• Movies/Entertainment,  Music Review

    Music Review…Scott Pilgrim Truly ‘Takes Off’ Thanks to Anamanaguchi and Joseph Trapanese

    The animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off gets us back into the wonderful, wild and insanely colorful world of Bryan Lee O’Malley‘s original graphic novels. Our first entry point to this universe was Edgar Wright‘s 2010 film which lovingly adapted those works. It was awesome – filled to the brim with Wright’s style and charm, yet the great live-action film retained the 2D atmosphere of the books. Now fast-forward more than a decade later and Netflix dropped this incredibly reverent and all encompassing eight-part animated series. It cherry picks the best from O’Malley’s ideas and Wright’s film (including the voice cast who return to reprising their roles) to expand/explore the…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Composer Kate Simko on Awareness and Acceptance in ‘Underplayed’

    American composer, electronic music producer, and leader of her ensemble London Electronic Orchestra, Kate Simko blends distinctive influences from her hometown, Chicago, and formal training in classical piano and jazz. Kate’s music has been licensed by ABC Television, Victorinox, and Giorgio Armani, and she has written original music for films, commercials and shows featured on the BBC, Netflix and PBS.  After graduating Northwestern University’s music school Kate’s career started in Los Angeles interning on feature films, and then took a surprise turn as her live electronic music career took off. She spent her twenties performing at revered clubs and festivals across the globe, from underground venues in Berlin and Tokyo…

  • Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Brian McNelis Discusses Vinyl Releases at Lakeshore Records and Experiences in the Music Industry

    Thanks largely to a trip to Record Store Day in 2014, I have become an increasing fan of soundtrack releases on vinyl…and I’ve never looked back. You may have your own go-to retailers, and while a significant portion of my collection is comprised of Mondo titles, Lakeshore Records (the independent music division of Lakeshore Entertainment) remains a notable force that issues some of the most vibrant, stunning, and downright bad-ass releases you’ve ever seen. We spoke to the company’s Senior Vice President of Music and Soundtracks, Brian McNelis, about his day-to-day with Lakeshore. As you might expect, after scanning through the hefty number of releases on the Lakeshore Records website,…