Meet Adam Hochstatter of High City Music in Redondo Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Hochstatter.

Adam, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota and had an interest in writing music since high school. I was lucky enough to attend a high school with a fantastic music program that had a composition program after school. I continued to pursue my interest in music-making at Concordia College in Moorhead Minnesota where I got my Bachelors of Music degree in Composition. After undergraduate school, I moved out to Los Angeles in 2009 to attend school at the University of Southern California. I was accepted into their “Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television” graduate program… In 2010, I graduated from USC and started my life as a freelance artist. I bounced around through many jobs as a piano teacher, composer assistant, freelance composer, music copyist, etc.; if it had any connection to music, I was willing to do it.

After many years of freelance and studio work, I landed a job working for Michael Reagan (Composer: God of War, Power Puff Girls) as his assistant. Mike had been a guest teacher at USC and we had connected during his time teaching there. This opportunity was a pinnacle moment for the start of my career. After working for several years for Mike, I continued as a freelance composer until finding a job working with John Paesano (Composer: Maze Runner, Daredevil, Marvel’s Spider-Man) as an additional composer at his studio. Currently, I work with John and continue to run my own composing business as a freelance composer.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road at all. Los Angeles is a demanding city. Rent is high, talent is everywhere, and everyone is looking for the fastest way to make an extra dollar. These three issues become extremely difficult to combat with because you can’t make money without work, and it’s extremely hard (near impossible) to get any work without any credits. So I struggled for many (I think 8?) years just trying to scrape enough money to pay rent/bills because no-one would hire me to do what I wanted to do: write music. No-one was going to trust me (guy with no credits to his name) with their money to write music for their film. (I wouldn’t either!) So, I tried to find jobs helping other composers, hoping that someday one would see my passion and drive and give me the opportunity to write some music under their guidance for their project. Established composers are much more likely to give young composers opportunities; filmmakers are not.

What else should our readers know?
I compose music for Film/TV/Videogames for a living, and love every minute of it, but I also have a passion for target archery. I used to be a USA Archery coach at the Pasadena Roving Archers in Pasadena. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) work got so busy I had to put archery and coaching on the shelf for a while. It’s a very zen sport, and I find it helps calm down the music I’m always hearing in my head.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being likable and relaxed. That may sound obvious, but I’ve heard of so many composers that have gotten fired because they aren’t enjoyable to be around. I find that my clients like to collaborate with someone they can just chill and have a beer with. I think it’s because the work we do is so creative and abstract. It’s hard to have a rigid business relationship with someone when you’re both being creative and bringing a new idea to life.

Contact Info:

• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3940384/
• Other: https://soundcloud.com/adamhochstatter

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