At what age did
you see yourself as a musician?
I
started at about the age of 13. Around the time
of the British Invasion
The
Beatles & The Stones influenced a lot of
young kids to turn to music in the mid 60s.
Who
were your influences?
I
d listen to Led Zep, Beatles, Stones,
Cream, Sly & the Family Stone, Jethro Tull
etc
and I also listened to Jazz ... I
aspired to be a Jazz Cat, I played the flute.
What
was your first band?
In
3rd grade I had a band called the
4 of US We originally had 4 members
but I had kicked out the lead singer cause he
never came to practice
we only had one gig
, a birthday party ..we each made $5.00
My
mother took 1/2.. she gave me a valuble early
lesson on the music biz
boy was she right
on.
Did
you ever imagine yourself composing song tracks
for horror films or any other types of films?
I
did. Many of my early songs had a dark feel
I used synths mixed with Rock guitars before many
of my peers did
Rock Guitars & strings
was a no no
Has
any of your music been used in films before
'Sleepaway Camp'?
No
.the
closest I came was I wrote TV themes and Jingles
for about 15 years. I wrote for all the products
in pop culture, including toys with a Horror
theme. Battles Trolls, It
from the Pit, Monster Face,
etc
How
did you get the job composing the songs for
'Sleepaway Camp' which were "Tonight
Youre Mine", "Take a Chance"
and "Angelas Theme: Youre Just
What Ive Been Looking For"?
I
met Robert Hiltzik (CREATOR/WRITER/ DIRECTOR)
thru a friend and he like my rock songs and also
what I was planning to write for the movie
project.
When
you wrote the "Angela's Theme" song
were you looking at the script and relating it to
writing the song?
I
had the complete script but a few pages at the
end... That was TOP SECRET... I figured it out
... And some how I wrote a lyric that was close
to perfect to what was filmed
I
loved the synthesizer music. Were you thinking
this would sound great for a horror film? It
certainly had a creepy edge to it.
I
was broke then all I had to work with was a cheap
old Casio keyboard and a cheap drum machine. I
played my guitar through a reel-to-reel tape
recorder to get the distortion; I slashed the
speaker with a razor blade to get the distortion.
My
dad was so pissed I did that
so I
wasnt really blessed with the gear I have
now.
Now
heres some fun stuff: What are your
favorite horror films?
NIGHTMARE
ON ELM STREET, EXORCIST,
the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
And of course
. SLEEPAWAY CAMP
.
Out
of all the three songs you composed for
'Sleepaway Camp' which one do you cherish the
most?
ANGELAS
THEME. It was written for the movie
If
you were a top musician for one day whether he
was alive or dead who would he be?
Thats
a tough on.there are so many idols of mine
I guess I wish I was John Lennon for a day
not the day he was killed
What
is your idea of perfect happiness?
NO
STRESS
SUNNY DAYS
. WRITING A PERFECT
SONG FROM THE HEART.
What
are your ambitions in life?
To
continue to write and produce music, making a
living at it.
And
having a string of #1 Hits . |