random tracks

We just started a "DJ Elements" category on Productiontrax, for anything expressly meant for sampling or live use by DJ's, and we started giving our contributors a choice to offer permission to sample their work (or not). So I wrote two tracks at the end of the day yesterday to get the categories started- each is available both as a full track and as separate instruments- here are the full tracks:

Latin Chillout

Trance

This is really my job? Really?

ABD Soundtrack CDs now available!

The At Best Derivative soundtrack CD is back from the factory! It includes 36 tracks and almost an hour of music. Mark Nokes plays lead guitar, Eliot Ventimiglia plays saxophone, and I do all the rest with a computer and some magic beans. There's retro-rock, chill-out jazz, tango, orchestral, surf-spy, kung-fu-style asian battle music, a let's-get-it-on funk tune, even a track with me singing in three parts like the Eagles, if the Eagles all had an identical slight lisp. Excerpts are in the gray flash player on the left.

Soundtrack CDs, DVDs of the movie, and other ABD-related paraphernalia will be on sale here sooner or later, but for now, you can send me $10 through PayPal by clicking the button on the right, or email me for my postal address and then mail me a check for $10. Either way I'll send your CD via Pony Express.

Chicken-lovin' Terrorist

Just released- a complete scene from At Best Derivative:

Do you have your tickets yet?

Favorite film scores

Now that I've done a film score, and am thinking of doing some more, I'm trying to become a more organized fan of film composers. Anyway, in my first step of getting more organized, here's a list of my favorite film scores- which is really a list of my favorite movies in which I've been really struck by how the music gives life to the movie:

Mirrormask- This is probably my favorite film score to date. It's by a British saxophonist named Iain Ballamy. The music has a hundred colors, and it's largely played by six guys, who also appear in the movie as an integral part of the plot. It's a fantasy film, and the way the music changes to transport the viewer from the real world to the fantasy world is just awesome.

Brazil- Probably my favorite movie ever, and not least because Michael Kamen's score makes me laugh out loud. Tremendously creative use of a single song.

Brick- This movie came out in 2008, and I'm totally cheering for and following this brilliant young director Rian Johnson, and his brother Nathan Johnson, who did the music. Nathan runs a band in Boston called the Cinematic Underground that performs on homemade instruments- it sounds like an indie punk vaudeville thing, I can't quite tell- and his score for Brick is both perfect and very unconventional- very spare and eerie, lots of weird sounds. They have a new movie coming out this summer, The Brothers Bloom, that I'm looking forward to.

Batman- This is probably my favorite "big fat superhero" score. It was Danny Elfman's first "big fat big-budget hero" movie- he'd mostly done goofy movies up to this point: Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Edward Scissorhands, etc.- and I think he really created a new masterpiece in the genre. Of course since then he's done a ton of these- I also love his recent score for Ang Lee's Hulk, but then I sort of identify with the main character, so...

Twin Peaks- I know- it was a TV show- but Angelo Badalamenti's music is SO iconic and mysterious that it makes the list.

Hero- How many modern classical composers can you recognize from a few notes? I love Tan Dun for that reason- he's got such a personal style. His score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge hit, and I think this one is just as great- it just wasn't as well received because the movie was too philosophical for most martial arts fans. Itzhak Perlman is the featured violin soloist.

The Matrix- Don Davis did a brilliant job with this. I've watched a bunch of these fight scenes on YouTube recently, and the music and sfx are brilliant at uniting and pacing these scenes, and making them look cool. It's no accident everybody wants to sound like the Matrix now.

Star Wars- Kids today grow up knowing John Williams' score for Jurassic Park, but for me, it's still all about the Star Wars movies. I just love his orchestral writing- it's so emotional. Sure it's cliche if you've seen it a hundred times- but you wouldn't see it a hundred times if it wasn't good. And as long as we're on John Williams, his score to the first Indiana Jones movie was pretty iconic as well.

Hmm... what else...

James Horner is a composer I want to listen to more. I remember being very moved by the music to Glory when I saw it as a kid- picking it out on the piano afterwards and reliving the movie. And he also wrote the music to Sneakers, one of my most-times-watched movies, which features saxophonist Branford Marsalis in a sort of cool-jazz chill-out vibe.

Probably my oldest favorite movie is Spartacus (which isn't even that old, I guess- it's from 1960). I used to see it on TV all the time, and Alex North's music is awesome. His "Love Theme from Spartacus" has been recorded as a ballad by lots of jazz musicians, but I think North's original scoring is still the best version.

Done!

Okay- I'm pretty much done with my work on At Best Derivative!!!!! I celebrated a few weeks ago, when I finished all the writing, but then I had another week or two of mixing and dubbing. I can't believe how hard I worked at it, and I'm very proud of the score, and excited to show people the movie. The sound guy has another day or two of post-production work, and then it's being sent off to be duplicated.

I'm always carrying paper tickets to the premiere with me, to sell to anyone who wants to come, so those of you who are local, hit me up- they're $11. The premiere, as I wrote below, is at 7:00 PM, Friday March 6, at the Tempe Center for the Arts. See you there?

ABD Film Premiere

I haven't been posting much lately because I've just been working non-stop on the score for At Best Derivative, and not doing much else. ABD is a feature farce comedy, a self-conscious homage to spoofs such as the Naked Gun and Hot Shots, locally cast and produced on a micro budget. I'm very proud of the music I've written, and I have a lot left to write! (This pic on the right is from a scene I just finished.)

Anyway, the first (and so far, only) screening will be on Friday, March 6, at 7:00 PM, in the main theater of the Tempe Center for the Arts. Advanced tickets are available as of today, and can be bought online at the Friar's Lantern website for $11 (with PayPal) or at theTCA website for $13 (or $18 on the day of the show.) Get 'em while they're hot.

Parents, FYI: At Best Derivative contains ridiculously excessive swearing, probably too much to overlook, enough that your kids will ask, "Why are you letting me watch this?"

ABD Trailer

We've finished the trailer for At Best Derivative. The music I wrote for it ended up being mixed fairly low, so turn the volume up if you want to hear it.

And here's the audio track in its full glory (not that it means much without the video):

Be patient- there are a few seconds of silence at the beginning.

The Mating Game

Two weeks ago, I composed music for the romantic comedy "The Mating Game", the Phoenix Independent Film Makers Group's entry in the IFP-Phoenix 48-hr film challenge. Friday at 7:00 PM we were given a prop (a spatula), a line ("How did that get in there?"), and a genre (we got comedy). Our completed 3-minute film was due Sunday evening at 7:00 PM. There were 30 or so teams that participated- the screening this Thursday involved more spatula-related homicides than most of my evenings out.

I didn't get to score to picture, just to the script, because of the time contraint, but I think the music ended up working fairly well anyway, and it was fun to do. Here's the 5-minute "director's cut":

Sextet Concert Last Month

A month ago, I got to present a concert of original music as part of the Jazz in the Hills series, in Fountain Hills, AZ. The musicians were Mike Krill on saxophones, Denny Monce on trumpet, myself on trombone, Dave Henning on piano, Tim Paree on bass, and Andy Ziker on drums, who all learned a lot of my tunes in a very short time. I've posted a few of them here, on the left, just below my gig calendar. I really want to record cleaner, tighter versions, but for now, enjoy! The first four are originals- Mo' Better Blues is the theme from the movie of the same name, composed by Bill Lee.

Why did it take me a month to get these up here? Well, I've had a long month. If you're a friend of mine (and I doubt many other people ever read this), then you probably already know what's been going on for me- if you don't, just ask. If you're an enemy, I'm not telling.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.