"Machete Peach" score

Shockingly, I don't think I ever posted about the hilarious short film my dear friends made, titled "Machete Peach", shot on location in Panama. I had the honor and pleasure of creating an original score for "Machete Peach" which was finally completed and posted this past September. My friend Ryan Smith (who is currently scoring an even more ambitious film as we speak) wrote the amazing music that plays during the intro, and I wrote everything beginning at the 2:45 mark. The score went through numerous drafts, but myself and the film makers are both happy with the final product. Would love to do it all over again.

You can watch "Machete Peach" and its predecessor "Machete Cake" at the following link. The 3rd part in the trilogy is currently in pre-production! Enjoy!!

http://vimeo.com/28917407

Maybe Bomb art

My brother John and I are finally zeroing in on an art direction for his solo music project Maybe Bomb. The album, titled "Dotted Lines and Whispers" (listen to the title track here, has been mixed and mastered for a while now. The one major factor that's been holding back its official release is the artwork and design for the album.

Make sure to "Like" Maybe Bomb's facebook page and follow them on twitter. Don't forget John's soundcloud page either!

Here's some recent tests I've done.

Sketch-up

Oh boy, first post of 2012! ...in late March. Here's some recent sketches.

Rachel Solando (from Scorsese's 'Shutter Island'):


Madame Charlotte Gainsbourg (also with blood on her face for no real reason):


Headphone girl:


Escape:

Souncloud

I finally registered a page at Souncloud. I think I might've joined a few months ago, but now I've got a personal URL where you can listen, download, favorite, and comment on songs of mine I've uploaded. It makes a lot more sense to host my songs there, rather than have anyone who visits this blog crudely download mp3s from sendspace. Using Souncloud is sleeker and more streamlined, so I'll simultaneously update the blog when I post something new there.

As of this post, the only thing I've got up there is the remix I did of MUTEMATH's "Odd Soul" - the title track from their forthcoming album - as a part of the contest they're currently holding. It's a little rough around the edges, but I was anxious to finish, and overall, I accomplished what I wanted to with it. Hope you like!

Also, be sure to check out my brother's submission for that same contest at his Souncloud page. He strips the song down to drums and vocals while adding a new and beautiful synth chord progression. I like it more than the original personally.

Jim Penola at Souncloud:

http://soundcloud.com/jimpenola


John Penola / Maybe Bomb at Souncloud:

http://soundcloud.com/maybe-bomb

Odd Soul ("Ever Higher" mix) by jimpenola

The obsession continues...

Here's a 16" x 20" painting of Fincher's Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara), once again based on the W cover. Not sure how I'm gonna do the text/tattoo yet, but I had to share now since it could be a while.

"The Lightning Is Within You"

During the Fall 2010 semester, one of my projects involved creating the artwork for a standard CD/jewel case (front/back cover, disc tray art, insert, etc). The artist and album could be real or fictional, just as long as certain requirements were met. I decided to create a package for one of my favorite new acts: Dark Horses. One of the things I love about the 'Horses is their sense of mystery and otherworldliness that permeates both the music as well as their incredible visual aesthetic. Keeping that in mind, I tried to incorporate those creepy yet intriguing elements into the design. I wanted things to be minimal, and black & white - things that are generally consistent with all their artwork. The song titles are all real except for a few which were inspired by quotes directly from the band.













This was a fun project, and I hope I did service to the band. Hopefully we'll have a full album before the end of the year! I highly recommend checking them out at any and all of the following links:

Official Site

Twitter

Facebook

MySpace

Collaborations with John Penola

My super talented bro and I have recently (and finally) begun doing some serious musical collaborations. The results have been really fun/exciting for both of us. John basically sent me sketches, or very loose ideas, of songs in Logic and told me to have at them. So I did, and we've got 2 little songs that we both like and will probably work on a bit more in the future (one may even become involved in Maybe Bomb - whoa!).

For comparison's sake, I included the original "sketches" and of course my versions.

Hope you like!

Look forward to more awesomness like this.