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[0:05] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's the round table with me, Robert Bannon. Welcome to the round table, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon. You're listening to us on Broadway World over here on the Broadway Podcast Network, iHeartSpotify, wherever artists are here talking about art. Our next guest. Okay, I was a Jersey boy growing up on my Italian grandmother, and I was that kid that was like obsessed with Sinatra and Liza and Sammy and a certain style and a certain sound and a certain generation. I thought I was alone out here, but there was an entire generation of people who are also in love with this music and this nostalgic sound. And our next guest has had a whole bunch of Grammy Awards, millions and millions of records sold for work that he has worked on.

He's been in Vegas working with every celebrity superstar in the entire world. Anytime somebody wants a certain look, genre, certain throwback to a certain time, real music, real incredible jazz, standard American. You know who they call? They call Brian Newman. I don't care if it's the Gaga to the Bruno Mars, the John Baptiste, to the man down the street. Anyone who's looking for a certain style and Tony Bennett, etc., they all reached out to Brian. Brian is here with a brand new album that you need to check out. The superstar, Brian Newman, welcome to the show.

[1:14] Brian Newman: Oh, Robert, thank you so much for having me. And that was an incredible intro. I don't know if I deserve all that. I love you though. Thank you so much.

[1:22] Robert Bannon: It's all true. It's all factual information. When I talk about a style and a genre of music, I mean, I know I was reading your bio, and like I know modern music or more contemporary. I was just watching the Earth Wind and Fire documentary on HBO. Like I know there's more than just there's more music you love than just this style from this throwback style. But that style in particular, why? Why do you love it?

[1:45] Brian Newman: I mean, I think it's all about like influence, right? So even all the modern pop we're listening to today comes from this old tradition of the great American songbook, and even before that, just American music, you know, and black American music. But it was just like, it's like so I gravitated towards that the same way that you did, like with Liza and Sammy and Angie. My wife's from Jersey. She's got that old cert that says Sammy, Frank, and Liza '81 and '85. And that's my childhood. Totally, totally. You said that I was like, oh man, I never got to see them live, but I lived through vicariously. But yeah, that style just always clung to me. I started playing trumpet in the concert band, blah, blah, blah, you know, all the classical-ish music, and then I found like jazz music, and it really like spoke to me, the music off the written page, you know.

So like that kind of got me started. Long story short, yeah. Then when I moved to New York and I was really into jazz, I dropped out of school and moved here and dropped out of college and moved here. And then just started like, you know, waiting tables and doing all that kind of stuff. But I fell in love with the music, you know, actually working like these burlesque shows and doing stuff in New York and really like, you know, meeting like Murray Hill and Angie Fontani and like seeing them do their shows and like, oh, I was like, oh, I can like, I don't just have to play like jazz, like I can sing and play trumpet and put on a show, you know what I mean? So that really then that got me really into like, I mean, I was into Frank and Tony and all that stuff before Ella, all the classics, but that really like pushed me towards that like entertainment side of it as opposed to, you know, what you're taught as a jazz student when you're younger is like, you know, it's very revered, it's very blah blah blah, but like I'm an entertainer and that's what I want to do. So that's the long, the long answer for that, Rob.

[3:34] Robert Bannon: Yes. You talk about Angie. You saw Angie worked with Angie, and then you just decided to just caver stick around. I mean, if you know Angie, Angie Montani is an incredible burlesque performer and choreographer and entertainer and showgirl of her own ilk. So you just are a household of just showbiz and fun and creativity.

[3:56] Brian Newman: Oh, yeah. And Robert, it took me a while. We worked together for a while and I was afar, and then, you know, I was always like, I had her on my screensaver. I know that's kind of creepy. She, you know, but you know, she was like a pinup girl, like to me. I was like, this is like, you know, she was like a Vargas girl, like an I don't know, like an unattainable beauty, you know what I mean? I don't know. I then we did end up falling in love years later because of Murray Hill. Yeah, made me ask her out again. Murray, Murray Hill's got a book coming out, everybody, and Murray will be here by the end of the day from her. So it's great. That's all circular, circular stuff. I love it. It's a small, small world.

[4:32] Robert Bannon: So for you, how did was there a moment that your career took off from I'm waiting tables and trying to make a living and playing gigs at night and starting to pick up? And then was there a moment in particular that you feel like, oh, it took me to another level? It took me to a different platform than I had been at.

[4:49] Brian Newman: Yeah, I mean, I think it's always been like a slow, you know, like since I moved to shit I'm shit, I moved here in like 2003. And yeah, like you said, waited tables, took odd jobs, did whatever I could, literally. And you know, what really got me, I don't really ever felt like I really one thing really like changed everything because even when you know we started doing some of the great stuff, we were still like, you know, struggling a little bit, you know what I mean? So you're like you're trying to manage all that and still kind of push yourself forward. And yeah, I never feel like I really arrived. I mean, we're definitely have been extremely successful, and you know, through the hard work and the humility and the kindness, and you know what I mean, and just treating everyone wonderfully and just like you're just trying to authentically, you know, as really like helped us grow, helped me grow and help the band grow and me and Angie's shows together and just all that kind of stuff.

But yeah, I think when I really was like when my parents were like, oh my god, you're was one of the first time I did with Gaga at um it was the born this way for the Today Show, Bad Romance, and it was like raining, and it was like we did someone to watch over me, and then we did bad romance and it started raining, and it was just a crazy and it was so crazy. I remember they tried to they were just like well, can you wear all everyone was wearing all white and it was like Doc Martin's and tight jeans, and I was like, Man, I can I please just wear my black suit. I love you.

[6:14] Robert Bannon: See these incredible stories and this incredible run. The where here everybody, just FYI, the album, Songs for a Bowl of Lovers, is coming out, and you need to be able to stream it and listen to it. And if you love this music, all of Brian's music from Christmas to the new stuff to all sorts of music is out and about. So before we get into some of the things you've done and how cool your life is. And I don't know where you are you in Vegas, are you in New York? Where are you?

[6:36] Brian Newman: No, yeah, I'm trying to stay in New York. I mean, I'm just trying to stay in New York as much as I can. You know, like we got a 10-year-old daughter with, you know, I love I'm cruising this old hot rod all working on this old hot rod back here, this old 1932 Ford. So but you know, like I said, I'm running, I'm still running the pinky ring out in Vegas with Bruno Mars, my good partner, Daniel Foos, who played with Gaga and we've been together forever, is out there a lot more, you know, taking care of it, running the bands and stuff like that. And we set that up years ago. It was a, you know, it's like it was a massive amount of work in the beginning, and then it kind of trails. Then it's the formula's there, and you have to make little tweaks.

So I go in now a little bit less often. We did the same thing with the guys from the box at the Mayfair out there at the Baggio. And it's just been really fun to build these clubs. And you know, I started booking clubs like in at the Roxy when they rebranded in New York to the tribe, it was Tribeca brand. They rebranded, they hired me to book all the bands, and that was kind of the first foray into that kind of life, that kind of job. But really fun, just putting together great. I've always loved building bands, even like Gaga's orchestra, you know, or like anything we put together for her, or anything we put together with Tony. I love being able to bring like great people together, no egos, you know what I mean? Like just good people, great musicians, and just having good vibes, you know.

[7:53] Robert Bannon: So, like that's that was a before we talk to this album. What I found interesting about what you just said is that no egos, good vibes, good people. Because at the end of the day, when you take the names that you take the names of the people you were you bring up Bruno Mars, you bring up Gaga, you bring up Tony Bennett. At the end of the day, when they're in the studio in their safe space, they're not global superstars. They're great musicians trying to make the next project that is try to come up together and gather something together and make something incredible together. And what is moving is that you put them in the right environment and you provide them with that support, and then they get to do this incredible work, and then you get to do your incredible work.

And then the entire world, like it literally the work you do, Brian, literally changes the entire feeling of the globe because it reaches billions and billions of people and gives so much people joy and excitement and see themselves through the work. It really matters to people what you do.

[8:45] Brian Newman: Oh, well, thank you, Robert. I mean, my job is as what I do when I work with, you know, Tony, those guys like that, is like interpret, facilitate, and give them a bed of roses to lie in. You know what I mean? It's like that that's my goal. It's just like to let them be able to just do their thing. And I mean, and you talk about like, you know, just artists. Like, I remember we were like recording Cheek to Cheek in the studio, and Tony was already talking about the Colt Border. That didn't happen for like another I can't even remember the timeline, but you know, whatever, insert here. Five years, maybe so you know, you know, that happened later, they were already discussing doing that. So it's you know, we're always on to the next, like, even as this record's coming out of tomorrow.

But I was just in Texas playing some shows, and we finished the mixing on the next record, which is gonna be like Danzig and T and Weedis and Bruce Springsteen and like all analog to Tate, all like so. We're already, I'm already going to the next place. I want to keep pushing this forward and just making music and having fun. You know, there's so many, like you said earlier, there's so many different sides to you know, the style of music. And at the end of the day, it all was built here in these in this American American in America.

[9:56] Robert Bannon: I mean, it's already incredible. I'm excited. So I'm so excited about this album. I'm so excited for people to check out Songs for the Lonely Lovers. Tell us what's on it. What's the vibe? What's the sound? What's, you know, I was so inspired by Tony.

[10:11] Brian Newman: Um, you know, back in the day when I was younger, and even, you know, and then being able to be, you know, do all the things that we got to do with him because of Gaga plus Business giving us a chance, and Tony's family giving us a chance and team giving us a chance to crush, you know what I mean? Um, but um this record is really, um, it's a lot of my favorite like of the heartbreakers that Tony used to sing and Sammy used to sing and Ella and all these beautiful, like it's you know, we make all these fun records. I play all these fun shows, but you know, something about the sadness of some of these songs and just the way that make you feel and maybe they can take you out of your own, um, you know, depression or whatever, like whatever you want to call it, uh funk, you know what I mean?

Like to take you out of because it goes back to the entertainment things, like my job is just to, you know, you want to like let people forget about their problems for a little while. Maybe if you listen to a song with a guy that has more problems than you, then um make you it's like watching Jerry Springer or something. I don't know.

[11:11] Robert Bannon: How did you now I love that?

[11:15] Brian Newman: That's terrible. No, that's exactly right. So, how did you narrow down the songs to pay like you keep a running list of music you want to record? Like, how did you come up with this is the lineup of this album?

[11:28] Brian Newman: Yeah, I really just kept putting, I started adding stuff together, and then you know, I went in the studio for one day with my really good friend Kaylin Cardello. I had booked two days, and it was supposed to be just duo, it was gonna be a duo record, just me and piano because Tony and Bill Evans did two records back in the 70s that are some of my favorite records of all time. It's just the two of them, and it's like talk about like, um, you just yeah, make sure you're in a good spot when you listen to it, you know. You know what I mean? Have a glass of wine or a tequila or something in a thing, you know. But um, so I was really inspired by that. So we started to do that, and then we had gotten through so many songs the first day that um and all these songs were just like stuff that I've been either singing all of singing in the past to eat 10 years or 20 years, or some stuff that was new that we had I'd been breaking in at shows for the past like six months before we recorded, and um just trying to find those arrangements and find that.

So when we went in the studio, it was very easy to just record everything. We took one or two takes of everything. There was no like audio fixes, maybe fixed a few lyrics if I flubbed a consonant or a vowel, you know, maybe I'd fix like a word, but we really kept it super authentic and just um it was great. So we got super anyway. Long story short, second day. I called Nolan Bird and Caylan Cardell, and um I mean sorry, Nolan Bird and Russell Hull, another Juilliard guy. And um, they came out to the jersey, and we just cut a whole other day of like I think we have maybe 25 tracks from this, and we only put out 18, so there might be another, might be some bonus records. 18 tracks done, boom, whole entire big giant album that comes out that you could stream.

You know, when you talk about uh I've done the song myself, but you find these songs like Who Can I Turn to and things like that? When you which break is talk about a song that breaks your heart, is one of the most gorgeous stories. They they've been done. So you now have to have the unique challenge to then find your own Brian Newman version of it and arrangement, and arrangements are not something that are very modern, like people don't talk about arrangements like they did back in the day.

[13:35] Robert Bannon: A famous arranger for you. What how do you arrange these? What is your process to find your Brian Newman version of the song?

[13:42] Brian Newman: No, and you're absolutely right. Like, there's no more like arranger, it's all producer now. There's a producer who produces the song, whether there's a band or not, you know what I mean? But there's still if it is some kind of music like this, you still need some kind of arrangement, whether it's a horn arrangement or you know, I it really depends. The way that I like to do it is I have a song like we'll take Who Can I Turn to. I'll bring it in on a Monday night at Demelio's. We play this little secret spot in Little Italy every Monday, and it's just like you you can you can't you can't yeah, yeah. Uh DM me. I'll uh everybody listening, DM me, I'll send you the link every Monday. It's like a little secret joint.

You can do whatever you want. It's a great place. Um but um anyway, play there, I'll bring up a bunch of new songs in there. I know that the crowd is gonna be into me doing trying some new stuff. So it's like, you know, and for me, how you really have to like claim in front of people to see what works and what doesn't work. I mean, there's so many songs that I've tried to sing and I've come in and I'm just like can't sing this, you know. You know, or you know, like or it just doesn't work, or the lyrics are like uh I don't know how the lyrics are weird, I can't say that anymore. This is you know what I mean, you know, all especially with these old standards. It's hard to it's hard hard to put one in.

Sometimes you're like, oh shit, I forgot. We can't sing this one, you know. Um, but um just stuff like that. So and then through the great musicians that that that I'll that I like to surround myself with, um, and myself, and we just kind of go through it, play it, we'll play it through, and then I'll be like, Oh, you know, let's do this next time. I'm gonna sing this at the end, or you know, or we just I sing it different every time, and then we see what really works. I think that that's that's that's been my favorite way to really we do rehearse, of course, but like not not very often. I we I like to do the stuff live. Everybody knows these songs, all these jazz cats and know these tunes. If I put a seat uh lead sheet in front of them with the changes, they they can read it, I can count it off.

And then they'll do little things like uh Sean Fitzpatrick. I love playing with him. He just plays these these these great intros. They sound like beautiful, and they're just like it could be a song we never even played before. You know, it's amazing this kind of music how we can just breathe together, you know.

[15:42] Robert Bannon: Oh, I'm so in. I'm so excited for people to check this out and listen to the whole album from beginning to end. What followed the journey because you put these songs together. Don't just listen to a single or pick a fave. Like fall in love with all 18 tracks on this album and find when you put it out. Do you have a picture of what you is it? I'm gonna have someone over for dinner. It's a date night, it's in my car, I'm gonna be like, where do you when you play this music? What do you envision us doing? What is this the type of album for?

[16:08] Brian Newman: Uh, I mean, I think it's really just for like, you know, I mean for me, it's like alone at a bar smoking a cigarette, you know what I mean? Like uh whiskey, it's late, you know what I mean? It's maybe it's maybe it's super muggy outside or foggy and a little bit chilly, you know what I mean? But but but comfortable enough to walk and spin around a lamppost. You know, you know what I you know what I mean? Like I feel like that's kind of the vibe. But yeah, live and listen to with your partner with your friends, you know what I mean? It's like a it's a great record to just chill to and and uh it's definitely a departure from like of our more high energy uh records that we've done in the past, you know. So it's fun. The musicianship is just really beautiful with Caitlin and Russell and Nolan. They play so well together, and they gave me that bed of roses that I try to give, you know what I mean? That's then that's really important.

[17:00] Robert Bannon: Well, listen, it'll be on the playlist here in my house. We'll be listening to any barbecue, any dinner night out, any time. This will be on rotation here in our house. So for you, we want to see you. I want to see you live. I want to see the Brian Newman experience. Are we gonna have more dates, more gigs, more clubs? What's going on?

[17:16] Brian Newman: Yeah, Rob, when is this coming out, baby?

[17:19] Robert Bannon: This is coming out the beginning of the week. So this is the 11th.

[17:22] Brian Newman: So we're gonna great. Yeah, so uh I'm in town. I'm in town. Um I'm I'm in town the uh until until the end of June. We're doing a bunch of shows um every Wednesday at Soho Soho Soho Grand Hotel uh at the club room. That's from 7:30 to 10:30. Every Monday, like I said, at Demilio's, which is down on um it's on Moth Street. Um, every Monday there we'll be there, we'll be there through the end of June. And then every Friday, I mean, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm fucking this up. Every Saturday at the Flatiron Room on 37th Street. Um, and that's that's a really great supper club. I've been there forever. Um, all these places are really good stuff. And then I'm looking forward to the fall. We're gonna drop a double vinyl of songs for lonely lovers in the fall so that you can all the vinyl lovers can dig that.

And then we'll be doing a ton of more stuff, uh, more shows with Angie and me. And uh we'll start promoting all that stuff uh of the box and all maybe playing Joanne's up uh Papa Joe's place and Germanata's place up on doing a little baby but they've been they've been crushing it up there, doing a ton of fun stuff. So they've been begging us to get back up there, and we haven't been there in forever. So I'm excited that excited to do that. This is fun a lot of fun stuff planned.

[18:26] Brian Newman: Yeah, we'll be oh, and you know, one more thing I'm really excited about, Robert. I know it's a little far in advance, but every Tuesday at the Cafe Carlisle in March of 2027.

[18:36] Robert Bannon: Oh, I'm glad to be there for that too.

[18:38] Brian Newman: Yeah, that those are gonna those are gonna be that's one of my favorite places to play on the year. So I love I love that. That is the perfect place to see besides a little go get a cappuccino and a cannoli and go to Little Go to Soho Grand. It's very fancy. You need like a sometimes you need a secret word to get in. It's a very bougie. If you're in New York and you want the New York experience, Soho Grand is the spot to be. And then wherever Brian's going to be, get ready to get your get a reservation, find a seat, get a table, and listen to the album and be ready to be thrown back to a different time and a different place. I'm excited for you. I'm excited for this journey as it continues for more music. I'm excited for the let you and Angie continue to make us smile and do incredible shows.

[19:19] Brian Newman: Oh, thanks. Keep this music alive and keep it alive and keep it out here in the world. It means so much to all of us.

[19:25] Brian Newman: Yes, and you too, your beautiful voice and your beautiful vibes, man. Thank you so much for even having me on this and talking about this record of amazing questions and just it was great to get deep with you and and and and have a good time. Have a good time for once in a while. Let's go.

[19:38] Robert Bannon: Follow Brian on go to his website the link will be below the Instagram will be below you can follow him as well. And the link to get the album the album at the 12th the album is out. So make sure you stream it and share it and send it to somebody you love and care about today. Thank you Brian come back next time we're ready.

[19:52] Brian Newman: Oh anytime Robert thank you so much for having me love love you everybody thank you for listening. We'll see you in a little bit.