Machine-Man: The Musical Mayhem of Raymond Scott

Anyone that's followed my work probably knows that one of my biggest musical influences is Raymond Scott. Aside from making the music that was so beautifully adapted by Carl Stalling to hundreds of the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes, Raymond Scott was also a recluse inventor of electronic instruments and essentially pioneered electronica and electronic dance music with his musical experiments in the late 50's and 60's. That second part of his career had mostly remained a secret until the release of the critically-acclaimed  Manhattan Research, INC.  double-CD in 2000 (produced by Jeff Winner and Gert-Jan Blom).

Last year I contacted my friend Steve Bartek (composer/orchestrator/Oingo Boingo guitarist) with the idea of putting together an ambitious tribute to Raymond Scott in which we would offer our own takes on his music - everything from his insane cartoon jazz to his inexplicable electronic compositions. Going a step further, I also contacted my friend Sean Cawelti (of the award-winning puppet/theater group Rogue Artists Ensemble) to help re-create the infamous Raymond Scott/Jim Henson collaborations for the first time ever on stage.  With the invaluable assistance and blessings of music historian/producer/archivist Jeff Winner, we were able to make this dream a reality. I am very happy to announce

Machine-Man: The Musical Mayhem of Raymond Scott

Friday, November 9 • 8:30pm

at REDCAT, the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, Los Angeles, CA

GET TICKETS HERE!

I've assembled a talented team of electronic wizards to help me bring Scott's futuristic music to life. They include Josh Mancell, John Nobori, Elizabeth Luttinger,  Tara Busch, and Kevin Sukho Lee. I also recruited the super-talented Amy Winfrey (creator of Nickelodeon's acclaimed cartoon series MAKING FIENDS) to create original animations for my electronic set. 

Steve Bartek has also put together an amazing band that includes some of his old friends from Oingo Boingo. He will definitely not disappoint. Please get your tickets soon because the rumor is this event is on it's way to selling out!

Thank you!

Ego Plum
http://www.egoplum.com

Press release from Walt Disney Concert Hall:

LOS ANGELES, CA — REDCAT, CalArts’ downtown center for contemporary arts, presents in cooperation with JEFF E. WINNER of The Raymond Scott Archives, a special evening celebrating pioneer of electronic music Raymond Scott. Machine-Man: The Musical Mayhem of Raymond Scott will be held at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater on Friday, November 9 at 8:30 pm.

Though musical shape-shifter Raymond Scott may no longer be a household name, his inimitable “cartoon jazz” is instantly recognized by millions: it has been adapted to underscore the antics of BUGS BUNNY, DAFFY DUCK, REN & STIMPY, THE SIMPSONS, and many other cartoon characters for 75 years. Scott, moreover, was an inventor of instruments and a pioneer of electronic music.

In this unprecedented celebration of Scott’s polymorphic career, former OINGO BOINGO co-founder and guitarist STEVE BARTEK and his band (including other Oingo Boingo alums) find new takes on the composer’s early cartoon classics, while composer EGO PLUM’s ensemble re-envisions Scott’s farsighted electronica. Joining in is theRogue Artists Ensemble who will stage a first-ever live interpretation of a vintage Scott film collaboration with MUPPETS creator JIM HENSON.

http://www.redcat.org/event/raymond-scott-tribute

PINOCCHIO

About a year ago, I joined a collective of multi-disciplinary visionaries called the Rogue Artists Ensemble. They are a Los Angeles-based theater company responsible for some of the most innovative stage productions I have ever seen. I composed music for their critically-acclaimed GOGOL PROJECT in 2009 and was awarded an Ovation Honor for my music by the Los Angeles Stage Alliance.

For over 10 years now, the Rogue Artists Ensemble have been quietly in development of an amazing project that will finally see the light of day in the Fall of 2013: PINOCCHIO, as only the Rogue's could imagine it. I am very excited to announce that I will be composing the score and all the original songs for this show.

Based on the original text by Carlo Collodi, it is safe to say that this will not be anything like Walt Disney's much beloved animated film from 1940. The Rogue's Pinocchio will finally shed light on the real story of the wooden boy and create an adult-minded retelling of this tale of lust, desire, death, birth, madness and ultimately hope. If you always wanted to see the Cricket die, the Blue Fairy as the Angel of Death, and Pinocchio get hung by the neck, then you need to support this project!

This is a plea. We need to raise $20,000 by October 21st in order to make Pinocchio happen. Please take 3 minutes to watch our kickstarter video, make a tax-deductible contribution, and then help spread the word!

We are 1/3 of the way there and have 2 weeks left on this campaign. By supporting Pinocchio, you'll receive amazing rewards, including: original artwork, A sneak preview from the original Pinocchio soundtrack, tickets to Disneyland with a guided tour by the Rogue's Artistic Director Sean Cawelti, an actual Pinocchio puppet, original artwork, custom masks, the complete soundtrack to Pinocchio before it's released to the public, and chance to have me perform the music of Pinocchio in your living room!

Please get to the Kickstarter page now and support this amazing project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/626734684/rogue-artists-ensembles-pinocchio?ref=live

Additional information about the Rogue Artists Ensemble's:
http://www.rogueartists.org

Additional information about me:
http://www.egoplum.com

Thank you!

-EP

I am proud to announce that THE GHASTLY LOVE OF JOHNNY X is screening at Hollywood's Chinese Theaters as part of the Dances with Films Festival!

Dances With Films

Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, CA

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012 • 2:45pm

ADVANCE tickets are NOW ON SALE and may be purchased through www.movietickets.com OR by going directly to the Chinese Theatre box office.  All tickets are $10 prior to May 31st.  THEREAFTER all tickets are $13.

This film features my first orchestral score as well as my orchestrations and arrangements of Scott Martin's original songs. This music represents where the better part of my 2011 went, so I am eager to share it with friends and fans in Los Angeles. I was heavily inspired by Franz Waxman's score to The Bride of Frankenstein, Bernard Herrmann's 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and 1950's Hollywood stock horror/sci-fi music. Here's a sneak preview of some of my music from The Ghastly Love of Johnny X! Coming soon on Kritzerland Records:

There will be a Q&A after the film for which I will be present, as well as director Paul Bunnell, and a bunch of our cast! Buy your tickets now before they sell out!

www.movietickets.com

Forbidden Zone 2: The Forbidden Galaxy

I don't even know what to say about this. This is something out of a dream. I grew up being such a huge fan of Oingo Boingo and Richard Elfman's cult film, "The Forbidden Zone." It was all such a big part of my life when I was 15/16.

Fast forward to twenty years later, Richard calls a meeting with me... "Hey Ego, I'm writing a sequel to Forbidden Zone and I was wondering if you would be interested in writing music and songs for it with my brother Danny? As you can imagine, he is terribly busy with film commitments and we think you would be great... blah blah blah"

I fell on the floor and and I've yet to come out of this dream! FZ2 will start filming in the fall, but here's a little teaser that was filmed for the SyFy channel featuring an original piece of music from yours truly and Danny Elfman:

-Ego Plum

The Ghastly Love of Johnny X

I spent the better part of 2011 working on a single project: the musical score to Paul Bunnell's, THE GHASTLY LOVE OF JOHNNY X. I had never composed music at the grandiose scale Paul was asking for – but for some reason, he knew that I would be capable of doing it. Was I in over my head? Probably! Starting around February, I spent several weeks walking in circles at the track at my gym listening to a few incredible film scores over and over. I was attempting to learn by osmosis and channel the spirits of Bernard Herrmann's scores to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Vertigo, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Psycho. Then there was James Horner's score to Something Wicked This Way Comes, which seemed completely beyond my range of abilities. I listened to the music John Williams composed & adapted for the Indiana Jones Ride at Disneyland for some very specific references. I made myself loopy from Jerry Goldsmith's Twilight Zone television scores. Finally (and most importantly) I immersed myself in Franz Waxman's score to Bride of Frankenstein, which I have now heard more than any film score ever! What I learned from listening to Waxman's Bride of Frankenstein score may have laid the foundation for most of the music I wrote for Johnny X. In fact, what I learned from listening to Waxman may have laid the foundation for the rest of my composing career!

After about six months, I emerged from my self-imposed exile with what would be my proudest musical achievement: about 78 minutes of original orchestral music composed, recorded, and produced for the Ghastly Love of Johnny X! (See trailer below)

The Ghastly Love of Johnny X will have it's world premiere at

the CINEQUEST Film Festival in beautiful San Jose, California!

Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 9:30PM

presented in glorious 35mm!

Cast & Crew Q&A session will follow the film screening

Admission: $10

BUY TICKETS HERE!

(The film will also be screened on March 6th & 10th at the San Jose Repertory Theater)

Please come by and say hello. I will be at the screening, as well as director Paul Bunnell and stars Creed Bratton (The Office), Kate Maberly (The Secret Garden), and others! Also,  I will be live on the air at KFJC 89.7FM (San Jose) with Paul Bunnell talking a little more about Johnny X on Saturday, March 3rd at 11am. I could not be more excited about sharing this work because I really feel it's the best musical thing I've ever done. Stay tuned for an official soundtrack release on the Kritzerland label in a few months! In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at one of the more subtle cues from the film that involves a spaceship, a biker gang, and a disembodied head floating in space (don't ask!).

additional info about the film at the Johnny X website:

www.johnnyxmovie.com