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| 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 60’s. 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 You’re Mine", "Take a Chance" and "Angela’s Theme: You’re Just What I’ve 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 wasn’t really blessed with the gear I have now. Now here’s 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? ANGELA’S 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? That’s 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 . |