2002 interview with Dan Wool for
DHBIS.com
(The Deborah Harry, Blondie Internet Site)
Tell us a little about Pray For Rain and how you became involved
with scoring films.
Back in the 80's Pray for Rain was a "proper" guitar
based pop-band that toiled away in San Francisco playing gigs,
recording demos etc. It wasn't until we got involved with the
film Sid & Nancy that scoring came on to the radar screen.
How did you form your partnership with Alex Cox?
Alex attended film school at UCLA the same time
as my sister (Abbe Wool - co-writer of Sid & Nancy) so we
had known each other for a few years before he started work on
his second film "Love
Kills" (soon to be called Sid &Nancy). After reading
the script for the film I came up with a few very general ideas
for the music. I knew I had very little chance of being involved
with the picture because so many high profile artists had expressed
their interest in it. Joe Strummer, The Pogues, John Cale among
others. When Alex was in town shooting the SF scenes I gave him
a cassette with my sketches on it assuming it would be forgotten
in the massive pile of cassettes that had no doubt also been
submitted. But about a month later Alex called saying he wanted
me and Pray for Rain to come to England, where he was doing post-production,
and record some of the cues for the film. Since then we have
worked on several of his films most recently "Three Businessmen" that
includes Debbie's version "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
How did Debbie become involved?
Some years back Alex directed the video for
the Iggy/Debbie duet "Did You Evah?" and they remained
in touch after that. The idea to use "Ghost Riders in the
Sky" as
the end title music for Three Businessmen came about because:
a) It was mentioned in a pivotal scene in the film. b) Alex wanted
something funny and upbeat for the end of the film. And perhaps
most importantly: c) The music editor that I frequently work
with is Stan Jones Jr., son of the composer of "Ghost Riders
in the Sky" so I was able to secure the sync rights to the
song with a minimum of legal hassles. Alex asked me what I thought
of getting Debbie to sing it for the end title and I of course
loved the idea.
Where were the vocals recorded?
To make it more convenient for Debbie, since she had graciously
agreed to sing the track as a favor to Alex, I flew to New York
with the arrangement that my partner Jim Woody and I had come
up with to record her at a studio called City Sound Productions
in lower Manhattan .
Was the music recorded before Debbie became involved, or was
it recorded after she joined the project?
Although there was quite a bit production work done to the track
post-Debbie. It was pretty much mapped out before she put her
vocal down. I had already put in the vocoder "yipee-i-oohs" so
she would have something to sing to. Since Debbie was doing this
as a favor I was a little reluctant to ask her to do the additional
ghostly descending background vocal parts but she didn't mind
at all. Since she had no trouble getting a good take for the
lead vocal there was plenty of time left over to do the backgrounds
How would you compare Debbie's recording technique with other
vocalists you've worked with?
Well what can I say? She's Debbie Harry. Other vocalists I've
worked with weren't. I've worked with some very good singers
but none with a voice right out of the vernacular of modern pop
music. As soon as I heard her sing a little of the track I knew
it was going to be cool. Frankly it was a little weird at first
hearing that classic voice coming through the studio monitors
on a session I was working on. I had to sort of step back a bit
to gain some objectivity. Also, whereas I knew that Debbie was
a good singer I wasn't sure how much time and/or production trickery
went into her tracks. I was happy to learn not much of either
goes into hers. After a couple of rehearsals and few takes she
was done with the lead.
Can you tell us a little bit about your studio? (i.e. Mac, Vision
etc.)
It's an on-going project (there's always something else to buy).
The studio is in the Outer Mission District of SF and is Macintosh
based of course. I do record outside projects there on occasion
but mainly it's used for Pray for Rain film scores and production
work. Apart from the ProTools session I took to New York to do
Debbie's vocal GRITS was composed and mixed entirely in Opcode's
StudioVision Pro - an application that has sadly been discontinued
by it's bumbling parent company Gibson Guitar Corp. I have since
been forced switched to MOTU Digital Performer. If you want to
know more about our studio currently you can go here
How did Chi Chi react to being in the studio?
There was some concern that Debbie's pocket-size dog, Chi chi,
would be crushed by one of the studio's big sound proof doors.
But being the old studio pro she is she managed to escape unharmed.
What significance does GRITS have to the
story line of "Three
Businessmen"?
It's the favorite song of one the main character's dog. The
film discusses and explores the general feeling of alienation
and emptiness that high-tech society endures ...but in a fun
way. Hence the hi-tech end title piece. As a joke Alex and Tod
Davies (the films writer and producer) had temporarily put in
a Euro-trance version of "What if God Was One of Us" at
the end (I actually really liked it) before I let them know about
my connection to the Ghos tRiders' composer. I knew GRITS was
one of Alex's favorite songs so I was sure he'd go for a trance
version of that song instead.
Do you have plans to work with Debbie again?
There was a discussion of a version of Ghost Riders to be included
on a Debbie Harry solo project but at this time I have nothing
to report.
What are you working on now?
We just finished working on the score for an independent feature
film called "Never Trust a Serial Killer". Watch for
it in the not too distant future at a theater near you.
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