Live and Try in L.A.

I'm composing the finishing touches on Christianna Carmine's satirical dark comedy Live and Try in L.A. I was asked to do a mixture of Spaghetti Western and elevator muzak to give it is tongue-in-cheek flavor. It opens with low and dark ambience that brings in the Shirt Theme. "Totally Cliche Job" puts a saloon-style piano in the middle of an easy-listening waltz while "The Waiting Room" brings this theme into Latin groove muzak. "Showdown in the War Room" and "Drive into the Desert" bring an air of Spaghetti Western. The end credits is a quirky celebration of the absurdity of life.

Players Are Working Again

...And the Players are working again!

Toy Soldier to Premiere at Cannes

I have some exciting news: the short film Toy Soldier, which I recently scored, was accepted into the Festival de Cannes' Short Film Corner. That's fantastic for Alissa and everyone who worked so hard on the film.

Toy Soldier

Last Wednesday, I met with Alissa Chiaravanond to discuss her short film Toy Soldier. By Sunday I had finished scoring it. It was one of the fastest turnarounds I've worked on. Shot on location in Thailand, the haunting film tells the story of a young boy searching for his mother in the red-light district of Bangkok. I tried to capture both the exotic location and the universality of the story by using synth textures, a handful of Western orchestral instruments and recording various ethnic instruments as well.

Acquired

Last month I finished the score for the short drama, Acquired directed by Desmond Faison. The film is a sensitive and humanizing story dealing with friendship, romance and HIV. After discussing with Desmond the sound he was looking for, I chose to use ethereal female vocals to capture the humanity of the characters (showcased heavily in "Acquired Theme" as well as in "Tim and Krissy" and "Realization").

I recorded the vocals at Brian Young's studio (The Dream Academy) and asked a good friend, Kristina Keener, to provide the "ahhs" and "oohs." We were under a time crunch (as is always the case with these sorts of things), and Kristina managed to fit in a block of time to record before she had to jump onstage and belt out some showstoppers in the musical revue "Smoky Joe's Cafe." Her voice really added a plaintive desperation to the theme.

Middle Eastern Trailer Music

This summer I wrote a score on spec for a trailer to the film "David And Fatima" and thought it turned out pretty well.

Meeting Mychael Danna In The Men's Room

So, the last few weeks, I've gone to the AMPAS film composer conference. It's been very interesting hearing master composers discuss their lives and craft. Lalo Schiffrin, Bruce Broughton, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek and more. One of my favorite film composers was one of the panelists: Mychael Danna. And of course, I passed him in the men's room afterwards and I just HAD to say something. Yep. In the men's room. So smooth. My brain said "Never talk to someone in the rest room," but I just went right into auto-pilot. He was very gracious and friendly though.