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?"

Two Shout-Outs

First, my friend Toby's band Kayodot just played Phoenix on their current US tour, and it was great to see him, Mia, my good buddy Terran, and the rest of the band. They sound better than ever, and if they're coming to your city (their schedule is on their myspace page), I urge you to consider going to their show (and bringing earplugs). You'll be supporting some true artists in the nearly impossible dream of performing music that no one expects to hear.

I don't know how to describe their music at all anymore, and certainly not without stringing a lot of words together. "Metal chamber music dreamscapes" is the best I've come up with so far. I was astounded by the show they played here.

Second, I've been listening to my good friend Michael Daves' solo record for a SOLID MONTH on my commute- I've probably heard it fifty times now- and let me tell you, this man is a legend in his own youth. I'm serious. His singing on this record took me a few listens to get used to- it's very evocative, but hard to understand the words at first- but once I'd heard it a few times, I couldn't imagine it sounding any other way. He makes the old time/bluegrass tradition sound new all over again, in our time, and it's beautiful.

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.

New on Spiritrax

I did some songs for Spiritrax six months ago that only just got online now. Listening back now, they didn't sound so great and I had to remix them, which is good- it means I've gotten better in the last six months. Anyway, they should sound acceptable now.

Thus Saith the Lord

My latest installment in the upcoming complete karaoke Messiah.

I Know My Redeemer Lives

Rock band with renaissance orchestra. Big huge sound for Easter etc.

Adir Hu

This is the most common klezmer melody to this Passover hymn.

Adir Hu

And this is the older, more well-known melody, in an orchestral setting.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Reggae-style.

Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho

Jazz trio, a la Moondance.

Rakatá!

So I've been playing trombone with a new band for two or three weeks now- a local latin pop band called Rakatá. The two percussionist/singers who run it really know their stuff. They do pop songs with a latin flavor (Colombian, Brazilian, salsa, merengue, timba, etc.), and traditional latin songs with a more soulful crossover sound. If you've heard modern pop music from Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil- it's that kind of thing. Phoenix is full of salsa bands, but these guys are doing something unique here, as far as I know. Very fun, very danceable, and a great situation for a trombonist.

I haven't been able to invite people out to the gigs yet because I'm not a member of the band- they just hire me when they can afford an extra person- and so far I haven't known about the gigs until a few days before- but I definitely recommend seeing them (for you Phoenix folks). They (we?) play every Tuesday at the Asia de Cuba (in the Hotel Mondrian in Scottsdale), every Friday at Trader Vic's (by the Valley Ho in Scottsdale), and I think they have a Saturday gig starting soon, somewhere on the west side.

Here's their myspace page, if you're interested.

At Best, Derivative

I'm scoring my first independent feature film! Woo-hoo!

"At Best Derivative" is a comedy/farce about a gang of would-be criminals who are planning to sell the movie rights to a crime they have yet to commit. It's the first full-length feature by director Ryan Pierson, and the cast and crew are all local Arizona folks. They've been working on it for over a year, and it's now officially in post-production. We're hoping to be able to release it this fall, maybe in October. Anyway, I'm totally psyched to have the opportunity to score a feature film. But no music to show you yet- just this poster, their myspace page and their imdb page.

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":