Standing Room Only At The SCL and ASCAP’s Film & TV Songwriter Showcase

May 7th, 2010 by Janice Brown

We squeezed into a full house at The Living Room Tuesday night to catch the Film and TV Songwriters Showcase, presented by the Society of Composers & Lyricists and ASCAP. (See pics below!)

Joy Askew

Luckily, we got there in time to catch a memorable performance by Joy Askew (Peter Gabriel, Joe Jackson, Sufjan Stevens; Lowes, Nike; Havana Nights, Center Stage) and a super-informative talk and Q&A with NYC-based music supervisor Sue Jacobs (Sunshine Cleaning, Little Miss Sunshine, all Julian Schnabel and M. Night Shyamalan’s films).

Jacobs encouraged the composers in the room to find and collaborate with student filmmakers, and to get their music repped by reliable libraries. She offered insight into her process, which often requires extremely quick turn-around, demonstrating how trustworthy libraries and her own personal library of choice “someday” songs serve as the critical tools.

She also encouraged songwriters and composers to be unique and think outside of the box, and mentioned that some of her favorite scores consist of very minimal instrumentation.

Other showcase performers included former member of the Psychedelic Furs and film and TV composer, Joe McGinty (Malcolm in the Middle, The State) song placement (Bored To Death, The Daily Show); singer/songwriter/producer JJ Appleton (Ke$ha, Taboo, Stephen Lirani; Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami, Oprah, Last Call With Carson Daly); and singer/songwriter and composer JT Curtis (CBS, Ed Wood Music, Bang Bang Boom, Manmade Music).