Goin’ Mobile with the Tedesco's continued from previous page
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| WEAVER: |
Who are a few musicians you have done work for? |
DAMON: |
Well.... Buddy Collette, Joel Peskin, Richard Simon, Thom Rotella, Tim May, Dominic Genova,
Mike Kowalski... mostly studio musicians. |
| WEAVER: |
There are plenty of location recording facilities, what
do you think separates you from them? |
| DAMON: |
I would have to say, my crews experience in feature film and
TV music scoring. I have been at Warner Bros. as the music
scoring stage manager for the past few years. The similarities
are amazing - fast and furious. Working with orchestras, big
bands, and rhythm sections on a daily basis, we have all grown
accustomed to high pressure situations. |
| WEAVER: |
Who have you assembled as the MD&D crew? |
| DAMON: |
Well, the crew consists of myself, Dominic Gonzales, music
scoring stage manager of Paramount, Pete Elia from Westwind
Studios, and Rich Wheeler formerly of Evergreen/Ground
Control. We had all started out together at Evergreen years
ago. Scoring on this level makes us all very fast. |
| WEAVER: |
I understand that you have taken many projects from the
recording phase all the way to finished CDs. How has this
helped your business? |
| DAMON: |
It has helped immensely. People feel very comfortable
knowing that there will be quality control through all phases of
their CD production; recording, mixing, digital editing,
mastering, and manufacturing. Taking projects from start to
finish has really helped our business. |
| WEAVER: |
What project are you currently working on? |
| DAMON: |
We have just finished recording Buddy Collette live in concert
at the Thousand Oaks Civic Auditorium. It was absolutely
amazing! The band was incredible. It was a real treat to work
with Buddy and Richard Simon. |
| WEAVER: |
How do you know Buddy? |
| DAMON: |
Well years ago, he was my saxophone teacher at Loyola
Marymount University. Buddy taught us in a Jazz Band.
We were pretty bad. He has the patience of a saint. |
| WEAVER: |
Now Denny, you run the CD music compilation business with
your brothers. What is that all about? |
| DENNY: |
We started a company about 3 years ago producing CDs for
corporate premiums. |
| WEAVER: |
Who are some of your clients? |
| DENNY: |
We produced KLON's first compilation CD called "Jazz for
Members". Other clients are Eastman Kodak, Hilton Hotels, and KXLU radio. |
| WEAVER: |
How did you come up with this idea? |
| DENNY: |
We started it because we knew that between us we could pull
it off. Dale has the publishing experience and Damon has the
CD mastering and editing chops. |
| WEAVER: |
How has the business done? |
| DENNY: |
It is going well now, but it is very hard to find the decision
makers in all of the process. We have been very persistent over the years and it is starting to pay off. |
| WEAVER: |
I understand that you are directing a documentary on L.A.'s
session players of the early 60's. |
| DENNY: |
That's right, it’s called, "Behind the Curtain of the West Coast
Sound & the Wrecking Crew". There was a time in the in the
early 60's that a group of studio musicians could be heard on
popular radio at anytime and anyplace. They were virtually
unknown to the listening public but they played behind almost
everyone that came through L.A. If they weren't creating Phil
Spector's Wall of Sound, they were recording with the Beach
Boys or Frank Sinatra. When you see the musicians credits, its
awesome. Certain surf groups like the Marketts & Routers were the same
group of session players. They were the Milli Vanilli of
their day. |
| WEAVER: |
How’s the filming going? |
| DENNY: |
Excellent. Last month, we had a round table discussion with
four legends of the time. Drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Carol Kay,
and saxophonist Plas Johnson and our father, guitarist Tommy
Tedesco. The stories were amazing. Last week we filmed
Nancy Sinatra & pianist Don Randi and we're hoping to talk to
Brian Wilson to hear his thoughts and memories of the time |
| WEAVER: |
Is this your first documentary? |
| DENNY: |
No, I've been working in film for about 15 years now and the last
8 years, I’ve been working almost exclusively in IMAX
documentaries. From volcanoes & sharks to lions and bears
(oh my)... most of the time its easier dealing with musicians. |
| WEAVER: |
Dale, how long have you been a music publisher |
| DALE: |
I started with producer Snuff Garrett in 1967. He had produced
Sonny & Cher, Gary Lewis and the Playboys and many more.
Since Snuff, I've worked with MCA, Warner Bros., ABC and for
the last 15 years I've had my own publishing consulting company
called Dale Tedesco Music. |
| WEAVER: |
What is DTM working on now? |
| DALE: |
I service background and vocal material to motion pictures and
television series. Sometimes, I’ll be called to supply tunes to
artists that are looking for new material. |
| WEAVER: |
How often do you get called for jazz tunes. |
| DALE: |
In the old days, very little. But now with cross over radio
stations like the wave, and clubs like B.B. Kings & House of
Blues, there tends to be more demand. A couple of years ago,
we had two songs on Ernestine Anderson's album "Here & Now". |
| WEAVER: |
Wasn't that up for a Grammy Award? |
| DALE: |
Yeah, Stix Hooper did a killer job. The tunes weren't
necessarily jazz type tunes but Ernestine & Stix turned them
around to work in her style. |
| WEAVER: |
What do you brothers see in the future? |
| DENNY: |
There are too many great musicians in this town that are not
known except by other musicians. It’s great when I get calls
from someone that has received a premium CD and they want to
know where they can find a Brandon Fields, Cecilia Coleman, or
LA Jazz Quartet CD. |
| DAMON: |
Our hope is to keep recording live jazz music and introduce
non-jazz lovers to new sounds. |
| Dale: |
Spread jazz to the masses.
John Michael Weaver is a guest writer for MIX magazine
and the Head of Recording Arts Department at Loyola Marymount University. |
