Oscar and Grammy-winning songwriter and composer Finneas O’Connell breaks down his journey into film composing and working with Oscar winning director Alfonso Cuarón on the hit miniseries DISCLAIMER. Finneas dives into his work with Billie Eilish and how it led to meeting Cuarón, the frightening first steps and self doubt of getting started (VENGEA…

This week kicks off a multi-episode mini-series at SGV Connect focusing on the LA 2028 Olumpoc games and what the events can mean for San Gabriel Valley Communities. This first episode features an interview with Alissa Walker, co-host of the LA Pod and editor of the Torched Newsletter. When not hanging out with celebrities and appearing on Netflix …

Oscar-nominated experimental band/composing trio Son Lux joins Score after their breakout success on EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, and as their latest film, Marvel’s THUNDERBOLTS*, releases in theaters. How the solo project from Ryan Lott led to working as a trio with Rafiq Bhatia, Ian Chang — incorporating unique electronic instrumentation wi…

Last week, Chris visited the mutual aid group Memories of El Monte's bi-weekly food distribution at the Klingerman Apartment projects in South El Monte to interview group members and get an update on the construction of their physical location, The People's Cafe. The regular food distribution gives the community the opportunity to receive $200 wort…

(Note: this week’s SGV Connect podcast is being broken into two parts. Part 2, which is a series of interview about The People’s Cafe in El Monte, will be broadcast tomorrow.) Last week, news broke that bids for the next extension of the Foothill Gold Line - from Pomona to Montclair - would be delayed because the only bid to design and build the pr…

Scottish-born composer Paul Leonard-Morgan (Last Breath, Cyberpunk 2077, Tales from the Loop, Limitless) is a master of different mediums — from film/television to video games, concerts and working with recording artists like bands Belle & Sebastian and Snow Patrol, among many others. His latest, survival-thriller Last Breath starring Woody Harrels…

At 34, UK-based artist and composer Daniel Blumberg is the youngest person nominated for this year’s Best Score at the Oscars. His work on The Brutalist, nominated for 10 Academy Awards, is a continuation and evolution of Brady Corbet’s directorial talent — a longtime friend and collaborator. Daniel talks us through his formative experience at Cafe…

The Eaton Fire has left a tremendous scar on Southern California’s culture and politics for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, it’s stopped advancing for some time now, but the statistics are still top of mind: 17 dead, 14,000+ acres burned, 9,000+ structures destroyed, 1,000+ structures damaged. During the early weeks of the fire, social media wa…

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m using this week’s SGV Connect to encourage listeners to start listening to my other podcast, StreetSmart which appears at Streetsblog California. This week’s SGV Connect features clips from three different StreetSmart interviews. The first is with Jeanie Ward-Waller where we de-mystify the California Transportation Commission…

Oscar-winning filmmaker (The Last Repair Shop) and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers details a series of life experiences that propelled him to a groundbreaking score on his first animated film, The Wild Robot. How his parents’ nudge into music led to him developing a “life plan” he still employs today. Why his jazz origins are so useful in the way…

“Music that will bring Beethoven to his knees”We couldn’t pass up the chance to record with BOTH visionary director Robert Eggers and composer Robin Carolan, whose period-horror NOSFERATU released on Christmas Day. (Robert confirms for the record it IS — sort of — a Christmas movie.) This interview done remotely, with Robert and Robin together in t…

Foothill Transit’s Director of Marketing and Communications joins Streetsblog Editor Damien Newton for an ask-me-anything style interview probing the bus agency’s recent trials and successes. Friesema took questions on: how Foothill’s bolstered services to Mt. San Antonio College and Cal Poly Pomona will connect with soon to open Metro A Line servi…

Oscar-winning composer Volker Bertelmann (CONCLAVE, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT) explains his unique approach to creating analog textures, themes, and layered complexity. How a church piano led him to a breakout hip hop album in Germany, and then into his own musical experimentation with “prepared piano” — including albums and live performances …

Score: The Podcast returns for a sixth season with in-person interviews filmed in 4K, and new original footage inside composers’ studios. Presented by Vienna Symphonic Library In this season premiere episode, Benjamin Wallfisch breaks down his explosive blockbuster summer with TWISTERS and ALIEN: ROMULUS becoming sensations. The inside scoop on whe…

The post-election special featured a pair of Streetsblog editors, Joe Linton of Streetsblog L.A. and Melanie Curry of Streetsblog California, joining Damien Newton and Chris Greenspon. Most of the talking was done by Curry, Linton and Newton, and the trio kicked off the discussion by outlining the impact of the Trump administration on federal trans…

With many mail-in ballots already in voters hands, it's time for the SGV Connect election special. This week we talk with a pair of experts about two ballot measures that L.A. County voters will decide this fall. First, Damien interviews Supervisor Hilda Solis about Measure G. Measure G was put on the ballot with the support of three of the five Su…

With the Foothill Gold Line Extension to Pomona at 90 percent completion, SGV Connect pays another visit to the Construction Authority’s office to chat with chief executive officer Habib Balian. The podcast can be found below, but you can read a transcript of it by clicking here. For clarity’s (or maybe confusion’s) sake, we are of course referring…

Just last week, the legislative session for the year ended in Sacramento meaning a batch of legislation was passed that, if signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, would change the way the state conducts its transportation business. In this episode of SGV Connect, co-host Damien Newton goes it alone, interviewing Streetsblog California editor Mel…

In Score’s season 5 finale, composer Rob Simonsen talks about having the #1 and #2 films in the world on the same weekend (DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE; IT ENDS WITH US), and how one film led to the other being done inside of one month — the biggest time crunch he’s ever had. Plus, what is was like working with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, poking fun at…

Breakout composer Andrea Datzman (INSIDE OUT 2) talks about her initial rejection from film scoring industry, and what led her to persevere. How her struggle with Lyme disease threatened to upend her initial breakthrough with Michael Giacchino on INSIDE OUT, and led to a surprising new revelation about her own brain and neuropsychology. She also di…

This week's SGV Connect returns to our regular formula with a pair of interviews by Damien Newton and Chris Greenspon. First, Chris interviews Melissa Mora Hidalgo, a queer entertainment writer living in Whittier. The interview goes back and forth between fun and serious, as the two discuss both her work and the performative allyship that occurs du…

In this bonus interview episode, Andrew Gordon Macpherson talks about his music and TV editing skills leading to his career scoring video games and television documentaries, including the hit Vice series DARK SIDE OF THE RING, and WHO KILLED WCW?, produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. How the world of professional wrestling drama created a canvas …

This week Chris brings us a special feature interview with artist Isabel Pan. Pan is the artist in residence at C.A.S.A Zamora in El Monte. Her project has been a documentary-style, slice of life comic strip depicting the impact of sweatshop labor and refugee crises on the children of immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley. Pan’s subject is the son o…

Composer Andrew Lockington (ATLAS, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN) joins SCORE to talk about Toronto, working with and under the tutelage of fellow Canadian Mychael Danna after wanting to start a rock band, and how his interest in orchestration led to his composing breakthroughs. Plus, working with Jennifer Lopez, creating “suites” of music, what makes temps s…

We catch up with composer extraordinaire Christophe Beck (UNFROSTED, ROAD HOUSE) for the first time in six years! Christophe shares how early piano lessons led to dreams of making his own album (now in the works). Plus, how years leading a composer team on major films refreshed his love of teaching and sharing, his creative rapport with director Do…

This week’s SGV Connect continues our theme of focusing in on various areas of the SGV for our podcast episodes by looking at the Greater Pasadena area. First, Damien and Chris traveled to El Sereno to meet with some of the Reclaimers, unhoused residents of El Sereno who moved into Caltrans owned properties during the pandemic. Benito, Sandra and F…

This week's SGV Connect is focusing on the election to replace Councilmember and Vice-Mayor Sasha Renée Pérez of Alhambra. Pérez has given up her seat to run for the State Senate. Chris interviews Nicolas Kiet Quach, the president of the Alhambra Library Board of Trustees. While only 18, Kiet Quach is no newcomer to politics having worked for and w…

Composer Chris Benstead talks about being Guy Ritchies’ musical maestro on multiple projects, including THE GENTLEMEN on Netflix and THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE. How his musical education led him into music mixing and eventually working in the “sound” departments on major projects, before his work with Patrick Doyle, Steven Price, Alan Me…

YouTuber Rudy Mancuso has been following SCORE for years, as a musician and composer in his own right. He joins Kenny Holmes and Matt Schrader to discuss his breakout hit film from SxSW ‘MÚSICA’ out now on Prime Video — a semi-autobiographic film, years in the making, that pushes musical possibilities to refreshingly brilliant musical storytelling.…

We continue our tour through the San Gabriel Valley with an episode focused on the City of Glendora, known as the Heart of the Foothills. It might surprise you if you're not familiar with what's going on at this small suburban community, but Glendora is working hard to build out a bike network, calm traffic on its streets, build up a downtown in it…

Composer Laura Karpman joins Score to talk about her work on the Oscar-nominated score for AMERICAN FICTION, breaking down how jazz informed a story rich in satire and wit to give it a unique musical edge and voice intertwined with characters. Then, she discusses her path from likely music professor into at one point being one of the only women wor…

Welcome to the first SGV Connect podcast of 2024! We start our new year with the first in a new series that focuses on different regions and communities in the San Gabriel Valley and examines both the state of their mobility projects and cultural and community projects. This week, both interviews were completed by Chris Greenspon. The first is with…

Composer David Fleming (The Last of Us, Blue Planet II) talks about his inventive score for Prime Video’s new Mr. & Mrs. Smith, working with Donald Glover, coming up through the Remote Control composer system with Atli Orvarsson, Steve Jablonsky and Hans Zimmer, and why the new Jim Henson documentary will melt everyone’s hearts. Interview by Kenny …

The Miami-based Carlos Rafael Rivera with two series releasing now (Griselda, Monsieur Spade) joins to talk about his massive breakout with The Queen’s Gambit, followed by Hacks and Lessons in Chemistry. Why Sofia Vergara's dramatic turn as a drug kingpin in Miami deserved an operative approach. How he manages to maintain his Miami location for an …

One of the original members of the indie band Arcade Fire, Richard Reed Parry (THE IRON CLAW, EILEEN) discusses his jump into film scoring, the importance of finding “mojo” and “vibe,” and how the wrestling biopic The Iron Claw nearly stumped him musically — until he unlocked the rich, layered sound that carries the film. How Spike Jonze’s film “He…

Geoff Zanelli makes his long-awaited Score debut after one of Netflix’s most watched animated films of all-time, the Adam Sandler-produced LEO. In this episode, Kenny and Robert discuss the long-awaited arrival of MAESTRO, the Leonard Bernstein biopic, which we discussed on the 2nd episode of SCORE: THE PODCAST back when it was to be directed by Sp…

Last Friday, Foothill Transit celebrated its 35th anniversary with a party in the parking lot of its West Covina headquarters. Joe Linton and Chris Greenspon were among those on-hand and they had a chance to catch up with a handful of people that helped shape Foothill Transit's past and will guide the agency into the future. Those short interviews …

Composer of the new historical epic NAPOLEON Martin Phipps joins Score for the first time! How he located a piano once owned by Napoleon himself for the score. Plus, his path to film and television music, his work on Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror and The Crown, and establishing trust with the great Ridley Scott. How Martin overcame his early doubts …

Jeanie Ward-Waller is not a household name in California, but until recently she may have had the most important job in the state as far as Streetsblog readers are concerned. Ward-Waller served as the Deputy Director of Planning and Multimodal Programs at Caltrans, where she not only oversaw many of the great programs that we regularly highlighted …

Score season 5 returns with composer James Newton Howard, who currently has four projects releasing this month, including the Hunger Games prequel that he says asked him not to use synths (“they haven’t been invented yet”). Plus, how working with Hans Zimmer helped pull him out of a period of depression, when to fight for your musical opinion, and …

This week's SGV Connect podcast is a special episode where the Streetsblog San Gabriel Valley team, Chris Greenspon, Joe Linton and Damien Newton, sit down and discuss the great success that was ArroyoFest 2023. All three were at the event but experienced it differently with Linton and his family biking the route, Newton completing the "Run the 110…

This week’s SGV Connect Podcast looks backward at the first year of the GoSGV Bike Share program and looks forward to Halloween and ArroyoFest. First, we speak with Jose Jimenez, the education director for Active SGV about the GoSGV’s first year, celebrated earlier this month. There are over 100 bikes being rented monthly at the moment and over 400…

This week's SGV Connect breaks our regular mold as Streetsblog L.A. editor Joe Linton conducts both interviews on the past and future of ArroyoFest which returns at the end of this month, on Sunday October 29th when a portion of the I-110 will be closed to cars and open to other uses in the morning. First, Linton interviews Robert Gottlieb and Marc…

This week's SGV Connect features a pair of interviews that will change and improve the lives of residents of the San Gabriel Valley. First, we talk with Alhambra Councilmember Adele Andrade-Stadler. Andrade-Stadler is the winner of this year's Elected Official of the Year award given by ActiveSGV at their Noche de las Luminarias. You can read more …

This week's SGV Connect focuses on two different parking programs in Pasadena. As the city closes in on approving its Strategic Parking Plan, we welcome retired UCLA economics professor and parking pricing guru Donald Shoup. Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking which is still considered essential reading for urban planners decades after its origin…

Academy Award-winning composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Gustavo Santaolalla joins Score: The Podcast for a lively conversation about the phenomenon his music helped create in The Last of Us, and why it's different than any of his other work. Plus, writing the score to Brokeback Mountain prior to anything being filmed, how the records he…

This week’s SGV Connect Podcast is the second part of a two part series on housing and tenants issues in the San Gabriel Valley and features Connie Tamkin, the president of the San Gabriel Valley Community Land Trust. If you missed part one of the series with Allison Henry, one of the leaders of the San Gabriel Valley Tenants Council, you can find …

This week’s podcast is the first in a two-podcast mini-series looking at housing issues in the San Gabriel Valley. In this podcast, Damien and Chris talk to Allison Henry, an SGV housing justice organizer with LA Forward and co-founder of the San Gabriel Valley Tenants Alliance. In the podcast, we discuss the recent and long-term history of the bat…

In this special summer episode, Daniel Pemberton, composer of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, Daniel discusses his unique approach to the hit sequel's postmodern score, the success he’s had since his last appearance on Score: The Podcast — including SLOUGH HOUSE and The Trial of the Chicago 7 — and details about the upcoming tour of his Spider…