Artist Statement/Resume
Artist Statement
As an artist, I find my strength in synthesizing ideas and making something new out of them. As a composer, musician and producer - making music in any form - I am compelled to create an expression that evokes the fullest possible human experience. In attaining this, I will often think of the music as a place, or something other than a collection of notes and timbres. Although craft is of the utmost important in my work and necessary to fully realize any great art, I am less concerned with technical perfection and more concerned with whether or not every piece is working to the greatest realization of intended affect on the listener. I am proud that music I have made has been placed in movies such as Nick Nolte's “Warrior,” and, most recently, featured at the Hirshorn art gallery in the documentary: “Duchamp: And the Art of the Possible,” celebrating the newly inherited Duchamp collection.
Inspiration for my work comes from many places, and I am always on the look for more avenues of inspiration. Playing different instruments (Heavily distorted guitar, acoustic guitar, strings, orchestra...), starting with a concept or lyric (A determined underdog pugilist or the promise and disappointment of a technological future), or simply striving to realize a piece from my head are all fair game when finding seeds for music. I then start a file or a “sandbox” where I expand on this idea and work out different version and permutations based on the film as I understand it. I may start with a chord progression, a tonal palette, or a series of notes. These versions ultimately influence different dramatic movements throughout the film. After a series of demos I usually start what I consider the “sculpting” process – starting with large broad shapes and digging in to more and more details until the full form is revealed. I usually don't struggle with whether the piece is finished or not as it simply finds itself. My work is usually emotional and richly textured. While my work is versatile by it's nature, I usually feel more at home with lofty, serious or intense topics over silliness or humor.
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