In the first half of this sit-down, we’re joined by musical polymath Jay Weigel, a Grammy-winning composer, producer, conductor, arranger, orchestrater, and contractor with a career spanning over 40 years!

We start back at the beginning with New Orleans Catholic school bands, early gigs with unlimited beer taps on the wall, Jay’s teenage transformation into the world of prog rock and the ultimate spiral into a world of classical giants like Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, fuelled by under-the-desk vinyl deals!

Along the way we talk about musical lineage, aural teaching traditions tracing back to Beethoven, and what it really means to switch ‘musical languages’ across genres.

Plus, a refreshing reminder that even Beethoven wrote bad music, so it’s not the end of the world if you do too!

Chapters:

00:51 Jay’s early musical background

5:07 Jay’s transition into classical music

12:28 Switching ‘musical languages’ across genres and Beethoven’s musical lineage

17:08 Making bad music

21:44 Teaching maths and music

Part 2 out now!

#musicindustry #composer #producer #grammywinningcomposer #musicproducer #conductor #musicpodcast #beethoven #classicalmusic

Missed the first half of our conversation? Check out Part 1 first!

We’re back for Part 2 with Grammy-winning composer and producer Jay Weigel, and this time we’re tackling the missing piece in film school education: the often-neglected collaboration between directors and composers!

We explore the struggles of communication, learning to speak the shared language of film music, and the key to long-lasting working relationships in the film industry.

Along the way we look at the evolution of music tech over the years, from composing on a Commodore 64 to using modern DAWs;

If you’ve ever felt the struggle of communicating between filmmakers and composers, stick around!

Chapters:
1:33 The missing piece in filmmakers education
5:15 Communication between directors and film composers
10:28 The evolution of music tech
16:52 The difference between recording in different cities

#filmmaker #composer #director #composerdirectorrelationship #musictech #filmmusic #filmcomposer #composers #filmindustry #musicindustry #cubase

After having such a blast creating our NOLA vinyl last year, we couldn’t resist spinning up another one… this time with a festive twist!

In this episode, we delve into over a decade of Christmas Big Band production music. Join us on a trip down memory lane as we revisit the process behind these albums, share stories from recording sessions and make tough decisions as we narrow it all down to just two sides of a vinyl.

Which tracks will make the cut? Which ones get left in the snow? And just how many versions of ‘Jingle Bells’ is too many versions of ‘Jingle Bells’…? (Spoiler, three and a half might be pushing it)

#christmasmusic #bigband #productionmusic #composer #vinyl #doublevinyl #composing #filmcomposer #tvcomposer #filmmusic #tvmusic