![]() Started in 2017, From the Green Room highlighted lively, off-the-cuff chats between him and fellow musicians. ![]() Adjusting their paradigm to commit to the city and accepting the inevitability of zero financial security turned out to be an untenable notion.ĭisston even found that the podcast he’d created was affected by the financial crunch. ![]() The band’s three albums were released to considerable acclaim: Paste Magazine described Pickwick’s 2017 full-length Lovejoys as “a seamless little sound-world of old soul, new blood, sleek pop, slow jams, electro-funk, and fearless exploration.” Pickwick’s first big single, “Hacienda Motel,” even amassed an impressive 4.5 million streams on Spotify, generating enough income for band members to cover their health insurance for a while.īut maintaining health insurance through the band’s streaming proceeds became too much to sustain, and the harsh reality of Seattle’s astronomical cost of living kicked in with a vengeance. Mainstages and festivals across the Pacific Northwest followed, culminating in a couple of national tours. Initially an Americana act, Pickwick became one of Seattle’s most beloved and in-demand live acts when it embraced and perfected its own distinctive combination of R&B and indie rock. “He’s a guy who really wants to be in a rock and roll band.”ĭisston has lived that scenario for the past decade-plus. “It helps that the character is basically me,” Disston says. Anyone who’s seen the show knows that it’s as frothy as the head on a pitcher of Pabst Blue Ribbon, but there’s some universality to the show’s central conceit. True to the era, the soundtrack is packed with vintage hair-metal anthems and power ballads. ![]() The play follows Disston’s character, Drew, through a romance with struggling actress Sherri (Diana Huey) in 1987 Los Angeles. The musical also got its own movie adaptation in 2012 with no less than Tom Cruise in the key supporting role of glam rocker Stacey Jaxx. Touring productions have brought the show to most of North America and the U.K. Other stagings became huge hits in London’s West End, Toronto, Australia, and the Philippines. It premiered on Broadway in 2009 and played to packed houses for six years. Rock of Ages is, if nothing else, a proven commodity. Are you sure you want me to come in and try out for this? And they were like, yeah, let’s give it a whirl.” His response: “I can’t dance, I’ve never acted once in my life. That unjaded energy likely brought him to the attention of 5th Avenue Artistic Director Bill Berry as much as Disston’s singing voice (Seattle Met said Disston’s soulful vocals “could bring a Southern Baptist congregation to its feet”).īerry’s team was familiar with the band and invited Disston to try out. The wide-eyed enthusiasm he gives off and the baseball cap that’s barely restraining his trademark spring-loaded mass of curly brown hair feel better suited to a happy tourist than the star of a road-tested hit musical. It’s like a workout for my brain.”Īmidst his mild fretting over learning a new skill set, Disston is genuinely upbeat. “Associating parts of a song with movements, choreography, props, and a set is a huge struggle for me. “For me to acknowledge I’m not just going to be standing and singing is a new experience,” he says. This new gig has effectively pulled Disston out of his comfort zone and challenged him.
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