Trip to L.A.

I forgot to mention- last weekend I visited my good friend Syd and his partner Jon in L.A. It was pretty awesome- we walked on the beach,
saw the LA Phil play Shostakovich 7 in the new Frank Gehry concert hall,


and watched Pump up the Volume.



What more could I possibly ask for?

Well, Syd got back in touch with a professional composer he had met years ago (friends of friends etc.) named Andy Belling, who invited us over to visit. Andy showed us his home studio, and we talked for a long time. He answered all of my questions about the business and was very supportive, encouraging me to build up a portfolio by scoring independent and student work here in Phoenix. He also played us some excerpts from his new Broadway musical, Merry-Go-Round, which he orchestrated and co-wrote and will be directing as well, and which opens in New York in less than a year.

It was my first personal contact with a working film composer and it was pretty exciting. I really appreciate him making time to hang out with us. Thanks Andy!

ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop

Last night I mailed in my application to the 2008 ASCAP Film and Television Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis. It sounds like a serious film scoring camp- 3 or 4 weeks in LA, 40 hours a week, being coached by great filmmakers, sound editors, composers, and orchestrators, getting your work recorded by a live orchestra of pros- all paid for by ASCAP. They're very clear that they don't want hobbyists- only people who are pursuing film scoring as a profession. Anyway, it would be really exciting and I have my fingers crossed.

I actually just read Bellis' new book, The Emerging Film Composer. It's very good, and maybe the only book on film composing I've ever read with a sense of humor.

I worked on the application every night this week, updating my resume, writing a nice cover letter, putting together a CD of orchestral excerpts (all stuff you've seen here before), etc. I have no idea how many composers apply each year, or how experienced they tend to be, so it's hard to know what my chances are- but even just putting together the application was fun and inspirational. Anyway, wish me luck!

Latest musical

Spent last week at work stocking up Spiritrax for Easter. No vocals yet, but some of you probably know the Ode to Joy and the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Started today on our latest musical for Stage Stars, The Little Mermaid- yes, the Disney one, with music is by Alan Menken. I actually saw this in the movie theater when it came out and loved it- a 12-year-old romantic, and not the only one in the theater, I'm sure.

Michael Daves in the Times

For those who, like me, know and love guitarist Michael Daves:

Check out this article from the Friday New York Times about bluegrass in NYC. After being profiled in one section of the article, Michael pops up later at someone else's jam session, at which, "Mr. Daves appeared to be the most proficient player in the room, by a comfortable margin."

Long time no post

I got in the habit of only posting when I had a new audio sample for you to listen to- and I guess I haven't had anything new in the last month. But it's been so long, I thought I'd let you know what I've been up to.

At work, we did the burlesque musical "Sugar Babies" for a community theater in Pennsylvania, and we just finished "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" for a children's theater in Fresno. Productiontrax and Spiritrax are rolling right along. Still teaching a few lessons after work, but not a lot, which is nice.

I've been practicing trombone a little, going to jam sessions, having some fun. Delphine Cortez and Dennis Rowland (both well-established singers in Phoenix) have been kind enough to let me sit in with their bands, and both of them inspire me to keep practicing. But no new gigs yet.

I've started working on some big band arrangements of my vocal tunes.

I've been spending a lot of free time reading about musicians, too. I'm almost done with The Gentle Giant, Yusef Lateef's autobiography, and also almost done with Jazzwomen, a book of interviews with women jazz musicians. I hope that my life makes as much sense looking back on it as theirs do.

I finally went to a meeting of local indie filmmakers and announced myself as a composer, and I'm sure if I pursued some of the filmmakers they'd be happy to have me score their films, but I haven't. I guess I'm afraid to commit to another big project, though I know I want to get into scoring sooner or later.

Guess that's it. Hopefully I'll actually have something for y'all to listen to soon.