Four years separate the Staples experiences of Alex Freedman, Alisan Porter and Drew McKeon.
But the 4 graduates — from 1996, 1999 and 2000, respectively — share similar joyful memories of their high school years. Particularly important are the many hours spent in the arts wing, supported by beloved mentors like Alice Lipson, Al Pia and Joe Ziegahn.
Porter and McKeon pursued careers in music. Porter — who played Curly Sue in the movie of the same name while in high school, then performed on Broadway in “Footloose,” “A Chorus Line” and “Hair,” and won NBC’s “The Voice” competition — is a singer/songwriter.
McKeon — the longtime drummer in Michael Bolton’s band, along with Hall & Oates and Jimmy Buffett — now tours with Seal.
Alisan Porter and Drew McKeon
Freedman is a classical and jazz pianist. He worked with Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, and Phil Ramone, then became both a start-up entrepreneur, one of the tri-state area’s most sought-after tutors, and a marathon runner.
Now — in a happy culmination of coincidences and hard work-to-make-it-happen — the 3 friends got together in California to write and record. The album is called “Porter.”
Their new music is getting plenty of attention. And why not? Besides the immense talents of the trio, the Los Angeles studio has quite a history. Owned 100 years ago by Charlie Chaplin, and later by A&M Records, it was where “We Are the World” was recorded.
Along with 13 albums by Joni Mitchell, and others by the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and the Carpenters.
Alex Freedman
Porter — who recorded all her previous albums in the studio — hired some of her favorite musicians for this project. Leland Sklar is a legendary bassist with over 2,000 album credits, including James Taylor, Phil Collins, Toto, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt. Shoshana Bean just won a Tony Award for “The Lost Boys.” Guitarist David Levita worked with Tim McGraw, Alanis Morissette, Faith Hill and Sara Bareilles.
Grammy-nominated Sam Barsh shares producing credits with Porter and McKeon. Freedman is the executive producer.
“It was like Tom Hanks in ‘Big,'” McKeon recalls. “We made a fantasy draft list of musicians we wanted, and called them in.”
The Staples grads’ long friendship spurred creativity. “We’re all each other’s biggest fans,” Porter says.
From left: Shelley Scarr, Michael Sanchez, Keri Larson, Alex Freedman, Alisan Porter, Drew McKeon, Stephan Hovsepian, David Levita, Leland Sklar.
A mix of Americana, roots, rock and alt-pop, Porter prefers to summarize the genre this way: “super-fun.” Key themes include grief, womanhood, letting go and reinvention.
Freedman’s business background was important too. “I’d been out of music for years,” he says. “I didn’t feel like I belonged. But it brought back a lot of emotions.” He plays piano, organ and synthesizer on many of the tracks.
For the first time, Porter says, she felt she was in charge of a musical product. “We made all the decisions, not someone else. We had the freedom to be the label.”
Alisan Porter
Each musician brought “different creative forces and strengths,” McKeon notes.
They’re dropping singles regularly. The full album is out September 18.
“Man Out of You” — released this past Friday — “is the story of one of your best girlfriends telling you, once again, how a man let her down. This time, I realized I needed to write about it,” Porter says. She collaborated closely with Bean on this song. Click here for the Spotify link.
Click here or below to listen to and watch “Race To Nowhere.”
Click here and below to listen to and watch “Space.”
They’re marketing themselves on social media, through videos, and on platforms like Walrus.fm.
The 3 musicians hope they’ll inspire young artists moving forward.
The same way, they say, that their Staples mentors inspired them, all those (very short) years ago.
(Click here for Alisan Porter’s Spotify link. Click here for her Apple Music link.)
(“06880” reports often on the varied and very cool accomplishments of Staples graduates. If you like stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
My people! Can you believe it Dan? Westport is magic