1.  How did you get your start?

I'll tell you how I got started in film...I've been a professional musician all my adult life. I spent lots of years touring and recording; going from project to project, playing guitar etc, working with lots of people. I have had a long and very positive association with film composer and mad guitar genius David Torn. For a time, I worked as his assistant when he would go out on film dates. I got to sit in on solo, group, and orchestral recording sessions on many films and I was really quite taken by the process. Watching someone like David, or Carter Burwell work was a transformative experience for me.

But then, my real start in working on films, actually being an artist, came in 1999 when I was invited to work on a score with composer Bobby Lurie. It was for this really interesting environmental film (The God Squad-the case of the Northern Spotted Owl). It was about how the Congress and their lobbyists make all these opaque policy decisions (in many cases in violation of the Environmental Protection Act) which impact the environment in a very negative way. The story the film maker (Emily Hart) followed was that of the big timber interests in the NorthEast. Under massive pressure form the timber industry, Congress granted exceptions which allowed vast tracts of timber to be cut, which will inevitably cause the extinction of the Northern Spotted Owl through loss of sustainable habitat. They need big trees- really big trees to survive. Cut down the trees, goodbye birds. A meaty subject. Bobby's concept for the score was quite unique: simple thematic materials were presented in the form of melody lines, in most cases written with no time or meter instructions. The recording ensemble consisted of only two elements: drum kit, and electric guitar. I was encouraged to explore, and freely interpret his themes in a very "live" recording setting. It was a wonderful experience and I'll always be grateful to Bobby for giving me that call. The film was completed and scheduled for broadcast, he approached me about doing a re-mix/re-conceptualizing of the film music for a stand-alone cd release. They shipped me a drive with about 3 hours worth of sessions on it and I began cutting stuff up. The result (Music from the Film The God Squad) was a watershed for me. It really is what started me on the path of pursuing the path of writing music for film.

2. Why did you choose to write a soundtrack to GRASS? What struck you about this particular film?

Patty invited me to work with Chris White and Peter Dodge on GRASS for FLEFF 08. This score is not "written" in any hard sense. We are developing an improvisational vocabulary as a group, and will find a way into the film more or less freely. It's a truly amazing piece of cinema history; rarely screened. I'm sure the people who made "March of the Penguins" owe a lot to Shoedsack and Cooper.

3. What are some of the biggest challenges that you encountered?

Scheduling rehearsal time!

4. How did you get involved with FLEFF?

"The God Squad" screened at FLEFF in (I think) 2000. Last year (07) I was invited to work with Judy Hyman and Jef Claus and their band in a live setting on opening night. It was a score of Judy's for an original film in montage form by Anne Michel and Phil Wilde. Thanks for the call, Judy! That was a lot of fun...Also last year, a documentary by Slavomir Grunberg called "Saved By deportation: The Unknown Odyssey of Polish Jews" which I scored had it's New York premier at FLEFF 07.

5. What's one of your favorite parts of performing live?

Channeling the nervous energy.

6.  Are you looking forward to seeing any other performances while at the festival?

I'm especially interested in attending Steve Gordon's seminar.

7. Any advice for anyone just starting out in the film business?

Find something you love doing, stay focused on your goals and try not to let things get in the way.

8. Anything else you'd like to add?

Many thanks to Patty and Tom for doing such a splendid job keeping FLEFF viable. I think it has a bright future as a festival and hope they achieve more recognition in the broader world for what they're doing here in Ithaca...And thanks also to Diana Reisman at the Ithaca Motion Picture project for co-sponsoring our performance.