ProduceD by BRIAN BANKS
Music and Lyrics by
BRIAN BANKS, Phil Barlow & Elles Bailey
“Why would somebody write a bunch of songs based on Fairy Tales in 2021? Aren’t they all about The Princess being rescued by The Prince? Aren’t we past that in the 21st Century?”
Well, the answer to that question is, “No, they aren’t about Princes and Princesses. They’re about LIFE” - and life’s ever-recurring, cross-cultural themes are what keep these stories relevant.
But telling these stories isn’t enough. They’ve been told, retold, reimagined, and turned on their heads so many times that they are often unrecognizable. These timeless stories need to be remembered! And what better way to remember them than through music?
So I set about writing these original Fairy Tales as songs that both children and their parents will love. I call them “StorySongs”. Then, with the help of the talented, and fabulous writer, Erica Ehm we turned some of these songs into a family musical - “Outta The Books”.
On to the songs…
Let’s take “If The Shoe Fits, Wear It”, the StorySong of Cinderella. The Prince may be a key character, but he’s only a means to an end. This story is about a girl raised in a dysfunctional family, who then turns to her friends for help when she finally sees a way out of her dire situation. With their help, she succeeds in breaking free. The Prince is only a vehicle to that success. He is not the goal. That’s why this story is so powerful and enduring. “Cinderella” is about friendship. The Prince is merely window dressing.
“You Won’t Believe Your Eyes” (The Emperor's New Clothes) and “One Bad Apple” (Snow White) are all about the pitfalls of vanity - and abuse of power - topics which have been in the news a bit recently. “Gotta Get My Beauty Sleep” (Sleeping Beauty) is mostly about good manners with a strong secondary theme of ecology. After all, Nature takes over when the kingdom sleeps for 100 years!
“You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover” (The Ugly Duckling) is all about judging people based on the way they look. This too has been in the headlines lately. And “Slow And Steady Wins The Race” (The Tortoise and the Hare) is all about the value of diligence and hard work.
“OTB” was originally intended for the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2020, but the arrival of Covid-19 quickly forced a total re-think. Stuck in lockdown with no apparent way out, we transformed the live show into a 7 episode streaming video. Working via Zoom, between me in LA, Erica in Toronto, our director, Neil Fisher and most of the cast sprinkled around the UK was quite an experience. We decided to have each performer record their songs live during the shoot and record their entire video performance in isolation during LOCKDOWN – on iPhones! We coached the actors on setting up green screens, microphones, lighting - everything! The learning curve was steep, but stimulating. Everyone's sleep patterns were messed with during this trans-Atlantic production and it made the notion of 24/7 production a Lockdown Reality. Most of the cast and crew have still never met!
Since nobody had ever produced anything like this before, each new “iPhone studio” challenge had to be resolved “on set” over Zoom. One of the biggest challenges we faced was recording all of the vocals live - on iPhones!
Covid did have its plus sides though. With the West End shut down, we were able to get amazing talent that would never have been available. Our ensemble cast features no less than Karl Queensborough - the star of “Hamilton” along with Ryan Heenan who has starred in West End shows like “Billionaire Boy” and “Back To The Future”.
Credits:
If The Shoe Fits, Wear It/Hear Ye/Gotta Get My Beauty Sleep/Hear Ye (Reprise)/We’re Outta The Books
Music & Lyrics - Brian Banks
You Won’t Believe Your Eyes/You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover/Slow And Steady Wins The Race
Music & Lyrics - Phil Barlow & Brian Banks
One Bad Apple
Music & Lyrics - Elles Bailey & Brian Banks
Producer - Brian Banks
Recording - Brian Banks
Additional Recording - Phil Barlow
Mixing - Stephen Evans
Almost all instruments played by Brian Banks
Additional Guitar, Bass, Keys - Phil Barlow
Lead Vocals:
Annie Kirkman - If The Shoe Fits, Wear It
Rehyan Rivera - Hear Ye/Hear Ye (Reprise)
Kirsten Campbell-Ferguson - Gotta Get My Beauty Sleep
Carl Spencer - You Won’t Believe Your Eyes
Ryan Heenan - You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover
Elektra Banks - One Bad Apple
Karl Queensborough - Slow And Steady Wins The Race
Publicity: Beth Blenz Clucas
All Music © 2020, by Wif O’Music
“Outta The Books - The Musical” © 2020 by Brian’s Mondo Business
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A little more about Acclaimed Composer Brian Banks
BRIAN BANKS • ORIGINAL CONCEPT, SONGWRITER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR
A Los Angeles native, Brian Banks has been immersed in the LA music scene all of his life. His musical talents coupled with his mastery of cutting edge technology has led to work with some of the world’s most influential artists and film makers including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Steven Spielberg, Giorgio Moroder, David Bowie, Rob Reiner Sylvester Stallone. His artistry and creativity can be found on legendary albums like “Thriller” and “Can’t Slow Down” and on feature films like, “The Color Purple”, “Stand By Me” and “War Games”
In 1992, he founded Ear To Ear Music to provide music for commercials. He went on to compose music for campaigns for many of the world’s most well know brands including American Express, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, Apple, BMW, Ford, GM, Hasbro, IBM, Kodak, Lexus, Mattel, Morgan-Stanley, Motorola, Nike, Nissan, Sprint, Toyota, and Visa.
Over the past 35 years in advertising, he also created music for children’s brands including BARBIE, BRATZ, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”, and dozens more. It is this focus on music for children and their parents that has led to the creation of StorySongs. It is these StorySongs that provide the musical inspiration for the magical, mythical, band, “Outta The Books”.
Composer, Songwriter, Producer, Educator, and Creative Techno-Wizard…Brian Banks has devoted his life to all things music and “Outta The Books” is the next big thing.