What's your business, and who are your customers?
I compose music for films, and my customers are directors of films and, of course, the audience.
Tell us about yourself
I've been a musician most of my life. I remember being very young and roaming around the Eastman theater while a youth orchestra rehearsed Mozart's Jupiter Symphony. I was thrilled with the power of it. I picked up a guitar in junior high and kept going until I had a master's in classical guitar many years later.
Most of my music career was spent writing songs, educating, and performing, of course. I began composing music for films about five years ago, just as I was turning 40. I'm a late bloomer. It seemed right, and just my speed. The best part of scoring films is the challenge of capturing a story in music and weaving that throughout the movie in a relatable way. I love creating music that pairs smoothly with the visuals, performances, and stories.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I'm proud of the skills I've grown from scratch. Both modular synthesis and orchestration are vital skills for me, skills that took years of study to get where I'm at now, and I'm nowhere close to where I want to be. Other than that, I'm happy the films I've worked on were screened where they were, and they received the attention they did. It gets me excited for the future!
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
If something seems hard and it seems like I can get away without doing it, I just won't do it. But if I want to do it, I modify my approach until the dam breaks loose and I've got the momentum to solve it. It's all about the approach.
Like, I wanted to learn all the ranges, color-tone ranges, and transpositions of each instrument in the orchestra. I couldn't do that with my old set of memorization skills (aka, repeat it mercilessly). So I started to research the best way to memorize that stuff and found a better way (Loci method). Now, those ranges are stuck in my brain.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Mind your stories and feel your feelings. The things you tell yourself need to be challenged and reshaped, and feelings that you feel need to be felt. Simple as that. I'm indebted to Cassie Parks for her incredible guidance here.
Nurture your skills. It's just fun getting better at what you're best at. I love studying orchestral scores and learning about new synthesizers!
Nurture your network. A life well-lived is a life full of good friends and colleagues. When someone pops into my head, I often reach out and tell them that. It feels right, no matter what profession you choose.
Fractal Magic is the fourth track off of Ambient 2022, Vol. 2.
Ambient 2022 Vol.2: One hour listening experience for work, mental engagement, and concentration. Perfect for study, cooking dinner, drawing, light vice expression, and interesting love-making.
Special thanks: Kirt Bozeman, David Hobizal.
Teleporter is the first track off of Ambient 2022, Vol. 2.
Ambient 2022 Vol.2: One hour listening experience for work, mental engagement, and concentration. Perfect for study, cooking dinner, drawing, light vice expression, and interesting love-making.
Special thanks: Kirt Bozeman, David Hobizal.
Ambient 2022 Vol.2: One hour listening experience for work, mental engagement, and concentration. Perfect for study, cooking dinner, drawing, light vice expression, and interesting love-making.
Special thanks: Kirt Bozeman, David Hobizal.
Stereotactic is the third track off of Ambient 2022, Vol. 1.
Ambient 2022 Vol.1: One hour listening experience for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Perfect for reading, watering plants, small repetitive tasks that need to be finished only by you, and psychedelica.
Special thanks: Kirt Bozeman, David Hobizal.
Memories of Rain is the first track off of Ambient 2022, Vol. 1.
Ambient 2022 Vol.1: One hour listening experience for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Perfect for reading, watering plants, small repetitive tasks that need to be finished only by you, and psychedelica.
Special thanks: Kirt Bozeman, David Hobizal.
Ambient 2022 Vol.1: One hour listening experience for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Perfect for reading, watering plants, small repetitive tasks that need to be finished only by you, and psychedelica.
Special thanks: Kirt Bozeman, David Hobizal.
The Place She Dwells is a full-length feature film from Motivate Pictures, starring Sarah Niarkos and directed by Maurice Moore.
In the film, Rachel (Sarah Niarkos) suffers deep trauma after a horrific event tears her life apart. Refusing to go outside, she depends upon the efforts of Detective Pierce (Maurice Moore) to solve the crime that served as the catalyst of her distress and assure her future well-being. The lines between illusion and reality begin to blur as Rachael battles with her demons, home alone, while all those who occasionally visit don't have a clue how to help.
The Place She Dwells is a cunningly well-executed indie-thriller that demonstrates the dark depths we sometimes go to, even if we don't have a clue as to how to climb out of it. While this film looks squarely and soberly at the personal effects of trauma, it ultimately showcases the resiliance of the human spirit in times of immense duress and adversity.
Maurice Moore and Dave Wirth worked closely together on the music for The Place She Dwells. Equal parts layered Eurorack synthsizer sound design and felt piano with strings, the soundtrack plays to Sarah Niarkos' gutsy, deep performance as a woman who routinely tries to escape the immense grief and terror that threatens to swallow her.
In 2021, I purchased my first Eurorack synthesizer. The obsession with the quality of analog sound took hold very quickly. This album of sketches and tests came directly from experimenting with the synthesizers on the Eurorack. I doubt I'll ever buy another digital synth plugin again...
Become a subscriber to my Bandcamp and get this album along with more than 30 others
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Album cover is a public domain photograph of the flutist John Finn, ca 1923. The original is located here: www.loc.gov/resource/musdcmphot.a0169.0
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | iTunes | Amazon
Deja Vu, a film shot during the first lockdown of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, will be screened on August 12th at 6:30pm at AFS Cinema, 6406 N I-35, Suite 3100, Austin, TX.
Motivate Pictures CEO/Producer Maurice Moore (Austin, TX) and Writer/Director Alex Rios (Barcelona, Spain) risked the unknown to shoot Deja Vu.
Maurice Moore: “Alex showed up in Austin the day that the world’s borders closed. Literally, that day. He was stuck here until we didn't know when. He came over to DP a feature film that I was set to direct that was canceled literally the day he arrived in the states. Because we were in lockdown, we needed a creative outlet. I challenged Alex and myself to come up with an idea that would work in this lockdown world and Deja Vu was the brainchild of Alex.”
After Deja Vu wrapped production, the next challenge was getting Alex Rios back home. Mau- rice Moore: “Because travel was suspended, it was impossible to know when Alex could fly back to Barcelona. After several attempts to book flights over the course of six weeks, ultimately Alex was able to secure a flight back to Barcelona with an exciting and eerie film in the can.”
In the film Deja Vu, it’s not safe to go outside because an anomaly is making people disappear once they leave their homes. Erik (Maurice Moore) and Grey (Olivia Whitney) are plunged head- first into an intense series of events trying to untangle the mystery. Ultimately, Deja Vu is a touching and emotional story of familial love and devotion in the height of a scary situation.
Maurice Moore is excited to showcase Deja Vu and other works: “I’m a stronger more focused artist because COVID19 challenged me emotionally and creatively. Now I’m excited to show that creativity to the world.”
Deja Vu will be screened along with with several other exciting Motivate Pictures projects on August 12th at AFS Cinema.
AFS Cinema is located at 6406 N I-35, Suite 3100, Austin, TX
The screening starts at 6:30pm.
Seating for the screening is extremely limited due to COVID19 safety concerns but is free to attend
Motivate Pictures is an African-American owned film and multi-media company that prides itself on its diversity and creating engaging and dynamic stories
For more information on Deja Vu go to HTTP://MOTIVATE.PICTURES/
Listen to the Soundtrack Here:
Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | iTunes | Amazon
Fetch is the story of a woman who walks into the woods to find her disappeared friend only to meet the Fae, the creatures who guard the wilderness. Fetch was written and directed by Heather Halstead in cooperation with Motivate Pictures., and stars Dana Wing Lau.
The original score for Fetch takes the perspective of a mythical adversary: The fae. It features live-recorded piano, voice, kalimba, big drums, and most notable, a cigar box guitar. Heather Halstead, the director of this film, also came into the studio to record the final melody.
Fetch is a chilling story of mythological creatures taking their anger out on a unsuspecting young woman. The result? Absolute fright and mayhem.
The Shikes is an American band and a brainchild of Austin, Texas based musician Dave Wirth. Wirth is known for his work as a film composer, producer and writer, in addition to his work across many different spectrums of music. Today we take a listen to The Shikes’ recently released mini-album, Aggression, as well as share our interview with the exceptional Dave Wirth!
Aggression features songs that contain tasteful use of synthesizer and plenty of pop sensibility. The album kicks off with “It’s Gone A Spring Song”, which displays some very strong noise pop in both its intro and outro; this reminds me of the kind of stuff No Age is known for. When it comes to the track’s vocal mixing, expert use of delay and perhaps a bit of distortion makes the vocals feel somewhat otherworldly, though the lyrics are certainly of this Earth, making for an interesting combination that enhances the melody and kept this song kicking around my head for a few days after initially listening.
Next up is “Sit, Think, Make, Say, Do”. This track has an exceptionally bright and airy sound quality to it, really displaying an incredible and entertaining mixture of synth and pop work that is easily enjoyable. That said, the lyrics hold darker overtones involving fear and exploitation, giving this song unique contrasting elements that, while making the song darker in nature than at first glance, give it all the more appeal once you read in between the lines.
“Trouble In The Height Of Spring” is up third, closing out Aggression. In terms of pop masterpieces, this track feels as though it was written to be one, truly capturing a dreamy use of synthesizer while also coming through like a masterclass in melody. As the track progresses, more noise pop elements come through, distorting its initially airy nature, begging the question: is this more a dream or nightmare? The lyrics manage to match the mysterious dark nature that begins to seep through as well. This dark/noise pop approach is delightful and easily found throughout Aggression in a few different forms, really encouraging you to listen close to the lyrics being sang while enjoying the synth-y ride.
Now let’s jump into the interview with Dave Wirth!
Dave Wirth, mastermind behind The Shikes and Aggression
Thank you for being with us today!
"Very happy to be here! Thank you."
I am completely unfamiliar with the word "Shike" is. Can you tell us how you got your name and what it means?
"Heh, that's funny. I haven't thought of that in years. Originally, I just liked how explosive the sound was. I thought it was super intense and it fit the music really well. After doing a bit of research, the word 'Shike' could also be short for 'Shikker,' which is a slang word used in in Australia at around 1910 or so that means drunkard. It's really anybody's guess."
Can you share some of your influences and how their sounds find their way into your music?
"I guess Belle and Sebastian was a big one for this record. I was definitely fascinated with how poppy their music can sound and how dark the lyrics were. I wondered if I could do that, so I really dug into that idea. The music ended up turning out quite a bit different of course, and that's okay."
Your music seems to have a lot of moving parts in terms of its instrumentation, weaving some complex textures. Would you mind walking us through your writing process?
"A friend of mine had this amazing Gibson hollow body guitar from the 1940's, and he graciously allowed me to take it home and write with it. Songs kinda came out of the guitar without me intending to. I often like to record something really simple and then mess it up later by replacing the simple part with something more intense. All of the songs started with the one Gibson hollow body, and from there it came together. Then it was years of me tinkering, putting the right sounds here and there, remixing it and making it sound interesting to my ears."
How has the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on your band? Do you have any upcoming plans to stream live performances or anything in the works for after the pandemic subsides?
"COVID19 hasn't been too big a deal for me. Since I don't really perform (I love being in the studio far more), it didn't cramp on my style. If anything, COVID19 gave me a chance to release this record, which btw, these songs were written in 2004, recorded in 2004 or so, mixed in 2013, and then I did the remastering of it in 2020. And, no plans for live streaming! Maybe if people really wanted to see me perform, but I'm very happy just releasing records and calling it a day."
Your new mini-album "Aggression" mixes noise pop elements with some really synthesizer, which combined reminds me of some of my favorite bands like The Postal Service, No Age and Say Hi. What were your goals when writing and recording this album? How do you feel you achieved them?
"Oh wow, I haven't checked out those bands! Now I have to! My only goal when writing, recording, anything, is to use the tools to create a song that lives on it's own. All I want to feel when it's done is that it feels mysterious, out there, and it's a bit like a beast looking back at me. I think Paul Klee once said that he knew when a painting was done by whether or not it looked back at him. If a song lives and breathes on it's own, I'm happy."
Is there anything else you'd like our readers to know?
"One thing: Support the blog owner. Donate to him. Advertise on his site. He's a good guy."
Thank you so much for your time!
After our interview with Dave Wirth, many elements of this mini-album become a bit more clear. For me, at its core, Aggression is a display of duality; its sounds are mostly innocent, bright, airy and simply an absolute delight to listen to while the lyrics come from a somewhat darker place that make you think and those moments when the music shifts are absolutely incredible. It is through this duality that we find true art in this album from a dedicated and skilled artist. Check out Aggression on Bandcamp (also embedded below), The Shikes’ website and Distrokid. You can also learn more about Dave Wirth and his many projects through his website. Thank you for reading!
I Won't Untie The Knots was influenced highly by Arcade Fire's second record Funeral and the strange but accessible melodies heard in Band Of Horses in their first two records. Lyrically, it's an expressionistic and blurry impression of modern life filled with the intimate dread of personal responsibility.
This song was originally created in a fit of passion in a random building in South Austin. Interestingly, the drums were not played to a click track. There are around 20 guitars overlaid throughout this recording. Some electric, some acoustic. Piano, and even mountain dulcimer.
Cinematic Piano Improvsations comprises 24 minutes of solo, improvised piano with a cinematic flair. The songs themselves lay themselves bare before you. Incredible microphones picked up every single noise of the piano, including pedal squeaks as well as mistakes. The album feels incredibly intimate and forthcoming without being TMI.
All songs on Cinematic Piano Improvisations were improvised. Improvising is all about using mistakes to your advantage. A wrong note played once is a mistake; A wrong note repeated is an idea. For this record, I accepted the mistakes, turned them into ideas, and called it a day.
From Cinematic Piano Improvisations
Cinematic Piano Improvsations is available exclusively on www.firefireredstardown.com.
PS: You can become a member of the Fire Fire Red Star Down music community for $14/year. Give it a great go!
Photo: White House (gold piano) by Harris & Ewing. Public Domain. www.loc.gov/item/2016855753/
No matter how much of a dork you think you were in high school, I bet you can't easily beat this photo of yours truly right after voting in the 1996 presidential election:
