Composer Cribs: Goodpenny – Chelsea, New York City
In NYC, dream teams are the standard, and Goodpenny is one place you’ll find a full set of composing talent.
Featuring David Wolfert, Andrew Hollander, and Lawrence Manchester, Goodpenny has some serious collective credits. Founder Hollander has co-written big hits as a songwriter (Celine Dion, Jacquie Lee, G.E.M.) and strong soundtracks as a composer (Sleepwalk with Me, Waitress). Wolfert takes on the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Dolly Parton, Katie Couric, ESPN, Pokemon, the NFL and many more in his studio. Meanwhile, Manchester’s day job is music mixing for “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” and he’s engineered/mixed for The Departed, Frida, and The Red Violin, along with multiple top producers and artists (Diana Krall, Justin Timberlake, Phil Ramone, Steve Lillywhite).
Where does a gifted group like this get together? Goodpenny’s bright spaces in Chelsea are an inspirational gathering spot. Allow Wolfert to give you the guided tour of their successful den.
The creative HQ of Goodpenny’s Andrew Hollander.
Composer Name: David Wolfert
Website: Goodpenny.tv, Davidwolfert.com
Location: Chelsea, Manhattan
Soundtracks Served: Films, Documentaries, TV themes and scores, library music, songs
Clients/Credits: TV spots for most major national advertisers; Songs recorded by Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Jennifer Hudson, many others; TV shows- “Pokemon,” “Katie Couric,” “Fuse News”; Docs- Smash His Camera, Dale, The Ride of Their Lives, To the Limit (ESPN 30 for 30)
We’re currently working on a new, untitled ESPN doc, several TV spots and two animated projects. David Wolfert’s IMDB is here.
Big Premiere: Goodpenny opened in 2011.
Room Inspiration: We have three rooms and a lounge. Andrew and David have writer’s rooms for composing that are wired to the live room and vocal booth.
The main control room is designed for music recording, music mixing, VO, ADR and post (5.1). It has a full Pro Tools rig, a D Command console, a Toft analog console, an old 8-in 6-out Neve radio console for mic pres and EQ, as well as other outboard gear. It is set up to accommodate clients comfortably as well as being an accurate listening environment.
The live room measures approximately 20 x 20 and is stocked with a wide selection of new and vintage mics.
Both writer’s rooms are wired to the control room and can serve as isolation booths for more complex sessions.
The main control room routinely works in 5.1.
Key Personnel:
Andrew Hollander (Partner/Songwriter/Composer/Producer)
David Wolfert (Music Director/Composer/Songwriter)
Lawrence Manchester (Engineer/Mixer/Producer)
Lee Salevan (Studio Manager/Mixer)
Workflow Requirements:
The writer’s rooms were designed for comfort. Although there is plenty of room for clients and collaborators, the focus is on writing. David’s room is packed with guitars and stringed instruments from all over the world, and Andrew’s room has a great collection of vintage keyboards. Both rooms are Pro Tools-based, and David also runs Vienna Ensemble Pro for most of his instrument plugins on a second computer.
The sweet spot for David Wolfert.
Audience Accommodations:
We simply wanted to create an inspiring, comfortable, and great listening environment for anyone and everyone who we work with.
Complex Cue:
I think the most challenging score was for an indie film called True Bromance, a very funny film that received lots of honors at smaller festivals but was never distributed.
There were 103 cues, the temp was all over the place, with no stylistic thread, and the director, who had already been through the film with another composer, was pretty attached to it. Since there were seven or eight distinct styles of music, we built templates for each of them in Vienna Ensemble Pro so we could switch back and forth more easily.
Priceless Advice:
Listen to everything. Go out of your way to expose yourself to varied styles of music, even the ones that you don’t think you like. Try to understand how they work emotionally as well as musically so you can incorporate them into your own style.
And concentrate on writing – the technology should always serve the music, not the other way around.
— David Wolfert, Music Director/Composer/Songwriter, Goodpenny
The live room can capture the drums — and everything else.
“Good old analog warmth” — the broadcast Neve is an ideal input for Goodpenny.
Another angle on the live room.
Meet Hollander’s Secret Weapon: “I use the Optigan to get into a totally different head space when writing or producing. It plays old optical discs with beats and instruments, recorded in the 60s and early 70s. You can play and combine everything with different chords, tempos, etc. In many ways it’s like a very early sampler. Best thing I ever found on eBay.”
Take a break in this seductive space.
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