I have a confession to make. It’s not something that I talk about much here, but it’s something that is a part of my daily life. It’s an obsession really. I’m not ashamed of it, but I’m also not sure how common my obsession really is. So, here goes….
Hi, I’m Chad, and I’m a film musicaholic.
Whew. Felt good getting that off my chest. Really, though, I love orchestral film music – especially while I am doing my drawings, and living here in the Hollywood area there are multiple opportunities to feed this hobby of mine. This past year I met a fella from the midwest named Peter Hackman who shares in this passion. So much so, that he formed a group called Fans Of Film Music, and this past weekend Peter put together a terrific event that film music fans across the globe should know about.
First, Friday evening about 30 film music enthusiasts gathered at a restaurant in Silver Lake, CA just to swap stories and get to know each other. I had never been to anything like it, and was amazed to meet these folks, many of which work in the film business or in the music industry. It was amazing hearing tales of being at James Horner’s first film scoring recording sessions, or about encounters with legends like Jerry Goldsmith or John Williams.
Many of these folks attended the John Williams concert held at the Hollywood Bowl Saturday night, but quite frankly, the icing on the cake is what went down Sunday afternoon at the Dark Delicacies store in Burbank. Mr. Hackman was able to gather together some amazing composers for a panel discussion open to only 45 attendees: Brad Fiedel (Terminator, T2, True Lies), Lee Holdridge (Old Gringo, Mists of Avalon, Splash), David Newman (Nutty Professor, Hoffa, Ice Age), Nicholas Pike (Return To Me, Sleepwalkers, Star Kid), Ken Thorne (Help!, Lassiter, Inspector Clousseau), Brian Tyler (Fast Five, Battle: LA, Rambo), and Christopher Young (Priest, Love Happens, Spider-man 3). Aaron Zigman (The Proposal, The Notebook, Flash of Genius) was scheduled to attend, but had a family emergency that prevented his attendance. Wonderfully moderated by film music critic and historian Daniel Schweiger, the hour and a half panel was riveting with these maestros telling tales of their experiences in their chosen profession.
I had a great seat, and sat there with my sketchbook in hand working on quick sketches of the panelists. Once at home, I finessed the drawings a bit. Anyone could show you photos of the day’s events (which you will probably be able to see on the Fans of Film Music Facebook page very soon), but I thought I’d share with you a few drawings instead…
If you like these, perhaps I’ll show you some more sketches of the other panelists later in the week. And if you’d like to see other art of mine related to the world of film music, CLICK HERE!