gerry_d

Composer Bear McCreary is the composer of the best show on TV: Battlestar Galactica. In addition to his superb work on that program he somehow has found the time to compose excellent music for Eureka, the forthcoming Sarah Connor Chronicles, and the feature soundtrack to Wrong Turn 2. Bear made some time in his hectic schedule to discuss his upcoming projects. All of Bear's soundtracks are available (usually signed) from La La Land Records. One word of caution: care has been taken not to spoil anythig huge about BSG, however those not wanting to know anything about events through season 3 should stop reading right now.

Gerry Duggan:Hey, Bear.

Bear McCreary:Hey, Gerry.

GD:Ill just jump right in here in case time becomes an issue. What kind of musical training do you have?

BM:Well, I took piano lessons when I was a kid and Ive been involved in music for as long as I can remember. I went to the University of Southern California and got a degree there in composition and a minor in music recording and I was involved in the film scoring program. I think I learned most of my tricks for film scoring from just doing a lot of independent films and student films. You know, Ive been scoring movies as long as I have been able to.

GD:I know you had a special relationship with Elmer Bernstein. How did that come to be and what did you take away from it as an artist?

BM:Well that came to be sort of randomly. I was introduced to him through a mutual friend who was in Bellingham, Washington, which is a little town I grew up in. He introduced me to Elmer and sent him a cassette tape of the music that I had been writing in high school. So I met him when I was sixteen or seventeen and talking about going to USC where he taught, you know. He was really instrumental in my decision to move to Los Angeles and really took me under his wing. I worked for him for years and I learned so much from him. Its hard to put into words the impact he had on me both professionally and personally.

GD:Sure.

BM:But, I mean Ive always adored his music, hes one of the greats, undeniably, but the thing that I learned from him in getting to know him was that you can be an artist and be this normal, happy, sane person, and I mean that quite literally.

GD:Right.

BM: I thought to be a musician you have to have this horrific angst-filled existence and when I met Elmer it really was an eye-opener. Heres a guy who reached the zenith of his field and was universally respected and adored and his ego and his life and everything were just in the right place.

GD:Thats pretty wonderful. I mean I get nervous meeting heroes. You never want to meet one and have it go south on you.

BM:Absolutely. When youre opinion is already so high with somebody it can be tough because sometimes the only place it has to go from there is down.

GD:Yeah.

BM:That certainly didnt happen with Elmer. I certainly didnt realize at the time how special it was. I found out years later that he would receive demo CDs and demo tapes from composers all the time. I know because when I worked there I was getting the mail. He just would never listen to them. Hed never have time.

GD:I want to change gears slightly here. Youve done this now three seasons of Battlestar Galactica and youre heading into season four. How has your work on seasons one through three changed you as an artist?

BM:Its hard to say because in many ways its changed me immensely but in other ways it hasnt really changed anything at all. I knew that the show would be a hit the minute I worked on the first episode. I had no doubt that people would see how incredible these stories were and how powerful the performances were. Right from the get go I knew that the music had to be at the same level of quality as the rest of the show. I really put a lot of pressure on myself before the show had even aired to make sure that the quality of the music was the highest that I could achieve. So once the awards and the critical acclaim started coming in it didnt really change the way I did the music, because I was already working on it as hard as I possibly could. However, as the show has gone on, the music has evolved. It really has changed a lot in that time.

GD:Theres something really great about your palette selection, its so varied, its as varied as survivors in the fleet. Obviously your work is being informed by the writing and the acting but, is it hard to have that many gears?

BM:Well, its certainly a challenge and its something that I dont think a lot of composers on television have to deal with. I think typically the idea is to set the sound of the show, figure out what your palette is and then never change from it. Its one of the things that makes doing TV a relatively easy and lucrative gig, but the problem with Battlestar is that thats not what they want. Thats not what I want. That doesnt keep me satisfied as an artist so we continue to evolve the sound and suddenly the challenge is two-fold. Its telling the story dramatically through music but its trying to also make all these disparate elements come together and make sense together. Youve got heavy metal, Taiko drums, Middle Eastern soloists even lounge music and Italian opera all in the same show. It can be hard to manage and unify.

GD:Yeah, I mean the Adamas have a Celtic sound, right?

BM:I think youll find the third season has evolved as dramatically as the second. Each album and thusly each season sounds really unique to me.

GD:Yeah.

BM: The season three soundtrack I think is going to be the best one so far.

GD: Im going to have to put a spoiler warning at the top of the interview.

BM:Yeah [laughs]. Well especially when we start talking about the end of the season.

GD: What are your influences now? I mean do you listen to music for fun?

BM:You know, honestly I have so little time to actually listen to music I dont get a chance to really dig around and see what else is going on. So I end up listening to a lot of the things that I already know. And sometimes that music ends up sneaking into the sound of the series as well. My inspiration for the score comes directly from the show itself. We set the template for what the music would sound like with the
miniseries and first few episodes of season one. But, there are many influences tucked away, hidden I the music. The song I did at the end of season three is a great example.

GD: All Along The Watchtower...

BM: I was trying to imagine what it would sound like if Guns and Roses and Rage Against the Machine got together with my Battlestar Galactica ensemble of ethnic musicians and what that would sound like, so theres always little stuff like that in there.

GD:Well I thought that was a really wonderful way to sort of signify that Starbuck had found earth. What was your reaction when you either read the script or you were told by the writers?

BM:Well, my first reaction was that Ron Moore must have gone crazy.

GD: Or crazier.

BM: In general, I don't read the scripts in advance, because I like to come at
each episode with a fresh perspective. However, because it was such an important piece of music to the series, I began working on All Along the Watchtower, which was used in the third seasons closing moments, when I was only halfway through the run. I had to tell everybody not to spoil it for me, but to give me enough information about the story so that I could come up with a fitting arrangement of the Dylan song. As a result, I produced my first version of the song with no guidance at all. I didnt even know what was going to be happening in that episode! I just wrote an arrangement that I thought would be cool, and thats what they ended up using. The first time I ever saw the shocking season finale it already had my version of Watchtower in it!

GD:Thats great.

BM: But, once I saw the episode, and heard the song I produced in context, I really understood what Ron was going for. I think it was a daring, but appropriate choice. There was a familiarity with that piece of music that you would lose had it been an original song or something that wasn't so recognizable. The fact that the viewing audience knew the song gave it more meaning.

GD:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. The characters are chasing after earth and here is a product of eartha piece of music that were all familiar with.

BM:The idea is that its supposed to consciously or subconsciously clue us in that theyre getting close to home. Theyre getting close and there are elements now that are familiar to us that maybe dont necessarily belong in that universe, or maybe they do and thats the intriguing part of it.

GD:Whats the production schedule like for you? I imagine it varies for you episode to episode.

BM:Yeah.

GD:How much time do you have? What do you start with?

BM:Every episode of Battlestar Galactica is its own adventure. There is no set standard schedule or even method of getting these done, but basically I will use absolutely every second that I can get to score a show. So sometimes I have a month if its right at the beginning. Sometimes it is three days if its right toward the end.

GD:Wait, three days for one episode?

BM:Yeah, for one I had three days.

GD:Which episode was that?

BM:It was the one right after Maelstrom. Its called The Son Also Rises.

GD:Right.

BM:In fact, part of that was my own doing. I looked at Maelstrom and I knew that I needed two weeks to write this huge score. I knew that it couldnt be done any shorter than that.

GD:Thats the one that Starbuck goes down the well so to speak.

BM:Yes, and I knew that that episode had to really stand out. So I kind of cleared my schedule and bit into time to write the next episode but there werent any real big emotional moments in the next episode. It was really a simpler show. I felt like it was a worthwhile sacrifice.

GD:Well, it all worked out. I mean you know, obviously Maelstrom was something special and I dont think anyone could have guessed that you only had that 72 hours for the following hour.

BM:Yeah, exactly, I wish that I had more time on each show. In season one I had about fourteen days for each episode and by season three that was completely gone. Judging by what Ive done in season four so far, season four is going to be equally stressful. The real trick for me is figuring out where the most important moments are and where the episodes are that really need to be outstanding. Theres no way I could have scored Maelstrom or Exodus Part II in a couple of days.

GD:So youre dealing with more or less locked cuts then when you get it.

BM:Not even close.

GD:Really?

BM:Not even close. I havent even watched a locked cut for two seasons.

GD:Thats funny.

BM:No, Im scoring rough cuts usually and again, I would rather score a rough cut and have to change the music later if it means I get more time to work with the music.

GD:Well thats true.

BM: When I did Maelstrom there was not a single visual effects shot in the entire episode. It was nothing but cards and storyboards, literally hand drawn storyboards, of spaceships and then the text would say, "spaceship explodes, Lee screams." That's what I had to work with when I wrote the music for those scenes, but I knew they would look awesome in the end. I imagined them in my mind and I still think they turned out even better than I thought they would. I actually find that I write really well under pressure now. When Battlestar is over and I go back to something with a longer schedule, hopefully, I think there'll actually be a transition period where it will be difficult for me to write something with more time because you just get used to trusting your instincts and knowing that if there's problems with it, it'll get worked out as you record it and as you mix it and as you produce it. Having the time to revise a piece of music a day or two after writing it would be a real luxury.

GD:How is Eureka different for you personally? Is it nice to sort of have that other vehicle to jump into just other sounds to sort of set Galactica aside?

BM:Its great. I get to play accordion on Eureka.

GD:Right. I knew that. I was so surprised to learn that because it seems like the Rodney Dangerfield of instruments. It has to work a little hard for the respect.

BM:Yeah, exactly. I get to use it a little bit on Galactica but I get to use it a lot on Eureka. Eureka is a lot of fun. For me dramatically the stakes are a little lower because what youre trying to do is create tension but youre never trying to make it too dark for the show. The show only gets so dark and it's a really interesting way of kind resetting your parameters as a musician. In Galactica if there's a scene where one of your main characters is in life threatening danger, with the music you're trying to subconsciously tell the audience that this could be the moment when one of their favorite characters actually dies. It needs to be convincing.

GD:Sure.

BM: On Eureka it's a little bit different. With the music, I try to preserve the suspense and the tension, but also let the audience know that its okay to have a little fun. After all, chances are good that the next scene isnt going to be a funeral for the main
character.

GD:Right.

BM:Which is not the character of the show and theres no point in trying to even go there with the music. So it really is a totally different animal but for me its a lot of fun. I get to use a lot of tricks that I never get to use on Galactica. Just because Galactica does need to be so dark and oppressive and sort of subliminal so Eureka is really a wonderful, welcome change of pace.

GD:Thats great. You are also scoring the Sarah Connor Chronicles. How is that even possible? Where did you have the time? Did you just do the pilot or are you also doing the series?

BM:No, I did the pilot and Im doing the series.

GD:Wow.

BM:Ill be doing it at the same time as Battlestar Galactica. Is it possible? I dont actually know yet.

GD:[laughs]

BM:I dont imagine Ill be sleeping very much for the next eight months.

GD:Wow. Whats your palette like? Obviously that music, is very identifiable.

BM: Well, it's tough because for legal reasons they can only use the iconic movie theme song for the title card. So there is a legal issue out there that is completely outside of my score and what I would like to do.

GD:Right.

BM:Its the exact opposite approach I took with Battlestar where the idea was that they were reinventing this franchise for a whole new generation. The idea with the music there was to completely ignore, not only ignore, but deviate from as far as possible from the original.

GD:Yeah, theres a nice little nod that original theme, the anthem, but beyond that is unrecognizable, which is wonderful.

BM:Exactly, and just the palette of sounds is totally different. With Sarah Connor Im taking the exact opposite approach. I want to make this show feel like it belongs in the continuity of the movies because this is not a re-imagining it is a direct sequel to Terminator 2. So the palette is very similar, its very cold and synthetic and obviously the Terminator scores were always very rhythmic and I can imagine that a lot of the percussion from Battlestar, some of the more metallic stuff that we use will also end up on Sarah Connor, and Im also adding a string ensemble to each episode as well, which will give it a little bit more warmth and emotional resonance than the old movie scores, but I really am hoping that people will notice consciously or subconsciously that the music does fit in the Terminator universe.


BM:Yeah.

GD: I wanted to talk about the BSG movie Razor are you wrapped on that?

BM: Yes, I am. Fan have been asking me if the unusual pop-guitar
sounds from the episode Pegasus are going to be returning for this
movie. I certainly hope people aren't disappointed when that sound is not in the movie because the movie is not really about the Pegasus. It takes place on the Pegasus, but the movie centers on a new character, Kendra Shaw. It's really told from her perspective and her relationship with Admiral Cain and her relationship with some of the other crew including some of our Battlestar regulars. So it's not about the Pegasus itself, it's about this new character so I had to invent a theme for her, which is a new theme that I've never used before and that got a lot of development throughout the course of the movie. I think people will be pleasantly surprised. There are many references to the classic 70s series as well.

GD:[laughs] I keep waiting for some guy to show up in an old Cylon outfit.

BM:Well, hold your breath.

GD: [laughs]. Will Razor get a stand-alone soundtrack?

BM: Honestly, I mean theres enough music to justify it. I mean, theres probably a good hours worth of music for it but it wouldnt be a very exciting listen. So much of the score is ambient and very dark, spiritual and esoteric that Im not sure that it would make for a great record. I might put out some sort of limited edition later but Ill probably take the best ten, twenty minutes of it and put it on the season four release.

GD:Oh good, well that would be great. Lets talk about my buddy, Joes movie, Wrong Turn 2 . Did you know Joe or did it just sort of land on your desk?

BM:No, it absolutely landed on my desk. Joe had temped some of his movie with some of my music from Battlestar so when I saw his movie for the first time I could hear some of the things they were going for. I had never met Joe before.

GD:How was working on a horror picture? I guess this was your second one, right?

BM:My second horror movie, arguably more than my second because so many moments of Battlestar Galactica are horrific.

GD:Well, thats true, yeah.

BM: Joes movie was my second horror film that I scored with banjos, dobro, fiddle, accordion, harmonica, jug, all these country western instruments. The funny thing is, the two scores, Im talking about the scores to Rest Stop and Wrong Turn 2, dont sound alike at all. Im actually rather impressed that they dont sound very similar to each other even though theyre each using these very recognizable stylistic instruments, but it was a lot of fun. Joes movie was a lot of fun.

GD:How are the two horror films different?

BM: For me the score to Rest Stop was more of a folk country-western gone to hell and Wrong Turn 2 is more bluegrass. I wanted to think about, what would mutant cannibal hillbillies play if they played music and what their music would sound like?

GD:[laughs] Right.

BM:Thats really what the entire score was based on and some of those decisions were creative and others were budgetary concerns. Obviously, there wasnt a budget enough for an orchestra score. Frankly, Im relieved that that wasnt even an option because I think thats been done to death. I think horror scores are in danger of becoming interchangeable from movie to movie and I really wanted to find a sound that would be totally unique to Joes movie

GD:I know you are planning a Battlestar Galactica live concert. Is that for the New Year?

BM:Yeah. Actually, this is very recent news. I have just recently rescheduled it for January of 2008 in Los Angeles. I will have a specific date in the next month so people should keep an eye on my website with that. But its going to be a lot of fun, last year we did it with a nine piece band. We had the Oingo Boingo rhythm section and all the ethnic soloists and this year I think were going to have even more percussion and even do some of the string pieces as well.

GD:I just turned off the recorder, so you can tell me who the last cylon is.

BM:[laughs] I honestly dont know.

GD:I believe you if this were on TV I would have to begin torturing you right now. Whoever it is, it couldnt be more shocking than (REDACTED) turning out to be a toaster.

BM:Well, thats what Im really curious about. I mean, whether or not this goes into the interview, it probably shouldnt, but anyway, I am curious how they can possibly top the reveal of (REDACTED).

GD: Maybe we dont learn who it is, I dont know...

BM:It would be disappointing if its not somebody we know, right?

GD: We'll see. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk.

BM: My pleasure.