. And you know his and he's so over it. And that's and that's so funny. And then in the like the third act of the song uh he's walking in the street. And he sees a woman and he kills her. And he dumps her body uh behind a club that's on my back. Spoiler alert. And he's still yeah and then he's still just sort of he doesn't do anything. And it's not nothing's changed.

[7:25] Joe Iconis: And um and it's it's you know it's intended to be a a shocking moment uh in the song. And and intended you know to to show the sort of like the the the real consequences of this way of thinking. You know like the the real danger of this kind of like oh I'm so you know I'm done with this. I'm with you know this burrow or this rehearsal or this whatever. You know and there's a lot of like I always sort of talk about um you know the like eye rollers. You know I always talk about like hating eye rollers. And like with just you know these people who just can't be bothered with anything. And they're just you know sort of done with it. And um and and I and I I feel like the you know Kevin is like my most my most sort of like you know the eye rollers are not only energy suckers. But they're dangerous. You know like they're actually.

[8:17] Andrew Rannells: It can turn into something worse.

[8:17] Joe Iconis: It can turn into something worse you know for sure. Um and you know and the turn in the song also is is you know people ask me like my inspirations a lot. And I'm I'm I'm you know very inspired by musical acts. And I'm very inspired by musical theater writers. But I also like I'm really inspired by by film and by um you know movie makers. And um and Kevin is a song that is like a hundred percent when I hear it. You know I think it's just ripped off from Alfred Hitchcock. It's like a straight up Alfred Hitchcock uh like you think that this thing is about is about one thing. And then it's actually about something else. And it's something that you know Alfred Hitchcock most famously did in Psycho.

[9:01] Andrew Rannells: Um but sort of you know did all throughout his career. And I just love it. I love you know sort of playing an audience in that way. And playing with what they're what they think this thing is that they're they're getting. And I I've tried to do that in my musicals. But there's something about a song you know a a a a short story set to music that is so um it it feels like you can really you know take a big swing with stuff like that. And so yeah I'm always happy that people are you know are shocked like Kevin.

[9:29] Joe Iconis: Hey this is Andrew Rannells. And look who that is. It's Joey Ganas. It also you know kids listening at home like on your favorite streaming service. Um you can definitely take songs from this album and create like a Halloween playlist. Like there's so much horror. And obviously we love doing a Halloween concert. There's so much horror in so many different songs. You could probably also create a lot of like you could create a playlist of um you know songs that were written for musicals that never happened. Like there's a lot of like create your own playlist from this album. But specifically I feel like with Norman and with um Run Away From You. Like there's a really great horror playlist starting with Kevin.

[10:03] Andrew Rannells: Yeah.

[10:09] Joe Iconis: That's a good idea. Yeah. Somebody should do it. I am I wrong about that? So did Jason Williams sing the song for the first time? He premiered it.

[10:13] Andrew Rannells: Yeah. He was the first one. He originated it. Yep. And I could be wrong but I feel like that version has never made it onto the internet. Because we were I don't know if it was like oh it was in someone else's concert so we didn't have a video. But I thought it was maybe like is this too much for the internet? I really don't know. I don't remember.

[10:29] Joe Iconis: I mean it was I yeah I don't know. Maybe it was just never filmed. I remember it was at Galapagos.

[10:35] Andrew Rannells: Yep. Galapagos Arts Space.

[10:39] Joe Iconis: Yep. Um yeah I just don't think yeah it's never been it's never been seen. But I remember I remember that and now I'm actually remembering this more. And Jason's version is amazing too. It is there is a version of Jason singing on the internet but it's not that one.

[10:44] Andrew Rannells: Yeah. The um the night the whole night was about it was it's about like um a love letter to Brooklyn.

[10:57] Joe Iconis: Yes!

[10:57] Andrew Rannells: Yes! Oh my god and they were so mad at us because it's all coming back to me. It was like a love letter to Brooklyn and like sort of like you know songs about this girl that we love and that's why that's why I wanted to do it because it was like oh I want to write this song.

[11:12] Joe Iconis: Something unexpected.

[11:12] Andrew Rannells: Something unexpected yeah and yeah and like play on the you know the audience's you know preconceived notions of what even the concert was going to be. Oh my god. But yeah but I remember it was like it definitely was like a you know.

[11:25] Joe Iconis: I totally remember that now.

[11:25] Andrew Rannells: And I remember that after he's after he's after he finished it he uh he walked off the stage through the audience. Like he didn't go like really we were really being like rascals.

[11:36] Joe Iconis: Yes we were rebellious.

[11:36] Andrew Rannells: I also so you remember but there was a certain point where I made like a archive which is why I know that this performance has been lost to the ages.

[11:48] Joe Iconis: So around the time that Broadway Here I Come was going to be on smash we thought that we lost the very original first premiere version of the song. Like it was on a tape that got lost and it like just sent me down a rabbit hole of many sleepless nights trying to recover it from like you know back in the early 2010s and late 2000s when we had flip cams and video camera tapes. And it sent me on such a we finally found it thank god and we'll probably get to that at some other point in the album because the archive is so enormous and related to this. But um it made me realize that we couldn't find the original Kevin at that time. I remember being like it's missing. Like there's a whole entry of things that are missing. Best of luck to the future historians who find that on my computer.

[12:26] Andrew Rannells: Who else has performed it? Jason Vesey.

[12:34] Joe Iconis: Oh Jason Vesey.

[12:34] Andrew Rannells: Yeah that was so good.

[12:38] Joe Iconis: Yeah wasn't it? I remember people being shocked. It was at Barrington right?

[12:44] Andrew Rannells: Oh my god that was so good.

[12:44] Joe Iconis: Yeah I mean you know something that is something that's certainly true is like I love writing for actors. And obviously like specific actors and there's plenty of songs on this album that I wrote specifically for the person who's singing it. But I just I anytime I write anything I want to be able to give a great actor something to do. You know there's nothing that annoys me more than when I when I see a show or a concert or whatever and I see a really awesome performer and I feel like the people who made that thing for them are not taking advantage of all that performance to offer. You know it's like when you just see someone kind of like you know singing something it's like oh they're not singing in the place in their voice that is the most exciting. Or there there's nothing here in this lyric for them to play. It drives me crazy and so I always want to give material good material to good actors.

[13:28] Andrew Rannells: I remember Jason Vesey being very excited that he had Kevin.

[13:33] Joe Iconis: Yeah. It's like it's a it's a lot. It's a good lot. It's a good yeah it's a good a good lot. I like it. Proud of it.

[13:40] Joe Iconis: Hey thanks so much for listening or watching to my podcast. Do me a favor and go to wherever you just listen to or watch this thing and subscribe or like or give us a great rating or review and then head to bpn.fm slash album to find out even more information about this podcast more ways to watch more ways to listen and check out my album album. Thanks so much for hanging out. Album podcast is executive produced by Liz Armstrong produced by Dory Berenstein, Alan Seals, Kim Garris and the rest of the team at the Broadway Podcast Network. Be sure to visit bpn.fm slash album for both audio and video versions of this podcast and to listen to album.

[14:15] Andrew Rannells: Now I'm just unaffected. Now I can't feel a thing anymore.

[14:24] Joe Iconis: I can't feel. Hey kids. I'm Joe Iconis. I'm Jennifer Ashley Tepper. And this is the podcast where we talk all about my album album. Today we're going to be talking about the song Kevin as sung by Andrew Reynolds on the album and it's about uh well you know.

[14:34] Andrew Rannells: You know take a second and think about like what exactly is the sentence you want to say.

[14:40] Joe Iconis: I'm into it. I'm into the one and done.

[14:47] Andrew Rannells: Yeah let's do it.

[14:47] Joe Iconis: Okay we'll do it again.