So Long, Hollywood Sound Recorder
I was on a session yesterday at Hollywood Sound Recorder, and it was more than a little bittersweet. If you aren’t familiar with it, Hollywood Sound Recorder is one of the great old A rooms in Los Angeles, right off of Sunset Blvd. Everyone from The Doors to Jackson Browne made records there. I was...
Steve Connell – So Much Silence All This Noise Is
We put this piece together with LA-based poet Steve Connell. I’ve loved his work for years, and it was great to get a chance to collaborate creatively with him, and with Zack Mathers over at Frequent Flyer Productions. I built the sound-design piece for the first half, and the music on the back end was...
Pioneer Electronics Ad: MixTrax Global
Got called in last week to do remix audio on a commercial for the new Pioneer Electronics software MixTrax, and found out from the producer this morning that the commercial was picked up for international markets on 3 continents. Check out the commercial. So much fun to work on this one, and excited to see...
Ignorance Breeds Contempt (or, How I Came To Appreciate Dance Music)
Like all good musicians of the world, I hold dance music in special contempt. I mean, it’s just looping somebody else’s work with filters and drum samples, right? Right. Well, the thing is, it’s easy to dismiss something you don’t know anything about. I should know better – how many times have people assumed that...
Rise Up! from Word Music
At the start of this summer, did a recording session for Word Choral Music that ended up being one of the fastest, bestest, just all-around amazing sessions ever. The final tracks are done, and the project is up online. You can hear clips by clicking here.
The Star-Spangled Banner
I’ve been commissioned to write an arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner for the National Day of Prayer, to be performed by an a capella men’s chorus of about 100 guys. It’s challenging to arrange a piece that’s so well know, to find something new and interesting to do with it, but still maintain the power...
Session for Word Publishing
Had a GREAT recording session today for Word Publishing. They’re publishing a book of choral arrangements for modern rock worship tunes, and releasing stems (submixes) of each instrument for choirs to perform along with. The producer, Dan Semsen, talked them into bringing the session out to Los Angeles, their first time recording out here in...
A Little Dancing Music
Last Friday was a fun day – I was asked to write some original cues for the show Millionaire Matchmaker, and to pull together a jazz quartet to play them live on camera. The episode featured a ballroom dance instructor as the millionaire, and he spent the first part of the evening teaching his date...
From Sketch to Score
Update: you can hear the completed project that this sketch comes from by clicking here. Most of what I write starts out at the piano, and I love finishing a project, then going back to listen to the original idea that sparked it. I’m working on a new series of projects (more details to come)...
Pioneer Voiceover
Pioneer is continuing their ad campaign to promote integration with Pandora. No music on this one, but I did get to provide the voice-over for the ad series. The music here is from the most excellent band The Dailies, available on iTunes as a single.
Mom’s New Haircut
A friend’s mom is fighting breast cancer for the second time, and made the decision to shave her head prior to undergoing chemotherapy. He documented the experience to give hope and inspiration to others who are facing the same struggle. The music was written by Chad Reisser of The Dailies, and I was privileged to...
Writing for the Robin Cox Ensemble
I'm thrilled to be working on a new piece for the Robin Cox Ensemble. They are artists in residence at Cal State LA this semester, where they are running a series of workshops for composers.
As You Were Saying: