Location: Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Member since: April 28, 2010
Tracks in portfolio on MusicRevolution.com: 399 (click here to hear all tracks) http://www.musicrevolution.com/search?artist=181
Background—
Jonathan Geer’s music has appeared on American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Access Hollywood, the 700 Club and numerous other shows. He has also composed soundtracks for games appearing on Mac, PC, Nintendo DS and iPhone/iPad.
–High profile projects or clients you have worked for?
Most of my high profile work has just come from library placements. I’ve had music used on American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, the BBC, and numerous commercials and trailers. I also compose soundtracks for videogames fairly frequently (mostly PC and iOS).
–Primary instrument?
Piano
–Favorite music-making piece of gear or software you currently use?
This probably changes every other day, but since I’m trying to incorporate more live instruments into all my mixes this year I’m really enjoying the Shure KSM44 microphone. I’m actually borrowing it from a friend now so if I he asks for it back anytime soon I’ll certainly be getting one of my own.
–Piece of gear or software you wish you owned?
Now that the new generation of Mac Pros are out I am definitely tempted by them, but my current setup is working quite well so I’m not in a massive hurry to change things too much.
–Film score or song you admire? Why?
A song that I have always loved and admired since I first heard it is Joanna Newsom’s “Emily”. It’s just incredible in so many ways. The orchestration by Van Dyke Parks is brilliant. The lyrics are gorgeous and poetic. It manages to be kind of epic in scope and still very intimate at the same time.
–Music education background?
I started private piano lessons when I was 10 and I played French horn in band. I also started playing jazz piano in high school and then went on to major in film scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
I graduated from Berklee in 2001, moved back to Texas, and was eventually able to transition into full-time freelance composing. I also play with a couple wonderful groups here in Austin. One is the Austin Piazzolla Quintet. We specialize in the nuevo tango music of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla and I’ve written quite a few original pieces for the group. The other is Waterloo Trio, a piano trio that plays an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, pop and originals.
–If you had a time machine and could record or perform once with any artist, who would it be?
Maurice Ravel
–Moment you first knew you would be a musician?
Despite having a bit of a late start once I was at the piano playing and composing music it became pretty obvious to me.
–Five songs or albums you’d take with you to a desert island?
“Chains of Love” by Erasure
“Emily” by Joanna Newsom
“Piano Trio” by Maurice Ravel
“Bill” by Tin Hat Trio
“It’s Oh So Quiet” by Bjork
–If you could master another instrument, what would it be?
Guitar. It would just be super handy. Much more portable than a piano too!
–Some of your favorite tracks that you would want us to feature in the blog.
“Attention Shoppers” and “Happy Elevator” just because they seem to sell well—
“Attention Shoppers” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=5135
“Happy Elevator (loop)” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=46016
A couple of my personal favorites are “Astraea’s Requiem” and “Orbiting the Station”–
“Astraea’s Requiem” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=45891
“Orbiting the Station” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=46128
A few others that have been pretty consistent are “Elysium”, “Plains Song”, “Carnival Kid” and “Changing Seasons”.
“Elysium” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=45971
“Plains Song” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=46160
“Carnival Kid” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=5151
“Changing Seasons” http://www.musicrevolution.com/search/?trackid=5156
We thank Jonathan for sharing some of his musical background with us and for contributing his tracks to MusicRevolution.com, the Royalty-Free Music Marketplace. The next time you need tracks ranging from fun and quirky to cinematic, check out Jonathan Geer’s music on MusicRevolution.com.
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Chris Cardell is the co-founder of MusicRevolution.com http://www.musicrevolution.com, a royalty-free music marketplace with nearly 29,000 tracks online where media producers, video producers, filmmakers, game developers, advertisers, businesses and other music buyers can license high-quality, affordable royalty-free music from an online community of professional musicians. MusicRevolution.com also provides custom music production and custom music streams. The entire MusicRevolution.com production music library is available for third-party distribution and bulk licensing for background music for retail, restaurants and businesses, and for other commercial applications. Cardell has been involved with digital content and E-Commerce since the mid-1990’s.
