July 22, 2024 • 19 mins
Welcome to another enchanting episode of Merman Mondays, hosted by Alexis Babini & co-host Andrew Grau of Disney tribute band The Little Mermen. This episode features a new member of our magical squad, Jane Best; pianist and music director from shows such as Suffs The Musical, SIX, and Jersey Boys
Jane takes us through her fascinating journey from her roots in Pennsylvania to her vibrant life in New York City. Discover her background in musical education, her adventures on cruise ships, and her experiences in musical theater, including writing her own musical, "Welcome to the Void."
Get a glimpse of the band's life on tour, Jane's favorite Disney moments, and her unique insights into the joys and challenges of performing Disney music live. From child mosh pits to the camaraderie of the band, this episode is filled with laughter, fun stories, and a deep love for all things Disney.
Join us for this delightful conversation and get to know Jane Best, her journey, and her passion for music and Disney. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and join our Patreon for exclusive content and behind-the-scenes insights at www.patreon.com/thelittlemermen
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to Merman Mondays, the podcast where the Little Merman share behind
the scenes tour stories, discuss popular Disney content, and celebrate Disney's musical legacy.
I'm your host, Alexis Babini, founder of the Little Merman Band.
And joining me is our co-host, Andrew Grau.
(00:31):
Thanks, Alexis. So whether you're a longtime fan or first-time dreamer,
The Little Merman is the country's premier Disney tribute band,
bringing the magic of Disney music to life with live performances all across the U.S. and the world.
Our mission with this podcast is to connect with our fans on a deeper level,
give a behind-the-scenes glimpse at touring in an indie rock band,
(00:52):
and share in the joy that is Disney content and culture.
Adventure today we have an even more
special guest with us jane best jane
is our newest piano sub our first ever tinkerbell and
donatella duck and the only part of the merfam with
an actual disney character name jane from tarzan we are going to learn about
(01:15):
jane's history both disney and non and being the newest member of this magical
squad and get some fresh takes on our silliness stay Stay tuned to find where
you can connect with us and get deeper into the band lore.
Well, before we go the distance, we're still touring band with some shows coming
up. So let's get down to business.
(02:33):
Tickets all right so let's start today's episode with our
special guests let's dive in what's up
jane so jane best
it's we kind of made uh i actually asked you one of the first things i think
i ever asked you was so do you get simply the best all the time what are the
what are the fun things do people do with the name jane and the last name best
(02:54):
it's mostly a you're the best kind of vibe i i really can't complain because
my last name is like the most positive adjective to the English language.
The jokes are a little annoying sometimes, but in high school,
I was in a math class with a girl whose last name was Worst.
Oh, wait. Oh my gosh, I never thought about that.
(03:14):
I'm glad to be on the best side of that spectrum. I love that so much.
There must have been so many silly dad jokes in that class.
She got the bad side of it. The worst, if you could.
So, Jane, before coming to the Merman, And give us a little bit of your history,
kind of like where you started, where you went, and how you ended up in New York City.
(03:36):
Okay. All right. Long story short. I grew up outside of Philly,
Westchester, Pennsylvania.
Shout out. Went to college for music education in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, and was a middle school teacher for a few years until I realized
I liked musical theater a lot more than teaching middle school.
And then I went to grad school in Bozilla, Montana for a few years and then
worked on a cruise ship for a couple of years. And then I moved to New York
(03:58):
and I've been in New York for a little over a year at this point. And I love it.
We're so glad that you're here. We especially love people that realize that
the call for them is the stage.
I think that that is one thing that every single person in this band can agree with.
So we actually did talk a little bit on tour about your time in Missoula.
Kind of give a little bit of sort of what you did there.
(04:19):
Actually, even more specifically, I'd love to hear about the program that you
worked with out there. I ended up writing a musical with my now-remaining best
friend for our thesis project.
What was the name of that musical you wrote? Oh, it was called Welcome to the Void.
Wow, Welcome to the Void. Tell us about the musical.
Well, we were only allowed to have one person in the room at a time. Sure.
(04:40):
So we had to write a musical for that context. And it's six people who all think
they're the last person on Earth.
And we were exploring isolation and loneliness, but not related to the pandemic.
So, like, why do people isolate themselves or separate themselves from the world
and what can bring them back into society?
It was kind of the themes and we had fun with it. And I stand by it.
(05:00):
I'm very proud of it. I like that I've worked very hard.
And she's my favorite person to collaborate with. Oh, that's so cool.
Those are some rich themes. You guys heard it here first on the podcast,
Into the Void, the musical.
Also, we did a quick Hype Man credit shout out. We're catching Jane post-suffs
on Broadway, right? And then after this tour, you're going to be doing Rent at a theater somewhere.
(05:24):
We met you because you did Jersey Boys on the cruise ship with Melinda.
Yeah. When she was doing Six on the cruise ship.
I was just going to ask, what was your favorite show that you did on the cruise ships?
Oh, gosh. So I did three. I did Jersey Boys first, which is where I met Melinda.
And then my next contract, I did two shows. I did Six and Burn the Floor, which is a dance show.
(05:44):
I really liked all of them. Yeah. I think doing Six and Burn the Floor at the
same time was really fun for me. It's a kind of different aspects of playing.
Six is very music directory and eerie and synthy and fun.
And then Burn the Floor is I just got to play the piano, which is sometimes
really nice when you get wrapped up in like theater world and
patches and sounds and all that nonsense and i just get
to sit there and like play a piano so a lot of what is your favorite sport
(06:08):
that you stopped in cruise cast cosmo we went to cosmo like every friday for
like 16 weeks so we got really familiar with that sounds great there's so much
cosmo yeah so you had a good amount of coffee shops i love I mean, it's like wild.
Like your job is to like hang out and like sip a pina colada on the beach and
(06:30):
then go play six to musical.
Like it's truly like, there's a lot to complain about the ship life. There really is.
There's ups and downs, but like some of the days that go by,
like, I can't believe this is my job.
So I really liked Cozumel. Grand Taman was really cool. That's where you launder
your money. Yeah, apparently.
The Cayman Islands. Is that really a thing? It's a real place.
That's the place. Yeah. When someone's like, I have an offshore account, they need the Caymans.
(06:51):
The second this podcast turns a profit, it you better believe that's
where we're headed but yeah it's like the bluest water i've
ever seen it's incredible i just kind of bopped around mexico for
like a year and a half honestly like they're all just kind
of like everyone's like you must have traveled so much on a cruise they're
all just like kind of resort towns with like beaches and the same vibe you know
not like i feel like that's not authentic mexico yeah it's just i i heard somewhere
(07:17):
say they're like americans don't want to go to other countries they want to
go to warmer america and these These poor towns are kind of feel like just like warmer America.
No, that's so funny. I mean. But they're great and they're fun and everyone's
on vacation and it's a good time.
That's awesome. So Jane, this is now getting into a little more now that we've shifted focus.
(07:38):
You've hung out with us for six days. Yeah. Actually, technically,
we're at this point where now we've been on tour for a week and this is our
sixth day of shows, but we've been on tour for a full week.
So Jane, what were your preconceived notions about the Merman before you came in?
And then even after first rehearsal, and then like, what are your what are your
what are your notions now that they're actually conceived? I have like no idea what to expect.
(08:02):
It's just like, I'm just gonna be along for the ride. This will be great.
You know, I've seen like Melinda would post pictures when I you know, got this.
I was like stalking everybody on social media and seeing like, what is this?
And then I saw Ryan playing the keytar and I was like, I don't play the keytar.
But that looks like fun. I'm not playing the keytar. I would like to someday,
though. Someone wants to give me one.
But I was like, it'll be Disney music. And I figured there'd be a lot of kids
(08:25):
and families listening to it. And I was like, you know, kids get excited.
And I was like, this sounds like it'll be really wholesome and fun.
And everyone seems nice. And Melinda has said nothing but good things about
this group. Like, oh, great.
I'll have my first experience with them just being on the road with them for 10 days.
Diving into the deep end with both feet. Just like a great way to get to know people.
(08:46):
Something you did share with us. you are a triplet anyone else
in your family musical or are you just the one who just was like this
is this is my thing yeah no we were all really musical growing
up i think you know both my parents really like
music and and were involved in it growing up so all three of us were very strongly
encouraged i mean i think at one point with like 13 or 14 or 15 instruments
(09:07):
in our living room like we all were in band we all were in orchestra while doing
all that my sister was kind of the the singer she would get all like the lead
roles in the musicals and stuff Shout out to Lorraine.
But now she works in film, so kind of adjacent.
Oh, what's up? She's a production...
She's a line producer, production. There we go. That's the...
(09:28):
For unscripted television in Nashville.
So she's killing it down there. That's very fun.
My brother does not do music anymore, but I maintain he was the most naturally
talented out of all of us. He just cared the least.
Nothing wrong with that. And he's always been incredibly supportive and a cool dude.
But isn't that the way it is? It's like the people that don't practice it are just naturally good.
(09:50):
And then me, who's been practicing five hours a day since I was 15,
I'm like, oh, I can't play it.
He played the bass. He was real good. Wow, showbiz family.
Well-rounded. Even now, when we're all home for Christmas, I'll get my trombone out.
Oh, amazing. We'll get our instruments out and try to play Christmas carols
together still. It's going in the show.
(10:10):
Trombone solo. Next question for Jane Best.
We want to know your favorite Disney movie or your favorite Disney media.
So we could go Disney song. we can go Disney character so let's start with movie movie,
feel like like growing up it was probably like the ones I really liked were
like Aladdin and the Lion King nice the classics I have you know a lot of fond,
(10:36):
feelings for like Frozen too I think that's excellent I like went through a
little phase where I thought I was too cool for Disney and it was like when
like Frozen Entangled and all of those came out and then I watched all of them
like three or four years later and I was like oh these are excellent so I don't
know Disney can do to do no wrong with its movies in my opinion,
but I had to pick one.
I guess I'd say Aladdin. Ah, yes. The Disney Renaissance.
(10:58):
Yeah. I think me too, actually. I remember, did you ever see the direct video
sequel Return of Jafar by any chance?
There's, there's a meme that someone just recently sent us and it's like showing
the, from the theatrical Aladdin release and it's like a shot of the carpet
and all the ornate shading.
And then it's like the direct to video sequel and it's like very,
like you can kind of see where they cut the corners.
(11:20):
Okay, that's sick. Okay, in this Disney-themed band, what have been your favorite?
Before we get to bits, let's just go stage moments. Yeah, what are some of your,
maybe just some highlights from our, yeah, from our magic moments from our show?
Joy, especially at the outdoor venues where you really get to see the audience.
And I love watching the little child mosh pits in the front.
(11:43):
Child mosh pits are great. Like running laps for like 45 minutes straight.
And I'm like, are you listening to the music? running in
circles i'm like you know these parents are so grateful these
kids are going to go to sleep so hard so i really
enjoy that i enjoy playing let it go because it's
the piano we won and it's fun to do i enjoy dressing
(12:03):
as tinkerbell because i love tinkerbell and she's the
best and so i like to be tinkerbell and yeah
i mean it's just really fun it's now that we've done
you know six shows or whatever however many i
feel like i'm kind of settling into it and getting to see what's
happening on stage yeah kind of yeah be a
part of it a little bit more yeah and we love having you on
(12:25):
stage it's like uh it's it's every every time a new sub comes in a different
vibe comes in and the vibe has been excellent it's also been like you know it's
also very hard when there's six people who all have exceptionally big personalities
all screaming at each other at once and it's been nice to have like oh we don't
we don't have to get crazy every single every single day.
(12:46):
Music.
That jane you know being a champ jumping in with
us at a close quarters 15 passenger van driving maybe
sometimes seven hours at a time yesterday was four
(13:08):
hours was it 12 10 p.m
oh yeah dude i showed up i showed
up here like last night with alexis and it was just me and alexis and
we got the texts and we're both like all right dude
let's just hang out so you're just like have we watched you want to do on
the phone yeah no totally we watched the uh weezer 30th anniversary
concert that they did for like the spotify studio
(13:28):
sessions and it was really really
cool like they did a three or four songs off of the blue album and just hearing
them kind of talk about it with i think their original producer and just watching
weezer who's been doing this for such a long time just crush what are they in
their 50s talking about our band talking about our bits talking about weezer
the one thing my takeaway was like they're just like us they have weird
(13:51):
bits they were they were talking about like cheese whiz yeah i'm talking about at some point.
Yeah like hot dog it was like oh we are weezer
i feel like i don't know that was one of the things like coming
in here and i was like oh my god everyone's the same like especially it
seems like like rhythm section types like bass drums guitar every time
you know like a bunch of dudes that play rhythm section instruments it's
(14:13):
kind of a similar vibe yeah but it's just like
it's almost comforting to be like yeah it's just gonna be this level of
silliness for the rest of my my life yeah i mean that's
like at the end of the day one of the reasons why i got into music because i
knew i'd have to grow up i didn't want to grow up too fast you know and i still
feel like i still feel like however many times
i come across as like super professional to like these sound guys i still
(14:33):
know how to throw like a joke at the sound people they're like this guy
yeah it's always it's always like that after uh
alexis did mention that you're going to be doing rent after this
is there anything else uh that people can check
you out on or how can people get in touch with you yeah now
i'm doing a little doing a little production run in the community theater canada
kit starting july 2nd great that's that's
(14:55):
the day after we get back that is a quick turnaround yeah
i've done some summer camps and stuff this summer too so it'll be fun but follow
me on instagram i guess it's jane underscore the underscore best because we
gotta make fun of our own last name exactly but yeah i don't know i'll be around
awesome and now that you've been in New York like a full year.
(15:17):
What would you give as like a piece of advice for anybody who is thinking about
moving to New York, specifically if they're looking to go for the arts?
Because I know that's what brings a lot of people to New York City. Yeah, gosh.
I don't know have savings work on a
cruise ship for two years so you can get some savings and then you're like you know
it helps you just not be you know just
(15:39):
to know there's a little bit of a sense of security just especially
just moving is expensive yeah doing all your life
is expensive and you're not going to get a job immediately yeah all
that you know and yeah know know
what you can do and you know if if you want to
do things adjacent to your art that's great too do like what you
know like you want to teach or you want to you know i've started
(16:01):
accompanying in a ballet studio that's nothing i've done before but it's
like adjacent to what i do like with stuff so i
was not you know i was music assistant i
was like working on the score and stuff and working in notational software and
that's again not exactly my passion but like something i was passionate to work
on that project with them obviously and yeah so just like know know the know
(16:22):
the passionate adjacent things
because they're also worth doing and maybe Maybe they'll pay you. Yeah.
Wow. That's some really solid advice.
We got to have a notational software episode and discuss MuseScore versus Sibelius versus Finale.
Oh, okay. It's Sibelius over here.
I'm a MuseScore over here just because I think that was...
(16:44):
All right. Well, thank you so much, Jane, for hanging out with us.
And please join us on Patreon for exclusive content, bonus episodes,
behind-the-scenes insights, and more.
Visit patreon.com slash the little
merman to become a part of our mer fam and enjoy
all the extra perks we have to offer we do
(17:05):
ask that you please please please follow the little merman that is at the little
merman on ig all one word and of course at merman monday's podcast on instagram
you can find alexis at alexis babini that's all one word on instagram and you
can find Find me at brow underscore music on Instagram.
Merman Mondays pod on Instagram, you guys. You got to follow the cast.
(17:28):
And to close, we just want to say thank you for joining us on this episode of Merman Mondays.
We hope you have enjoyed our stories and discussions.
Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on all the platforms we just mentioned.
We'd love to hear your feedback on Patreon.
So please leave us a comment or send us a message there. And until next time,
(17:49):
remember to dream, believe, achieve. See you next Monday, y'all.
Music.
(18:26):
Music.
Music.
(00:10):
Welcome to Merman Mondays, the podcast where the Little Merman share behind
the scenes tour stories, discuss popular Disney content, and celebrate Disney's musical legacy.
I'm your host, Alexis Babini, founder of the Little Merman Band.
And joining me is our co-host, Andrew Grau.
(00:31):
Thanks, Alexis. So whether you're a longtime fan or first-time dreamer,
The Little Merman is the country's premier Disney tribute band,
bringing the magic of Disney music to life with live performances all across the U.S. and the world.
Our mission with this podcast is to connect with our fans on a deeper level,
give a behind-the-scenes glimpse at touring in an indie rock band,
(00:52):
and share in the joy that is Disney content and culture.
Adventure today we have an even more
special guest with us jane best jane
is our newest piano sub our first ever tinkerbell and
donatella duck and the only part of the merfam with
an actual disney character name jane from tarzan we are going to learn about
(01:15):
jane's history both disney and non and being the newest member of this magical
squad and get some fresh takes on our silliness stay Stay tuned to find where
you can connect with us and get deeper into the band lore.
Well, before we go the distance, we're still touring band with some shows coming
up. So let's get down to business.
(02:33):
Tickets all right so let's start today's episode with our
special guests let's dive in what's up
jane so jane best
it's we kind of made uh i actually asked you one of the first things i think
i ever asked you was so do you get simply the best all the time what are the
what are the fun things do people do with the name jane and the last name best
(02:54):
it's mostly a you're the best kind of vibe i i really can't complain because
my last name is like the most positive adjective to the English language.
The jokes are a little annoying sometimes, but in high school,
I was in a math class with a girl whose last name was Worst.
Oh, wait. Oh my gosh, I never thought about that.
(03:14):
I'm glad to be on the best side of that spectrum. I love that so much.
There must have been so many silly dad jokes in that class.
She got the bad side of it. The worst, if you could.
So, Jane, before coming to the Merman, And give us a little bit of your history,
kind of like where you started, where you went, and how you ended up in New York City.
(03:36):
Okay. All right. Long story short. I grew up outside of Philly,
Westchester, Pennsylvania.
Shout out. Went to college for music education in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, and was a middle school teacher for a few years until I realized
I liked musical theater a lot more than teaching middle school.
And then I went to grad school in Bozilla, Montana for a few years and then
worked on a cruise ship for a couple of years. And then I moved to New York
(03:58):
and I've been in New York for a little over a year at this point. And I love it.
We're so glad that you're here. We especially love people that realize that
the call for them is the stage.
I think that that is one thing that every single person in this band can agree with.
So we actually did talk a little bit on tour about your time in Missoula.
Kind of give a little bit of sort of what you did there.
(04:19):
Actually, even more specifically, I'd love to hear about the program that you
worked with out there. I ended up writing a musical with my now-remaining best
friend for our thesis project.
What was the name of that musical you wrote? Oh, it was called Welcome to the Void.
Wow, Welcome to the Void. Tell us about the musical.
Well, we were only allowed to have one person in the room at a time. Sure.
(04:40):
So we had to write a musical for that context. And it's six people who all think
they're the last person on Earth.
And we were exploring isolation and loneliness, but not related to the pandemic.
So, like, why do people isolate themselves or separate themselves from the world
and what can bring them back into society?
It was kind of the themes and we had fun with it. And I stand by it.
(05:00):
I'm very proud of it. I like that I've worked very hard.
And she's my favorite person to collaborate with. Oh, that's so cool.
Those are some rich themes. You guys heard it here first on the podcast,
Into the Void, the musical.
Also, we did a quick Hype Man credit shout out. We're catching Jane post-suffs
on Broadway, right? And then after this tour, you're going to be doing Rent at a theater somewhere.
(05:24):
We met you because you did Jersey Boys on the cruise ship with Melinda.
Yeah. When she was doing Six on the cruise ship.
I was just going to ask, what was your favorite show that you did on the cruise ships?
Oh, gosh. So I did three. I did Jersey Boys first, which is where I met Melinda.
And then my next contract, I did two shows. I did Six and Burn the Floor, which is a dance show.
(05:44):
I really liked all of them. Yeah. I think doing Six and Burn the Floor at the
same time was really fun for me. It's a kind of different aspects of playing.
Six is very music directory and eerie and synthy and fun.
And then Burn the Floor is I just got to play the piano, which is sometimes
really nice when you get wrapped up in like theater world and
patches and sounds and all that nonsense and i just get
to sit there and like play a piano so a lot of what is your favorite sport
(06:08):
that you stopped in cruise cast cosmo we went to cosmo like every friday for
like 16 weeks so we got really familiar with that sounds great there's so much
cosmo yeah so you had a good amount of coffee shops i love I mean, it's like wild.
Like your job is to like hang out and like sip a pina colada on the beach and
(06:30):
then go play six to musical.
Like it's truly like, there's a lot to complain about the ship life. There really is.
There's ups and downs, but like some of the days that go by,
like, I can't believe this is my job.
So I really liked Cozumel. Grand Taman was really cool. That's where you launder
your money. Yeah, apparently.
The Cayman Islands. Is that really a thing? It's a real place.
That's the place. Yeah. When someone's like, I have an offshore account, they need the Caymans.
(06:51):
The second this podcast turns a profit, it you better believe that's
where we're headed but yeah it's like the bluest water i've
ever seen it's incredible i just kind of bopped around mexico for
like a year and a half honestly like they're all just kind
of like everyone's like you must have traveled so much on a cruise they're
all just like kind of resort towns with like beaches and the same vibe you know
not like i feel like that's not authentic mexico yeah it's just i i heard somewhere
(07:17):
say they're like americans don't want to go to other countries they want to
go to warmer america and these These poor towns are kind of feel like just like warmer America.
No, that's so funny. I mean. But they're great and they're fun and everyone's
on vacation and it's a good time.
That's awesome. So Jane, this is now getting into a little more now that we've shifted focus.
(07:38):
You've hung out with us for six days. Yeah. Actually, technically,
we're at this point where now we've been on tour for a week and this is our
sixth day of shows, but we've been on tour for a full week.
So Jane, what were your preconceived notions about the Merman before you came in?
And then even after first rehearsal, and then like, what are your what are your
what are your notions now that they're actually conceived? I have like no idea what to expect.
(08:02):
It's just like, I'm just gonna be along for the ride. This will be great.
You know, I've seen like Melinda would post pictures when I you know, got this.
I was like stalking everybody on social media and seeing like, what is this?
And then I saw Ryan playing the keytar and I was like, I don't play the keytar.
But that looks like fun. I'm not playing the keytar. I would like to someday,
though. Someone wants to give me one.
But I was like, it'll be Disney music. And I figured there'd be a lot of kids
(08:25):
and families listening to it. And I was like, you know, kids get excited.
And I was like, this sounds like it'll be really wholesome and fun.
And everyone seems nice. And Melinda has said nothing but good things about
this group. Like, oh, great.
I'll have my first experience with them just being on the road with them for 10 days.
Diving into the deep end with both feet. Just like a great way to get to know people.
(08:46):
Something you did share with us. you are a triplet anyone else
in your family musical or are you just the one who just was like this
is this is my thing yeah no we were all really musical growing
up i think you know both my parents really like
music and and were involved in it growing up so all three of us were very strongly
encouraged i mean i think at one point with like 13 or 14 or 15 instruments
(09:07):
in our living room like we all were in band we all were in orchestra while doing
all that my sister was kind of the the singer she would get all like the lead
roles in the musicals and stuff Shout out to Lorraine.
But now she works in film, so kind of adjacent.
Oh, what's up? She's a production...
She's a line producer, production. There we go. That's the...
(09:28):
For unscripted television in Nashville.
So she's killing it down there. That's very fun.
My brother does not do music anymore, but I maintain he was the most naturally
talented out of all of us. He just cared the least.
Nothing wrong with that. And he's always been incredibly supportive and a cool dude.
But isn't that the way it is? It's like the people that don't practice it are just naturally good.
(09:50):
And then me, who's been practicing five hours a day since I was 15,
I'm like, oh, I can't play it.
He played the bass. He was real good. Wow, showbiz family.
Well-rounded. Even now, when we're all home for Christmas, I'll get my trombone out.
Oh, amazing. We'll get our instruments out and try to play Christmas carols
together still. It's going in the show.
(10:10):
Trombone solo. Next question for Jane Best.
We want to know your favorite Disney movie or your favorite Disney media.
So we could go Disney song. we can go Disney character so let's start with movie movie,
feel like like growing up it was probably like the ones I really liked were
like Aladdin and the Lion King nice the classics I have you know a lot of fond,
(10:36):
feelings for like Frozen too I think that's excellent I like went through a
little phase where I thought I was too cool for Disney and it was like when
like Frozen Entangled and all of those came out and then I watched all of them
like three or four years later and I was like oh these are excellent so I don't
know Disney can do to do no wrong with its movies in my opinion,
but I had to pick one.
I guess I'd say Aladdin. Ah, yes. The Disney Renaissance.
(10:58):
Yeah. I think me too, actually. I remember, did you ever see the direct video
sequel Return of Jafar by any chance?
There's, there's a meme that someone just recently sent us and it's like showing
the, from the theatrical Aladdin release and it's like a shot of the carpet
and all the ornate shading.
And then it's like the direct to video sequel and it's like very,
like you can kind of see where they cut the corners.
(11:20):
Okay, that's sick. Okay, in this Disney-themed band, what have been your favorite?
Before we get to bits, let's just go stage moments. Yeah, what are some of your,
maybe just some highlights from our, yeah, from our magic moments from our show?
Joy, especially at the outdoor venues where you really get to see the audience.
And I love watching the little child mosh pits in the front.
(11:43):
Child mosh pits are great. Like running laps for like 45 minutes straight.
And I'm like, are you listening to the music? running in
circles i'm like you know these parents are so grateful these
kids are going to go to sleep so hard so i really
enjoy that i enjoy playing let it go because it's
the piano we won and it's fun to do i enjoy dressing
(12:03):
as tinkerbell because i love tinkerbell and she's the
best and so i like to be tinkerbell and yeah
i mean it's just really fun it's now that we've done
you know six shows or whatever however many i
feel like i'm kind of settling into it and getting to see what's
happening on stage yeah kind of yeah be a
part of it a little bit more yeah and we love having you on
(12:25):
stage it's like uh it's it's every every time a new sub comes in a different
vibe comes in and the vibe has been excellent it's also been like you know it's
also very hard when there's six people who all have exceptionally big personalities
all screaming at each other at once and it's been nice to have like oh we don't
we don't have to get crazy every single every single day.
(12:46):
Music.
That jane you know being a champ jumping in with
us at a close quarters 15 passenger van driving maybe
sometimes seven hours at a time yesterday was four
(13:08):
hours was it 12 10 p.m
oh yeah dude i showed up i showed
up here like last night with alexis and it was just me and alexis and
we got the texts and we're both like all right dude
let's just hang out so you're just like have we watched you want to do on
the phone yeah no totally we watched the uh weezer 30th anniversary
concert that they did for like the spotify studio
(13:28):
sessions and it was really really
cool like they did a three or four songs off of the blue album and just hearing
them kind of talk about it with i think their original producer and just watching
weezer who's been doing this for such a long time just crush what are they in
their 50s talking about our band talking about our bits talking about weezer
the one thing my takeaway was like they're just like us they have weird
(13:51):
bits they were they were talking about like cheese whiz yeah i'm talking about at some point.
Yeah like hot dog it was like oh we are weezer
i feel like i don't know that was one of the things like coming
in here and i was like oh my god everyone's the same like especially it
seems like like rhythm section types like bass drums guitar every time
you know like a bunch of dudes that play rhythm section instruments it's
(14:13):
kind of a similar vibe yeah but it's just like
it's almost comforting to be like yeah it's just gonna be this level of
silliness for the rest of my my life yeah i mean that's
like at the end of the day one of the reasons why i got into music because i
knew i'd have to grow up i didn't want to grow up too fast you know and i still
feel like i still feel like however many times
i come across as like super professional to like these sound guys i still
(14:33):
know how to throw like a joke at the sound people they're like this guy
yeah it's always it's always like that after uh
alexis did mention that you're going to be doing rent after this
is there anything else uh that people can check
you out on or how can people get in touch with you yeah now
i'm doing a little doing a little production run in the community theater canada
kit starting july 2nd great that's that's
(14:55):
the day after we get back that is a quick turnaround yeah
i've done some summer camps and stuff this summer too so it'll be fun but follow
me on instagram i guess it's jane underscore the underscore best because we
gotta make fun of our own last name exactly but yeah i don't know i'll be around
awesome and now that you've been in New York like a full year.
(15:17):
What would you give as like a piece of advice for anybody who is thinking about
moving to New York, specifically if they're looking to go for the arts?
Because I know that's what brings a lot of people to New York City. Yeah, gosh.
I don't know have savings work on a
cruise ship for two years so you can get some savings and then you're like you know
it helps you just not be you know just
(15:39):
to know there's a little bit of a sense of security just especially
just moving is expensive yeah doing all your life
is expensive and you're not going to get a job immediately yeah all
that you know and yeah know know
what you can do and you know if if you want to
do things adjacent to your art that's great too do like what you
know like you want to teach or you want to you know i've started
(16:01):
accompanying in a ballet studio that's nothing i've done before but it's
like adjacent to what i do like with stuff so i
was not you know i was music assistant i
was like working on the score and stuff and working in notational software and
that's again not exactly my passion but like something i was passionate to work
on that project with them obviously and yeah so just like know know the know
(16:22):
the passionate adjacent things
because they're also worth doing and maybe Maybe they'll pay you. Yeah.
Wow. That's some really solid advice.
We got to have a notational software episode and discuss MuseScore versus Sibelius versus Finale.
Oh, okay. It's Sibelius over here.
I'm a MuseScore over here just because I think that was...
(16:44):
All right. Well, thank you so much, Jane, for hanging out with us.
And please join us on Patreon for exclusive content, bonus episodes,
behind-the-scenes insights, and more.
Visit patreon.com slash the little
merman to become a part of our mer fam and enjoy
all the extra perks we have to offer we do
(17:05):
ask that you please please please follow the little merman that is at the little
merman on ig all one word and of course at merman monday's podcast on instagram
you can find alexis at alexis babini that's all one word on instagram and you
can find Find me at brow underscore music on Instagram.
Merman Mondays pod on Instagram, you guys. You got to follow the cast.
(17:28):
And to close, we just want to say thank you for joining us on this episode of Merman Mondays.
We hope you have enjoyed our stories and discussions.
Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on all the platforms we just mentioned.
We'd love to hear your feedback on Patreon.
So please leave us a comment or send us a message there. And until next time,
(17:49):
remember to dream, believe, achieve. See you next Monday, y'all.
Music.
(18:26):
Music.
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