Orchestrator, Composer, Arranger, and Producer
The Haunt of a Lizard-Orchestral Version
May 11th
Here is an orchestral piece I just finished. I had originally written it for a string quintet and decided to blow it up and write it out for a full orchestra. I had the opportunity to conduct and record it at mix one studios here in Boston, MA. Enjoy!
Instrumentation:
2 flutes
2 oboes
2 clarinets
2 bassoons
2 french horns
1 flugel horn
1 glockenspiel
1 Harp
18 violin (9 first 9 second)
9 viola
3 cello
3 double bass
The Haunt of a Lizard
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HalfStepup.com: a music community
Jan 31st
Free online music lessons. Sounds incredible right? And yes, I said FREE! Halfstepup.com was founded by Kristian H, Daniel Jayo and Mason Razavi and is comprised of forums, articles, and video lessons that cover everything from Rudiments and guitar soloing to songwriting and music business! Musicians of all levels can enjoy reading up on the music industry, tips on practice techniques or learning a thing or two(or three) about music theory! “HSU is a community of musicians, all communicating, learning, and sharing ideas with each other on the internet…” Unlike many other video lessons or book route, members at Halfstepup.com have the opportunity to post questions and have more of an interactive music learning experience. Its like having a private instructor in your home. The attitude at Halfstepup.com is passionate and dedicated to teaching and exposing music knowledge to everyone.
The Scoop
Jan 30th
This is a project I worked on a while ago with Director David A. Daniels. It is a comedy about the grueling facts of working in the customer service industry and takes place in a mom and pop ice cream shop on the manager Zach’s last day of work. I wrote and arranged this song and Kristian H. produced it. It is a hybrid production using both midi sequencing and live instruments.
The Scoop
Let the Record Play…Again!
Dec 15th
I recently had the opportunity to arrange one of my electronic songs for a 7 piece band. This new version of my song “Let the Record Play” features two guitars (acoustic/electric) synthesizer, piano, bass, drums and vocals. I had it recorded at mix one studios here in Boston and produced it myself. I just finished the mix and am really happy with the finished product!
Let the Record Play (fullbandversion)
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6 second samples can influence the music of the world!
Dec 12th
This video is an interesting commentary on the use of samples today.
Mouth Music
Nov 24th
Native Instruments hits the nail on the head with making any musician feel comfortable making music on a computer. I have recently been getting into Kontakt’s (3) sampler. Like anything NI seems to put out its easy and alot of fun to use. One of many features is the “Zone Envelope Editor” a new and reworked wave editor in Kontakt in which you can draw envelopes directly in the sample waveform. Pretty convenient if you ask me. I was talking to my friend Jon Victorino about its capabilities and he and I decided to have some fun with it. Jon and I live about 3,000 miles apart (give or take a few hundred) and he came up with the idea of recording random sounds on his Mac Book Pro and put me up to the challenge of making something musical out of it. He emailed me a minute long audio file containing some of the random sounds he made at his desk and in about a half hour “Mouth Music” was what I had came up with. This being my first time using Kontakts Sampler one might notice how easy it is to get a grasp of the sampler. Kontakt 3 (and I am sure the same goes for 4) is fun to use and extremely intuitive. It’s sleek user interface design makes Kontakt feel like an instrument and not just another piece of music software. All the sounds on the following track were recorded using only the built in microphone on Jon’s Mac Book Pro.
mouthmusic
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Pomplamoose
Nov 18th
Pomplamoose is really a breath of fresh air! I had a friend tell me that he liked them because they are showing the viewer/listener how the song is developing with their creatively edited videos and I have to agree. They do a range of originals to very well arranged and unique covers such as “beat it” by Micheal Jackson and “All the Single Ladies” by Beyonce. Being a native of San Jose, I couldn’t help but grow attached to “Hail Mary”(the video below) but I strongly suggest checking out the duo’s other material. You can download all the covers they do for free(awesome) from their myspace page and/or buy their originals for only 9.99! Very reasonable for great music. I really think they are on to something with adding a visual element to the arrangement of songs. I think you’ll see what I am talking about. Their videos always make me feel good.
Bad Romance
Nov 17th
Its great to see a pop artist really pushing the boundaries, being different and writing songs as in your face as ‘Bad Romance’ these days. So far I think this is the best from Lady Gaga and am pleased to see her music getting more interesting with the release of her sophomore record. Not to mention, I really dig the canon in the beginning. She’s a smart one!!
