(All photos by Brian Nevins)
David Gulick is a professional musician based in Portland, Oregon. Over the course of his career as a guitar player and singer, he has performed with a variety of bands including Derby and Fremont. In addition, David has applied his creative writing and playing talents to his studio work, producing a tremendous portfolio of studio recordings used in commercial applications. As a left handed guitar player, David has been part of the Breedlove family for many years and assisted us with the development of our Breedlove Left Handed program.
As of late, he has dedicated the majority of his time to two main projects; the scoring of a documentary film shot on location in Nicaragua and the formation of a new band / creative project called Ants Ants Ants. We are proud to present David as our featured artist and we will be taking a closer look at his projects throughout the month of May. We recently caught up with David and interviewed him about traveling to Central American to score the documentary “Volcánico,” which you can view on Outside MagazineTV now.
Breedlove: David, you've worked a long time in the music industry in a variety of different capacities; playing in bands, live and in the studio, session player, etc. You've evolved, it seems, from a live performer to a studio player/writer more and more over time.
Your new scoring/studio project is fascinating. You were hired to travel to a remote location in Central America, visiting distant volcanoes and score a wild film about extreme mountain biking down volcanoes? Tell me, how did you get connected with this project?
David: The agency is called Modify Content who I’ve worked with on a few projects in the past. Just wonderful guys doing really cool work. We've always wanted to do a film project together – The hope was to bring me on location to experience the surroundings and see if that might influence the score for the film.
This opportunity presented itself with the film, Volcánico, documenting three world-class downhill mountain bike riders flying down massive active volcanoes in Nicaragua. Having the chance to go down there, experience it with them, hike up these large volcanoes… was just a fantastic opportunity. Being on location inspired the composition and the music that I was able to write for the film.
Breedlove: Is it normal that you would go on location, or is this something unique?
David: This was a pretty unique opportunity. Typically I'd have a piece that the editor has set up with specific cuts, and I try to finesse the music to fit with the piece and the different cuts. I feel fortunate to have experienced it and spent time with these world-class athletes.
Breedlove: When you're writing a score for action sports like this, you need to support the energy? I'm assuming it is highly adrenaline filled? Or are there moments when the score is softer?
David: It was interesting that you mentioned that, because going into the project I was expecting it to be action-packed. Surprisingly, because of how they were riding down these locations, it was a little more nuanced. They're certainly going fast, but there is a beauty to it.
Breedlove: When it's a destination abroad, Central America, are you looking to incorporate natural elements in the production and have a Latin flair?
David: That was the intent. I was able to bring down a sound recorder, and there were a couple of different opportunities for sound capture. A gentleman was playing classical guitar in a little plaza, and we were able to record with him. I looped that and added other textures to his playing. The hope was to show off Nicaragua, the unique culture, and really just the wonderful people that we met there.
Breedlove: Talk to me about the workflow. You fly to Central America; you work in the field with these riders, you climb these volcanoes, you gather these audio textures. Then do you regroup back at the studio and put these pieces together while watching the footage?
David: Exactly. I got home and just dove in head first. I wrote 22 songs for the whole score. What I like to do is create these short demos for the editor. Then I can fine tune them and make adjustments, so the editor can work to the existing songs that I've created. It's a back and forth processes, but always really fun to get to work with different people and try to capture what they're thinking creatively.
Breedlove: With over 20 songs in the general library for this project, are there any that stick out as your personal favorites?
David: There are a couple that really stand out. One is called Cerro Negro, and the other one was called Que Obscura. They're fun little tunes that have a cool vibe and were fun to write.
Breedlove: For people that want to learn more about this project and watch the film, where can people experience it?
David: The title is Volcánico. Outside Magazine is premiering it, so you can view it online here. That's a great place to check it out.
Breedlove: We're so happy to have you as the featured artist for the month, and we're going to be chatting with you a little bit later in the month because you have another massive project that we're going to dig into mid-month. Do you want to give us just a little insight regarding your other project?
David: Thanks so much. I'm honored to be featured this month. As for the new project, think catchy fun '70s kids' music. Everything from Harry Nilsson’s the Point to Sesame Street to Schoolhouse Rock. It was the brainchild of my writing partner Johnny Clay. The band is called Ants, Ants, Ants. I can’t tell you how excited we are to show it off.
Breedlove: That sounds exciting. You've had a busy couple months, from the volcanoes down in Nicaragua to producing this fantastic new set of kids' songs and tracks. So we look forward to digging into all that content with you a little later in the month. Thanks so much for your time!
David: My pleasure, thanks so much.
