Interview: One Artist Becomes Two as Alexander Sage Oyen Introduces the World to A.S.O and A Pop Album

SJP. JRB. DAR. RSO. For some time now the business of show has made use of initials in reference to artists with triple-barrelled names, sometimes to abbreviate the time needed to talk or to write about them, other times in an effort to create a brand. It's been as successful as Sarah Jessica or Jason Robert could have possibly hoped, though there are times when all Anagram artists are still referred to by their entire names. Well, there's a new brand on the block this month as the wildly popular musical theater writer Alexander Sage Oyen takes his first steps into the world of pop music. With the release of his new album IF I GAVE MY HEART TO YOU, the man who has become accustomed to hearing other people perform his compositions will step into the light, a light that has been waiting for him. And with that first step, he will leave behind his role as musical theater writer and become pop singer-songwriter A.S.O. ... It's kind of like he will be a superhero with a secret identity, except that all the musical theater actors know what the secret is.

Before Alexander Sage Oyen enters the phone booth and emerges as pop music's boy wonder A.S.O., Broadway World Cabaret sat down to have an informal telephone chat about songwriting, married life, and singing solo for a while.

This interview has been edited for space and content.

A.S.O., welcome to Broadway World! We are here to talk about your new album, your very first ever in the pop music field.

A.S.O: Yeah.

How does it feel to be spreading your artistic wings this way?

A.S.O: I'm so excited. It's a collection of songs that I've dreamed about making for my entire life. it's really a fantastic, exciting perspective to be able to put out a piece of work that's not connected to a greater story, or doesn't have to be a huge production. It feels incredible to be doing that. It's interesting because, when I was 12, I was on a reality television show called In Search of the Partridge Family - it was on VH1, it was really fun. I had this meeting with this big agent, and this agent was trying to get me to audition for movies and all these cool things. I was that horrible kid who was like, "I wanna be John Mayer, and I don't wanna do anything else," and obviously that's not what I ended up wanting to do. My mom took me to see Wicked and I caught the theater bug and kind of joined the two things. But there's always been that bug inside of me that's wanted to write a pop record and do something that's not theatrical, you know?

But modern musical theater scores have opened up to the sounds of rock and pop music.

A.S.O: Yeah.

In what ways was your creative process different while creating this pop album, than it's been in the past, working on theatrical projects?

A.S.O: Whenever I'm writing something that's tied directly to a plot or a story, I have the ability to integrate my voice as an author, obviously, and to use my own moral as the backbone of what the songs are saying... but I'm really communicating as a character, in the theatrical sense. In this sense, I really get to write from my actual experience in a way that's a little bit more tangible - to me at the very least - in a way that feels more raw and personal. Whereas, in the theater, I usually take my personal experiences, make them a bit more ambiguous and hide them inside songs. I don't feel like (on this record) I'm hiding anything. I think I'm being very honest, in some ways maybe too honest, I'm not sure.

Is there such a thing as being too honest?

A.S.O: Maybe? I don't know. I don't think so.

Since you're already talking about it, put a picture in my head of the genesis of your songwriting career.

A.S.O: I was on that reality television show and when I got home from that - I came in third for the role of Danny Partridge - it was a very musical show and I only really had three guitar lessons. I taught myself from there, and I started writing songs around that time - they were all pop songs. When I got into high school, my theater teacher was doing a production of Mother Courage and Her Children. Let's say she didn't want to put the resources into (I think) paying for the rights to the music of Kurt Weill or someone else who had written a score, so she asked me to write a score, and that was where I really understood that I wanted to write.

You were how old?

A.S.O: I was thirteen, fourteen, or so.

And the focus went from pop music to theater music right there.

A.S.O: Right around fourteen, fifteen-ish. When I got into high school - my mother is a long time cabaret artist and she's best friends with a lot of composers, she was on the Prince of Egypt soundtrack, she sings "Temporary" on John Bucchino's Grateful album, sandwiched right between Adam Guettel and Patti LuPone, she's an amazing vocalist. And I had the opportunity to get to see Wicked when I was a kid, and go backstage, and see the process. And that's when it really took the veer directly into the musical theater world. That's kind of my genesis right there: Wicked .

Does your mother sing your songs?

A.S.O: She does. Yeah. She has in the past, there's a couple of recordings, she's done 54 Below with me. She's one of the best vocalists out there, actually; she's still got it. It wasn't my music, but we were both in John Bucchino's twentieth anniversary Grateful concert, during the pandemic. She sang Temporary in that, and she just sounded so incredible. I was so proud of her. It's wonderful to be able to be proud of your parents' true talent.

To be able to see your parents as humans, as individuals, rather than just mom or dad, is a wonderful thing.

A.S.O: Exactly. She's truly incredible. It's wonderful.

I once asked John Bucchino who he felt was the greatest interpreter of his work - and I won't tell you who he said, but I'd love to know what you would answer if I asked you that question.

A.S.O: Oh, my Mom! John's been a real mentor of mine. He's been really, kind of, the most incredible guide and guru, as I have made my way through songwriting. He's the best songwriter I've ever heard in my life. He's so good.

I hope you've told him that,

A.S.O: Oh my god, over and over again - he doesn't hear it, but I've told him over and over again.

That sounds like John, that tracks

A.S.O: (Laughing) It does, doesn't it? He's the nicest man in the world. He really is so kind.

Was there a moment in your trajectory that you can point to, a turning of the corner when you became well-known as a contemporary musical theater composer?

A.S.O: It's weird, right? Cause I can look at numbers of things, I can know when I released things, like, I had put some songs up on Spotify and they're up to 8 million streams now, or whatever that is. I haven't watched them, as the numbers have progressed, so I haven't taken any kind of stock as I've moved forward in my career, but I would say that the first time that I was in line at 54 Below and somebody that I didn't know recognized me, that was the first time where I really was like, "Oh, wow. Maybe I'm actually doing this."

An important moment in the life of an artist.

A.S.O: It's remarkable. And I'm really grateful that I got it, and I really hope that the artists who haven't gotten that yet, get that very soon.

Do you have any thoughts about the current Spotify controversy that you feel comfortable sharing with me?

A.S.O: My thought is that I dislike Joe Rogan as well, and I think it is fantastic that the artists that have the ability, the financial stability, to be able to take this incredible stand, are doing what they're doing - but as a new creator and an independent creator at times, it's hard for me to see being able to make that judgment call myself at this point, you know?

Well, sometimes you have to rely on the people who have stronger legs to do the heavy lifting.

A.S.O: Exactly. Exactly. I agree one hundred percent. I think Neil Young just released a new record and it's really good - I think that people will find a way to listen to it, no matter what - they've always found a way to listen to his music, no matter what. I do think he's taking a risk, but I think it's a calculated risk, and I think that it's very smart of him to be doing it because it shows where he stands as a person, too. I think that Joe Rogan has a chance to hopefully turn a new leaf, and change some of the rhetoric, and balance things out a little bit more, hopefully a lot more.

That would be the best-case scenario. I have listened to the album and I think it's wonderful. It has a sound that's completely different. How did you cultivate that sound?

A.S.O: Thank you so much. It was vocal based. This is the first record that I've ever made that I'm doing most of the singing on, and where I've worked with other producers as well. Jakob Reinhardt is the primary producer on it, and I sat down and had a discussion about what the record could and would sound like, and we said together that we wanted it to be very vocal forward and for the cool sounds that you walk away humming to be vocally based, which is something I haven't really done with myself in a long time,

For your pop vocalist career, your team is rebranding you as A.S.O.

A.S.O: Yeah. Oh, yeah!

You are already known in the community of the theater world by your real name. Will the rebranding reach across the board, or will you keep two different names for two different tracks?

A.S.O: It depends, as we move forward. I think the reason why we wanted to do a whole rebrand is because we wanted to be able to have two separate kinds of things, where the theater music doesn't have to be beholden to the pop music. I think if there's any traction here, if people like what I do as A.S.O., there's a possibility that we'd want to theatricalize things and do things as we move forward. So, I think that there's absolute possibility for crossover. It's kind of taking a risk at (I just turned 30 last week, or two weeks ago, I can't even remember) it's kind of a risk to me, at this point, to change my name and do a new thing but I feel that this is such a different step for me that I want to commit to it. I think it's a really exciting process to be able to sing and write and do all these things separately.

Have you asked your closest circle to start calling you A.S.O. so that you can get used to it?

A.S.O: The weird thing is that the reason why we picked A.S.O. is cause a lot of people call me that anyway - it's been this weird nickname. All these college kids that I work with, all these people have known me as A.S.O. for a while, so it kind of feels like it may be the natural segue. I'm not sure, I could be completely misjudging that, but the amount of times I've been called A.S.O. is staggering.

You're sort of just embracing a movement that already exists in life.

A.S.O: Exactly, exactly. It's almost like I'm actually kind of giving up my spot against A.S.O. for so long and now I'm resigning myself. I will be A.S.O.

Oh, what the heck, why not?

A.S.O: Right!

You've had a series of successful concerts at 54 Below as Alexander Sage Oyen, and they always featured a cast made up of your friends and colleagues;with this CD, If I Gave My Heart To You, you are now a solo act. What are your thoughts and feelings as you embark on this lone venture?

A.S.O: It's harder. Obviously, I'm feeling awkward about it. Is a lonely venture because I am (and have been) used to, for the last few years, if I put on a concert I don't have to do all the singing. I sing one song, maybe, and I can rely on other people. In August I had a very close friend, Maria Wiries, who is one of my favorite collaborators, who had a show at 54 Below and then I had a show that next week - Maria was doing my show as well, it was the first show where I was premiering a bunch of songs, and it was a show where I sang a lot of my own material. After the show, Maria was like, "That was so great," and I was beating myself up for it because I could count all the mistakes that I made. It's lonely.

I've noticed a number of singers talk about how much they love singing your songs in their shows. People clearly love the work that you do - to what would you attribute that?

A.S.O: I think it's a couple things: at the end of the day, I hope that the people that I'm sharing this music with see my heart through the songs. I hope that they see where I'm coming from, as a person, through the songs, and I hope that they see that I'm trying to give them a platform, and respect, and a character that they can really sink their teeth into, to be able to really make some art together. I think that it's also about making sure that whenever you're collaborating with an artist, that you give them absolute respect to be able to create their character and to be able to sing their song and bring what they bring to the thing - don't impose what you think they should bring to the thing

I have seen, over the years, the effect that musical theater songwriting can have on young people. I've seen it very vividly with John Bucchino and the devotion that the young people of the theater have for his work. Have you had an opportunity to experience that kind of mentorship with the youth of the theater industry?

A.S.O: That's one of my favorite aspects of theater - working with people younger than me. In terms of youth, I work a lot with college age students. I have a great relationship with Penn State, and I just orchestrated a musical for them, and they've commissioned me to write a new musical, with Lauren Marcus; she's writing lyrics, I'm writing music, and we have a book writer as well, he's wonderful. So, I work with Penn State. I teach musical theater songwriting at the Professional Performing Arts High School, through ASCAP, so every year for the last five years, I've had a class of 13 to 20 students, and we let them be adventurous and be young writers. I think that's been one of the most incredible aspects of my working in musical theater - working with young people. They're making the coolest art. Being able to connect with these kids as they're creating their artistry keeps me in a place of inspiration because sometimes these kids make things where I go, "I, as a 30-year-old adult, could not have written that better - you just wrote a stroke of genius song and you're 17." It's amazing to watch kids achieve things that you aren't even sure you could achieve. It's really beautiful.

You have already been that person. You have had the trajectory, so it must be fun for you to have been that young person, to have been that mentee, and now to be the mentor.

A.S.O: It's the most important part - to be able to give back, in any capacity, to anybody else who wants to do this job. I think this is the one of the most unforgiving industries, when it comes to writing or creating or acting - I think any ways in which we can encourage people to continue doing it, even if that means in a non-professional manner, but just to create; I think it's just important that people don't lose that dream because we don't benefit from art not being made in the world.

If I Gave My Heart To You is being released by No Reverse Records on February 18th.

A.S.O: Yeah, exactly.

Why was No Reverse the right label for this venture for you?

A.S.O: I've never actually released anything with a label partner at this point. This is my first release with a label partner; every single thing that I've released has been completely independent. And it's been hard, to be honest with you, as I've kind of been moving over and trying to figure things out. I only have the ability to reach so many people and to get the word out in so many ways. And No Reverse has been crushing it with getting the word out about their artists. I've been impressed by the incredible work that they've been putting out, it has been so stellar - it just seems like a perfect opportunity to have partners who could really be invested in making this the most successful release possible. This group of songs, for me, feels very personal. I just got married in June of last year, and over the course of the year, I was writing all of these songs about getting married, and about all of these different aspects of life, so it feels like it's something I really want people to hear. I really want to be able to share this with people. I really am excited that No Reverse is excited to help me achieve that.

Do you have plans to play out with the music from this album?

A.S.O: Absolutely. My goal is to play out as much as possible. Obviously with the COVID of it all, I don't have a lot of specific plans - there are some dates coming up that we are looking at right now. But I do want to play out with this record, and what's cool is, even though the record is just me, I might even be able to have a couple of cool special guests for the concert and everything.

You were married in the throes of a pandemic.

A.S.O: Yeah.

And now you've got this exciting new artistic journey.

A.S.O: Yeah.

Is there a philosophy that has kept you moving forward into positivity during such a difficult time in the world?

A.S.O: I have not stopped working. I had a production that was scheduled for London in March of 2020 - we had tickets from March 17th, and they obviously got canceled, the production got canceled and I was really sad. Luckily, I had this amazing company that I worked with in 2019 want to make a cast album of one of my shows called Discount Ghost Stories, and we put that out and it's got LaChanze and George Salazar and Lauren Marcus - t's got something like 20 to 30 of the craziest, most amazing musical theater performers ever. I made this record with Jakob as well. My philosophy is that if I don't stop creating things, then this pandemic will not have beaten me, it will not have destroyed my productivity, my creativity. And I want to come out of this with more creative products than I started it with. I've made three charity benefit singles, two records, I've written two full musicals, and I think I've buried myself in my work, but when we come out of this, hopefully I'll be able to stop working for a second.

A.S.O., thank you so much for sharing your story with us today.

A.S.O: I'm honored, truly.

If I Gave My Heart to You

Music, Lyrics & Arrangements by A.S.O.

Produced by: Jakob Reinhardt, Lloyd Kikoler, Tom Jorgensen and Sammy Wags

Album Art by : Mindy Yi

Label: No Reverse Records, LLC

IF I GAVE MY HEART TO YOU is available for pre-order now and will be fully released on February 18th. Pre-Order link is HERE.

If I Gave My Heart To You by A.S.O. is a 2022 release on the No Reverse Records Label.

Visit the No Reverse Records website HERE and the Alexander Sage Oyen website HERE.

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