Rising Stars: Meet Dan Radlauer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Radlauer.

Hi Dan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always wanted to compose music. Ever since high school, it has become both my joy, my therapy, what keeps me up at night or gets me out of bed in the morning.

After dabbling with Rock and Pop, I discovered Jazz. Not that I’m only a Jazz guy, but Jazz and “Classical” (or more accurately, symphonic music) has all the notes and rhythms you can put together in Western music. So I studied both to develop as deep a musical vocabulary as possible. Mixed with my roots in Rock and Pop, along with my deep interest in Recording Technology, Synthesizer and computers, I’ve got a pretty full toolbox.

I played in bands and wrote music for schools, and then fell into doing music for commercials. At 25 years of age, I had music in commercials playing all over the country. Soon I was working with Ad Agencies all over the place and had so much fun doing it. Music for commercials is the most genre-wide and bending musical destination. One week I’d be doing an orchestral score, the next, a vocal “Jingle” the next, head-banging rock, the next, bizarre comedy… I learn to do it all quickly, efficiently and creatively.

In the early 2000s, I rode the “Reality TV” wave, back when the shows had their own specific music and composers. (I still have a lot of music in Reality/NonScripted shows, but they all use libraries now, in which I have literally thousands of music pieces that get placed all over the world) That was fun too. Surreal Life, Flavor of Love, Ruby, all really fun and interesting Reality TV shows.

All the while, I’ve been involved in Music Education, specifically Jazz. I’ve taught up at the Jazz Intensive Summer Program at Idyllwild Arts Academy on and off (mainly ON) for the last 20 years. I volunteer and run the Jazz Band at Pacific Palisades High School. I also mentor young musicians and composers. (Including my son who went on to Berklee College of Music and is now a professional in the Music Biz)

For the last 10 or so years, I’ve been scoring everything from scripted TV shows, Features, Documentaries, more commercials and, possibly my favorite recent work, the latest IMAX Planetarium Show up at the Griffith Observatory. It even won a “Hollywood Music in Media” award last year.

Oh, and I still love Jazz. I work with colleges and high schools all over the world writing, consulting and appearing as Guest Artist or lecturer.

Oh well, so much for humility…:)

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s a tough and competitive business. Like so many artistic people, I have a very hard time promoting myself. All artists want their careers to be driven by their work. But the truth is, you gotta sell it. And that’s been, by far, my biggest challenge.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I would say I’m very proud of the reputation I have as someone who can span a huge variety of genres and execute them with authenticity. (As they say, when you can fake sincerity, you’ve got it made!) I’ve studied and played and composed so many different.

As a “Musician”, I play guitar, keyboards (including accordion) and Bass. I love being in different situations on different instruments and doing my best to fit in and contribute. I’ve been in a Klezmer band, played Fado in Portugal, Jazz in Spain, Accordion in Mexico, Big Band Music with pros and amateurs… I’ve played with some of the finest musicians on the planet, and kids who are just learning the instrument.

I’m also really good with what we call “Baby Bands.” In a Jazz camp or school setting, I love to take the beginning bands and elevate them far beyond what they thought they could do. When I see that “Light Bulb” light up when a kid plays an improvised solo for the first time or the group executes a tough passage correctly, it’s really amazing. Not because they’re going to end up as professionals, but because of the spiritual experience of striving for excellence… and maybe coming close.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Just assuming that I’d be successful in Music was a risk. I didn’t really think about it at age 20, but music chose me as much as I chose it. There was just no question. I’m not really a risk taker (though my love for Motocross and extreme mountain biking might belay that idea). I just love music, still…I was just stupid enough to believe I could survive rearranging musical notes for money.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RadMusic.net
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsdFR5CIgAY
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/danrad
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0705669/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1