DOUGLAS CRAWFORD (Book/Additional Lyrics) Broadway: Tommy Tune’s revival of Grease! (Kenickie). Jersey Boys 1st National Tour. Recently, Douglas filmed and recorded Jesus Christ Superstar: One Night Only portraying Peter alongside Ted Neeley, Ben Vereen, and Jack Black, among others in Hollywood. He received an LA Robby Award nomination (Best Actor/Musical) for Michael Butler’s 30th Anniversary revival of Hair (Claude), and won for his performance in Lies & Legends... In Las Vegas, he's created roles in the American premieres of, both, We Will Rock You (Pop) and Notre Dame de Paris(Quasimodo). Regionally: Romeo & Juliet, Into the Woods, The Threepenny Opera, and Ben Hur. Film & TV: Born on the Fourth of July, Sunset Beach, Lincs, City Guys, VH-1 Behind the Music, The Tonight Show, & The Tony Awards. Douglas is co-author of the screenplay High Grade Resolution and is, currently, developing the television series The Wallyrus Show.
.................................................................................................................................. TY TAYLOR (Book/Music/Lyrics) Recently starred on CBS’ mega series Rockstar: INXS.(CD/DVD) He’s a singer/songwriter/producer and is honored to have been the only African-American to play the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway (CD). Broadway/Nat’l: We Will Rock You, Grease, Songs for a New World(CD), and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber Concert with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Top 10 hits – Dakota Moon/Elektra Records and has been on the road and shared stages with Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Fiona Apple, Macy Gray, Dave Nevarro, Jerry Cantrell, Slash, Brian May, . He wrote/arranged/produced the acclaimed children’s CD “I’m Ready.” Commercials. Jingles. Television. Carnegie-Mellon graduate. He's is currently working on his solo CD with producer, Oliver Lieber and his song, "My Song" scores much of the Olympic promotional commercials.
................................................................................................................................... JASON WOOTEN (Book) – Was blessed to have fronted the band Queen, as well as members of Extreme, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult and Toto. Broadway :The Bob Dylan/Twyla Tharp production, The Times They Are A Changin'; The Rocky Horror Show Live! where he played Riff Raff, Eddie and Doctor Scott; Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon); Footloose (Bickle); and Dance of the Vampires. He recently starred as Galileo Figaro in the American premiere of We Will Rock You in Las Vegas. Along with The Existents, Jason has authored works ranging from animated pictures and screenplays to musical comedies and plays.
Influences
From Buddha to The Beatles; Aerosmith to Aristotle!
"Fade Away" - THE EXISTENTS Live @ Whisky A Go Go
"Stone Cold Sober" - Eden Espinosa - THE EXISTENTS Live @ Whisky A Go Go
"Remember Me" - Kyle Lowder - THE EXISTENTS Live @ Whisky A Go Go
"What More" - Carly Thomas-Smith - THE EXISTENTS Live @ Whisky A Go Go
"Alive Again" - Ty Taylor - THE EXISTENTS Live @ Whisky A Go Go
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"The songs seep into your system like a perfect bong hit! I love THE EXISTENTS!"
-Rick Elice, co-author of the Tony Award-Winning Best Musical, "Jersey Boys"
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- Music Theatre Finds New Life Through The Existents
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The day the musical died or, at least, became less relevant. Music historians and pop-culture enthusiasts can argue the emergence of rock-n-roll was largely responsible for the break-up, if you will, between musical theatre and popular music. Prior to Elvis Presley, musical theatre composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Rodgers & Hammerstein were staples on the record charts. It wasnt until the 1970s, when rock-n-roll infiltrated the Broadway stages, that musicals found their way back to widespread public awareness. Songs from the musical "Hair" and a British rock opera titled "Jesus Christ Superstar" briefly captured the imaginations of a growing Hippie culture and produced radio-friendly singles. Today, musical theatre impresarios have reversed the system by staging elaborate Juke Box musicals - taking existing catalogues from such chart-toppers as Abba, Billy Joel, Queen, John Lennon, and, even most recently (and most successfully) The Four Seasons, and building a story line or concept around the artists' most beloved and recognizable hits. While the theatre world struggles to remain fresh in a culture dominated by MTV-approved mediums, three innovative talents have collaborated in an effort to combine their passions for theatre and rock-n-roll and, once again, prove the two can, not only, co-exist, but, even more impressively, serve one another in a way not seen before.
The Existents is a rock/theatre hybrid - more music theatre than musical theatre. A live, rock-n-roll theatrical experience about the life of a rock-n-roll band. The first act utilizes a "VH-1: Behind the Music"-esque formula to tell the story of a fictitious band, The Existents, and their incredible and almost immediate climb to music superstardom. Along the way, the very dynamics that brought them success, begin to tear them apart eventually, leading to tragedy and the band's demise. Act 2 sees the band perform together for the first time in 10 years and plays out much like MTVs popular "Storytellers" series. The questions raised in Act I are answered and the story is resolved in the words and lyrics on The Existents concert stage. Rock-n-roll music using rock-n-roll mediums to tell a rock-n-roll story!
The show, however, is also about life - any individual life. The characters that make up The Existents represent the archetypes that comprise any one's existence - a mind, a heart, a body, a spirit, and a soul. Even the back-up singers, here, provide our motivations - power and fear. By using the band as a metaphor for a single human life, the writers are able to examine from creation to death the intricate challenges and lessons that make us who we are. When the heart and mind are in conflict, for example, how does that affect the spirit? Always entertaining, "The Existents" works on multiple levels to engage its audiences imaginations and provoke thought - the very purpose of great theatre since the Greeks elevated the art form centuries ago.
And, then, there's the music. Unlike other successful rock musicals (such as "Rent"), the score for "The Existents" plays out like a classic rock album. The songs, while providing the characters motivations and furthering the story-line, stand alone, ready to be embraced by music lovers and not just fans of musical theatre. Here, no lyric is wasted on the specifics of how are we going to pay our bills?, but, rather, remain pertinent, independent of their context within the show. Songs such as "What More", "Premonition", "Stone Cold Sober", "Flying Trapeze", "Pocket of Change", and the haunting "There Where You Are" (to name a few) play as effectively on a car stereo as they do on a Broadway stage.
More than anything, perhaps, "The Existents" is new! Not trying to copy, imitate, or re-produce, it achieves something that the theatre world and, at times, the music world of late has failed to do - ignite the hearts and imaginations of a culture starving for originality. Who's to say that that alone may not awaken a sleeping giant and make the musical relevant again. Long live "The Existents"!
"an outstanding project musical called The Existents (yes, it's AMAZING), which I had the privilege of being able to see (well, the music anyway) in concert in October...it is the "new Rent"....it's better than Rent, in my opinion.....the music was outstanding, the performers were incredible" -Kayla Friend
Love your music! I'm a true at heart Kyle Lowder fan, so to have him featured with you all in "Remember Me", puts the icing on the cake...Happy Weekend one and all... Hugs from Idaho...Cheryl
