Recording - July 2011 - 51

J U LY 2 0 1 1 TAXI Road Rally 2010

Composing for TV Panel, Part 2
Moderated by Michael Laskow
Kevin Kiner has won eight BMI awards; he’s been nominated for five ANI Awards—which are animation awards—and he’s also been nominated for a couple of Emmy Awards for his work on TV. Kevin is well-known in Hollywood for his orchestral scores for Wing Commander; Stargate SG-1; Madison; Walker, Texas Ranger; and; most recently; Star Wars: The Clone Wars; CSI: Miami; Dance Wars; Carrie vs. Bruno; and dozens of other live action/animated TV series and movies. Let’s hear it for Kevin Kiner. [applause] Matt Hirt is a very longtime TAXI member who became our prototype for success, if you will. He’s a songwriter/composer and his music can be heard daily on network and cable TV, and his work has also been in more than 10 motion pictures. Among Matt’s credits are Tropic Thunder; Rush Hour 3; Body of Lies; Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Dancing With the Stars; American Idol; America’s Next Top Model; Law and Order; and Dateline NBC; just to mention a few. Matt is the production music library king of all TAXI members, and a pretty darn modest guy to boot. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Matt Hirt. [applause] John Lewis Parker started his career as a bandleader for the legendary blues artist Papa John Creach. He’s a hit songwriter with a Grammynominated Song of the Year for “A Hard Habit to Break” by Chicago—a classic. He’s a Grammy-winner as a producer/songwriter for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Slow Down by Keb Mo. As a film and TV composer, John has written title themes and cues for such television shows as Frances Ford Coppola’s First Wave; Family Feud; Teen Wolf; Baywatch; The Hills; Party of Five; and Touched by an Angel, as well as films including Big Bully; Tin Cup; One Fine Day; Police Academy; and many more. He is also the owner of the independent record label Throwback Records. Let’s hear it for John Lewis Parker. [applause] It’s interesting. So really you just kind of sit down and noodle and create until something starts to jell, and then you figure out where you want it to go, versus, “Hmm, I think I’ll write a sad one today.”

John Lewis Parker (right) explains how he dances around to get inspired. Fellow panelists Kevin Kiner (left) and Matt Hirt (center) are obviously amused by Parker’s technique.

Matt: I’ll do both. I mean, sometimes, yeah, I’ll say, “I’ll write a sad song.” But if you’re asking me specifically what I do if nobody tells me what to do, I usually just experiment around a little bit, and when I come up with something I like, then I let that dictate where it should go emotionally, or ultimately what kind of market and what kind of visual it would eventually accompany, hopefully. The keyword there is market. I know you well enough and long enough to know that you’re no dummy when it comes to the business end of this thing. You probably know more about production music library contracts and rules and regulations—all the ins-and-outs of business— well, let’s just say, you know more than most people about the business side of things. On the creative side, do you ever think to yourself, “Lately I’ve noticed they’re using a lot more Reggae, so I’ll write in that direction,” because you want to fill a need?

Matt: I’m obviously aware of what’s going on in the film and television world—particularly television since I get a lot more placements there, and a lot more of the music that’s maybe less source-oriented would be placed in television show. So I’m aware of what’s happening in television, what the hottest shows are. If some new kind of music comes along all of a sudden, then I’m aware of that and I’ll experiment with those types of sounds or those types of feels, absolutely. So I’m aware of that, and I also find it inspiring actually. I find it inspiring because a lot of times I’ll hear things like what Kevin might do and I’m going like, “Man, this is so cool. I’ve never thought of writing something like that.” So I start of going in a direction like that, then take it somewhere else and make it my own. Do you ever get motivated—or choose your path—by financial reward? Let say, given the option to do reality stuff that you know is gonna Continued on page 52
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Recording - July 2011

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