March 5, 2002
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
MONSTER TRACKS LIVE!
ROCKIN’ ED RENDELL
SKI LEHIGH VALLEY
TEMPLE MAKES US FEEL SO YOUNG
MONSTER TRACKS LIVE!
MONSTER TRACKS musicians made a rare live appearance at the Sanibel Harbor Resort just outside of Ft. Myers, Florida during the first week of February. Employees of a major pharmaceutical company were treated to a live show—featuring singers backed by a band led by MONSTER TRACKS music director Chuck Butler. “The original idea was to pre-record the tracks for the singers,” recalls Chuck, “but then Robin [Gold, of RJO group] called and asked if we’d like to perform live at the show. Although I do quite a bit of live playing, I’m not used to leading a band for my “studio” clients. But I made a few calls, and everyone was psyched to go to Florida in February, so we did it…and it went great.” The band included regular MONSTER TRACKS bassist Rich Kurtz, blues/rock guitarist Danny Eyer, and Atlantic City drummer Dave Palamar. “I particularly wanted to work with [drummer] Palamar again,” relates Chuck. “He made a big impression on me when we played at the Republican Convention in 2000. He handles all styles convincingly, he’s a great reader, and he knows how to follow the conductor when there are a lot of cues, play-ons, and spontaneous stuff going on.” Producer Robin Gold also asked MONSTER TRACKS to produce music for the opening video of the show, as well as a parody of the Smash Mouth version of “I’m A Believer” from the recent Shrek soundtrack. “That was fun to put together, and the music video (directed by Jim Starr) was a huge hit at the show,” laughs Butler. “I used the guys from [local alt-rock band] Mercy River, and they did a good job of capturing the fun and edginess of the Smash Mouth version. Plus I’ve always been a fan of the Monkees—I’ve liked that tune since I was a kid!”
ROCKIN’ ED RENDELL
MONSTER TRACKS has been tapped to handle the music production for Ed Rendell’s run for the governorship of Pennsylvania. Working with the Campaign Group and producer/director Mark Moskowitz, music director Chuck Butler has scored a number of spots that are currently airing statewide. ?We tried a couple of approaches before deciding on the version that’s on the air,? relates Chuck. ?It’s always important to find the right tone in political ads. You don’t want to over-sell the candidate, but it’s important to make sure his accomplishments and vision are well supported.? MONSTER TRACKS handled the scoring for both of Rendell’s successful mayoral bids in Philadelphia, but this new music required a different approach. ?The previous tracks we had done for Rendell were very urban?heavy on the percussion,? explains Chuck, ?but this time we knew that Ed would have to appeal to voters in more rural areas of Pennsylvania as well. We’re still driving the spots with percussion, but we’re using broader melodic themes with the french horns, and softening the track with acoustic guitar and piano. There’s also a lovely vocal performance by Gina DeLeo—quite unusual for a political spot. There is no lyric—it’s more just using her voice as an instrument—but it definitely adds a warmth and humanity that felt right for the images.?
SKI LEHIGH VALLEY
Did you know that the Lehigh Valley offers some of the best skiing in the area, and it’s only a short ride away? That’s the point of a new jingle created by MONSTER TRACKS in conjunction with Elkman/Alexander & Partners Advertising. Vice President & Creative Director Wendy Wolfinger asked us to create a sound that would be young and exciting; the result is a driving alternative-rock track featuring lead vocals by local singer/bandleader/recording artist Bugsy. The lyric for the jingle is the result of collaboration between the agency and music director Butler, an approach that’s becoming more common with agency projects. Chuck explains: “when I started writing jingles, the agency would usually supply the lyric and it would be my job to craft an appropriate melody. But jingles today are more like pop songs; they're most effective when the music and lyric are crafted together. If you want to create something that resonates musically, as well as being good advertising, it’s important to approach the process like a songwriter. In this case, the agency provided a few key phrases that were essential to the marketing strategy, but then gave me a lot of latitude in developing the imagery around those core concepts. I think the result is a piece that says a lot about the client, but in a way that’s fun to listen to.” Elkman finished the spots at Baker Sound, adding “ski” sound effects, and voice-over by Kyf Brewer. The spots are airing during ski season on local radio.
Listen to the Ski Lehigh Valley jingle now...
TEMPLE MAKES US FEEL SO YOUNG
Scoring high on the “fun-to-work-on” scale was a new arrangement of the standard “You Make Me Feel So Young” created for Temple University Health System. Temple picked up the rights to the song and asked us to create a big-band version for their new TV campaign, produced by Out of the Blue Productions. “I know the genre very well,” says Chuck, “and there are plenty of great musicians in the area who have had experience playing in that style, so it was really a good feeling session.” Butler, who was an arranging major at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, enjoyed putting charts together for the live ensemble. “I enjoy all the programming and technology that goes into making music today, but there’s nothing like hearing a group of good players working together.” The spot features vocals by New York’s Tony Babino; backed by a 13 piece, live band made up of musicians from Atlantic City, and the Philadelphia theatre circuit. Basic tracks, including piano, upright bass, drums, and the horn section were cut with engineer Glenn Barrett at Morning Star Studios in Spring House, PA; overdubs, including flutes, sax, a string quartet, and vocals were handled by Chuck at Baker Sound. Voice editing and stereo mixing were done in collaboration with Out of the Blue director Ron Cohen. “With a lot of [video] work on our part to worry about, it was wonderful having Chuck pull together all the elements for the music, and create a nice rich track for us,” recalls Ron. “He allowed for a lot of flexibility as we worked with our vocalist and the various mixes of the instruments to give us the sound we could all be happy with.” The spot is currently airing in the Philadelphia market.
