Go Green - Musicians can do their part to maintain a healthy planet

My article as published in the October 2008 issue of the Overture, official publication of Professional Musicians, Local 47.


Go Green

Musicians can do their part to maintain a healthy planet

by Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor


Environmental awareness is no longer reserved for those with an affinity for hemp clothing, Birkenstocks and granola. Participation in recycling programs, usage of reusable bags at grocery stores, conversions to renewable energy options in households, and the number of energy-efficient cars on the road have spiked in recent years, signaling that "going green" isn't just for neo-hippies.

Conservation efforts aren't limited to individuals, either. Many companies and organizations are doing their part to go green, and Local 47 is no exception. Starting Oct. 27, members will be able to view and download paperless monthly dues statements online. Very soon, members will also be able to access new statements and pay dues online – all without producing one scrap of paper waste. (See sidebar on page 7 for more information).

If you're looking to jump on the enviro-friendly bandwagon, there are many ways by which musicians can conserve energy and reduce waste.


Out of Town Gig? Travel Smart

According to a 2007 Gallup poll, Americans spend an average of 46 minutes commuting to and from work each day. This equates to about 200 hours – almost eight full days– spent in traffic every year. A whopping 85 percent burn all this gas sitting by their lonesome in their car or SUV; only 6 percent carpool, and a scant 4 percent take mass transit.

For the traveling musician, these figures can be much higher. It is not uncommon for the typical freelancer to drive up to 100 miles to a single gig. Some musicians have reported driving up to 50,000 miles per year to and from gigs alone. Today, this would cost about $27,000 for a small car and $45,000 for a mid-size SUV annually in fuel costs.

To ease up on CO2 emissions (and on your wallet), take public transportation or buddy up with a musician headed to the same gig whenever possible. If driving your own auto is your only option, consider upgrading to an energy efficient vehicle such as an electric or biodiesel hybrid model. Additionally, simple things as avoiding sudden starts and stops, keeping your tires properly inflated and going easy on the A/C will increase fuel efficiency and lower the CO2 emissions of your vehicle.



Turn Your Studio Eco-Friendly

As musicians know, it takes a lot of energy to maintain a recording studio. Electricity is needed to power computers, equipment and instruments, for lighting, and for maintaining a nice, cool work space with air conditioning.

Energy-efficient lighting is good for the environment and for your electricity bill. CFL bulbs use 30 percent less energy as incandescent bulbs and last around 10,000 hours, saving you about $30 in electricity costs over the bulb's lifetime. LED bulbs can reduce energy consumption by up to 90 percent and last around 100,000 hours. Using ecofriendly lamps and light fixtures can also help reduce greenhouse waste.

Eco-friendly air conditioning is another great way to "greenify" your studio. A single air conditioning unit can omit 1.34 pounds of carbon dioxide every kilowatt hour. By replacing older air conditioning units, you could save several hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Another way to save energy is to add the green power option onto your electric utility bill, which utilizes renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. And, of course the simplest way to save energy is to turn off lights and equipment when not in use. Even electronics that sleep on a standby setting continue to pull a current, so be sure to completely shut down any equipment that won't be used for an extended period of time.


Don't Dump That E-Waste!

Has that old amp or keyboard finally gone kaput? Make sure electronic waste doesn't end up in the landfill; this socalled "e-waste" can contain hazardous components and non-recyclable material that is environmentally unsafe. The City of Los Angeles operates a number of facilities called "S.A.F.E." centers where the public can deposit their unwanted electronics free of charge every weekend. To find one near you visit the City of Los Angeles website at www.lacity.org and enter search keyword "e-waste."

Alternatively, if you have electronics that are still usable that you simply no longer want, post a free listing at LACoMAX, a countywide online materials exchange website, or donate them to charity – many will accept broken, but repairable, electronics as donations.


Green Tours

According to National Geographic's Green Guide, a typical stadium concert releases 500 to 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide – about 50 times more than the average American produces in an entire year. That number does not even take into account fans' transport, which amounts to over 80 percent of a concert's CO2 footprint – nor does it account for the immense amount of garbage produced at each show.

Some bands and concert organizers have taken strides to minimize touring's environmental impact. Festivals such as Lollapalooza and Britain's Glastonbury Festival have switched to biofuel-powered generators. The organizers of last summer's Osheaga Festival in Montreal hired Hydro Quebec to supply their main stage with emission-free geothermal energy.

Advocacy groups such as Reverb engage musicians and fans to promote environmentally responsible music tours. Reverb encourages organizers to offer reusable aluminum canteens rather than plastic water bottles, and to set up "Eco-Villages" with information on how fans can minimize their carbon footprints outside the concert venue. The group also advocates on-site recycling, waste reduction, green bus supplies and cleaners, biodegradable catering products, energy efficiency, a green contract rider, eco-friendly merchandise and green sponsorship. Local 47 musicians who have "greened" their tours with Reverb include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5 and Sheryl Crow.

To go green on your next tour, visit www.ReverbRock.org.


Eco-Smart Fashion

When looking for that perfect outfit for that all-important performance, opt for eco-friendly clothing. Organic, sustainable clothing made of bamboo, recycled fabrics and biopolymers do little to no harm to the environment and are becoming more than just a fad, but a mainstay among designers. Veteran chic designers like Givenchy, Rogan, Bottega and Marc Jacobs all offer ecofriendly styles that make not just a fashion statement, but an environmental one as well.


Make Your Own Instrument

Using readily available materials to make music is commonplace around the world. In tropical climates people play music with gourds, coconuts and bamboo; in other parts of the world, washboards, jugs, spoons and bones are used as musical instruments. Here in the States, AFM percussionist and composer Donald Knaack, known as "the Junkman," exclusively composes for and performs on "junk" and recycled materials, having been introduced to the concept by renowned composer John Cage. New York-based Bash the Trash Environmental Arts raises environmental awareness through art by teaching people to create such homemade instruments as cardboard tube horns and trombones, percussive instruments made from cans, bobby pin finger pianos, and even "Styrocellos."


Recycle Used Guitar Strings

One musician's trash can be another's treasure. The Second String Project based in Connecticut sends minimally used guitar strings to musicians in third world countries who can't afford new ones. Canadian rockers Barenaked Ladies donate their used strings to jewelry company Dream World Designs, where they are recycled into trendy necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Try reusing them yourself in creative ways, such as to hang picture frames, plants or lights – even as a cheese slicer.

As an individual you can make a positive difference for the environment. If every person chooses to make changes in their lives that will benefit the earth, all those small changes will end up having a huge impact on preserving our planet.

ILCA 2008 Media Contest Awards

Just received a letter from the International Labor Communications Association informing me that I won a few awards in their 2008 media contest, one of which for a piece I wrote about New Orleans musicians when I attended the ILCA Media Contest in that fair city last year, which you can read here.

Though I didn't fare quite as well as last year, it's still nice to be recognized for my work! (Click on the links below the awards to see the winning entries.)


BEST NEWS STORY
THIRD AWARD
Linda Rapka
"New Orleans Musicians Weather the Storm"
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: Local Unions

BEST DESIGN
THIRD AWARD
Linda Rapka
April 2007 "Jazz Appreciation Month"
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: newspapers, Local Unions

BEST PHOTOGRAPH
HONORABLE MENTION
"Thousands Rally for WGA" - Linda Rapka
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: Local Unions

(awards cited from ilcaonline.org)

Meet 'The Wrecking Crew' - interview w/ Denny Tedesco

My interview as published in the June 2008 issue of the Overture, official publication of Professional Musicians, Local 47.


L.A. Studio Musicians of the '60s Profiled in New Documentary

Session players behind Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound' featured in Denny Tedesco film

by Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor


You may not know their names, but there's no mistaking their music.

The soundtrack of the late 1950s and 1960s was largely recorded by a group of Los Angeles studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. The Beach Boys, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Jan & Dean, Elvis Presley, the Monkees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the Mamas & the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, the Tijuana Brass, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Rivers, and even Alvin and the Chipmunks are but a small few of the hundreds of popular artists for whom the Crew recorded, though more often than not were left uncredited on the album sleeve.

Typically knocking out several tracks in a single three-hour session, the musicians – who also comprised Phil Spector's famed Wall of Sound – played on anything from rock tunes to TV and film scores to jazz arrangements and even cartoon soundtracks, able to churn out any style of music with unmatched skill. Hopping from studio to studio, the musicians during their heyday sometimes played up to four dates per day.

Denny Tedesco, son of one of the most recorded guitarist in history, late Wrecking Crew member Tommy Tedesco, tells the surprisingly little-known tale of this group of musicians who recorded the unmistakable soundtrack of the '60s in his documentary, "The Wrecking Crew." He speaks about his labor of love and the film's upcoming L.A. premiere.

How did these musicians come to be known as "The Wrecking Crew"?
It's become something of folklore almost. The legend goes they were called the Wrecking Crew 'cause the older guys, the traditional studio guys from the '40s and '50s, weren't taking the rock dates 'cause it was beneath them, so they said these guys were gonna wreck the business.

The Wrecking Crew is an unparalleled phenomenon in recording history. How did this one group of musicians come to play so many different sessions together?
When they're breaking in the early '50s and early '60s, rock 'n' roll was still in its infancy, as were recording techniques. You didn't have ProTools, DVs, CD players, computers to help you learn how to play music or even record music. In those days you had to be all in one room together as a band, together 'til the end, everybody flawless.

What inspired you to make the film?
I started the documentary when I knew my father was going to pass away, in 1995, when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I knew he didn't have much time and I figured we've already lost a lot of these musicians – Ray Pohlman was gone, Steve Douglas was gone. I felt if I don't record this, nobody's going to. There were so many stories I used to hear, the laughter from all these musicians. It was always fun listening to these guys. So I decided I'd put together a roundtable discussion to start things off, and in 1996 brought together Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, my father and Plas Johnson. I was influenced by "Broadway Danny Rose," the Woody Allen movie where they sit around that coffee shop and just talk about Danny Rose. It was like you were a voyeur to this conversation, and that's what I wanted this to be. Unfortunately my father passed away before he saw anything cut.

When was the main period of recording for the Crew?
It was a time period from the late '50s early '60s to almost the late '60s, where things started turning in a different direction. Group albums became popular at that time, so now you didn't want so many studio musicians on some of these albums. The highlight year for record dates was probably 1967 or '68 in that area. There were 400 dates, contracts that we could find. If you take weekends and holidays off, you must be doing three or four dates a day.

How did you get the rights to the music?
The record companies have been amazing. Warner Bros. was one of the companies I first met, and they said, "We're not gonna mess with you. It's not a documentary about a chicken coop. It's about our business and these people. We want this to be out there." This isn't like a kiss-and-tell book, this is a positive look at something that is not always so positive.

How did you line up the other interviews?
One of the first star talents to come on board was Cher. She was 16 when she worked with these guys as a backup singer for Phil Spector's groups. She knew them as the older guys – they were all in their late 20s and 30s, and she was just a kid. Then Dick Clark gave me an interview. Then I got Julius Wechter and Lew McCreary. Julius was a great percussion player and Lew was a great trombonist. That was a rush in time because I knew Julius was sick. I didn't know Lou was sick. They both passed away about six months later.

If someone has a favorite song from the '60s, chances are good they'll hear it in this film.
It's probably one of the biggest soundtracks in movies because there are so many songs. When putting it together I would meet with people – I won't mention names – but someone came up with the idea that since there were so many songs, we should get "sound-alikes." I said, are you kidding?! The whole point is about the sound. These people were the sound! The other thing people would say was, "Well could you narrow it down to 20 songs?" I said no. You don't have the music, you don't have the doc, 'cause it's really about the quantity of music this group of people in Los Angeles at the time did. They went from Sinatra to the Chipmunks, from Zappa to the Beach Boys – it was all over the place. They didn't have technically "a sound." They could play with anybody.

How did the musicians feel about being largely uncredited on the several hit records they played on?
These guys didn't complain. They weren't whiners. They enjoyed what they did. They got paid for what they did. My father used to tell his students, "You pick up the guitar because you love to play guitar. You don't start because you want to make a living of it. If you get paid for it, it's a bonus. If you make a living at it, you're in a small minority – congratulations."

With documentaries like "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," it seems like there's a strong public interest in what goes on behind the scenes.
I was thrilled that it came out, but I was more thrilled that it was successful, because it's basically the same kind of behind-the-scenes story. Mine's a different slant on it, but it does show that the public is interested and wants to know. There is a curtain, and us as humans it's natural that we want to learn something new.

What was it like to be growing up, hearing all these songs on the radio and knowing that was your dad playing on most of them?
Most of the time I never knew it was my dad on the radio. These guys were doing three to four dates a day, they didn't even know they were on some of these songs! There's certain songs, like the Beach Boys where you know Hal was playing all the time, but my father wouldn't know. You figure these guys did two, three, four dates a day for a while, and sometimes the groups weren't there, it was just laying down the tracks. Don't forget, there were hundreds of hits, but there were thousands of bombs.

I didn't realize the impact he and his friends were making. I don't think they had an idea of the impact of what was going to happen 40, 50 years later, the fact that people are still listening to these songs. When you go 50 years before them in 1960, you're talking 1910. Were they listening to songs from 1910? It never happened.

How was it trying to find a balance telling your father's story and the story of the Wrecking Crew as a whole?
It was a big problem. When I started the film, I was never going to focus on my father, and I surely wasn't going to be part of this. It was about this group of musicians. A friend of mine looked at our first 30-minute cut a few years ago and said, 'It's a History Channel documentary.' That killed me. But he was right. The way I made that transition was by going, Here's a story about my father and his extended family, the Wrecking Crew. Because you can't have one and not the other.
It's about having the story and not just the facts, which is what you did with this film.

I think unconsciously I was trying not to let go. I didn't want Dad to leave and this was my way of holding on.

The film took 12 years to complete.
If I'd finished this in two years, five years or eight years, even 10, it would not have been as good because not just what I got later, but understanding the story more.

The film has been a success at festival screenings earlier this year.
We started at South by Southwest (SXSW) and it coincided with the music festival.Then we were invited to Nashville as the closing film. That was an honor in itself, but then we sold out two screens before the festival even opened, the first time in the history of the festival. We had the greatest time. All these Nashville greats like guitarist Brett Mason as well as transplants like drummer Ed Green, and bassist Bob Babbitt from the Funk Brothers, were there. As well as another guitar hero of mine, Peter Frampton. They were so enthusiastic and supportive, it was amazing. Some of the musicians were saying, "I've gotta have my kids see this." And that's a thrill.

Don Randi, who's been very supportive, came out to play after the festival with Al Kooper, Mike Deasy, Lyle Ritz and Al Delory. They played some of the hits that they recorded on, and the audience went nuts! There were probably about 700 people in the room.

What I've noticed about the film is the fact its working on two levels. Musicians understand it from the inside. They understand what it takes to be a musician, and you've got the music lovers, who are blown away – "Wow, that's what happened?!"

Where was the very first public screening?
There was an event at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and they asked if come down with Hal Blaine, so we showed a 30 minute teaser. It was a packed audience of 150 people, and they gave us a standing ovation. It was a great feeling of love in the room. The MC started asking Hal questions, and Hal started crying. I thought he was joking, but I looked behind his sunglasses and saw tears. Hal said, 'When I saw all my friends up there, it brought back a lot of memories to me.' Which is a sweet, beautiful comment. So I felt, OK, if I made Hal happy and if I could make these musicians happy by telling the truth, then I've done my job. They were honest with me, so I wanted to be sure I was honest to them with this story.

It was quite the labor of love.
I used to hate that term. But it's true. I had to finance it myself. It might have taken 12 years to actually make it, but it took a lifetime to understand it.


The Los Angeles premiere of "The Wrecking Crew" will take place during Grand Performances at a free outdoor screening at California Plaza in downtown L.A. Saturday, June 28 at 8 p.m. For more information about the documentary and the musicians, visit www.wreckingcrew.tv.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

A few songs recorded by the Wrecking Crew:

The 5th Dimension
"Let the Sunshine In/Aquarius"
"Stoned Soul Picnic"
"Up-Up and Away"
"One Less Bell to Answer"

The Association
"Windy"
"Never My Love"

The Beach Boys
"California Girls"
"Don't Worry Baby"
"Fun Fun Fun"
"God Only Knows"
"Good Vibrations"
"I Get Around"
"Sloop John B"

The Byrds
"Mr. Tamborine Man"

Glen Campbell
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
"Gentle on My Mind"
"Wichita Lineman"

Captain & Tennille
"Love Will Keep Us Together"

The Carpenters
"Close to You"
"We've Only Just Begun"

Cher
"Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves"
"Half-Breed"

The Chipmunks
"Chipmunks Theme"

Nat King Cole
"Ramblin' Rose"

Sam Cooke
"Twistin' the Night Away"
"You Send Me"

The Crystals
"Then He Kissed Me"
"Da Doo Ron Ron"
"He's a Rebel"

Bobby Day
"Rockin' Robin"

Defenders
"Taco Wagon"

Shelly Fabares
"Johnny Angel"

Richard Harris
"MacArthur Park"

Jan & Dean
"Dead Man's Curve
Surf City"
"Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)"
"Balboa Blue"

Gary Lewis and the Playboys
"Everybody Loves a Clown"
"Sure Gonna Miss Her"
"This Diamond Ring"

Barry McGuire
"Eve of Destruction"

The Mamas & the Papas
"California Dreamin'"
"Dedicated to the One I Love"
"Monday, Monday"

Henry Mancini
"The Pink Panther Theme"

The Marketts
"Out of Limits"
"Surfer's Stomp"

Dean Martin
"Everybody Loves Somebody"

Scott McKenzie
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"

The Monkees
"Mary Mary"

Chris Montez
"Let's Dance"

Ricky Nelson
"Fools Rush In"

Wayne Newton
"Danke Schoen"

Jack Nitzsche
"The Lonely Surfer"

Harry Nilsson
"Everybody's Talkin'"

The Partridge Family
"Come on Get Happy"

Elvis Presley
"A Little Less Conversation"
"Viva Las Vegas"

Paul Revere & the Raiders
"Indian Reservation"

The Righteous Brothers
"Unchained Melody"
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"

Rip Chords
"Hey Little Cobra"

Johnny Rivers
"Poor Side of Town"

Tommy Roe
"Dizzy"

The Ronnetts
"Be My Baby"
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

Routers
"Let's Go"

The Sandpipers
"Guantanamera"

Lalo Schifrin
"Mission: Impossible"

Simon and Garfunkel
"Mrs. Robinson"

Frank Sinatra
"Strangers in the Night"
"That's Life"

Nancy Sinatra
"These Boots are Made for Walkin'"
"Drummer Man"

Sonny and Cher
"The Beat Goes On"
"I Got You Babe"

T-Bones
"No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)"

Nino Tempo & April Stevens
"Deep Purple"

The Tijuana Brass
"The Lonely Bull"
"Spanish Flea"
"Taste of Honey"
"Whipped Cream"
"Zorba the Greek"

Ike and Tina Turner
"River Deep Mountain High"

Ritchie Valens
"Donna"

Bobby Vee
"The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"

The Ventures
"Hawaii 5-O"

Mason Williams
"Classical Gas"

Roger Williams
"Born Free"


* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Wrecking Crew & Friends

Drums/Percussion
Hal Blaine
Jim Gordon
Johnny Guerin*
Earl Palmer
Jessie Sailes
Ed "Sharky" Hall*

Percussion
Frank Capp
Gary Coleman
Gene Estes*
Victor Feldman*
Emil Richards
Milton Holland*
Julius Wechter*

Guitar
Al Casey*
Dennis Budimir
Billy Strange
James Burton
Glen Campbell
Mike Deasy
Barney Kessel*
Jerry Cole
Lou Morell*
Don Peake
Bill Pitman
Louie Shelton
Tommy Tedesco*
Howard Roberts*
Ben Benay*
David Cohen

Bass
Jimmy Bond
Chuck Berghofer
Carol Kaye
Larry Knechtel
Joe Osborn
Ray Pohlman*
Lyle Ritz
Bob West*
Arthur Wright

Piano
Leon Russell
Larry Knechtel
Al DeLory
Don Randi
Ray Johnson
Lincoln Mayorga
Mike Melvoin
Mike Rubini

Sax/Horns
Gene Cipriano
Steve Douglas*
Jim Horn
Bill Green*
Plas Johnson
Jackie Kelso
Jay Migliori*
Nino Tempo

Trombone
Louis Blackburn*
Lew McCreary*

Trumpet
Ollie Mitchell
Tony Terran
Roy Caton
Bill Peterson

* deceased member

Interview - "Michael Giacchino Squeaks Out a Winner With 'Ratatouille'"

My interview as published in the March 2008 issue of the Overture, official publication of Professional Musicians, Local 47:

Giacchino Squeaks Out a Winner With 'Ratatouille'

Earning a Grammy win and Oscar nod for his score to last year's Disney/Pixar animated hit, composer Michael Giacchino describes recording in Los Angeles with "the best musicians in the world."

By Linda Rapka, Overture Managing Editor


If you are a fan of animated films, hit TV series or popular video games, chances are you know the work of composer Michael Giacchino.

His colorful and energetic score for "Ratatouille," an animated feature about a Parisian rat-turned-master chef, earned Giacchino a Grammy as well as his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, an honor shared with two fellow Local 47 members (first-time nominee Marco Beltrami for "3:10 to Yuma" and seven-time nominee James Newton Howard for "Michael Clayton"). The film was director Brad Bird's follow-up to "The Incredibles" for which Giacchino wrote an equally formidable score, earning him two Grammy nominations and the L.A. Film Critics Association Award for Best Music Score.

His path to TV and film began with video games. In 1997 Giacchino was approached by the newly formed DreamWorks Studios to score the PlayStation video game based on Steven Spielberg's box-office hit "Jurassic Park: The Lost World." Spielberg liked the music so much he wanted it to be fully orchestrated instead of synthesized. A longtime fan of the Local 47 musicians whom he'd listened to on film soundtracks during his formative years, Giacchino has since become one of the leading advocates for using Los Angeles musicians on scoring projects.

Giacchino's work scoring video games over the next several years, including Spielberg's popular "Medal of Honor" video game series, led to his involvement in the ABC television shows "Alias" and "Lost" created by writer/director J.J. Abrams – the producers of the show contacted the composer because they were fans of the games he had worked on. He soon came to the attention of Brad Bird and other directors and his film-scoring career took flight, establishing him as one of the most sought-after composers in Hollywood.

Michael Giacchino spoke with the Overture the day after the Oscars about his recent accolades and what it's like to work in Los Angeles with whom he calls "the best musicians in the world."

First off, congratulations – "Ratatouille" fared very well in the award department, earning a Grammy as well as your first Academy Award nomination.
Thank you. I wasn't able to attend the Grammys because we were recording at Warner Bros., and I was with a bunch of the orchestra members that played on "Ratatouille" when we found out that we won the Grammy. That was a lot more fun than actually having been there. I went on the loudspeaker and said, "Hey guys, you just won a Grammy!" I was in the middle of writing and getting ready to score "Speed Racer" when I heard "Ratatouille" was nominated for an Academy Award. I had so much on my mind – I think my parents had a lot more fun with that than I did. It's probably good that you don't have too much time to think about these things. At the Oscars, a lot of my friends in my band were playing in the pit orchestra, so that was fun. You know, most of the time I'm stuck holed up somewhere writing, so the only sociable part of my job is when I'm with them, and it's great.

What influences do you draw from when composing a film score?
I have a very eclectic taste. I listen to anything and everything. I always have, even while growing up. I love jazz and classical music, and the fusion of both. The idea of a jazz orchestra is great. But I'm comfortable keeping 'em separate or doing both – I'm comfortable doing new things. And I know the guys here [in Los Angeles] will just get it. I don't have to worry about the thing I'm trying to do working or not as far as the musicians, because they'll know exactly how to do it. I've been a lot luckier than most composers being able to do it here.

It sounds like you really enjoy working with Local 47 musicians.
It's the greatest. Los Angeles is my first choice no matter what. I grew up loving that idea of a town that creates entertainment, and when I came out here I wanted to be a part of that process. It's been a part of my charter to be part of that, and it's an identity that Los Angeles has in particular that no one else does. It's true that the world is getting smaller and you can go anywhere to record, but you've got the best people in the world here. I could not have taken "Ratatouille" or "The Incredibles" to just any place – those scores go from jazz to classical and are all over the map, and these guys just know how to do it. A lot of the musicians I grew up listening to, and I'm awestruck every time! To be able to work with people I listened to as a 10-year-old kid with headphones – Frank Morocco, Abe Laboriel, Tony Mason – there's just no one else like them in the world.

You spent the better part of your childhood making 8mm stop-motion animated films using your brother's ping pong table as a sound stage for miniature movie sets.
One of my favorite things to do was find records in my dad's collection and put music to them and make the music work with the film. This started my whole interest in film scores.

What was one of your favorite self-made childhood films?
There's one that my brother starred in. He's upstairs supposed to be doing homework and imagines himself to be Luke Skywalker.

You're currently working on "Speed Racer," the live-action big-budget version of the 1960s animated Japanese series, set to open in May.
As a kid I was obsessed with "Speed Racer," so this was a dream job. Plus the Wachowski brothers were directing it. They have a very specific, original take on filmmaking. A lot of other people would not have done this justice. I'm just so picky about these things, but for them I was like, "Absolutely!" We scored for two weeks straight in February.

You actually finished recording a day early.
That's how good the musicians are – we finished early. I'm not one to sit there and be laboring over a cue. It's more of a feeling – if it's right, it's right, and we'll move on. I know we were losing a day of work, but I think it's good to show the studio that we can get work done early and efficiently. Part of the reason big studios leave [Los Angeles] is that it's so expensive, so it's important to take a more responsible approach to the process so the studios see that you can do work in Los Angeles without it being unreasonably expensive. And the musicians were great about it. I told them, "It's your own fault for being so good!"

You have another remake project lined up after this – "Star Trek."
We're going to start working on that around October. I'm doing "Star Trek" because J.J. Abrams is directing it and I would follow him everywhere. He's one of my favorite filmmakers. It's relationships that guide a lot of these things. These are guys I don't have to question whether it's going to be good or if their intentions are proper – it's always gonna be great.

For updates on Michael Giacchino's latest projects, visit his website: www.michaelgiacchino.com.


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Life for musicians in New Orleans two years after Katrina

In October 2007 I attended the International Labor Communications Association media convention in New Orleans to report on life for union musicians two years after Katrina. You can read my story as posted on the ILCA website at neworleanslabormedia.org, which was also published in the Professional Musicians, Local 47 Overture.

Accolades

Winning awards rules. Because the International Labor Communications Association has recognized some of my work in its 2007 media contest, my work just might fly me out to New Orleans for the convention in October.

woo hoo!


In case you're curious, here's what all I won*:


BEST NEWS STORY
FIRST AWARD
Linda Rapka
"Flight Fright: Airline Carry-On Policies Causing Concern over Instrument Safety"
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: Local Unions


BEST DESIGN
FIRST AWARD
Linda Rapka
October 2006
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: newspapers, Local Unions

GENERAL EXCELLENCE
THIRD AWARD
Serena Kay Williams; Linda Rapka
Overture
Professional Musicians Local 47
sub-category: Local Unions


Yeah that's right, General Excellence. Kiss my ass, JACC.

(* cited from ilcaonline.org)

Feelin' groovy

Apparently an article I wrote a couple months ago regarding the plight of traveling musicians forced to check their precious instruments and risk them getting damaged or destroyed is making its way around the nation. I have been receiving accolades and reprinting requests from Locals as far away as New York.

Sweetness.

Read it here if you are so inclined.