It's here, it's here. 1 Minute Musical week is here! Later than originally planned, but here. I figured that since I hadn't written about any of them, I'd give them their own week. There are three 1 Minute Musicals and they've all been great. I've said it more than once, but I love this idea. It's a great concept and one that's showcased talents that I didn't know these guys had. For instance, the music and lyrics for "Stuck in Traffic" were done by Layne Stein and Tony Wakim. I didn't know either of them wrote songs. Not just them, either, the other two 1 Minute Musicals were written by Eli Jacobson ("Lightbulb") and Geoff Castellucci ("Miley Cyrus").
In any event, the 1 Minute Musicals have been helping VoicePlay shine in new and intriguing ways. Honestly, if you've somehow never heard of VoicePlay, this is a great time to learn about them. It's been pretty fantastic to be a VoicePlay fan over these last few months. Not that it wasn't great being a fan of theirs before, mind. But they've really taken things up to a new level, really ever since they launched their Patreon campaign last November. Unless I'm mistaken, the 1 Minute Musicals were not Patreon funded, but the point stands. I really believe that the videos they've released since joining Patreon are easily some of their best to date. This tells me that they didn't make the decision to join Patreon lightly. It's proven to be a wise choice and I'm excited about what this means for the future.
Aside from the fabulous 1 Minute Musicals, they have their fun new Partwork series. The third of which was just released this past Friday and it's another winner. They debuted their wonderful cover of "My Shot" from Hamilton at the beginning of the month. Lemme tell y'all, if I didn't already love them, that video would've completely won me over. It's so good! They even put out a brand new ACA Top 10 at the end of May. It's just been a constant shower of musical yumminess from these guys and I'm all for it.
As you may have surmised from the title, "Stuck in Traffic" is all about being stuck in traffic and all the emotions that go with that. I don't know of a single person who enjoys traffic and so this outta be pretty relatable. I now live in Nashville, but was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of my life living just north of the city in Maryland. Meaning that I've wasted a decent portion of my life stuck on the horror that is the DC beltway. I would be very happy if I never had to travel on that God forsaken ring of asphalt ever again. There may well be worse roads to drive, but that's the worst I've been on.
Now it's been said that art inspires art. I was watching this in preparation to wait about it and y'all, I found myself inspired. Be afraid, y'all. I took part of a well known song and reworked it to try and quickly sum up the beltway experience. I'm not sure that what I came up with qualifies as art; in fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Chris Stapleton I ain't. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Now that I've effectively raised my blood pressure thinking about that blasted beltway, I think I'm going to take some deep breaths while you watch "Stuck in Traffic". It's a good one. One that features what might just be my favorite VoicePlay group moment to date. Enjoy.
In any event, the 1 Minute Musicals have been helping VoicePlay shine in new and intriguing ways. Honestly, if you've somehow never heard of VoicePlay, this is a great time to learn about them. It's been pretty fantastic to be a VoicePlay fan over these last few months. Not that it wasn't great being a fan of theirs before, mind. But they've really taken things up to a new level, really ever since they launched their Patreon campaign last November. Unless I'm mistaken, the 1 Minute Musicals were not Patreon funded, but the point stands. I really believe that the videos they've released since joining Patreon are easily some of their best to date. This tells me that they didn't make the decision to join Patreon lightly. It's proven to be a wise choice and I'm excited about what this means for the future.
Aside from the fabulous 1 Minute Musicals, they have their fun new Partwork series. The third of which was just released this past Friday and it's another winner. They debuted their wonderful cover of "My Shot" from Hamilton at the beginning of the month. Lemme tell y'all, if I didn't already love them, that video would've completely won me over. It's so good! They even put out a brand new ACA Top 10 at the end of May. It's just been a constant shower of musical yumminess from these guys and I'm all for it.
As you may have surmised from the title, "Stuck in Traffic" is all about being stuck in traffic and all the emotions that go with that. I don't know of a single person who enjoys traffic and so this outta be pretty relatable. I now live in Nashville, but was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of my life living just north of the city in Maryland. Meaning that I've wasted a decent portion of my life stuck on the horror that is the DC beltway. I would be very happy if I never had to travel on that God forsaken ring of asphalt ever again. There may well be worse roads to drive, but that's the worst I've been on.
Now it's been said that art inspires art. I was watching this in preparation to wait about it and y'all, I found myself inspired. Be afraid, y'all. I took part of a well known song and reworked it to try and quickly sum up the beltway experience. I'm not sure that what I came up with qualifies as art; in fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Chris Stapleton I ain't. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Driving on the beltway
Will surely ruin your day
When often is heard
A creative curse word
And the birds are a-flippin' all day
Yes, that just happened. And yes, you're welcome. Meanwhile, the other day I saw a report from a Vanderbilt doctor declaring that Nashville traffic is bad for your health. I agree that Nashville would greatly benefit from a rail system. The thing with Nashvillians is that they are generally a very polite, kind group of people. This is delightful most of the time. You know when it's not? When you're stuck behind someone at a four way stop and they want to let everyone and their cat go first. Or stuck in a parking garage where they'll pull out of a space and let everyone in front of them go first. People, this is not effectual! Nashvillians also spend a fair amount of time fixing to go instead of you, know, actually moving. That said, I'll take Nashville traffic over DC traffic any day of the week. Easily.
Now that I've effectively raised my blood pressure thinking about that blasted beltway, I think I'm going to take some deep breaths while you watch "Stuck in Traffic". It's a good one. One that features what might just be my favorite VoicePlay group moment to date. Enjoy.
Because I don't believe I've said it in this post and I can't seem to say it enough: I just love these guys. A breakdown of the lineup for those of you new to the group. Going with the roles they were each assigned in the video. There's Eli Jacobson, cast in the most unfortunate role of nose picker. Layne Stein as the self-absorbed; Earl Elkins Jr. as the rage monster; and Geoff Castellucci as the multitasking backseat driver. Then there's Tony Wakim on lead as the incredibly relatable driver. From this video, I've determined that I'm a combination of Tony and Earl when I'm stuck in traffic. With some Eliza Doolittle at the horse race thrown in there for good measure. Yep.
But back to the star of this 1 Minute Musical, Tony. The Tony. I love all these guys, but if there's one single member I can credit with cementing my love for the group, it would be Tony. It was the ACA Top 10 Broadway medley that did it. Actually, the medley as a whole was what made me love them, but I'd say that his Phantom solo was the official point of no return. Because not only did it prove that every member of the group was can easily sing lead, I just flat out loved his voice. Especially when he really opens up and goes for the big notes, like when he sings "because I love being stuck" right before the censored, i.e. best, part.
This video does a great job of showcasing why he rocks. You have the voice, but there's also the performance itself. I don't think this dude is capable of phoning in a performance. He's one of those that becomes the character. Is it awful to say that it's fun to watch him slowly unravel as this video goes on? Bless him and bless that ?@#$! - sentences I never imagined myself writing. Here's the thing: if you're going to do something like that, you need to commit. And I'd say Tony did! That was a ?@#$! with feeling.
That right there is what I was referring to when I mentioned by favorite VoicePlay group moment to date. It's great for a few reasons. One because you don't expect it the first time. At least I didn't. But also because it's one of those times where everyone's expressions and reactions are priceless. There's Earl's smirk of approval and Geoff's look of utter disapproval. Eli seems somewhat scandalized and follows that up with that second look. And then there's Layne who has basically been blissfully absorbed in his phone almost the entire time.
Yup, I do love these guys. Stay tuned for video spotlights on both "Lightbulb" and "Miley Cyrus" which will be coming later this week.
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