Facing the music as a team - Audio Today & Tomorrow

Post, July, 2003 by Christine Bunish

NEW YORK -- Three-year-old bicoastal music and sound design house Face The Music (www.facethemusic.com) creates commercial music that is fresh, young and edgy. It's the kind of sound that appeals to many leading advertisers: Calvin Klein, Hummer; Lee jeans and Mercedes-Benz, to name a few.

"Our composers are in the culture and living the real music scene, and they bring that authenticity to advertising music," says executive producer Adam Joseph. "That's important in today's market where there's a fine line between artist licensing and original music tracks. Everyone wants their spot to sound as groovin' as possible, and having talent who are part of the lifestyle helps us keep a step ahead."

Joseph and fellow executive producer Joe Sicurella are joined in New York by composers Tony Shimkin and Eric Rehl and composer/engineers John Florencio, Max Pasquier and Jared Hunter. The Santa Monica studio is home to composers Paul Robb and Ed Ma, and composer/engineer Michael Schmidt A deal just inked also brings aboard composer Ben Wise. All have considerable experience in the recording industry as band members, recording artists and DJs.

Joseph and Sicurella partnered to launch Face The Music in New York and Santa Monica simultaneously in January 2000. They hired executive producer Birgit Roberts to head the West Coast office. She recently stepped down to spend more time with her family but remains involved with the company. Chris Doyle, who was formerly an executive producer with Tomandandy and a producer with Who Did That Music? has taken the helm.

At Face The Music composers work as a team on projects. "Every client gets an array of demos from all the composers in New York and LA," Joseph explains. "Each composer brings their own unique approach to the table, and this enables us to give a range of options to clients," Doyle says.

THE WORK

The company's spot music is as diverse as its roster of composers. For the commercial Supers for General Motors' Hummer H2 from Modernista!/Boston, John Florencio wrote and performed a full-throttle rock track "Hummer has primarily used licensed music in its ads," notes Joseph. "We were one of the first companies to do original music for them."

In contrast, the USPS spot Creed from Campbell-Ewald/Detroit features ambient, haunting piano music composed and performed by Paul Robb. And a TV promo for Fox Sports Net's popular The Best Damn Sports Show Period has a high-energy jazz theme with a fresh, West Coast feel by Michael Schmidt.

Face The Music netted the London International Advertising Award for special adaptation of music for freelance arranger Loris Holland's a capella arrangement of disco favorite "Stayin' Alive" with the gospel New York Boys Choir for a Mercedes commercial. The company won its second consecutive London International Advertising Award for Joe Sicurella's ballad arrangement of "Give My Regards To Broadway," sung by Judy Collins, for a Visa spot.

At press time, Face The Music's composers were busy with an eight-spot package for the US Army; a spot for Chic, a new men's fragrance from Carolina Herrera; and more work from BMW." Business has been very good for us," Joseph reports. "With fewer spots being done, you have to be better at what you do and try harder to keep your edge. Our recent expansion in New York puts us in a better position to compete for this work"

THE SPACE

Face The Music New York moved into new space in SoHo late last year. At 8,600 square feet, the location is almost three times the size of the previous digs.

"No other post production space I've seen looks like this. It's a very unusual aesthetic which makes it a strong lure for clients," Joseph notes.

Five composer/engineer rooms are outfitted to the specifications of their users, some with Digidesign Pro Tools systems, some with Emagic's Logic Platinum music production software and Steinberg's Cubase recording software. The space also features a large live room that can accommodate up to 10 people.

About 1,200 square feet is devoted to an open area dubbed "the play room," Rows of balloon-shaped globes, like strings of big outdoor party lights, illuminate the space where angular white sofas and curvy egg-form chairs pop out against bright red carpeting. With a 60-inch flat-screen TV, custom pool table, DJ booth and vintage videogames, "it's a fun place to hang," says Joseph.

The Santa Monica office is undergoing renovation, which will result in "an aesthetic very similar to New York when finished," Chris Doyle points out. The space includes three Pro Tools-based composer rooms, a Pro Tools mix suite, a live room big enough for a band and a spacious client lounge. "There is an excitement to the design at both locations that is generating a lot of buzz," Joseph reveals.