Joe Iconis drops music video from his 'turbulent rock romance'
Garden City composer Joe Iconis wrote "Punk Rock Girl!"which wraps its run at The Argyle Theatre in Babylon this weekend. Credit: Chris Ware
Joe Iconis, whose original musical "Punk Rock Girl!" about '80s female rockers is finishing its run at Babylon's Argyle Theatre this weekend, is gearing up for his next show about a different type of punk rock girl.
The Garden City-born playwright and composer just released the video for "I Hope," the first song from his musical "Love in Hate Nation," which he describes as "a turbulent rock romance between two girls in a juvie hall for girls in 1962."
Though the song was written for the character of a black, queer, 16-year-old in juvenile hall, Iconis calls it is one of the most personal songs he's ever written. "At its core, the song is about being faced with enormous obstacles and choosing to not give up. Choosing to persevere," he says. "The song is really a collaboration between myself and the singer, Amina Faye. Sure, her vocal pyrotechnics are thrilling, but they are all rooted in truth."
"Love in Hate Nation" was created by Iconis in 2019 and was presented at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, the same venue where his musical "Be More Chill" premiered in 2015. After videos of songs from that show went viral, "Be More Chill" enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run in 2018 before transferring to Broadway the following year.
The original cast recording of "Love in Hate Nation" from Ghostlight Records is available in digital and streaming formats. Iconis is hoping that "Love in Hate Nation," for which he wrote the book as well as the songs, will ultimately find its way to London and Broadway.
"Personally, I think Broadway is in desperate need of a chorus line full of badass, uncategorizable, rebellious women," he said, "and I think we are just the show to provide such a thing!"
