Hey, Wildcats, this is Bart Johnson and you're listening to Get Your Head in the Game.

Hi.

Everyone, welcome back to Get your Head in the Game.

Today's guest is someone who literally helped launch one of the biggest musical franchises of all time.

He was the singing voice behind Troy Bolton in the original High School musical, co wrote the hit track get Your Head in the Game, and has gone on to do so many incredible things in music, film, and more.

He is so dang talented and just an all around awesome guy.

Please welcome the one and only Drew sy Lee.

Oh, Bart Johnson ID likewise.

For homies now, although we didn't meet until when did we meet?

Do you know exactly?

I don't.

I'm trying to pinpoint the moment.

I can't.

It was a while after the movies, I think, so like years.

Yeah, came out a matter of fact.

We were just talking about you never made a utah.

Yeah, no, I've I never made it to any of the sets one, two or three.

No, that's crazy.

Yeah, so it's so wild, it's so we just we had a party without you.

Man.

I'm so waiting for my invite right now, there's a step out of the healing and the HSM utility guy, you know, somebody's sick.

Well, as you know, I'm a huge I'm a huge fan of this guy.

I appreciation, Like I always say, your voice is butter dude.

It's just that it's such a beautiful, smooth, like amazing voice.

So thank you for first of all being a part of our Imagine franchise family.

Just gratitude, nothing, but you know, gratitude because I could have been this this this opportunity could have gone to any number of talented actors or singers.

You know, I just happened to be in the right time, the right place, be working with the right producers.

Met Kenny, I did audition for High School Musical, and you know that didn't go my way, but you know he had met me from that and and I co wrote Get Your Head in the Game, so he knew my voice from the demo of that, which so it just sort of love that one great song on the movie.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm pretty partially I feel like you wrote that for me, So yeah, I appreciate.

No, it was great, dude, that's amazing you wrote that song.

How how did you know we got so many talk where do you want to know?

Like it's hard, man, because I want to know so much.

But I guess let's start the beginning.

Let's start the beginning, and then I want to hear about, like how that happened where you ended up writing the.

Song you got it?

Back to the beginning, back to the beginning where it all started.

Yes, which would have been I guess twenty one years ago or.

So, oh my gosh, yeah, let's see.

So uh, I actually don't know the story of the beginning of that.

We like it all, really, it's all kind of there's a lot of fuzziness around that time, I think because I didn't realize the gift that it was in the moment as it was happening.

Only in retrospect it was like, oh my god, like that happened because you were already in town.

I was in town.

I had lived for two years in la I moved here in two thousand and two from work three Orlando, Orlando.

Yeh uh, with a with a buddy of mine.

It was my producing partner at the time.

Nate Bosley shout out, this is his shirt.

It's kind of a running joke because I stole it from him like twenty years ago and I wear it all the time.

But uh, super talented guy.

Side story, he was my guest on the High School musical tour because all of us on the tour bus got to bring up a buddy like a pal.

Yeah, you know, Lucas brought Mark Blackwell, I brought Nate Nate.

Anyway, back to the beginning, I lived in LA for two years.

I was working at PF Chang's.

It's a hot Rice Scooper you gotta you gotta make it do.

Yeah.

I was there.

Never quite made it to server, but I was a great Rice Scooper, the Rice Scooper.

Oh.

It was like it was like tough competition.

It was like being an actor in LA.

Like competition to become a server at PF Changs was like cutthroats.

Ye yeah, but uh but I was.

I was working on music.

I had my my CDs and my apron.

I definitely put one on Jamie Fox his table one day and said, hey, I'm an artist.

You know.

Yeah, that's a good move because he's like kind of known for like spotten people.

You never know, you know, I was.

I was.

I wouldn't say desperate is the word, but like green.

I was like, I don't know how this works.

Yeah, really was hungry.

I was like, I moved out here, not just to you know, I'm gonna give it a real try.

Yeah.

So I was working on music with a producer named Ray ch Ham rest in Peace Right.

I was signed to him for a production deal as an artist.

So I was recording songs to pitch the labels, and one day he got an opportunity to write this song for an untitled Disney Channel film high school musical, get Your Head in the Game.

And he knew I was a writer because I've been working on my music with him, so he was gracious enough to let me in on the session, and that's when we wrote get Your Head in the Game, not thinking anything of it, Like it was just like okay, yeah, let's move on with our life, like definitely didn't give it a second thought.

And then that was just the beginning of everything.

You know, an next five six years was like a meteoric rise in opportunities just because of that one session.

So wow, right time, right place.

How long did it take you to write that song?

Oh man?

Twenty minutes?

Really want you?

I didn't write the whole thing I mean, like, you know, he had the track produced already, Like I came in.

I'm a lyricist primarily in a vocal arranger, so I came in and put a little sauce on it.

I'm trying to remember the exact parts that I wrote it sort of again, it blends together.

Yeah, I get the bridge that well, I'm I feeling's so wrong.

Oh really I think that was me.

That's amazing.

Yeah, but uh everybody tries to take that bridge.

Oh that's great, but you you came in, you knocked it out, and I'm just tripping on the one session thing, like that's how quick it could happen.

Yeah, I mean I was, I was.

I was warmed up.

Like I was.

I was really gunn into be an artist.

So I was in the studio all the time, writing music all the time, so it didn't feel like a challenge of just like fun, like this is what this is what I like to do.

Yeah, way, that sounded great.

So what you did there?

Oh hey, okay, thanks having warmed up, I'll take it.

Yeah.

So then this is this is long before the like auditions were happening rating I don't.

I think it's before the auditions were happening.

Yeah, yeah, so you so you laid that down and you thought you were done.

Totally thought I was done for months and months and months, even after you guys shot the film.

I thought it was done.

Like I knew my voice was on it, because I did do the sessions with you know, Ashley and Vanessa and Corbyn and Lucas Enmo.

But but even then, even then, I was like, yeah, you know, it's this Disney Channel movie.

You know, you've made five hundred bucks, you can go back to PFG.

Yeah, and then uh, and then the movie actually premiered while I was working and it was playing on the bar top TVs and I was telling my coworkers, I'm like, yeah, that's my that's my voice on there.

Like yeah, okay, dude, get back to work.

But uh, in.

The Change's outfit watching the movie on the TV.

Yeah yeah, that's crazy.

But this was the job that allowed me to eventually quit that job.

And since then I've been acting and singing and that's been my send there and PF change watching the TV and like looking at your future, you never know, right, how many I mean, how many movies do you do?

And how many TV shows and like, how many actually hit like this?

How many type of podcasts that you're talking about it twenty years later?

Right?

So had I had no idea?

Yeah?

I went to the play last night.

I think I saw you fot that great man.

Did the kids say you were coming?

No?

What in cool surprise for them?

No, everybody kept telling me because it's the it's on.

It was on the stage I grew up on like this little in this little, tiny, little one stop like town, and uh, there they are putting it up twenty years later, like it's a brand new show.

It was wild.

It was wild.

It was really cool.

I did a show last week.

This awesome Disney singer Connor Smith reached out and he put together a show called dcom Live.

Oh I saw the show.

Did you see that?

Yeah?

And it's basically for the fans of all these amazing original Disney Channel movies.

Uh.

And it was packed and I sang these songs from high school musical and they knew everywhere and it was it was almost like being back on tour, Like the energy of the crowd is that?

Yeah?

Wild?

Years later?

Yeah, yeah, I got invited to one in Italy and they said we come up to Milan and host this dance party.

And I was like, what do you want to do?

Like, I'm not a DJ?

You made a co host bar.

If I had, I would throw Let's get what we should do.

I'm gona talk to him.

We should do?

There was twenty thousand people showed up to that thing.

Wow, it's unreal.

Yeah, could you feel like a rock star for like five minutes?

I mean I'll go on the stage and pretend to dance and get the pretending coach knows how to high bubble crowd.

Yeah, yes, that's all I do.

Okay, So so okay, sorry, I know I derail you.

So we're no, So you're you're pf change to watch the movie.

And then have you met Kenny at this point?

Yes, in the record obviously there for all of that, and from the audition as well.

And then I man, I was ten years old when Newsies came out, so I was at that like formative age.

I was starting to sing, I was, you know, so that was like it for me.

That was like my movie.

I was a dancer as a kid, so even like before the movie came out, like getting to work with Kenny was like the highlight of all of it, I was like, oh my god, this is icon incredible and he did not disappoint, like he's he is the genius that everybody that comes out here says says he is.

And I feel like after the movie came out, Disney and him could have really thrown me under the bus when it came time to tour and Zach wasn't available, you know, but you know they they said, yeah, you know, you know the music, you're you were here from the beginning, like hop on board this ride.

And I got to tour the world with the main cast, and you know, it was like it could have gone many of different So I'm just grateful that he was there to give me that opportunity.

And uh, and I got to be directed by him because you guys did him all those films, But even in the tour, like he really brought that same I was listening to your your interview with Casey that you just did and about how he just personalizes everything with such heart and man, I'm really rambling right now, but he really he makes you feel like like there's more of a purpose to what you're doing.

Then it's just like a project.

He's like there's a real reason you're here and we're telling this story and like what a gift this is, and like he brings everybody together and I felt that energy and we we ran with it, and yeah, it's one of the highlights of my.

Career for sure.

Yeah, how did you find Kenny?

It's all It all comes back to Kenny.

And I don't I think, uh yeah, I think people get the sense of it if you listen to the cast talk about like everybody knows like he created something really special in his own special way and bringing so much out of individuals and and like you're really you're you're like your DNA is on this this project, you know, like, yeah, I feel that's how I feel.

Like in the movie and said, I've said your name probably a million times before I met you, Like oh yeah, yeah, it's like, well, you're part of the family.

But it's like, but I've never met the guy that was crazy.

Extended family you know, yeah, long lost cousin.

Yeah, yeah, like both family forever though, So I am here the family you can't shake.

How was that tour man, Like, how how did you?

Uh?

It was fifty one city tour, I believe, Yes, fifty one arenas in the States and Canada arenas man which was yeah, like hockey arenas, and and then uh, the South American tour, which was stadiums, so you know, if arenas weren't weren't big enough.

Uh yeah, man, I was just listening to Vanessa and Lucas's interviews with you before this, and then it's fun to relive that time because we were legitimate rock stars in these other countries where you know, English isn't even the main language, but they know every single word of every single song.

You know, bodyguards every time you leave your hotel, like it was pandemonium, and you know, I think I was like, I think maybe a little bit got to my head in the time I afterward, I guess I didn't.

I didn't realize that like that doesn't always happen.

Oh yeah, this is yeah, that we're movie stars.

Huh yeah.

But then no, it was it was such a cool experience.

Now, I guess I would would think that you didn't really get to know the cast very well in your music session because it was only a couple of days.

Yeah, yeah, hardly at all.

I mean, yeah, so that must have been strange, Like, hey, you're the lead guy now of this show.

It was weird being the only one coming in as like a you know, I was there for the music, but like also like a fresh face.

The hardest part of the tour was the opener was started something new, the very so like the stages back lit, and then I got to come out by myself, living in my own world and you don't see who it is, and then the lights come on, and I remember in every city there the audience would be like yeah, and then because then they'd be like, wait a minute, died down, Oh it's not Zach.

So then I had to spend the rest of the song trying to like win them back.

But credit to the movie and the music, I don't think it would have mattered who was up there.

I think by the end of the first song they were all in.

They're like, yeah, we'll take him for this show.

That that'll work.

It was just so much, so much fun.

Yeah, I do think the part of it is like they recognize, Like I think there's a weird cognitive dissonance for a lot of people, Like even now, people are still finding out and the response is either oh my gosh, you you were my childhood or you ruined my childhood.

Two no polar opposite answers that I get.

People like to go like it's like people try to make this like team Drew team Zach thing, and it's just it's not that at all crazy stupid.

I've only met Zach a few times actually, because I really was only ever there when he was not there, of course, so I know the rest of the cast fairly well.

And I met Zach a few times and he's always been super kind and cordial to my wife and I and like, you know, yes, I'm I'm just happy I I got to play my little piece in the whole the whole thing.

That's so crazy, man, That's it's I didn't really didn't think about how you spent obviously how much time on that tour.

I mean that was a lot of three months for the first one, and then that South America was about a month three weeks to a month, and you guys were like, I mean have been closer during that.

I mean, Corbyn and Lucas and I shared this super tricked out tour, but us which was a super uh super Rader's voice on the yeah yeah, three and three.

We had a nutritionist that was like showed us how to like put random coconut sauce on toast for energy and like like like a local local nutritionists now like a traveling tour nutritionists.

It was like such a such a crazy experience, but yeah, it was kind of a whirlwind.

I was looking through videos the other day from the tour when I found out we were going to do this, just to sort of jog my memory and remember some of the times.

And yeah, Amy, my wife was there.

She she she and I had only been dating for like six months when this tour started happening, so she came along.

And I've got videos of her and Vanessa's little sister Stella like dancing their faces off at the side of the stage and taking videos.

She was like ten or something.

Yeah, so fun to fun to relive.

Yeah, yeah, you should post some of those videos.

People are gonna love to see.

Yeah, and the old flipcam I gotta side for the iPhone how old.

I don't even know what these were filmed on, but yeah, there I have a I have a bunch of stuff.

I think like people were like we had like cam quarters and stuff.

I know, like a lot of the during the music.

So anytime I have to sit in the in the crowd, is like the coach.

I would always bring my laptop and record off my onboard camera and like that's how I little phones.

Now, but like I was using this big thing.

Hey, here we are.

I gotta I gotta find those videos.

I don't know where they are.

I've got like physical tapes, you know, film from a camp quarter, right, yeah.

Yeah.

The kids are like, what's that?

What are you talking about?

Yeah, what's the tape?

What's the tape?

We're aging our sales bards.

Yeah, twenty years man, twenty years By the way, how crazy is that?

Twenty years ago this this movie came out, so we're talking.

I mean, you must have been so young.

Well, I was older than the rest of the cast.

I was twenty four, twenty four to twenty five, I guess.

Yeah.

So I mostly hit it off with Monique and Lucas, I guess because we were closer in age, and we've actually stayed pretty good friends through the last twenty years.

Like Lucas sang at my wedding really, which was which was awesome?

And when was that?

How long ago?

Twenty thirteen's man?

Thank you?

Yeah, that's like a one hundred years of marriage in Hollywood.

That feels like, yeah, I mean basically Amy and I that's twenty years too, because that was when it all started.

So that's cool.

I don't know, Amy Man, we gotta we gotta get together.

Get her on here.

Yeah, she's she's a force to reckon with in her she did own right.

She she works on the Jennifer Hudson Show.

She's got a segment on there and e t oh okay, but she's a great actress and yeah she's I'm married to an actress too, so yeah, so yeah, so we take turns.

You know, she's working a lot right now.

So my main priority right now is helping to homeschool our six year old.

Yeah, and we've got a very sick, elderly dog, so he takes a lot of energy as well, so I'm keeping it close to home.

So this was a great thing that you asked me to do.

I'm like, yeah, that's a that's an easy lift home by lunch.

So I'm in.

That's great six year old kid.

That's awesome.

Man, that's cool.

Can we say a name, Ember, Ember Florence, Ember Florence.

Oh, beautiful, that's cool.

She's wonderful.

She's man, she's got a great voice.

She loves to sing in the car.

And I haven't shown her high school musical yet or any of the things that I've acted in, not for any particular reason.

But she's a big fan of K pop Demon Hunters.

That's her current jam.

Of course.

Yeah, Oh, I hope your kids watch the watch the movie.

My kids refused.

They won't, They won't watch them.

She doesn't think I'm cool, so I don't know if she really wants to.

Yeah something.

I just can't be cool to your own kids.

Man, it's so depressing.

This is like, this was my ind you.

I told the story a few times, but like every time I try to sing along with her, you know, because I'll hear her and join in in a harmony, She'll just like give me this death stare and be like, dad, no, we're not a singer.

Stop, and I'm I laugh internally because I'm like, one day, I'll show you all this time one day, one day.

Yeah, she's the sweetest, man.

That's great.

Congrats, man, that's so cool.

Okay, so you've done Drew's you know, the whole point of this is to give back to the fans, our East High family, because they've been with us for twenty years and have been so good to me.

I know they've been good to you.

They've provided all these opportunities and so nice on social media like the best, like I do some silly dance on there and people like, hey let's.

Go coach or you know whatever.

So uh so yeah, so like uh I just uh think of like how like what do they want to know?

What are my people out there want to know?

We ask them in real time?

What do you want to know?

What are your burning questions?

Oh?

Oh, we got one here.

In the studio in studio question, yes, yes, you you and the front.

I have a really random question and is I know obviously fans knew you from the tour.

Did they ever think about giving you a cameo in two and three?

It was never spoken about to me.

Uh, you know, I would have loved that.

That would have been cool.

I think there is maybe they wanted to keep some separation.

Uh.

I really don't know.

I would have loved to be in the reboot too.

You guys got to do that too, right, Yeah?

That would have been was that experience like.

You mean like on the TV series that was That was that was amazing.

It was it was really cool.

I mean, I see everyone in the cast individually.

I bump into him at events or movies.

I've done a couple movies with Lucas and and uh, you know, it's a small town.

Yeah, so you see people, but together is so different.

And then to see everybody in their wardrobe in character was pretty wild.

But the craziest thing was everybody in their wardrobe walking into the basketball stadium like the room where we shot.

Were all in this together and had championship games and all that stuff.

Was like, dude, but well, I'm back in East High like I'm I'm ready to coach.

Let's let's go.

And it was It's pretty special.

Man.

It's you don't you just think it's, uh, oh, this could be fun to work on this show.

And you literally walk in the.

Environment like start getting like emotional, man, like all the fuels.

Man, it's crazy.

It was really, it was really cool.

I think it was really cool that that sort of like revived life into the whole franchise and reminded reminded people about it too, And it's just it's kept the uh, the legacy of it going along so yeah, yeah, yeah.

That was that was pretty fun.

It was actually kind of surprising how it felt.

It's just like no time at all passed.

Yeah, you know, like we were right back there shooting and move back in back in actual East High I look over at Darbus.

I'm like Darbus, ye, Ryan's and his you know, his fancy outfit.

It is this.

It was great, man, It's amazing.

But now like Corbyn's a big Broadway star.

Now he's doing a dancing you know, not as a little kid, but like as as a Broadway This is wild.

Everybody's It's so cool to see how everybody's gone on to do their you know, passions and individual things and so much talent.

Yeah, yeah, you know, and it was like the beginning for everybody.

It was like being there at the at the beginning.

Yeah, that was a really cool I sort of fell into the Disney Channel world like at a really interesting time, Like I was there at the beginning of Selena, you know, her rise to everything and and and the beginning of Sweet Life, Like I did an episode of that and got to be in all these soundtracks with it was and singing like the first song with whoever else And yeah, it was just it was a it was a cool, cool time where like nobody quite knew where things were gonna go or what was gonna so like it there weren't there weren't like a million gatekeepers to like make stuff happen.

We're just like putting stuff out, and uh, I was, yeah.

No we when did when did you start getting heat?

Like when did you start feeling like there's a lot of eyeballs on you?

And well I put out Dance with Me from Cheah Girls too before right before High School Musical.

So that was like my first single, my first music video, and and it made a little bit of noise, I guess.

But then after high School Musical another Cinderella story was the other the other thing that I'm mostly known for asked about now, that came about very soon after High School musical, right.

After high school music.

I mean like all three or like the first one, just the first one.

Yeah, yeah, so like the first book.

I don't remember when the tour was.

When was the tour was?

That tour was after six but like the very end, like Christmas of O seven and then uh so number two hadn't come out yet.

Number two hadn't come out.

This is before number two.

Yeah, and then and then I think what you guys are doing?

Number two?

I got to go to Broadway and play Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, which was another direct uh Disney, you know property, Oh who do we know that could play Prince What about this guy?

He did High School Musical?

So you know, your first gift that keeps on giving.

First time on Broadway, first time on Broadway, incredible show was open for Clo was three months later.

You know, I don't know if I think this is true, but Tim who created High School Musical, the musical, the series, I believe he was in the same Broadway production of The Little Mermaid, but like he left before I came in, Like he was an actor in the show.

It was an actor, that's right.

I was the replacement Prince Eric the last three months of the of the show.

But yeah, anyway, small weird connection for Tim too.

Now he's boom, he saying, But yeah, Broadway, I would love to get back there someday.

Ye the best time.

Okay, So I'm trying trying to think of the trajectory.

So you did so you'd already been working, but not enough to you still got a job the high school musical one comes out, and then did things start happening before the tour, before the concert tour?

Yeah, I quit around I quit the job around that holiday, that Christmas, so yeah before Yeah.

He said, great, dude, Quentin qu The rest it was gat.

I did a three.

I mean, I have nothing against restaurant work.

Like you know, I worked at Friendlies for three years in high school.

Yeah, it's it's working nights so your days are free to audition and.

For sure, yeah, for sure, but I but I'd much rather be singing and acting and traveling.

It's a choice, you.

Know, gust like the job that lets you quit, and it's not it's not quitting the job.

It's like what it's what it means, right, Like I can.

I'm gonna make an income pursuing my passion.

Like that's so exciting.

It's the definition of success, it is.

It is like making it.

But then when you, like a year later, you have to tail to your legs.

Okay, really need some money to pay this this rent and going back.

I've did do it three times.

Man went back to work working in Yeah, you know, I started I started getting jobs further out of town.

So I didn't all my actor forensic kazlic directors Like.

There have been lean years, that's for sure, but all in all, haven't had to go back to restaurant work at least.

But yeah, yeah, well I was looking through your credit.

So you've done a ton of stuff since then, So I mean you're staying you stay busy.

Yeah, I've been so fortunate.

I'm Canadian as well, so I'm in the last six seven years, I've filmed a lot of Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies and that kind of thing up in Canada because that's where they shoot the majority of them.

Yeah.

Uh, And they're a lot of fun.

And I've snuck my music in there wherever i can.

Like a lot of them have little soundtracks, and I'm like, hey, guys, you know you know what, Yeah, you get in on that.

You've ever done them where you're like, that's a storyline, like you're a country singer in this.

There's one called Christmas Movie Magic that came out a couple of years ago that it's sort of like a gene Kelly fred Astaire's like a big singing dancing song in the snow, like on top of an old car and like old timey outfits and that was like a real special one.

It's kind of fun.

Okay, we'll have to look for that's nice because they always a little play everite Christmas.

Now yeah yeah, and now you know I and there's the high school musical conventions.

There's also these Christmas conventions, so like those have been fun.

I've done number of those now.

Yeah, and the fans of Christmas movies are I would say just about his Rabbit as fans of high school musical wow.

Wow.

Oh that's cool.

It's a whole other thing.

Yeah yeah, Oh that's great, man.

Yeah, that's so cool.

I'm just like you man, like people saying to you an in and out burger and You're like, I'm in it.

Like let's let's do it.

Like somebody was like, hey, you want to say it my birthday.

I'd met her before, but I was like, yeah, yeah, it's in Koreatown.

Sure wait, okay, tell me back up, tell me about that.

How did that happen?

I did some contests last year and the winner of that like had a twenty minute conversation with me, and she was working in music, and I was like, oh, that's so cool.

Nice to meet you, and she randomly reached out a year later and said, Hey, my sister and I are having our joint thirtieth thirty thirty birthday.

Would you perform?

Like, well, I've never done a birthday party before, but is it la?

Yes, yeah, let's do it.

So I made it a surprise appearance.

It's like forty people, random little club in Korea town and uh sang all the you know, greatest hits and it was so much fun.

So so now I'm bookable for birthdays.

Hit me up.

That's awesome.

That's awesome.

Michael boob Lace and my sister in law's Diddy birthday birthday probably came by.

I said, it's kind of same thing.

Hey, the crowd goes crazy like, oh my gosh, it's amazing.

But how cool that you can show up and you got something to offer?

Man, you know, like I get I get hit on the spot all the time, like brought on stage or like do something.

What am I gonna do?

Man, I didn't have a song in that movie.

Like I'll give him some quote them the lines or give them the pump up speech or you know, like give them my you know.

I got my get you hitt in the game.

You got your arsenal.

Yeah, yeah, all that.

Yeah, we do.

We do a lot of that's a that's a good one.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The people freak out about that one too, because everybody says we can, we can.

You're on Cameo.

I am both on Cameo.

It's been a great you know it's fun, right, Yeah, it's a lot of fun.

I got these shoes from Cameo.

Actually randomly started Cameo, like maybe like a decade ago.

Whenever they came has set me nothing.

I've done four cameo.

No, you need to hit them up.

I think there's a Cameo house now, is there like a Cameo Oh, I'm sure If you guys don't know what cameo is, it's a great app.

You should download it.

You can find us personalized videos or whatever your events.

Uh, you know, what do?

What do you do?

What are your big requests you have?

Like anything like sing sing to me, sing for this, sing for my wedding, sing for this surprise birthday, or like can you teach us the dance from another Nurella story?

Like they want to learn the choreography because I play like a postar slash dance teacher in this movie.

So those are the two things mostly, and then you personalize.

You could talk to him, tell them their name, like yeah, yeah, that's what.

There's so much fun.

I can do it in that back, you know, and then it's the best.

Yeah, you get the reaction videos, so they send them to some like the reaction videos of the just.

Occasionally repost some of those because they're just so cute and hard.

Yeah, I should do that.

That's a great idea.

Yeah, it is really sweet.

I've never been asked to sing on those though.

I get you here hearing it first.

Everybody's Bart's gonna sing to you if you ask him.

By the way, we were gonna we got some singing to do.

Yeah, on my bucket list, man, I want to do a duet with Drew seely Man, I would love to do that.

That would be awesome.

I feel chipped in the movie, man, because like I did, I've done a lot of musical theater before I started doing film and television.

And then I finally I met Kenny on the set of Newsy's a long time ago when I was kid.

Yeah, it was awesome, and I was like I met Christian Bale, Dave mosscownt Ellie Keats.

I'm like, these guys are my age man, and they're like making these cool musicals Like I was amazing on the backlidded of Universal and like then that old twenties I think it was like nineteen twenties paper Boy, yep, paper Bowl.

It's just like, oh, it's so cool.

And I finally get to do a musical.

So I thought, oh, I get to okay to sing and dancing here somewhere like no, you don't.

Get to see it there.

You have to stand over there yelling everybody.

I'm like, well, let's make it happen.

It only took twenty years.

Yeah we will.

So yeah, put in the comments of this podcast, what would you like Bart and I to sing?

Yeah, that's a great We're gonna we're gonna do it and post it for you.

That's a great idea.

Yeah, we'll do it.

We'll do it.

Yeah, I get I get.

Uh came I asked a lot to do.

Like, well, it's funny.

It was it used to be high school graduations like hey, congratulate it, but now it's a lot of pep talks, and it was college graduations.

Now it's like, well, you asked my best friend to be my maid of honor.

Yeah, just having a kid and you know, but yeah, I asked.

I asked.

Getting people pumped up all the time, like hey, my friend's down, could you pump them up?

Coach, I'm like, oh yeah, send me in, I'll do it.

But man, must be nice to be able to sing like that, to be able to just like wherever you go, like people died to hear your voice.

I think there were a number of years in between.

I think Lucas was talking about this too, where it's like, all right, high school musical was fun, But like I I read all this other music, I do all this other stuff, and I think I got a little precious with like, oh, I'm a real artist, you know, like I'm gonna put out my album and I'm gonna release all these other songs.

But then at the end of the day, people just want to hear Breaking Free twenty years later.

So it's fun.

It's cool that I was there in that time, and like, I have all of those iconic songs that I actually sang, like in my repertoire that I can just pull out for a birthday or a wedding or a concert.

You know, I pepper my own stuff in there as well.

But you know, I know what people want to hear.

That's why we're here.

Yeah, yeah, people what they want to hear.

I feel like it's a gift.

It is your gift given this, Like and if you if you don't realize like how special it is, like your.

Mindset like it can be if you can think of it as like a curse, like I can't get out from under this, or you can realize that it's such a gift because how many actors get to be a part of a project that has a life like this.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it's I think if you don't realize how special it is, it's like it's a shame.

Man, I've taken that arc and now I'm back at just gratitude.

Yeah yeah, yeah, that's a common like it could be an ugly arc full of like ego and you know, pride and everything else to think you're like I'm so above this, like I've done all these other great movies man, and like, well nobody really cares about so many movies where I thought like okay, well this is you know, yeah whatever.

But I mean, I I think.

Also becoming a father definitely takes your ego down a notch.

I think you realize, oh, I'm not the star of the story all the time.

Yeah okay, yeah, yeah, that's this is true.

That's a good point.

Yeah yeah, but it is.

It is interesting to like, the biggest start of the cast is still we'll have a huge movie come out.

And I see in the comments actually like that's that's still Troy Bolton, Like okay, like you can't get over it too bad.

It's like people, but it's it's a I think it's a it's a gift that you can we were a part of something that was so meaningful on such a deep level, just so many people all around the world, and then you can show up and just give them a little something and see like my small effort is going to make them so happy.

Yep, they're going to be stoked.

I mean they are stoked when you do yeah something.

It's that's pretty cool, man.

And I don't think like things I think nowadays, like do you think if High School Musical came out today, do you think it would have the same exact global reach.

I feel like everything is so much more fragmented and everybody likes what they like, their niche of what they like.

Yeah, I feel like it came out at the right time with the right story and like the right message, and like, yeah, that's wonder man.

There's because there's I mean, how many Disney Channel movies were there before High School Musical and how many times they try to replicate it after Yeah, and they just it didn't hit the fla and it really I mean some of them did.

You know, there's there's some uh that did pretty well, but they this one was you know, no special marketing, no special commercials or anything, and then opened to the biggest.

On another level for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah, were you there at the at the premieres?

I was, I mean, it's hard to remember I was there.

I don't think I was there for the movie premieres.

I was there for when we got all got our platinum records.

I have pictures of that.

I found that under my house the other day, like collecting dust.

I'm like, man, yeah, this that's.

Pretty wild, right.

Was that from number one?

Yeah, so you're a platinum recording artist.

Yeah, I got I got a platinum records from jump in under my House, from Cheetah Girls, Like that was when people like bought CDs and like albums and like, oh you got happened?

Did those all go platinum?

I think Cheetah Girls did.

Jump In was like five hundred thousand, So that's what gold jump in that Yeah, yep, Jump Rope movie, yep.

Yeah.

With Kiki Palmer.

Yeah, yeah, who I did a radio Disney tour with right after high school musical.

That was another fun thing.

Another different cities all over the country every weekend.

When Kiki was like, you know, fifteen or something.

She's a force to reckon with.

Hey, let me ask you this question, a music question.

Yeah, my voice is on that soundtrack.

You know.

I say things like come on boys, you know, like I hear myself on there, Like I went.

Into the recording studio.

No on high school musically.

In high school musical.

Yeah, so sound exchange?

Have you done that?

No?

No sound exchange?

Any any recording artists listening that have vocals on something.

You might not get paid by the actual companies, but you'll get paid for like random internet radio play, and those tracks can be pretty substantial, especially if you're part of a project like this.

I just want my platinum, you just want the record.

The thing you got the thing on the wall, like the I had it on the wall for a while and then it just it felt a little like like self serving.

I was just like, Oh, here's all my platinum records and in my studio, you know.

So you know, it's sort of that thing where like people put their oscars or their Emmys on the back of the toilets.

You know.

It's like, let me downplay this a little bit, you know, for my own yeah ego.

Yeah, I went to I went to a screening with Jerry Burkheimer's house and he's got this little this little bookcase of like just crammed full of like oscars, Emmy's cold gloves.

I'm like, it's just like crammed.

Amazing, man.

I don't know if I I think I'd let my maybe let my ego.

Out a little bit, like, yeah, I was feeling myself that first year when I got nominated for an Emmy for for high school musical the first year, so like, yeah, my ego was was working.

Oh you got you got Yeah, they got the Emmy.

Yeah, get your head.

The Game was nominated and Breaking Free was nominated in the same category.

So Jamie Houston was there and like it was neither of us won, but getting to go to the Emmys and take my parents and like, yeah, it was a it's a wild time.

That's awesome.

I remember I was like, uh, not invited to any of those things.

And I'm like, I'm pretty sure I was in that movie, like like some of the Castle who had like a few lines in there.

I'm like, how all those great scenes with Zach?

How am I not?

Like?

How am I not ogative?

You know?

But it's like in the Disney world, it's like, if you're one of the older, well, let's we're going to focus on the kids because that's a little better marketing, you know.

Yeah, what did you just sing with Lucas?

Remind me of what that was?

Did you a different project?

Yeah?

Did you?

What did you?

I kissed a Vampire?

Is that he talking about?

Oh?

Is that?

What?

Are you talking about?

Something else?

I don't just have it in my mind.

I was like, I know, you guys know about this.

Yeah, I think it's the one that Lucas made that right with?

Yeah, it was.

It was very campy.

It was something that I got asked to do and I sort of convinced Lucas to join in, like I looped him in after the fact because we've become friends from high school musical and they needed I was the king, the lord of the underworld, and there needed to be a mortal that was fighting to not become a vampire.

And uh, he signed on and it was Yeah, it was really campy, but it was really fun.

The music was actually fantastic.

Frankie Blue did did all the music and I think it's you know, we could probably get it on Amazon Prime or something.

It's probably out there.

But did Lucas sing too?

Yeah, he's singing a ton Do you sing together?

We did?

We sang sang a ton together?

Yeah, yeah, we all we all had a fake vampire teeth as we were singing.

So sometimes we sound a little old rough.

I guess not in the recording studio he would no, no, no, no, only on that that'd be pretty hardcore like that.

But it was.

But it was fun.

Like, my sister was in it, Amy, my wife was was my Queen of the Underworld.

Lucas's uh girlfriend at the time, Emily was in it.

His his sister Autumn was in it.

Uh, So it was like a family affair.

We got to like loop everybody that we wanted into this project and all dress up like vampires.

It was really fun.

Have you done a vampire movie?

Mart?

I feel like that's the next thing for you.

I don't.

I don't think.

I don't think, so, I don't think.

You know, some people never do that and they come up and they're like, you were great in that movie, and I'm like, I'm like, I don't read the script all the time, so like, help.

Me out here, you know what, I get a lot you drew, you were great and pitch Perfect.

I loved you with Pitch Perfect.

And because if you go on IMDb, it's like listed as one of the things that I've done.

But I was background singer number seven, never on camera, just like at the very intro, and I'm like, okay, it didn't really do your reason, Okay.

I would just think of the first time that we really hung out.

I guess it was in Paris.

Yeah, I think that was really because I think we've met in Passing.

Yeah, but like a few things.

Yeah, but then when we do this, we did ourt.

This is probably the longest we've ever hung out.

Yeah, totally, but yeah Paris.

Yeah that's true.

Yeah, that's true.

Yeah, we do this, uh like two three day event in Paris with Kenny Yep, yep.

It was like kend yeah yeah yeah, the Julian the Phantoms I think was there as well, and then the Descendants and then yeah and Vanessa was with us and Lucas and I think Corporin was there a year or two.

Yeah remember who all was there?

But yeah it was Uh.

I love doing these things.

I love That's why I'm here doing this with you, Like I love meeting the fans.

Yeah, giving back.

I love the energy that always comes back at you and like it's just it's yeah, just it's so fun.

Minds you why you do do these things?

Yeah?

Again, it's like coming face to face with the fans and they expressed they're so nice to have to expressed like you don't understand, you know, they always like start and they shared like the most like personal like intimate meaningful experiences they have with the movie, or how much they appreciate you, or or.

They make you little like books, all sorts of cut out pictures like I don't know how many, like German chocolates I brought home from Paris, like thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah, so those those listening that don't know what the heck we're talking about.

It's like a it was a two days.

It's a two day event, I think two or three days, and we go to Paris and we were doing it every year, which was so great.

But it was uh yeah, the cast of those three movies.

And then they would invite the fans come, we do photos, we get together, and it was like they just called back to the music with Kenny or Tag and it's like Kenny or take is universe.

And it was so fun to get to know the guys from the Descendants.

I didn't really know anybody from the Destense.

I never met any of them.

Yeah, yeah, and then Julia.

Vannams like those guys are great, Like I got to know those guys and yeah, it's like we're all kindred spirits and they.

All have their own little you know, Disney crew experience, like their movie, you know, it's it was cool.

The World's Collide was cool.

Yeah, and people come up from all over Europe like that was amazing how far they would drive in or fly in.

And I guess a little, well, now they do these like you know, Disney nights too, Like I'm doing one in two weeks called Childhood Nights oh in New York.

Oh and Racket on twenty fourth.

Those are those are my friends.

Yeah, I've done a bunch with those guys.

They're the ones from from.

Germany, right, yeah, yeah, and I'm doing the first one with them, and yeah, they're great.

I'm looking forward to this great man, it's great.

The first time they invited me to they said, hey, we want you to come host this party in Berlin and I was like host me, Like what what am I to do?

Like okay, and I go out there and uh, they said, okay, we're gonna have you come on the stage at like eleven.

I'm like eleven PM, Like I'm here, I'll come out.

You want to come out earlier, I'll come out Like They're like no, like like eleven is good.

I'm like okay, So I going on eleven and like just dancing and you know, I don't ever leave the stage, like I'm just good.

I'm just so happy to be It's like so fun, dud Win it.

Get get ready for those dances because they're like.

We all do that, you know.

But if I could stay up till eleven, then well here's.

The craziest time, I was like, it was sold out concert in Berlin at this like really cool club at like four o'clock in the morning.

I'm like, how how we going?

Like well, when the sun comes up, we're all going to breakfast.

I was like, oh, dude's cool.

I'll tap it out like that's that is late.

That is late.

So yeah.

So uh those guys they know how to party that Like then the bop to the top ones like there's have you done one of most have not done one of?

No?

I did do one with Lucas two years ago in l A.

Yeah, he had a bunch of special You were probably there.

We were there together at the Inner Smer downtown l A.

Yeah.

But it's cool if there's these nostalgia nights like all over the world, like there's a whole there's one in Mexico, I think too yeaheah.

I'm doing that one in Mexico and you do all that's great LinkedIn.

Yeah, I love it.

I love it.

If I could only sing, man, if I only had a song in that movie, my gosh, we need we'll make an act you me, yeah, yeah, yeah, boocus on Cameo.

We'll go to We'll go to euro up and put on a show.

Uh, let's talk about what you have coming up?

Like, what what do you what are you doing these days?

Are you what's your socials?

Give me all that, Like, people want to find you.

I'm easy to find I'm on Instagram mostly, Uh do TikTok occasionally, I'm on there, not as many.

I think you should do more TikTok.

Man, there's like there's a lot of out there.

Yeah, yeah, they go up that a little bit.

But yeah, I'm I'm easy to find them on there.

I'm still releasing new music all the time.

I've got a movie coming out next year called Saturday that's uh sort of a grease meets high school musical sort of the idea, and I play the teacher this time around, and I'm basically the only adult and in all the stars of the kids.

So it's sort of like a weird full circle moment for me.

But I'm sorry, bart, I do have a song in this as the adult, I get to sing in the movie, which is a slap in the face.

I know, as you should, but I only get one song.

I'm not like, yeah, I'm not all over the place.

Yeah, but uh, yeah, you know, I think it's going to be really it felt it felt special in the same way that being part of you know, I wasn't in the movies with you, but in the same way that that project probably felt like as we were filming, I was like, oh, this is this is great, Like these actors are awesome, this music is awesome, Like this is going to connect.

So I don't know where it's going to come out, but uh yeah, Diane Foster, Mark Vogel and a bunch of amazing kids that you haven't heard of yet, but she will youngsters.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was made independent.

Wasn't made with totally independent Oh so I mean that's kind of amazing too, that we'll see musicals are being made like it never happened before, Like you had never see an independent musical because the end the audience was so small, like the distribution was tiny.

And now and it's one of and I also I wasn't even supposed to be in it.

It was supposed to be uh Jonathan Bennett who that is from?

Uh finally mister Christmas and yeah yeah mean girls obviously and all that stuff.

We did movie back in the day and we've been friends for for a long time, and he got down to the wire and he couldn't do it, and he threw my name in the hat and it worked out.

But that's that's You've probably been in this situation too as an actor, where you're not the first choice, but it goes to you and it comes like something that's like really important.

Yeah yeah, like probably everything I've ever done, I've been like third or fourth choice and it's and I've made a career off of that.

So thank you all you actors who turned things down.

You are greatly appreciate it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love it.

Really turned stuffed down.

Well, yeah, they got to go off.

They have to, you know.

And and sometimes you're not going after someone, they're not going to have someone better.

They're going like always not always it's like someone more famous or yeah, you.

Know, it's all such a nobody knows anything.

It's the main point of everything.

True.

What's going through old emails And I found something for my agents like fifteen years ago about an audition for something called the Hamilton Mixtape, and I was like, I don't know about that, you know, I don't know know if this is for me past?

Was that before Hamilton?

Yeah, that was Hamilton, Oh, get out of here for like the original, like it was just for an audition, but like, what are you doing dude?

So yeah, wow, there's a lesson in this.

You know, that's wild.

Give everything a try.

So it's called the Hamilton Mixtape.

It was originally called the Hamilton Mixtape, and I think it was maybe I read an article later like the producer or some somebody was like, that's a little too confusing.

Just call it Hamilton, you know, And then there we are.

It's it's kind of amazing, right, that kind of the projects that come across your your desk, like your agent's sitting all these amazing things you do.

You just don't know.

You just don't know what's gonna be.

I mean, I thought High School Musical was this tiny little movie.

I mean that's what was me too exactly.

It's like this, it's a little dizzy champel.

No one's gonna there's hardly a budget.

It was such a small budget.

No one's gonna see it.

But it's gonna be a fun shoot.

Like okay, yep, that sounds I mean, I'm easy.

And that's and because of that experience, I go into every project and movie and any like thinking like this could be like you give it your every single time because you never know what's gonna happen, Like never phone it in because you don't know what's gonna connect and what's gonna hit and you know, yeah, yeah, films forever, right forever.

Man.

No, it's it's so true, like not theater.

You can't go back and take it's in the can.

Yeah it's not.

It's not Instagram stories.

It's not gonna disappear in twenty four hours like it's a It just reminds me of of everybody on high school music because I feel I feel like nobody really kind of approach that project like it was a little Disney Channel movie that's just gonna go like disposable media.

It's going to be forgotten about in a couple of years.

Like, No, this is a heart to it.

Yeah, And I.

Think you get that, Like I think the cast got that from from Kenny Well knowing that he had the pedigree that he does, Like you knew he was going to be serious business with what he was bringing to this and every day was just Kenny a game, like just a game every day and then it's like it's amazing to see that.

It's not just the budget man, like you can half you could have easily had.

I mean the budget from from one to three was well, number one was like a four million dollar budget.

Number three was thirty five million dollar budget.

Yeah.

Thanks, yeah, I mean what a what a swing man.

Sure the actors were a little more expensive the third time around, a little more expensive.

Yeah yeah, thank's Disney for that one.

But yeah, but but Kenny approaching it like it was a news E's or a hocus pocus like you've done before, and put his putting that same amount of effort in and that's well, I think, like, is that white resonated man?

Is that white hit?

The message is great.

He's so good with picking cast, picking voices, like he's so good with all that and then putting all of his magic on it is the same way he put his you know, the magic on news Easer or anything else.

You know, you got to have Kenny on this podcast at some point because he's the glue that kind of held this all, put it all together and held it together, and you know a lot of other amazing people put their voices in, but like he was the glue.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was.

Yeah, he was, but I got Yeah.

Shout out to Steve Vincent too, who was like the music guru through this whole thing and has also always been a champion of mine of mine through the years.

Oh really, did you meet him on this?

Yeah?

Yeah, met him in high school musical but you know, he was instrumental in getting me on all the Disney Mania soundtracks and Disney Christmas albums and jump In and Wizards of Wavery Waverley plays soundtrack and like all these other things too.

So uh yeah, I owe a lot of my career to Disney.

So yeah, going to Disney next week.

Hey, hey, take an over to Disney World for the first time.

Oh really, which where are you going?

Which one?

Magic Kingdom?

Yeah?

Magic Kingdom.

Well, we got to Park Hopper, so we'll see how much energy we have, but probably won't make it past the Kingdom like like five five parks four four or five?

Have you been to Animal Kingdom a long time ago?

Yeah, it's amazing.

It was fun.

Yeah, so different.

You know, I'm I'm a fan, so loved it.

I got to see some pass nice.

Hey, by the way, you gotta come up with Utah sometime.

Are you scared of snowboard.

Yeah, I am a skier.

Yeah, okay, do come up.

I would love to.

Yeah, or city.

I've never skied up there, never been there.

Yeahsast in the world, all right.

When we get snow up there, you start riding the chair lift with people and they're like, oh, yeah, you're you're uh the big we're here for the big snowstormer came.

But you come from oh, Switzerland, Colorado like a like all the big skip spots.

Like I'm used to Big Bear.

So I'm sure that'll be uh.

Oh dude, you'll be you'll be real level.

Yeah, you'll be really happy.

Yeah.

I'm split my time between l A and and uh Utah right now.

So it's been I taste the weather a little bit.

So it's a good snowstorm.

Come on up, man, bring that.

I hear that.

We just got a place in the desert.

So we're out there a lot nowadays.

Oh cool, like Josh, the weather.

Yeah, so sort of sort of the middle of nowhere out there.

It's great, beautiful stars, uiet.

I love it out there.

No Dodger Stadium, fireworks.

It's great.

But you hear that, Oh yeah, you live, you live not too far from close to there.

Yeah.

Do you hear the fireworks like every game when they win?

Yeah, it could, it goes off.

Yeah, I've been That's another fun thing I've been doing the last five years is singing the anthem at the Dodgers game every year.

What, Yeah, I didn't know you did that.

You should do that sometimes.

Oh yeah, yeah, there's our duet.

Let's find a too far harmony and we'll go sing the anthem at the Dodgers.

I do it, dude, Yeah, I know you would.

I was game.

I'm game.

Yeah I still sound terrifying, though.

What's the scariest time, like for you?

It's like, is it just like you're not you don't get nervous?

No, I think that would have been That would have been scary if I hadn't done the high School Musical concert tour.

It's like, I've done stadiums before, Like, I I get it, you know, Dodgers Stadium when it is full, it's a lot of people.

But yeah, I've done this before this, so no, it's just no big deal, no big deal.

A healthy amount of nervousness, yeah, yeah, the right amount.

I'm not in a robot, but yeah yeah.

But also yeah, I got this.

Yeah, yeah, that's cool man, that's awesome.

So last question for you, Okay, well, first of all, January is twenty years wild wild, right, do you have any plants doing anything?

No, No, I don't no, no plans other than just uh, what's what?

What do you got going on?

You know, I haven't thrown a party.

I would think about a screening party, like a like a viewing party.

I'm in, would you sing?

Would you sing?

Of course?

Yeah, I'm in amazing, let's do it.

I would love to do something for the twentieth I think it said.

It's a fun milestone where yeah, I'm in.

Okay, cool, cool, Okay, we'll figure something out free and clear.

Uh yeah, yeah, I think.

I mean I would think if I was if if I was mister Disney, I would put put on a big thing.

But yeah, well January is not here yet.

They have time, and if they don't, we will.

Yeah boom, all right, all right, let's do it.

Well, thanks man, I really appreciate being here.

Been a real pleasure.

Man, dude, you're the best, and we got to you.

Okay, yeah, and thank you so much to all the fans listening, and thanks for being with us.

All this time.

Honestly, love y'all, Love you guys, the best fans of the world, indeed the East Time family, all right, Drew, Seeley, everybody

Get your head in the game.