MoreBork

Local video producer Mark Bork called us a few weeks ago to write some music for "A Magical Valley Christmas", a Christmas special that he produces every December for his old hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho. He asked for original classical Christmas-y music, and my boss was busy with some other things, so I wrote it, Mark said it was perfect, and I'm psyched! My first original music used in multimedia! I can't wait to see the completed video. I joined ASCAP, and now when that sucker is broadcast, they'll send me a little check in the mail that they get from the broadcasting TV station- my first residual. Does AOL send them money when people download (or stream) it? This I don't know.

Anyway, I can't play that music for you, since it belongs to Mark now, but you can listen to the discarded 60-second sample that he didn't use. It's not too bad either, though I think he picked the better one.

The Bron Tapes Tapes

A few months ago, we got a visit at the office from a video producer named Mark Bork, who had recently moved to Phoenix from Idaho and found our name in the AZ Production Association book. Mark hired us to write music for a promotional video he was producing for a tape company called Bron Tapes. We wrote a few samples for him in different styles. They ended up picking my boss David's first inspiration, a techno track which works perfectly. To see the video, just click here, and then on the bottom of the page click on "New Promotional Video".

Anyway, I finally got around to posting my two unused samples on Productiontrax, so enjoy:

Funk Factory
Mark asked for "industrial" music, which means "slick, motivational, and corporate" to people who do a lot of these. I thought he meant "sounds like a factory". Oh well, I have to make every mistake once! I kind've wonder what's supposed to happen on the bridge, since I stopped writing just as it got there.

Stadium Rock
This has a fun vibe, but again, wasn't right for the project. I had fun tweaking the digital guitar amps, getting the distortion just like I wanted it.

See, this is why my job is so great. I can make all the mistakes I need to, and still have a job the next day. That's a luxury you don't get freelancing.

Sonya Kitchell

My old friend and Inner Orchestra buddy Emiliano Garcia used to teach jazz to a young singer named Sonya Kitchell. She came a few times to a jam session he used to host in Northampton, and they let her in with her mom even though she was underage. I think we (the I.O. horns) may have played with Sonya's band at one of her first club dates- I remember rehearsing for it, anyway.

Fast forward a few years. Sonya is now signed to Velour, touring the world, and quickly becoming a famous singer/songwriter. Last year, your neighborhood Starbucks sold two CD's at the counter- the Will.i.am-produced Sergio Mendes album, and Sonya's first full-length. I love her music, and I'm really excited for her.

Herbie Hancock's new album River is all Joni Mitchell songs- with vocals. For the album, he got a bunch of superstars to do one song each- Tina Turner, Norah Jones, Corinn Bailey Rae, Leonard Cohen, one track by Joni herself- but Herbie picked Sonya to be the featured singer with his band for his album-release tour. This is maybe the biggest possible compliment in the entire present-day musical universe.

They did a night in Phoenix, but I had a Friday night gig myself, and when I added my lost gig pay to the price of a ticket, I simply couldn't afford to go, and I felt like I don't know Sonya well enough anymore to ask for comp tickets. I was really bummed. Money is a wonderful thing, and needing money is a terrible thing. Anyway, if you see this, Sonya, I'm sorry I missed your show, and congratulations!

Pete's New Album

Guitarist/singer-songwriter/bandleader Pete Pidgeon is a friend of mine from Boston. He did some gigs with the Inner Orchestra, and I did some gigs with his band, Arcoda. He has a great new album out, Doubt Is For Losers, a sprawling stew of rock (orchestral/pop/hard/hippie/funk/etc.) And my friend Taka from the Hot Tamale Brass Band plays tuba on the album. I've probably listened to it twelve times in the last three days (yes, I've spent a lot of time in my car), and I like it more and more. Congratulations, Pete!

Current Commuting Album

Guitarist/singer/songwriter/bandleader Ryan Montbleau was one of my and Sarah's favorite acts to go see in Boston, plus our friend John Adams does his album art, and my friend Matt Gionarros plays bass for him. I used to like Ryan's solo shows better than with his band, but the band sounds amazing on his new album, Patience on Friday. Definitely his best yet- been listening to it for two weeks solid.

New at Spiritrax

A month ago, we got a visit from a wonderful, classically-trained soprano named Melissa Guiley. Guess I forgot to post them here at the time.

Wonderful Peace
I didn't know this song before I arranged it, but it's my new favorite. I feel like I managed a nice natural build through the arrangement.

Oh Chanukah
Just in time for the CCCCChhhhhhholiday.

S'vivon
For the klezmer kiddies. Melissa's Jewish, so we got her to do these Chanukah tunes.

And Mandi Leigh did two more of my Christmas arrangements last week:

O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)
Pretty traditional.

Jingle Bells
When I put this on, Mandi said, "Oh, I'm in Disneyland!" I guess that's sort've what I was going for.

Lots more, but I'll post them once they have vocals.

Silly entertainment

Today I was thinking about how sometimes when I'm bored, or worried about time, I check the clock over and over again, waiting for time to pass, and at these times time seems to move very slowly. And other times I forget about watching what time it is and the day just seems to flow on by.

I was also thinking of the phrase, a watched pot never boils.

And it occurred to me- if time was enclosed in a pot of ignorance, then looking at a clock would release the pressure, and time would actually pass more slowly. Since pressure exist in three dimensions, there's no reason it shouldn't in the fourth as well.

Old Inspirations

When I was in high school, the band teacher ran a jazz program before school. He was paid to lead the big band three days a week, and the other two days he'd open up the room, and the few kids in our school who really knew how to play would play in a combo together. I'd usually go and listen to them play, and listening to them was a big part of my falling in love with jazz. I just thought they were so amazing (and they probably were.)

I just searched for a bunch of them, and a lot of them are still musicians. Tenor saxophonist Ricky Sweum plays in the Air Force Band now. Pianist Toby Koenigsberg is now a jazz piano professor at the U of O. Alto saxophonist Tim Willcox, pianist Greg Goebel, and drummer Randy Rollofson are all jazz musicians living in Portland, and drummer Jason Palmer is still playing in the northwest as well. Guitarist Marcus Congleton is now the leader of Ambulance Ltd. The friendster profile of bassist Joel Root lists his profession as musician (though it also says he was born in 1770). And bassist Dan Stotz is not only a professional double-bassist- he's my neighbor here in Phoenix!

Current Commuting Album

Yusef Lateef, Every Village Has a Song, disc 2. No one rocks the oboe like Yusef. I still have to buy the poster my friend DiDonna made for him.

Gigs!

I have my first regular gig in Phoenix!

Privas is me on trombone, Nick Watts on drums, Harald Weinkum on bass, and Dave Henning on keyboard. I was stressing about playing keyboard with them (see my last post), but I couldn't make their first gig, and my sub Dave asked if he could stay. So now there are four and I get to play trombone, and I'm psyched. We're playing every week at a Vietnamese restaurant in Tempe called Dragonfly. I posted before that it would be Thursdays, but we may be switching to Fridays. Stay tuned.

West Side Story!

So my company, One Light Music, now produces all the music for Stage Stars Records, which puts out karaoke CD's of musicals. I think we're listed on their CD's as "music programmers". I've worked on Godspell, Damn Yankees and Hairspray since joining, but neither of them have been released yet. Anyway, we're working on West Side Story now- I did "Something's Coming" yesterday and "Tonight" today.

It's fun! Wish I could play it for you, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

Musical Identity Crisis

Can anyone give me some advice about this?

I think I have sideman's fever. I'm tired of playing in other people's musical groups and working hard to do what they want. I want to be in charge of some music that's MINE, based on my thinking and my creativity.

And I'm having a bit of a musical identity crisis. I teach piano and guitar lessons, I practice and play trombone at jam sessions and in a big band, I'm occasionally playing drumset at my boss' church, and at work I pretend to play all the instruments- and it's all fun!

At this point, the main ways I can think of to be creative and in charge are to:

- lead a combo playing trombone
- lead a combo playing piano
- sing my vocal songs alone at the piano
- compose music for local independent filmmakers

The last one sounds a little too much like going to work after work, so I think I won't worry about it right now. But the other three seem equally exciting and ambitious. I could do any of them if I worked at it, practiced, etc.

Any one of these would probably require me giving up the others. Being in charge of something takes more time and energy than just being a sideman. And I want time to relax and cook and be social, after all. I'm excited about playing trombone, and piano, and singing my songs, and don't want to give up any of them. But as long as I try to do everything, I don't seem to have time to do anything. So I have to pick one. I've spent a million hours writing, thinking and talking about this choice, and I STILL CAN'T DECIDE.

I've been stressing about this off and on since I moved, but part of the reason it's up now is that I just took a weekly trio gig at a Vietnamese restaurant in Tempe. I'll be playing piano, with my friend Nick Watts on drums and the amazing Harald Weinkum on bass. It was offered to me, it paid okay, and I was excited to be leading something, so I took it. But now I'm thinking- does this mean I'm about to give up trombone, just when I'm playing so beautifully? Does this mean I'm never going to be the singer/songwriter I imagined being? Why can't I make a decision about this part of my life?

If any of you reading have any ideas, perspective, or advice for me, please let me know!

New Spiritrax Vocals

We ran out of friends to sing guide vocals for our Spiritrax songs, so we advertised for singers on Craigslist and were lucky to get a call from Mandi Leigh. Mandi just got back from a tour of the Carribbean and Central America, and is going on an American college tour soon to promote her debut album, so we were lucky to catch her while she had some down time. She sang over three of my arrangements and sounds just wonderful.

Oh Holy Night
This is an orchestral track, slow and dramatic, intended for a solo performance. I wrote this imagining my teacher Pam Wood singing it- she's an astonishing soprano- but Mandi's pop alto worked great.

My Country 'Tis of Thee
Another classical track, but with a smaller orchestra. Trying to be sweet and not bombastic.

Go Tell It On the Mountain
A funky groove. I like the organ parts on this one.

Old Spiritrax Ditties

It occurred to me that my last post of Spiritrax songs would be hard to appreciate unless you know the songs, because they didn't have guide vocals recorded yet. So from now on I won't link to ST songs until they have vocals recorded.

Here are all the songs I've done for Spiritrax that do have vocals. We're going back in time here, so they probably get gradually worse as you go down the list.

The Four Questions
From the Hebrew Passover service. Klezmer style. 'Cause it's for Jews to use.

Joy, Joy, Joy
Christian kids song, music box style.

Jesus Loves Me
Another Christian kids song, in a Carribbean style, with pan pipes, steel drums, etc.

I Had a Little Dreidel
A hopeless attempt to get Jewish kids excited about playing dreidel, the most boring form of gambling ever.

The First Noel
The traditional Christmas carol. Strings with lite rhythm section (muzak alert!)

A is for Allah
Islamic alphabet song. Cat Stevens did a version of this after he converted. Yes, that's me singing.

Hava Nagila
I did this tune all the time at Jewish weddings with the K2 band, and I always wanted the band to speed up until all the dancers fell down. And they never would. So this one gets pretty fast. Well, it'll be fun for the kids.

Michael Row the Boat Ashore
We had just gotten an awesome new guitar sampler, RealGuitar, and all we could do that day was play guitar. So this one is "campfire style".

This Little Light of Mine
This was my first arrangement at One Light. We used to play this tune all the time with the Inner Orchestra horns- there's a live version of it here. And I had never finished a big band chart in college, so I had to get it out of my system before I could write anything else.

Reel TV tracks

I wrote these for a new company called Reel TV, that hosts and streams films- sort've like a professional-level YouTube for filmmakers, film students, actors, corporate videos, etc. They just wanted some one-minute tracks for their members to get as a perk when they joined their site. It was the most fun I've had at my job yet. They sent us examples of songs in the style they wanted, and we were free to make the rest up.

Alone With the Monster
Their example had hard-rock guitars over a funky beat. It reminded me of the music in my new Prince of Persia video game, so I added bird calls and sitar.

Desertscape
Straight-up Middle Eastern music. Their example had a vocalist, which I left room for in the beginning, and the empty space ended up being the best part.

Speedily
For two days, I kept trying to write action music, and it would turn out all labored and introverted. I finally finished this, but I think it still sounds a little stale.

Swat Team
I did this action theme in half the time of the last one, and it's the first thing I wrote that my boss didn't edit at all! I'm pleased at how consistent the concept is- like I can hear that it all came out in one piece.

X-Bump
My example was electronica, with sudden odd changes in texture. Totally new territory for me, which was fun.

Movie Appreciation: Rashomon

Watched Kurosawa's Rashomon for the first time a few nights ago. A fascinating and cool movie in many ways. The music is by Fumio Hayasaka. Sarah suggested that it was very Tchaikovsky, and it reminded me a lot of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf- interesting to remember how close Russia is to Japan. It's orchestral fantasy music with tons of featured woodwinds- much closer to "classical music" than fantasy music is these days. He must have written a solid 30 minutes of music, too, with very little repetition. Clearly recorded in the 50's- lots of bassoons squawking like shawms.

First song on Productiontrax

So the other website we run at work is Productiontrax, which is a royalty-free media library. Hundreds of contributors sell the rights to their music and other media through Productiontrax, and thousands of people who need stock media (indie filmmakers, video game designers, website designers, etc.) come there to buy the rights to music, photography, sound effects, and video. It's all sold royalty-free, at whatever price the contributors set.

Anyway, I'm excited that I finally stayed after work and scored a cue of my own to put up there. It's just a short, gentle thing for strings. I had just seen Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings movie, and was seeing in my head the overhead establishing shot of the hobbit village. I should go back and see what Howard Shore did there- probably something a little more lively.

Pastoral Village

There are tons more of these written down in my file cabinet at home, and hopefully sometime I'll stay at work late and do some more.

Last few week's Spiritrax work

These are links to the most recent songs I've arranged for Spiritrax. You have to choose a key on the preview player before it'll start playing. You'll hear an audio watermark along with the song, which just prevents people from stealing it. My boss usually gives me the basic idea for these arrangements, then I do the arrangement and play in the parts, and then he'll check the final mix and occasionally add another instrument. So they're not all mine, but they're mostly mine, and I'm proud of them.

Oh Holy Night (orchestral)

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (hip-hop)

How Great Thou Art (soulful)

Much more to come!

Why a blog now?

It's been six months since I moved to Arizona. For the last four years in Boston, I was teaching elementary general music, basing most of my curriculum on my Kodaly training. When I moved, I decided not to take a teaching job, and instead to try to make a career of being a musician. I miss teaching a lot, but not enough to go back just yet.

Anyway, I'm definitely a professional musician now, and thought that friends and family might like to to check this site occasionally to hear what I've been doing lately. Let me know if it's useful to you, or if it's not. It's been fun for me so far.

I now work at One Light Music Productions, Inc., and my job title is Composer/Arranger. I just had my six-month review, and my boss and I agreed that I was doing an excellent job. We create custom music for various clients, including a karaoke record label in New York. We also run two big websites: Productiontrax, which is a major player in the royalty-free music and media industry, and Spiritrax, which sells religious karaoke music.

I used to dream during college about being a professional composer/arranger, but I could never afford the computer gear that professional composers are expected to have these days. So getting paid to write music on someone else's equipment is a real dream come true.