Q&A WITH TOM BILLER

posted in: Features

The life of a musician can take you on many unexpected journeys. You may embark on your career with the aspiration to record and tour on the merit of your own music only to discover that there are other avenues that are equally rewarding. That’s what Tom Biller, an LA-based musician turned producer and engineer, discovered. Biller has produced, engineered and mixed music for talents such as Kayne West, Fiona Apple and Elliot Smith. He has also recorded and mixed movie soundtracks including, “Punch Drunk Love,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,””Super Bad” as well as Spike Jonze adaptation of  “Where the Wild Things Are.” This musician’s life is now coming full circle as Biller is set to begin production on the debut EP by his own band, Afternoons, who have been receiving rave reviews from all who have witnessed their sound, including the Los Angeles Times.

Jay Sweet recently caught up with the Biller in between recording sessions and asked him about the journey his career has taken thus far.

JS: When did you know you could make a living in music?

TB: I was asked to play guitar and bass on Fiona Apple’s second record. Getting paid was the last thing on my mind, happy to do it for free. A few weeks later I got a check in the mail for the session work. It wasn’t crazy money but more than I’d usually make in a week at that time. For playing a song?? Damn, I was hooked…

JS: How did you find yourself working on scores for films and producing?

TB: By accident… I started out running and assisting at a few studios in LA, learning how to engineer and make records. Then I started working with Jon Brion, who basically mentored me for awhile. We would go from a movie score to a record, always something different. Got a foot into both worlds… It was during that time my musicianship took a turn as well. Many great players around to get inspired by.

JS: When you look at a film such as WTWTA, what types of conversation do you have with the director/ creative team before you jump into making a score?

TB: In this case, I went in directly working with Karen O, who had many discussions with Spike prior, so we had a few ideas to knock around. We listened to a bunch of old songs” Daniel Johnston, Langley School Music Project, things like that. Gave us a clue to what the spirit should be.

JS: Give us an idea of what it’s like working with Karen O on a project like this. In some ways it may not seem like an obvious choice but having seen some of the film it makes perfect sense.

TB: Spike’ss films always have a reaction against the typical Hollywood b.s. I know that was a focus with Wild Things, we talked about that. So in some ways I think Karen was a perfect choice, someone different… like Max from the book.

JW: Being a music supervisor I’m curious about when you believe a scene is better suited for a cue track/ pre-recorded track vs. scoring to picture?

TB: In my experience, this usually comes from the director, taking cues from what mood he/ she’s trying to achieve. Most of the movies I’ve done have been all original scores. Sometimes we would get attached to a cue only for it to be changed in editing. But you have to have an open mind in this game. With someone like Spike or Michel Gondry, it was easy to trust their musical tastes and follow their lead.

JW: If you could work with a new composer what advice might you give them?

TB: Director wins, unless the star of the movie (who took a large cut in pay to gain some cred and decided he’s not ‘funny enough’ so has scenes edited so that the music underneath is no longer in time and out of arrangement.) wins!