Tell us all about you...

I grew up in the midwest of the USA—St. Louis, Missouri—and moved to San Francisco immediately after high school to pursue a career in music. I'd been playing in SF post-punk bands for a few years when I sent some instrumental film score demos to a friend who was making a film (director Alex Cox, film Sid & Nancy). The director embraced my demos and the next thing I knew I had a credit in a highly acclaimed cult movie. Not long after, the band went on a permanent back-burner and I've been doing soundtracks ever since. Early on I mostly did Los Angeles based film projects, but eventually I had more work here in San Francisco doing music and sound design for advertising and corporate branding. In recent years my practice has expanded to include music and sound design for contemporary dance, gallery and museum installations, and dark rides (aka themed entertainment).
 

What’s something inspiring you’ve seen this week?

I visited the set of an ambitious stop-motion animation project that I will be working on. The foresight and planning that goes into stop-motion filmmaking is staggering – not to mention the patience! The dedication that animators have to the process and creativity makes me want to up my game as an artist.
 

How do you prepare before a job? Tell us about your process for the Little Caesars sizzle reel. 

On big projects, my first step is to clean the house and the studio. Not only do I know I might not have time for domestic details for a while, but the time spent on menial tasks allows my brain to ruminate quietly on the project in the background, so I'm more prepared when I do sit down to work.
 
The process for the Little Caesars reel was somewhat different from many other music/sound design jobs. Unlike most projects, there were no initial examples, temp-music or sound designs as direction. The only audio I had going in was a file of the iconic “Pizza Pizza” sound-logo. I had a call with Turner Duckworth and the animator Jonathan Warner where we went over what they wanted the reel to convey and various approaches I might try, but mostly they just wanted to hear options based on my response to the images and animation. After going back and forth with several musical studies TD zeroed in on the Roman-Surf-60's-Sitcom-Kitch direction we went with.

What is the weirdest thing you’ve had to create? 

I was the official composer and music editor for the U.S. Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team for three years running. Not the weirdest music I've created per se, but definitely the weirdest gig and creative experience.
 

 

Best advice for someone who wants to become a sound designer or something you wish you knew when just starting out? 

“It's all who you know.” Almost everything good that's come to me in my professional life has come from personal relationships. My advice is to find like-minded people in your field who are also starting out (directors, picture editors, animators etc), and forge creative relationships with them. As their career develops so might yours. It worked for me!

 

 

Something you cannot live without? 

Fluevogs. They're the only shoes I own. I'm on my fifth consecutive pair.

 

 

Last emoji you used? 

🥔

 

 

Describe your work in three words. 

Air pressure matters.