This year has taken a toll on all of us, and yet one constant has surfaced: family can get us through almost anything. Or maybe it’s that we’re more likely to survive Covid than our families? Either way, even though every family has its problems, we’re certainly better together than we are apart. As such, Hillbilly Elegy is about family and a whole lot more. The film adaptation of the best-selling book is directed by Ron Howard and, like all his films, there’s a real emotion weight because the story highlights the struggles and triumphs of characters who are broken or about to break. Helping give this tale its heart…
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Interview…Nick Urata on DeVotchKa, Unique Instruments and ‘The True Adventures of Wolfboy’
Formed in Denver by multi-instrumentalists Nick Urata (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Tom Hagerman (violin, accordion), Jeanie Schroder (sousaphone, bass), and percussionist Shawn King, DeVotchKa is a four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. Originally a backing group for local burlesque shows, they take their name from the Russian word meaning “girl” and recorded their debut album, SuperMelodrama, in 2000. The band finds their groove as a cross-pollination of numerous influences, and styles of gypsy punk, dark cabaret, indie folk, and indie rock. We spoke to Urata about his amazing career which has been just as varied and unique as his musical tastes. Nick comes from a musical family and his love of music…
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Interview…Composer Jeremy Turner on Saying Yes to Everything and ‘Marvel’s 616’ Docuseries
Composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Turner is known for creating innovative and diverse music for the moving image and the stage. He is a two time EMMY nominee, has won the Music + Sound Award, the International Documentary Association Award, the AICP Award, and has been named in NPR Music’s Favorite Songs of the Year. Jeremy recently completed scores for shows on Disney+, HBO, and Netflix. Jeremy began his musical studies on the piano at the age of 5 and started playing the cello when he was 8 years old. After growing up in Michigan, he attended The Juilliard School as a pupil of Harvey Shapiro and studied chamber music with…
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Interview…John Debney on Holiday Magic and the Spirit of Adventure
John Debney is a composer we’ve admired for years, and were lucky enough to speak with him in 2013 about his work on Bonnie & Clyde. This year, he’s got two projects that give him a fanciful canvas to weave his magic. In Come Away, the fantasy drama directed by Brenda Chapman blends key elements from Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. In this emotional ‘what if?’ story, Debney employs lush strings, tender piano, playful cellos, angelic choral work, even a full Irish band. All of those pieces blend and dance while underscoring the children’s active imaginations or, conversely, can pretty near break your heart…even in the same cue. Yes,…
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Interview…Genevieve Vincent on ‘The Broken Hearts Gallery’ and Charting Her Own Musical Course
Earlier this month, we got to have a wonderful chat with composer Genevieve Vincent about her work on film music, concert music, and as music producer. She most recently completed scoring the Sony romantic comedy The Broken Hearts Gallery and Moving Art “Hokkaido” for Netflix for which she wrote a Japanese inspired orchestral hybrid score. Born in Vancouver, BC, based in Los Angeles, Vincent studied the Suzuki violin method, and was a student of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Vancouver. She went on to attend Berklee College of Music where she graduated with a dual major in Film Scoring and Composition and studied privately under concert music composer Alla Elena…
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Interview…Alexander Bornstein on Transformers and the Sounds of Cybertron
Alexander Bornstein is an award-winning composer currently based in Los Angeles. His music can be currently heard in television, independent films, feature films, web series, and documentaries. Alexander has also been at the forefront of new multimedia platforms such as composing music for Doug Liman’s Invisible, one of the earliest series produced for virtual reality. Recent works include First to the Moon: The Journey of Apollo 8 and additional music for numerous TV series including The Boys and Lost in Space. He is currently scoring the upcoming Netflix Original Anime Series Transformers War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege. Over the years, Alexander’s work has brought him through major music studios including…
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Music Review…’Avengers: Infinity War + Endgame’ Behemoth Box Set
Alan Silvestri is one of our very favorite composers, and his contributions to film are nearly unparalleled. When it was announced that Mondo and Hollywood Records would be releasing the complete scores to Infinity War and Endgame on vinyl, the only thing better than that would be to have the Time Stone so we could actually get it sooner – good news is that it was well worth the wait. We are thrilled to review this box set as Silvestri’s music spins on our turntable, and, trust me, these albums are not to be missed! One of the reasons we love Silvestri’s work is that he has an absolute knack…
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Interview…Composer Joe Trapanese Talks Orchestration and Composition of Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, The Raid and Lady and the Tramp
This year, Tron: Legacy celebrates turns 10, and a huge part of that film was the amazing music from Daft Punk – it was the duo’s first film score and quite an endeavor for all involved. The combination of electronic and orchestral music seemed like a long shot, but if anyone could stick the landing, it was probably them. Truth be told, they had help from a young Joseph Trapanese and Bruce Broughton as well as two years to collaborate and work their magic. As far as we’re concerned, the world is a lot better with that music in it. So in this installment of our podcast series – one…
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Interview…Composer Paul Leonard-Morgan on High Energy, Cyberpunk, and Philip Glass
Over the years, we’ve spoken to lots of people in the entertainment business, and neither our good friend Bryan Kluger (of BoomStickComics) nor myself have met many individuals with the all-out energy and enthusiasm that Paul Leonard-Morgan exudes. No joke. The Scottish composer is a delight to speak with and you can tell he doesn’t just love his job…he realllly loves it and that comes through in how he describes his process (using analog synthesizers), his projects (Disney Test Track at Epcot Center and Limitless), and his collaborators (Alex Garland, Mark Romanek). He loves life, cares for everyone, has great taste in film and scores, and he even coined a catchphrase…
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Interview…Composer Joseph Stephens on Danny McBride, HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, and “Misbehavin'”
This week, we got to hang out with North Carolina-based multi-instrumentalist, film score composer, and songwriter Joseph Stephens. He’s got a lot of experience in TV and film and one of the gems in Stephens’ in his crown is the a little ditty called “Misbehavin‘” otherwise known as the most unlikely of upbeat bangers featured in The Righteous Gemstones, HBO’s breakout series from series creator Danny McBride. Stephens is the composer behind the show and has worked with McBride many times; their relationship goes back to their college days. Stephens composed and co-wrote the original song with McBride and Edi Patterson (who both star in the series). The twangy, fun-loving song…
