Music Notes

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018

A New Position At Position Music For Griffiths

Wendy Griffiths

LOS ANGELES --

Wendy Griffiths has been promoted to EVP of synch & creative marketing for Position Music, an L.A.-based independent publisher, record label and management firm headed by president/CEO Tyler Bacon.

Griffiths joined Position Music in 2016 as SVP of creative marketing and is responsible for building and overseeing the pitching, sales and licensing teams to secure synchronizations for Position Music’s repertoire in advertising, film, TV, Trailers and video games. She monitors the company’s overall synch revenue which has subsequently grown by 40% during her first year at the company and has been instrumental in growing Position Music’s commercial division by securing numerous placements with Jeep, McDonald’s and Samsung, among others.

In her new position, Griffiths continues to work daily with Position Music’s composers and A&R staff as well as colleagues at major and indie music publishing companies to create original and cover music for pitching opportunities. She has brought in blanket deals for the company’s production music divisions and worked directly with TV shows such as America’s Got Talent and Dancing With The Stars for custom placements. In addition to Griffiths’ synchronization leadership role, she will begin to work with the roster of developing artists on the label side, building out branding and marketing opportunities.

Prior to working at Position Music, Griffiths was EVP of licensing & synch for BMG where she managed the marketing, synch and licensing efforts for all new clients, pulling from a catalog that included music from Kurt Cobain, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, Soundgarden, Bruno Mars, Will.i.am and John Legend.

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018

ASCAP hosts all-female songwriting camp to improve diversity

In this Oct. 17, 2018, photo, Mary J. Blige, center, talks with participants in an all-female songwriters workshop in Nashville, Tenn. The camp featured writers, producers and engineers who’ve worked in pop, country, R&B and electronic music genres. They all met with Blige, who wanted to inspire them to write a song that she might want to record. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Kristin M. Hall

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) --

In a spacious recording studio in Nashville, two singer-songwriters, Priscilla Renea and Jillian Jacqueline, were working through a song idea, trading suggestions for lyrics and melody on the theme of resurrection.

"When you least expect it.," Jacqueline started off. "Resurrection!" says Renea with a flourish. Shortly after, Mary J. Blige walked into the studio and the two women stopped singing. They were trying to come up with a song the Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul might want to record, but it wasn't quite ready yet.

"We were trying to get a head start on you," Renea told Blige.

The setting last week was the first all-female songwriting camp organized by the performing rights organization ASCAP under a new music industry diversity initiative called "She Is the Music," started by Alicia Keys and other top female music executives.

A report earlier this year from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative analyzed women's roles in popular music, including artists, songwriters and producers. The report found that women were underrepresented across the board. From 2012 to 2017, women comprised just 22 percent of artists that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and just 12 percent of songwriters. A mere 2 percent of producers were female.

The camp aims to change those stats. Some of the women involved were already established as artists themselves or hit songwriters, while others were still building their careers. The writers at the camp had songs recorded by Beyonce, Rihanna, Miranda Lambert, Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, Pitbull, Carrie Underwood and Hillary Scott. Joining them were also female producers and female engineers, some of whom have worked with artists like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Jason Derulo.

"By putting this camp together and showing how successful it can be, we hope we can inspire others to do the same thing," said Nicole George-Middleton, senior vice president of membership for ASCAP.

In Nashville, songwriting camps are commonplace, sometimes organized by a performing rights organization, or a publisher, or by an artist looking to co-write. This one was unique, bringing together writers and producers from all over the country who have backgrounds in R&B, pop, country, electronic, hip-hop and more. George-Middleton said they selected the women based on how they might work together and ASCAP wanted to have an artist like Blige that had a strong voice and a story to tell.

"It means so much to me because these women are really incredible songwriters and they are excited to work with me," Blige said.

The Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated singer said she was hoping to inspire the writers and producers to come up with ideas for her next record.

"It's important because we live in a male-dominated world and we work in a male-dominated business," Blige said. "The world is hard on us. Men are hard on us. Women are hard on each other. So when you see a bunch of women who are confident enough to come together and embrace each other's talent, this is like a blessing from God."

Blige, 47, sat down in the studio with the songwriters and started telling them about the thoughts and emotions she wanted to explore on her next record.

"I feel boss, really boss," she told the women. "Not because I am cocky and I think I'm fly, but why not, right? I earned it. I suffered through it. I suffered to get here. I won. I lost. I truly believe that I am somebody special."

Renea probably knows Blige better than most of the other participants, having co-written songs with her that ended up on previous albums.

"She is able to articulate so well and be so vulnerable with the feelings that most people try to pretend like they don't go through, but do it with such grace that people are inspired," Renea said of Blige.

After Blige's visit, the women split into smaller groups to toss out ideas and lyrics, fragments and beats. They had two-and-a-half days to work, socialize and record with the hopes of crafting the next Mary J. Blige hit.

Producers Sadie Currey and Ester Na, who work in Los Angeles as a producing team called WildCardz, picked up on little details that Blige mentioned about the music she was really into lately and the style of music she wanted to record. They've learned to be good listeners to help songwriters and artists create the sounds they hear in their heads.

"This is our first camp outside of L.A. and it's been great to just experiment and learn," said Currey. "It's been really great to meet the other two female producers here. That's a lot of fun 'cause I feel like I don't get to do that 'cause it's usually guys. Sometimes you don't connect with a guy the same way you do with a bunch of girls. We can all nerd out together. (Like), 'what kind of plug-in do you use for this? How do you mix that?' I haven't really had that community of women to do that with."

Many of the women there understand the barriers they are up against in the music industry.

"Even with all the hits that I have had, the credit goes to all the guys," said Renea, who has co-written multi-platinum successes like Pitbull and Kesha's "Timber" and "Worth It" by Fifth Harmony. "Until we have more women in leadership positions then the perspective will always be slanted."

Both Currey and Na were impressed that ASCAP has a female CEO and is actively trying to find ways to improve diversity.

"The more people see women in these roles, the more girls are going to follow that path," Currey said.

Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018

Philadelphia songwriter wins $44M in suit over Usher song

In this Oct. 27, 2016 file photo, recording artist Usher performs at Power 105.1's Powerhouse 2016 at Barclays Center in New York. A Philadelphia songwriter who claims he was cut out of profits and credit from song that was recorded by R&B star Usher has been awarded more than $40 million in damages in a suit that targeted the track’s other co-writers. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) --

A Philadelphia songwriter who claims he was cut out of profits and credit from song that was recorded by R&B star Usher has been awarded more than $44 million in damages in a suit that targeted the track's other co-writers.

A jury last week awarded the sum to Daniel Marino. His former co-writer William Guice was ordered to pay $6.75 million in compensatory damages, and $20.25 million in punitive damages.

Also last week Destro Music Productions, owned by co-defendant Dante Barton, agreed to pay Marino $17.35 million. That brings his total award to $44.35 million.

The lawsuit stemmed from Marino's work on a song called "Club Girl." Marino says he created most of the song, including its guitar hook, tempo and chord progression.

The song was recorded by Usher in 2004 and renamed "Bad Girl."

Usher wasn't named in the suit.

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018

"A Star Is Born," "Beale Street," "Black Panther" Among Hollywood Music in Media Award Nominees

This image released by Warner Bros. shows Bradley Cooper, left, and Lady Gaga in a scene from the latest reboot of the film, "A Star is Born." (Neal Preston/Warner Bros. via AP)

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. --

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) announced today the nominees for music in film, TV, video games, commercials and trailers. The HMMA nominations have historically been representative of the nominees of other key awards shows later in the season. With over 500 submissions this year, HMMA nominees are chosen in specific genres of music for film, TV and video game including dramatic feature, sci-fi/ fantasy, documentary and animation. HMMA nominees represent music for visual media from around the world. Nominees this year include music for A Star Is Born, Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk, BlacKkKlansman, Mandy, and Quincy. Last year, HMMA added the new category, “Best Music Documentary” which recognizes a documentary about music that educates, exemplifies the process, and/or displays the impact of music or a musician. The 2018 Hollywood Music in Media Awardst will be held at The Avalon Hollywood on Wednesday, November 14. A portion of proceeds benefit Education Through Music--Los Angeles (ETMLA).

The HMMA includes presentations, performances and a special achievement award. The HMMA recognizes musical excellence in visual media. Past honorees include Diane Warren, Smokey Robinson, Glen Campbell, Dave Mason, Christopher Young and John Debney. HMMA performances have included a choir performing Til it Happens To you from The Hunting Ground, Birdman composer Antonio Sanchez, and The New Radicals founding members Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisboise performing on stage for the first time in 15 years; they performed their song Lost Stars from the film Begin Again. All these films later garnered Oscar and/or Golden Globe music nominations. Special guests and presenters have included Randy Jackson (American Idol), legendary musicians Verdine White and Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind and Fire), Gregg Alexander (New Radicals), Gilby Clarke (Guns n’ Roses), Adam Gaynor (Matchbox 20), award-winning songwriters Stephen Bishop, Ray Parker Jr., Melissa Manchester, Melanie, actors Eric Roberts, Jane Fonda, Natasha Henstridge, and director Andy Fickman.

The HMMA nominations are selected by an advisory board and selection committee which includes journalists, music executives, music-media industry professionals comprised of select members of the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), The Television Academy, the AMPAS Music Branch, NARAS and performing rights organizations.

2018 HMMA Music In Visual Media Nominations

ORIGINAL SCORE – FEATURE FILM
Alexandre Desplat – SISTERS BROTHERS (Annapurna)
Carter Burwell – THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (Netflix)
Hans Zimmer – WIDOWS (Twentieth Century Fox)
Justin Hurwitz – FIRST MAN (Universal)
Kris Bowers – GREEN BOOK (Universal)
Max Richter – MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (Focus Features)
Nicholas Britell – IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Annapurna)
Theodore Shapiro – DESTROYER (Annapurna)
Terence Blanchard – BLACKKKLANSMAN (Focus Features)

ORIGINAL SCORE – SCIFI/FANTASY/HORROR FILM
Alan Silvestri – READY PLAYER ONE (Warner Bros.)
Christophe Beck – ANT-MAN and THE WASP (Walt Disney)
Ludwig Goransson – BLACK PANTHER (Walt Disney)
Marc Shaiman | Scott Wittman – MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Walt Disney)
Marco Beltrami – A QUIET PLACE (Paramount)
Tyler Bates – DEADPOOL 2 (Twentieth Century Fox)

ORIGINAL SCORE – ANIMATED FILM
Alexandre Desplat – ISLE OF DOGS (Fox Searchlight)
Bruno Coulais – WHITE FANG (Netflix)
Chris Bacon – SHERLOCK GNOMES (Paramount)
Heitor Pereira – SMALLFOOT (Warner Bros.)
Henry Jackman – RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (Walt Disney)
Michael Giacchino – INCREDIBLES 2 (Walt Disney)

ORIGINAL SCORE – DOCUMENTARY
Cyrille Aufort – MARCH OF THE PENGUINS: THE NEXT STEP (Canal +)
Daniel Pemberton, Simon Ashdown, Will Slater – ONE STRANGE ROCK (National Geographic)
Jonathan Kirkscey – WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (Focus Features)
Marco Beltrami – FREE SOLO (National Geographic)
Miriam Cutler – RBG (CNN)
Patrick Jonsson – ON HER SHOULDERS (Oscilloscope)

ORIGINAL SONG – FEATURE FILM
“Animal Sauvage” from THE EQUALIZER 2 (Columbia Pictures) Written by Gertjan Mulder, performed by Brainpower, Pharoahe Monch, Pitcho Womba Konga and STIX
“For You (Fifty Shades Freed)” from FIFTY SHADES FREED (Universal) Written by Andrew Watt, Ali Payami, Ali Tamposi. Performed by Liam Payne & Rita Ora
“Girl in the Movies” from DUMPLIN’ (Netflix) Written by Dolly Parton and Linda Perry. Performed by Dolly Parton.
“Living in the Moment” from BOOK CLUB (Paramount) Written by Carole Bayer Sager, Jay Landers, Walter Afanasieff. Performed by Katharine McPhee
“Revelation” from BOY ERASED (Focus Features) Written by Leland, Troye Sivan & Jónsi. Performed by Troye Sivan & Jónsi
“Shallow” from A STAR IS BORN (Warner Bros.) Written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt. Performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
“We Won’t Give” from THE HATE U GIVE (Twentieth Century Fox) Written and performed by Arlissa

ORIGINAL SONG – DOCUMENTARY
“Gravity” from FREE SOLO (National Geographic) Written by Tim McGraw and Lori McKenna. Performed by Tim McGraw.
“I’ll Fight” from RBG (CNN) Written by Diane Warren. Performed by Jennifer Hudson.
“Keep Reachin’” from QUINCY (Netflix) Witten by Quincy Jones, Mark Ronson, Yebba Smith. Performed by Mark Ronsen and Chaka Khan.
“Song for the Untitled” from YO GALGO (Skinny Dog Films) Written by Rickie Lee Kroell and Arturo Cardelús. Performed by Rickie Lee Kroell.
“These Are the Words” from POPE FRANCIS: A MAN OF HIS WORD (Focus Features) Written by Patti Smith & Tony Shanahan. Performed by Patti Smith.

ORIGINAL SONG – ANIMATED FILM
“Finally Free” from SMALLFOOT (Warner Bros.) Written and performed by Niall Horan
“Good Day” from EARLY MAN (Lionsgate) Written and performed by New Hope Club
“I Promise You” from PETER RABBIT (Columbia Pictures) Written by Ezra Koenig, performed by James Corden
“Stronger Than I Ever Was” from SHERLOCK GNOMES (Paramount) Written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin, performed by Mary J. Blige

ORIGINAL SONG – SCI-FI, FANTASY, HORROR FILM
“All the Stars” from BLACK PANTHER (Walt Disney) Written by Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave, and Al Shux. Performed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA
“Ashes” from DEADPOOL 2 (Twentieth Century Fox) Written by Petey Martin, Jordan Smith and Tedd T. Performed by Celine Dion
“Fall On Me” from The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Walt Disney) Written by by Ian Axel, Chad Vaccarino, Matteo Bocelli and Fortunato Zampaglione. Performed by Andrea Bocelli and Matteo Bocelli. Performed by Andrea Bocelli and Matteo Bocelli
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Walt Disney) Written by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman. Performed by Cast.
“Trip A Little Light Fantastic” from MARY POPPINS RETURNS (Walt Disney) Written by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman. Performed by Cast.

MUSIC DOCUMENTARY/SPECIAL PROGRAM
QUINCY (Netflix)
RAPTURE (Netflix)
GOODNIGHT BROOKLYN – THE STORY OF DEATH BY AUDIO (Amazon)
GRACE JONES – BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI (Kino Lorber)

ORIGINAL SCORE – TV SHOW/LIMITED SERIES
Daniel Pemberton – BLACK MIRROR (Netflix)
Mark Isham, Cindy O’Connor, Michael D. Simon – ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)
Nicholas Britell – SUCCESSION (HBO)
Nico Muhly – HOWARDS END (Starz)
Ramin Djawadi – WESTWORLD (HBO)
Thomas Newman, Chris Westlake – CASTLE ROCK (Hulu)

MAIN TITLE THEME – TV SHOW/LIMITED SERIES
Carlos Rafael Rivera – GODLESS (Netflix)
Jeff Beal – THE PUTIN INTERVIEWS (Showtime)
Jeff Cardoni – THE KOMINSKY METHOD (Netflix)
Jeff Russo – ALTERED CARBON (Netflix)
Mychael Danna – THE LAST TYCOON (Amazon)
Nico Muhly – HOWARDS END (Starz)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC SUPERVISION – FILM
Becky Bentham – MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (Universal)
Dave Jordan – BLACK PANTHER (Walt Disney)
Gabe Hilfer – TAG (Warner Bros.)
John Houlihan – DEADPOOL 2 (Twentieth Century Fox)
Julianne Jordan & Julia Michaels – A STAR IS BORN (Warner Bros.)
Lynn Fainchtein – ROMA (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC SUPERVISION – TELEVISION
Bruce Gilbert – GLOW (Netflix)
Charles Scott IV – CASTLE ROCK (Hulu)
Chris Swanson – WILD WILD COUNTRY (Netflix)
Jen Ross – POWER (Starz)
Morgan Rhodes – DEAR WHITE PEOPLE (Netflix)
Season Kent – 13 REASONS WHY (Netflix)

SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
A STAR IS BORN (Interscope Records)
BLACK PANTHER (Interscope Records)
DEADPOOL 2 (Columbia Records)
FIFTY SHADES FREED (Republic Records)
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (Polydor Records)

ORIGINAL SCORE – INDEPENDENT FILM
Austin Wintory – THE LAST MOVIE STAR (A24)
Christopher Willis – THE DEATH OF STALIN (IFC Films)
Harry Gregson-Williams – BREATH (Film Rise)
Jóhann Jóhannsson – MANDY (Spectrevison, Legion M)
Nami Melumad – MISS ARIZONA (Side Gig Productions)
Thomas Ades – COLETTE (30 West)

ORIGINAL SONG – INDEPENDENT FILM
“Hearts Beat Loud” from HEARTS BEAT LOUD (Stage 6 Films) Written by Keegan DeWitt. Performed by Kiersey Clemons
“Home Free” from LITTLE PINK HOUSE (Film Mode Entertainment) Written and performed by David Crosby
“Requiem For a Private War” from A PRIVATE WAR (Aviron Pictures) Written and performed by Annie Lennox
“To Get Here” from THE LAST MOVIE STAR (A24) Written by Diane Warren, performed by Willie Nelson
“Sway Lake” from SONG OF SWAY LAKE (The Orchard) Written by Ethan Gold. Performed by John Grant

ORIGINAL SCORE – SHORT FILM
Billy Mallery – BABY STEPS
Ivan Ruiz Serrano – CHERRY
Joseph Stephens – THE TAKE OFF
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein – SPHERES
Nami Melumad – PASSAGE
Ramesh Kumar Kannan – DISSONANCE

ORIGINAL SCORE – VIDEO GAME
Austin Wintory – PODE (Henchman & Goon)
Bear McCreary – GOD OF WAR (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Glenn Stafford, Neal Acree, David Arkenstone, Clint Bajakian – WORLD OF WARCRAFT: BATTLE FOR AZEROTH (Blizzard Entertainment)
Jeff Broadbent and Tina Guo – EXTINCTION (Maximum Games)
John Paesano – MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Matthew Carl Earl – THE LEGEND OF XUAN YUAN (Tencent)

ORIGINAL SONG – VIDEO GAME
“Only We Few Remember it Now” – THE BANNER SEGA 3 (Versus Evil) Written by by Austin Wintory. Featuring Faroese singer Eivør
“All Star” – SUPER NBA (Tencent) Music by Jason Walsh, lyrics and vocals by Satta
“A Fire In Your Mind” – ASTRO BOT RESCUE MISSION (Sony Interactive Entertainment) Written and performed by Kenneth C M Young
“Warbringers: Jaina” – WORLD OF WARCRAFT: BATTLE FOR AZEROTH (Blizzard Entertainment) Written by Logan Laflotte, & Neal Acree. Performed by Laura Bailey
“Forgotten Anne” – FORGOTTEN ANNE (Square Enix Co., Ltd., Chorus Worldwide) Written and performed by Randi Laubek.

SONG/SCORE – TRAILER
Danny Cocke – LOST IN SPACE (Reveal Trailer)
Don Bodin – READY PLAYER ONE (Dreamer Trailer)
Jochem Weierink – BUMBLEBEE (Trailer, Jupiter composition, additional music by Cavalry-Music, Chroma-Music and Nicolas Felix)
Kurt Oldman – PERFECT (Official Trailer)
Pawel Gorniak – CROSSFIRE 2 (Official Trailer)
Steven Vitali – THE JEWELS OF THE SALTON SEA (Trailer)

ORIGINAL SCORE – SHORT FILM (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Anne-Kathrin Dern – VRIEND VAN GOUD (Belgium)
Carlos Rodriguez Rodriguez – MADRID NOIR A VR MYSTERY (Spain)
Jessica Yap – SIGEK COKELAT – A CHOCOLATE BAR (Indonesia)
Roger Subirana – THE T-SHIRT (Spain)
Xilan Wen – MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT (China)

ORIGINAL SONG/SCORE – MOBILE VIDEO GAME
Ariel Contreras-Esquivel – MUSHROOM GUARDIAN (Mariano Larronde)
Gerard Marino – RIVAL: CRIMSON X CHAOS (Section Studios)
Igor Nemirovsky – ZOOTOPIA: DREAMING PEOPLE (Tencent)
Jeff Broadbent, Matthew Carl Earl, Zhao Hongfei – ARENA OF VALOR: FLIP THE WORLD (Garena, Tencent Games)
Ryan Richko – RUPERT AND RILEY (MadFrog Studios)
Sound of Games – JUNE’S JOURNEY (Wooga)
Thomas Parisch & Edwin Wendler – HONOR OF KINGS (Garena, Tencent Games)

ORIGINAL SONG/SCORE – COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Ivan Capillas – CICLES (“Cicles”)
Jesica Yap – ALEXADRE CHRISTIE WATCH (“My Confidence”)
Juliet Roberts – NBA FINALS (“Finally Mine”)
Karsten Laser – MAN LIONS CITY 2018 (“City in Motion”)
Nuno Malo – THE SECRET OF CHRISTMAS (“November Glow”)
That Kid CG – OCULUS RIFT (“Change the Game”)

ORIGINAL SCORE – INDEPENDENT FILM (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Anne-Kathrin Dern – THE JADE PENDANT
Elik Alvarez & Sandro Morales-Santoro – PAPITA 2DA BASE
Joan Vilà – QUIEN ERES
Neal Acree and Michael Tuller – ANIMAL WORLD
Ralf Wengenmayr – JIM BUTTON AND LUKE THE ENGINE DRIVER
Ricardo Curto – HALCON CIEGO (BLIND HAWK)

INDEPENDENT MUSIC VIDEO
Adam’s Attic – SORRY
Alex Boyé – BEND NOT BREAK
Jamie Meyer – NOTHIN’ ON YOU
Kassidy Lynne – BABY JUST CRUISE
Loud Luxury ft. Nikki’s Wives – SHOW ME
Luc and the Lovingtons – WELCOME TO MY HOUSE
MASA – DEEP DOWN
Riston Diggs ft. Sly Beats – CAN’T REMEMBER
The Veer Union – LIVING NOT ALIVE
Tiana – JUST MY TYPE

Special Recognition / Pre-Selected Winners:

LIVE CONCERT FOR VISUAL MEDIA
Landmarks Live in Concert – FOO FIGHTERS, LIVE FROM THE ACROPOLIS

ORIGINAL SONG – TV SHOW / MINI SERIES
“The Innocents” from THE INNOCENTS (Netflix) Music and lyrics by Carly Paradis. Performed by EERA (Anna Lena Bruland)

MAIN TITLE – TV SHOW (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Layal Watfeh – TEN SINS (United Arab Emirates)

ORIGINAL SCORE – SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Mariano Saulino – VERY LOVING CATERPILLAR

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018

Alchemy Post Sound's Leslie Bloome performs live Foley for Halloween screenings of "The Unsilent Picture"

A screening of "The Unsilent Picture"

WESTCHESTER, NY --

Foley artist Leslie Bloome is performing his distinctive craft live as part of special Halloween screenings of The Unsilent Picture at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Bloome is using an assortment of props and tools to create live sound effects to accompany the spooky black-and-white film, based on a Washington Irving short story. Directed by Alex Harvey and starring Tony Award-winning actor Bill Irwin, The Unsilent Picture screens through October 31. It also features live musical accompaniment.

Co-founder of Alchemy Post Sound, Bloome is an accomplished Foley artist who has contributed to more than 400 films and television shows, including such recent projects as Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, The Looming Tower, and Berlin Station.

Screenings of The Unsilent Picture are being held in a huge tent on the grounds of Philipsburg Manor. Bloome is set up next to the cinema screen with two large tables filled with props ranging from plates and silverware to swords and creaky wooden chairs. He uses these with practiced dexterity to support the action in the film and punctuate its funniest and scariest scary moments. “Because it’s a live performance with music, subtleties won’t play,” said Bloome. “Everything is over the top. It’s really quite fun!”

One of Bloome’s favorite scenes depicts the film’s central character, Dr. Crayon (Irwin), and several of his eccentric friends having dinner. “Dr. Crayon is a grumpy old vegetarian who is stuck at the dinner table while the rest of the crew are stuffing their faces with pork,” he said. “I have a lot of fun with that scene. The eating, the plates and the chewing is all over the top, but very funny. When Crayon drops a piece of lettuce on his plate, I use a glockenspiel to make a funny doo-oop sound. The ‘salt incident’ is one of many comic plot points in the opening scene. I use an old metal shake that has a distinctive and funny sound.”

Performing Foley live presents unique challenges. In his normal film and television work, Bloome works on a stage specially designed for Foley, and if things don’t go exactly right, he has the luxury of the re-take. For The Unsilent Picture, Bloome works non-stop through its 33-minute span with hardly a pause between sound effects. And he works four performances each night. “I’m a musician at heart and this is just like playing a live gig,” said Bloome. “When I was approached about this opportunity, I immediately said, ‘I’m in.’”

Bloome says that he is enjoying the challenge of performing live and loves seeing the reaction of the audience. “Foley is all about performance, even when I’m working in the studio,” he said.

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018

NBC's "Songland" contest to search for hit tunesmiths

In this July 13, 2018 file photo shows Ryan Tedder from the band OneRepublic performing on NBC's "Today" show in New York. Tedder will serve as a producer for the competition series "Songland." (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) --

Songwriters get the spotlight in a new NBC talent contest.

The network said Tuesday that its 11-episode series, "Songland," will give undiscovered songwriters the chance to create a hit.

In each episode, five contestants will work with music producers and a recording artist to perfect their tunes.

One winner per episode will have his or her song released as the artist's next single, NBC said.

The first episode includes Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, songwriter Ester Dean, country singer-songwriter Shane McAnally. Charlie Puth is the recording artist.

Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart and Maroon 5's Adam Levine are among the executive producers of "Songland."

Would-be contestants will be able to apply at an upcoming website, NBC said.

A series debut date wasn't announced.

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018

Taylor Swift wins big at AMAs and encourages fans to vote

Taylor Swift accepts the award for favorite pop/rock album for "Reputation" at the American Music Awards on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

By Mesfin Fekadu, Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) --

Taylor Swift kicked off her week with a rare political post on social media, and at the American Music Awards she continued the conversation by encouraging fans to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

Swift won four honors including artist of the year at the fan-voted show on Tuesday in Los Angeles, beating out Drake, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons and Post Malone for the top prize.

"This award and every single award given out tonight were voted on by the people, and you know what else is voted on by the people," she said, "the midterm elections on November 6."

Swift announced on Sunday that she was voting for Tennessee's Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen, breaking her long-standing refusal to discuss anything politics.

Voting was a hot topic at the AMAs. Host and Golden Globe-winning "black-ish" actress Tracee Ellis Ross wore a shirt that said, "I am a voter," and comedian-actor Billy Eichner told the audience, "The biggest election of our lifetime is happening."

"Please grab your friends and tell them to vote. Now is the time. If you believe in equality for women, for people of color, for the LGBTQ community. If you believe that climate change is real and that we need to do something about it," he said onstage before presenting an award.

"And you can go to Vote.org like Taylor Swift told you to," he added.

Swift made history by becoming the most decorated woman in the show's history with a total of 23 AMAs. Despite having the year's top-selling album and three No. 1 hits, Drake didn't win a single award. He did not attend the show but tied Cardi B with most nominations walking into the AMAs.

Swift kicked off the show with a performance of "I Did Something Bad," while Cardi B — who won three honors — picked up the night's first award, favorite hip-hop/rap artist, which she dedicated to her daughter.

"I really want to thank my daughter," said Cardi B, who gave birth to Kulture Kiari Cephus in July. "I gotta prove people wrong. They said I wasn't going to make it after I had a baby."

The rapper hit the stage to give a festive and colorful performance of her No. 1 hit, "I Like It," where she was joined by J Balvin and Bad Bunny, who was wheeled onstage inside a shopping cart. Cardi B's husband, Offset of the rap trio Migos, danced along in the audience with group member Quavo as Cardi B worked the stage with vibrant dance moves, including the salsa.

Cardi B returned the favor, screaming happily when Migos was named favorite pop/rock duo or group, beating out Maroon 5 and Imagine Dragons, later in the show.

"We did not know we was winning this at all," said Quavo, also giving a shout-out to group member Takeoff, who didn't attend the AMAs.

"I want to thank you sexy lady," Offset said, pointing to Cardi B.

Like Cardi B's performance, rising newcomer Ella Mai also won over the crowd when she sang the year's biggest R&B hit, "Boo'd Up," starting the performance as she walked down the aisle of the Microsoft Theater. Khalid, Quavo and Offset were some of the audience members dancing along, while others sang and some even filmed her with their phones.

Others who shined onstage included R&B singer Ciara, who showed off her skilled dance moves and was joined by a fierce Missy Elliott. Carrie Underwood was in perfect form vocally, and Camila Cabello — who tied Swift with four wins — gave a heartful, touching and vocally impressive performance of the ballad "Consequences," earning her a standing ovation.

The three-hour show closed with a rousing tribute to Aretha Franklin, who died in August. Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and CeCe Winans were among the musicians who paid tribute to the Queen of Soul's gospel roots and her iconic album, "Amazing Grace."

Rapper-singer XXXTentacion, who was fatally shot in June, was also honored: He won favorite soul/R&B album for his 2017 debut, "17." It was days after he was named best new artist at the BET Hip-Hop Awards.

His mother, Cleopatra Bernard, said she was honored to accept the award on behalf of her son. "I'm so nervous," Bernard said as the audience cheered her on.

Kane Brown swept the country categories with three wins, including male artist, album and song.

Post Malone, who wore a baby blue suit and performed, won favorite pop/rock male artist, Underwood was named favorite country female artist and Khalid picked up favorite soul/R&B male artist.

Other performers included Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Shawn Mendes and twenty one pilots.

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018

Nicks, Def Leppard among first-time rock hall nominees

In this Jan. 26, 2018, file photo, singer Stevie Nicks, center, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, right, of Fleetwood Mac perform at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute honoring Fleetwood Mac in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

By David Bauder, Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) --

Stevie Nicks, who's already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac, has been nominated for inclusion as a solo artist next year, along with other first-time nominees Def Leppard, Todd Rundgren, Devo, John Prine and Roxy Music.

Nine other artists are returning to the ballot for another try, including Janet Jackson, Radiohead and The Cure.

Generally, about five to seven nominees each year are voted into the hall, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Past inductees and industry experts vote on who gets in, and fans have a ballot, too. Winners are announced in December, with the 34th annual ceremony scheduled for March 29 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Nicks was inducted with Fleetwood Mac in 1998. But she's maintained an active solo career, with her best-known songs coming in the 1980s, like "Edge of Seventeen," ''Stand Back" and the Tom Petty duet, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

The highly polished metal of Def Leppard sold tons of CDs back in the 1980s, led by hits like "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Photograph."

Rundgren has been overlooked through the years, despite 1970s-era hits like "Hello It's Me," ''I Saw the Light" and "We Gotta Get You a Woman," and his track record as a producer of others' work.

Devo attracted punk-era attention with their theory of deevolution and oddball cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." They also made hits of their own, including "Whip It" and "Beautiful World."

The artsy British band Roxy Music is best known for their romantic hits "More Than This" and "Love is the Drug." The country-folk artist Prine is a cancer survivor, with songs like "Angel From Montgomery" and the Iris DeMent duet "In Spite of Ourselves" in his discography. His new album, "The Tree of Forgiveness," is a career highlight.

Rapper and actor LL Cool J and the German electronic band Kraftwerk each received their fifth nomination. The explosive Detroit band MC5 is back for a fourth try, as are the 1960s rockers the Zombies.

Jackson has been nominated the past three years in a row and Rufus (featuring Chaka Kahn) is also a three-time nominee. The Cure, Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine are back for a second try.

Fans can make their feelings known on rockhall.org starting Tuesday. The top five vote-getters will be included as a "fan's ballot."

HBO will broadcast the induction at a later date and SiriusXM will have a live simulcast.

Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018

Beatles recording engineer Geoff Emerick dies at 72

This Dec. 19, 2016 file photo shows Paul McCartney as he arrives for a screening of "This Beautiful Fantastic" at the SVA Theatre in New York. McCartney paid tribute online to Geoff Emerick, the Beatles studio engineer who passed away at the age of 72. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

By Gregory Katz

LONDON (AP) --

Geoff Emerick, the Beatles studio engineer who entered the music business in his mid-teens and by his early 20s had helped make history through his work on such landmark albums as "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," has died. He was 72.

Abbey Road Studios, home to the Beatles and many other recording artists, confirmed the death Wednesday and vowed to ensure that Emerick's legacy lives on. Colleague William Zabaleta told Variety that Emerick collapsed and died Tuesday while they were talking on the telephone. He said Emerick had suffered from heart problems in recent years.

Paul McCartney, in an online tribute Wednesday, wrote that Emerick "had a sense of humor that fitted well with our attitude to work in the studio and was always open to the many new ideas that we threw at him. He grew to understand what we liked to hear and developed all sorts of techniques to achieve this. ... We spent many exciting hours in the studio and he never failed to come up with the goods."

A London native fascinated by music and technology from an early age, Emerick wasn't widely known to the general public, but he was an invaluable part of the Beatles' legacy as they became increasingly ambitious and experimental in the studio and helped transform rock music into an art form. He was on hand during the Beatles' early EMI sessions, in 1962, as an assistant under lead engineer Norman Smith. He was promoted after Smith left to become a producer in the mid-1960s.

"Geoff Emerick used to do things for the Beatles and be scared that the people above (in the EMI hierarchy) would find out," producer George Martin later said for a 1990s Beatles documentary. "Engineers then weren't supposed to play about with microphones and things like that. But he used to do really weird things that were slightly illegitimate, with our support and approval."

His first album as Beatles engineer was "Revolver," the 1966 release that marked the band's full embrace of such studio effects as backward tape loops and double tracking. In one famous story that Emerick told on numerous occasions, he came up with a unique solution when John Lennon told him he wanted his voice to sound like "the Dalai Lama singing from a mountaintop 25 miles away from the studio" on the tripped out "Tomorrow Never Knows." Emerick found a way to process Lennon's voice through a revolving speaker to produce a landmark of psychedelic music.

"That sort of won John over," Emerick said in 2016.

On Wednesday, Lennon's widow, Yoko tweeted that she was "shocked" by Emerick's death.

"He was the best engineer," Ono wrote. "Not only was he the best engineer, he was very, very kind."

Ringo Starr wrote in a statement, "With him and George Martin they helped us to step up on Revolver. He will be missed."

He had other innovations on the Beatles' most complex and anticipated album, "Sgt. Pepper," which came out in 1967. He enhanced the sound of Starr's drums on "A Day In the Life" by loosening the skins and wrapping a microphone in a tea cloth and placing it in a glass container. Under his supervision, McCartney recorded bass lines after the rest of a given track was done, an unusual sequence at the time.

By 1968, the Beatles had tired of studio tricks and were otherwise growing apart, in part because of Lennon's relationship with Ono. Emerick became frustrated during the recording of the double "White" album and briefly quit.

"The expletives were really flying," he later told Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn. "There was one instance just before I left when they were doing 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' for the umpteenth time. Paul was re-recording the vocal again and George Martin made some remark about how he should be lilting onto the half-beat or whatever and Paul, in no refined way, said something to the effect of 'Well you come down and sing it.' I said to George 'Look, I've had enough. I want to leave. I don't want to know any more.'"

He returned for the Beatles' final studio sessions, for "Abbey Road," and worked with McCartney on his solo "Band On the Run" album, for which Emerick's engineering brought him a Grammy. He also won engineering Grammys for "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" and received a lifetime achievement honor in 2004. Other artists he worked with included Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello, Jeff Beck, and, early in her career, Judy Garland.

In 2006, he published his memoir "Here, There and Everywhere," which received some criticism at the time from Beatles fans for its apparent bias toward McCartney at the expense of the other band members, especially George Harrison.

"A lot of people think I'm being hard on George," he told CNN at the time. "But I haven't glossed anything over. It's my memory, it's the way I perceived, from my situation, the way we went through those albums."

On Wednesday, McCartney wrote that Emerick visited him earlier this year while he was recording his "Egypt Station" album, which came out last month.

"We kept in touch through the years and our phone calls or messages always gained a giggle or two," McCartney wrote. "He was his usual cheerful friendly self (earlier this year) and gave me the thumbs up to the mixes we played him. I'll always remember him with great fondness and I know his work will be long remembered by connoisseurs of sound."

AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed from New York.

Friday, Sep. 28, 2018

New trial ordered in "Stairway to Heaven" copyright lawsuit

In this March 5, 1998, file photo, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, left, performs with guitarist Jimmy Page during their concert in Istanbul. A U.S. appeals court on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, ordered a new trial in a lawsuit accusing Led Zeppelin of copying an obscure 1960s instrumental for the intro to its classic 1971 rock anthem "Stairway to Heaven." (AP Photo/Murad Sezer, File)

By Sudhin Thanawala

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --

A U.S. appeals court on Friday ordered a new trial in a lawsuit accusing Led Zeppelin of copying an obscure 1960s instrumental for the intro to its classic 1971 rock anthem "Stairway to Heaven."

A federal court jury in Los Angeles two years ago found Led Zeppelin did not copy the famous riff from the song "Taurus" by the band Spirit. But the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the lower court judge provided erroneous jury instructions. It sent the case back to the court for another trial.

A phone message left with an attorney for Led Zeppelin, Peter Anderson, was not immediately returned.

Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the estate of late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe, filed the law suit against Led Zeppelin in 2015.

Jurors returned their verdict for Led Zeppelin after a five-day trial at which band members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant testified. Page and Plant, who wrote the "Stairway" lyrics, said their creation was an original.

The jury found "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taurus" were not substantially similar, according the 9th Circuit ruling.

But U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner failed to advise jurors that while individual elements of a song such as its notes or scale may not qualify for copyright protection, a combination of those elements may if it is sufficiently original, 9th Circuit Judge Richard Paez said.

Klausner also wrongly told jurors that copyright does not protect chromatic scales, arpeggios or short sequences of three notes, the 9th Circuit panel found.

"This error was not harmless as it undercut testimony by Skidmore's expert that Led Zeppelin copied a chromatic scale that had been used in an original manner," Paez said.

The panel also found another jury instruction misleading.

The trial took jurors and lucky observers who managed to pack into the courtroom on a musical journey through the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Spirit, a California psychedelic group that blended jazz and rock was achieving stardom as the hard-rocking British band was being founded.

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