Stitched - new film score

Stitched - new film score

I recently completed work on the score for an upcoming short film by A-list comic book writer, Garth Ennis called “Stitched.”

The score is an interesting mix of minimal simplicity (as heard in “Blackhawk Idaho Six,” the main theme of our heroes), eerie horror music, and a densely orchestrated militaristic war march (“Martial Horizon/End Credits.”) The film will have its world premiere at the San Diego Comic-Con International with a large number in attendance. 

For more info on this project go here.

 

 

New radio spot for Oregon State Marine Board

New radio spot for Oregon State Marine Board

I’ve just completed a new 60-second radio spot called “Stayin’ Afloat” that will be airing statewide in Oregon for the coming year. It’s another public service announcement. This message is for lifejacket safety by the Oregon State Marine Board.

Written as a parody of...ahem...a popular song from the 70’s, our goal was to make this a fun and catchy reminder to always wear your lifejacket.

Credits:

Agency: Gard Communications
Producers: Mary Ann Aldridge, John Plymale
Lyrics: Daryle Rico
Music: Jim Casella
Vocals performed by: Sean Holmes

For more info on my commercial projects, go here.

New radio spot for ODOT

New radio spot for ODOT

I’ve just completed a new 60-second radio spot called “The Safety Step” that will be airing statewide in Oregon for the coming year. It’s a public service announcement for the Oregon Department of Transportation, written to be a catchy and fun jingle in the style of the Andrews Sisters.

All these 3-part harmonies make me wish I’d learned to sing when I was hitting on all those drums as a kid. 

Credits:

Agency: Gard Communications
Producers: Mary Ann Aldridge, John Plymale
Lyrics: Daryle Rico
Music composition: Jim Casella
Vocals performed by: Michelle Kosta

For more demos of my commercial projects, go here.

Cyclone - early demo

Cyclone - early demo

I’m just putting the finishing touches on my latest percussion ensemble Cyclone. This piece was commissioned by Lewis Norfleet, director of bands at Union High School in Camas, Washington to be premiered at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago this December.

This piece features a quartet of marimbists sharing two facing marimbas. This quartet is accompanied by piano and 7 other percussionists, most of whom are playing some form of mulit-percussion setup. There is still some detailing and refining left to do, but this has been one of my more ambitious pieces and I thought it might be fun to share it while it’s still in the final stages of cooking. 

This audio recording comes straight out of Sibelius, so there are some humanizing and mixing things that aren’t nearly where I’d like them to be yet, but it’s a start. All sounds are generated from Virtual Drumline.

For more information, click here.

How to obtain licensing permission to arrange

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How to obtain licensing permission to arrange

If you're arranging a piece of music in which the copyright is held by someone other than yourself, it's important that you obtain proper permission to arrange it. This is a fairly straightforward process, but can be time consuming, so it's best to plan ahead and know what to expect.

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What is Virtual Drumline?

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What is Virtual Drumline?

Even though Virtual Drumline (VDL) has become a widely used by specialists who share a geeky fondness for all things percussion, I frequently get asked pretty basic questions about what it is, what it can do, and why it still seems so elusive and confusing to the average newcomer. While perfectly valid, these questions are often accompanied by mouth breathing and a furrowed brow. They’re mostly the result of the fairly recent popularity of software “virtual instruments” (commonly called VIs), and how to integrate them into a compositional workflow when not long ago, people just settled for cheaper/synthy sounds built into the computer. At the trade shows we do for Tapspace, I can often be found explaining things like audio versus MIDI to band directors who just want to hear a drumline coming out of their computer speakers.

To help answer some of these initial questions of what VDL does, I spent a pretty good chunk of time a couple years ago making this “intro” video for our distributor, Hal Leonard. I never posted it because my voiceover was so painfully cheesy and fake, I just couldn’t bear to put it out in the world. Nobody likes to hear recordings of their own voice, but you have to trust me on this one. It was robot car salesman bad. So I re-recorded it. The new version still lacks the sound of a real voiceover pro, but at least I sound a bit more like a human in this one. Anyway, if you haven’t seen it yet, here it is. I hope it sheds a tiny bit of light on some of the things that VDL does. Enjoy!

 

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Brian Pulido's "The Graves" opens this weekend!

Brian Pulido's "The Graves" opens this weekend!

I’m excited to announce that “The Graves” will be opening in theaters starting this weekend, January 29th, 2010! This film marks my first official feature-length film score as composer, so the fact that it’s getting a nationwide theatrical release is a great extra bonus.

This is a limited, independent release and every attendee...

Compound Autonomy - new work for percussion ensemble

Compound Autonomy - new work for percussion ensemble

I’ve just completed work on a new composition for percussion ensemble called Compound Autonomy. This was written for the 2010 Foster High School percussion ensemble from Richmond, Texas. This group is very talented, and always up for an ambitious challenge, so I consider myself fortunate to be able to go outside the box a bit and delve into a piece like this.

This piece is published by Tapspace.


Closing out The Cavaliers 2009 season

Closing out The Cavaliers 2009 season

The Drum Corps International world championships took place in a very boomy (dare I say awful sounding?) Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this past weekend where The Cavaliers earned a fourth place finish with their 2009 production "The Great Divide." Top honors were awarded to...