 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jonaugie
Date: 2003-04-13 03:57
I was wondering who is the most promamnant studio musician in LA at this time as well as how does one "break into" that profession. Along those same lines does anyone know the clarinetist that played on the soundtrack to the Southpark movie a few years back, even though the movie is of questionabe material the music and musicianship is quite good in my opinion.
Thanks
-Jonugie
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-04-13 04:17
Gary Gray does a good deal of the clarinet studio work in Los Angeles.
He is the clarinetist on the South Park soundtrack...GBK
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-04-13 17:16
Jim Kanter does the better part of the movie soudtracks. He is spotlighted on Peter Eaton's website. (There is a link on the sponser's page)
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-04-13 22:20
I think breaking into that type of profession is more a matter of being in the right place at the right time ... obviously being an flawless sightreader, having a virtuosi technique goes without saying.
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-04-14 04:53
Diz, you couldn't be any more right! But, if you can get your foot in the door...
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-04-14 11:55
I work a fair bit in studio work here in Canada and can honestly say you really need someone to get ill and then replace him/her on a gig. If you do well then you may be remembered.....it depends on how accurately in tune and how well you can record music with as few takes as possible.
David Dow
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-04-14 15:36
Good luck with that. LA is sewn up tighter than a (insert metaphor here). Small club of extraordinarily talented musicians. It is getting a lot worse in the studios, particularly for movies, as work is being exported offshore. New York had the Broadway dispute, sooner or later LA is going to have a come-to-Jesus on the amount of work the studios are shipping out. You'd probably be better off moving to the Ukraine and trying to get LA movie work there than here in the good ole' US of A.
There has also been a lot of decentralization in the commercial music biz with small boutiques everywhere from Atlanta to Nashville to Boulder picking up assignments. Technology has made it so talent doesn't have to sit right in NYC or LaLa Land.
Combine diz' and David Dow's comments are you are pretty much there. You have to be absolutely mercenary in how technically proficient (and musical you are), play multiple instruments, and get plugged in with the right people. Maybe, just maybe, if you wait long enough the phone will ring. Or, you could put out a contract on Gary or Jim.
Back to my decentralization point, check out some of the secondary and tertiary markets. You might find it easier to get involved in the biz that way.
And are you saying that songs like "Kyle's Mom is a @#$%" and "Uncle @#$%!*&" are questionable material? Guess I'll have to take that movie away from my 5-year old...
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-04-14 17:12
Jack Brymer talks about studio work extensively in his two autobiographies, "From Where I Sit" and "In the Orchestra." There was also an excellent article several years ago in the New York Times Magazine on the life of a studio musician, written by Joseph Eger, the top NYC horn player at the time.
Both players talk about two things: enormous physical stamina and obsessive single-mindedness. The competition is at such a high level that it's nearly impossible to get your foot in the door. (For the 30 years before Gary Gray got the work, Mitchell Lurie had it sewn up.) And once you do start working, you can never take a vacation or even a sick day. Someone else will get the work, and you'll no longer be at the top of the list.
I'm sure John Moses can tell us more.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-04-14 19:03
I guess it's my turn to speak, having just returned from the "Sacred Noise" studios in NYC. Today we did two spots for BMW, its about a guy in a diner who checks out his new BMW in the mirrored napkin holder, very cute.
It's a solo clarinet spot with some synth, violin and piano, some very hip writing.
The guys and women in the studios here love live music and have tremendous respect for musicians. They call us and know us by name, and at the sessions, provide all the goodies we can eat. But sometimes very little writen music.
I was scheduled for a 12-2 session, but finished all the final takes by 12:30, so out the door and home, until tonight, then back in at 8:00 for
"La Boheme."
How did this wonderful life happen?
Well, I went to Juilliard in the 1960s, studied with some great teachers, played with 3 major orchestras, did lots of tours, did the Catskills thing, worked with lots of new music groups for little money, did some Broadway shows (40-50 at last count), got called by the big guys to fill in on some studio work, and practiced my butt off ... always trying to play my best, all the time.
Follow your dream, work hard, give it your best shot, keep your ears open and your mouth shut (except when you play), and stay healthy!
I try always to help all my talented young friends and students, it's great to see their successes.
Sincerely,
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-04-14 19:32
JJM,
30 minutes -- way to set 'em up and knock 'em down!
Mark
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-04-15 13:01
Hi,
I find this thread an extermely interesting one but I want to take it a different direction. I'd like to tell you why I decided not to pursue this type of career. This is a story of why I am now on the B list rather than the A list like someone like John Moses.
When I was at Interlochen in the early 1950s, I played with some really great musicians (Larry Combs, Roger Bobo, Gene Zoro, etc.) and knew that these folks had a giant head start on me coupled with a tremendous amount of talent. Although I did well, I could see that there were some stars of the future in my midst and I was not among them.
On entering the univeristy, I briefly considered a career in performance although I was handicapped since I was a sax player in the 1950s and there was no such thing as sax as a major. What I did do was learn all the woodwinds both single and double plus picked up a degree in music education. Forty years of teaching was to follow (16 in HS and 24 as a college professor in a totally different area - aviation and flight training).
During all that time, and continuing today, I have always worked shows, the circus, played in the pit many times, worked dixieland and jazz gigs, done big band and small band work, played concert band - both professional and community, taught privately for more years than I can count, and done small ensemble work as well. My sight reading is still very good and I get calls often but as I said, I'm on the B list here in OH. People like John and his NYC friends are on the A list and make their living as top quality musicians; they have paid their dues over and over and should have the top jobs.
As I recognized about 45 years ago, I would never be one of the very top musician but I still knew that there was some professional work that I could do. I just chose a different day gig!
HRL
PS I know of several BB posters with similar stories and would like to hear them so please post.
Post Edited (2003-04-15 14:04)
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-04-15 22:29
Anyone with enough ambition can be anything they want to be. Yes, sometimes you must know someone who knows someone who know this guy and so on... that happens a lot. However, there are those individuals who are "discovered" and become the Cioffis, Wrights, Druckers (you get the point) of the future.
Hank, I don't think it was that you weren't up to par that kept you from being a studio musician, I think that deep down inside you there was a burning desire to share your talent by teaching. If it weren't for teachers (myself included) there would be now way that the legacies of Cioffi, Marcellus, and SOOO many other wonderful musician could carry on.
Not all of us are meant to be in the same venue as everyone else. If we were all the same the world would be an extremely boring place to live. Hank, and all the other teachers, thanks for teaching the masses as you hold the key that unlocks the future! John, and all the other performers, thanks for making our lives a little more pleasant through your performances!
Enjoy your individuality!
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-04-16 02:45
Hi PJ,
Nice thoughts and yes, the teaching has been wonderful. Must have been my destiny all along (my last name means teacher inGerman - good thing).
In recent years, I have done a lot of mentoring of "older" students (newer collegiate colleagues, a former member of Congress, a botanist, several HS and elementary teachers, younger flight instructors).
Once a teacher always a teacher but it is getting to be time to pass the torch.
HRL
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-04-16 02:57
Hey Hank!
I owe my entire career to devoted individuals like you. If it weren't for those mentors in my life who actually 'got down in the dirt' with me as I was coming up, I don't know where I would have gone. I can only hope that I have this effect on someone during my career.
You're right, once a teacher always a teacher. Additionally, a teacher always teaches. I can't help myself when an 'opportunity for growth' presents itself. You've been there I'm sure!
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