Posted on March 1, 2006 at 8:00 pm

Wow. The first time I logged on to the Internet was in 1998, and shortly thereafter was the first time someone suggested I get my own website. It may seem odd that it’s taken me eight years to get around to it, but anyone who knows me knows that I tend to get things finished only when there’s an axe swinging at my head.  The axe in this case was my solo album, “Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes,” which was released last June.  Every time we would try to get press and media attention for this album which I love so much and am so proud of, we would be asked “Where’s the website?” And so, the website.  After all this time.

Jasonrobertbrown.com aims to be lots of things to lots of people, and we’re still a ways off from being finished with it.  Ideally, it’s a place where someone can come to find out about me, to hear some of my music, to ask questions, to research any of my shows or albums, and to learn where I’ll be performing and teaching.  Right now, you’ll find a lot of articles about my work, including reviews and interviews and profiles; you’ll find photos of the shows and my solo performances and some goofy candids; you’ll find dedicated sections on each of the shows and each of my albums, along with links so you can purchase them; you’ll find a somewhat rudimentary calendar of my upcoming appearances, which will be updated and expanded soon; and you’ll find… well, this.  I’ll update this blog thing periodically, hopefully once a month, with a previously unreleased song or recording from the JRB archives, and I’ll also let you know what’s going on with new shows and albums.

So now that the introductory stuff is through, I’m thrilled to offer you two songs to thank you for visiting the site.  Neither of these has been released before in any form.

“That’s How Texas Was Born” is from Urban Cowboy, The Musical, and for both of you lucky enough to see that show, you’ll remember that this song was my big solo that we used to open the second act.  Here it is with the original band from the show, recorded right before we closed.

That’s How Texas Was Born (Urban Cowboy, 2003) by MrJasonRBrown

“That’s How Texas Was Born”
from Urban Cowboy, the Musical (2003)
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
JRB: piano, vocals
Gary Sieger: electric guitar
Gordon Titcomb: pedal steel guitar
Kermit Driscoll: electric bass
Antoine Silverman: fiddle
Brian Brake: drums
Dave Keyes: Hammond organ
Recorded and mixed by Jeffrey Lesser at Clinton Recording Studios, NY NY, May 2003

This next song is very special to me: I wrote it for my wedding, where it was performed by two magnificent singers who happen to my two of my closest friends, Lauren Kennedy and Rozz Morehead, accompanied by my favorite string quartet, Ethel.  We actually planned to put this track on “Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes,” but at the last moment, we decided it would be too weird to have a song in which I didn’t sing or play a single note on my solo album.  So I’m proud to present it here, with special thanks to Lauren, Rozz and the Ethels for making such a special day even more special.  

In This Room (studio recording) by MrJasonRBrown

“In This Room”

Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Lauren Kennedy: vocals
Rozz Morehead: vocals
Todd Reynolds: violin
Mary Rowell: violin
Ralph Farris: viola
Dorothy Lawson: cello

Recorded and mixed by Jeffrey Lesser at Clinton Recording Studios, NY NY
and Avatar Studios, NY NY (Jan Folkson, mix engineer), May 2004

I hope you enjoy the site.  Please let us know any thoughts you may have, we’re really excited about getting this all together and turning it into a real JRB resource for fans and future fans.  Come back soon!

All best,
Jason