Days in the Life of a Film Composer

Check out the cool new poster for COWBOY SMOKE! (click the poster for larger view)

I went to LA this past weekend to attend the Varèse Sarabande 30th Anniversary Celebration at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, CA. Varèse Sarabande is the most prolific and highest profile soundtrack label in the world. I have 197 Varèse titles in my own personal collection and that number is quickly growing. The man behind the label, Robert Townson, is himself approaching his 1000th album which should be released in Spring 2009.

The 30th Anniversary Celebration was a big deal.

To mark the occasion, Townson recruited twenty-two composers and dignitaries who he has worked with and released scores for in the past to come together to sign autographs for fans. On the list of attendees was John Ottman, Edward Shearmur, Richard B. Sherman, Richard Kraft, Marc Shaiman, Christophe Beck, Trevor Rabin, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Matthew Joseph Peak, Joel McNeely, Brian Tyler, Cliff Eidelman, John Debney, Mark Isham, John Frizzell, Lalo Schifrin, Michael Giacchino, Christopher Young, Don Davis, Charles Bernstein, Marco Beltrami, Sean Callery, and Mychael Danna.

Each were positioned at a U-shaped table configuration outlining the interior of Dark Delicacies. No body could recall a time in history when so many composers came together with fans to celebrate film music. It was truly an historical event.

I bought one of the 30th Anniversary 4-CD box sets to get autographed by everyone along with about fifty CD covers to get signed. In the end, I was successful in getting everything I brought signed by the composer. The line was slow but that was because each composer was taking the time to chat with each fan. Nobody was rushed or pushed through and each composer was super nice. They all are extremely busy people but took the time that day to chat with their fans.



The whole event blew my mind. I've been a fan of many of these composers for some time. It was extremely cool to meet them all.

I had my Dad in tow that day as well and even he enjoyed getting his 30th box set signed by each composer. Richard B. Sherman (MARY POPPINS, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG) even stood up and shook his hand when he learned he was a formal naval aviator with over 1000 carrier landings. Mr. Sherman was as much in awe meeting my dad as we were meeting him. Very cool!

After the event concluded we headed out. My head was on cloud nine and my blood still pumping with pure excitement. We decided to put the top down in the convertible and head to the beach. We drove down to Santa Monica, parked in a garage, and headed down to the famous pier. We had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. right there on the pier and had a fantastic meal!

With spirits high and bellies full, we drove back through Beverly Hills towards Hollywood to our hotel where we inevitably ended our day. We had to wake up at 4AM the next morning to catch our flight so our time in LA was pretty much done.

In my nearly twenty years of being a die hard fan of film music I doubt such an experience will compare with the event on Saturday. It was an honor to be in the same room with so many talented film composers. It will be an experience I will never forget.

Here is a collection of pictures which was posted on ScoringSessions.com

http://www.scoringsessions.com/sessions/29800/

Thank you Varèse Sarabande and Happy 30th Birthday!

I just got home from another very successful trip to LA. It was a quick but extremely eventful 48 hours.

On this trip I decided to bring my Dad with me. He had never been to LA (he spent some time in Long Beach thirty-seven years ago but that's about it) so I thought it would be fun to show him around a little. LA is such a different world. I thought it would be good for him to get off the planet for a little bit.

We left early Friday morning and landed in LA without incident. We made it to the car rental agency and picked up the keys to my new Chrysler Sebring convertible. There was only one small hitch; it was actually overcast and somewhat cold in LA. What was that about?

We hit the road north towards Hollywood with the top up (59 degrees is a bit chilly to have the top down, even for me). I drove in and around Hollywood and approached it from the east. I showed Dad some of my favorite spots like Hollywood and Highland and a little bit of Sunset Blvd. We stopped off at a poster shop (I needed to buy two posters for the event tomorrow) but it was closed so we just walked around a bit. I showed Dad the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the hand and footprints outside of the Chinese Theater. We walked up and around the Kodak Theater as well.

I made a phone call to set up a lunch appointment with my friend Dan. We ate at our usual place...Sushi Dan on Sunset Blvd. and Crescent Heights near the old Virgin Music store which is now empty and gutted. We had a nice lunch, chatted about film music and the event tomorrow (maybe boring my Dad a little in the process) and then said our goodbyes.

After lunch, we made our way up to the Varèse Sarabande offices in Studio City. I had an appointment with the President of the label, Robert Townson at 1:30PM. It was a brief introduction meeting before the blessed event tomorrow.

As soon as I walked into the office the geek factor skyrocketed. Lining the walls of their offices were the original paintings by Matthew Joseph Peak used to grace the covers of so many Varèse Sarabande soundtrack releases. I found myself saying, that one is THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, that one is BORN FREE, that one is THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY, that one is THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. There were so many and I was in awe! I have 186 Varèse Sarabande titles in my own collection. To be at the office of the most prolific soundtrack label on the planet was truly a thrill.





I met briefly with Robert for about fifteen or twenty minutes. Again, it was mostly just a introduction meeting and a chance to go over what was in store for tomorrow. Lots of variables were up in the air so there were a lot of questions marks. There was already a lot of excitement in the air though. You could feel it.

After we left Varèse Sarabande the sun was out and shining brightly so we drove back down to Hollywood (top down, of course) and checked into our hotel. We had some time to kill before we headed off to the baseball game. The Houston Astros were in town playing the Los Angeles Dodgers and we were primped and primed to root the visiting team.

We left for the game and experienced some of the worst traffic either of us had ever seen since leaving Japan. It was insane! Being Friday evening I expected as much but still, this traffic was for the hall of fame of bad traffic. It took us thirty or forty minutes to go about two miles!

We actually got to the game about an hour before the first pitch. We grabbed dinner and found our seats nestled right up along the Astros bullpen. It was cool! We were both decked out in our red Astros jerseys with red hats. We stood out quite nicely from the sea of blue we found ourselves in the midst of. We got heckled a little bit but it was all in good fun.

The game was great! The Astros are on a tear and easily won the game 7-1. Always great to fly 2000 miles, spend $60 for tickets, $30 for food and get to see your team win. Incidentally, that was my first Astros game of the year.

After the game we were both wiped. We had been up about twenty hours so as soon as we got back to the hotel we hit the hay. The event the next day wasn't until 1PM so we were going to sleep in a bit. No rush to get up.

It was already a fantastic 24 hours: driving around LA, meeting with the legendary Robert Townson of Varèse Sarabande Records, and watching the Astros beat the Dodgers. As exciting and thrilling as that day was, I went to sleep thinking only of what the next 24 hours had in store for me.

...and it would blow away the first 24 hours!

When I was a boy my favorite show was undoubtedly SPEED RACER. It was like crack for kids. I couldn't get enough of it.

My main problem though was that it was strictly forbidden by my mother. She felt it too violent and had to take a stand which devastated me. My favorite show had become forbidden fruit. A show I already had to have became the one thing I couldn't have which only made me want to have it more. I had to sneak watch it at friends houses or when my mom was away. I remember switching the channel to catch glimpses of it while she was upstairs only to change the channel when she returned to the room.

I think the very fact that I couldn't watch it helped to build my love for the show which continues to this day.

It's funny looking back on it after all these years how tame it looks compared to other fare on television. I have every episode on DVD and have slowly introduced the series to my four year old. He loves it too.

What is it about this corny little show that is so attractive to boys? I can tell you one of the main reasons...the Mach Five! It's truly the coolest car ever designed and seeing it in action is what percolates the very essence of boyhood.

Well, tonight my son and I got to see an early screening of SPEED RACER (2008) with Emile Hirsch in the title role. It is an amazing film! I couldn't peel my eyes from the screen. It was kaleidoscopic, dizzying, explosive, and extremely well crafted. The greatest thing about the film is that it's not merely a spectacle. There's a heart to the film. You care about the characters and the story which the stunning visuals help enhance.

It also sports my favorite score of the year so far which was composed by Michael Giacchino. Truly an amazing effort! I miss film music like this.

To see a live-action movie with Speed Racer in his Mach Five is truly a boyhood wish come true. Had I seen something like this when I was seven it truly would've detonated my mind.

It nearly did as an adult.

Yay! I'm going back to Los Angeles for a quick in and out trip like the one I took last month. My plane leaves early Friday morning and I return on an early flight back to Austin on Sunday. I'm really relishing my Los Angeles trips and I can't wait to get back.

While I'm there I'm going to hook up with a few people, attend the Varese Sarabande 30th Anniversary Celebration in Burbank, and the Houston Astros will be in town playing the Dodgers so I will definitely catch at least one game if not two.

I'm bringing my Dad with me on this trip. He's never been to LA so I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to introduce him to the city. I'm very excited!

Oh! I also have a convertible reserved. Remember the rule: when in LA, one must rent a convertible.

I got an email from Will regarding an update on COWBOY SMOKE. I finished the film back in December and have been awaiting word as to its future plans. It seems that COWBOY SMOKE has places to go and people to see it. Here's an update:

I am excited to announce that we have entered into a partnership with LA-Based international sales agency Fantastic Films International, LLC to act as sales agent for Cowboy Smoke. Fantastic Films attends all of the major film markets and I have confidence in the owner of Fantastic Films, Roxanne Barbat and her partner Fred deWysocki, and am ready to relax and possibly start working on another project.

In addition to this Cowboy Smoke will have its first buyers screening at the Marche De Film in Cannes on May 15th at 8:30pm at PALAIS E (wherever that is). Fantastic Films had to pull a few strings to make this happen as screenings were supposed to be scheduled four weeks ago. If you happen to be in the French Rivera next month make sure to add the Cowboy Smoke screening to your travel plans.

Cool!

When I moved into my new studio in late January I didn't have internet access right away. In fact, I didn't have it at all for about three months! It's a long story but basically my lines don't go anywhere so I needed new ones installed. That still hasn't happened and its been very frustrating for me. So instead of staying frustrated, I took action.

I bought a Cantenna!

See, my neighbor gave me access to his network but my airport card couldn't pick up the signal so it was pretty much useless. I discovered the cantenna which is basically a long range wireless internet antenna based on a model that was first made using an emtpy Pringle's can.

It works. I'm showing a low "35%-weak" signal strength but it seems good enough for what I need to do. Internet pages are loading quickly, video streams are seamless, and so far it's all going well. I'm checking email, upgrading software, and chatting again for the first time in three months. This is my first post from my new studio and I couldn't be more relieved to finally be back on the net.

Imagine trying to live without a network connection at your office for three months.

Ya, it hasn't been fun.

Today I was the featured speaker in a series entitled CREATIVE INSIGHTS FROM THE AUSTIN FILM COMMUNITY as part of the UT Forum, a continuing education program held at the University of Texas. I was the last in a weekly series of speakers ranging from Gary Walker who does visual effects, screenwriter Ben Taylor, and my good friend Kat Candler who is a writer/director. It was a real honor for the Austin Film Society to ask me to come in and represent film music in Austin.

Today's lecture was about me and my career as a film composer in Austin. I'm actually very uncomfortable talking about myself when it's not expected. That's why in my classes, lectures, radio show, whatever it may be, I don't often talk much about me specifically.

But when it's expected, I LOVE IT! I could talk about me all day long. Today, it was just for an hour and then I fielded about thirty minutes of questions. The fifty to sixty attendees were enthusiastic about me being there and were very responsive to my talk. They had a lot of great questions and I got a lot of positive compliments afterwards. There were still hands raised when time was up which is always a bummer but it's a great sign that folks are truly interested in what you are saying.

I love public speaking, especially about film music. I find myself needing to do it periodically just to get it out of my system. Today was great!

Not much happened today other than my return trip to Austin. I woke up relatively early so that I wouldn't be rushed on my last morning in LA. I packed up, checked out of the hotel, put the top down one last time on my Sebring convertible, and headed out for breakfast.

I knew this trip I wanted to have breakfast at Doughboy's. Kat introduced me to this fine eatery the last time I was in LA. The bad news this trip however, is that the Doughboy's I knew on W 3rd. St. is now permanently closed. Bummer!

The good news is there is another location over on Highland closer to the heart of Hollywood.

Crisis averted. I got my great breakfast at Doughboy's and it didn't even screw up my schedule. I headed out to the airport after that and the rest was a smooth sail.

I'm really amazed how my LA trips are always so smooth and run like clockwork. I don't even really try that hard. Everything just seems to work out accordingly to plan and without any distracting incidents. This trip was just like that.

I already miss LA and will be hoping to return again in 2008. If I went out there again I could schedule another entire week of meetings. I'm making progress out there and fulfilling a lot of my goals for establishing a presence out there. So far, so good. I can't wait to go back!

Today was one of the great days I've had while in Los Angeles. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was shining bright, there was not a cloud to be found in the sky, and the temperature was hovering in 70s perfection. With the top down in my Chrysler Sebring convertible, I cruised Sunset and Hollywood Blvds. I needed a place to eat for lunch so one of the "to-do" items on my list was to head over to Pink's Hot Dogs on La Brea.



I first heard of Pink's while watching the Food Network during a special focusing on the best hot dogs in the country. They talked about Pink's sixty-plus year history and the icon that it has become. They also talked feverishly about the deliciousness off their hot dogs. Oh yeah, I've got to try that.

I was warned of the infamously long lines that you'll always encounter at Pink's but luckily for me it was only 11AM and the line wasn't too long. I think I had to wait about fifteen minutes which by Pink's standards is a quick in/out. I ordered a Huell Dawg (double dogs, double cheese, double chili) and a Mulholland Drive (10" stretch dog, bacon, nacho cheese, onions, and mushrooms). All I can say is "Wow!" There's a reason people stand in line an hour or more for a hot dog. I loved them both!

After that I headed over to Santa Monica where I had an appointment to meet with film music producer extraordinaire, Nick Redman. Nick is an avid and ardent Premier League Football fan and especially of his hometown Chelsea team. They were playing in a do or die match against Wigan Athletic and so I met with Nick at the Cock and Bull Pub in Santa Monica where he was watching the match. Being completely ignorant on Premier League Football, Nick laid it all out for me. What was at stake, what had to happen, and what it all meant to him and to fans.It was a real treat for me. I was probably the only American-accented chap in the whole pub.

Nick and I chatted at length and with great depth about film music. We spoke of our philosophies behind film music, it's current state, our favorite scores, composers, and even critiqued several hot-topic scores that have been talked and written about in recent months. Nick is a pioneer in the preservation of film music. I have probably close to one hundred CDs that he has produced in my own collection. I could've talked with Nick for hours but both of us had plans later on in the day and had to part ways.

After our meeting I headed back to Hollywood. I had some time to kill so I parked near Hollywood and Highland and did some shopping. I wanted to pick up something else for Holden and there was a poster shop nearby where I purchased three mini posters the last time I was in LA. They are placed along the right side of my computer set up and wanted three more to go along the left side. I picked out PSYCHO (1960), THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1955), and PATTON (1970). I also bought Holden blue t-shirt with the embolden Superman "S" logo on it.

One of the really cool things about driving around LA in April of 2008 is all the publicity billboards promoting exciting films like SPEED RACER (2008) and INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008).



I left downtown Hollywood and went back to my hotel for a quick recharge. Then I hit the road during the height of rush hour traffic and headed over to Dodger Stadium. I love baseball and wanted to take myself to a ballpark where I had never been before. The Dodgers were playing the Pirates. Now I'm an avid Houston Astros fan and so wasn't really rooting for either time since both are considered to rivals to the Astros. The way I saw it whoever lost would be good so it was a win/win situation for me.





The Dodgers lost 6-4 after their star closer Saito blew a 4-3 lead with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth.

After that I head back to my hotel and retired for the evening. I was heading back home again tomorrow and so my LA trip was nearly complete. I was ready to go home to see my family but was already salivating at the prospect of returning to LA soon.

...perhaps before the end of the year?

Last night I attended a live performance of music from the hit Sci-fi Network series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA conducted by its heralded composer, Bear McCreary. It was at the famed Roxy Theatre in downtown Hollywood on Sunset Blvd.



Although I've come to the show later than most (I'm currently experiencing the series on DVD and have not caught up to the current season yet), I am a huge fan. You don't normally look to television to find great scores but BATTLESTAR GALACTICA reaps some of the very best dramatic scoring you'll find anywhere. I was especially excited to have the opportunity to attend this rare and unprecedented sold-out event.

I have exchanged emails and phone conversations with Bear during the last year and a half and finally got to meet him for the first time last July when I was out in LA on business. Earlier today I got to hang out with Bear before the show and chat a little bit with him during the set-up and soundcheck. I even got to meet James Callis who plays Dr. Gaius Baltar on the show. He was the official host for the event.



From left to right: James Callis, Brian Satterwhite, Bear McCreary

The concert itself was magical. The twelve member ensemble jammed away to the rhythms and melodies that has helped make this show so popular. There was the seductive duduk, the thunderous taiko drums, an exquisite string quartet, shredding guitars, and ripping drums. To hear the music live and connect with the show in this way along with five hundred other passionate fans was an amazing experience.

After it was over, Bear and the rest of the ensemble signed copies of CDs for fans. Dummy me, I left my CDs back at the hotel so no autographs for me. Doh!

All in all it was a momentous occasion that I'll always remember for the rest of my life.

I've been awake just over twenty-two hours. I woke up at 5AM CST to catch my plan to LA which left at 7:10AM. I arrived in LA at 8:10AM PST and quickly got to my rental car. It was such a gorgeous I couldn't resist upgrading to a convertible. I figure, it's a quick trip, it's gorgeous in LA...I need a convertible.

I drove around town for a spell basically just killing time by reacquainting myself with Sunset Blvd. I stopped off at Amoeba Music and purchased CDs of PERSEPOLIS (2007), ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN (2006), and a deluxe two-disc set of GONE WITH THE WIND (1939). I also bought a CD of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968) for my son, Holden, who recently discovered the film on DVD.

After that I met up with Beth Krakower of Cinemedia Promotions, for lunch a small cafe on Sunset Blvd. I had exchanged known her only through emails and phone conversations during the past couple of years so it was great to finally meet face to face.

When lunch was wrapped up I headed over to my hotel to check-in. I was staying at the Park Plaza Lodge Hotel over on W 3rd St. Kat recommended it to me so I decided to give it a shot. After a quick hour or so of relaxation I got dressed and began to make my way over to the Roxy Theatre which was only about three miles from my hotel. Along the way, I stopped off at Carl's Jr. and got dinner. Yummy!

I'll cover the actual BATTLESTAR GALACTICA concert in my next post.

Today I took my son to the Alamo Drafthouse for the Saturday Morning Cartoon Cereal Party. It's two and a half hours of old Saturday morning cartoons coupled with all-you-can-eat sugar cereal. It was awesome!

We got there about a half hour early and already it was probably three-quarters full. There were around one hundred boxes of cereal lined up at the base of the movie screen where folks were already helping themselves to sugary sweet goodness. I started off with a bowl of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch while Holden had a bowl of Cookie Crisp...great choice if I do say so myself.

The cartoons were on a menu and it was audience choice as to what we saw. Throughout the afternoon we watched THUNDERCATS, SHE-RA, THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, THE SMURFS, GUMBY, HONG-KONG PHOOEY, and JEM! All classically rich, cheesy, and very nostalgic.

I followed up my Captain Crunch with a bowl of Froot Loops and then a bowl of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cereal. Holden had a bowl of Froot Loops and then Apple Jacks. Needless to say we were both hopped up on sugar upon the conclusion of the event. Ahhh! It felt like Saturday morning when I was a kid.

I'm a big fan of the Saturday morning cartoon experiences I had growing up. It's great that the Alamo has tried to capture and recreate it. They'll be doing more of these and I'm sure you'll find us back there to wallow in the decadence.

Now if the Alamo can just serve spoonfuls of peanut butter, my Saturday morning experience will be complete.

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to LA for a quick three day trip. I leave at 7AM Sunday and will be getting back to Austin around 5PM on Tuesday. Although my schedule isn't completely concrete, I do have a few meetings scheduled while I'm there.

On Sunday, I'm having lunch with a publicist and then later Sunday night I'll be attending a live performance of Bear McCreary's music from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA which is at the famed Roxy Theatre on Sunset Blvd. I met Bear the last time I was in LA and it will be great to hook up with him again. I'm a big fan of the show and of his music so attending this live concert is going to be a major cool experience for me.

On Monday I've got several options for meetings but haven't made any firm commitments yet. I'd like to try to attend the Dodgers game Monday night but we'll see.

It's not going to be a huge trip but it's going to be a fun one. I'm very much looking forward to it.

I realized my last post that I hadn't officially mentioned that the new title of THE WORKER is now QUARTER TO NOON. I actually came up with that one. Kat and I were brainstorming ideas and I fell upon this one. It's actually got a triple meaning to it which is why I like it. It's cryptic yet completely revealing at the same time. Always good attributes when searching for a good title.