Hello Beautiful People,
Drew Overcash is a name you should start to familiarize yourself with now. Like, right now. He’s an absolutely brilliant composer/lyricists/songwriter. Brilliant. His music has been heard around the city at venues such as Joe’s Pub, The Highline Ballroom, Time Out Lounge, D-Lounge, Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, Saloon, 54 Below, Birdland and (le) poisson rouge. His musical Boys Vs. Girls recently had it’s Broadway Cast reading in NYC and has now been optioned for production – coming in 2014. Drew is also a co-producer on “Spot-light on St. Jude”, raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which raised over $101,000 for the organization. He has had the privilege of working with a slew of Broadway performers including Tony Winners Patina Miller, Beth Leavel & Christian Borle, Nic Rouleau, Richard H. Blake, Coleen Sexton, Jennifer Hope Wills and many more. His other shows Rhapsody, Joe, and To You With Love are all currently in development. Drew’s music will also be featured in our next Lucky Disaster Concert, Lucky Disaster 202. I’m honored to call this man a collaborator, and beyond excited to introduce him to you all.
Ladies and Gents, meet Drew Overcash…
MM: Did you always want to be a composer/lyricist/songwriter?
DO: I did community theater growing up, and I went to college to be a teacher. About halfway through school I decided that although I love kids, I hated being in the teacher role, so I went back to school and changed my major to theater performance with a music minor. After school I moved to New York, and even though I was in auditions all day, I needed a creative outlet. And that’s what songwriting became for me – I’m very fulfilled writing.
MM: Of all the characters you’ve created, is there one in particular that you like the most?
DO: There’s a character from Boys Vs. Girls that I love writing for. Her name is Jess and she has evolved the most through the development stages of the piece. She has no fear, speaks her mind, and belts faces like everyday is a day in church.
MM: What books are permanently on your bookshelf?
DO: I adore C.S. Lewis. I love his entire series. They’re fabulous. I’m also big fan of A Wrinkle in Time Series and The Hunger Games. I find that I tend to read books that relate to whatever I’m working on at the time. I like a lot of nonfiction. There’s a book called Connecting, it’s all about how we relate to one another, and what our interpersonal skills say about us as people.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what movies and television shows would you want to have with you, (assuming there’s a DVD player)?
DO: Buffy. Yep. Buffy would be there cause I’ve watched it way more times then I would like to count. Also, Disney’s Hercules is my favorite movie of all time. Hercules is closely followed by Pleasantville.
MM: Just for fun, what character in musical theater is least like your personality?
DO: Sarah from The Toxic Avenger. Besides the obvious genetic differences, she goes with everything, doesn’t second-guess and the girl is blind! I’m like to think things through when it deals with work, projects, love life, etc. but I could use a little jump now and again.
MM: Just for fun, what character in musical theater is most like your personality?
DO: Freddy from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (the movie and musical). Not because he’s a crook, but I come up with the most rediculous ideas and stories sometimes. I’ll wander around and look at someone have all of these thoughts. Unfortunately for my roommates they tend to hear these thoughts more often then not.
MM: If you had to give songwriters a word of advice on how to overcome writers block, what would you tell them?
DO: Step back. Take a walk. Leave it alone. When it’s ready, it will happen. When I have writers block, I usually work on something else or make food/drink wine. At some point, either in a few minutes or a few days, I’ll come back to it and something will come out.
MM: What’s the best piece of advice you could offer to students in high school and/or college who wish to pursue a career as a composer/lyricist/songwriter?
DO: Don’t try and write what people want to hear. Write what you want to write. And don’t let people tell you to “play by the rules.” There are no rules and there are no paths besides the ones you set for yourself and the path that you choose to follow. Be a good person, help others, follow your path and you’ll get to where you are suppose to be.
MM: What’s next for Drew Overcash?
DO: A couple concerts after the New Year – heading back to the Highline Ballroom which I’m very excited about. Some new projects are also coming up – details to come.
MM: In today’s economy, arts programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a politician for preserving the arts in schools?
DO: The arts offer people a way of expression as football or engineering offers people a way of expression. If you take that away, you are allowing some students to fully express themselves while others are losing the opportunity to explore their passions. The arts are just as important as any other part of a well-rounded education and to take that part of a child’s education away is a disservice to the child.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
DO: There are a few. In high school I had a chorus teacher named Mr. Driscoll who was the first teacher I had that treated me like an adult. He didn’t talk down, but rather, he challenged his students and expected us to meet him at the bar he set. There were so many lessons I learned in that classroom that I still apply to this day. There was also a professor in college, Steve Snyder, who was primarily my acting teacher, but was most like a life coach. He encouraged all of his students to try new things and bring new ideas to the table. There was never the word “No” but rather it was also, “Now how can we make that work.” I don’t think I would be doing what I’m doing now if it weren’t for those two men.
Thank you, Drew!
Live, Love, Learn,