Jason Camiolo is a really cool guy that you need to know about. A talented musician and a new father, he's very busy [but nice enough to slog through an interview :) ]. He's drummed for Platinum-selling rock band Fuzzbubble, written music for national commercial spots, and composed scores for multiple History Channel specials.
So...Maybe you should read this interview.
Justin: How did you get into music?
Jason: Ha. Well. The short version of it is a guy wanting to be in a band and play drums. I’m the 3rd generation drummer in my family. My father played and my grandfather also played. I pursued a career as a drummer in a band. I got as far as signing with Bad Boy and Arista records when I was 25 and I was in the only rock group (Fuzzbubble) that Puff Daddy ever signed. I moved from New York to LA to get a record deal, like the classic tale. As funny as it is, I ended up signing with a new York-based label.
Justin: Long trip back home, huh?
Jason: How’s that for a Murphy’s Law tale? So we signed a record deal and ended up living in LA, and going back forth doing gigs in New York. I recorded an album with Mike Clink, who is the producer of all the Guns n’ Roses stuff, which was a phenomenal experience. The record was mixed by Jack Joseph Puig. We were big fans of his Jellyfish work, which mirrored the Beach Boys, Queen, and the Beatles. From the non-scoring point of view, that’s where my head’s at. I’m a big pop geek…Cheap Trick, Badfinger, Beatles, and Brian Wilson-esque pop. This is my alter-ego. I envisioned I would be playing drums for forever.
Justin: Did you have any educational background in music?
My focus as a kid was on the drums. In the 4th grade, I was in school band, learning rudiments…stick control, syncopation, technique books and practicing on a drum pad. In high school, I’d play in the pit band, concert band, jazz lab, and even choir for a while. If there was any opportunity for the school orchestra, I took it. I also studied privately as well. At this point, my head was in Drumming.
Justin: Is your previous work with Fuzzbubble connected in any way with your current work with Audio Engine and your history channel gigs?
Jason: Ha. They are completely separate! The ironic thing is, the Fuzzbubble thing turns out to be a really classic, VH1 behind the music, tumultuous story between a band and a label and it’s manager. What ends up happening is that we only really get to release one single. This single is supposed to setup the band. Puffy gets this idea to release one single that will launch Fuzzbubble, and then follow it up with a record. The album that we place this single on is the soundtrack for Godzilla. The soundtrack goes double platinum, and I start to think, on yeah, soundtracks…movie scores! That’s the only way [Fuzzbubble and Scoring] really tie in.
Justin: During the time that Fuzzbubble was signed and active, were you also tinkering around and doing any scoring using programs like Digital Performer?
Jason: I was really broke at this time, so I wasn’t really messing around with stuff because I didn’t have anything. Before we got signed, I was working at places like West LA music and always learning stuff and going to seminars and being taught things about scoring. I’m kind of a gear geek, too. I was born in 1971 and in 1977 Star Wars comes out. I’m 6, 8, and 10 when each of the movies are released. My love for sci-fi and having John Williams' music embedded in me definitely affected me. Also, being influenced by the music of the Beatles and Brian Wilson, who are taking orchestral approaches to some of their music. My head wasn’t necessarily tuned into the scoring at this point, but I was always thinking, “Boy, wouldn’t it be cool if there were a French horn on this part and some lush strings to make this a real Beatle-esque sound”.
Justin: It seems that more guys like you are comfortable throwing on different hats (rock, orchestral, hip-hop).
Jason: I think it’s more acceptable to jump around now. I remember being younger and thinking it would be great to [write] like Bernard Herman. People like Danny Elfman and the [current music scene] are opening up the scoring of movies. Half of all movie soundtracks now are not orchestral. You can listen to the soundtrack to Crash, which is all ethereal, and it works. It doesn’t have to be Howard Shore. There are several [car-oriented] movies that use Lincoln Park-type music, which is very high action. Thomas Newman, who did the theme to 6 feet under, has an eclectic sound, which is [informed] by all the different pop and orchestral influences.
Justin: What was your first scoring gig, post-Fuzzbubble?
Jason: I did a commercial for the University of Massachusetts, which was through Audio Engine. At this point, I had a small house in New York on Long Island with an attached garage that I gutted and turned into a studio. I was doing my own stuff and also recording little singer-songwriter demos for folks. I would help them embellish their songs with other ideas. This was a good thing because it got clients in front of my face. I also did a children’s album with a school teacher who was a piano player. It was great, because she would come in the studio and record vocals and piano and then would let me finish it up with drums and guitars and other arrangements. But really, the first scoring gig was the UMASS commercial.
Justin: Can you talk a little about Audio Engine?
Jason: AE, prior to me, was an audio company staffed completely with mixers who handled some sound design for television commercials.
Justin: How did you find out about AE?
Jason: Heh… Ironically, I had a cousin [Bob Giammarco] who was also playing music as a bass player. Later on, he became a very successful mixer, and is now part-owner of Audio Engine.
Justin: Well, when all else fails, kick it with nepotism!
Jason: It’s tough though, because I swear he’s harder on me. I came to him after deciding I couldn’t handle the label issues anymore. I told him I would love to mix audio and do what he’s doing, and maybe also record some music for the spots, when needed. So, I started working with them by relaying work from my home studio via ftp and I did a couple more spots during this time. A couple of months go by, and my cousin offers me a job at a new AE office opening in Phoenix. He said that they would teach me how to be a mixer while I was down there. I decided I was up for a change, so my wife and I accepted the offer. Since I’ve been here, which has been about 3 years; I haven’t had time to learn how to be a post-audio mixer. The music side of AE just took off. I also continue to maintain some clients from New York.
Justin: You’ve done several scoring gigs for History Channel shows. Was this arranged through AE or did you freelance?
Jason: There is a director named Geoffrey Madeja. He brought a project to AE that was a History Channel special. It was completely done. They had come to AE to get the sound mixed. I’m thinking how cool this is to get a History Channel gig at AE, so I’m wondering how much music is in one of these things. I watch out for the director to pop in one day and mention to him that if he ever needs some music, to let me know. He later came back to get his director reel mixed and I offered to score his reel. I did the music for the reel and he liked it enough to come back to me with The Templar Code, which is the first History Channel special I did. It was crazy for me because I had never done anything like this before, and it was a two-hour show. That’s about 45-50 minutes of music.
Justin: That’s a substantial amount of music…
Jason: So, be careful what you wish for. It was great, though. It was shot really well, and was fun to score. It’s got all these great shots of castles, fire, and knights, which is right up my alley. He then came back to me with 4 additional projects: The Ten Commandments, The Real Sorcerer’s Stone, Indian Wars, and Banned from the Bible II. It’s much easier to score to these shows when you enjoy the imagery.
Justin: With that amount of music, did you check out certain composers as reference points, or did you just go with what you already knew?
Jason: It was scary. I was afraid to come up with that much music. The important thing was that history channel really likes their openings and outros to be a certain way.
Justin: Stingers!
Jason: Those are the only things that were really focused on. Also, I would watch the show 2 or 3 times with the voice-over to get an idea of what type of music cue would be placed. When experts pop up on screen, they want the music out of the way.
Justin: Do you like the shorter (:30) or longer (30:00) scoring gigs?
Jason: I have done some shorter stuff for companies like US Airways, AOL, but I just think that the long form picture has a concept that I can really conger up imagery for. It’s not that you can’t do that with a commercial, but I prefer long form, which opens up the opportunity to bring back a theme several times. With a show like The Real Sorcerer’s Stone, I was immediately thinking about Danny Elfman-type celeste ideas that I could carry throughout the show.
Justin: What’s next?
Jason: The Arizona Office of Tourism came to me this year with a cool project. They asked me to put together a 6-minute suite that exemplifies life in Arizona. They also wanted to dispel any [stereotypes] people have about that state and remind people that Phoenix, Arizona is the 5th largest City in the US and that there is a lot going on. So, I put the suite together, and they liked it, but then they asked me to cast different musicians from across the state to guest on it. So it became this large task to find musicians and get them involved. I booked three days at a tracking studio to handle all the live cues. Then, the Tourism office asked to make a documentary of the whole process of composing and recording this suite. You can expect to see and hear portions of this piece in a lot of really cool places in the next year. The documentary will end up being about 30 minutes.
Justin: Crazy music stories?
Jason: After the Godzilla soundtrack took off, I had the chance to play with Jimmy Page and Slash on “All About the Benjamin’s” at NetAid.
Justin: Sweet.
Jason: Ha. Well. The short version of it is a guy wanting to be in a band and play drums. I’m the 3rd generation drummer in my family. My father played and my grandfather also played. I pursued a career as a drummer in a band. I got as far as signing with Bad Boy and Arista records when I was 25 and I was in the only rock group (Fuzzbubble) that Puff Daddy ever signed. I moved from New York to LA to get a record deal, like the classic tale. As funny as it is, I ended up signing with a new York-based label.
Justin: Long trip back home, huh?
Jason: How’s that for a Murphy’s Law tale? So we signed a record deal and ended up living in LA, and going back forth doing gigs in New York. I recorded an album with Mike Clink, who is the producer of all the Guns n’ Roses stuff, which was a phenomenal experience. The record was mixed by Jack Joseph Puig. We were big fans of his Jellyfish work, which mirrored the Beach Boys, Queen, and the Beatles. From the non-scoring point of view, that’s where my head’s at. I’m a big pop geek…Cheap Trick, Badfinger, Beatles, and Brian Wilson-esque pop. This is my alter-ego. I envisioned I would be playing drums for forever.
Justin: Did you have any educational background in music?
My focus as a kid was on the drums. In the 4th grade, I was in school band, learning rudiments…stick control, syncopation, technique books and practicing on a drum pad. In high school, I’d play in the pit band, concert band, jazz lab, and even choir for a while. If there was any opportunity for the school orchestra, I took it. I also studied privately as well. At this point, my head was in Drumming.
Justin: Is your previous work with Fuzzbubble connected in any way with your current work with Audio Engine and your history channel gigs?
Jason: Ha. They are completely separate! The ironic thing is, the Fuzzbubble thing turns out to be a really classic, VH1 behind the music, tumultuous story between a band and a label and it’s manager. What ends up happening is that we only really get to release one single. This single is supposed to setup the band. Puffy gets this idea to release one single that will launch Fuzzbubble, and then follow it up with a record. The album that we place this single on is the soundtrack for Godzilla. The soundtrack goes double platinum, and I start to think, on yeah, soundtracks…movie scores! That’s the only way [Fuzzbubble and Scoring] really tie in.
Justin: During the time that Fuzzbubble was signed and active, were you also tinkering around and doing any scoring using programs like Digital Performer?
Jason: I was really broke at this time, so I wasn’t really messing around with stuff because I didn’t have anything. Before we got signed, I was working at places like West LA music and always learning stuff and going to seminars and being taught things about scoring. I’m kind of a gear geek, too. I was born in 1971 and in 1977 Star Wars comes out. I’m 6, 8, and 10 when each of the movies are released. My love for sci-fi and having John Williams' music embedded in me definitely affected me. Also, being influenced by the music of the Beatles and Brian Wilson, who are taking orchestral approaches to some of their music. My head wasn’t necessarily tuned into the scoring at this point, but I was always thinking, “Boy, wouldn’t it be cool if there were a French horn on this part and some lush strings to make this a real Beatle-esque sound”.
Justin: It seems that more guys like you are comfortable throwing on different hats (rock, orchestral, hip-hop).
Jason: I think it’s more acceptable to jump around now. I remember being younger and thinking it would be great to [write] like Bernard Herman. People like Danny Elfman and the [current music scene] are opening up the scoring of movies. Half of all movie soundtracks now are not orchestral. You can listen to the soundtrack to Crash, which is all ethereal, and it works. It doesn’t have to be Howard Shore. There are several [car-oriented] movies that use Lincoln Park-type music, which is very high action. Thomas Newman, who did the theme to 6 feet under, has an eclectic sound, which is [informed] by all the different pop and orchestral influences.
Justin: What was your first scoring gig, post-Fuzzbubble?
Jason: I did a commercial for the University of Massachusetts, which was through Audio Engine. At this point, I had a small house in New York on Long Island with an attached garage that I gutted and turned into a studio. I was doing my own stuff and also recording little singer-songwriter demos for folks. I would help them embellish their songs with other ideas. This was a good thing because it got clients in front of my face. I also did a children’s album with a school teacher who was a piano player. It was great, because she would come in the studio and record vocals and piano and then would let me finish it up with drums and guitars and other arrangements. But really, the first scoring gig was the UMASS commercial.
Justin: Can you talk a little about Audio Engine?
Jason: AE, prior to me, was an audio company staffed completely with mixers who handled some sound design for television commercials.
Justin: How did you find out about AE?
Jason: Heh… Ironically, I had a cousin [Bob Giammarco] who was also playing music as a bass player. Later on, he became a very successful mixer, and is now part-owner of Audio Engine.
Justin: Well, when all else fails, kick it with nepotism!
Jason: It’s tough though, because I swear he’s harder on me. I came to him after deciding I couldn’t handle the label issues anymore. I told him I would love to mix audio and do what he’s doing, and maybe also record some music for the spots, when needed. So, I started working with them by relaying work from my home studio via ftp and I did a couple more spots during this time. A couple of months go by, and my cousin offers me a job at a new AE office opening in Phoenix. He said that they would teach me how to be a mixer while I was down there. I decided I was up for a change, so my wife and I accepted the offer. Since I’ve been here, which has been about 3 years; I haven’t had time to learn how to be a post-audio mixer. The music side of AE just took off. I also continue to maintain some clients from New York.
Justin: You’ve done several scoring gigs for History Channel shows. Was this arranged through AE or did you freelance?
Jason: There is a director named Geoffrey Madeja. He brought a project to AE that was a History Channel special. It was completely done. They had come to AE to get the sound mixed. I’m thinking how cool this is to get a History Channel gig at AE, so I’m wondering how much music is in one of these things. I watch out for the director to pop in one day and mention to him that if he ever needs some music, to let me know. He later came back to get his director reel mixed and I offered to score his reel. I did the music for the reel and he liked it enough to come back to me with The Templar Code, which is the first History Channel special I did. It was crazy for me because I had never done anything like this before, and it was a two-hour show. That’s about 45-50 minutes of music.
Justin: That’s a substantial amount of music…
Jason: So, be careful what you wish for. It was great, though. It was shot really well, and was fun to score. It’s got all these great shots of castles, fire, and knights, which is right up my alley. He then came back to me with 4 additional projects: The Ten Commandments, The Real Sorcerer’s Stone, Indian Wars, and Banned from the Bible II. It’s much easier to score to these shows when you enjoy the imagery.
Justin: With that amount of music, did you check out certain composers as reference points, or did you just go with what you already knew?
Jason: It was scary. I was afraid to come up with that much music. The important thing was that history channel really likes their openings and outros to be a certain way.
Justin: Stingers!
Jason: Those are the only things that were really focused on. Also, I would watch the show 2 or 3 times with the voice-over to get an idea of what type of music cue would be placed. When experts pop up on screen, they want the music out of the way.
Justin: Do you like the shorter (:30) or longer (30:00) scoring gigs?
Jason: I have done some shorter stuff for companies like US Airways, AOL, but I just think that the long form picture has a concept that I can really conger up imagery for. It’s not that you can’t do that with a commercial, but I prefer long form, which opens up the opportunity to bring back a theme several times. With a show like The Real Sorcerer’s Stone, I was immediately thinking about Danny Elfman-type celeste ideas that I could carry throughout the show.
Justin: What’s next?
Jason: The Arizona Office of Tourism came to me this year with a cool project. They asked me to put together a 6-minute suite that exemplifies life in Arizona. They also wanted to dispel any [stereotypes] people have about that state and remind people that Phoenix, Arizona is the 5th largest City in the US and that there is a lot going on. So, I put the suite together, and they liked it, but then they asked me to cast different musicians from across the state to guest on it. So it became this large task to find musicians and get them involved. I booked three days at a tracking studio to handle all the live cues. Then, the Tourism office asked to make a documentary of the whole process of composing and recording this suite. You can expect to see and hear portions of this piece in a lot of really cool places in the next year. The documentary will end up being about 30 minutes.
Justin: Crazy music stories?
Jason: After the Godzilla soundtrack took off, I had the chance to play with Jimmy Page and Slash on “All About the Benjamin’s” at NetAid.
Justin: Sweet.
Check Jason out @ www.jasoncamiolo.com.
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