Lisa Coleman at WonderCon!!!

The Heroes fan site, House Petrelli, was at WonderCon on April 2nd and attended the "Setting the Score: Composing for Film & Television" panel that featured Lisa Coleman who (as you know) co-composes the score for Heroes. The interview gives great insight on what happened during the WonderCon panel as well as new information regarding how Lisa and Wendy compose Heroes. For example, the article mentions that up until last season, Lisa and Wendy did not have a separate ‘sound designer’. Therefore, they were responsible for “combining music, sound effects and dialogue into a complete overall sound for the show.” In addition, Lisa discusses the beautiful cello piece written earlier in the season for the character ‘Emma’. The article is very interesting and insightful for those interested in composing and for Wendy & Lisa fans, in general. To read the article, please click here: Lisa Coleman at WonderCon

Below, is a short excerpt from the interview:

When asked how she and Wendy were chosen for working on Heroes, she explained that they'd already worked with Tim Kring on Crossing Jordan, and when he came to them with the idea for Heroes, she thought to herself, "It was spiritual and high-minded, and I said 'It doesn't have a chance, but thanks anyway...'" Naturally, the room found that very amusing.

"Heroes has been a composer's dream to work on," she said. "It's been extremely gratifying as a composer."

Curiously, the show didn't have a separate sound designer until this past season, so Wendy and Lisa had to do all that too. Sound design is the art of combining music, sound effects and dialogue into a complete overall sound for the show. Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn talked about having to do the same thing, and they pitched the idea that the music and sound design are one and the same, or should be. This was nicely demonstrated for the audience with the use of video clips showing a scene from Avatar before and after the sound design and score had been added. It clearly demonstrated how music was used as both an effect and a score.

To read the entire interview, click here: Lisa Coleman at WonderCon

Wendy & Lisa to Appear at WonderCon2010 on April 2, 2010!

Wendy & Lisa will be a part of a panel discussing their television composing work at San Francisco’s WonderCon! The panel is titled “Setting the Score: Composing for Film & Television for Sci-Fi/Fantasy”. The panel will take place Friday, April 2nd from 1:30-2:30pm in rooms 236/238. The panel will be moderated by Anne Cecere (Director of Film/TV Relations of BMI). Besides Wendy and Lisa, the panelists will include Jim Dooley, Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn.

If you can make it, please stop by and hear the valuable advice that Wendy and Lisa have to share regarding their TV composing. I am also sure that they would love to see you there!

If you are interested in attending WonderCon, click here for registration and other information: WonderCon

Wendy & Lisa at the Women In Film Panel!

As first reported here: Wendy and Lisa at WIF and later here: Wendy and Lisa at WIF Follow-Up
on October 28, 2009 Wendy and Lisa were part of a panel discussing ‘Music In Film And Television’. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) recently published a brief article about the panel discussion. Below, appears a snippet of the ASCAP article. You can read the entire article here: ASCAP Women In Film


Excerpt of ASCAP Article:

“On October 28, 2009, Women In Film (WIF) hosted a panel focusing on music and songwriting in film and television, with featured speakers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman (aka Wendy and Lisa, the ASCAP composers behind Heroes and Mercy) and PRS film composer Helene Muddiman (who scored the feature film Skin), among others. Moderating the panel was WIF board member Lisa Gewirtz.

The round-table discussion addressed the challenges facing female composers in the male-dominated film and television music world. As Melvoin put it, "Unfortunately as women composers we have to work twice as hard to achieve our goals." “

To read the article in its entirety, click here: ASCAP Women In Film

Heroes CD Available on ITunes!!!!

You can now purchase a copy of the Heroes Score on iTunes!  If you are a fan of the show, then you should definitely check out the Score CD! 

You can purchase a copy of the Heroes Score, via iTunes, here:  Heroes Score iTunes

OR

If you would prefer, you can purchase a copy of the Heroes Score, via Amazon, here: Heroes Score Amazon

Wendy and Lisa Nominated For A Hollywood Music In Media Award

On November 19, 2009 Wendy and Lisa will be up for a Hollywood Music In Media Award for their work composing the score for the hit TV show Heroes!

As stated from the Hollywood Music In Media Awards website:

The Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) will be presented Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at The Highlands in the world famous Hollywood & Highlands / Kodak Theater complex in Hollywood, CA. This red-carpet event features live performances, award presentations, a VIP reception and banquet dinner catered by Wolfgang Puck™. Click Here for Complete Details!

The Hollywood Music in Media Awards recognizes and honors the music of visual mediums, the talented individuals responsible, and the music of independent artists from around the globe.

Wendy and Lisa are nominated in the "BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - TV" category.  Below is a list of all the nominees.

Lisa Coleman & Wendy Melvoin - "Heroes" (NBC)
Nathan Barr - "True Blood" (HBO)
Shawn Patterson - "Titan Maximum" (Adult Swim)
Dan Licht - "Dexter" (Showtime)
Danny Lux - "The Good Wife" (CBS)
Chris Lennertz - "Supernatural" (WB)

Click here for a list of all of the Visual Media Nominees

Let us all wish Wendy and Lisa luck on winning this much deserved award!

Wendy & Lisa Appearing at ‘Women In Film’ Panel and ‘Music In Media Interactive Conference’ – Stop By And Meet Them!

In the next couple of months, Wendy & Lisa will be speaking a several events regarding the score composition work that they do for Heroes, Nurse Jackie, and Mercy.


On October 28, 2009 (from 6pm-8pm), the dynamic duo will be speaking as part of the Women In Film Panel dealing with ‘Music In Film And Television’. In addition to Wendy and Lisa, other panelists will include Helene Muddiman, Lisbeth Scott, Hillary Thomas, and Lisa Gewirtz.

The following information was supplied by the Women In Film Website :

RSVP to: 323-935-2211 to purchase tickets. Questions? Email info@wif.org
Cost: WIF Members $20 / Non-members $50 / No-host bar
When & Where
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: El Torito Grill, 9595 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212

The Wendy & Lisa Official Website is offering special discounted tickets at $35 (normally $50 for non-members). To see how to obtain the discount, please visit their website: Wendy & Lisa Upcoming Events


Next, Wendy & Lisa will also be appearing at the Music In Media Interactive Conference. The conference runs from Friday, November 20th through Sunday, November 22nd. Wendy and Lisa will participate in a panel on Sunday, November 22nd (3:15 pm -4:15pm) entitled “Composers: Scoring Big Time in Film, TV & Video Games”.

The following is a description of the panel from the Conference Schedule

"The top composers of our time give you the inside scope on what it takes to land the dream gig of a lifetime. Scoring Film, TV, Video Games and other media can be the most lucrative professions in the business, and one of the most demanding. Success in this field takes more than just talent and being able to write. Find out how YOU can catch a break and what to do with it when you do!

Steve Chagollan - Moderator / Variety Magazine
Nathan Barr (True Blood, The Dukes of Hazzard, Hostel, Club Dread, etc.)
John Ottman (Superman Returns, Astro Boy, Fantastic Four, The Usual Suspects, etc.)
Jim Dooley (Pushing Daisies, When a Stanger Calls, The Da Vinci Code, Obsessed, etc.)
Lisa Coleman & Wendy Melvoin (Heroes, Mercy, Nurse Jackie, Crossing Jordan, etc.)"

You can receive more information about the Music In Media Interactive Conference and register for the conference here: Music In Media Interactive Conference

If you can make it to either of these conferences, stop by and say ‘Hello’ to Wendy & Lisa! They are truly nice to their fans and would love to meet you!

Make sure and receive additional information from the Wendy & Lisa Official Website

Wendy & Lisa Deserve Additional Score Release!

As some of you may know, Wendy & Lisa are currently the score composers for 3 shows: Heroes, Nurse Jackie, and Mercy. Although the dynamic duo has released a score for Heroes (which can be purchased here: La La Land Records or Amazon Heroes Score), they have created additional wonderful score which has not been released and is not available to us fans.

To remedy this travesty, I am asking fans to help campaign to have more score released by Wendy & Lisa! Basically, if you have a little time and an internet connection, I am asking that you send Showtime and La-La Land Records (who released The Heroes Score) a polite e-mail explaining how much you love the Nurse Jackie and Heroes scores (respectively) and how nice it would be to have the score music released (additional score in the case of Heroes).

• Showtime has a ‘Product Suggestion’ page where you can request a Nurse Jackie score, here: Showtime Product Suggestions 

• La-La Land Records has a contact e-mail address where you can request that additional Heroes score be released: info@lalaland-ent.com

Please note that neither Wendy nor Lisa have anything to do with this request. This is solely a grass-roots effort by the fans to get more of their score released! I have already sent in my request e-mails, will you?

If you would like to have more information on Wendy & Lisa as score composers as well as wonderful samples of their score, please go to the pages on their Official Website, here: Wendy & Lisa Composers  and here: Wendy & Lisa Score Samples

If you would like even more samples of score from shows past and present, please visit the ‘Our Scores, Themes, Cues’ playlist here: Wendy & Lisa’s You Tube Channel.

If you do decide to campaign for more Wendy & Lisa score, I THANK YOU very much in advance!!!

Wendy & Lisa - Spectrasonics Super ‘Heroes’

In an ‘oldie but goodie’ short interview, Wendy & Lisa do something that you rarely hear/see them do: advertise! In this brief interview, the Dynamic Duo talk about using Spectrasonics instruments. Spectrasonic is a company that develops sampled sound libraries and software instruments.  Below is a quote from the interview where Wendy discusses how Spectrasonics impacts their Heroes score work:

Wendy Melvoin told us, “Spectrasonics has helped us create sonic landscapes that are mind bending and other-worldly. The score to Heroes is full of Atmosphere, Trilogy and Stylus RMX. Spectrasonics instruments are an integral part of the Heroes score. We trust and use them every week!”

To read the entire interview, click here: Spectrasonics - Wendy & Lisa

At the end of the article, there is a link to a video entitled ‘I Need Love’. According to the article, the following individuals play on the video (excluding Wendy and Lisa, of course):

(Chris Bruce - Guitar, Mike Elizondo - Bass, Joey Waronker - Drums, Susannah Melvoin - BG Vox, Cole Ynda - BG Vox, Greg Liesz - Pedal Steel Guitar)

Unfortunately, the link is no longer active (this interview took place in the year 2007). However, the video can now be found on YouTube and can bee seen below:
 

Sountrackgeek.com gives The Heroes Score A Geek Score of 9!

Recently, Jorn Tillnes of Soundtrack Geek conducted a very nice review of The Heroes Score CD (2009). Tillnes writes about his initial disappointment with the release of the Heroes Soundtrack (2008) (Note: the ‘Soundtrack’ and the ‘Score’ are two completely separate CDs) because of its lack of original music (i.e. the score) featured on the show. Tillnes then writes about his happiness at hearing that Wendy & Lisa released the Heroes Score earlier this year: “Not long ago, I heard about the score release which I couldn’t be happier about. I got exactly what I wanted, nay craved, last year, when reviewing the original soundtrack to Heroes.”

Tillnes concludes the review by stating that “[e]ven though Heroes might not be as great as it used to be, the music is really intriguing. It really fits the show well (at least the first season) and the style is great. It’s ethnic and can be quite dramatic. Wendy & Lisa did a great job and I would love to hear music from the third season as well, even though I’m not so into the series anymore. I wish they had a theme for Nathan though, that would be interesting.”

Finally, Tillnes gives The Heroes Score CD a 'Geek Score' of 9 (out of 10)!

To read the entire review, please click here: Soundtrack Geek Heroes Score Review

You may purchase a copy of The Heroes Score (2009) at either of these sites: Amazon - Heroes Score (Note: Amazon labels it the ‘Soundtrack’ but it is actually the score) OR La La Land Records - Heroes Score


(site last visited July 30, 2009)

Wendy & Lisa Talk About Heroes, Each Other, & Prince

In a very nice (short) interview for echoes.org, Wendy & Lisa talk about creating the score for Heroes and how there was not a special effects machine during the first season! So, many of the effects came from them!

In addition, they speak briefly about their 22-year relationship and playing for hours in 1 key during Prince rehearsals!

Again, another great interview by the ladies. Click here to listen: Echoes Wendy & Lisa Interview


(site last visited: July 8, 2009)

Wendy & Lisa Discuss 'Heroes' in Variety Article!

Our favorite scorers, Wendy & Lisa, were mentioned in a recent Variety.com article titled "Whatever Happened to TV Theme Music?"

The article chronicles the transformation of TV theme music over the past several decades and highlights how the length of the opening theme has dwindled from 75-seconds (Laverne & Shirley) to a mere 10 seconds (Heroes).

Below, Lisa Coleman (who along with Wendy Melvoin scores the music to Heroes) discusses the opening music for Heroes:

"Heroes," by contrast, gave composers Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin just 10 seconds. "You have to think in terms of 'stings,'" says Coleman, referring to the film-music tradition of brief but impactful musical statements. "We knew it had to be big and somewhat supernatural sounding. It didn't need to be terribly melodic, just atmospheric."

The read the article in its entirety, please click the following link: Variety.com

(site last visited: June 8, 2009)

Den Of Geek: Heroes Original Score CD review

Recently, Den of Geek wrote a very nice review for the new Heroes Soundtrack written by Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin (Wendy & Lisa).

Below is a sample of the review:

************************************************************************************
Heroes: Original Score CD review
Nick Smith

The hidden music of Heroes gets better exposure, courtesy of its brand new score CD...
Published on Jun 8, 2009

One of the most noticeable things about the music in Heroes is that it's so unnoticeable. There's a reason why incidental music is so-called; it's there to get us from one scene to another, not drown out the dialogue and tell us how to feel. But Heroes composer/performers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman try their best not to stand out.

************************************************************************************

To read the review in its entirety, please click the following link: Den Of Geek Review

(site last visited: June 08, 2009)

ScoreKeeper Chats With Wendy & Lisa About HEROES, Ron Moore's VIRTUALITY, Prince, And More!! With Audio!!

In a terrific interview from aintitcool.com, Wendy & Lisa speak about how they became involved with heroes, what a typical weekly schedule is like, and their favorite movie scores. Below is the intro to the intervew followed by a link to the entire interview (which includes audio).
*************************************************************************************

ScoreKeeper Chats With Wendy & Lisa About HEROES, Ron Moore's VIRTUALITY, Prince, And More!! With Audio!!

Greetings! ScoreKeeper here peddling a two-for-the-price-of-one conversation with a pair of rising stars in the scoring community.

Composers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman have been exercising their superpowers for quite some time on both the large and small screen but with the success of their latest venture, HEROES (2006-2009), this dynamic musical duo find themselves in the best creative shape of their professional lives.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Wendy & Lisa about their work on this vaulted series and also dabbled a bit into earlier chapters of their lives. They’ve been in the business a long time and their tandem approach to scoring is truly one of the tightest and most enduring collaborative relationships in show business.

While you’re reading you’ll stumble upon several audio responses I’ve inserted into the text portion of the interview in order to enhance the experience. It was a pleasure talking with them. I hope you enjoy their time as much as I did.

…and don’t forget…
Save the cheerleader, save the world…

To read/hear the full interview, click here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41227

(site last visited on May 29, 2009)

Exclusive! House Petrelli Wendy and Lisa interview, part 2

House Petrelli: What makes the themes for the different characters unique to them? Instrumentation, obviously, but are there certain keys or scales that you’ll use for certain characters?

Lisa: Yes.

HP: (laughs) Would you like to elaborate?

L: (laughs) Sorry, suddenly the finger pointed at me. There are different ways to establish those things. My favorite that I like to talk about in terms of that is, Hiro. Yatta! Because of his ability to move through space and time, the space/time continuum, and stop time, and it’s all pretty much about time and that sort of thing. We used a marimba for Hiro specifically and I’m sure you’re familiar with his “ticky-tocky ticky-tocky” kind of...

To read more, please click here: http://www.housepetrelli.com/default.asp?Display=90

(site last visited May 17, 2009)

Housewife in Hollywood Wendy & Lisa Interview

Like many teens in the 80’s I was a loyal Prince & The Revolution fan. I drew the eyes, lips and side swept hair picture from the Purple Rain album artwork onto every book cover and Pee Chee folder I could find. My zip up hoodie vest was adorned with Prince & The Revolution pins. My bedroom walls were decorated with Prince crawling out of his bathtub and riding his purple motorcycle.

Not only was I infatuated with Prince and the sounds of his music I was intrigued by the two woman in the group, Wendy & Lisa. They added a female vibe and contributed their own musical talent to The Revolution.I was inspired by their style, confidence and attitude.

In 1986, Wendy & Lisa became a musical duo creating their own albums, a few being Fruit at the Bottom, Eroica & Girl Bros. They also started scoring music for film and television shows such as Heroes, Nurse Jackie, Soul Food and Dangerous Minds.

When I heard Wendy & Lisa had a new album out called White Flags of Winter Chimneys I wanted to learn more about them. Here is my interview with Wendy & Lisa:

To read more, please click here: http://housewifeinhollywood.com/wendy-lisa/

(site last visited May 17, 2009)

Review: The Heroes soundtrack proves that Heroes' true heroes are its composers

At least two seasons past due, here is a disk of soundtrack goodies from Heroes, composed by Wendy (Melvoin) and Lisa (Coleman). It's more a collection of character themes, for the most part, aside from the main theme and two tracks taken from important scenes (9, "Kirby Plaza," and 10, "Fire and Regeneration"). But let's not quibble. This is meaty stuff, and it repays multiple listenings, preferably on headphones, so you can tweeze out the production layering, which is very satisfying.

To read more, please click here: http://scifiwire.com/2009/05/review-heroes-soundtrack.php

(site last visited May 17, 2009)

"The Fall of the City" Interview by WNYC

Wendy and Lisa are a musical duo that met playing with Prince and the Revolution in the 80s. They then worked on albums together and scored TV shows like the NBC series Heroes. They join us to talk about composing an original score for a new production of "The Fall of the City", the 1937 CBS radio drama.

To hear the interview, please click here: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2009/04/28/segments/130223

(site last visited May 17, 2009)

Exclusive! House Petrelli: Wendy and Lisa interview part 1!

House Petrelli: In the scoring process, how much is recycled and how much is custom-composed for the episode?

Wendy: Well, that’s an easy answer. We have not reused one cue in the three seasons that we’ve done. We can’t, because each scene is so specifically composed that if you reuse anything you won’t be hitting the right spots on the characters. So when we go in and listen to the cues when we’re trying to spot the episode, they’ve inevitably thrown a cue in there that works but it’s for the wrong character. So we haven’t reused, and we’ve never wanted to. On Crossing Jordan we were able to repurpose some romantic cues, but again, on this show we don’t, and also I think it helps keep the integrity of the feeling we had from the first season.

To read more, please click here: http://www.housepetrelli.com/default.asp?Display=82

(site last visited May 17, 2009)

The Art and Business of Song: USC-Annenberg

Rock the dub Interview: Wendy & Lisa

I don't know about you, but when I was in high school, I was a huge fan of Prince & The Revolution. For those of you who know the score, you should know who Wendy & Lisa are. Childhood friends, and talented artists, they've been through a lot - they were active in music before The Revolution, arguably made their most famous mark with Prince, helping usher in the "blue eyed soul" sound in the 80s, and when they eventually left his fold, something was definitely missing. They weren't, though, making their own music, as well as collaborating with artists like Seal, Eric Clapton, Liz Phair, Sheryl Crow, among others. In December, the digital release of their latest album, White Flags of Winter Chimneys, was self-released through their website, and I got a chance to speak with them about this, their song-writing and other points of interest...

To read more, please click here: http://www.rockthedub.com/2009/02/rock-dub-interview-wendy-lisa.html

(site last visited May 17, 2009)