1/2/23
Newsletter #207
The Crack of Dawn
Joe LoDuca has scored almost every movie and TV show that I’ve ever made. I met Joe in 1980 when he scored Evil Dead. Joe is a jazz guitarist. I’m a jazz fan. I quickly became a groupie, following him around town as he played a whole variety of gigs. I became good friends with his lovely wife, Linda, and we attended many of these gigs together. For a while there Joe and his revolving trio/quartet/quintet were the hottest shit jazz band in town. Joe’s band was the house band at the coolest jazz club in town, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge.
A particular highlight was the night a friend of Joe’s who was the lead guitarist in a heavy rock band got sick and asked Joe to fill in for him. Jazz clubs, as low-budget as they might be, are still generally kind of classy. This rock club Joe was playing was kind of nasty, and the crowd all thought they were a bunch of tough punks. Linda and I hadn’t dressed up much — she was in a pretty dress, I was wearing a sportcoat — and we were clearly out of place. The band came out. Drums, rhythm, bass. Where was Joe? A minute later he made his entrance, wearing a t-shirt, a black leather jacket, jeans and red bandana on his head. Slightly crouching in a rock guitarist posture, Joe ripped into a solo, shredding, bending, sliding, creating feedback, and the crowd went nuts. Linda and I were utterly amused. Joe obviously had a fallback position if he ever cared to go that way – rock star. Had he gotten on it earlier, and if he gave slightest shit about rock & roll, he could’ve been somebody. A contender.
One of my favorite parts of filmmaking is discussing what the music might be before shooting, then discussing what the music will be once Joe has received the edited film. For my film, Alien Apocalypse (2005), Joe and I met at the Starbuck’s equidistant from our houses. Having read the script, Joe’s first question is always, “What do you hear?” I said, “Alex North’s score for Spartacus.” Sadly shaking his head, Joe said, “No. What you’re really hearing is Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Planet of the Apes.” I said, “What a great idea. It’s like beating on jungle logs.” Joe nodded, “Cool percussion. It’ll be great.” OK, sure, I was good with that.
Six months later Joe and I are in the same Starbuck’s in the same seats, only now he has the edited movie. I say, “So, Jerry Goldsmith, Planet of the Apes, right?” Joe sadly shook his head. I said, “No jungle drums?” He shook his head again, “No jungle drums.” I felt let down. I asked, “What do I get?” Joe shrugged, “Alex North and Spartacus.” Hey, wait a minute, that means I was right. How did that happen? And it’s a good, rousing score. I’m sure Alex North would approve.
Going backward, in 1997 I made a black & white heist picture called Running Time that I was sure would have a bebop jazz score. Joe saw the cut movie. I said, “Bebop jazz, right?” Joe shook his head sadly, “No.” I was stunned, “But it’s in black & white, it’s film noir.” Joe said, “It was shot in the daytime; it’s not noir. You have one black guy and he’s the brains of the outfit.” I said, “No bebop? What do I get?” Joe smiled, “Rock & roll.” It’s a wonderful rock score, with a song on the end titles.
I made the movie, If I Had a Hammer (2001), about a folkie girl and a rock & roll boy that takes place in 1964. I sent Joe the script, but I lived in L.A. so we didn’t meet at Starbuck’s. There are nine folk songs in the movie, so music is an integral part of the film. Folk music. Joe and I never discussed the score, but I automatically assumed that Joe would do a folk, acoustic guitar thing, or something like that. Somehow I remember this in the Starbuck’s, although I lived in L.A. Joe asked, “What do you hear?” I said, “Folk music?” Joe shook his head sadly. “No. Folk music would be taking the girl’s side. Rock would be taking the boy’s side.” Obviously, I don’t know why I didn’t see that. I asked, “What does that leave us?” Joe smiled, “Jazz.”
And If I had a Hammer has a really terrific jazz score. Sort of the one I thought I was going to get for Running Time.
A glorious day awaits us all.