This is an orchestral piece using a simple piano motif is the main theme building in layers from that. It builds from a solo piano and oboe to a full orchestra. The piece was originally inspired from dealing with the death of a family member. As I worked out the arrangement it took on a more cinematic direction.
1. Riverwalk
I wrote this song to try to capture the sound of early Chet Atkins instrumentals that I love so much. I’ve always loved this style of guitar playing and decided to write a song of my own to capture some of the elements of this style. I used my beloved Gretsch 6120 to record the main guitar part.
This song 
was inspired by the music genres known as “sneaky comedy” and “space-age pop” made popular in the 1960s by composers such as Henry Mancini and Juan Garcia Escivel. I love this type of music because its use of humor, surprise, and mysterious chords to create a playful atmosphere in sound. With this track I was trying to capture all of those elements that I love so much about this music.
The Awakening is a thoughtful instrumental piece I wrote with guitar, strings, and synthesizer. The song started as a solo guitar piece after exploring a dropped tuning that I’d setup for teaching a guitar student to play the guitar part to the song “Yesterday” by the Beatles. I loved the way this guitar sounded in the dropped tuning and decided to write my own solo piece with it. I added strings, harp, and a synth part to fill out the song.
I created this theme in the style of music used in classic spaghetti westerns from the 1960s, made famous by composers such as Ennio Marchione. To capture this vibe I used an instrument called the Fender BassVI, which is actually a guitar tuned down one octave lower than a normal guitar tuning. This instrument was a popular choice for getting this type of twangy barritone kind of tone. It was used on lots of film and TV soundtracks from the 60s as well as popular hits by groups such as The Beatles and the Beach Boys. You can hear this sound in the Beach Boys hit “Dance Dance Dance”, “I Get Around” as well as Frankie Valli & The Four Season’s hit “Sherry”. For this track I played the Bass VI as well as composing the orchestral arrangement and guitar accompaniment.
1. Invasion of Mayberry
I’ve always loved the music used for various TV Shows and movies of the 1960′s, especially the music for sci-fi, spy movies, and comedies. I was trying to capture the sound of those shows I loved as a kid, doing my best to imitate my favorite session musicians of LA’s famous Wrecking Crew. I imagined that I’d been given the assignment to write a theme for a Don Knotts movie where he was cast as a CSI-style investigator for a UFO landing that has just occurred in Mayberry. This is what came out of my self-imposed assignment. Being a member of a surf band, I also wanted to incorporate some of those guitar sounds as well just, to add to the retro vibe. I used Baritone Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass, and orchestral parts to fill out the sound. This song was a 2nd place Winner in the 2013 International Songwriting Competition.
This piece started as an idea I came up with on a 6-string bass guitar part for an ambient track I was working on. But the song took on a life of its own as I took the idea and developed it with orchestra and electronic sounds.
Here are some Desert Island Theme Music cues I’m working on for a publisher for a potential opportunity with a reality TV show.
This is an electronica piece that I wrote for use as underscore for corporate videos, ads, or websites. This piece uses a combination of ethereal electronic instruments, pulsating rhythm, with electric and acoustic guitars to create a sound that gradually builds to a dramatic end.