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Squidward Started It All - The Composers Interview | Otter.ai

Squidward Started It All - The Composers Interview

Kristen Skjonsby42min

Speaker 1

00:09

Welcome back to the eardrum, a podcast produced by the student staff of Irvine Valley College in conjunction with the air, our annual creative writing and visual arts publication. Here I have my very awesome guests who helped actually with the jingle that you guys just heard in the beginning. And towards the end. If you guys would like to introduce yourselves, maybe talk about your majors as well. Hi,

Speaker 2

00:33

I'm Justin pseudoscalar. And I am a geology major at IVC. And I'm just passionate about music. And this is one of the side hobbies I do.

Speaker 3

00:45

My name is Alex Belzer. I'm a composition major here at IBC. Also double majoring in business. My main instrument is piano and I also play percussion in the orchestra.

Speaker 4

00:56

Hello, my name is Alex Warner. The second Alex. I'm a music major here, specifically music education. And my primary instrument is clarinet. I also teach everything saxophone violin piano voice. And, I mean, I love composition on the side.

Speaker 1

01:19

Oh my goodness, that's like, that's a lot that you teach. Oh my goodness. How so? How long have you guys been like practicing music and you know, kind of composition in like music. I don't think I know the correct terms. So excuse me if I don't like say the right thing about it. Oh, you're good.

Speaker 2

01:39

So I've been playing the clarinet. I mentioned that. Since I think, I don't know, fifth grade. That might have been 19 years. But I recently started getting into the composition side. It it's kind of put my foot in the water in high school. But I really started ramping it up and say two or three years ago. And I started using the electronics to compose like last year. Cool.

Speaker 3

02:05

So I've been playing piano for probably about 12 years. I really don't know when I started. But I'm composing. I've probably been composing, like seriously for seven years, started with, you know, solo piano, and then slowly graduating up to larger ensembles and more complicated music all the way till now being a composition major.

Speaker 4

02:30

Yeah, I've, for me, I mean, gosh, it's very hard. Much like Alex here. I can't really recall specifically, but with music, but I know for sure. If I have my music cemented when I first went to Ottawa Jazz Festival. In August of 2001, I heard a jazz clarinetist by the name of Christopher Abbott. And he, he was just spectacular. I felt like oh, that that that is my instrument that is locked in. And I don't know what I want to do with music. But it's something to do with that instrument. And next thing, you know, when I got into middle school after winning quite a bit, my middle school band teacher, and the way she taught and the way she really loved my passion and really honed in on it. I felt like I wanted to be a music teacher so bad and just inspire so many kids to make them be better musicians than I ever was at their age. And that meant learning instruments, learning different repertoires, and knowing all of the basics and fundamentals, and really amplify it so that way, I can reach it out to different students have different interests.

Speaker 1

03:48

That's sweet. That's like you just took me on a like a journey right there. Oh, my goodness, I was so beautiful. It really is. You know, that was kind of, you know, even to my next question was like, did anybody guys particularly inspire you? I mean, I know you said your music teacher helped you kind of like build that like, oh, yeah, like, I want to do music, but I want to do my passion and inspire others. I don't know about you guys. But if there's any particular maybe artists or maybe person mentor teacher that helped you, yeah.

Speaker 4

04:19

So just kind of just connected real quick with that question. I mean, especially lately, with all of us, the good thing is the IVC music faculty here are inspirations themselves, for all of us. Real simple. No, they're really spectacular. And, and they, they, I feel like, get so much more credit than they deserve. Just above and beyond. Yeah, for me. It's one of those on faculty is, you know, Matthew Gertie, Professor Matthew God, Himself is an amazing educator in my private instructor for clarinet. And he gives opportunities for students to expand and try different interests. And it's just the way he is as a genuine person and a genuine educator and how it connects, which makes people admire him as an educator. And it's just for sure, even though was just recently, he is such an inspiration, and hope you and I hope to be as great as an educator is Yes, for

Speaker 1

05:40

sure. And it sounds like a very, you know, I don't know if maybe you were gonna say the same person that might have helped you but me. Fun fact, me and Justin actually had a geology class together. Yeah, thank you, Justin for helping me a lot throughout geology. But for sure, I know you kind of were gonna say a little bit too about someone who kind of inspired you or maybe something that inspired you for music. Yeah,

Speaker 2

06:04

Professor journey was one of the big parts that really, you know, told me to, you know, keep playing through college. And you really made me love start writing music again. But I've said this since fifth grade, and I'm gonna still say it Squidward is the one that started at all. Squidward Squidward as you know, I'm just and I'm just

Speaker 4

06:27

following my favorite SpongeBob episode was with them when he formed the marching band. Yes. Super Bowl halftime one of the best I have yet to see that live. I demand to see that how it

Speaker 2

06:41

should have done during the Superbowl. I thought they did a bowl like I missed a it was on Nickelodeon.

Unknown Speaker

06:45

He totally should have done it.

Speaker 1

06:46

They were supposed to Alex, I don't know. Do you ever have a Squidward? No, man, Alex, did you?

Speaker 3

06:52

Like cartoon representation is Squidward I'm Patrick.

Speaker 1

07:00

Could you go like is mayonnaise an instrument? Is that what you're referencing?

Speaker 3

07:04

It is? out of the jar? It'll change the pitch. Change how you hit the jar? Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 4

07:12

There's actual musicology behind it. No, literally. You're smart. Patrick.

Speaker 1

07:20

Would you be like actually like Patrick, though, in the sense of using everything is like the instrument was that your inspiration for

Speaker 3

07:26

I did actually compose a chamber piece recently. Oh, we're soon timpani and piano. So as soon as a wind instrument, low wind to sprint timpani is a drum. So it's like a set of drums that you can tune. And in that composition, I like included different extended techniques for the bassoon and timpani. So like on the timpani, I put a symbol on top of a timpani drum and had the player like, play the symbol, and then it would like translate into the timpani. So you get timpani pitch coming out. So yeah, you can really use a lot of different things for composing it's not just you know, something traditional. You can you can really use a lot of things and have it be tasteful too.

Speaker 4

08:11

Yeah, you didn't um, you that. Oh, you're a big fans of them to set violin? Oh, yeah. Yeah, they did like, yeah, so there's the Australian duo, violin duo. I mean, to set violin, okay. And they recently had like, a pitch competition.

Unknown Speaker

08:35

Yeah, the game

Speaker 4

08:38

contest to see who had the perfect pitch, naturally, so do the astral plane out, you got to hum that note in this exact pitch. And so in part of the challenges, they had these group of musicians, they had to play. They were given like a little like malady, it could be, you know, fairly. So data, data data did eat up planes. And then you have to try to find items in your house or in the kitchen. Match the pitch of every note, and you got to play it.

Speaker 3

09:14

And a lot of them did really well with matching the pit. Oh, so like, you can take a jar and then like,

Unknown Speaker

09:19

how long does that take you guys to do that,

Unknown Speaker

09:21

like 10 minutes to figure it out?

Unknown Speaker

09:23

10 or 15?

Unknown Speaker

09:26

It was crazy. And

Speaker 1

09:27

I assume too, because I I was obviously you know, like, how did you guys kind of train your guys's ears to even be able to do that because you guys are talking about pitch. And I even know what like probably for the jingle to having to get like those specific even background notes that I didn't recognize were really there until I was like, oh, like you can hear a little beat in the back. And I don't know how you guys kind of sampled or like how long does it take you guys to train your ears even to be able to do

Speaker 3

09:53

stuff like that. So well. There's a difference between perfect pitch and relative pitch. So perfect pitch is some thing that you're born with, okay? Just like anything that you have. I

Speaker 2

10:04

have perfect pitch. But it's sometimes can be a disadvantage because it doesn't, it doesn't allow you to, you know, put that practice into development, because it's just what you got? Well, depends, you can develop it and put it to use

Speaker 3

10:16

a lot more. Yeah. So like relative pitch, if, if I hit a note on the piano, I can have that note, and then be able to, like, figure out what note would be above that or below that. So, for example, in music theory class, we have sight singing, that is to train us as musicians to not only play music on a piano or a clarinet or whatever instrument, yeah, but to also use our own voice and to, you know, start with the pitch and figure out okay, what's five notes away from that pitch? Yeah. So over time, it's something that you get better at.

Speaker 1

10:50

Okay. Well, I just learned little, because I know Justin, I think you told me you have perfect pitch. And, and then you also, don't you Alex, as well have perfect pitch as well. Yeah.

Speaker 4

11:04

I mean, it's kind of a weird thing. So I, I was a very odd kid, when it came to music. I was the only musician in the family. And my brother played a little bit too. And he was really good. But I was like, the musician. And I always made games out of music. And I remember I labeled certain notes or certain pitches in colors. And like, when I see an old now, when I hear the note E. For me, it's like, oh, that's white, or a is red. And like GE is brown. And that's how I mentioned no, like, what note was being played personally. I mean, I'm not the best, but I was pretty confident. And it wasn't till like a year ago. I there was a term for it. Was it like sentences or something that said, I think,

Speaker 1

12:08

yes, it's like some, it's, it's something where like, there's some people who do have perfect pitch. It's like you said, I wanted to physio Psych. It's, it's like, you can see the color of that note.

Unknown Speaker

12:20

Like, you label it. label it. Yeah.

Speaker 4

12:22

Here's the thing, though. It's I don't, I would say I don't see the color. I hear the color.

Speaker 1

12:33

Okay, it's like, it's like a superpower. I feel like that's kind of like a little soup.

Speaker 4

12:38

It's like, you know, you don't need a picture. Yeah, bird to know what it sounds like. You don't have to really do this.

Speaker 1

12:46

We haven't even gotten to the surface of the actual like, podcast, and this already did get deeper. Oh, my goodness. I don't know. It's like, kind of hard to tell. But I feel like people who listen won't see. But I have like the biggest smile on my face. Because I think this is so cool. I don't know music too much personally. And I think that's why it was gonna ask too, because before we were doing little test runs, if you guys kind of explain your style, and maybe all of you guys can kind of individually, maybe explain how that's like translated over time. Like, is it always been that same style that you've liked? Or was it Oh, I was really into, like, EDM, but then I shifted away from that. And now I'm into, like, just more classical composing stuff, you know,

Speaker 2

13:29

it really, for me is, was all external stimuli. Like I got, I liked certain styles based on what I was exposed to. But then like what I've discovered myself, so you know, for example, like I like bad music as well, because I play in a band, I played clarinet through a band for almost like a good chunk of my life. So I got to experience some really spectacular pieces that really blew me away. And that, that sort of plays in my likings for music, but I also on the side, do like, you know, I missed it in that really cool sound design aspect because I used to think that was like, Oh my God, what instrument is that when you want releases all produced on a computer? So like, that mystery really led me to try and discover it and find out that it was all just computerized. I listened to more because I was like, really interested, like, yeah, you know, my, my MacBook can create music. That's crazy. So I kept listening to these and furthermore, I discovered even more genres beneath the computer and EDM genres. So I That's how my like a music and composition developed is just forming all those experiences together into one work.

Speaker 3

14:44

Yeah, so my main musical inspiration. This is kind of cliche, but it was John Williams with Star Wars. When I was a kid. Yeah, I mean, when I was a kid, I watched Star Wars and it just blew me away how the music could be engaging and interesting and really fill in the gap of a story. while still being a symphonic sort of, you know, air quote, classical sound. Yeah. Because I grew up in a family where we listened to a lot of music, but I didn't have a lot of musicians and my family, my mom's sayings, but she's not really like she's not really trained. But she has a good ear for music. So we listened to a lot of classical on the radio. And as a kid, it was a little bit boring. But over time, I grew to like it. And then when I saw Star Wars, you know, the symphonic score for that, it totally blew me away. And then, so then when I started composing, I sort of imitated that style. And I just loved the big chords, the full sound,

Speaker 1

15:49

the big like of it all the, like the drama like orchestra

Speaker 3

15:54

like Yeah. And then sort of going back to what Alex was saying earlier about the faculty. Yeah, I became a music major here. My private teacher, Dr. Lusco, was also the our harmony teacher. You know, he recognized my style very early on, like, I'm very traditional, very, like tonal harmony. I like traditional harmony. So he tried to push me into comfort zones that I wasn't really familiar with. And even though at the time, I may not have really liked it, or enjoyed it. Now, I see. It has benefited me so much. Like right now I'm writing solo piano preludes. They're very tonal, very harmonic, but they're very, like chromatic. So they have a lot of very modern techniques. And yeah, it's just it's musical style continues to develop. It's never just something that stops. So 10 years from now, I might be writing who knows what, but who knows in the EDM? Some like mayonnaise panels.

Speaker 1

17:02

I'm gonna be thinking about that all day. That's gonna be the title, the deep concept of the mayonnaise.

Unknown Speaker

17:08

It's a really good idea. Alex,

Speaker 3

17:10

you should you should ideas already. Do it? Yeah, do it. I'm excited for mayonnaise and clarity. Yes, mayonnaise duo clarinet trio.

Speaker 1

17:21

I'm excited to see that. Perfect going straight. Go to a target disk, grab a quick mayonnaise jar really quick and just start emptying it.

Unknown Speaker

17:32

We'll sample that really quickly sample it.

Speaker 1

17:36

And then I don't know you kind of touched a little bit before but about your as well. Other Alex as well. Your music taste? Or?

Speaker 4

17:44

Yeah. I mean, much of the music that I learned was just straight from school in terms of band music, like classical music. And I feel like that really honed in greatly because for me, coming together with other musicians of different instruments. I thought it was really cool. Really cool to see different instruments. No, I mean, my mama with music or music in my household. I'm half Mexican. So I was surrounded by amazing music with Banda classic mariachi music. And I mean, my grandparents often took care of my brother and I, during the because my mom worked evenings and as a nurse, especially nurse, and she's worked so hard and always so proud of her. And so and whenever my mom had days off throughout the week or once in a while, and drove us somewhere anywhere I was listening to a mixture, mom, amazing taste. And she was a young mom too. And she had great Texas. modern music at the time. Everything from Yeah, from like, from from Usher, to be honest, everything but I've been all the way to Motown. And then a lot I'm listening to disco. Yes. Music, I'm listening to like, Abba, all of that and still is still in love with disco music. And then of course, there was a lot of listening to you know, malt shop classic zoo, the the SHABOOM era to do to do ops. And I mean, and no, I mean, I also grew up with my great grandparents and all my great grandparents. Oh my goodness. Yeah. And I while we're in clarity a beginning my great grandfather would be like, Please somebody Goodman because that was his Hey, yeah. That was like In his 30s, during the 40s, they will play play Benny Goodman arsenal, Glenn Miller. So I had this huge array of different genres. Yeah. Despite the fact that no one of my family played instruments, there was some, there was a mixture of music. And, you know, in getting the education at school, which shows the importance of music education in schools, that some kids, some families can't afford an instrument, or can't afford a private teacher like mine, or, you know, they, they need that idea. It was sometimes for other students the reason they go to school,

Speaker 1

20:52

it's so sad to see how we sometimes don't take you know, we, we lacked the appreciation for the arts, especially like, you know, music and everything like that, because like you said, it was all over in your household, and nobody knew how to play the instruments, and it's probably around so many people's households, that that's their way of connecting with themselves, or like, their culture, their heritage, and everything like that. And it's just so so sad, like you said, to see how like, schools will not prioritize that kind of, like, you know, education of giving, like the free insurance. I know, at my high school, we were very lucky to be able to rent out insurance, but I know my mom, it was funny, she really wanted to be in like band when she was younger, but it was so expensive, because you would have to actually buy the instrument. And it was like, almost like 100 $200 or something like that for her. Like, she wanted to play the saxophone so badly. And I felt so bad. I was like, she's like, You should do band or you should do color guard because I wanted to do that. And it's like, so like, you know, you feel free because it's like, music education is so important. Especially it is

Speaker 4

22:01

it really, even even on the college level to is absolutely essential. And I mean, for RBC to really invest so much in their in their music department. I mean, we're an All Steinway School now. For those of you who don't know,

Unknown Speaker

22:20

that's like a really,

Speaker 1

22:22

I was gonna say, I don't think I know what that is. But that sounds very, very

Speaker 4

22:25

big deal. Because Steinway and Sons are the top piano makers in the entire world.

Speaker 3

22:32

It's like going from driving a regular car to like a sports car, watching gas pedal, and it just takes off.

Speaker 4

22:40

Rolls Royce and Ferrari combined. And it is a it's a huge honor to be to be that. And for us, college students in Orange County to be playing on these beautiful grand pianos that are often played in Carnegie Hall in the Sydney Opera House, in all of the great halls in Europe played by symphony orchestras.

Speaker 1

23:09

That's yeah, and I didn't know that. You're here.

Unknown Speaker

23:13

I don't know that either else. I'm shocked myself. It was like, Oh my gosh, we have

Speaker 4

23:18

but I mean, by sight to go off on a tangent but I mean, shows how all of that really kicks off in terms of Spark inspired care to really go into music no matter what.

Speaker 1

23:34

And, and no, don't don't worry, it's it's beautiful to watch you guys have such like a beautiful passion because I even though to a lot of artists, like from writers to even like physical like media artists as well also have that same passion and drive and it's, it's just something you could talk about so much. And when I'm listening to you guys, it's so interesting, because you guys have such, you know, different ways that you came to music, you know, like an each having something of your own. What was the biggest challenge I guess for you guys to all take your big love and passion for each of your individual styles and just cram it into this one jingle and be like, You know what, we got to work together?

Speaker 2

24:14

Really, it was just all experimentation. It was like, let's just put together and see it sounds okay. But really, first, it was all began with the guys just put the chord progressions and like what was one of the most compatible with, you know, a wide variety of genres. But then, after that, it was just really just trying to see if this sounds cool or not. And then if it does sound cool, let's go for it. Yeah. And this was really all just trial and like, not really trial and error, but just like, let's see what happens. And that's, that's, that's what happened with the jingle. It just marched a bunch of things together and it sounded great. It sounded very, very unique.

Speaker 3

25:00

Yeah, I feel like because we're all so different. It wasn't so much like, we have to figure out how to mold to each other. Yeah, we just sort of naturally. Like, we just sort of naturally combined, right? Yeah. And we just sort of, I don't know, we just sort of like divided up the parts in the roles, just according to what we could do.

Speaker 1

25:21

I love is gonna ask like, when you first approached it was it like, oh, like did you maybe other Alex come up with something first? Or was it one? Or the other Alex? Or was it Justin? The credit to be like Alex G. ALEX W. It's like, did you guys like who kind of like first was like, Okay, well, we should definitely was there like, we definitely need to have this or we definitely should have you know, this? I don't know, kind of the process? Well,

Speaker 3

25:49

after our very first meeting with you guys. At the year, we literally just went down to our practice room. We just brainstormed for, like 30 minutes or an hour just sort of laying out? Yeah,

Speaker 2

26:04

we saw the picture that you guys sent us of the logo. And that's what really helped us like get an idea of what to go for. That's when that brainstorming started. Like how are you supposed to picture put this picture into an auditory form? And have that conveyed? In a very, you know, good way?

Speaker 4

26:23

I mean, I would say that, we assumed there would be a challenge. I mean, we like challenges. But we we assumed the challenge would be difficult because you have, again, three different composers, three different styles that approach things in different ways. Usually, when there is a project, it'd be from a student film to an indie film or something really top tier list. Usually you have one composer, we

Unknown Speaker

27:02

just lock ourselves in a room.

Speaker 4

27:05

Pretty much and I mean rarely there'd be two in like the film industry.

Unknown Speaker

27:11

Yeah, closer an orchestrator usually Oh, really?

Speaker 1

27:15

I didn't even know that. Because it's I feel like, especially with films, it's so big and depending on like, obviously, like we talked about, like Star Wars, for example. I can't imagine having to compose something to that scale. Well,

Speaker 4

27:27

I mean, John Williams, I mean, he's, he's so well known. And his music has been so analyzed and studied by students who are going into film scoring. And you'll have orchestrators where John Williams would like write a melody. And he could be like, here, right at like how

Speaker 3

27:44

I would usually for a piano like solo piano, and then he gives it to an orchestrator. And the orchestrator will put it into a full orchestra form. So flute clarinet, all the way down. Oh, usually, I mean, John Williams would probably write something like, you know, this part, give it to the flute.

Speaker 2

28:03

Like, um, but the crazy thing about that is like it usually it is very hard to, you know, collab on a project, especially like orchestration where it takes a lot of, you know, handwritten persistency and a lot of revisions as well, for in all that, but then there's also these music producers that club, like six people. And sometimes I found a piece or like, in a very, kind of like a very, an unknown kind of genre. I found the 40 people on that, like, Absolutely, it's a whole record label, just like all of them on one piece. It was, it was, it was insanity. You

Speaker 4

28:39

know, it's crazy. Why we really go off tangent here so easily.

Unknown Speaker

28:45

It's like versation conversations.

Speaker 4

28:48

Yeah, but, you know, you know, there's a SpongeBob musical, right?

Unknown Speaker

28:52

I think so. Yeah. Oh,

Speaker 4

28:53

there's a SpongeBob musical. Okay. Here's the tickets now. I listened to the score. I listened to the entire site, because I was like, Oh, God, this is gonna be terrible. And I ended up loving it. Really? Yes. I was so angry by how good it was. It was crazy. I was like, who wrote all this music? You had you had A listers? You had you had Billy Idol.

Speaker 1

29:30

Oh, and a SpongeBob musical is kind of insane. You

Speaker 4

29:34

had Panic at the Disco? Writing music like TI TI and so many other artists collaborate in the music for this musical. Haha, it was good.

Speaker 1

29:55

See, that's what's kind of like crazy because now it kind of I guess puts in a very Good perspective, I guess we're now like helps me see a little bit more. Because I was always like, I remember you guys left and I remember you had mentioned because you were you were talking about Alex W about your kind of style was very upbeat, you know, jazz that Americana, and then you were telling me Alex, or I say w w, G, you gotta write Oh, you're perfect. I was like, okay, me, Alex G, that you had very much, you know, more composed, like, traditional kind of style. And then Justin was Ambien. And I was like, how, how in the heck is that all gonna, like, form together? Especially for something that's, you know, so kind of like, so small, like, when you're asked to do a jingle? It's like, okay, you need to make it very short, you need to make it not so not so much, you know, very long, like an actual piece where you can play with it more it's like, need to be condensed and concise. Is there anything you guys made of might have wanted to do differently? Or when you're like you think about it now? Oh,

Speaker 4

31:01

I mean, just to start off, I mean, we made sure that we did not reduce any of our character. Characteristics, in terms of our

Unknown Speaker

31:15

this was our piece, not one person speaks it was our piece together.

Speaker 3

31:20

Alex? Yeah, I mean, I think we just naturally kind of, maybe not diminished our own style, but we made sure to cohesively work with you know, the three different styles that we have, in order to produce this jingle. Yeah,

Speaker 2

31:39

this, this took a lot of, you know, back and forth collaborating a lot of revisions and like, just just making sure everyone was heard. And like, usually, like if one person wine at all, they, they will just take it, put the stuff in without leaving time on and then send it in. But this was back and forth revision after revision, feedback, feedback, feedback.

Speaker 3

31:59

And I think one thing about all three of us is that we're all in service of the music. So even if like, you know, one of us has to take one for the team, as long as the final product comes out. That's really all that matters.

Speaker 1

32:14

And then, because, I mean, you pretty much answered my next question was, you know, did any of you guys you know, like, diminish maybe some of your guys's styles, but it sounds like you guys got pretty much everybody's pieces in there, you know, that they wanted to if you guys didn't go that original direction, was there maybe another direction you wanted to go with the jingle? Like if you were like, Oh, maybe I wish we could have played with more, you know?

Speaker 4

32:39

Well, I mean, that's the thing with any composer you talk to any composer, they're never going to be 100 100% satisfied with your work. I'm constantly revising a lot of my compositions. So whether it be for band or Sonata, or or anything like that, I mean, sometimes do I let it after I'm done with something? I let it ferment for like, a year before publishing only because I possibly so? Yeah, I was I'm sure you probably have

Speaker 3

33:10

the same experience. Yeah, very similar. In fact, today, I just revised one of my trailers. I said I was done with it. But then I'm like, well, there's some things I want to change. So yeah, it always happened back

Speaker 2

33:24

to that like podcast. Since I got the picture of the look what we got send us was like the VR looking thing. Yeah, I want to go very like this vintage crackly and just kind of a Onna we call them a dark backstreet jazz with a bunch of really like, like, say it's, I don't know, call it. It's like a glitch in the simulation. It's got like, sandwiches out gets really dark. But then it's like it's colorful, but it's only 10 seconds.

Speaker 1

33:54

Well, I think I know what you're trying to like convey. Because even to in the beginning, when you guys like gave us the snippets. I know. We were like, that's perfect. That was awesome. That's what we had all kind of envisioned. I remember, we all kind of were a little like, nervous in and of itself, because we were like, hopeful, hopefully. Luckily, they

Unknown Speaker

34:14

know what they're doing. No.

Speaker 1

34:16

It's not that we knew you guys. You know, we knew what you guys were obviously capable because obviously you guys were picked by. I cannot remember his name.

Unknown Speaker

34:26

Oh, one the man. Oh my god. There

Speaker 1

34:30

you go. He was like He told Sean's but he's like, perfect. I know. Three. I know three people. She was like, Oh, really? Yep. I'll send them right to your right to you. And it was, you know, I think he did like an amazing job choosing all of you guys, you know. And it's so unfortunate that we have to wrap this up. But I do actually have a very interesting question that I've always wanted to ask people who do music which is if you could perform with somebody dead or alive, that you're like, Oh, I would love to compose or I would love to work Like alongside them, who would it be? It could be dead or alive. You know? Patrick, right.

Speaker 3

35:13

Oh my goodness. Well, one composer that I really love is Sergei Rachmaninoff. He's a Russian pianist and composer. And yeah, his music really brought me into the more classical side of things. Yes, yeah. Actually struck a chord. Yeah, I would just I would love to meet Sergei Rachmaninoff. Would you ask him? I, I don't even know. I would be. I would be happy to just like have lunch.

Unknown Speaker

35:46

Yeah, just be happy to sit next to him be like, hey,

Unknown Speaker

35:49

it's like, yeah, let him impart his knowledge.

Speaker 2

35:53

So, I would love to at least share one pieces though. You know, Frank to Kelly or John Mackey. Those really big bang composers. But performing with this may surprise you by I've been I really want to do a DJ set with Skrillex that yes, we just did a full on party all night to switch our music, their music in their brain like some kind of some

Speaker 1

36:18

like hardcore interesting, like EDM style together all night long jam session. Yeah.

Speaker 2

36:23

And then maybe like add in some kind of weird, classical song and just full on just add a weird, goofy remix to it and just have a little crazy interesting

Speaker 1

36:31

because I know I'm very spoke to somebody. They were like, there's such a correlation between like, classical music and sometimes EDM. If

Speaker 3

36:40

you play heavy metal on a harpsichord, it sounds like Bosch. Yes. And if you play Bach on an electric guitar, it sounds like heavy metal. We're gonna have to test that theory. And then,

Speaker 4

36:54

oh, gosh, this is always a tough question when you're asking any musician because they get inspiration from so many different people, or so many different aspects of music in their music journey. But I feel like right now, actually, I mean, speaking like to Kelly, that would be great. I would love is the insight, especially because he just retired. But I'm one person. I actually do have my kind of a group really would be the Connie Mason family. So there's this specific cellist in is there's a there's a British Charles by name of Shahrukh Khan, a medicine check economist and he is spectacular. He played cello for the wedding of Megan Markel, and Harry. Oh, yeah. And his family was on America's Got Talent. And they were in the semifinals. Brilliant classical family. But because I'm currently writing a Cello Sonata, and for some reason, I've been having him in mind. So who knows, maybe he hears about this Sheikh, who, everybody.

Unknown Speaker

38:12

Everybody tag him, send it to him,

Speaker 4

38:14

I have something for you. To try out. I think you might like it. Not nothing big but unique. It's very unique.

Speaker 1

38:23

I really appreciate you guys coming here. I'm Thank you. I know it was so like, thank you guys for taking time out of your day. And honestly, just thank you guys, again, so much from the bottom of our hearts here at the ear for doing the jingle and taking on the project and was really, really appreciate you guys any anything you guys would like to share kind of before we you know, finish up advice or anything that you just want to say to people that might be either wanting to continue to do music do you to do music as a hobby, is where

Speaker 2

38:54

the music you can start anytime. It's a it's an art form. So it's basically a conveyor of your insight emotions and who you are as a person. So you can start anytime, just pick up something maybe even just start reciting reciting choruses of your favorite song. That's music. And you can develop that and make it your own. So you can for anyone can start anytime.

Speaker 3

39:21

Yeah, I think if somebody wants to become a composer or be a better composer, I would say practice not only practice your musician, your instrument, because you have to have a good command of your own instrument, but also composing you need to practice composing. Just write something even if it's bad, just keep writing. I've thrown away like 90% of what I write my God, but it pays off. The imagination is a muscle that was so deep we're

Unknown Speaker

39:54

definitely about to get deeper.

Unknown Speaker

39:56

Oh my. I feel motivated. I

Speaker 4

39:58

actually saw this So with, with music scenes, because I also coach high school marching band, and I'm a private music teacher too, but I would say, know your worth, and then know your value. Because I mean, and that's coming from my experience. I mean, not to get a load or but having had naysayers and set backers, know your worth first and know that you can you are your own competition, the only person you need to be competing against is the person you were yesterday. And that meant like Alex, growing, growing in the aspects of music you want and how to evolve on that, know your worth, and by that, know the value, because and keep in mind to not look, do not seek your worth in your value from other people. Immediately that has to start from you. Because the right people will see it and give you the opportunities to shine.

Speaker 1

41:15

I'm actually speechless because it's got very, very, very deep in a very beautiful way. I think that's very beautiful. you bringing that up that self esteem I feel like all creatives struggle with that they feel that they need to validate other people. It's like you said if you like it, there's somebody else out there who definitely likes it too. But thank you guys for coming in. I really appreciate you all for being here. Thank you for listening to the ear. The ear is supported by Irvine Valley College and is located in Irvine, California. Check us out at the dash ir.org and follow us at the IR community on Instagram.

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