Where and how did the idea for a country music revue originate?
It began when I was working with Mark Hardwick, doing a two-man music show five nights a week in Manhattan. It was in the lounge of a restaurant called The Cattleman. Mostly as a way to liven up the evening for ourselves, I started writing songs about these two fictional guys who ran a gas station. Two guys became four, and later the Dinettes joined us. The show grew little by little over a year or two and without much thought, until we started to get theatre bookings. How would you describe the music to someone who hasnt seen the show or heard the music? The music is a blend of Southern roots music styles – blues, Gospel, folk, rockabilly, a cappella and swing, to name a few – all informed by a musical theater sensibility. Pump Boys and Dinettes was conceived and written by six people. How did you know each other, and what can you tell us about the collaborative creative process? Of the original six collaborators, everybody knew at least one of the other collaborators beforehand. I wr
