Welcome to three weeks of Hamilton's Philip Company! I took Mike, my Right Hand Man, to Las Vegas and we had the best time. We saw Hamilton, talked to the cast and musicians, and I have three weeks of recordings for you!
First up, Fergie Philippe (Mulligan/Madison) comes back to The Hamilcast for a solo recording. Fergie is the one of the main reasons I went to Vegas (Tyler McKenzie and Julian Ramos helped), and he unfortunately couldn't make the big recording with members of the Philip Company. Since Fergie is the nicest, he asked if he could still be part of #LasVegust (Get it? Because the Las Vegas episodes are airing in August?) and offered to come to hang in our hotel room and chat about Hamilton and tour life.
Check out Fergie's first appearance on The Hamilcast (with Julian Ramos) in these episodes:
https://www.thehamilcast.com/episode-107-we-tell-your-story/
https://www.thehamilcast.com/episode-108-we-tell-your-story-part-two/
Stay tuned next week for the first half of my chat with Nik Walker, Kyle Scatliffe, Shoba Narayan, Ta'Rea Campbell, Elijah Malcomb, Tyler McKenzie, Conroe Brooks, Abby Jaros, Austin Burket, Buffi Jacobs, and Lily Ling.
In Alex Lacamoire's third episode Alex talks about how electronic sounds are used in Hamilton, why the orchestrations of It's Quiet Uptown destroy us every single time we listen to it, more musical themes, and finally... we do Barbershop Beastie Boys. Alex, please come back!
(It's Quiet Uptown is discussed and played from 12:00-14:45 and again from 16:30-21:05)
Will Wells:
Aesop Rock - 1,000 O'Clock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-qrvz_tA_k
The Beatles - Fixing a Hole:
Alex Lacamoire is back to blow our minds once again which is crazy because I'm still not over last week's episode. This week we dive into Lin-Manuel Miranda's favorite arrangements and how Alex came to make them: Yorktown (YAASSSS!!!), Wait For It (SRSLY YOU'RE NOT READY), One Last Time ("f@%k you strings!"), and That Would Be Enough (Alex brought something that even Lin hasn't heard yet - yes, there were tears). Oh! AND! Alex plays an exclusive track you can't hear anywhere else called "Hamilton Finale Idea" and while neither Alex, LMM, nor Thomas Kail remember exactly what it was for I can promise you that your world will never be the same.
Andrés Forero Episodes:
Episode #118: When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again // Part One
Episode #119: When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again // Part Two
That Would Be Enough musicians (Hamilton quartet from The Philip Tour - @hamiltourquartet)
Concertmaster/Violin I: Austin Burket
Violin 2: Hayden Oliver
Viola: Sarah Haines
Cello: Buffi Jacobs
Sir Alex Lacamoire is here! For THREE EPISODES! Get ready, you guys, your minds are about to be blown. Mike joins me for #JuLac and Alex was kind enough to bring an electric piano and play us ALL THE THINGS. In this first episode, Alex tells us all about The Schuyler Sisters, the song that went through the most changes. But he doesn't just tell us... he brought all the demos so we get to HEAR the evolution of the song. We also play a little game I like to call "In the style of..." and Alex plays his favorite Hamilton song in the style of Billy Joel, Rush, Fiona Apple, and Tori Amos. This episode is packed. We had the most fun ever and I hope you love it.
How a Miami musician overcame hearing loss to help create the music to ‘Hamilton’:
https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article107866077.html
First Burn #Hamildrop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ys-AimNbE
Alex Lacamoire on Shockwave’s Shock and Awesome Podcast:
https://headgum.com/shock-and-awesome/lacamoire-the-room-where-it-happens
Mike Elizondo on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify_in_residence/playlist/1qjLC064PnRWeyvOAPJH6R#_=_
Fiona Apple - “Extraordinary Machine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQk0xTwZumo&list=PLEGB_5jnXjR0lvILUb0-kSiQV7ys4eoKH
The Regrettes - “Helpless” #Hamildrop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK_9hkWigYs
Satisfied (feat. Miguel & Queen Latifah):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZCKsSmRMx4
Daft Punk - “Random Access Memories”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IluRBvnYMoY&list=PLcdN8reXV1kxMnaH06Wi8KJYPMIzehXuo
The Notorious B.I.G - “Things Done Changed”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy5m_9HXp6A
Hamilton director Tommy Kail is back again this week and I am reminded, by Tommy, that no one thinks I'm laid back. In this episode Tommy talks about the casting process including how Hamilton has the feeling of a family reunion, and he gives his opinion on what happens in the very last moment of the show. In non-Hamilton related topics, Tommy tells the story of how he and Lin-Manuel Miranda ended up in the Sex and the City movie, his experience directing Grease LIVE!, and why "Mona Lisa" by Slick Rick is a defining song for him.
The West Wing Weekly: Hamilton Special (with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail)