Bounce to Disk

Joshua Myers is an accomplished composer and producer. His production credits include World Waits by Jeremy Enigk and These Friends of Mine by Rosie Thomas, and his compositions have appeared in many motion pictures and television productions. He plays keyboards in The Fire Theft, and was kind enough to answer some questions.


How did you get involved in composing music for film and television?

Myers: I had an interest in film music from an early age. I graduated from California State University Hayward in 2000 with a BA in Music Composition and moved to Hollywood in 2001. Fortunately, an old friend had been living in LA for a few years and was making a name for himself as an up-and-coming producer/songwriter. He had a few leads for me, one of which was a local jingle house. I went in for an interview and started that very day as an unpaid intern. My duties included coffee and lunch runs, answering the phones, data entry, office admin, and limited tech support. 6 months later business picked up at the studio, and the owners found themselves unable to handle the workload. They decided to let me get my feet wet scoring to picture and assigned me some cues for a Saturday morning stop-motion animated series called Phantom Investigators. They liked what I wrote, and the rest is history.

From a technical perspective, how did you accumulate the tools and skills you need to work in this field? At this point, everything is done within the computer domain, and that might intimidate some. What was your introduction to computer recording and composition?

Myers: Before moving to LA I had played around with applications like Cubase and Cakewalk but really had no idea what serious computer recording and sequencing was all about. It wasn’t until the first week of my internship when I was made aware how important the technical know-how is in this field. Early on the owners gave me a key to the studio, which I recognized as a huge opportunity. At the end of every workday I would stay behind for hours, sometimes all night, learning the gear. This was my routine for 6 months straight. That experience really paid off when Phantom Investigators rolled around. Scoring a cartoon is probably as technically difficult as it gets. Rampant tempo changes, intricate picture hits, and varying styles are prevalent within every minute of music. Had I not put in the hours leading up to that gig, I would not have been equipped to handle it.

What is your composing/recording setup at home?

Myers: My setup is very simple. I use Logic Pro as my primary interface, running on a Dual 2 GHz G5. I also have a dedicated PC running GigaStudio, wired into Logic through an RME Fireface 800 for audio and a Unitor 8 for midi. My reference monitors are JBL LSR4328P’s, and my controller is a Keystation Pro 88.

Do you ever employ session players for these kinds of gigs?

Myers: Yes, quite often, depending on the budget, scope, and deadline of the project. Unfortunately, the turnarounds for the TV shows I work on rarely allow for this option. With films, I usually have a more manageable schedule, and I’ll almost always hire at least one musician to sweeten up the midi and breathe some life into the music. I have my local favorites that I bring in regularly, but I prefer to use players that work remotely. My guitarist for example lives in LA and is on the road 6 months of the year. I can email him an mp3 and get back multiple takes within 24 hours. This is absolutely my favorite way to work. I’m not a control freak during the tracking phase. I rely on musicians to do what they do, and I encourage them to be creative. Plus it saves us both a lot of time.

Please talk a little about Cinecue.

Myers: Cinecue is a company I founded in 2004. We’re a music library, but unlike most other libraries, the quality control on our music is very rigid. Our composers are handpicked based on both the production quality of their recordings and what they can bring to the table stylistically. The library is well over 1,000 tracks at this point and steadily growing. Our clients include FOX, MTV, VH1, CMT, WB, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Starbucks, films, ads…you name it. We are always seeking new talent, and I can be contacted directly if any of your readers are interested. We offer a non-exclusive agreement that is totally artist-friendly.

You must lean heavily on GigaStudio, due to the nature of the work, where you need a wide variety of sounds, including orchestral instruments. Is working with samples frustrating in any regard?

Myers: Working with samples has its limitations, and I am constantly forced to work around them. Some instruments translate better than others to the sampling world. Some articulations and textures are so difficult to actualize with sampler instruments, that I tend to avoid writing them in altogether. Samples will never sound as good as the real thing. They are amazing tools for creating music on limited budgets or mocking up arrangements for approval before a session. But the imperfections that give live music its humanity simply can’t be replicated. A bow squeaking against a string, a slightly out of tune piano, a breath of air–these types of nuances are what make music so accessible to me personally. Otherwise, as a listener, I find it difficult to connect.

You’ve also done a fair amount of album production. I got to work with you a little on Rosie Thomas‘ “These Friends of Mine”…I liked your laid-back approach. Is that simply an extension of your personality, or is there a method to your relaxation? Do you ever get angry or “drop the hammer” on a player who isn’t cutting it?

Myers: I think it’s an extension of my personality, and it seems to get good results most of the time. I love hiring musicians because it takes the focus off of me for awhile. For a few hours the pressure’s off, and I get to sit back and enjoy a performance. I’ll let a musician do a hundred takes if they’re willing, and then I’ll spend an eternity comping and editing. It’s tedious work, but I enjoy it.

I’ve never fired anyone, but I have singled out individuals in an orchestra for being disruptive or lazy. I always feel a little guilty about that, but hey, that stuff’s expensive.

Jeremy Enigk and Sunny Day Real Estate loom large on today’s music landscape. When and where did you meet Jeremy, and how did you land the job of producing his album “World Waits”?

Myers: I met the other guys in The Fire Theft in January of 2004, a month or so prior to meeting Jeremy. A mutual friend put us in touch after getting word that they needed a keyboard player for an upcoming tour. Nate invited me to his home in LA while William was in town from Seattle. We drank some beers, they asked about my availability, and then they hired me on the spot. I still think it’s funny that I didn’t have to audition or anything. A month later I showed up in Seattle for rehearsal where I met Jeremy.

When The Fire Theft went on hiatus, Jeremy and I kept in touch. I moved to Seattle on a whim in July of 2005. A few months later I got a call from him asking me if I would come over and run Protools while he tracked some demos for an upcoming album. The next thing I know he’s asking me for input into songs and letting me experiment with production and arrangements. Finally, a few weeks into the process, he asked if I would produce the record, and of course I agreed.

What are you up to next?

I’ve recently formed a composer collective called Burn the Stereo which specializes in the quick and confident creation of original music for advertising. Our composers hail primarily from the rock/pop world, having performed and recorded with the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Goo Goo Dolls, Morrissey, Sufjan Stevens, Sunny Day Real Estate, Garbage, Beck, Avril Lavigne, and Weezer–to name a few. We believe our collective repertoire speaks for itself and that our experience with popular music has equipped us to connect with audiences in a very profound way. I’m really excited about this project, and it’s my primary focus right now.

Thank you Josh. Good luck with CineCue and your other projects!