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Sign up todayWe Bombed in New London
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Learn moreWe Bombed in New London tells the true story of one man’s tenacious plight to get his musical mounted. From its romantic inception to its eventual demise and then the score’s resurrection in cabarets and recordings, this book takes you on a journey through the ups and downs of the theatrical world with all its excitement, disappointment, laughter and hope.
Packed with memorabilia, this book documents composer/lyricist Brian Gari’s minute-by-minute development of his musical. Fortunately, he saved every scrap of paper, tape, and calendar to account accurately for why and when certain steps were taken that eventually led to the sad dissolution of this promising musical.
Brian Gari is celebrating fifty years of songwriting and has written almost nine hundred songs. He had his first song published at fifteen and recorded at seventeen. He signed with Vanguard Records in 1975, recording for them through 1976. For the next few years he performed his songs in New York comedy and cabaret clubs such as the Ballroom, Reno Sweeney, Catch a Rising Star, the Improv, the Comic Strip, and the Copa. All along he was writing what was to become his first Broadway musical, Late Nite Comic, which debuted in October of 1987 at the Ritz Theatre (now the Walter Kerr.) The album made the top ten for film and show albums at Tower Records. His songs have been performed and/or recorded by such artists as Margaret Whiting, the Tokens, Jana Robbins , Kaye Ballard, Lesley Gore, and Andrea Marcovicci. Brian conceived A Hard Time to Be Single, a musical revue which premiered in October of 1990 and had successful runs at Don’t Tell Mama, Eighty-Eights, and Steve McGraw’s in New York City, with a CD released as well. Brian has produced over a dozen CDs and DVDs on his grandfather, Eddie Cantor, as well as writing a new musical about him which is previewed in Brian’s CD Songs for Future Musicals. Love Online was Brian’s 1997 CD about a romance that ensues via the online-computer experience. The long awaited follow up, I Can’t Make You Free was released in 1999. His next release, Brian Sings Wilson, was a salute to Beach Boys composer Brian Wilson and has received rave reviews. Coincidentally, Brian became the consulting producer and composer for the E! True Hollywood Story of the Beach Boys for the Entertainment Television Network. He even recorded a Christmas CD entitled The Man with All the Toys in true Beach Boys tradition with songs from both Brians. His next release was entitled Previously Unreleased and featured songs that were written and recorded over a period of fifteen years. Brian renewed his friendship with the great Neil Sedaka and produced a collection of Sedaka rarities released under the title The Brooklyn Demos. His dedication to Sedaka continued with writing the book for the box set for the Bear Family label in Germany. Brian also completed a new album of his own songs for Yvonne Roome. His longtime appreciation of the music of Brazil resulted in an exciting collection of songs called Here I Come Brazil. His next CD celebrated the music of “We’ve Only Just Begun” songwriters Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. In 2010 his collection of songs He’s an Old Cat got enormous amounts of attention on YouTube and Facebook and features guest artists Pete Anders and Don Ciccone. In 2012 with the success of his first book, We Bombed in New London, Brian had his second book published almost by accident. He had just remarried, and within six months his wife, a nurse, recognized some disturbing signs of heart trouble. In just two days, he was undergoing open heart surgery, which saved his life. The book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Stress Tests, tells that story and its connection to his famous grandfather. Later, Brian was reminiscing about all the famous people he had encounters with during his lifetime and decided to write a book about those experiences. His Close Encounters of the Celebrity Kind has over thirty stories that include people like Brian Wilson, Neil Sedaka, Little Richard, Dick Clark, The Beatles (including a special John Lennon story), Johnny Mathis, Robin Williams, Soupy Sales and of course, Eddie Cantor! Early in 2014, Brian was going through some old tapes and found a near perfect concert from 1978 that featured many rare songs he performed, including the first version of “The Coffee Shoppe” that Margaret Whiting later recorded.
Brian Gari is celebrating fifty years of songwriting and has written almost nine hundred songs. He had his first song published at fifteen and recorded at seventeen. He signed with Vanguard Records in 1975, recording for them through 1976. For the next few years he performed his songs in New York comedy and cabaret clubs such as the Ballroom, Reno Sweeney, Catch a Rising Star, the Improv, the Comic Strip, and the Copa. All along he was writing what was to become his first Broadway musical, Late Nite Comic, which debuted in October of 1987 at the Ritz Theatre (now the Walter Kerr.) The album made the top ten for film and show albums at Tower Records. His songs have been performed and/or recorded by such artists as Margaret Whiting, the Tokens, Jana Robbins , Kaye Ballard, Lesley Gore, and Andrea Marcovicci. Brian conceived A Hard Time to Be Single, a musical revue which premiered in October of 1990 and had successful runs at Don’t Tell Mama, Eighty-Eights, and Steve McGraw’s in New York City, with a CD released as well. Brian has produced over a dozen CDs and DVDs on his grandfather, Eddie Cantor, as well as writing a new musical about him which is previewed in Brian’s CD Songs for Future Musicals. Love Online was Brian’s 1997 CD about a romance that ensues via the online-computer experience. The long awaited follow up, I Can’t Make You Free was released in 1999. His next release, Brian Sings Wilson, was a salute to Beach Boys composer Brian Wilson and has received rave reviews. Coincidentally, Brian became the consulting producer and composer for the E! True Hollywood Story of the Beach Boys for the Entertainment Television Network. He even recorded a Christmas CD entitled The Man with All the Toys in true Beach Boys tradition with songs from both Brians. His next release was entitled Previously Unreleased and featured songs that were written and recorded over a period of fifteen years. Brian renewed his friendship with the great Neil Sedaka and produced a collection of Sedaka rarities released under the title The Brooklyn Demos. His dedication to Sedaka continued with writing the book for the box set for the Bear Family label in Germany. Brian also completed a new album of his own songs for Yvonne Roome. His longtime appreciation of the music of Brazil resulted in an exciting collection of songs called Here I Come Brazil. His next CD celebrated the music of “We’ve Only Just Begun” songwriters Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. In 2010 his collection of songs He’s an Old Cat got enormous amounts of attention on YouTube and Facebook and features guest artists Pete Anders and Don Ciccone. In 2012 with the success of his first book, We Bombed in New London, Brian had his second book published almost by accident. He had just remarried, and within six months his wife, a nurse, recognized some disturbing signs of heart trouble. In just two days, he was undergoing open heart surgery, which saved his life. The book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Stress Tests, tells that story and its connection to his famous grandfather. Later, Brian was reminiscing about all the famous people he had encounters with during his lifetime and decided to write a book about those experiences. His Close Encounters of the Celebrity Kind has over thirty stories that include people like Brian Wilson, Neil Sedaka, Little Richard, Dick Clark, The Beatles (including a special John Lennon story), Johnny Mathis, Robin Williams, Soupy Sales and of course, Eddie Cantor! Early in 2014, Brian was going through some old tapes and found a near perfect concert from 1978 that featured many rare songs he performed, including the first version of “The Coffee Shoppe” that Margaret Whiting later recorded.