Blogging Muses

Chatting It Up With: Blind Pilot

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:29:49 +0000

To an outsider, it might sound like I’m hitting on Israel Nebeker throughout this chat without the Blind Pilot frontman, and that’s probably because I might have been. I’ll let you decide. Either way, this bashful bike-lover was affable and sweet, working hard to answer my scattered questions about marshmallows and songwriting, all while maintaining the cordiality to laugh at all my mediocre jokes. You may have heard of Blind Pilot (Nebeker, Ryan Dobrowski, Luke Ydstie, Kati Claborn, Ian Krist, Dave Jorgensen) when you read about a crazy band doing a bike tour from the Northwest Coast down to Southern California. Or maybe you saw them open for The Decemberists on Israel’s birthday where a giant teddy bear floated onto the stage last year. The 6-piece group that started years ago as a duo has turned heads over the course of the past several years, releasing its second folk-sex-dream-pop album We Are The Tide this past fall. They’ve now garnered opening slots with The Shins & Dave Matthews Band, and they are playing every single festival known to man this summer. Wherever you go, Blind Pilot will be there first, and probably on a bike. Israel and I worked our way through a labyrinth of questions, allowing him time to find the words to describe some of intricacies of his lyrics and how his songwriting has evolved over time. It’s challenging to describe such a creative process sometimes, but he laid out the basics for me. “I write the bare bones of the songs with me playing them on guitar, and then I bring them to the band and everybody writes their own parts.” Israel struggled to find the words to describe some of his process, since, as you can imagine, it’s far from a practiced science or a cookie-cutter repetition. “It’s a hard one to answer because it does change a lot. Sometimes a chord progression will click and a melody will be in there, and it will just be chords first, melody, and then I just have to sit down and figure out what it’s about…with lyrics. Often times though, and usually the more naturally sounding songs, the more successful ones, the lyrics come right away with the melody. And probably just something that doesn’t make much sense, just sort of nonsense, and usually I almost always say to myself... I’m going to get rid of those as soon as I think of better lyrics. But I always end up being unable to get rid of them, and try to figure out a way that maybe makes sense.” Yet the moments of nonsensical lyricism and changing methods paid off. The band gained quite a following when its debut album climbed up to #13 on the Billboard Digital Album Charts, and between the group’s first and second album, Israel acknowledged that the writing process evolved. “I think the biggest thing for me was just knowing that anybody would hear a song if I wrote it. I had hoped that people would relate to songs that I write, but mostly I’d be thinking of my sister and friends and maybe a handful of people that I didn’t know that might come to a show randomly. But it’s really different when you know that there are a lot of people that will hear it. And that’s a wonderful thing -- it’s awesome -- I’m not complaining at all, but I had to figure out some solutions... I guess reminding myself why I’m writing songs and who they’re for.” We Are The Tide dropped in September and Israel admits that writing some of the album was “kind of nerve-wracking.” The band had come to a point where it was no longer simply their family and friends who might be listening to the songs; if you take a glance at their upcoming tour dates, it’s obvious there are quite a few more people than close relatives anticipating their music. Despite the growing crowds, Israel is adamant about one sentiment. “The biggest thing is connecting to people in the towns we go to,” which changes when the band goes from the approachability of rolling into venues on bike and pulling up in a re-vamped vintage school bus. And while I didn’t ask about their one-of-a-kind touring vehicle, I can assume the band played a large role in its restoration, as they truly are a group of creative artists. Ryan, the group’s drummer, designed the cover art for the album, Israel did the lyrics book, and the rest of the group works to write each of their own instrument’s part after Israel writes the bulk of the song. “We all do the arrangement in the same room, together, sitting down seeing what works with all six of us. I mean, like, I would never write a trumpet part for Dave, because he knows way better how a trumpet would sound its best..." This kind of collaborative process resonates in We are the Tide; its shining moments make it obvious why the group is playing everywhere you might not be this summer. The lyrics are mysterious and poignant, and the live show allows for intimate moments when Blind Pilot often walks off of the stage and into the crowd. Israel reflected on some of his favorite tracks and live performances off of We Are the Tide. “I think, of course they’re different and they’re more meaningful in different ways. I’m always kind of amazed when we play the song ‘We are the Tide,’... how much that song, so much more than other songs, really connects people to what we’re doing... and us to them. And I love that moment when that happens in a show. As far as personally, and what they mean to me, I’d say ‘White Apple’ is my favorite.” Still, one of the most intriguing stories behind Blind Pilot’s songwriting comes from a tale about the title track from the debut album, “Three Rounds and a Sound.” The lyrics are memorable and a bit odd, and interestingly enough, were inspired by a bike magazine and a moment where Israel’s cousin asked him to play a Bright Eyes song at his wedding. Yes, a Bright Eyes song at a wedding. Seems morbid, right? Yet it helped create something beautiful. “I was working at a bike shop in Hawaii, and I was reading a bicycling magazine about this specific kind of bike... and they’re just everywhere all over China. And that phrase three rounds and a sound was in this article. And it was just basically making a point about how important bicycles are... And it had to do with when a newlywed couple is getting married they need three things to start their new life together. No wait, four things. They need a round, a bicycle wheel, the round of a clock face, the round of a sewing spool, and the sound of a radio. These are just the practical things, the objects, they need. That just struck me as kind of odd and kind of neat…just how practical it was.” Later on, when he was asked to do an impromptu performance of Conor Oberst’s “First Day of My Life” at a wedding, Israel was able to build on his idea, finding a connection between the phrase ‘three rounds and a sound’ and the concept of a couple having ‘their own song.’ You can’t argue with the thoughtfulness behind these (and many other Blind Pilot) lyrics -- whether they always make sense to listeners or not. And even though Israel plays Bright Eyes songs at weddings and wants to resurrect Elliott Smith as a songwriter, he’s far from a dark soul. We were able to intermittently chat about some of the more lighthearted things in life like carrot juice, Bob Marley, the fact that no one in the band is single, and how Gator is a slightly less ridiculous name for a child than Bullitt. And, as our time together winded down, we played a familiar game that probably only I find fun, Rapid Fire. Weirdest place you’ve ever written a song? Completely lost in the woods. (No, this is not a mistake -- both The Lumineers and Blind Pilot write songs in the woods.) Best ‘newer’ band you’ve gotten into? They’ve been around for a while making music, but, The Barr Brothers. Best Beatles song? “Something.” Worst Beatles song? “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” which is a great song by the way. Worst part of playing a festival? The Sound. The stage sound. Best part of playing a festival? The People. And the people are truly who will matter to Blind Pilot as they prepare to embark on an extensive summer tour that has them stopping at Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Firefly Festival and Lollapalooza. Swing by with a glass of carrot juice, a bike lock, and a lust for delicious indie folk and everyone will end summer happily.

News: 10 Questions: Rolfe Kent

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:57:47 +0000

Rolfe Kent, composer of Sideways, About Schmidt, Up in the Air and the theme for TV's Dexter, is this year's recipient of BMI's Richard Kirk Award for career achievement. Kent's penchant for finding fresh sounds, and his delicate musical touch for films that combine both comedy and drama, have made him a sought-after composer in Hollywood -- despite the fact that he is largely self-taught and his degree is in psychology, not music. The English composer's many other films of the past 15 years include Election, Legally Blonde, Kate & Leopold, Mean Girls, Wedding Crashers, Reign Over Me and The Hunting Party. But he's not just a film composer. He loves dabbling in other fields. His next project is producing a graphic novel -- which he describes as "romantic, epic and operatic" -- and creating a musical soundtrack to accompany it. There's no film involved, although he says he's thinking of turning it into "immersive theater." BMI posed a few questions on the eve of his acceptance of the Richard Kirk Award:

1. How do you feel about receiving the prestigious Kirk Award?
That's a complex question. There's something in me that always thought, "You get that kind of award if you're part of the establishment, not a young turk like me." So now I have to reappraise my status. It's very nice and generous of BMI to single me out.

2. You've scored nearly 50 feature films. How do you stay fresh?
It's always a challenge to try and discover something that will make a contribution. I'm not terribly interested in simply turning up the volume. It's always about what didn't make it from the screenplay to the screen, and how can music help with that? The film is the film, and you can't trample on it -- but you can invade it. It may seem cheeky or bold, I'm not sure which, but it's what I like to do.

3. Your degree is in psychology. Has that been helpful in what you now do for a living?
I did manage to do my final dissertation in "mood induction using music." I strongly and passionately believe that what we're really doing is wrangling emotion. We as composers need to forget about "writing music" and focus on what it is that's going to induce a certain emotional state.

4. Some of your films, such as About Schmidt and Up in the Air, tell complex emotional stories that aren't simply comedic or dramatic. How have you handled these?
There's a lot of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. What's great is when you have a director who is open to all sorts of things. Alexander Payne in particular is hugely collaborative. He's open to all sorts of possibilities. There is a lot of music written, he sorts through it, and he chooses things. But it's complicated; it just comes down to heart.

5. What's the most fun about your job?
The most fun is always the moment of discovery, the moment that it all fits together. I'm generally alone in a room with the film and my instruments, suddenly trying something and it just thrills me. I'm full of anticipation as to what the director will make of it, because it's often nothing that we discussed. So in a way it feels very naughty.

6. What can we expect from you in the coming months?
I've finished Gambit, with Colin Firth and Alan Rickman. It's a bit jazzy, a bit mischievous, and a bit Henry Mancini. It's coming out early next year. I'm also working on a French film called The Scapegoat. And then hopefully I'm working on Jason Reitman's next film, a beautiful story called Labor Day.

7. If you weren't a composer, what would you do?
I love audio. For years I was interested in doing radio theater, sound textures and things. I wouldn't want to be a recordist or mixer, but dealing with audio is very intriguing to me.

8. Why did you choose BMI?
For years I was a PRS composer and I could choose who, in the States, I dealt with, so I randomly switched between the two [BMI and its main U.S. competitor]. But over the years I developed such a good relationship with [Vice President, Film/TV Relations] Doreen Ringer Ross, and so enjoy and profit from her point of view. I didn't have to think about it.

9. What's your favorite live-music venue?
It used to be Kenwood Bowl in North London, and it still would be if they didn't use amplification. There is a lake right in front of the bowl, and then a grassy bank [that could accommodate] 10,000 to 15,000 people and their picnics. You could just lie under the stars and hear the music float across the lake.

10. What advice would you give to composers just starting out?
Let enthusiasm and creativity be your guide. And also be polite.

Kris Allen Gets Free

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:54:38 +0000

If there’s one thing Kris Allen learned from American Idol, it was how to make use of his time. On a weekly basis he was charged with the task of what he describes as “cramming the journey of a song into a minute thirty.” This skill served him well when he came out on top in the show’s eighth season and followed it up with his Billboard-charting eponymous debut album. But when Allen started work on his sophomore album, Thank You Camellia, he decided to do something different and take his time. “I wanted this one to be what I wanted it to be,” Allen says. “I wanted to get a little bit more personal with it.” So Allen spent some time writing songs and sleeping on friends’ couches in north Los Angeles. This experience brought about the album’s name. “I was trying to think ‘What has been the constant throughout making this album?’” he says. “And there’s a place I stay out here in L.A. and it’s on a street called Camellia. Those people mean a lot to me so I wanted to send a little thank you to them.” While Allen says the album isn’t a huge departure from his signature sound, he did take explore some new territory. “There’s a song on the record called ‘Monster,’” he says. “Lyrically and idea-wise, I don’t think anyone has heard anything like that from me before.” To help promote the album Allen played a now infamous impromptu show on the pier in Santa Monica. “I was like ‘might as well, I’m not doing anything else,’” Allen says. The show started off innocently enough. “It was fun,” Allen says. “I started taking some requests.” But as word got out that an American Idol winner was playing a free show and the crowd started to thicken, Allen was approached by police for not having a permit and forced to end the show abruptly. “Someone was like ‘Dude, that’s rock & roll,’ and I was like ‘Well, I guess,’” he said. “If I would have gotten actually arrested, then that might have actually been a little better.” Later on Allen’s mother tweeted about the incident and included the hashtag #FreeKrisAllen, which soon became a trending topic on twitter. Allen says fans will get the chance to hear the new songs uninterrupted when he tours behind Thank You Camellia this summer. The album will be released May 22, and Allen says that taking his time really paid off. “I was taking a drive the other day and I listened to it and I was smiling,” he said. “As long as I’m happy, I feel like I’ve done my job.”

Bonnie Raitt Rocks The Ryman

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:29:05 +0000

Four Things You Can Do To Improve Your Odds in Film/TV Placements

Don — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:09:57 +0000

Contributed by: Cliff Goldmacher (www.EducatedSongwriter.com)

Having had the good fortune of song placements in both films and television shows, I can safely say there is no magic bullet when it comes to how to make this happen. That being said, there are certainly things that you, as a songwriter, can do to improve your odds. I’ve listed a few of these below.

1. Make sure your song is professionally recorded and performed

This may sound obvious but there is absolutely no wiggle room for a poorly sung, performed or recorded version of your song when you’re pitching to film and TV. You’ve only got one chance to make a first impression. Put yourself in the position of the music supervisor or studio executive who is listening to hundreds of songs for a project. If the recording – no matter how well written the song may be – sounds like it was done by amateurs, you’re biasing the listener against you before they’ve even given your melody and lyric consideration. It’s one thing to write a great song but if you’d like someone to give you money for it, then you have to invest the money necessary to present your song in the best possible light.

2. Do your homework

It doesn’t make sense to randomly send out songs in the hope that one will get placed. Find out which music supervisors are looking for which shows or films. There are industry pitch sheets and magazines with all kinds of information about who is looking for what. Get familiar with them and mark yourself as a professional by making targeted pitches. Unfortunately, no one’s going to do this work for you.

3. Make sure you have complete ownership of the recording

In order to give permission to a film or TV show to use your music, you’ll need to own your recording. This means filling out the necessary releases with any session musicians/singers involved in the project and being sure that the studio where you have recorded has given you full ownership of the master recording. Make absolutely certain your pitch plans aren’t derailed by finding out (after the fact) that the singer or players aren’t willing to give you permission to use their recorded performances in this manner. Music supervisors often have very little time to get songs cleared for use in a film or TV show and it will mark you as a pro if you can let them know at the outset that everything is “free and clear” for their use.

4. Get Known For A Style

It’s a good thing to be able to write in a variety of styles but you (and your music) will be easier to remember if you become known for providing one particular style and doing it well. Music supervisors are often asked to gather songs in a specific style of music so if you’ve established yourself as a “go to person” for that style, you’ve got a greater chance of being remembered when the time comes.

Conclusion

When it comes to getting songs in film and TV, there is absolutely no substitute for doing the work. By “the work,” I mean all of the things I’ve mentioned above. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to simply be a great songwriter. You need to be a savvy businessperson who is willing to take care of the unromantic, day in and day out details of having a career in order to succeed. That being said, there is no greater thrill than turning on your TV or going to a theater and hearing one of your songs playing. It somehow makes all your effort worthwhile.

Good luck!

Bio

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter including a brand new HD video series available now.

Cliff’s company, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” here.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: edusongwriter

News: 60th Annual BMI Student Composer Award Winners Announced

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:19:34 +0000

Nine young classical composers, ages 16 to 27, have been named winners in the 60th Annual BMI Student Composer Awards. Composer and Jury member Joseph Schwantner, BMI President and CEO Del Bryant and BMI Foundation President Ralph N. Jackson announced the decisions of the jury and presented the awards at a reception held May 11, 2012 at the Jumeirah Essex House Hotel in New York City.

The award-winners for 2012 are:

Ryan Chase (age 25, studies at Indiana University) Joshua Fishbein (age 27, studies at the University of California Los Angeles) Andrew Hsu (age 17, studies at the Curtis Institute of Music) Laura M. Kramer (age 27, studies at the University of Southern California) Joseph E. Lyszczarz (age 25, studies at Bowling Green State University) Philippe Macnab-Séguin (age 19, studies at Vanier College) Michael D. Parsons (age 16, studies at The Juilliard School, Pre-College Division) Daniel Temkin (age 25, studies at the Curtis Institute of Music) Roger Zare (age 26, studies at the University of Michigan)

The BMI Student Composer Awards recognize superior creative talent and winners receive scholarship grants to be applied toward their musical education. In 2012, more than 700 manuscripts were submitted to the competition from throughout the Western Hemisphere, and all works were judged under pseudonyms. Cash awards totaled $20,000. Andrew Hsu was the named the winner of the William Schuman Prize, which is awarded to the score judged "most outstanding" in the competition. This special prize is given each year in memory of the late William Schuman, who served for 40 years as Chairman, and then Chairman Emeritus, of the BMI Student Composer Awards. Additionally, the Carlos Surinach Prize, awarded each year to the youngest winner in the competition, went to Michael D. Parsons.

The distinguished jury members for the 2012 competition were Chester Biscardi, Tobias Picker, David Rakowski and Joseph Schwantner. The preliminary judges were Shafer Mahoney, David Schober, Sean Shepherd and Bernadette Speach. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is the permanent Chair of the competition.

BMI has given 563 scholarship grants to young composers over the years. Many of the most prominent and active classical composers in the world today received their first recognition from the BMI Student Composer Awards. The BMI Student Composer Awards competition is co-sponsored by BMI and the BMI Foundation, Inc.

Biographical Information

Ryan Chase

BMI award-winning work: The Light Fantastic for orchestra

Ryan Chase was born in Port Jefferson, NY and currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana. He received a B.M. in composition from the Mannes College of Music in 2008, and a M.M. in composition in 2010 from Indiana University, where he is currently pursuing a D.M. in composition. He has studied composition with Claude Baker, Don Freund, Keith Fitch, Gabriela Ortíz, and David Tcimpidis. In 2012 Chase was named an ACO Underwood Readings Recipient and awarded an Aspen Music Festival Fellowship. Winner of the William Schuman Prize in the 2011 BMI Student Composer Awards, he has also received the first prizes from the National Association of Composers and the USA National Young Composers’ Competition, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra Composers to Center Stage Award during that same year. His works have been performed by the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, Contemporaneous, the Mannes Orchestra, Chelsea Symphony, and the Alaria Ensemble at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Chase’s BMI award-winning work will be publicly read at the Underwood Readings by the American Composers Orchestra, conducted by George Manahan, on June 2 at the DiMenna Center in New York City.

Joshua Fishbein

BMI award-winning work: With A Greeting for SSAATTBB a cappella chorus

Joshua Fishbein was born in 1984 in Baltimore, Maryland and currently lives in Los Angeles. He received a B.F.A. in composition and a B.S. in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University, a M.M. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory, and is currently working on a PhD in composition from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has studied composition with Paul Chihara, Ian Krouse, David Lefkowitz, Roger Bourland, David Conte, and Nancy Galbraith, among others. Fishbein has also studied piano with Jack Kurutz, Carol Prochazka, Lee Cooper and Gil Meerdter, and voice with Michael Mentzel. He was a winner in the 2012-2013 Hollywood Master Chorale “Voices of LA” Project, the 2011-2012 Guild of Temple Musicians Young Composers Award, the 2011 American Choral Directors Association Brock Memorial Student Competition, and many more. His works have been performed by Hollywood Master Chorale, California State University at Fullerton University Singers, WomenSing, the Princeton Singers, and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, among others. His BMI award-winning work was premiered by The Esoterics in October, 2011 on their Washington state tour.

Andrew Hsu (William Schuman Prize)

BMI award-winning work: Dickinson Songs for soprano and piano

Andrew Hsu was born in Fremont, California in 1994 and currently resides in Philadelphia, where he is pursuing a B.M. at the Curtis Institute of Music. Hsu’s composition teachers include Richard Danielpour, David Ludwig, and Pamela Layman Quist. An active chamber musician at Curtis and venues such as the Kennedy Center, he has studied piano with Gary Graffman, Eleanor Sokoloff, Meng-Chieh Liu, Erna Gulabyan, Hans Boepple and Jed Galant, and percussion with Tomasz Kowalczyk. He is the recipient of many important and prestigious prizes including first prize in the Music Institute of Chicago’s Generation Next Young Composers’ Competition for his Sonic Fragments for solo piano, and first prize and audience prize in the Robert Avalon Young Composers’ Competition for his Piano Trio. Hsu’s works have been performed by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Robert Avalon Ensemble, and others.

Laura M. Kramer

BMI award-winning work: The Miracle of the Walking Fish for baritone and guitar

Laura M. Kramer was born in Minersville, Pennsylvania and currently resides in Los Angeles. She received a B.M. in saxophone performance from the West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2006, a M.M. in composition from Indiana University in 2008, and is currently working on a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Southern California. She has studied composition with Don Crockett, Frank Ticheli, Brian Shepard, Claude Baker, Don Freund, Jeffrey Hass, Michael Gandolfi, Robert Maggio, Mark Rimple, and Larry Nelson, and saxophone with James Rötter and Greg Riley. She has been awarded the Carolyn Alchin Endowed Music Scholarship, the Charles S. and Margherita Gangemi Memorial Scholarship, the Swope Foundation Scholarship, and many more. She was a guest presenter at the West Chester and Mansfield Universities of Pennsylvania in March, 2011. Kramer’s works have been performed by such ensembles as the Quintessential Winds, USC Contemporary Music Ensemble, and IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and commissions have come from Duo Montagnard and tubist David Holben. Her BMI award-winning work was premiered at USC in September, 2011 and was performed again in May, 2012 in Los Angeles.

Joseph E. Lyszczarz

BMI award-winning work: Tracing Shadows for large chamber ensemble

Joseph Lyszczarz was born in Syracuse, New York and now lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. He received a B.M. in composition from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam and is currently pursuing a M.M. in composition at Bowling Green State University, where he is a Graduate Assistant in music theory. He has studied composition with Mikel Kuehn, Elaine Lillios, Christopher Dietz, Gregory Wanamaker, Paul Steinberg, and Paul Siskind. Lyszczarz also studied flute with Kenneth Andrews and Cornelia Brewster and has performed with the BGSU Early Music Ensemble and performed at the Utica Monday Night Summer Art Festival. His music has been featured at Bowling Green State University, the School of the Arts Guest Artist Recital in Phoenix, Arizona, SUNY Potsdam, and the American Saxophone Alliance Region 2 Conference in Las Vegas. Joseph Lyszczarz’ BMI award-winning composition was read by Alarm Will Sound at Bowling Green State University in March, 2012.

Philippe Macnab-Séguin

BMI award-winning work: Ubiquity for flute, B-flat clarinet, piano, violin and cello.

Philippe Macnab-Séguin was born in 1992 in Montreal, Quebec, where he is now enrolled at Vanier College. He is also currently studying composition privately at McGill Conservatory with Félix Baril and taking group composition lessons with Glen Ethier and Christopher Smith at Vanier. He has studied jazz guitar with Nick Di Tomaso and Eric Ostiguy. Macnab-Séguin was primarily self-taught by writing progressive metal songs for his band, reading theory textbooks and listening to a very wide variety of music in high school. His band, Peak of the Pendulum, was a semi-finalist in the Quebec TV show, Can Your School Rock.

Michael D. Parsons (Carlos Surinach Prize)

BMI award-winning work: Wolf for full orchestra

Michael Parsons was born in 1996 and currently lives in Stirling, New Jersey, where he attends the Watchung Hills Regional High School. He also studies at the Juilliard School, Pre-College Division and at Making Score, New York Youth Symphony’s program for young composers. He has previously attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Composition Program and the Cali School of Music. His composition teachers include Ira Taxin, John Kaefer, Michael Ippolito, Kyle Blaha, Martin Amlin, Justin Casinghino, Anna Clyne, and Patrick Burns, and he has studied piano with Ron Levy, and Jerry Sheitelman. Additionally he plays guitar, saxophone, and drumset. He has been named an “Emerging Composer” in both the 2011 and 2012 Tribeca New Music Young Composer Competition and received 2nd place in the 2011 Pikes Peak Young Composer Competition. His The Plain of Six Glaciers was premiered in 2010 by the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert conducting, and other works have been performed by the Juilliard Pre-College Piano Forum, the Second Avenue Dance Company, and at the New York Chamber Music Festival. His BMI award-winning work has been read by both the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra and the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony.

Daniel Temkin

BMI award-winning work: Butterflies and Dragons for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion

Daniel Temkin was born in 1986 in Houston, Texas. He has received a B.M. in percussion from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, a M.M. in composition from the New England Conservatory, and is currently pursuing a Artist’s Diploma in composition from the Curtis Institute of Music. His composition teachers include Jennifer Higdon, Michael Gandolfi, Charles Fussell, Kevin Puts, Robert Aldridge, and Sydney Hodkinson. Temkin has studied percussion with She-e Wu and Chris Deviney. Temkin’s honors include the 2010 Earshot Readings with Nashville Symphony, the 2010 Buffalo Philharmonic Composers Forum, the 2010 NEC Honors Ensemble Composition Prize, among many more. His works have been performed by such groups as the Nashville Symphony, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Lyra Society for Harp, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, the Rutgers University Choir, and pianist Qing Jiang, among others. Temkin’s BMI award-winning work was premiered at the Melos Music 2nd Annual Concert with members of Nonsemble 6 in San Francisco in August, 2011 and performed again in April, 2012 at the Field Concert Hall in Philadelphia.

Roger Zare

BMI award-winning work: Bennu’s Fire for solo clarinet and symphonic band

Roger Zare was born in 1985 in Sarasota, Florida and currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received a B.M. from the University of Southern California, a M.M. from the Peabody Conservatory, and is now pursuing a D.M.A. at the University of Michigan. His teachers include Kristin Kuster, Bright Sheng, Paul Schoenfield, Michael Daugherty, Derek Bermel, David Smooke, Christopher Theofanidis, Morten Lauridsen, Fredrick Lesemann, Tamar Diesendruck, and Donald Crockett. A previous BMI Student Composer Award-winner in 2007 and 2009, Zare will serve as the 2012 Composer in Residence at the Salt Bay Chamber Music Festival . Other honors include the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2010, the 2012 Symphony in C Young Composers Competition, the New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, and the American Composers Orchestra Underwood Commission in 2008. Zare’s works have been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Ars Nova Dallas, FiveOne New Music Ensemble, Belvedere Chamber Music Festival, and many others. His BMI award-winning work was premiered by clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein and the California State University at Northridge Wind Ensemble in August, 2011and repeated at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2011 in Los Angeles.

The Miseducation of Joe Pug

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:31:29 +0000

When Joe Pug says that he owes his life to Steve Earle, it may not be in the way you might imagine. It could appear that he’s speaking metaphorically and sure, Earle’s music, just like that of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Gillian Welch and others, are Pug’s permanent church. This time though, we’re dealing with a potential ass-whooping. “Steve saved me from being lynched in Ireland,” Pug says at home in Austin, Texas. He’s gearing up for a gig at Waterloo, a rather legendary local record store, which he imagines will be like a “big bear hug” from his city. I’d asked him to share any backstage antics he’d witnessed on tour with either Earle or his son Justin, and this is what he comes up with. “We were in a part of Ireland, and I was so oblivious about geography and geopolitics that I almost went on stage and referred to it as the UK, which it’s not. Violently so. I called it that backstage and Steve said ‘you jackass. We’re not in the UK. If you go on stage and say that they will go and drown you in the fucking Guinness factory.’ He saved me a beating on that one.” But it’s rather impossible, near-gaffes and all, to ever imagine anyone beating up Joe Pug. For one, he clearly doesn’t gossip, even at the expense of his own ego. And two, he just gives off the air of a guy knows that, getting to write folksongs for a living, he’s got it pretty good. When he finishes a concert, he tells the crowd that he’ll be sitting at the bar and, hey, come join him for a drink. “It’s a charmed life,” he says with equal parts gravity and gratitude. Those folksongs have ended up on his newest record, The Great Despiser, which finds Pug’s lyrical tendencies and acoustic Guild guitar rounded out by Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine’s producer Brian Deck, who paired him with the likes of Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim), The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and Califone’s Jim Becker. The finished product takes Pug’s storytelling and makes the music an equally able raconteur –a subtle change from the six-strings, mouth harp and early-Dylan-inspired rhythm where he began. The thing about Pug is that does what he wants. Not in an entitled way where the thinks the rules don’t apply; he just operates under his own code. A less cynical soul might say that he leads with his heart, and heck, I’ll say it too. Pug was heading into his senior year at University of North Carolina, studying theater, when he woke up and decided to drop out. It wasn’t the call of the road or the come-hither of the stage. It wasn’t even about a girl. “I just didn’t want to go to college anymore,” he says. “I didn’t want to pay money if I didn’t feel like I was learning anything and certainly not learning anything that I couldn’t teach myself.” He left a day before classes started for Chicago, taking with him a play he had started but could never find the right words to finish. One day, with the help of his old guitar, he took another stab. Only this time, in song. “The themes I was trying to expand on and bring to life just weren’t happening as a play,” he says. “And as soon as I tried to talk about them in song it flowed incredibly easy. Those themes became what the EP was about.” And Pug released the “Nation of Heat EP” on his own terms, with an offer that is still good to this day (albeit digitally): he printed up CDs with his most popular songs and shipped them out free of charge. He wanted to find fans, friends, followers, not just customers of his music. It worked – Pug was shocked as he traveled from town to town, finding people who could sing along. He eventually sold over 20,000 copies on his own, piquing the attention of Lightning Rod Records, who singed him and eventually released his full-length LP, Messenger, in 2010. He’s toured constantly ever since, on the road for 150 to 200 days a year. “The way we did it takes a lot longer and it’s a much slower build,” he says. “I am not even saying this to be corny or cute but I really think that the fan base that we have developed now …they are just a little bit more engaged, and when we know people are paying such close attention it inspires us to not cut any corners.” Not that you’d find him spurting out throwaway tunes anyway --Pug doesn’t consider himself prolific, so to speak: “It takes everything I got just to finish ten good songs,” he says. Instead, writing is a more deliberate process where he embraces moments of craft, rather than waiting around for inspiration, and almost always begins with the words. “Before anything I sit down with the pen and the page for a while,” he says. “I have an idea of what the melody would be in my head but I basically just draw out many different verses or poetic forms in the same meter until I get a bunch of stanzas that I like.” He rarely composes on the road. He’s tried, “but when you’re splitting a queen size bed with your bass player in Oklahoma City it’s hard to reach into your inner voice to find something really poetic.” But after all the work is done, the nights in crappy hotels, the long drives and uncomfortable bedmates, what he waits for most is to hear his songs hummed back at him by a crowd. “There is something about the communion of playing to people who have listened to these songs and have now interwoven them with the narratives of their lives,” he says, “and mean different things to different people. That’s a very special moment and thing I could never trade. I think I’ll always have to be on the road.” And if he gets lonely, well, he’ll just put down his guitar, head to the bar and wait for a fan to join him.

Song Premiere: Xavier Rudd, “Comfortable In My Skin”

Syndication — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:52:22 +0000

Australian singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd will release his seventh studio album, Spirit Bird, on June 5. Listen to the album track "Comfortable in My Skin" below. "'Comfortable In My Skin' came through me in a time when I was suffering from major nerve pain pre- back surgery," says Rudd. "It was an interesting time of reflection for me as I have always been a physical person and to feel physically disabled was a new experience. There had been a lot of change and some heavy heart ache in my life in the years prior, and I felt like it had all manifested in my back and presented as a sign that it was time to move forward and remember to nurture myself more in this life. So, the song came from that place of rising up as an individual on a new path, giving thanks to the universe for my health and well being, and all the beautiful gifts life has brought me." Xavier Rudd, "Comfortable In My Skin"

Events: Musicians Corner: Nashville

Syndication — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:00:31 +0000

BMI is a proud sponsor of “Musicians Corner,” free outside concerts at Centennial Park in Nashville, TN, taking place on Saturday afternoons, May 5, 12, 19, and 26, 3:00-6:00 PM.

May 12th Performers:

Emily West (www.emilywestmusic.com)

k.s. Rhoads (www.ksrhoads.com)

Jason Eskridge (iammusicheadquarters.com/je)

Julie Lee (www.julielee.org)

For more information, visit musicianscornernashville.com)

Events: Sundance ComposersLab: LA

Syndication — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:00:48 +0000

The Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program will present the ComposersLab: LA at Downtown Independent Theatre (251 South Main St, Los Angeles, CA) in Los Angeles. The event is an incredible educational opportunity – a one-day version of the institute’s Summer Lab.

BMI’s Doreen Ringer Ross, VP Film & TV Music, along with composers Blake Neely, Cliff Martinez, Thomas Newman, John Powell, and Alex Wurman; and other industry executives including, Robert Messinger, Adam Smalley and Scott Johnson will serve as this year’s Creative Advisors.

Enrollment for this event is $125. Click here for more information and to register.