G & E Music

New York, NY (August 1, 2005)

PBS has cleverly managed to promote its entire Fall 2005 programming line-up in one :60 spot, while at the same time channeling the spirit of one of the line-up's most exciting programs. And, the entire message is delivered in a song by NYC's G&E Music. Inspired by Dylan's anything-but-concise "Subterranean Homesick Blues," Jeffrey Hughes, PBS Associate Creative Director-Primetime, whipped up some PBS-branded lyrics, and set out to find a music house to write the perfect variation on Dylan's legendary tune.

When the 2005 Fall Sizzle spot came by the desk of PBS producer Kevin Lahr, who'd worked with G&E on a re-branding campaign for PBS Kids, he immediately thought of the music house. "I know that G&E can do great pieces of music for promos--their work stands far above vendors who just typically do jingles and advertising pieces," says Lahr. "Being that both Glenn and Erik are real musicians and play in bands, creating music that has a specific genre feel and needs to be composed to specific lyrics would be something they could certainly do a great job with."

Lahr asked G&E, along with two other music houses, to submit demos for the spot, calling for a fun and upbeat, impromptu-sounding tune to accompany the "Subterranean"-style video, featuring the classic silent cue-card flipping narrator. In order to tackle the biggest challenge of the gig, fitting all of the words in the run-on lyrics into a :60 song, G&E put together a whole band and worked out the tune live, in a four-hour jam session. The home-grown G&E band featured Glenn Schloss on drums, Erik Blicker on bass, Eric de Picciotto (EDP) strummin' the guitar, and Elliot Sneider on keys; a session vocalist came to G&E's NYC studio to lay down the lyrics.

Hughes, who penned the lyrics and coordinated the video shoot, says: "The folks at G&E Music got it 'spot on' from our first conversation. They asked great questions, they brought a lot to the table, and they made sure we were all had a clear understanding of what was going to be delivered." The live energy captured in the studio, more like five guys messing around and having fun, was exactly the good-time vibe PBS was looking for. Hughes continues, "When G&E Music sent us their initial takes on the song, they surprised us with a genuine variety of styles and interpretations, from folk to country, even an urban take on the song that we had not considered. The version that we really latched onto was the one where the singer really had fun with the lyrics and took some liberties with the rhythm. All of us were smiling after the first hearing of that version."

After PBS selected G&E's song, very little was added or tweaked to perfect the track. "They really took the demo track as was and to that we just added some harmonicas," says Schloss. But, PBS was impressed with G&E's efficiency in making even slight changes. Hughes notes, "Given that we only had two weeks from concept signed off on to delivery, G&E Music was incredible to work with. They delivered more than we expected. They made last minute changes to the spot painlessly (at least from our perspective)."

In this case, the song really was key, delivering with excitement PBS' entire Fall line-up, and particularly plugging the Dylan documentary. "The song that G&E music delivered raised the bar for the whole project," adds Hughes. "The tempo and mood that they set for the song helped to create the tone and rhythm for how we shot and edited the spot. The quality of G&E Music's work was key to the success of the project."

G&E Music is a full-service music and audio post production house in New York City, equipped with a Pro Tools HD2 system to accommodate both recording and mixing sessions. A valued source of original music, sound design, and audio post for television, film, and radio, G&E works with ingenuity and efficiency to bring musical life to promotional campaigns.

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