Billy Martin
Composer
Lunch With Picasso Music

Home: Laguna Hills, California

Email: billymartin@cox.net

Web: www.billymartinmusic.com

Before the holidays, I wrote about thirteen minutes of additional music for "Charlotte's Web II", a direct-to-DVD movie sequel. I was doing orchestration for the movie, and during the time crunch at the end I was asked to write about seven cues near the end of the movie. It was exciting to hear the finished score, which was recorded with a 75-piece orchestra in Prague.

Before that I worked on a Disney haunted-house game called Search for the Secret Keys. Lots of spooky organ -- think "Haunted Mansion" at Disneyland.

Right now, I'm just getting started with the orchestration for another DVD sequel, "Lilo & Stitch II". I have several games in the works, none of which I can talk about yet.

Game Credits: Treasure Planet (Hulabee Entertainment), Tarzan Untamed (Ubisoft) - AIAS Award nominee, Zoog Genius (Disney Interactive), Phonics Quest (Disney Interactive) - AIAS Award nominee, Tom & Jerry In: Infurnal Escape (CineGroup/Warner Bros.), The Book of Pooh (Disney Interactive), Disney-Pixar Learning: Buzz Lightyear 2nd & 3rd Grade (Disney Interactive), Disney Learning Adventure: Search For the Secret Keys (Disney Interactive), Mickey's Active Learning Series (Disney Interactive), Jungle Book Rhythm and Groove (Ubisoft), Winnie-the-Pooh Early Learning Series (Disney Interactive), Lion King II: Simba's Pride (Disney Interactive), Aladdin's Reading Quest (Disney Interactive), The Great Reading Adventure (7th Level), Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvey Games (Disney Interactive), The Great Word Adventure (7th Level), Arcade America (7th Level).

Film Credits: Charlotte's Web II additional music (Paramount/Universal);A Song For Jade (Calfeye Films) - Winner, 2001 Black Filmmakers' Hall of Fame Award; Requiem (Ungerfilm) - Winner, 1999 Cine Golden Eagle Award;A Small Miracle (Motherlode Films); Land Before Time VIII additional music (Universal); Cinderella II additional music (Disney); Silent Predators additional music (TBS); American Tail IV additional music (Universal); Land Before Time VI additional music (Universal).

TV Credits: Steven Spielberg Presents Toonsylvania (Dreamworks/Fox), Entertainers - with Byron Allen (Syndicated), Richie Rich (Film Roman/syndicated), Every Woman (Syndicated), What A Mess theme song (ABC), Time Squad additional music (Cartoon Network), Butt Ugly Martians additional music (Nickelodeon), House of Mouse additional music (ABC).

Whether conducting a 60-piece orchestra on the famed Sony sound stage or crafting an electronic score in his own technically appointed studio, composer Billy Martin creates music to tell stories. It may be music that mirrors the drama of a feature film, annotates the hyper-kinetic motion of an animated network series, or delivers the apocalyptic doom of a futuristic computer game; in all projects, Martin's music moves in sonic counterpoint to the on-screen action.

His current outlets include such media icons as Walt Disney Pictures, Universal, Fox, the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and ABC. Simultaneously, he composes for new media with a range of projects for companies including Ubisoft and Disney. As a songwriter, he has contributed songs to feature films including Outside Providence and Selena while television series from "Touched By An Angel" to "Murphy Brown" have also featured his lyrics and music. In addition, he has composed and recorded a substantial library of background music.

Billy's early musical education flourished on an axis of orchestral and pop influences. In high school, he wrote songs and experimented with multi-track recording before enrolling as a national merit scholar at Indiana University. "I was having fun studying composition and playing saxophone in jazz bands," he recalls, "at the same time I was writing songs with the idea that I'd form a band, get a record deal and be famous. That's what you do right?"

After college, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream. He founded a band, nailed the requisite indie deal and hit college radio with an album's worth of self-produced material. When the record label went kaput, Martin played local gigs and sessions. Then came an unexpected career possibility.

Billy relates, "I knew some people who were writing underscore for various film and TV projects. They kept twisting my arm, saying, 'I'm too busy to finish this episode this week -- can you help?' Once I had the opportunity I knew that it was the way for me to express myself and to do exactly what I wanted to do."

It was Billy's musical multi-tasking that led to his evolution as a full time composer. "I went through a phase doing so many things - as a sax player, a singer, working as a composer, writing for games, working for other composers as an orchestrator, extracting MIDI files as a copyist. In the midst of that I knew I wanted to do the writing myself because no performing or playing was that gratifying."

Working successfully in so many visual mediums, it is evident that Billy must bring something very special to the table. What is it? "I think it's probably the take-out food I bring with me to the spotting sessions," he laughs, "if not that, then it's an instinct. It's always best to talk about the emotions behind what is going on and describe the story in those terms. A director can direct me just like an actor. I'd rather talk in terms of making things light or dark, scary or happy. Ideally, a director will be very comfortable with that because I'm comfortable translating this language into the musical expression that will give them what they want."

These days, self-described as "blissfully married with four daughters," Billy is in demand as a composer for both big and small screens, with an expanding range of projects that engage him professionally and creatively. He concludes, "Shostakovich said you need to write everyday if you can. If you can't write something then orchestrate; if you can't orchestrate copy the parts. I do something related to music every single day. I've learned to trust my instincts -- to believe that the first thing I come up with is the best thing -- and it usually is."

In January 2003, Billy Martin was elected to the Board of Directors of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the pre-eminent composers' group in the U.S. The SCL Advisory Board and Board of Directors includes legendary figures like Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Howard Shore, and Hans Zimmer. In a major step forward for game composers, Billy is the first SCL Board Director whose primary focus is music for games.

Billy Martin is represented by Bob Rice of the Four Bars Intertainment agency.

To get free games for my kids to play! (Laughs.) No, I'm doing this simply because I don't have any choice, I have to do it. Even if no one was paying me, I'd be playing the saxophone, or writing a song or a symphony in my spare time.

Tools I Can't Live Without:

Computers and samplers are indispensable now, especially for us guys who are writing orchestral style music without hiring a full orchestra. GigaStudio is the hot software for sample playback right now. I'd still hate to live without my saxophone though...