Matt Dusk, who provides the sexy, swinging soundtrack for Call Me Fitz, chats about Jason’s skivvies, the Indy 500, and his role on Fitz.
Q: What attracted you to Call Me Fitz?
A: At first I wasn’t 100% sold, but as soon as I saw the pilot, I knew I was in. I connected with the characters, especially Fitz; because the music - my music – just fit him so perfectly. I immediately envisioned where I could add my own special touch.
Q: So then how did you make these songs your own?
A: I wanted the arrangement to be unique and original to Fitz. I didn’t want the songs to simply be karaoke tracks. But at the same time…you have to stay true to the original song. It has to have the same vibe, so people recognize it. It’s a fine line to walk, or in this case, sing.
Q: Favorite Call Me Fitz song?
A: Any Time At All. This song is about someone willing to do anything to get the girl - a unique kind of desperation. It ended up being used in a scene in which Fitz stumbles around drunk, which is just totally perfect for the whole rat pack theme of the show.
Q: What’s it like hearing your songs on Call Me Fitz?
A: As an artist, when you record and arrange a song, it takes days to produce a three and half minute track. Then you see a tiny snippet of it on TV. You’re lucky if you get 45 seconds of playtime. It’s like being at the Indy 500. Just as you scream, “there it is,” it’s gone, and you have to wait for the car to lap around again to hear more.
Q: What was it like performing in front of the entire cast and crew at the Series Premiere?
A: I recorded the soundtrack separately from the actual filming of the show, so to be a part of the celebration was great fun. It finally hit me at the premiere, surrounded by all the cast and crew, that I was part of a team - a team building something pretty spectacular. To open the first episode, I sang “That’s Life”, and of course, it was used during the scenes when Jason [Priestley] runs around in his undies. So the whole time I’m singing live, all I can think of is Jason in his skivvies, which cracked me up in the middle of the performance. Jason’s response? That’s Life.
Q: Tell us about the world of Matt Dusk…
A: Back in 2009, I released “Good News” in North America, which I recorded in 2008. Now it’s being released [Winter 2011] in Europe. So I am going through all the stages of promoting the album again. But my head is totally wrapped up in the next album. It’s a weird predicament – looking backwards and forwards at the same time. I also have a TV special for PBS coming out in late fall/early winter [February/March in Canada]. I spent a whole week in Vegas with a big band, live audience, and PBS film crew. It was an amazing time – a week-long party. The American market is the hardest of all to crack, so to get a big PBS special in the U.S., the home of Jazz, is very special for me.
Q: Did Vegas remind you of Fitz at all?
A: Fitz has that certain Vegas swagger and attitude. Fitz has that same star quality – that charisma - but he never actually became a star, so his diva attitude is a little unwarranted…well, unless you count being the star of the used car salesman club.
Fitz and Larry get tangled up in a black market organ exchange. Which one will lose a kidney? Tune in to CALL ME FITZ.
Q & A – Kathleen Munroe
The Call Me Fitz interactive team had a chance to sit down with the fabulous Kathleen Munroe, aka Ali Devon, to chat about mother-daughter bonds, learning to control your dangerous impulses, and bad boys.
Q: Can you describe your character and her first season story arc?
A: We first meet Ali Devon as a principled lawyer determined to nail Fitz for putting her mother, Babs, into a coma during a test drive gone awry. Hell bent on punishing Fitz, but intensely attracted to him in spite of herself, Ali begins to display her inner contradictions as the season plays out. She’s a well-intentioned woman who’s dedicated to living a “good” life and to being a “good” person…at the same time she struggles to keep her contradictory desires and impulses at bay. These desires grow stronger as the season progresses, often winning out over Ali’s intellect and good sense. She’s complicated, flawed, driven, strong-willed; someone who like all of us, is trying her best to be a better person.
Q: Viewers have decamped into two distinct fan bases, are you on Team Larry or Team Fitz?
A: As far as I’m concerned Larry and Fitz are like Crockett and Tubbs, or Bob and Doug Mackenzie, or Kate and Allie - you can’t have one without the other.
Q: Do you know an Ali? What is your inspiration for her?
A: Ali herself is separate from any one person in my life; there is no individual I know that encompasses all the complexities that make Ali unique. However, in terms of Ali’s profession as a lawyer, I do draw a bit from my own experiences growing up in the “lawyer” culture as my dad is in the profession. Luckily, all the characters in this series are fleshed out and made three-dimensional by good writing, so my part in the collaborative job of character invention is made easier.
Q: Can you talk a little about the relationship between Ali and her mom?
A: The relationship between Ali and Babs was one of the most fun aspects of the role for me as an actor. What at first looks like a fairly normal, loving mother-daughter bond is exposed as a competitive, combative, dysfunctional relationship as Babs recovers from her coma. The history between them is hilariously tumultuous, characterized by one-upmanship, theft (most notably of boyfriends), and mutual disappointment. Phyllis Ellis (who plays Babs) is such a wonderful actress to go toe-to-toe with, and it was so much fun to bring history and life to the Babs-Ali dynamic.
Q: What is your favorite episode from the first season?
A: It’s tough to pick a favourite episode from the first season, and I haven’t yet had the chance to see all of the episodes in their final form, but I had some especially fantastic writing to work with in the episodes surrounding Babs’ death and burial. Some of the scenes in the final two episodes are also memorable because I got the chance to work more with the core ensemble cast. It’s been great to see how some of the Ali scenes translate on the screen, but I’ve equally enjoyed watching my awesome cast-mates bring their storylines to life for the first time in the scenes we didn’t share.
The Call Me Fitz interactive team had a chance to sit down with the fabulous Kathleen Munroe, aka Ali Devon, to chat about mother-daughter bonds, learning to control your dangerous impulses, and bad boys.
Q: Can you describe your character and her first season story arc?
A: We first meet Ali Devon as a principled lawyer determined to nail Fitz for putting her mother, Babs, into a coma during a test drive gone awry. Hell bent on punishing Fitz, but intensely attracted to him in spite of herself, Ali begins to display her inner contradictions as the season plays out. She’s a well-intentioned woman who’s dedicated to living a “good” life and to being a “good” person…at the same time she struggles to keep her contradictory desires and impulses at bay. These desires grow stronger as the season progresses, often winning out over Ali’s intellect and good sense. She’s complicated, flawed, driven, strong-willed; someone who like all of us, is trying her best to be a better person.
Q: Viewers have decamped into two distinct fan bases, are you on Team Larry or Team Fitz?
A: As far as I’m concerned Larry and Fitz are like Crockett and Tubbs, or Bob and Doug Mackenzie, or Kate and Allie - you can’t have one without the other.
Q: Do you know an Ali? What is your inspiration for her?
A: Ali herself is separate from any one person in my life; there is no individual I know that encompasses all the complexities that make Ali unique. However, in terms of Ali’s profession as a lawyer, I do draw a bit from my own experiences growing up in the “lawyer” culture as my dad is in the profession. Luckily, all the characters in this series are fleshed out and made three-dimensional by good writing, so my part in the collaborative job of character invention is made easier.
Q: Can you talk a little about the relationship between Ali and her mom?
A: The relationship between Ali and Babs was one of the most fun aspects of the role for me as an actor. What at first looks like a fairly normal, loving mother-daughter bond is exposed as a competitive, combative, dysfunctional relationship as Babs recovers from her coma. The history between them is hilariously tumultuous, characterized by one-upmanship, theft (most notably of boyfriends), and mutual disappointment. Phyllis Ellis (who plays Babs) is such a wonderful actress to go toe-to-toe with, and it was so much fun to bring history and life to the Babs-Ali dynamic.
Q: What is your favorite episode from the first season?
A: It’s tough to pick a favourite episode from the first season, and I haven’t yet had the chance to see all of the episodes in their final form, but I had some especially fantastic writing to work with in the episodes surrounding Babs’ death and burial. Some of the scenes in the final two episodes are also memorable because I got the chance to work more with the core ensemble cast. It’s been great to see how some of the Ali scenes translate on the screen, but I’ve equally enjoyed watching my awesome cast-mates bring their storylines to life for the first time in the scenes we didn’t share.
Ali learns Babs’ dying wish was an organic burial – simple, tasteful, and completely illegal. If anyone can help her skirt the law, it’s Fitz.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
