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G&E Builds on New Ideas

by Janice Brown

New York (Oct. 2002)

Other than a near-perfect, sparkling rendition of "Hot, Hot, Hot," G&E Music might be one of the best things to come out of a wedding band. Glenn Schloss and Erik Blicker met, after all, while playing in one- and have since become partners in G&E Music, producing music and sound design for television, commercials, broadcast packages and the Web.

Other than its founders' initials, G&E Music stands for a great and sought-after creative partnership, backed by two spirited musicians and songwriters with the potential to work in various musical arenas. With a team of a few composers now affiliated with the company, G&E continues to create musical landscapes for promos, commercials and branding campaigns for clients such as VH-1, MTVN, Discovery Channel and HBO.

After working out of Schloss' home studio for a year, Blicker moved into a space in NYC, carving out a cozy musician/sound designer/song-writer's lair, and Schloss soon followed. Now, with a fully equipped studio, featuring Digidesign's Pro Tools Mix 24, valuable vintage and modern outboard gear and instruments, the partners have grown a client base, and have added talent to the team.

With that, G&E maintains the boutique look and feel, and the friendly, laid-back vibe of a cool sound design and mixing shop that really cranks 'em out. Creating the music for VH-1's Top 100 Artists of Rock and Roll got the ball rolling for G&E, and the team secured other subsequent projects for long-form television programs. They did the national branding campaign for MTVN; wrote and produced the theme and show package for VH-1's Never Mind the Buzzcocks; the musical score and packaging for VH-1's long-form special, Rock Story; created original music and sound design for the HBO promo for its original documentary, Four Little Girls; and created music and sound design for the show opening theme for Animal Planet's Fangs. Also, G&E created the Producer's Toolbox, a collection of sound-design elements and musical loops created for visual-based productions.

"There's really no limit to what we can do," Schloss attests. "This partnership works really well, we have a really good energy, a really good flow to our work. And, we love coming up with new ideas, both on the music and business sides. The Producer's Toolbox really exemplifies that there are really no limitations on our creative collaborations." Unlike other sound libraries, the Producer's Toolbox specifically targets sound designers and post engineers. Samples of the Toolbox can be found at www.Producerstoolbox.com.

Brian Quill has recently joined the G&E team and will be heading up the new G&E Audio Post Division, incorporating two mix facilities, one for smaller projects, and one full broadcast suite in association with Fort Productions. Quill's music compositions and sound design can be heard on HBO and the Discovery Digital Networks, and he has recorded high-profile musicians, including members of the New York Philharmonic and Santana. Quill has worked with Schloss and Blicker on several projects, most recently, in creating sounds for the VH-1 programs, Unhappy Hour and Being.

Lately, G&E has been getting into artist development - something that, as songwriters, excites the partners. "We are developing an artist right now," Schloss reports, "an 18-year-old female vocalist we were introduced to through some other people we work with. Erik and I are really excited about this. We're getting to write and select all of the songs, and figure out her direction. I'd like to do more of that. And, we've been writing other tracks, too - to be used for commercials and other artists. I want to develop that scene a little more here."

With the promo segment of the business well established, the team is branching out, now bringing the creative collaboration of Schloss and Blicker, and their team, to popular and commercial songwriting. G&E Music 212-673-9274 www.gemusic.com