Creative Collaboration with Darrin Newhardt

For my creative response to this project I decided that I wanted to sing songs with Darrin. This particular song is one that I mentioned had a strong influence on my music-culture in my first blog. For me, performing music is the most personal for of creative expression. It allows me to express my emotions and to slip away into another world if only for a minute. I love to be on a stage performing musicals, so I thought…what better way to fulfill my creative response? I am demonstrating my understanding of Darrin's music-culture by putting my knowledge to the test. Since I was the Broadway Nights featured artist the night I sang this song, I also got to participate in the friday night rehearsal. I experienced first hand Rebecca Trinidad's and Darrin's advice on how to better sing and act out my song. There are so many different creative interpretations of songs it is interesting to bring mine into a room full of opinionated people and get their feedback. It was definitely helpful and I think it made something click in my brain about how to approach music now. So for that I am thankful for this opportunity.

The Sustainability of Darrin Newhardt

Titon states “sustainability stewardship is not just about the music; it is about the people who make music” (Titon, 31). Darrin has created quite a name for himself in the city of San Antonio. Do I believe he has a sustainable career? Yes. I think it takes a very talented person to be able to sight-read complicated music and simplify it while improvising to get to the next section without throwing off the inexperienced vocalist. Also, one thing I have noticed in this city that is also true for the theatre scene in San Diego, people have respect for those who have been in the business for a long time. In other words, there will always be some sort of work for someone who left on good terms who was talented and apart of the “in crowd” in community theatre. Darrin is a very well known and well liked performer so I believe as long as he is wanting to do work here he will be able to find it.

            Broadway Nights has been such a success that only a few months after it began it became so popular that another theatre called Darrin and Rebecca asking them to bring the show to their theatre and away from the Woodlawn. Like Darrin said, there is nothing like Broadway Nights in San Antonio, as of right now it is very popular; however, if it should close I would expect another theatre to open up something similar. If it were to close that would imply that the “Cast Members” were part of the reason it closed. So I don’t believe that Darrin would be immediately commissioned for the copycat show, but I believe his talents still make him a strong contender to be considered. Based off of “Misty” and seeing his cover up for the mistakes vocalists have made and continue to play is something I am envious of, but it is not a talent that is uncommon. Here in town Darrin has admitted that he doesn’t have to promote himself as much. But that is only with his theatrical and liturgical endeavors. He will have to start promoting himself more if he would like to be taken seriously as a composer and start holding concerts of his works. Although, he does have many connections with possible donors and supports in the theatre world that would gladly support him in his compositional dreams if he asked them to. Darrin has several other compositions besides his church songs that could potentially be successful. He will have to release more “performance ready music” in order to hold a concert.  His church works like “Commune With Me” are simple enough for the congregation to follow, and musical enough to be played by other churches. There is a beauty to things that are simple. However, despite having connections outside of the state Darrin will still have to work twice as hard to be as successful as he is here if he were to move.

            I believe that Darrin is somewhat of a local “celebrity” many people know of him. It doesn’t make him extremely wealthy, but it gives him enough money to live comfortably. The path that Darrin has chosen isn’t one that most people are brave enough to take because of the constant uncertainty of “when will my next job come?” but I believe Darrin has overcome this and thrived in the city of San Antonio.

                                                                  Works cited

• "Broadway Nights." Facebook. Accessed November 8, 2014.     https://www.facebook.com/BroadwayNightsSA/info?tab=overview.
• Caruso, Jim. "Castpartynyc.com." Cast Party. January 1, 2004. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://www.castpartynyc.com.
• "Ella Fitzgerald - Misty." YouTube. September 21, 2009. Accessed November 17, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPOlakkBlj8.
• Newhardt, Darrin. Interview by author, Woodlawn Theatre. Nov, 11, 2014.
• Newhardt, Darrin. "Vocal Coaching by Darrin Newhardt." Facebook. Accessed November 11, 2014. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vocal-Coaching-by-Darrin-Newhardt/91780287480.
• Newhardt, Darrin. "Darrin Newhardt." YouTube. Accessed November 12, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/user/DNewhardt/videos.
• Newhardt, Darrin. "Darrin Newhardt." SoundCloud. January 1, 2011. Accessed November 14, 2014. https://soundcloud.com/darrin-newhardt/.
• Pardue, Elise. "Elise Pardue." YouTube. Accessed November 10, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/user/EliseMarieStar1/videos.
• Titon, Jeff. "Sustainable Music." : In China. November 15, 2009. Accessed November 10, 2014.    http://sustainablemusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/sustainable-music-in-china.html.
• Titon, Jeff Todd. Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples. 5th ed. New York: Schirmer Books ;, 1984.
• Whener, Kurt. "Woodlawn Theatre | San Antonio | Live Performance Venue." The Woodlawn Theatre. Accessed November 8, 2014. http://www.woodlawntheatre.org.

Repertoires of Music According to Darrin Newhardt

Darrin compositions are primarily church, instrumental, film scores, Jazz, and Broadway tunes. His composition teacher said don’t think of “liking” or “disliking” songs, but think of them as “useful” or “not useful right now.” Darrin says at Broadway Nights and at church he approaches music by looking at the basic structure. What are the chords, what is the progression, where is it going, and whatever he can’t play he improvises while keeping the basic structure. “The important thing is to keep going.”

             “Misty” originally composed by Erroll Garner, performed by Darrin and myself. This song is structured ABA the first two verses are A, there is B in the middle, and then it returns to A at the end.  If we were to compare it to Ella Fitzgerald’s version, the first thing you would notice is the introduction difference in the two pieces. Neither one is a direct performance from the score. The basic accompaniment is primarily chords with embellishments. Playing the piece this way fits this genre of music because it allows improvisation to come from both the vocalist and the piano making the song unique. It is obvious that Ella’s version had more piano and vocal improvisation in the song that the one performed by Darrin and myself; this could be due to levels of skill and amount of rehearsal time. Another noticeable factor is the tempo difference. In my version it was more up-tempo and Ella’s was softer and slower. In most Jazz music, including what I provided Darrin the night we sang this song, there are chord charts. This also makes it easier for the accompanying band to follow the singer, and take his or her own artistic freedom with the song. Darrin says that these skills of improvisation have come in handy when performing at Broadway Nights.

Ella Fitzgerald "Misty"

                             

            Darrin also admits that improvisation is one of the ways he approaches composition. He will experiment with sounds and chords until he finds something that sounds right. Similarly to “Misty,” “Commune With Me” has a repetitive structure. It begins with a refrain that’s repeated, verse, refrain, B section (or a bridge), refrain, and then there is a key change for the final refrain. Just like in “Misty” the song is basically composed of chords with embellishments. There are a lot of repeated phrases in the piano and guitar part. The vocal line is also simple which lends itself to being improvisatory in the future. He also has a female singing with him singing the octave above with no special harmony. But the fact that she is singing along gives the audience more color to be listening to and a reference point for where their voice might fall when singing. In the recording of “Commune With Me” there are sections where Darrin calls out to the audience inviting them to sing the song and giving them hints as to which section of the music is approaching.

                                                                 "Commune With Me"

Activities Involving Music According to Darrin Newhardt

There are many activities involving music that Darrin participates in on a daily basis. Every Saturday night he is committed to being the accompanist at Broadway Nights which is where we were able to perform “Misty.” The Friday night before is always the dedicated rehearsal time for the Saturday show. The featured artist is there with any of the “Cast Members” who would also like to perform. It gives Darrin a chance to make sure he can play the music to the best of his abilities and coordinate with the performers. Unfortunately, Darrin has said that he hasn’t held a concert for his personal compositions since he was in college. However, he is delighted to announce that in this upcoming year he will actively be performing his compositions at Broadway Nights. However, not all of his compositions will be able to be played at “Broadway Nights” because they do not fit the genre. Darrin is also committed to a one night a week rehearsal for church, and the services on Sunday that he plays for. This is where Darrin plays more of his compositions. He writes many church songs like “Commune With Me” that are performed during the service. Darrin has said that many people do not like to call singing at church “a performance” but he believes that’s exactly what it has to be called.  The type of song and the way it is presented, and how it is sung are important factors in how people receive it and how they participate during the service.

                                                                                      Studio rehearsal 

   Broadway Nights  

Darrin holds voice lessons at his home, at the theatre, or wherever his students need him to be to rehearse. These lessons are scattered and are not always constant. Darrin is always out in the community music directing for shows at the San Pedro Playhouse, Woodlawn Theatre, and wherever else he is commissioned. “Music directing is a good way to promote myself,” Darrin explains. Now-a-days Darrin does not have to promote himself as much because of how well known he is in the community, people usually call him first. In his voice lessons he is also connected with a producer that will send him singers in bands who are not quite vocally ready to be recorded. Darrin will work with them and send them back after he has taught them some basic technique.

                                    Vocal Coaching by Darrin Newhardt

Darrin can also be found updating his YouTube channel and Sound Cloud with performances and compositions he is ready to reveal. He also has his own Facebook page for his voice lessons and for Broadway Nights where he can update people on his musical activity. Darrin said that “back in the day” he used to go door to door to promote himself, giving out business cards and CD’s, but now, there are much easier ways of putting yourself “out there.”

                                               Darrin Newhardt's Soundcloud

                                    Darrin Newhardt's Youtube Channel

Ideas about Music According to Darrin Newhardt

Darrin Newhardt is the pianist for Broadway Nights at the Woodlawn Theatre every Saturday night at 10:30PM, and has been since March of 2013. Broadway Nights is an Open-Mic type Cabaret setting. Darrin has said that this event is based off of Jim Caruso’s variety show Cast Party at the NYC jazz club Birdland. Jazz clubs have been very popular since the 20’s; however, Newhardt has said there is “nothing else in San Antonio like Broadway Nights.” The closest comparison that came to mind was the Comedy Club. Caruso’s Cast Party is known for its laid back, Open-Mic Jazz and Broadway atmosphere.  Newhardt says that each Broadway Nights there is a featured artist just like Cast Party. Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity of being the featured artist and performed a Jazz standard called “Misty” with him. Usually Broadway Nights starts with an opening number, in the past it was performed by all of the “Cast Members” but recently Hostess Rebecca Trinidad has gone solo. Then they have the featured artist close the show and then the farewell song is sung.

This is the Birdland Jazz Club

 

                                                                      

This is  "Broadway Nights" at the Woodlawn

Aesthetically, Cast Party and Broadway Nights might both be housing the same genres of music. But Cast Party has more guidelines; one of their “rules” is no sad songs because people come to laugh and have a good time. Although these sad or dramatic songs might still be performed, they are much more infrequent. However, at Broadway Nights it seems as if everyone lives for a dramatic sad song to pour their heart into. I’ve noticed that the featured artist will usually have a comedic song, an up-tempo, a classic, a belt song, or a ballad to perform. Neither is the better way, it just makes for different atmospheres.

                                  The Links Below lead to different performances held at Cast Party

                                                  Jim Caruso "A Song for my Friends"

                                         Ruby Rakos "Goody Goody"

                                      Miranda Sings "My Favorite Things"

                                     Sarah Louise Young "One Night Stand"

                                                              Songs Performed at Broadway Nights

Not only does Darrin play for Broadway Nights, he is also the Music Minister at Forrest Hills Presbyterian Church. Interestingly, Newhardt said that the structure of church parallels that of Broadway Nights. So despite the fact that they are different genres of music, have different contexts, and different settings; the bare bones of having an opening, something special in the middle (the feature), and a closing song at the end, helps make Darrin flexible between the two settings. Being apart of the church gave Darrin the opportunity to write a song called “Commune With Me.”

Darrin Leading the FHCP worship team

One idea that Darrin explained to me that he was passionate about was music and politics. When Broadway Nights first started there was a “Cast” of about six or seven people: himself, Rebecca Trinidad, Melissa Gonzalez, Walter Songer, Jason Mosher, David Blazer and a few floaters that switched off. When Broadway Nights first began, these “Cast Members” would be the main featured artists rather than people from the community. Darrin mentions that at this level of community theatre it is important to be a little sensitive. Being aware of hurt feelings, not featuring one person over the other, not telling people “they suck.” Newhardt says that it is important to be fair because people aren’t spending hundreds of dollars to see these shows, and this is the environment where people can be exposed to new things, and be allowed to grow. Now, he isn’t saying to build people up and give them more praise then their talent calls for.  “The secret is to be nice,” Newhardt insists. Little to do people know, that all the people at the top of the ladder are sweet people. It is the ones climbing to the top that are unprofessional and mean. Darrin truly believes that being nice plus your talent will get you places.

 

Darrin Newhardt 

Born: October 6, 1996