From & Inspired By

Writer/actor/director/musician/et al Brendon Small would be a legend if he’d stopped with the creation of his Adult Swim animated series, Home Movies, in the early ’00s. Following it up with the heavy metal fantasy comedy of Metalocalypse secured that status for all time when it debuted in 2006. Spotlighting the death metal band Dethklok, whose popularity makes them the seventh-largest economy in the world, Metalocalypse managed to skewer the music industry as effectively as Spinal Tap while also being a wild ride into interpersonal relationships, worldwide conspiracies, and a cocaine-addled clown based on David Lee Roth. The series has been absent since its last special, The Doomstar Requiem, nearly a decade ago. It returns on Tuesday, August 22, with a feature-length series finale, entitled Army of the Doomstar, accompanied by both a soundtrack and a fourth Dethklok LP, Dethalbum IV. Ahead of its release, we hopped on the phone with Brendon Small to talk about Metalocalypse and its history.

Playing bass was love at first pluck for Marty Isenberg. His career as a jazz musician began at the age of 12, after losing his father to cancer the year prior. A skilled amateur musician, Marty’s father kept many instruments around the house that he would play for the family. After his death, Marty would pull one of these instruments off the wall and begin teaching himself how to play by reading tablature in Bass Player Magazine. The first song he ever learned was My Own Summer by The Deftones. Playing bass was love at first pluck for Mr. Isenberg. It was a cathartic healing experience, a way to stay connected to his father, and a way to creatively express himself. He went on to study at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music where he majored in Jazz Performance and minored in Jazz Composition, and received his Master of Music degree from New York University. He is now a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University where he is the teaching assistant to the jazz department chair Ray Anderson. I spoke

As a boy growing up in Boston, Jon Coco immersed himself in the music of timeless bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Pink Floyd. Tapping into the music of the ‘70s with an impressive vinyl record collection, he started writing original music and dove into performances in the late ‘80s Boston music scene. Invited by an A&M recording studio head engineer to record songs for A&M, Coco gave in to the eventual lure of Los Angeles and the larger opportunities it promised. An early lesson would come when A&M Records closed their doors while his band was still recording their debut record. After two years as a staple on the Hollywood live club scene, Coco seized the opportunity to try his hand at creating music for a film trailer. This pivot provided many years of work and included his compositions in the marketing campaigns for Oscar-nominated and award-winning films such as The Departed, Batman Begins, No Country for Old Men, Room, and numerous others. Endlessly pursuing his ow

The HBO Max series, Peacemaker, the spin-off from director James Gunn's The Suicide Squad has become a massive hit for the streaming service, and not a small amount of its popularity comes from its deft use of music. However, while much as been made of the series' use of under-the-radar or forgotten rock 'n' roll and hair metal, composer Kevin Kiner's work on the series, alongside Clint Mansell, helps set the tone for a show which is by turns outrageous, violent, and surprisingly introspective and thoughtful. Ahead of the Peacemaker series finale, we spoke with Kiner about his work on the series, as well as his past compositions for the Star Wars and DC universes.

Pronounced “Voyager 3,” Detroit’s Voyag3r feature keyboardist Steve Greene, guitarist Aaron Greene, and drummer Greg Mastin. Inspired by the soundtracks to vintage horror, action, and sci-fi films, the trio creates experimental rock that owes a debt to pioneers like John Carpenter and shares a kinship with bands such as Trans Am, Teeth of the Sea, and Zombi. Originally directed by and starring martial arts actor John Liu (The Secret Rivals, Invincible Armor) in his only American production, New York Ninja was filmed entirely on 35mm in 1984, but the project was abandoned during production resulting in all original sound materials being lost over time. 35 years later, Vinegar Syndrome acquired the original unedited camera negative and painstakingly constructed and completed the film, with the voice talents of genre favorites: Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Linnea Quigley, Michael Berryman, Ginger Lynn Allen, and Cynthia Rothrock, and a score by Voyag3r. I spoke by phone with all three members of Voyag3r about New

Is this thing on? Sorry about the length of being gone. It's been a thing. But we're back, and this installment of Your Favorite Soundtrack sees us talking with Katlyn Conroy about the soundtrack to the 1974 Brian De Palma film, Phantom of the Paradise. Katlyn is a longtime music and movie fan, and her work in bands such as Cowboy Indian Bear, La Guerre, and her two new projects, Cheery and Dooms, means that she's well-known in the Midwest for beautiful melodies and emotionally-resonant songwriting. Therefor, it makes total sense that she'd pick a film with music by the one and only Paul Williams, a man who's no stranger to tugging at the heartstrings.

Director Matt Hinton's documentary, Parallel Love: The Story of a Band Called Luxury, has a couple of very interesting wrinkles. Not only is the Georgia post-punk band an act you've likely not heard of, the reunited act now features three members who are Eastern Orthodox priests, and director Hinton is part of the band, as well. That's before you get into the fact that Luxury is an often-forgotten part of the early history of Christian label Tooth & Nail Records, or the terrible accident which almost ended the lives of the band members. It's a fascinating story, filled with music you're sure to wish you'd heard when you were in your teens, as it's so richly-layered and evocative, so it was with some excitement that I hopped on Zoom with director Hinton (who now also plays guitar for Luxury) to talk about all of this and more.

A project born in Bristol in 2006 and developed in the bohemian dystopia of Berlin from 2009, Antoni Maiovvi walks the line between retro-synth and horror soundtracks for both real and imagined films. Recently, the musician -- who is one of the co-founders of Giallo Disco Records, in addition to his own endeavors -- has released Church of the Second Sun, a collaboration with prog-rockers ANTA, as well as the latest '80s synthwave album from his Jason Priest alter-ego. I spoke via Zoom with Antoni Maiovvi about horror disco, prog, composing for film, and more.

Formed in late 2014 in South Wales, Punk Rock Factory combine everything you love about 1990s/2000s punk rock, and reimagine classic and hit songs like you’ve never heard them before. From Meat Loaf to Disney, nothing is off-limits to them. The band rehearse, write, record, mix, master and film everything themselves in one dedicated space that they affectionately call "The Sausage Factory" and have no problem bringing friends along either. To date, Punk Rock Factory has had singers from bands such as Protest the Hero, Bowling for Soup, Mest, Rufio, Belvedere, Ten Foot Pole and more, provide guest vocals on tracks, firmly cementing themselves as a punk rock household name. On the new album, Masters of the Uniwurst, Punk Rock Factory takes on 21 classic TV theme songs including, Arthur, Power Rangers, Saved By The Bell, The Flintstones, Goof Troop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon and many more. I spoke via Zoom with all four members of Punk Rock Factory about Masters of the Uniwurst, cover songs in gen

Sorry for the delay on this episode. I got a promotion at work, live shows are returning, and I have been quite overwhelmed. Rest assured, the podcast is still happening. I just needed to catch up on the things which pay money in order to get around to putting together the next few episodes. So, after much delay, here's our episode on composer Max Aruj. Up and coming Los Angeles based composer Max Aruj had two exciting projects release on June 25: the crime drama Lansky from Vertical Entertainment, profiling legendary gangster Meyer Lansky, and the Liam Neeson-starring action-thriller The Ice Road from Netflix. The composer got his start in the industry working at the widely known film music hub Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica, CA where he's worked closely with composer Lorne Balfe on numerous projects, including Ad Astra, Black Widow, and HBO's His Dark Materials. Max first collaborated with Lansky writer-director Eytan Rockaway on the psychological thriller The Abandoned. Their established wor

Del Casher may not be a household name, but you've undoubtedly heard his music. He was a member of the famous Wrecking Crew, played on Lawrence Welk, recorded Frank Zappa’s first demo, backed Elvis Presley, and built guitars with Les Paul. His many inventions include the Wah-Wah pedal and the Ecco-Fonic, influencing the development of electric guitar playing.In 1976, Casher was commissioned to write and record a soundtrack for Italian Stallion, a re-branding of the 1970 film The Party at Kitty and Stud's, which saw Sylvester Stallone's first on-screen appearance. While even Stallone called the film "horrendous," the soundtrack for Italian Stallion stands on its own as a musical masterpiece. Over 40 years later, with the help of ORG Music, Del Casher dug up his original master tapes and assembled a record's worth of material for the soundtrack's first ever release. Italian Stallion will make its long overdue debut with a vinyl pressing, exclusively for the second RSD drop on July 17.I spoke by phone with Del C

The six-part Netflix documentary series Amend: The Fight for America, is executive produced and hosted by Will Smith and features a number of luminaries including Mahershala Ali, Diane Lane, Samuel L. Jackson, Pedro Pascal, and Yara Shahidi among others, and explores the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—which, in 1868, promised liberty and equal protection for all persons—as America’s most enduring hallmark of democracy. Amend has wall-to-wall music, including Osei Essed’s score, which is intermixed with inspiring pop hits throughout. Essed describes the score as "modern minimalist, meets orchestral Americana." The composer is a lover of simplistic music and making textures interact with harmony and various instruments. English horn, bass clarinet, and electric guitar are some of the most prevalent featured in the music. I spoke via Skype with Essed about the score for Amend and how it fits into his career.

Los Angeles native artist Joe Cardamone has lived a few lifetimes while leaving a wiry dent in the global underground music and film scenes. The band that Joe fronted for 17 years, The Icarus Line, formed in East Los Angeles in 1998. Over the course of six albums the punk agitators became an underground phenomenon and the most dangerous punk group of their generation. The cult band the never gave up. Cardamone's new album, Quarentina, was birthed from the necessity for distraction and expression. Life gets real hectic real fast and when you are getting dragged down into the sea you better learn to swim. Out of this chaos came some uncut gems, a batch of cool mini songs about love and pain. Tracks done in one or two passes just to grab the moment, not think, and keep flying. A force of nature, the album features 19 songs that were recorded in the matter of a few weeks after the dissolution of a relationship. Sounding so direct you feel like you are in the room with him, Quarentina is the most stripped down,

Netflix's Kid Cosmic -- from Craig McCracken, creator of the Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends -- follows the adventures of an imaginative and enthusiastic boy who lives with his free-spirited Grandpa in a sparsely populated desert town. The Kid’s dreams of being a hero seem to come true when he discovers 5 Cosmic Stones of Power in a wrecked spaceship. He forms a team of local heroes to stop an onslaught of alien attacks to steal back the stones. Though the Kid and his team are the good guys, they’re really bad at it,and the Kid learns that his fantasy of being a hero is very different from the reality of what it actually means to become one.A major part of the world of Kid Cosmic is the music. Composer Andy Bean not only did the score for the Netflix series, but also created a series of bands from whose dusty 45s we hear their music, such as the psychedelic garage of Dr. Fang and the Gang, Cepha Pond and the Muzzy Hill Boys' rockabilly, or the joyous R&B of the Soul Contributions.I

The new film from director Chris White, Electric Jesus, tells the story of an '80s Christian heavy metal band, 316, and their struggles, trials, and travails trying to make it in a world in which Christians fear metal and metalheads aren't exactly fond of Christians. It's a heartfelt, really truly honest movie that finds new angles in following a struggling band on their first-ever tour, with fantastic performances both in the acting and the music which makes up so much of the film.It helps that the music of Electric Jesus was written by Daniel Smith of indie rockers Danielson and sounds just like it could be found in the bins next to Stryper, Barren Cross, and Holy Soldier's output. The songs will lodge themselves in your brain pretty readily, and I've definitely added one or two to some recent playlists.I spoke with director White and composer Smith about the making of Electric Jesus' soundtrack, the film itself, and more. A note: this Q&A sounds weird because Zoom was being really weird and I had to sc

Composer Emile Mosseri has, in his short career scoring feature films, worked on some very notable productions. He scored director/producer Joe Talbot's debut, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, has worked with Miranda July on Kajillionaire, and also tackled the second season of the Amazon series, Homecoming. His latest score is for Lee Isaac Chung's Minari, a drama about a Korean American family trying to make their way as farmers in rural Arkansas. All of these might be very different films, but Mosseri's scores for each help define the world in which they take place through superb use of melody and pop sensibilities. I spoke with the composer by phone about his process.

Acclaimed multi-disciplinary music masters in their own right, Benji Merrison and Will Slater are now creating sounds for the screen together, calling upon their collective experience from a music and arts education, work producing and touring records, as well as composing for Film and Television. Both from the Midlands, UK, their paths first aligned when they were commissioned as a duo to score the popular BBC David Attenborough series Dynasties in 2018, for which they received nominations from the IFMCA and News and Documentary Emmys.In December 2020, global audiences were charmed by Meerkat: A Dynasties Special, the spectacular opening episode of series two. Playing ‘the puppeteers of people’s emotions’, Benji and Will carved out their own palette of sounds for the score, with the full OST album released February 26 on Silva Screen Records. Crafting their character as composers and defining a musical language that enhances the viewing experience, the combination of stunning visuals and music makes for a wi

Gilded Audio, the creative production force behind the podcasts Amy Schumer’s 3 Girls 1 Keith, OTHERtone with Pharrell, and The Pet have launched something entirely different. The Gilded Audio Music Library offers media makers a place to browse organic and beautifully crafted instrumental and atmospheric music to purchase at an affordable price for any creative project (podcasts, films, commercials, etc.) in need of that perfect musical vibe. The Gilded Audio Music Library was built in response to the bland, stock flavors found in traditional music libraries. It’s meant to benefit media makers in that it offers them a new place to find exciting music that nobody else is using, but it’s also a great new source of income for the hard-working bands and artists providing the songs. We talk about the creative process, library music in general, and the whole history of Gilded Audio with the company's Andy Chugg and musician Sam Skarstad.

Formed in 2013 in Toronto, Martin Macphail, Dean Rode and Tristan Tarr make up the award winning trio Blitz//Berlin. Since releasing their debut album Distance in 2015, the band has created three critically acclaimed instrumental albums, and composed the original score to feature films, shorts, and movie trailers, including the recent sci-fi horror comedy, Psycho Goreman. Blitz//Berlin's music for films like The Void, and the trailer for Bad Times at the El Royale, show just how diverse the trio's music can be, so it was a real joy to talk about all of this -- but especially Psycho Goreman -- with the group's Martin Macphail on the very day the film hit Shudder.

I'd like to apologize for the delay on this episode. As we went to record, the trusty Nady six-channel mixer we've been using for the last decade died a quick and horrible death. This necessitated a trip to downtown Lawrence to track down a new mic input for the computer. Big thanks to Guitarma for having the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in stock (and affordable), letting us get right back on our feet. We're still figuring it out, so apologies for any audio weirdness in this episode. Chase the Horseman is a band, film composer, multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer, and producer. They also grew up in Lansing, Kansas, and attended the same high school as I did. Chase currently makes music as both a composer and as Chase the Horseman, and it's all intricate and beautiful. We talk about growing up in Lansing, making music, working with director Gigi Saul Guerrero, and scoring not one, but two installments of Hulu's Into the Dark series.