Interview with Benjamin Dean Wilson

• Your career has interwoven songwriting with filmmaking, including acclaimed projects such as the feature films Nuts! The Musical and Ivan and Craig. How has this dual expertise influenced your shift toward creating audio dramas like Until the House Falls, and in what manner does it distinguish your musical output from conventional album formats?

When I initially started working on this project, I thought I was setting out to write another micro-budget musical film.  It wasn’t until writing the 2nd draft that I started to feel like this project might work better as a radio play.

Because of that, I wrote the script in the same way I would write a film. Obviously once I ended up making the decision to do it as a radio play there were a few things that were originally to be ‘seen’ that now had to be explicitly stated, but otherwise, the structure of the story, the characters and the songs are exactly the same.

The biggest difference between this project and conventional albums (or even most concept albums for that matter) is that I have included all the scenes that connect the songs together. So there’s dialogue, sound effects and that sort of thing.

• The genesis of Until the House Falls stemmed from sheltering during a tornado that impacted your neighborhood. How did this real-world event evolve into the album’s narrative framework, particularly in depicting the protagonist Brad Stevens’ ascent amid personal and communal ruin?

Before the tornado hit I was kind of toying around with a story about a guy who rises to power while concealing a dark secret. I had some song sketches and a few connecting ideas but I wasn’t really sure exactly where the story was headed yet. When the tornado hit near our neighborhood that’s when I started to put it all together. “What if this guy begins his rise to power as the result of a tragedy?” And the story kind of took off from there.

• As a self-contained project where you handled writing, composing, producing, arranging, and directing, what distinctive challenges arose in orchestrating the radio play’s eccentric score—characterized by funky melodies, odd time signatures, and quirky lyrics—while ensuring seamless integration with the dramatic scenes?

Orchestrating the score was one of the most fun and least challenging parts of the process for me. I love working on big, funky pieces of all sorts and styles. I really enjoy arranging the different parts each instrument will play as well as working the characters’ musical themes into multiple places throughout the score.

The most challenging part of a big project like this is producing everything. Scheduling, all the technical stuff, etc.

• The album draws stylistic parallels to Italian Commedia dell’arte and early exploitation films by directors like John Waters and Russ Meyer. In what ways did these inspirations manifest in the character dynamics, such as the interactions between Brad Stevens, his wife Mary Ann, and the truth-seeking Paul Warren?

Initially I had actually considered filming this story as a traditional Commedia dell’arte set in modern times. So yeah, in early drafts of the script the characters were a lot closer to their masked archetypes. As I developed the script further and decided not to shoot it as a film the Commedia dell’arte thing became less important, but In some places, I think it’s pretty apparent where the initial ideas for the characters came from. There’s still quite a bit of Pantalone in Brad Stevens for example.

I think the stylistic parallels to the exploitation films are mostly felt in the ridiculous situations the characters find themselves in and the way they speak to one another. I wasn’t going for realism, I was going for those over-the-top and campy type of reactions you’d see in early exploitation films.

• Featuring a talented ensemble including Ambie nominee Aud Andrews as Brad Stevens and long-time collaborator Tyler Robins as Paul Warren, how did the casting and vocal performances enhance the album’s thematic exploration of concealment, ambition, and eventual confrontation?

Casting is a huge part of whether a project like this works or not. I couldn’t be more pleased with the performances from this amazing cast.  It was always such a treat to hear their takes on the material. Oftentimes after we’d finished laying down vocals for a track I’d think, “Wow, this is way better than I was imagining!” In case you can’t tell I’m pretty pumped about the performances in this one.

• The release structure divides the content into four comprehensive radio play parts followed by isolated song tracks like “Tornado!” and “It’s Not Raining Today (Finale)”. What considerations guided this format to accommodate both immersive storytelling and standalone listening preferences?

I just figured it would be easier on the listener that way. I wanted the listener to have a simple way to go back and hear a specific song without having to scrub through the whole play to find it.

However, that is a consideration only for streaming. On the vinyl version the play is just broken up into the 4 parts which correspond to the 4 sides of a double album.

• Influences such as Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage and The Kinks’ Preservation Acts 1 and 2 are evident in the album’s multi-genre mosaic. How did these precedents inform your approach to blending progressive folk rock with vaudeville and musical theater to convey a spectrum of emotions from playful to devastating?

Ray Davies has been a hero of mine since I was a teenager. Muswell Hillbillies was the first lp I ever bought and I feel like listening to The Kinks really helped start me on my musical path. Zappa is a huge inspiration as well. I remember the first time I heard some songs from Sheik Yerbouti I thought to myself “Who is this? This is one of the best things I’ve ever heard.” It was literally love at first listen. There’s only a handful of musicians I can say that about.

I didn’t directly try to make something along the same lines as what they were doing, but their music is such an integral part of my musical ‘identity’ that I’m sure hints of their styles probably come through unintentionally.

Another concept album I discovered after recording this project is one called A Lot of People Would Like to See Armand Schaubroeck … DEAD. Really enjoyed that one as well.

• Building on the success of your debut album Small Talk, which garnered recognition from Rolling Stone Germany, how does Until the House Falls represent a maturation in your thematic depth and narrative ambition within the indie and quirky rock landscapes?

I’m not sure if maturation is the right word. Maybe it is? I mean, I just keep working in whatever direction feels right at the time. Maybe there’s some “maturation in narrative ambition” like you say, but I just think of Until the House Falls as a completely different project with a completely different set of ambitions.

• With Until the House Falls marking your inaugural audio drama, what potential expansions or adaptations—such as stage productions or visual media integrations—do you envision for this project in the near term?

None in the near future that I can foresee. If some door opens to make it into something visual down the line then, hey, who knows. But right now I’m not really thinking of making it into anything other than what it already is.

• Following this release, what forthcoming endeavors are you pursuing, whether in music, film, or hybrid formats, and how might they extend the eccentric originality and storytelling prowess demonstrated here?

Whenever I’m asked this question the answer is usually the same: I’m working on quite a bit. However, I’m never really sure which parts of what I’m working on will see the light of day until the next project is at least halfway done. It’s like shooting a roll of pictures. You shoot 36 and you aren’t sure which 3 or 4 are going to turn into something interesting until you’ve developed them.  So to answer your question in terms of that metaphor: “I’m just shooting some pictures at the moment and we will see what comes out.”