Billy Jay Stein (also known as William Stein, Billy Stein and Strange Cranium) is a pianist, keyboardist, composer, music director, record producer, electronic music designer, and mixing engineer. He won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album for producing and mixing Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.[1]
Billy Jay Stein | |
|---|---|
 Stein in his studio | |
| Born | February 2, 1970 |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, music producer, musician |
| Spouse | Laura M. Miles |
| Musical career | |
| Years active | 1993 – present |
| Website | http://www.strangecranium.com |
Early life and education
editBilly Jay Stein was born on February 5, 1970, in Bronx, NY. He began studying the piano at the age of six. After graduating from Jericho High School, Stein attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the biological basis of behavior with an emphasis on neural systems, and minored in music.[2]
Career
editStein became a member of the rock and roll band, The MadHatters, in 1989. The band, which included members Adam Hirsh (vocals, guitar), Adam Evans (guitar, vocals), Billy Jay Stein (keyboards, vocals), Jon Kaplan (bass), and Tommy Kaelin (drums), officially changed their name to The Hatters in 1993;; same year Atlantic signed the band, and released Live Thunderchicken, taken from their club appearances.[3][4][5][6] In 1994, they recorded their debut studio album, The Madcap Adventures of the Avocado Overlord, and their final album, You Will Be You was released in 1995, just prior to the band's break up.[4]
In 1996 Stein returned to New York City, where he attended classes in orchestration and conducting at the Juilliard School and began working with former Hatter bandmate, Adam Hirsh, AKA Tree Adams. Together they composed the score to the film Definite Maybe.[7]
In 1998, Stein founded Strange Cranium Productions, Inc.,[8] a full service music company. Heading up Strange Cranium Productions, Stein has composed music for television shows such as MTV's "Boiling Points", VH1's "The List", HBO's "Sex In The City",[9][10][11] and Showtime's Nurse Jackie. Productions by Stein under Strange Cranium include "Handel’s Messiah Rocks", featuring the Keith Lockhart and Boston Pops Orchestra, and The Other Side Of Me, by Linda Eder.[8]
Stein has played on recordings with artists such as Linda Eder, Kate Voegele, Sons of Sylvia, Kevin Hammond, Laura Izibor, Joe Budden, East Village Opera Company, Cartel, Darlene Love, Jet Lag Gemini, The Damnwells, Henri Salvador, Bernard Lavilliers, Born Cages, The Bacon Brothers, IVO, and Ray Charles.[8][12]
In 2014 Stein composed the score for the feature film, Sister,[13] which was an Official Selection at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.[14][15]
Stein began touring with Linda Eder in 2000 as a keyboard player and become her musical director and pianist in 2008.[16][17][18][19] Stein has also been involved in multiple Broadway productions as keyboard player and Assistant Conductor. From 1997 - 2001 Stein played keyboards in Jekyll & Hyde.[20] From 2011 to 2014, Stein was the Electronic Music Designer, keyboard 1, and assistant conductor for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.[16][21]
Other credits for Electronic Music Designer include Fun Home (Original Broadway-current), Flashdance (National Tour 2012-current), Jekyll & Hyde (Original Broadway 2013), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Original Broadway 2014-current, London-current), Cinderella (National tour-current), Chess (1998), Fortress Of Solitude (Public Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center - 2014), Linda Eder: The Holiday Concert (Palace Theatre- 2004), Linda Eder at the Gershwin (Gershwin Theatre- 2001), Chess (John Houseman Theatre- 1998), Tuck Everlasting' Atlanta Alliance Theatre - 2015).[16][22][23][24][25][26]
In 2008 Stein founded Strike Audio, a music licensing company, with Michael Rosen.[27] Strike Audio is a leading provider of exclusive, world-class music for television. Strike Audio, with 15 award-winning composer writings and producing full-time, airs music 24 hours a day and seven days a week, around the world. Strike Audio cues have been featured on more than 350 television series and specials, including Pawn Stars, Duck Dynasty, Long Island Medium, and Wahlburgers.[27]
In 2015, Stein won a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album.[1][28] He produced and mixed Beautiful: The Carole King Musical with co-producers Steve Sidwell and Jason Howland.[1]
In 2016, Stein was the Composer, Music Producer, and Arranger for The New York Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.[29][30][31][32] The production featured unique arrangements of hit music and legendary compositions by artists including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Shawn Carter, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Sting, and Frank Sinatra.[33]
From 2018 to 2020, Stein was the electronic music producer and designer for Tina Fey's Mean Girls, which ran on Broadway from 2018 to 2020.[26] In 2020 Stein was the music producer and mixer for the original virtual musical, A Killer Party (www.akillerpartymusical.com). The musical was created by over 55 Broadway professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic, providing some financial help/relief to everyone involved.[34]
In 2020, Stein also co-produced and mixed the Carole King classic, “You've got A Friend”. A video that has been viewed, nearly 1 Million times, and generated thousands of dollars in support of the Actor's Fund. The music video is a collaboration between artists from four continents; all of whom had performed/played the show “Beautiful”, including in London, Tokyo, Sydney, Toronto, New York, and all over the US.[35][36]
In 2020, He also engineered and mixed the music for the event Night of Covenant House Stars.The event featured Dolly Parton, Jon Bon Jovi and Meryl Streep and raised over $1 Million dollars for Covenant house.[37]
In 2020, one of Strike Audio's master tracks (Mystery by Bernd Schoenhart) was sampled on the 21 Savage & Metro Boomin's SAVAGE MODE II, which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 Chart on October 11, 2020.[38]
Stein is the head of the team that created and maintains Strange Cranium's MainBrain Show Control Software. The proprietary software allows a music conductor to easily control, adapt, and rearrange prerecorded audios. The system is used nightly to control audio playback in many Broadway and touring shows.[39]
Billy Jay Stein has one of the largest collections of vintage and modern synthesizers in the world. He has also been featured in Keyboard and Electronic Musician Magazines.[40][41][42]
Personal life
editStein is married to Laura Miles.[43] They have two children and live in Manhattan.
Discography
edit| Year | Album/Artist/Credit |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Savage Mode II (21 Savage & Metro Boomin)
Publisher |
| 2020 | A Killer Party (Original Cast Recording)
Music Producer, Mixer |
| 2019 | Tootsie (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Electronic Music Design, Keyboards |
| 2018 | Mean Girls (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Electronic Music Design, Keyboards |
| 2017 | Amélie, A New Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Electronic Music Design, Keyboards |
| 2017 | The Band's Visit (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Electronic Music Design, Keyboards |
| 2016 | Tuck Everlasting (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Keyboard Programming |
| 2015 | Fun Home (Broadway Cast Recording)
Keyboard Programming |
| 2015 | The Fortress of Solitude (The Fortress of Solitude Cast Ensemble)
Synthesizer Programming |
| 2014 | Beautiful: The Carole King Musical [Original Broadway Cast Recording]
Editing, Mixing, Producer |
| 2014 | Fun Home
Keyboard Programming |
| 2012 | Jekyll & Hyde: 2012 Concept Recording
Engineer, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Synthesizer Programming |
| 2012 | Steadfast
Clay Aiken Vocal Engineer |
| 2011 | Gravity Happens
Kate Voegele Keyboards, Programming |
| 2011 | Now
Linda Eder Arranger, Engineer, Featured Artist, Mixing, Producer |
| 2011 | Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Electronic Design, Keyboards, Synthesizer Programming |
| 2010 | Revelation
Suns of Sylvia Hammond B3, Piano, Wurlitzer |
| 2010 | Tried & True
Clay Aiken Engineer, Vocal Engineer |
| 2009 | Handel's Messiah Rocks
Joyful Noise Arranger, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 2009 | Let the Truth Be Told
Laura Izibor Engineer, Hammond B3, Wurlitzer |
| 2009 | Soundtrack
Linda Eder Engineer, Keyboards, Musical Direction, Piano |
| 2008 | Fire the Cannons
Jet Lag Gemini Keyboards, Programming |
| 2008 | Olde School
The East Village Opera Company Engineer, Programming, Pro-Tools |
| 2008 | The Other Side of Me
Linda Eder Arranger, Audio Production, Bass Engineer, Composer, Digital Editing, Drum Programming, Guitar Engineer, Keyboard Engineer, Main Personnel, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Producer, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Vocal Engineer |
| 2007 | Cartel
Cartel Keyboards, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 2007 | It's Christmas, of Course
Darlene Love Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, Main Personnel, Piano, Synthesizer, Wurlitzer |
| 2007 | Throwing Rocks at the Sun
The Mercury Seed Hammond B3, Keyboards, Piano |
| 2006 | Air Stereo
The Damnwells Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Piano, String Arrangements, Wurlitzer |
| 2006 | One Life, Many Voices: For Hurricane Relief
Arranger, Keyboards, Producer |
| 2006 | Révérence
Henri Salvador Organ (Hammond) |
| 2006 | The Great American Trailer Park Musical [Original Cast Recording]
Audio Production, Mixing, Producer |
| 2005 | Altar Boyz
Producer |
| 2005 | The East Village Opera Company
The East Village Opera Company Keyboard Programming |
| 2004 | Carnets De Bord
Bernard Lavilliers Organ (Hammond) |
| 2004 | Will & Grace: Let the Music Out!
Keyboards |
| 2003 | Becstasy
Becky Baeling Composer, Songwriter |
| 2003 | Broadway My Way
Linda Eder Keyboards |
| 2003 | Don't Pick It Up
Mrs. Grundy Organ, Soloist |
| 2003 | Joe Budden
Joe Budden Keyboards, String Arrangements, String Writing, Strings |
| 2002 | Dust
The Mercury Seed Keyboards, Musician, Piano |
| 2002 | Gold
Linda Eder Keyboards |
| 2001 | Another Day Gone
Ben Rogers Organ, Wurlitzer |
| 1995 | Wiggly, Vol. 2: Bootlegged
Keyboards, Vocals |
| 1995 | You Will Be You
The Hatters Piano, Vocals |
| 1994 | The Madcap Adventures of the Avocado Overload
The Hatters Bass, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 1993 | Live Thunderchicken
The Hatters Composer, Keyboards, Vocals A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening Marcus Goldhaber Arranger, Hammond B3, Producer, Wurlitzer The Breithaupt Brothers Songbook, Vol. 2: Just Passing Through Engineer Urban Beatz, Vol. 2 Billy Jay Stein Primary Artist Urban Beatz, Vol. 3 Billy Jay Stein Primary Artist |
References
edit- ^ a b c "BEAUTIFUL Wins Best Musical Theatre Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards!". BroadwayWorld.com. Wisdom Digital Media.
- ^ "Penn Alumni You Should Know About Vol. 21 - Page 7 of 7". 18 December 2014.
- ^ "Live Thunderchicken CD Review". AllMusic.com. All Media Network.
- ^ a b "The Hatters CD and Artwork". stuartcottingham.com.
- ^ "HATTERS TO HIT PEPPERCORN PUB EN ROUTE TO NYC". MCall. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "the hatters – madcap adventures of the avocado overlord (1994)". Hi Fi and Low Expectations. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "The Definite Maybe". IMDb.com. DJM Films. 1997.
- ^ a b c Stein, Billy. "Strange Cranium". Strange Cranium. Strange Cranium.
- ^ "Sex in the City - Season 6, Episode 86, 'One'". HBO.com. HBO.
- ^ "Sex in the City - Season 6, Episode 92, 'Splat'". HBO.com. HBO.
- ^ "Sex and the City Music: Season 6". Satctranscripts. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Billy Jay Stein". AllMusic.com. All Media Network.
- ^ "Sister | 2014 Tribeca Festival". Archived from the original on 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
- ^ "Billy Jay Stein". imdb.com. All Media Network.
- ^ "Sister". tribecafilm.com. Tribeca Enterprises LLC.
- ^ a b c "Billy Jay Stein". ibdb.com. The Broadway League.
- ^ "Life of a Freelance Musician in NYC". lindaeder.com. Linda Eder & The Voice. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ^ "The Ultimate Piano Man and So Much More, One on One with Billy Stein". lindaeder.com. Linda Eder & The Voice. Archived from the original on 2015-05-07.
- ^ "Old Friend, New Music--An Interview with Billy Stein". spigroup.com. Linda Eder & The Voice. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26.
- ^ "William Stein". playbillvault.com. Playbill, Inc.
- ^ Rosler, Matt (2014-12-18). "Penn Alumni You Should Know About Vol. 21 - Page 7 of 7". Penntertainment. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Playbill Vault - Fun Home". playbillvault.com. Playbill, Inc.
- ^ "Chess Concerts". amazing-journey.com. Michael Cerveris.
- ^ "Flashdance The Musical". www.flashdancethemusical.com. NETworks Presentations. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ^ "Playbill Vault - Billy Jay Stein". playbillvault.com. Playbill, Inc.
- ^ a b "Billy Jay Stein". Playbill. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ a b "About Strike Audio". strikeaudio.com. Strike Audio.
- ^ http://www.hitfix.com/news/2015-grammy-awards-winners-and-nominees-complete-list Grammy in 2015
- ^ "Creative Team | the Rockettes". Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ Contino, Patricia. "Radio City Music Hall Rockettes star in New York Spectacular | Theatre review". The Upcoming. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Q&A: Music Producer and Vocal Designer, Billy Jay Stein and AnnMarie Milazzo". 17 June 2016.
- ^ "The 'New York Spectacular' Lives up to Its Name". HuffPost. 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Q&A: Music Producer and Vocal Designer, Billy Jay Stein and AnnMarie Milazzo". The Rockettes. 2016-06-17. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "A KILLER PARTY: A MURDER MYSTERY MUSICAL NOW AVAILABLE AS A MOVIE". Broadway Direct. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Gordon, David. "Carole King and Beautiful Casts Come Together for "You've Got a Friend" Video | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (7 April 2020). "Cast Members From Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Sing Inspirational and Socially Distanced Version of 'You've Got a Friend'". Playbill. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (19 May 2020). "A BKLYN Reunion, a Dear Evan Hansen Anthem, Meryl Streep, Audra McDonald, and More Highlights From A Night of Covenant House Stars". Playbill. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith. "21 Savage & Metro Boomin's 'Savage Mode II' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Trenton. "Composer Cribs: Strike Audio — Flatiron District, Manhattan | Members". Sonic Scoop. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Regen, Jon. "Added by @keyboardmag Instagram post Check out our friend Billy Jay Stein talking about his cherished Yamaha CS-80! #Repost @strangecranium with @get_repost @keyboardmag #synth #keyboards #yamahacs80 ・・・ Just out in the February 2020 Electronic Musician Magazine... Thanks to Jon Regen for giving me the opportunity to talk about my favorite synth, the Yamaha CS80! - Picuki.com". www.picuki.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Weiss, David (21 February 2017). "Composer Cribs: Strike Audio — Flatiron District, Manhattan". Sonic Scoop. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "Billy Jay Stein - Film & TV MEGA Music Composer! Synth Overlord, Grammy Winner, Broadway!". joe-west.com.
- ^ "Tribeca Film Festival Premiere of "Sister"". www.gettyimages.com. Getty Images.