Hollywood Musicians Honor Mayor Garcetti

AFM Local 47 names Los Angeles Mayor an honorary member

by Linda A. Rapka

AFM Local 47 proudly welcomed Mayor Eric Garcetti to the April 28 General Membership Meeting to name him an honorary member of the musicians union in recognition of his dedication to our city’s musicians and for his efforts to keep film and TV work in Hollywood by fighting runaway production.

Local 47 Secretary/Treasurer Gary Lasley, “American Idol” music director Rickey Minor, Mayor Garcetti, President Vince Trombetta and Vice President John Acosta. Photos by Kori Chappell.

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Holiday Notice – Good Friday

AFM Local 47 and The Musicians Credit Union will close early at 12pm on Friday, April 18, 2014 in observance of Good Friday

86th Annual Oscars Band Performs Live From Capitol Records

photo by Larry Mah

Live from Capitol Records, the musicians of the 86th Academy Awards performed remotely on Oscars night for the second year in a row.

Located just a few blocks away from the ceremony held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, the orchestra was again led by William Ross. Continue reading →

Oscar Music Comes Alive

Photo by Aaron Poole/© A.M.P.A.S.

Motion Picture Academy debuts first time Oscar Concert

by Linda A. Rapka

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the first live concert of the year’s Oscar-nominated music at UCLA’s Royce Hall Feb. 27, three days before the 86th Annual Academy Awards.

Alternating between performances of the year’s nominees for best original score and best original song, the historic concert featured the 80-piece Academy Symphony Orchestra comprising some of Los Angeles’s finest studio musicians.

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Musicians Kick Off Listen Up! Campaign Today

AFM President Ray Hair speaks out against film-music offshoring at the Listen Up! campaign launch in Los Angeles.

WESTWOOD (April 11, 2014) — Yesterday Los Angeles-area musicians held a press conference and rally across from the Regency Theatre in Westwood as part of a nationwide kickoff for Listen Up! – a campaign for fairness for musicians working in the motion picture and TV film industry.

The campaign calls out the motion picture-TV film industry for treating U.S. musicians unfairly by offshoring movie soundtrack recordings. Many offshored soundtrack recordings are made for films funded in part by U.S. taxpayers. At the Listen Up! kickoff event, musicians who are members of the American Federation of Musicians and its affiliated Los Angeles Local 47 were joined by representatives from the AFL-CIO, and other labor, faith, and community leaders to call on the film industry to stop offshoring film scoring work. Continue reading →

#listen-la spotlight: MAD MEN’s Final Score

In the booth at EastWest Studios in Hollywood March 22 for one of the final episodes of “Mad Men” – engineer Jim Hall, composer David Carbonara, contractor John Rosenberg, and orchestrator Geoff Stradling. Photo: Linda A. Rapka

Composer David Carbonara fell in love with “Mad Men” years before anybody knew about the show.

He met screenwriter Matt Weiner in 1998, and the two became fast friends over music. In 2001, Weiner handed Carbonara a speculative script for his pilot about a show following the exploits (professional and otherwise) of overly confident womanizer Don Draper, head of the creative department at a growing Madison Avenue ad agency in the 1960s. Weiner told Carbonara if the show were ever picked up, he would do the music.

Read the full story at listen-la.com.

Hollywood Seeks Sharper Teeth for Film and TV Tax Credit Program

Supporters say new legislation to beef up California’s existing tax incentive program will help stem runaway production and bring more music scoring work to the state

by Linda A. Rapka

Actions shining a spotlight on California’s hemorrhaging film and TV industry continue to garner widespread support for new legislation that would sweeten the state’s production tax incentive program.

Hundreds of Californians affected by runaway production attended a series of demonstrations in recent weeks pushing for the passage of AB 1839, which supporters say will help stem runaway production and put Hollywood back on the map as a leading player in the film and TV production industry.

photos by Linda A. Rapka

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#listen-la spotlight: Daft Punk ‘Gets Lucky’ at the Grammys

Robot-headed electronic duo Daft Punk nabbed top honors at the 56th Annual Grammys, taking home Record of the Year for the hit “Get Lucky” and Album of the Year for “Random Access Memories.” By the end of the visually and musically dazzling ceremony, RecordingAcademy voters awarded the French pair a total of four gramophone-shaped trophies.

Over a two-year period in 2011 and 2012, the award-winning music was recorded at three historic Hollywood studios: Capitol, Conway and Hensen. The all-union orchestra, led by Doug Walter and assembled by music contractor Joe Soldo, featured an impressive ensemble of L.A.’s premiere musicians.

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Varèse Sarabande Makes Holiday Magic With the Golden State Pops

by Linda A. Rapka

Varèse Sarabande Records closed out its yearlong 35th anniversary celebration with the Golden State Pops Orchestra with a heartwarming holiday concert at the Warner Grand Theatre Dec. 21.

Varèse Sarabande executive producer Robert Townson on stage with Maestro Steven Allen Fox, the orchestra, the evening’s featured performer vocalists, and flute soloist Sara Andon.
(Photos by Linda A. Rapka)

In honor of three and a half decades of releasing film music, Varèse Sarabande hosted a series of four concerts with GSPO during the orchestra’s 2012/2013 season. Produced and hosted by the label’s executive producer, Robert Townson, the December concert featured memorable scores from Hollywood’s holiday classics to seasonal film favorites.

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Meet Mike

From public service to music, Mike Davis does it all

by Linda A. Rapka

With a love of music almost as strong as his love for public service, Local 47 member Mike Davis has always sought to promote diversity through his work helping the community.

Born in North Carolina, Davis got his first taste of music singing in his church choir, later picking up the saxophone in the fifth grade.

Citing his mother, an educator, as an inspiration, his interests quickly broadened to include public service. Davis launched his career working as a public administrator in Los Angeles after completing graduate school here.

Courtesy of Mike Davis

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