Robert Miles is an Italian musician and DJ of electronica and alternative music and is known best for his track “Children” from his debut album “Dreamland” in 1994. Since then Robert has “23am” in 1997, “Organik” in 2001, “Miles_Gurtu” in 2004 and his latest “Th1rt3en” in 2011. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Robert about his career, his new albums and his plans for what’s to come.

Mike Gencarelli: Before the internet was the internet, I remember hearing your track “Children” in 1995 and being blow away; how do you feel the song would be received if it was received today?
Robert Miles: Probably in the same way it got received back then. The new generation is discovering the track now and many think it’s a new tune and are surprised when they get to know that it was produced 17 years ago (amazing how time goes so fast!).

MG: Why the 7 years span between “Miles_Gurtu”, your 4th album and your latest “Th1rt3en”?
RM: I have been involved with more soundtracks work.  I opened a studio in the heart of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands, became father and worked on a big remodeling project (a 500 years old ‘finca’ aka farmer’s house) in Ibiza) designing and managing it myself…very time consuming!

MG: What has been your primary inspiration for “Th1rt3en”?
RM: After “Organik” and “Miles_Gurtu”, I wanted to explore more the nature of alternative rock and use mainly electric guitar…I got in touch with Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and Dave Okumu (The invisible) as I really like the way they play their instrument and asked them if they wanted to collaborate…they accepted and we put together the parts in various sessions. I usually get inspiration from everyday life experiences …and try to convey those experiences and my feelings through my music in order to be able to connect with the audience. I am so pleased when people send me a message saying that they felt the same emotion/energy while listening to the music…it is so rewarding. Makes you think…I want to do more.

MG: How long did the album take to complete from beginning to end?
RM: The composing process 6 years…as I was working on it during my spare time (from fatherhood and all the other projects I had going) in various cities (Mainly London, Berlin, Ibiza and Los Angeles)…the recordings were done in London within two weeks from when we started.

MG: I love “Voices From a Submerged Sea”, tell us about creating that song?
RM: It’s the track with most downloads, funnily enough. A live strings orchestra was used to record it. It’s a very cinematic track and refers to the ‘voices’ that one can hear from within…An introspective piece I have done in a moment of peaceful solitude in Ibiza during the winter. A new video has been released for it (each photogram is hand made and drawn simply with a Bic pen) and you can watch it here:

MG: Your music videos are very artistic and well designed, specifically ‘Miniature World”, what is your involvement in their creations?
RM: Thank you. I am very much involved with the artistic side of my videos, especially since I have control of my music (that’s since I have opened my own label Salt Records in London, back in 2000). It’s very important for me to deliver quality videos together with my music. Something that hopefully will stand in time and will be seen more as a art form than a promotional tool by the future generations.

MG: How do you approach remixing your songs so soon after just releasing them?
RM: Not an easy task if I have to be honest. Especially because you have listened to that track so many times already (when producing/mixing it) and you just want to move on to the next thing. But in the end I always come up with an idea, or more than one, and ‘sculpt’ the original version into something totally different. Challenging.

MG: Tell us about your reason you chose to blend alternative and progressive rock with ambient and electronic soundscapes?
RM: I come from the electronic side of the music spectrum…and since I have moved to London in 1996, I have tried to incorporate other genres into my productions…as I wanted to achieve a more ‘human’ sound (and less computer sounding) . “Organik” had world and rock music elements, while “Miles_Gurtu” had jazz influences. I am a big fan of blending electronic together with acoustic sounds. I think it’s a great combination.

MG: Tell us about the film soundtrack you’re working on for “The Turn of this Century”?
RM: It’s going to be a pretty cool project…60 minutes of music and images…and a voice over….three elements working in tandem and creating a real audio sensorial and visual ‘journey’ through the events of the last 100 years on our planet…featuring the photography of LIFE magazine….mind blowing. The ‘ journey of your life’…literally speaking! Coming soon…everywhere!

MG: Are you planning to tour at all for this new album?
RM: Unfortunately it would be almost impossible as most of the musicians that have been involved have their own band and touring constantly…So I am currently DJing and run several radio shows on different station around the globe…that displays the more electronic side of Robert Miles here:

Mercedes Lander is one of the founding members of the all female Canadian heavy metal group Kittie. The bands 6^th studio album “I’ve Failed You” will be released on August 30^th via E One Records. Mercedes took time before the bands show in Syracuse, NY to talk with Media Mikes about the new album as well as what it was like touring with the Insane Clown Posse.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the new album “I’ve Failed You”?
Mercedes Lander: “I’ve Failed You” was basically written over a 3 month period starting in January and ending around April. We took about 3 weeks to record the album which went really smoothly. The record is super personal. Us as a band and as people have really gone through a lot since out last album “In the Black” A lot of life changing experiences took place and I think this album touches on each of those.

AL: This album seems to definitely have a more angry/edgy feel to it can you tell us about that?
ML:  I wouldn’t call it angry. I would call it maybe a little bit more remorseful to be honest. The album maybe angry sounding and our last album was a really heavy album but as the band progresses and as we become better musicians and song writers the music tends to get a little more extreme. All around the album is definitely heavier.

AL: Other than being more personal how do you feel “I’ve Failed You” compares to your previous releases?
ML: I don’t think there really is any comparison. When we go in to write albums I don’t think we have it in our minds to try and top the previous album. We are just writing music and I think everything we have ever written is different. I think we have a lot of different influences that we all wear on our sleeves. What seems to end up happening is that with the last album we spent two years on the road touring and playing every night which has allowed us to get tighter as a band and as a unit so it’s been a natural progression.

AL: “I’ve Failed You” seems to be a much more musical album and features some very prominent guitar solos. Can you tell us about that?
ML: “In The Black” featured guitar solos as well and we kind of look at that as the foundation of what our recording should be. With “I’ve Failed You” we are building on that foundation. Riff wise the songs on the new record are much more complex.

AL: Do you have a favorite track off the new album?
ML: I have a lot! “We are the Lamb” is one of my favorite songs as well as “Time Never Heals”. It’s funny because I still haven’t memorized all the new song titles. When we are working in the studio we have working titles for the songs so it takes me some time to get them all down by name.

AL: How has this tour compared to portions of the last where you toured with Insane Clown Posse?
ML: That is like apples and oranges and you just can’t compare that. People don’t really understand why we did that tour but it makes perfect sense to me. We got to play to people that had nothing to do with the metal scene what so ever and we crushed every night. We sold a ton of merchandise and CD’s and we made a lot of new fans as well. If I wanted to sit and play to the same people all the time it’s eventually going to start to suck. We did three support tours on the last run and I think that did a lot for the band.

AL: Can you give us any updates on the Poisoned Black clothing line you and your sister/band mate were involved in?
ML: We really don’t know what’s been going on with that as we have been really busy so are time has been somewhat limited.

For more info on Kittie you can go to www.kittierocks.com and be sure to check our album review of “I’ve Failed You” as well as our review of the bands Syracuse, NY show.

100 Monkeys is a funk rock band featuring its members Ben Graupner, Ben Johnson, Jackson Rathbone (“The Twilight Saga”), Jerad Anderson and Lawrence Abrams. What is unique about this band is that they each do not have a set role in the band and each member switches instruments and roles titled the “Monkey Switcheroo”. This band is not like any other band I have ever seen live. They explode with inspiration and experimentation when they perform live. They recently just released their second studio album titled “Liquid Zoo”. Media Mikes got to hang out with the band during their House of Blues Orlando, FL tour stop and chatted with them about their music and their unique concert experience.

Click here for a chance to WIN a SIGNED CD, “Liquid Zoo” from the band!!

Mike Gencarelli: Your first album, Monster De Lux was all improvised, how do you feel that you have evolved in “Liquid Zoo”?
Ben Graupner: Well “Liquid Zoo” is our second studio album like “Grape,” where we went in with a bunch of pre-written songs and really worked them out with a studio style of recording. It has a lot of influence from the Louisiana area because we traveled that album from Van Nuys, California to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So that’s probably responsible for the brass, the gospel choir, and sort of just the general tone of the album. We are always looking to do something new and something crazy.

Patty Gencarell: You’ve been compared to bands such as The Beatles and Iggy Pop, who have you been inspired by musically?
Lawrence Abrams: Each other. I would say, each other.
Jackson Rathbone: Yea, there’s so many different inspirations. We all come from different walks of life, from different areas of the country, from different planets in the solar system [laughs].
PG: Yea, I read Mars, right?
Jerad Anderson: [laughs] Good looking out. Good looking out.
Ben Johnson: Yea, we’ve got Mars over here [motions to Uncle Larry].
JR: I think we carry that with us. Ben Johnson, Ben Graupner and myself all went to high school with an amazing artist named Spencer Bell. Johnson played in a band called, The Stevedores, with Spence. They released one album before Spencer passed away. He’s still, honestly, a really big inspiration for us, especially as song writers. What we do after we write a song is we’ll bring it to the group. We write in really different varied forms. Sometimes one of us will have a song pre-written and bring it to the group and it will change drastically. Or sometimes we’ll just be jamming and then we’ll write a song during a jam and then we’ll perform it that night. It’s very eclectic the way we write our music and how we perform it. At the end of the day, a lot of our song writing is influenced by the song writing of Spencer Bell. If you check out his albums, I think you’ll see it. If you look at his,[asks the group] is it “Live and Wasted” that has “The Monkey Song” on it?
BJ: Yea well “Live and Wasted” and “Live Art Fleetwood” have “The Monkey Song” on them.
JR: And if you look at Spencer’s version of “The Monkey Song” and our version of “The Monkey Song,” it’s very different but it’s kind of like the way we write. We might write a song one way but then, because we all mix up instruments, we might just rearrange the orchestration and just kind of make it 100 Monkeys.
PG: For the track “Ugly Girl”, what or who was your inspiration? Was it a type of person or a specific person?
JR: “Ugly Girl” was definitely inspired by a type of person not one in particular. It was interesting because it was one of those songs that we were kind of like separately writing, while we were in different parts of the world, literally. “LDF,” the song off of “Grape” and “Ugly Girl” were both kind of partially written in London and in Los Angeles. The part of the lyrics that I wrote in London, were really inspired by the different attitudes that I felt whenever I would travel over there and then when I went back to Los Angeles. It was like, ‘Oh, okay, yea that’s definitely one of the vainest cities that I’ve ever been to in my life.’

MG: In your videos for “Wandering Minds” and “Ugly Girl”, you certainly aren’t afraid of getting dirty, do you enjoy the video making process?
BG: Oh yea, definitely, it’s a lot of fun. William Schmidt directed both of those videos so it’s always fun to work with Will. We like to have a goodtime in our videos and we’ve got a new video coming soon that we’re really excited about. I think people are really going to like it.
MG: What song is it for?
BG: It’s for “Modern Times.”
PG: The pink nail polish in the video was a really nice touch.
UL: Well you never want to give monkeys makeup!
BG: You see what happens, it doesn’t work out well. [laughs]
JR:My favorite is still in the “Wandering Minds” video when something hits you for the first time, [motions to Ben Johnson] you just go right thru it and something bangs this object right like ‘bonk’ [laughs] and you just keep going, you just keep playing.

PG: From video making to movie making, Jerad, you produced the film “Girlfriend” co-starring yourself and Jackson and also scored by the band, what is next up for your production company?
JA: We’ve got something in the works that’s a high school wrestling comedy. It’s supposed to shoot October 17, and the band will be scoring that as well. So that’s what’s next on our closest horizon.

MG: Do you guys find a major difference between making music and creating a score?
BG: Yea it’s a totally different process. When you are making a score, I think that the major aspect is trying to make the music disappear rather than have the music stand out on its own. You’re looking for something that you almost don’t notice is there. You can tell when it starts working because the movie and the images pop off the screen. And when you take the music away, they don’t. It’s a night and day difference; two different worlds.

PG: Any possibility about appearing on the “Breaking Dawn Part 1 or 2” soundtrack?
JR: Honestly, we are not allowed to talk about it.

PG: Jackson, when you are on stage, how does it compare for you to working on films like “The Twilight Saga”? Do you have a preference?
JR: Do you have parents?
PG: Yes.
JR: Which do you like better? Do you have a favorite?
PG: Um, no. [laughs]
JR: Exactly.
PG: Not in written word. [band laughs] I’m a teacher so you know, ‘we have no favorites.’
UL: That’s exactly what he’s saying.
JR: I think it was the first time I ever got up on stage and I was singing, acting and I was dancing. And it’s just all about entertainment. I think all of us are entertainers, and that’s the greatest feeling in the world to allow someone to escapes for an hour and a half whether it be at a rock show or at a film, and get outside of their own lives. Hopefully, maybe it makes you think about something different. “Girlfriend,” the movie that Jerad produced and we scored, and I also co-produced with my company, PatchMo Entertainment, that’s a really important film for us. That was a really passionate project for us because it stars a young man with Downs Syndrome, an incredible actor by the name of Evan Sneider. And it’s just touched the lives of so many people. A lot of people have this preconceived notion about Downs Syndrome and people with Downs Syndrome. Then you watch that film and you’re like, well this actor is one of the best actors that I’ve ever worked with. Amanda Plummer, a seasoned veteran, said that he’s the best actor she’s ever worked with.His performance has inspired people all around the world and it’s just incredible to be able to have that effect. That’s what entertainment does, it either makes you laugh or makes you cry; makes you think about your life and that’s amazing. The power of any piece of art, it’s what it does.

PG: Jerad, just touching on Downs Syndrome. I’ve worked in special education for the past five years, with Deaf children and children who are hard of hearing.
JA: I understand Sign Language. [Using American Sign Language]
PG: Yes, exactly, I do too.
JR: [They’re speaking in sign language right now.]
PG: Where did you learn ASL?
JA: Actually it was something that I got into and took as a foreign language for school. Then I worked retail and met a bunch of Deaf people while working there and I made friends with them. I sort of struggled and tried to use what I was learning and then it just started becoming a part of me. I ended up having and making good friends with one Deaf person and lived with as a roommate for one year. Then I was a TA (teacher’s assistant), for the Sign Language Department just because I liked it.
PG: I was sort of thrown into it myself, having been excessed to a Deaf and Hard of Hearing program. I loved working in it.
JA: Yea, it’s a different culture. They have their own culture. We actually have Deaf people who come to our shows and have a good time, because they can feel the vibration of the music. They enjoy what we do on stage, the spectacle.

MG: Tell us about performing, what do you like most about touring, getting to improvise every concert and performing the “Monkey Switcheroo”?
JR: There are so many different aspects of touring that really makes us happy. One is the stage show, the switching, that’s just what we do. That’s what makes 100 Monkeys special. However, I think one of the favorite aspects of touring for all of us has been being able to meet new bands. For instance, are y’all local here? (Orlando)
PG & MG: Yea.
JR: If you were able to check out Beebs and Her Money Makers, they were fantastic. And you know, it’s being able to meet new bands like them, that being inspired by them to either up the ante or try something different. When we were in Nashville, Tennessee, we met the bassist for Darius Rucker, this guy named John Mason. He was great, we took him out for a beer afterwards and really just pried into his brain about what about our stage show that maybe even we can perfect. I think that’s what we really love about touring. It’s getting to meet the fans, face to face, and getting to meet new bands that are doing new cool things. We get toys all the time [motioning to the 100 Monkeys’ monkey given to Ben Graupner] which keeps us entertained because we all have ADHD, which really showcases in our music and our instrumentation. [laughs]

PG: Tell us about the Spencer Bell Memorial Project?
JR: It’s one of those things that’s really near and dear to our hearts. We’ve been doing it for a long time.
BG: It’s evolved recently and we now do The Spencer Bell Legacy concerts. The most recent one was put on at Mohawks in Austin, Texas. It wasn’t even put on by one of us or Spencer’s family. It was just a couple of fans of his music who took it upon themselves to contact all the bands and put on the show. We think that’s really cool, that people are inspired by his music. They love his music and his writing. They are just taking it upon themselves to bring people together to celebrate it. Also there has been, what was the name of that drug that they did the research for?
JR: I’m not sure of the exact name of the drug. But due to the money that has been raised by the fans over the course of a couple of years doing the SBLs, they actually changed the adrenal cancer drug for the first time since 1965. Dr. Gary Hammer was finally able to persuade the pharmaceutical companies. Literally the 100 Monkey Effect is about the collective consciousness and about raising an awareness for something. Because we were able to raise such an awareness for it, he finally was able to convince the pharmaceutical companies to create a new drug since 1965, which is extremely, extremely hard to do because there’s no money in it. Pharmaceutical companies only focus on what will make them money. If its orphan cancers like that, there’s not enough people out there with that specific cancer. The interesting thing about adrenal cancer, and other orphan cancers like it that kill a lot of people all over the world, is that it is one mutation of a chromosome. Which hopefully if you can find a cure for that, then you can really get deeper into being able to find a cure for breast cancer which has 30 different mutations and prostate cancer which also has about 30 different mutations. So hopefully if we focus on orphan cancer awareness, we can get doctors to discover what one mutation takes. Because one mutation is what starts it all; and that’s the hardest thing to find and that’s really exactly what we are trying to figure out with orphan cancer.

All photos taken by and are Copyright © Patty Gencarelli

Joey Fatone is known best for being a member of the band *NSYNC, but it is after the band was when Joey’s career has really taken off. Since then, he has been in movies including “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and the upcoming horror film “Inkubus”. On TV, you can’t forget his “Star Wars” Tango on “Dancing with the Stars” and kids will remember his appearances on “Imagination Movers” and “Hannah Montana”. Joey is also hosting “Karaoke Battle USA” this summer on ABC. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Joey about his upcoming films, his television work and his new hosting gig.

Mike Gencarelli: Since *NSYNC, You have been focusing on movies and TV, do you prefer one of other?
Joey Fatone: I enjoy all forms of entertainment really. It is always interesting when getting involved in certain things with film and television. With television sometimes it could be either a one or two camera shoot or a live audience…and those are two completely different things. I have done television in front of a live audience and then I did a film like “Inkubus”, which is a horror film. So it is very interesting to being able to work in both mediums. Then following that I did another film called “Mancation”, it is a mix of “Old School” and “The Hangover”. So I enjoy it all but it is definitely different.

MG: Do you get the same kind of thrill when you perform in film then when you were on stage?
JF: I think it is kind of different. With film, you get to see the final product, when it is edited and done. When you are doing a concert, you get an immediate response, you are performing right there…especially when you are on Broadway. There are sometimes when you do things on film and you think it is funny as hell or visa versa, you do not think it is that funny but people think it is funny as hell. An example is “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, I said “Hey you, We’re gonna kill ya”, people laugh but I do not think it is that funny. It is very interesting. When shooting that kind of stuff, that line I shot probably ten or twelve different ways as far as saying it and delivering it. I guess it was so natural and nonchalant that it came out funny.

MG: Tell us about your new film “Inkubus”?
JF: It was awesome and intense. I had never done a horror film before and to get into that kind of realm was great. To get to work with Robert Englund and William Forsythe, they have done a lot of films in general, and to figure out how to create the timing to feed off them was very cool. I honestly learned a lot from just watching them. Robert is all about film. He loves the old school Hollywood and he has all this great knowledge.

MG: Tell us about your role in the film?
JF: I play Detective Tom Caretti. The story takes place with our office moving to a new precinct. There are a few cops stuck in the old one, still transferring everything over. A kid comes in arrested claiming he cut off his girlfriends head. That is where the mayhem starts. Robert who plays Inkubus comes in with the girls head that this kid supposedly cut off and said he did it. All this havoc just happens. I play this Detective looking to become a Lieutenant when I move over to the new precinct. Inkubus is the kind of guy that kind of mind fucks everyone. It is an exciting film. The director, Glenn Ciano, is a good friend of mine. He wrote “Homie Spumoni”, which I did with Donald Faison and Whoopi Goldberg. Having a relationship with him and relaying my ideas to him was great.  I was able to watch the film through its editing process, which is something not a lot of actors get to see. It was pretty cool.

MG: How did you get involved with “Imagination Movers in Concert”?
JF: [laughs] Basically they just called me up. I never met the guys before but my nephew was a huge fan of the show. I have done some work on Disney Channel before and they said that they wanted to me to be apart of the show. I figured what the heck and said “Let’s have fun with it”. It was really interesting experience. These guys have this great over the top energy and it is so infectious you can’t help it. Kids really see that and really respond to it. It was fun. Doug (Fisher) from “Ace of Cakes” also did one and we met while filming briefly. After I did the show, I got a call that they were doing this live concert. I thought it would be cool and Doug was doing it as well. With all the people they have worked with it is cool that they choose us for the live concert. It was really fun.

MG: Tell us about your experience on “Dancing with the Stars”?
JF: It was interesting, I got asked to do it the very first season and I turned it down. They asked me again the second season and I turned it down. Again for the third season and I turned it down. I knew it had legs and popularity to it and I started to think how could I benefit from this. I waited and soon I realized that 22+ million viewers watch the show and there has to be something there. I thought then it might be worth a shot. When they asked me to give them songs to submit, I was told I could give them as many as I wanted…so I gave them about 170 songs. They then told me the average was usually 10-20 songs. It was random stuff that nobody would ever use. I started pulling off soundtracks…”Superman”, “Star Wars” and “Willy Wonka”. It was cool because a lot of the songs I chose did get cleared and I did do the songs like the “Star Wars” Tango, most people remember that one the most. You got all these people that never watched “Dancing with the Stars” and they started watching cause of “Star Wars”. It was a lot of fun. It then branched off to me doing other things. People got a chance to see my personality. I guess they knew I was in a band with five other guys but never saw my personality come to life. What you see is what you get. It was just something I had never done and just took a crack at it.

MG: Am I allowed to bring up your character Joey Vitolo in “Hannah Montana”…”Try the Veal!?”
JF: [laughs] It is very interesting how the conversation came up. I was doing “Dancing with the Stars” with Billy Ray Cyrus on my season. He was in the middle of doing “Dancing with the Stars” when he started back with “Hannah Montana”. I told him that my daughter loved the show and he told me he wants to come on the show. I told him to let me know and I would do it and like not even two weeks later I got a phone call. So I went it and shot it, it was pretty interesting.

MG: Do you find that you do work that your kids would enjoy?
JF: I like to do shows like that for them, yeah. You see a lot of people like Eddie Murphy who was doing all these dirty movies…he has kids and then he does “Dr. Dolittle”. It does open your eyes to a totally different realm and you find yourself wanting to do some film and stuff for your kids and watch it as well. It was fun. My first daughter, Brianna, she has seen stuff I did with *NSYNC and she was like “Ok, whatever”, but they I did “Hannah Montana” and then I was a superstar [laughs]. Now I am famous.

MG: Tell us about your latest hosting gig on ABC, “Karaoke Battle USA”?
JF: It will star airing on August 12th. It is a prime time ABC show. Karaoke has obviously been going on for many years and each year they have a World Championship competition, this year it will be in Killarney, Ireland. What ABC did is a documentary on the karaoke world. They basically did a contest trying to find the karaoke king and queen. Once chosen, they will be representing the U.S.A. in Killarney, Ireland. They will also both get a recording contract as well. So it has been really fun. We traveled around from Houston, Las Vegas, New York and Chicago. So starting the first week of August we will be in Los Angeles.

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With training in blues guitar, classical piano, and gospel singing, Gabrielle Wortman’s extensive musical education is nothing short of a unique combination. This unique combination, however, has earned her a 2009 Los Angeles Music Award nomination for her debut album, provided her with thousands of fans across the country, and allows her to continue recording and performing. Described as “haunting and captivating”, Gabrielle Wortman is one that “stands out in the LA music scene.”  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Gabrielle about her music and her upcoming third album.

Mike Gencarelli: How you always wanted to pursue a career in music?
Gabrielle Wortman: Actually I have been always pressing a career in music.  I have been a classically trained pianist from the age of kindergarten.  If it wasn’t song writing, it was classical piano.  There was some gospel singing in there and some blues guitar as well.  I have a heavy background in musical education.  It wasn’t until middle school and high school that I really started writing songs.  I found that my own music and song writing career was really where my passion lied.

MG: What is your process when you sit down to write a song?
GW: Usually, the best songs are born in five minutes.  I kind of hear music in my head all the time.  For example, right now as we speak there is a construction site behind my apartment and when I hear the jack hammer, I can start to hear a beat.  I either have the emotion already or I have the melody and then I try to make the other sound like what you already have.  If I want to write a song about heartbreak then I want my piano to sound like its heart is breaking.  You try and keep everything really pure and in the same veins so it is a coherent song.

MG: What is your main inspiration for your music? Favorite artists?
GW: I really have an eclectic taste in music and combined with my music background is what creates my sound.  It is like an original fusion of different genres.  I have been really influenced by my classical piano background.  There is elements of Tori Amos in the way I play the piano.  Then I was also influenced by gospel singing and that shows in my vocal training.  All of my voice lines are very soulful and sensual and they have that southern kind of blues feel.  Then I grew up addicted to Radiohead and I love the way they do their drum tracks.  I have been very experimental with percussion.  I think the fusion with those three types of genres is really where I get my sound from.

MG: Tell us about your latest EP, “The Voodoo”?
I wrote it inspired by New Orleans.  It is so hard not to walk down the streets of New Orleans and soak up the flavor and the music.  It feels so haunted and heavy.  I wanted to release a two song EP, so that my fans could see the direction that my style was going in.  That is really what drew the two songs that I did.  The rest of my next album is going to be in the same vein.  The Voodoo EP kind of ended up being like a sneak peek on what is to come.

MG: Did you enjoy doing the music video for “Don’t Let Me Lose Control”?
GW: Oh my God, yes!  I did it with a really good friend of mine, who is also a great filmmaker.  I told him I had a deadline and needed to make a music video.  I think he saw it as a very pretty music video and we would go in the singer/songwriter vein where the girl looks really beautiful.  I told him “No, no, no”.  I wanted to it be kind of creepy and dark.  The whole song is about the dark side of love.  Everybody always writes about the happy side of falling in love.  There is a darker side, it is called angst, worry and unrequitedness.  I wanted that tension captured in the video too.  So we actually broke into an abandon insane asylum out here in LA.  There was no way for that music video shoot to be less glamorous.  I had glass embedded in my feet for a week after we shot that thing [laughs].  Honestly, it was so much fun and we pushed all of the limits.  It was a visual masterpiece.

MG: What do you like most about signing to a crowd?
GW: I actually just had a debate with my friend who is a musician.  For me playing live is literally the most important thing about my music career.  I can write a song, record it and put it on a album and sell it to a fan.  That fan is going to take that song, listen to it and experience by themselves.  But when I can play in front of a crowd.   I am actually experiencing my songs with my fans.  That is why I think it is such a precious bond between the artist and their fans.   That is the most powerful way to connect to somebody through music.  Honestly it is what I live for and it is definitely my favorite part of being a musician.  I have pretty have high standards for our live shows.  We are perfectionists and we rehearse and work so hard to deliver a good live show.  I think that live shows tend to get neglected nowadays but it should because it is the most important part in anyone’s music career.

MG: What can we expect might? Are you working on a full album?
GW: Yes actually all of the song for the next album are completely done.  We just need to record them.  So expect a new album in the next six months, I would say.  We are really excited about the new material, it is the best I have ever written.  We have been hearing some wonderful things about it.  So, expect a tour in the next year and then the new album in the next six months.

Engelbert Humperdinck is a legend in the international music industry for the last forty plus years, with over 150 million records sold.  He is best known for his hits including “Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)”, “After the Lovin'” and “The Last Waltz” (“The Last Waltz with You”).   Engelbert is currently on a world tour with next up to be at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with the legend about his love for music, his tour and his friendship with Elvis.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your latest album “Released”?
Engelbert Humperdinck: I had a great arranger Paul Wilshire, who came from Australia.  We recorded here in Los Angeles.  We had some great tracks on there and some great writers. It was great working with Grammy Award-winning producer Rudy Perez.  The album is really great and there are some great songs on it.  We did a song with James Blunt called “Goodbye My Lover”.  I think that people are really liking this one.  I want to tell you though, right now I have just signed with a new record label in London called Conehead and they have a new project coming out for me.  I do not even know the title of it and it is really under wraps.  But it is something I have never done before in my whole career and it will definitely surprise my record buying public.

MG: How do you feel that your music has changed since the 60’s, if at all?
EH: Music changes, of course it changes.  You have to go with the flow and what is happening in today’s world.  There is some great music in today’s word.  There are some great writers and singers around us, like Adele.  She is writing all of her own stuff, which is unbelievable.  I am hoping that my next album is going to have same the caliber of music that those songs have.

MG: How does it feel to be returning to Las Vegas to perform at the Paris Hotel?
EH: Vegas has been very good to me over the years.  I started working in Las Vegas in 1968.  During that particular time, I had Dean Martin put on the marquee of one of his hotels “Dean Martin Presents: Engelbert Humperdinck”, which is something he never did before for any performer.  He took a shine to me and liked me very much.  I did his show several times.  He even gave me The Golddiggers to take on the road with me.  That only happened in the early days of Las Vegas.  Since then I have played at the Hilton Hotel where Elvis used to play.  I had the good fortune of even using the same suite as him.  It has been an amazing journey for me.  I went from there to MGM and then also Bailey’s.  Now I am at Paris, which is unbelievable.  I hear that all of the cabs in Vegas have my name and billboard on them.  It is really blowing up in Vegas right now, as far as my return. So I am very excited.

MG: You are not only visiting Vegas, you have a world tour planned.  Tell us about the tour and what you have planned?
EH: My upcoming tour is taking me all over the world.  In August, I am going to do a festival in Singapore.  I have been all over the world and that is what I want to do with my life.  I want to go to all the places around the world and sing.  In 1967, I had a hit called “Release Me”, which was number one around the world and it gave me a global audience immediately.  I was able to visit all these lovely countries.  Now I am going back there and spending time around the world and giving my music to the people.

MG: What gets you excited most about going out on stage night after night?
EH: I get the same feeling every night before I walk on stage.  I have been in this business over 40 years now.  I still get excited before I walk on stage.  I am nervous, my hands are cold and I still get butterflies [laughs].  When I walk out there though to the audience and I get the amazing reception from them, it just picks me up charges my batteries and off we go with a great show.

MG: What is your favorite song that make sure to always since at concerts?
EH: Well it has to be my signature tune, the one that started my life “Release Me”.  As you know, it stopped The Beatles from having their 15th number 1 with “Penny Lane”.  That is my big year for me, it all happened in 1967.

MG: Tell us about your friendship with Elvis Presley?
EH: We were good friends.  I had seen his many times.  He told me “I have got all your songs and I have bought all of your albums, as a matter of fact I am going to record some of your songs”.  I told him “In that case Elvis, I am going to record some of yours”.  It was just amazing.  He was a wonderful wonderful man.  By the way, we both had the sideburns but I was the first one with the sideburns [laughs].  I told him “You stole my sideburns” and Elvis says “If it looks good on you…then it looks good on me pal!”.

MG: After this world tour, what do you have planned next?
EH: In between tour dates, I will be doing the album.  Of course it all starts in August, which is when I start recording and I should be finished by the end of September.  It should then be released in early October.

Mateo Messina is the composer behind the film “Juno” and the TV series “Fairly Legal”. His score can also recently be heard in the film “Life Happens”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Mateo on his scores and what he has planned upcoming.

Mike Gencarelli: What is the first process you take as composer when coming on a project?
Mateo Messina: I like to before we even look at the picture to discuss the story and the emotional content and what they want to get across.  It is really just trying to find out what they want to say with their movie, without even talking about the context of the picture.  Basically its what they want people to come in feeling and what they want them to be leaving feeling.  From there we would move into a spotting session.  I always tell them my job is just to help you tell your story.  We then discuss style, instrumentation and whether we are using an orchestra…things like that.  I am big on discussing the emotion of each scene.  Once I understand that story, the characters that is kind of our starting point.

MG: Do you have a genre that you like to work most in?
MM: I have done drama, I have done comedy but the three things I look forward to is it smart, is it funny and does it have a heart.  That is like my three points of criteria for doing a film.  If a film has that, I am in.  I sadly just had to turn down a horror film due to another film which I couldn’t turn down.  But I know when people are going to walk out of that theaters, they are going to feel really good.

MG: You composed for two TV series this year “Fairly Legal” & Perfect Couples”, tell us about working on those?
MM: “Fairly Legal” was simply a blast.  It has really smart writers.  Setting the tone for that show was really fun because here is this character who they want to show as the rebel of the group.  But you don’t just want to play rebellious music, that is too on the nose.  The character is very smart and sexy.  So the approach for her was how do I innovatively get across something that is sexy, fun and sometimes raunchy. What does that sound like?  So setting the tone for that so, I swear, took just as long as writing every episode.  It was really fun too, there is another character named Leo and he is super nerdy.  He was a “Dungeons and Dragons” kind of guy, so I took an old Casio 8-bit and sampled the crap out of that.  I also always made sure to include some really 8-bit sounds especially in the rhythm structure.  With “Perfect Couples”, that was another really fun show, just America did not like it as much [laughs].  The show was a little more buttoned up.  They wanted it to feel more loose.  One of the things I did was went out and got a drum set.  I put it in my studio in this room that has like 25-30 foot high ceiling and wood floors.  It is like you are just sitting in the room listening to someone play.  It felt like a garage band that had experience but were still in the garage playing.  I gave it a real human feel and that is what I like doing most with my scores.

MG: How do you find that working on TV differs from movies, if at all?
MM: The timelines are sure different [laughs].  Honestly I think there used to be this big difference between TV and film. There is a different feel in the act structure with films you work in three and TV you work in five.  They are definitely differences in the arc for the shows and stuff like that.  In film, you don’t really have that much time to flush something out.  There might be a character in television that you write a theme for them, you may be only able to catch that motif for like 10-15 seconds an episode.  It doesn’t matter though because you have 13 episodes to flush it out.  Then you will start relating the motif to the character when you watch each episode.  Like Lauren from “Fairly Legal” is a good example of that.  She was this drop dead sexy but also domineering boss, her stuff is more hip hop.  It didn’t really fit the rest of the score per se but it worked.  So whenever we get into her the music gets swanky, in a good way though [laughs].  I just doing love both mediums.

MG: You have also done a lot of short films, is it more challenging to create a score for a short film?
MM: Yes and no, it is more challenging that people do not have as much experience.  If someone is doing their third feature, they already know the drill.  Sometimes when people are just doing their first film, they want their score to be more on the nose and hit all these different points that don’t really need to be hit.  I have done some shorts that were so awe inspiring.  I just did one earlier this year called “Starsucker”, it won some festival awards.  The director, Nathan Skulnik, did an incredible job telling a story.  It is compelling and captures you and you just want more.  We even recorded with an orchestra for it.  People think that that doesn’t happen with shorts but it definitely can.  From a creative stand point, I love doing shorts.

MG: What was your inspiration for the score to “Juno”?
MM: There was a few things, one I was just blown away by the script.  My oldest brother and his wife were adopting their second child, I knew that side of it from the Lorings characters.  It was such a fun process.  I remember meeting with Ellen Page and we asked her what does Juno listen to and she said “Oh, The Moldy Peaches”.  Then I found myself on a plane going to meet Kimya Dawson while she was out on tour.  We went into the studio and we were recording stuff.  Actually a really funny story about Kimya, when she was younger she didn’t want her mom to know what she was doing playing guitar and writing songs.  So she would take a bed sheet hold it over her head and play the guitar and she had a cheap Radio Shack microphone.  She would sing very quietly into this microphone and that became her style.  So when we were recording her she ended up being so quite, I had to set up, no joke, the death-star array of mics in front of her.  It was a little intimating, so we turned off all the lights and it was pitch black and just started recording.   Then I did a ton of recording back in my studio and we were just playing guitar and we never let it go to the click.  We were working really hard to make it sound really simple.  I had a real emotional investment with the story.  I loved the idea of doing something that wasn’t a typical Hollywood score.

MG: You are actually working with Diablo Cody again, in her latest film “Young Adults”, tell us about that?
MM: Basically I got a call to do some very interesting tracks that I probably can’t share much about.  I basically did additional music on there, probably about a half a dozen samples for it that fit really well in the story.  All I can say is I have been given the gift of taking really great rock hits of the 90’s and turning them on their eyes and it will hurt a little when you hear it [laughs].  That is all I can say.

MG: Tell us about composing the upcoming film “Butter”
MM: What I can say so far is that it is a great story.  It has been so much fun.  It has an incredible cast.  We went with a full orchestral for it and also have been exploring some Motown sound.  This is being recorded some in New York, some in Detroit.  It is a really good project and it is really strong.  Musically it has been a challenge but also very fun as well.  It is really about capturing nuance in this one.  Such a great team and I am happy to be on board.

MG: Any other projects you currently working on?
MM: We just released a film called “Life Happens”.  We just premiered it at the LA Film Festival and I sat through two screenings with audiences.  I love listening to people laugh, I think it is so fun.  I watched it 85 times and still forget where you are suppose to laugh at.  It is a really good film.  I did another called “Frankie Goes Boom” with Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman, that is a really good raunchy comedy.  I just signed another project as well that I cannot talk about yet and I start working on that in about a month.  So yeah keeping really busy.

Christopher Lennertz is known for his diverse scores ranging from “Alvin and the Chipmunks” to TV’s “Supernatural” to “Vampires Suck”.  Chris recently completed work on the new film “Hop” and is also working on a projects that is very important to him which is called “A Symphony of Hope: The Haiti Project”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Chris about his new film “Hop”, as well as his upcoming projects.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your score for the film “Hop.” What was your inspiration?
Christopher Lennertz: It’s definitely a family film. I knew it had to have a lot of heart and magic to it. But the other thing that makes it really interesting is that the Easter Bunny wants to be a drummer. In the very first scene when you finally meet him he’s playing drums. So we knew there would be a big element of percussion. So we wanted to give him the personality of this really cool rock and roll drummer. And since it’s Russell Brand it made a lot of sense. (NOTE: Brand provides the voice for E.B. in “Hop”).

MG: When you were composing did you rely on any footage or just character ideas?
CL: We had a lot of footage, but the animation wasn’t finished. We had a lot of footage of the live action characters – James Marsden and those guys. But a lot of the animation wasn’t done…it was blocked out in very rough terms. So I had to imagine. And Tim Hill, the director, would tell me “this is what it’s eventually going
to look like.”

MG: Which score was harder to compose, “Hop” or “Alvin and the Chipmunks”?
CL: I felt it was definitely easier this time around because it’s my second time working with Tim Hill. I know what Tim likes and I feel we have a real comfortable relationship. I feel free to try new things and to look at things in a slightly different way. He lets me try it. We had a great time on this movie…we had a lot of fun. It really was a great
creative experience. We both knew what kind of movie we were trying to make but we both wanted to have the most fun while making it.

MG: You have done quite a few parody films, including “The Comebacks”, “Meet The Spartans”, “Disaster Movie” and the recent “Vampires Suck.” How did you get involved with these films?
CL: “Disaster Movie,” “Meet the Spartans” and “Vampires Suck” were all from the same directing team. We really get along. They like to use me because I know they like their music really BIG! Very over the top. It really plays their comedy well. And Tom Brady, who directed “The Comebacks,” and I really got along well because we both love sports movies and that was the kind of movies the film was parodying. I think I was the right fit for those kind of things. And I like doing comedies. Comedies are really hard to score. People don’t think so, but the comic timing has to be perfect or you can kill a joke. So it’s fun for me to help people tell their jokes.

MG: Is the process any different for creating scores for those type of films?
CL: Well comedy is harder because you have to be part of the joke. It’s like a comic that doesn’t tell the punch line right. If the music is not right on timing right you can actually make the joke not funny. And you certainly don’t want to do that. I love being a part of that. One of my greatest teachers and mentors was Elmer Bernstein, who wrote the music for “Stripes,” “Caddyshack,” “Animal House,” “Airplane!”…all those great comedies…”Ghostbusters.” For me he was the guy that revolutionized scoring for comedies in terms of really having the music be in on the joke. That’s what I really try to do with my comedy music as well. (NOTE: Elmer Bernstein was a 14 time Academy Award nominee who composed the scores for such classic films as “To Kill A Mockingbird,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Great Escape,” the original “True Grit” and “The Age of Innocence.” He won the Oscar for his score for “Thoroughly Modern Millie”).

MG: Do you enjoy going from a film like “Hop” to something like the television series “Supernatural?”
CL: I do actually. I’m sort of an ADD guy so it keeps me from getting bored (laughs). I love being able to do different styles of music. Just when I’ve done some really nice family stuff…really sweet themes…I can jump right in and do something scary for “Supernatural.” Get that out of my bloodstream (laughs). I love being able to mix it up.

MG: What has been your hardest score to compose to date?
CL: The one that was probably the hardest score to do, even though it was a short score, was the movie “Adam,” which came out last year. It was a much more serious score. It had comic moments but it was a pretty serious indie movie. It was about a guy that had Aspergers and fell in love. The thing about that movie that made it really rewarding – but also made it difficult – was that it was such an intimate movie. You couldn’t hide behind any visual effects or big explosions or scares…anything like that. You had to be out in the open. It wasn’t a big score. It wasn’t a big orchestra or anything. It was mostly guitars and pianos and cellos. It was about really being subtle and touching on the emotions that the characters were going through. Sometimes it’s hard to do that…to be really exposed and put it out there. We spent a lot of time working on it but in the end it really came out great.

MG: You have done quite a few video game scores. How do you feel that compares to film or TV?
CL: The only major difference is how the score is constructed. You have to write it in such a way where the music has to change depending on how good the player is. But an action piece in a video game will work like an action piece for a movie except where in the movie the character is played by an actor in the game he’s played by the player. I try to approach it in the same way because that’s what people play video games for in the first place. They want to be able to fantasize about being in another world, or the pilot of a ship or a soldier. People play video games for that escapist entertainment. So what I want to do is make them feel like they’re in the middle of that movie…of that battle. That’s what I try to accomplish when I write for video games.

MS: Tell us about your latest project, “A Symphony of Hope: The Haiti Project.”
CL: We actually recorded it last week at Warner Brothers. It was a project that I worked on for a year and three months. I came up with the idea after the earthquake hit. I had been working with a charity in Haiti that is run by a family friend of ours, Tom Hagen. The charity is called Hands Together. They build schools and they feed people and they build wells for clean water and teach people how to farm…they do all of this amazing stuff. When the earthquake hit it just broke my heart. I realized how lucky we were to be where we were and to be safe and healthy. There is so much to do in Haiti…so much catching up to do. I realized that we in the film music community had to do something. So I came up with the idea of inviting a lot of my colleagues and other composers to conceive and write a symphony that is a compilation of all of our work. It’s based off of a Haitian folk song called “Wongolo.” It ended up being a full 50 minute symphony that we recorded with a full orchestra and chorus at the Clint Eastwood scoring stage at Warner Brothers. By the summer we will have a CD out and a DVD documentary about the project. We’re going to try to really raise a lot of money to give back to this foundation so they can build more schools as well as fix the ones that were destroyed in the earthquake. We want to try and bring the people of this country along and give them something to hope for.

Daniel Licht is the composer of the new TV series “Body of Proof” which premieres on March 29th on ABC.  Daniel also does the haunting score for Showtime’s “Dexter”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Daniel about his work on the TV series as well as the differences between each genre.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about working on the new TV series “Body of Proof”?
Daniel Licht: Well, I got hired last Fall.  I did the first thirteen episodes, but I think they are only going to broadcast nine this year.  It is a very interesting show. Dana Delany’s character on the show solves crimes by doing autopsies.  Once again, I am writing music with lots of dead bodies around [laughs].

MG: What were your inspiration for that score?
DL: A lot of it is very emotional actually.  It is a procedural, which means a crime is introduced in the beginning of an episode and solved at the end.  But it is always like an emotional wrap up because these are crimes of passion.  Dana’s character manages to get people to make confessions.  The music is just really emotional.  I wanted to do something interesting instead of the standard string with sad piano lines.  I mutated the piano samples and tried to give it an interesting sound to it, sort of a futuristic sound.

MG: What was your biggest challenge when working on that score?
DL: Well it is always challenging trying to find a sound for a show…or a movie.  That is always the biggest challenge.  You have to get the theme and find the key to the show.  The dramatic part is usually pretty straight forward.  The comedic elements are always the hardest to find the right tone for.  It took me a while to find just the right tone.  There is some comedy involved as well, not slapstick though.  So, that took a while to get the tone and comedy mixed together right.  But hopefully I got the write sound [laughs].

MG: Tell us about working on the score for “Dexter”?
DL: I have been doing “Dexter” for five years.  It certainly has been a great show to work on, well acted…well written…well shot.  It really makes writing music for it a real pleasure.  The key was finding the right tone.  The show has a little ironic twist to it.  Parts of it are just very dark comedy.  It has just been great though.  I tried to create the feeling of Michael C. Hall as Dexter floating through this dark reality.  It is like a slow motion eerie carnival sound.

MG: Do you find that working on “Dexter” today differs from when you first started?
DL: Yeah!  I try and keep it moving.  I try and bring in new things but obviously there are the classic themes that come back and are a part of the show.  I rearrange them sometimes and sometimes I bring them back exactly as they were but I extended or shorten them.  I have tried to get into different sounds for this season.  The last season you had Julie Stiles and her character, so I started using strings and woodwinds.  Woodwinds is not a sound that is used a lot in “Dexter”.  The season before that featured Jon Lithgow and we used a lot of smashing sounds, like beating on the inside of a piano and some more techo elements as well.  That whole season, they wanted the music driving from the beginning of the episode until the end.  It is like a pulsing sound throughout the episode.  I just try and keep it interesting.

MG: You have done quite a few feature films in the horror genre, is that a favorite genre for you?
DL: I liked to have a little variety for what I work in and write.  But if I had to just to one…like if someone said to me “You can do light comedy or this or that”…I would want to do something dark, if I had to do only one style. I like to get emotionally involved with the music when I am writing.  I want to get the deep emotions from it.  I find that challenging for myself.  Part of it is just getting an opportunity, the first film I got offered was a vampire film and that is what you become…an expert on what you have done.

MG: Do you find that it differs for each genre you compose for?
Oh absolutely.  I will do research if I am working on a film that takes place in a certain location.  I will reach the music.  I will do out and buy specific instruments.  Even mood-wise, working on really dark stuff all day will make you kind of moody.  I have also done some more comedic stuff as well and you fell lighter as it affects you mood throughout the day.

Henry Rollins has done just about every type of medium in the entertainment business. From fronting such bands as Black Flag and the Rollins band to various television and movie roles as well as having his on weekly radio show. Henry has shown the world that he truly is a modern day jack of all trades. Henry ushered in his 50^th birthday this past February with a string of shows in NY, LA and DC and kicks off a U.S. tour this month. Movie Mikes had the chance to speak with Henry about the new tour and all the other things he has going on.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about your new spoken word tour “50”?
Henry Rollins: The tour is a very small group of about 30-35 shows. This year isn’t really going to be a big tour year however it just so happens that I turned 50 and I felt I had to do some shows. Turning 50 is just so funny. I felt doing some shows would be a great opportunity to poke fun at myself. The subject matter of the shows isn’t going to be a big production where I talk about being 50 and then play a violin and cry it’s simply going to be about places I have gone and my experiences and thoughts during that time. I do have a few things in there about turning 50 as I think society likes these types of numbers. I realized that being 50 in some ways has caused me to pause momentarily and take stock of things that are somewhat different now. I realized that there are things I just don’t or can’t do anymore. I may look at a woman and think to myself that she’s pretty but then think what am I doing she’s half my age! (Laughs)

AL: You have been described by some as a renaissance man. Do you find one of your works more rewarding than the others?
HR: No. I am kind of in the mood of permanent gratitude. All the things I get to do I feel are amazing opportunities. It’s great to be on stage! It’s great to be on film and on the microphone! For me it’s a big stew that I am peculating in with all the other ingredients. The overall is the good part for me. I can tell you that they all have different levels of stress.

AL: From the films you have been in do you have one role that sticks out as a favorite?
HR: I think the one I had the most fun on was “The Chase”. That film was also the first film I had ever done. It was fun because it was a comedy and no one really took themselves seriously. The director allowed me to make my own lines, so a lot of what made it into the film I came up with. It was just really great to get that green light from the director and be able to provide my own input and ideas.

AL: How did you initially become involved in acting?
HR: The directors of “The Chase” were fans of my music and they came to me with asking if I would be in their film. I figured I had nothing to lose and didn’t really have a reputation or a real job! I have gone through life fairly independent and I feel one suites one’s self very well by saying yes to things. In the 1980’s I saw a lot of people in independent music who were more talented than I get hung up with no options because they never had a plan B. When music didn’t work for them they were stuck. I just started saying yes to different job options and working overtime at getting better at each one. Overtime a lot of things have come my way.

AL: You are also an avid traveler, is there one place you have been that is a favorite?
HR: No. It’s all kind of my favorite. There are some countries where I don’t know if I will be back only because I wasn’t struck to learn more about that area. For example when I was in Brunei, a very small benevolent country, it was like walking through a gift shop. You walk through to check it out and that’s it. I am more interested in regions than specific countries. I love to learn about the history of specific regions especially Southeast Asia and America’s history with that area. I really want to get back to Cambodia and Laos. I also find the Middle East and Africa very interesting and try to make it to those places at least one to two times a year. I have met a lot of great people and seen a lot of great places.

AL: How was your experience working with William Shatner?
HR: He is a wonderful guy. We have remained friends since that time and I see him quite regularly. He actually lives up the street from me. He seems to always invite me to his Monday night football parties. Even though I’m not really a big sports guy I always go as he has really nice friends and very good food. I think Bill kind of pity’s me as I don’t know a lot of people and am somewhat of a workaholic. I think he just tries to get me out of my house and interacting with other people. He really has a big heart and is truly one of the nicest people I have met. I feel very lucky to have him as a friend.

AL: Can you tell us about any of your other upcoming projects?
HR: I am going to be doing a lot of work with National Geographic this year. I have a show coming out next month on Nat Geo Wild about snakes. I have continued to talk with the people involved with that show about doing some more animal type shows. I hope to be able to shoot that over the summer and also hoping it takes up a good portion of this year. Next year I have been pretty much spoken for and am planning a large scale tour.

It wasn’t hard for Schuyler Fisk to think of a career. Her parents are Jack Fisk, an Oscar nominated art director and set designer, and Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek. Raised on the family farm in Virginia, Schuyler Fisk began acting in school plays, tackling the title role of “Annie” in the sixth grade. Her first major film role was in 1995’s “The Babysitter’s Club.” Roles in films like “Snow Day” and “Orange County” followed.

But Ms. Fisk also has a second love: music. Having learned how to play the guitar from her mother, she began writing her own songs. After graduating from the University of Virginia she began recording and touring. She has been featured on the soundtracks of such films as “Gray Matters,” “The Last Kiss” and “Dear John.” In 2009 she released her first album, “The Good Stuff,” which hit #1 on the iTunes Folk Chart.

This year she will be back on the big screen in Gus Van Sant’s “Restless.” Her new album, “Blue Ribbon Winner,” will be released this coming Tuesday, March 1st. You can purchase the title track now on iTunes as a pre-release single. Ms. Fisk recently sat down with MovieMikes to talk about her acting, her music and working with Gus Van Sant:

Mike Smith: Thank you so much for your time. I caught you at the Record Bar when you played in Kansas City last year and really enjoyed your show!
Schuyler Fisk: Thanks! I always have a good time when I’m in Kansas City.

MS: Though your first name is pronounced “Skyler” it has an unusual spelling. Is there a story behind that?
SF: Haha, well, as far as I’m concerned my name’s “unusual” spelling is the CORRECT way to spell Schuyler! It’s a Dutch name that means “Scholar” (or so I’ve been told), but it is also the name of a rock quarry near where I grew up. I think my parents liked the name because it’s strong. Actually, it is originally a boy’s name. They wanted to give their girls strong names and raise them to be strong women.

MS: Was acting something you had always wanted to do or something you just decided you really enjoyed doing?
SF: Acting is something I loved doing for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I was in every school play and also involved in the community theater programs. I was particularly interested in musical theater because I loved to sing so much.

MS: After a five year acting hiatus you’ll soon be seen in the film “Restless.” Why so long between film projects?
SF: It was never something I really planned; it was just how things sort of worked out. I had consciously taken a break from acting to focus on my music (Ms. Fisk’s second album, Blue Ribbon Winner, comes out March 1, 2011). I always thought that I would continue acting at some point, but I wasn’t really actively pursuing it at the time. I had an opportunity to audition for “Restless” and, well, between the most beautiful script and an incredible director it was a no brainer. I really connected to the character of Elizabeth, and from the minute I went in to audition I was just convinced that I was Elizabeth. I guess they agreed! As far as juggling my two careers, my philosophy is to just continue to be creative, move forward, and go with whatever is feeling right to me at the time. There’s not some grand plan I have laid out.

MS: How was it collaborating on a project with Gus Van Sant?
SF: It was an experience I will never forget. He is very relaxed, and because of that the entire crew is relaxed. You hardly feel that you are working. There is something so interesting about Gus, almost like he knows something about the world that we don’t, but in a very good way. He is so creative and talented, and he makes it look so easy. I would look at him between takes as he smiled and joked, thinking to myself, “I would kill to know what is going on behind his eyes right now!” Certainly something incredible.

MS: What got you interested in music?
SF: I’ve always been interested in music. Music brings people together. Music makes you feel emotions. Music sets a mood. I remember my mom picking me up from grade school in her old white BMW and we’d crank the radio up really loud, roll the windows down and just sing at the top of our lungs! And my mom would always harmonize to songs on the radio and I remember thinking, “one day I’m going to do that too!”

MS: Your first album, “The Good Stuff,” was well received critically. Where do you draw your inspiration for your songs?
SF: For me, inspiration comes from all over. I’ve been inspired by films I’ve watched, by books I’ve read, stories people have told me, experiences from my own life, jokes… you name it. I think the key to being a good songwriter is to be connected to the world around you to and to be open to be inspired at all times.

MS: Tell us about your upcoming album, “Blue Ribbon Winner.”
SF: I am so excited about this new record. I got to record it in a barn on a farm in Virginia, where I grew up. It was just a really special experience for me and I think that comes across in the music. You can really hear all my influences from over the years come together in a way that is my own. I can’t wait for people to finally hear it!

MS: What do you prefer to do more, acting or music?
SF: You know, the answer to this question changes often, but right now I’d say that I prefer music more.

MS: Any other projects on the horizon?
SF: I continue to work with my hometown SPCA to raise awareness and money for their amazing organization. If you download my single “Love Somebody” on iTunes all the proceeds go to the SPCA! I also have a country-side project band called FM RADIO with my good friend and collaborator Tim Myers. It’s a lot of fun and very different than my solo stuff. www.facebook.com/ilovefmradio And of course, I’m hitting the road to promote my new record Blue Ribbon Winner! Tour dates are posted on my website www.schuylerfisk.com

John Ottman is best known for his collaborations with film director Bryan Singer, and composing the scores for “The Usual Suspects”, “X2: X-Men United”, “Superman Returns” and most recently “Unknown”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with John on his past scores and what he is currently working on.

Mike Gencarelli: What is t he first step you take when starting to compose a film?
John Ottman: First, I take a Xanax and take a deep breath. Or is it the other way around? Kidding aside, at first glance, having an entire film ahead of you can be a daunting prospect. Especially the ones I get, which always require such an enormous amount of score. Composers are usually up against the wall, and are the last great hope of the film; all the other areas of the film are at the exhaustion point and they’ve tried almost everything, or are still tinkering when you come on board. I live with the film for a bit, watch it a couple times, ruminate about it in bed and while driving to the store until a concept or approach comes to mind. I want to crack the sound of the film almost like deciphering a code. But before things have gelled too much, you have to dive in. When I have an approach I discuss that with the filmmakers. The director will also have specific or broad ideas about what he’s looking for. Then there are the inevitable problem areas that the music can try to help or solve in a pragmatic way. My next step is to come up with motifs and themes for the film, characters, situations, etc. This becomes the inspiration and well from which I draw. It’s a lot of work up front to preconceive these themes, but for me it pays off in the end. Just winging it as I go along is much harder, as I’m more in a fog as to what the thematic structure should be for the story. Scoring a film is a bit of both – planning and coming up with new ideas as you go along. But if I have a template ahead of time, those new ideas are going to be more refined, and a better musical story will be told. You have to know where you’re going.

MG: How did you get involved working with Bryan Singer and his films?
JO: I was the editor on a USC student film that Bryan was a PA on. He saw what I had done to the film (I replaced a previous editor), and we became acquaintances. He then got money together to do a short film and I cut and co-directed it with him. We did an industry invite screening with other short films and got the attention of a Japanese company looking to produce low budget features. They financed $250,000 to make “Public Access”, which I ended up editing. When the composer dropped out at the last minute, I volunteered to score the film, which I had been doing as a hobby. Public Access ended up winning at Sundance, and after that the Usual Suspects deal was put together. Bryan refused to make the film unless I was both the film’s editor and composer. In other words, he refused to let me just score the movie. And to this day, the enforced labor camp of editing a project for over a year in order to score it continues.

MG: You have worked a quite a few superhero films (i.e. “X2”, “Superman Returns” and “Fantastic Four 1 & 2”, do you find it difficult to distinguish the sounds?
JO: That’s always the concern going in, but every film has something very different that I draw from – usually the characters’ plights. I can’t score a film unless I approach the music from the point of view of the characters. They are the genesis of everything for me. So even though these films are of the same genre, the music ends up addressing different issues and characters within a super hero context: “X-Men” is darker and more serious; “Fantastic 4”, lighter and more on the sleeve; “Superman”, emotional, even introspective, and grand.

MG: What has been your hardest film to work on to date?
JO: Well, you wouldn’t think so but “Lake Placid’ was difficult because it’s the one score I’ve done where I couldn’t draw from any characters. The humans were cardboard or one-liners (great one liners), and the crocodile didn’t have any history or plight for me to grab onto. So much of the music was just to keep things fun, exciting or scary. There’s basically one major theme that encompasses the mystery, adventure and the crocodile himself, who’s part of that mystery.

MG: Do you have a favorite?
JO: My most enjoyable score to write was “Astro Boy”, and it ranks among my favorites. But also “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” was a blast for me to do, and is certainly one of my best. My favorite work always seems to be for films no one sees, or hears. Sigh.

MG: Do you feel that the budget of the film reflects your flexibility with the project?
JO: Well it affects the ease of working on the project, and your writing speed. With the low budget synth- supported scores, it’s ten times more labor intensive because there’s so much synth producing eating into composing time. You spend the bulk of your time finding samples, designing sounds and doing detailed mixes. The sounds you’re using aren’t merely for mock-up purposes, but the final product. The irony is that a lot of the synth work is working samples to sound like the orchestra. When it’s mainly an orchestral recording I can write much faster, as I’m not producing a final product. It’s going to be recorded later. The producers don’t understand that when they pay you less to do a synth score, you’re working at least twice as hard to get it to sounds non-low budget. It’s a double f**k.

MG: Tell us about your latest score “Unknown”? What was the process you used when working on the film?
JO: “Unknown” is more of a psychological journey than action score. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson), is a biologist, and in love with his wife, Liz. At least that’s what he believes. Therefore the audience has to believe this as well. When he doubts himself, so must the audience. And that was the musical challenge. The music’s aim was to get into his head and experience the world through his eyes.The film taunts you to ask questions and make suppositions via Martin’s experience. The idea was to establish a familiar musical place and slowly morph it to sound more confused as the film goes on. The story begins with him and Liz driving to a hotel where they’re attending a conference. This music is a place of normalcy for Martin, marked by a piano melody connoting his world and his connection with her. When things start turning upside down, I tried to signify his “confusion” by taking the melody and “stressing it out” with atonal elements. I wanted the music to reflect his bewilderment, yet do it with empathy. I had a personal mission to keep a large portion of the score free of electronic loops. The temporary score was basically a giant collection of flavor-of-the-day rhythmic wallpaper. Even when Martin was alone to contemplate, or lay on a gurney in a hospital, it was synth rhythms – almost to a comical degree. It felt like a TV show. I kept commenting that there was actually an intriguing story under all that noise. The common fear is that without a constant beat, the film will drag. The opposite was true. By breaking it up and stripping out the incessant bologne, the film transformed to something far more captivating. There are, of course, a lot of aggressive rhythms in the action cues, but I tried to keep it sounding organic, or classic. But most of the score is lyrical in nature. It’s a journey.

MG: Tell us about some of your upcoming projects?
JO: I’m off to editing prison for a year and a half for “Jack the Giant Killer”, based upon the “Jack and the Beanstalk” fable. It’ll be a big budget motion capture project. MoCap, as they call it, is apparently is an editing nightmare based upon what I’ve seen about “Avatar”. I’m off to London for six months of that sentence in a few days. So I’ll get one score to write in the next year and a half. I don’t know why I do this to myself. At least it will be a score with a good recording budget.

Marc Fantini is known best for his score work with Steffan Fantini and Scott Gordan on TV’s “Criminal Minds” and now its spin off “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior”, starring Forest Whitaker.  Marc and his partners have also worked on the TV series “Army Wives” and recently completed working on the film “The Lost Medallion”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Marc about working with his two partners and scoring the “Criminal Minds” Franchise .

Mike Gencarelli: How is it working together with Steffan Fantini, and Scott Gordan on your scores? How do you separate the tasks?
Marc Fantini: What we found out is that three is the magic number for us. If you are working alone…that is one way to work.  If you are working with two people and you have a disagreement…you really don’t have a tiebreaker.  But with three people, it is the trifecta.  One person is the tiebreaker, so that kind of helps a lot.  We haven’t done much apart because the technique seems to work for us a lot.  We have a really strong competitive force that we have between the three of us which pushes the envelope further and further. We are also trying one-up each other and impress each other in a very positive way.  Not to mention that the guys are really cool people to hang out with, but working with three people has been a blessing.

MG: Having worked on “Criminal Minds” for six years, what do you do to keep the music different over each season?
MF: We treat each episode like a new movie each week.  There are certain commonalities with each episode for “Criminal Minds”, each one has the board room for instance.  But each story is different in its own way.  We huddle up at the beginning of the scoring session and try and figure out what is different about each episode.  We talk about the differences and try and do something different that relates to this episode.  In the recent episode for example, where the guy was trying to decipher the perfect smell, we would try and figure out what could evoke musically the thought of smell and air.  We would also try and figure out what sound would make you think about that or makes you feel that way.  Once we do that, we share them and they become current thoughout the episode. Since you would never score any two movies the same way, it is the same for us with each episode.

MG: With the new show “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior”, how do you feel it differs from its  predecessor?
MF: It is a different style of working for the show, since on the show they are more of a rouge team.  They do things outside of the box and push as far as they can.  They do not work in suits in an office, they work in a gym and very dirty underground places.  The music is set to reflect all those situations.  It is more street and gritty and is also like a touch more aggressive in a sense.  I would say it is a little different than “Criminal Minds” but not 180 degree difference, since they are brother and sister shows.  Nobody is interested in watching two hours of the same show though.  We wanted to strive to make it have a different feel through the music without straying too far from what made the original show so great.

MG: How do you compare workintg on “Criminal Minds” to “Army Wives”?
MF: That is a great question, in that case…it is 180 degree difference.  With “Army Wives”, it is a very organic score.  I am guitar player, so I get a chance to play with all my guitars every week and test out new sounds.  Nothing done for the score is synthethic.  Everything is creating organically whether it is through pedal boards or strange microphone techniques.  We tried to create unique but organic sounds. When you get on an Army base you get real people and real people is an organic thing, it is not fake in any way.  I have always been a fan of The Allman Brothers and bands like that and how they have that organic sound and kind of feel. We wanted to incorporate that into the score.  It is almost like jamming.  We get together…I will play my acoustic…Steffan will be on a B3…Scott will play the drums or bass and we watch the scene.  We sort of just keep jamming to the scene until we find something that works.  That is pretty much how that score is written.  There are definitely spots in that score that are orchestral, since it is an emotional kind of show. We use it in conjuction though with the organic process.  It is a really fun show to write for.

MG: Is there a difference from working on film than working on television?
MF: Sure, there is a pretty big difference. Television is a great medium and I love writing for it.  Working under the boundary of a single hour, you have to try and get the most bang for your buck. It is almost like you are putting more into the music for television.  Whereas you can get away with being a little more sparce and tasteful when you are doing movies. In the movie, you have a chance to play over scenes and not have to narrate everyone sound that takes place.

MG: Do you have other projects upcoming?
MF: We are doing a pliot for Ed Bernero called “Partners”.  It is really excited and unbelievably well written show for ABC.  It is about two female cops who unbenounced to anyone are sisters.  The writting is so good and very intelligence.  It crosses the boundary like the film “Lethal Weapon”, there is humor but always seriousness. The way that they interplay the show with humor, you do not see that much.  We also did a movie with some great people, the director was Bill Muir and produced by Bobby Downes and Kevin Downes.  It was called “The Lost Medallion” and is a children action adventure film. It was really fun.  We also have another pilot we may do but not locked in 100% yet.

Michael Derks and Cory Smoot are their given names however most GWAR fans know them as the guitar wielding duo made up of Balsac the Jaws of Death and Flattus Maximus. Movie Mikes had a chance to interview Michael (Balzac) and Cory (Flattus) about the bands recent Australian tour and the band’s new album “Bloody Pit of Horror”.

Click here to purchase GWAR’s music and new CD “Bloody Pit of Horror”

Adam Lawton: How is everything going today guys?
Michael Derks: Ugh I am jet lagged as hell from Australia! (Laughs)
Cory Smoot: Pretty good man.

AL: How did each of you come to join the band?
MD: I was going to VCU and I had been playing guitar with Mike Bishop,who played Beefcake on the GWAR album “Hell-O.” Just as I started jamming with him, Steve Douglas who played Balsac was kicked out of the band. From there they asked me to join the band.
CS: Back in 2002, GWAR had lost their previous guitar player Zack Blair.  I had always been a local guy in Richmond. I was playing in a band called Misguided which had opened for Rawg a few times and I was friends with Dave Brockie. One day they called me up and asked me to join the group. I think I am now the longest lasting person to play the Flattus character.

AL: Michael, what did you think initially about having to where the Balsac costume?
MD: (Laughs) it was fun. I wasn’t really excited about having to wear it but it wasn’t horrible. The costume has actually gotten bigger and bigger over the years.  So back when I was asked to join it really wasn’t too big of a deal. At first there was really just a mask and some boots. Now I have huge legs and shoulders pads.

AL: How was it touring Australia for the first time?
MD: It was a lot of fun. The Aussies went crazy!
CS: It was really beautiful and awesome. It was summer time there which beats the weather we are having here right now.

AL: Were you guys surprised by how great the reception was?
MD: Everyone goes crazy for us we are fucking GWAR! (Laughs).   If we had gotten anything less they would not have survived!
CS: The crowds were really great and the promoters really want us to come back again soon!

AL: What’s your favorite track off the new album?
MD: The opening track “Bloody Pit of Horror” which is actually just about the entire first half of the album. That song or songs really encompasses a lot of different styles. It covers a lot.
CS: I like “KZ Necromancer” as well as “Bloody Pit of Horror” which we get to change it up a bit and play eight string guitars.

AL: What was it like using an eight string guitar on that track?
MD: It was fun! At first I hated it. When I picked it up I thought it was ridiculous. It was a really weird feeling but after using it this whole tour it’s actually still ridiculous. (Laughs) I have gotten used to it and its kind of fun to hit that low F string.
CS: It was different but it wasn’t too hard to get used to. I had some experience on the last album using one so I knew what I was in for.

AL: You both worked as producers on GWAR’s latest DVD release “Lust in Space: Live at the National” correct?
MD: I actually did more of the engineering work of the audio mixes than the visual production side of things. Cory was more of the producer. As a band, we produce the songs collectively.
CS: Besides producing the DVD I also have produced the last two GWAR records “Lust in Space” and “Bloody Pit of Horror”. I also co-produced “Beyond Hell” and “War Party.” So I kind of have a dual role as artist and producer.

AL: What are your plans for when the tour wraps up?
MD: As soon as I get home I have to go back to work as a bartender because it costs a lot to be a big rubber monster (Laughs).
CS: I have a recording studio at home called Karma Productions that I plan to start spending a lot more time on.  The wife and I have started to look for land which we can build a house and studio on.

AL: Any funny stories from this year’s tour?
CS: Oh there were some fun and crazy moments. Nothing was however too crazy other than the fact that we are GWAR and a certain amount of that stuff comes with the territory. The customs officers had a good time going through are stage gear (Laughs).

Click here to purchase GWAR’s music and new CD “Bloody Pit of Horror”

One of the more under rated rhythm sections in Heavy Metal is that of Jizmak Da Gusha and Beefcake the Mighty also know as Brad Roberts & Casey Orr from the legendary Gore-Rock band GWAR.  Movie Mikes recently had a chance to speak with the duo in character about their recent tour of Australia and GWAR’s new album “Bloody Pit of Horror.”

Click here to purchase GWAR’s music and new CD “Bloody Pit of Horror”

Adam Lawton: How did you each join the band?
Jizmak: Well the first drummer Nippleus Erectus over dosed on a huge Red Bull type energy drink. He actually created the very first energy drink which was made entirely of liquid crack. Nippleus drank one of those and went completely crazy and eventually over dosed. They called me because I am Balzac, the Jaws of Death’s cousin. I got the gig based on the whole family principle. I have now been with the band for around 22 million years.
Beefcake: I joined the band by being fucking Bad Ass!  I also walked in with a quarter pound of weed and knew the songs. That was it. I was in. Siding with the Scum Dogs after an immense intergalactic battle didn’t hurt either! They needed muscle! I have been with the group on a few different occasions and I am Beefcake 2, 4, 6 and 8.

AL: What did you think about having to wear the costumes?
Beefcake: I thought it was pretty kick ass! The reason I started playing bass was because I loved Gene Simmons costume. I get to do the next best thing. I had been a fan before I joined so I knew what to expect.

AL: How was it touring Australia for the first time?
Jizmak: I really expected a whole lot of Kangaroo fucking and I was totally disappointed. I did however really enjoy the cuisine. They have these fried koala assholes that are excellent! (Laughs)
Beefcake: It was very expensive! We fucked a wallaby as a bonding experience.

AL: Any crazy moments from this tour?
Jizmak: There was one. We were in Ft. Lauderdale one night and after getting drunk and hanging out with the natives. We started walking along the beach and all of a sudden a dead guy washed up in the surf! So we pulled him out and started beating on him because we figured he was already dead and we shouldn’t save him. Somehow the guy lived! I thought he was dead if I had known he was alive I would have stuck him with something and killed him. The next day I wanted to do a press release stating that GWAR finds a washed up body. Man lives but GWAR feels horrible about it!
Beefcake: We wrestled a shark that turned out to be really cool so we went drinking with him afterwards. It was really cool getting to go to new places and play with a whole bunch of rock stars like NOFX and Megadeth.

AL: What is each of yours favorite track off the new album?
Jizmak: I think it’s the opening track “Bloody Pit of Horror” all four parts.
Beefcake: “Beat You to Death” of course! It’s the best song on there. I also like Tick-Tits which I wrote the music to. The whole record is great.

AL: What was it like being on the Jimmy Fallon show?
Jizmak: Jimmy Fallon was a scared little pussy! He didn’t even come out to visit us.

AL: Any plans for more TV appearances?
Jizmak: I think that’s probably our first and last national TV appearance (Laughs).  Somebody must have gotten fired for putting us on the air. It’s like us getting nominated for a Grammy. Somebody lost their job.

AL: Any plans once the tour is over?
Jizmak: I want to conquer the little people of Japan! I think they are deathly afraid of us. I can’t wait for GWAR to go there and spew bile onto their entire germ-o-phobic nation! Gor-Gor will eat them all alive.
Beefcake: I am going to record a new Hellions record. I also am going to for the first time in 20 years record some new Rigor Mortis songs and start shopping those around. I am going to try and stay real busy.

Click here to purchase GWAR’s music and new CD “Bloody Pit of Horror”