I'm an American composer for film, television and video games, and a session and live drummer for radio and records.
I'm also very passionate about creating resources for and providing mentoring opportunities to creative artists all over the world. I am founder and editor-in-chief of SCOREcast, the popular online consortium of global film music and post-production professionals. I author the creative resource The Conversation, which is distributed monthly to more than 550 subscribers across all disciplines of the creative arts space.
I speak internationally to creative artists about the convergence of art and business.
I'm interested in working with incredible people who love to initiate extraordinarily creative projects. If that resonates with you, please get in touch and let's do something great together!
Yesterday was an interesting day. After a pretty lengthy discussion with a handful of you in a Google+ Hangout about the topic of yesterday's post, I received some emails and saw several G+ comments about my statement "There is no such thing as a self-made man." Some people were a little defensive of that, explaining to me that they, in actuality, have carved out their careers on their own and that for me to take that away from them not only stems from an assumption I'm making based on my experience, but it's also just a crappy thing to say. I was pretty clear on my views about why I feel the way I do about the "self-made" proclamation, both in the post and in the chat that followed it, but I will admit there were some salient points made that challenged me to think a little more critically. I began having some second thoughts on...
Coming home after creatives meetings to this news is not only surreal, but sobering. As I unpack my Macbook Pro and iPhone and sit down to crank up Logic Studio and add a few necessary updates to iCal—Wow—I realize that the impact Steve Jobs has had on me cannot be summed to only a few words. I feel as though I've lost someone who has looked out for me for the last twenty years. His work has played a large role in allowing me the freedom to pursue my dreams and realize personal and professional happiness in many ways. One thing about great creators is that they never stop creating. There's no question that whatever he had up his sleeve next will be infinitely cooler given the resources he now has available. You can almost hear him—"I think it's going to be really incredible!" I miss him already. Rest in...
At many times in my career, I've stopped to ponder just what or where the seeds of my professional interests originated from. Was I a drummer first? A rhythmic soul who just had to get the pulsations that were playing inside my head out and through the tips of my fingers? Maybe I was first intrigued by melody—determined to search the endless possibilities of a catchy and memorable tune. What about film and television? I have always been fascinated by how media is created—from how they made-up Lou Ferrigno to look like the Hulk to how Lucas filmed the Death Star from certain angles that insured it would look larger than life on a 40-foot screen. In analyzing my own artistic path, I've realized that there were two distinct facets to my upbringing, and each of them makes perfect sense when I think about my passions as an adult: Creativity and Business. As with most Creatives, the...
We ALL remember where we were that day. I was out on the Oregon ocean in a small crabbing boat with my father and one of my best friends, Chris "Wolfie" Wolf. In the chaotic days leading up to my departure from Oregon to Los Angeles to embark on my pursuit of a film music career, Chris had convinced me that a day of crabbing out on the Oregon coast was just what the doctor ordered. I hinted around pretty hard that what the doctor really ordered was more along the lines of sleeping in until around 10 o'clock and then maybe, if I felt like it, cooking up some eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Instead I was told, "Wolfie don't play dat! Be here at 4am, Lazy Ass. We're freakin' going!" Chris arranged everything, from the just-brewed coffee and fresh donuts to our lunch and all the gear. When Pops and I rolled up to Chris'...
I'm hanging out with my Dad this week in LA just having one-on-one time with him before the beginning of the next leg of creative mayhem begins in the Musicave. This morning, he took me to a business networking breakfast meeting that he attends twice a month. I met some really awesome people who are all at the top of their fields and are passionate about growing their businesses by helping each other grow theirs. A very cool "pay-it-forward" group of folks. As we came away from the breakfast, I told Dad that the coolest thing about it wasn't being asked to stand up, introduce myself, and talk about the projects I'm doing or any of my latest travels or adventures. The coolest part was telling people about the remarkable relationship I have with my Dad and how, without he and my Mom's encouragement and support all my life, I wouldn't...
