The Alumni

Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/12/2010 - 02:36.

The Alumni are as good as the story of how the two met – they’ve been called “musical geniuses” in their work together, and that’s not a self title. The two met when “I (Anthony) was driving home from a cancelled session, (due to a guitarist flaking) and almost pulled in to my garage, when I saw Chris walking right in front, with his guitar strapped over his shoulder...and I literally stopped my truck in the middle of the street and ran up to him and asked what he ‘did=’ and if he could do a session...He mentioned he was an artist, a songwriter and a producer...A couple hours later we were in the studio together creating magic...and the rest was history.” Pretty good, right?

Today the two have worked with some amazing artists, from Jill Scott to Kaya Jones of the Pussycat Dolls. They have some new work coming up on the horizon: “Amazing, HOT new songs from some of your favorite artists... Songs to make you dance, songs to make you cry, and songs to make babies to. We are branding ourselves in the marketplace as the next ‘super-producers’.”

And if you understand their approach to what they do, you’ll understand their confidence, “Our approach has always been to really digest and analyze each artist and project for what it is (already) and instead of bringing Alumni's ‘sound’ to the project. We then figure out how we can embrace that artist's ‘sound’ and give it the Alumni touch. It is something a lot of producers don't do, by embracing what the artist brings to the project first we learn something new from the artist at the same time that they learn something from and the result is a collage of creativity that makes for great music.” That’s the kind of artist PEV loves hearing about. Keep reading for much more and all the answers to the XXQ’s.

XXQs: The Alumni

PEV: What's going through your minds the minute you enter into the studio?

Anthony: When we hit the door of the studio we forget about what's going on outside the studio walls and focus on creating great music… That is usually followed by wondering what the special of the day is at the Thai restaurant downstairs.

PEV: How did you both first meet up?

Anthony: It's actually a funny story... I was driving home from a cancelled session, (due to a guitarist flaking) and almost pulled in to my garage, when I saw Chris walking right in front, with his guitar strapped over his shoulder...and I literally stopped my truck in the middle of the street and ran up to him and asked what he "did" and if he could do a session. He mentioned he was an artist, a songwriter and a producer and a couple hours later we were in the studio together creating magic...and the rest was history.

PEV: What kind of environment do you surround yourselves in when you create music?

Anthony: Well, it depends on the genre of the artist and project we have on the table. You have to shift into THAT mode. For instance, we just had to do some crazy dance remixes for a new project, so we literally had an automated laser light show installed in the studio. You'd be amazed what kind of stuff you come up with while there are dancing lasers spinning around your head.

PEV: What can fans expect from The Alumni’s upcoming projects?

Anthony: Amazing, not new songs from some of their favorite artists produced by us. Songs to make you dance, songs to make you cry, and songs to make babies to. We are branding ourselves in the marketplace as the next "super-producers". We aren't limited to any specific genre. In doing that, we can shift and work on a Katy Perry record, a Justin Bieber record and a Snoop Dogg record all in the same week.

PEV: Tell us about your first time working together as The Alumni. How have you changed since that first time to where you are now?

Anthony: The first time we worked together we knew that we would work together for a long time. We just "clicked". The first record we wrote together was called "Foolish" and we still stumble across it from time to time and it’s STILL hot. Chris killed the vocal so well on the demo, that we never found an artist that could cut it on that level. Now, the vibe is still the same but we just understand each other more. The music has matured.

PEV: Backing up a bit, what first made you each jump into the music business?

Anthony: For me, it kind of seemed inevitable. From an early I had a nurtured love for music and I was very A.D.D. All of this together created an induced desire to learn how music was actually created. I started buying keyboards and "music-making equipment" as early as 16 years old, by the age of 19 local artists were actually offering to pay me to make music for them, so it suddenly became a "business" (only now we get paid a little more than that original $100 to produce a record).

Chris: I was always a big fan of music. My parents, especially my mom, always made music a part of our everyday life. Although I played and sang in churches all my life, I didn’t really take an interest in music seriously until I was 12 years old when I had my first recording session. I loved the process and knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. I took an immediate liking to groups like Boyz II Men, and producer/songwriters like Babyface. They both embodied all that I thought it was to be great in the music industry. Boyz II Men were great singers and performers as was Babyface, but Babyface also produced and wrote for many of his peers. I wanted to write and produce records like Babyface. So I guess Babyface and Boyz II Men are the reason that I am in the music business.

PEV: The Alumni have been called “musical geniuses”… not a bad compliment. Is this true?

Anthony: In an attempt to remain "humble" - it's a great compliment and we appreciate it very much, but we’ll let other people label us. We just do what we do. If we were not together as The Alumni, either of us would be considered a very good producer. We really are like the "Yin" to each other's "Yang" and that's the beauty of this partnership. With the diverse musical background that the two of us have, we both build each other up in whatever either of us may lack in a specific style. Whatever one of us is good at, the other is great at.

PEV: Tell us about the creative time behind the making of a song?

Anthony: There's no rhyme or reason to it, sometimes it goes down amazingly quick and we finish the song in one session. Now other times a concept is stuck in our head, and we know how hot it is, but we have to keep trying and trying at it from different angles until it comes to fruition. Sometimes we are writing for a specific artist and we have to write according to how that artist would perform on that record. Sometimes it gets tricky.

PEV: You have co-written, produced and done remixes for artists including Jill Scott, Kaya Jones (Pussycat Dolls), Raven Symone and Hannah Montana’s Mitchel Musso. How has working with such a variety of artists affected your musical influences?

Anthony: Our approach has always been to really digest and analyze each artist and project for what it is (already) and instead of bringing Alumni's "sound" to the project. We then figure out how we can embrace that artist's "sound" and give it the Alumni touch. It is something a lot of producers don't do, by embracing what the artist brings to the project first we learn something new from the artist at the same time that they learn something from and the result is a collage of creativity that makes for great music.

PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about the members of The Alumni?

Anthony: Upon the first time of working with an artist we like to engage them in an aggressive game of paint-balling. We feel if a producer/artist relationship can endure a couple of hours of being heavily pelted by speeding projectiles then the recording process should be a piece of cake!

We’re kidding! We’re jokester’s and we like to have a good time.

PEV: Was there a certain point in your life when you knew that music was going to be a career for you and you were determined to make it happen?

Anthony: No. There wasn’t a particular point. We just woke up one day and realized we were living every dream we ever had.

PEV: What’s one word best describes The Alumni?

Anthony: “OuttaDaBox” .

PEV: What artist(s) would you most like to work with?

Anthony: Jay Z, Leona Lewis, Brandy, Miley Cyrus, N*E*R*D, Ne-Yo, Will-I-Am.

PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your musical careers?

Anthony: Well, we come from a very small towns so everything new we do is exciting and amazing. We do get a lot of pretty interesting demos mailed in from "hometown" artists now.

PEV: What can we find each of you doing in your spare time, aside from writing and producing?

Anthony: Spare time? C’mon Son! Really?

PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?

Anthony: Russian Pop/R&B Superstar George Hodos. We're releasing his first single this quarter titled "Just A Man" featuring Snoop Dogg. George is a very talented artist and we expect him to do very well here in the states.

PEV: If playing/writing music was not your perfect career, what would each of you most likely be doing?

Anthony: Grand Theft Auto.

Chris: I’d probably be a Chef.

PEV: If we were to walk into your studio/space right now, what would we find?

Anthony: You’d find us…working.

PEV: So, what is next for The Alumni?

Anthony: World Domination!

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