Before I Go: an Interview with Film Composer and Songwriter Matthew Puckett
For most people, the most recognizable and memorable modern music is found in motion picture soundtracks. Movie music creates mood, advances a plot, and tells the film’s story in notes. The music can be extremely sophisticated, employing sounds and musical concepts that audiences wouldn’t listen to in a concert setting but learn to love when heard in a movie. The best scores find second or third lives in other genres—most frequently in the hands of solo artists and orchestras. For composers talented and fortunate enough to break into the movie business, soundtracks allow them the chance to have their music heard by a wide audience and to be better remunerated than most other forms of composition.
Matthew Puckett is one such composer. An award-winning song writer and film composer, he has written music for movies, TV shows, bands, and individual performers. He won a Peabody Award for his songs and score for the seven-part documentary ABC Series Hopkins and was the recipient of an ASCAP Film/TV Award for his song ʻSkylineʻ, the theme to the critically acclaimed ABC series NY Med. His new musical REBEL GENIUS was a finalist for the Jonathan Larson Grant presented by The American Theater Wing. His most recent project, the soundtrack to the feature film Before I Go, is a study in elegant understatement. Employing little more than solo piano, Puckett’s music gives voice to the main character’s journey from depression to hope. It is an honor to feature him and his music on No Dead Guys.
At what age did you become interested in music and when did you begin taking lessons?
My godfather gave me a pair of bongos when I was two or three years old and, according to my parents, I would use pencils as drumsticks to play them. They finally bought me my first drum kit when I was six and I would bang on them and sing at the same time. Then I realized that the piano was a better accompaniment. So I started taking lessons, which I dreaded. I never really enjoyed piano lessons until one of my teachers began improvising with me. Later, I started teaching myself how to play guitar in high school. And I continue to play all three, although the drums don’t get as much attention as they used to.
How many instruments do you play, and which do you consider your primary instrument(s)?
Piano, drums and guitar. I play piano the most. Piano is like magic to me - there’s so much complexity just waiting there all the time. And, for me, it’s never hard to reach. But I love guitar as well. And it’s much easier to travel with!
When did you become interested in composition and what type of pieces did you first write?
I’ve been singing songs for as long as I can remember—banging on the drums and yelping at the top of my lungs before I knew what I was doing. So, I consider myself a songwriter before a composer. My first songs were pretty basic but when I started playing piano I loved to improvise for hours. To this day, I love piano improvisation. I hold pianists, such as Jarret and Iyer, who are brilliant, in the highest regard.
Who or what encouraged you to pursue writing film scores, and how did you break into this extremely competitive industry?
I was working as a bartender at a cozy place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Lots of the people who came in to drink were fancy; actors, musicians and TV personalities. ABC news had their headquarters right across the street. I would split my evenings between bartending and playing shows and, whenever I could, I would invite my customers to come see me. This was over 15 years ago and my wife and I had just had our first child.
One day a producer from ABC came to see me at the Living Room, which, at the time, was on Allen Street in the East Village. He came to the bar the next night and asked me to write the theme song for his new reality series. Of course, I thought he was drunk. So, I told him I could write all the music, including the underscore which, at the time, I had absolutely no idea how to do. To my utter shock he called me the next day and agreed. I’ve never looked back. That producer's name is Terry Wrong and I will be forever grateful to him. It’s thanks to him that I have a Peabody Award sitting in my studio.
You’ve created a career as an award-winning songwriter and film composer, and you recently wrote a musical, Rebel Genius. Which came first, how do you balance all of these things, and how do you feel each enhances the other?
That’s a really great question because musical theater was a huge part of my life before anything else. My parents both came from a background of dancing and singing in musicals. My mother was in the chorus of a couple Elvis films and my father owned a Broadway poster gallery. He would get free tickets to a lot of the shows and I would, reluctantly, go with him. So, this was the beginning of my music education. The first time I heard someone sing in front of a live audience wasn't a music concert – it was A Chorus Line. But I resisted going into writing musicals for years and years, although I think all of my best songs tell a story. It’s only in the past 10 years or so that I’ve given in to the fact that musical theater is at the core of my being.
Tell me about Before I Go, your most recent film score. How did you come to be involved with the project and what attracted you to the story?
I think this is the fourth or fifth (?) film that I’ve scored for Eric Schaeffer. I enjoy working with him very much. He always allows me to take a risk. The template of this score was initially his idea – he wanted something simple that would express the main character, played by Annabella Sciorra, and her loneliness, existential crisis and solitude. Solo piano seemed like a perfect choice. Also, the character is a former songwriter who no longer writes. In a way, the piano is her music, albeit without any lyrics.
The soundtrack of Before I Go contains many hauntingly beautiful piano solos, most of which underscore the main character’s moments of loneliness and isolation. Why did you feel the piano best represented the character’s state of mind?
Thank you. I think piano is so beautiful. Even when you try to make it sound ugly it’s still so truthful and lovely. It can’t help itself. Piano is my favorite instrument. It’s so versatile - it can be polished and pristine and then it can expose emotion in a raw way. As I said, Eric first came up with the idea of it being piano. I tried to keep it as naked as possible although there are some ambient guitars floating in the background like watercolors.
The piano tracks were recorded on what sounded to be an old, slightly out-of-tune upright piano. What inspired you to choose this instrument for these pieces?
Wow, good ear. You nailed it. My studio piano is an old Kohler and Campbell upright. This instrument has truly lived. I keep the front panel off so I can see the hammers. It’s like an old friend I can always rely on. The character that Annabella plays is pretty broken and exposed, as well. So it was a very good fit.
I was impressed by how you used movement in the music to mirror the main character’s emotional state throughout the movie. Tell me about how your understanding of the character’s evolution influenced your compositional choices?
Thanks for saying that. I feel like so much of film scoring, and music composing overall, is intuitive. For some reason, on this film, I would begin with a small figure and repeat it until it felt time to change. It seemed to work, as if the music was reflecting her being stuck. And as she slowly became unstuck...the music could move as well.
Where might people listen to the soundtrack to Before I Go?
It’s out there on all the platforms from Spotify to Amazon music. Thanks for listening, everyone!
Will piano selections from Before I Go be available in sheet music? If so, where may they be purchased?
I haven’t made any of the sheet music available, yet. But I will. In the meantime, me and my team can be contacted through my website - I’ll make sure to get sheets to anyone who wants them.
What advice would you offer to young composers wishing to break into film scoring?
Write lots of music. Write all the time. The more you write, the more you learn who you are and the happier you’ll be. And then - when the guy walks into your bar and offers you a job; you’ll be ready.
Originally from New York City, Matthew Puckett is an award-winning songwriter and composer based in Los Angeles. Matthew has worked with numerous bands and artists such as: Rogue Wave, The Mowgli's, Marsha Ambrosius, Jeremy Jordan, Shawn Hook, Kris Allen, Royal Tongues, Glenn Phillips, Beginners, Valen and Garrison Starr.
Matthew won a Peabody Award for his songs and score for the seven-part documentary ABC Series Hopkins and was the recipient of an ASCAP Film/TV Award for his song ʻSkylineʻ, the theme to the critically acclaimed ABC series NY Med. His new musical REBEL GENIUS was a finalist for the Jonathan Larson Grant presented by The American Theater Wing.
Matthew's unique TV and Film scores include Caught (Anna Camp), Guidance (Dreamworks/AwesomenessTV), Best Friends Forever (Brea Grant, Selection SLAMDANCE), Dial A Prayer (Brittany Snow, William H. Macy), Some Boys Don't Leave (Jesse Eisenberg, Winner TriBeCa Film Fest), Gravity (STARZ), Still Single (Showtime) and Before I Go (Starring Annabella Sciorra).
Other film and television music credits include: Southpaw (dir. Antoine Fuqua), Katy Keene (THE CW), Eye Candy (MTV), NCIS: LA (CBS), Being Human (SyFy), Hooking Up (ABC), Held Up starring The Sklar Brothers (Feature/Sony), 'Never Again' (Focus Features), and Make It Or Break It (Disney), Finding Carter (MTV). Matthew co-wrote and produced the song “Cold Blood” by Valen featured in the latest version of the videogame The Sims from Electronic Arts.
Matthew is the recipient of the New Works commission from IAMA Theater Company in Los Angeles for his song cycle “THE EVERGREEN”. He is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild and is published by Kobalt Music.