Choices

This is my very first film score... I was at Green River Community College at the time and also working in Sumner, Washington with Tony Williams, Gary Baller, and Dan Nordblad recording original songs and making demos for record labels.

At the time I played numerous roles in the Green River Jazz Band playing guitar, bass, valve trombone and composed several charts for the group as we called them back then. Through my friend Steve Hamilton, trumpet player, I met his dad, Chuck Hamilton. Chuck did a stint at the Boeing Company in their film department and he and Art Day had started up Evocative Productions. One of their projects was a series of educational films aimed at high school students.

Chuck heard several of my compositions for Jazz Band, Pep Band, and Concert Band and asked me if I’d be interested in doing a score for a short film they were producing. Well, of course I would! I was a young guy in his mid 20’s ready willing and able to do just about anything for a shot at a cool project.

I created the score and recorded everything at Gary Baller’s home in Sumner in 1974/75 in his front room studio. I had a 4 track Sony reel to reel tape recorder and I played and overdubbed all the instruments; melodica, guitars, piano, bass, cymbals, chimes, and sound effects.

The film was shot, edited and in the can (as they say) when they asked me to do the music. It was an amazing learning event. It was all recorded on analog tape and everything needed to be storyboarded and timed to the second because I didn’t have the luxury of watching the visuals when I created the soundtrack.

It was created in 15, 20, 30, 45 second intervals at a time that were later synchronized to match the timeline on the film with the action. When we actually added the soundtrack to the film I was with Chuck in the production studio. It was done in the old school tradition of film called A B rolling... The soundtrack was applied by strips of audio back and forth, a to b.

I watched the film probably 1,000 times and made copious notes on the score and peppered it with notations indicating the time lines.

Like Michael Jackson once said, “That’s Bad!” Meaning it was damn good!. Looking back over 40 years, it’s “interesting” but not so groundbreaking. But, none the less, it was my first attempt at a film score. I was fortunate to discover a 16mm print of the film this last year and got it digitized.

It’s funny how you hold things over the years. I haven’t seen this since the very early 80’s. Naive, too serious, a little too Film Noir perhaps? Regardless, it happened. It was done and I was there.

Choices, if it’s not too over the top obvious, is about the decisions we make everyday to take the green pill or the red. Do you want the real or the illusion of the real?

I’ve lost track of all these people including Niles Brewster. He went on to be in television and movies. Chuck and Art both worked more here and did more art and both passed away. I’ve lost touch so much over the years.... It’s so 1975! I wonder what happened to Steve Hamilton?

I haven’t seen Steve Johnson for several years. I’ve been trying to find him, but no luck. His old wife Marylin Johnson passed away a view weeks ago. I miss Dan. That’s Dan Nordblad. I won’t see him again because he passed away about 20 years ago. Jo Nordblad passed away last year or was that two years ago? His brother passed away I haven’t seen Steve Johnson either. He’d give me a call once in a while and I’d send him an email. The online proper ownership for Jefferson County, Port Townsend says they still own their home there but Steve isn’t answering his phone or his mail.

On one of my trips to Alaska for First American Title I got to see Tony Williams. He and Shelly Ose (one of his step daughters) live in Anchorage.