{"id":295,"date":"2014-06-16T23:24:34","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T23:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/?p=295"},"modified":"2014-07-10T02:54:42","modified_gmt":"2014-07-10T02:54:42","slug":"interview-with-simpsons-composer-alf-clausen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afm47.org\/press\/interview-with-simpsons-composer-alf-clausen\/","title":{"rendered":"Woo-Hoo! Interview with ‘Simpsons’ composer Alf Clausen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"alf<\/a><\/p>\n

Clausen reflects on 25 years making music for TV\u2019s favorite dysfunctional cartoon family<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d first aired in 1989, no one expected it to become the longest-running situation comedy ever on TV \u2014 especially not composer Alf Clausen, who almost didn\u2019t take the job. Clausen, who this year celebrates 25 years with the show, was initially more interested in composing for dramas and repeatedly turned down requests from Fox producers and show creator Matt Groening to compose for the show. After much cajoling, he signed on with \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d\u2008starting off with \u201cTreehouse of Horror,\u201d the third episode of season two, in 1990. He\u2019s been with the yellow-skinned dysfunctional family ever since, and to date has scored 534 of the 550 episodes, receiving two Emmy awards and 21 additional nominations for his work on the show along the way. Clausen speaks here with Linda A. Rapka about spending the past quarter century with \u201cThe Simpsons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your \u201cSimpsons\u201d music was just performed the TV Academy\u2019s Score! concert. What was it like to hear it live?<\/strong>
\n\u201cI thought it was great, it was so inspirational. I know the crowd really enjoyed it too. The orchestra played it beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n

I love that you chose \u201cStonecutters Song\u201d from \u201cHomer the Great\u201d \u2013 a personal favorite of mine. Whose idea was it to change the lyric from \u201cWho makes Steve Guttenberg a star\u201d to \u201cKim Kardashian\u201d?<\/strong>
\n\u201cAnd \u2018Oscar\u2019 to \u2018Emmy.\u2019 That was producer Mark Watters\u2019 doing. It was really funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was last night the first time\u00a0you’ve\u00a0had your \u201cSimpsons\u201d music performed to an audience with a\u00a0live orchestra?<\/strong>
\n\u201cActually it was the second time. We had an event on the Fox Lot, for the \u2018Simpsons\u2019 Fan Fest. Winners were flown in and hosted as guests on the Fox lot; this was several years ago. As part of their reward, we had a big stage set up outside. We had the orchestra on the stage and we performed playing to the \u2018Simpsons\u2019 clips. The crowd just loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cSimpsons\u201d episodes that feature song parodies seem to be the most beloved by fans, myself included. Are they fun for you? Or are they just more work?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThat\u2019s an interesting question. They are more work because I can\u2019t just sit down and write. I have to spend some time researching and listening to the original tracks I\u2019m supposed to emulate. Once I figure out what\u2019s going on, I make my initial notes about what would remind the audience melodically, harmonically, organically, rhythmically, orchestrationally, and everything else that goes into making that first song a hit. Once I figure how that all out, I try to craft my own song that contains those elements but which has my original touch. It doesn’t happen overnight, but fortunately for me, the producers are very supportive and give me the necessary time I need. My schedule doesn’t force me to record a score every week. Sometimes we\u2019ll record only two episodes in a row before getting a week\u2019s break. That is intended to recharge all of us and keep us going. It\u2019s a bit of an unusual schedule in that I\u2019m responsible for underscore and original songs as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite musical \u201cSimpsons\u201d episode?<\/strong>
\n\u201c\u2018Stonecutters.\u2019 I also love the Tito Puente stuff in \u2018Se\u00f1or Burns.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you watch the show?<\/strong>
\n\u201cOh yeah. I watch every Sunday night in prime time, to review myself. I\u2019m always my own worst critic. We\u2019ll record on a Friday, mix on Monday or Tuesday, and air the following Sunday. I always make sure I watch every episode to make sure what I intended to happen with the score has happened, and that the producers didn’t drop or modify something. We have a \u2018pow-wow\u2019 the next week to find out if or why they dropped or added something.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds like all on the team have a very hands-on approach to the show,<\/strong>
\n\u201cWe are all very hands-on. That\u2019s what I love about it. My exec producer Al Jean, he\u2019s very hands-on. He and I have a shorthand now in music spotting. He can describe a scene and tell it to me in emotional terms, and I can tell what the music should be. We don\u2019t speak music-speak. We just speak emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date\u00a0you’ve\u00a0scored 534 of the 550 episodes. How many cues is that?<\/strong>
\n\u201cI had a tentative count last year; over 12,000 cues. Since we started the show, we have kept consecutive take numbers of every cue that we record, so when we go back to find something later, it\u2019s easier to find. Not too long ago, we passed 30,000 takes. It\u2019s nuts! It\u2019s really wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 25 years, is it difficult to keep things fresh?<\/strong>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge. No question about it. The toughest part for me is the schedule. How can I describe it…? It\u2019s unrelenting. And unforgiving. We\u2019re responsible for turning in a completed episode to the network and the schedule has to be backed up from there. Usually we have a bit of play-room, but not much. If something goes haywire down the road, everybody suffers. Something could happen to the animation a year before the air date, and it affects every person down the line. Say I asked for two weeks, but all of a sudden my drop-dead air date doesn’t change and I lose a week because of something beyond my control\u2026D\u2019oh! So the schedule is a challenge, but we shall prevail!\u201d<\/p>\n

Which \u201cSimpsons\u201d character do you most identify with?<\/strong>
\n\u201cComic Book Guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

You responded to that extremely quickly!<\/strong>
\n\u201cYou can tell it\u2019s a true feeling. I have three children and we used to visit the comic book store in Northridge on Reseda. The owner is so like the \u2018Simpsons\u2019 proprietor; it\u2019s really a hoot. I just love it when he says, \u2018Worst… episode… ever!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a \u201cSimpsons\u201d quote for every single moment in life. I speak several throughout the day, every day.<\/strong>
\n\u201c(Laughs) I do too. We\u2019re all in need of emotional help, you know. My favorite is when Lisa is in the backseat of the car and says, \u2018Could this be the end of this series\u2026 of events?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The show still uses a full live orchestra, something becoming more of a rarity each year. <\/strong>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s thanks to Matt Groening and his enjoyment of having acoustic music. The reason he enjoys it is that sometimes when the final animation comes back, it\u2019s a little rougher than they\u2019d prefer, and he says acoustic music smooths out the animation\u2026that in addition to bumping up the emotion and giving more of a heightened sense of reality to whatever scene I\u2019m accompanying. It gives the scenes legitimacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The music gives a real warmth to the show.<\/strong>
\n\u201cWe can combine all those feelings at once. I like to say I can make you feel five ways in 13 seconds on this show. We can turn on a dime from comedy to a real poignant scene; we don\u2019t ever stay with a single emotion very long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have any particular tricks to infuse humor or a particular mood into a musical cue?<\/strong>
\n\u201cYes, but I\u2019ll never tell! I need every trick I can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so great to know that after all these years you still appreciate \u201cThe Simpsons.\u201d And it really comes through in your music.<\/strong>
\n\u201cHow could I not appreciate it? In my situation \u2018The Simpsons\u2019 has taken over my life. My dedication to the show is 1000%. I’ve accepted the fact that I probably don\u2019t get a certain number of calls because they know that I\u2019m so busy. Which is just fine with me. We\u2019re scoring mini-movies every week. I don\u2019t have to spend many, many months on a single score and many, many more months on a different project. Full-length features would have been great, but I love the instantaneous satisfaction of TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

You originally didn’t want to take on this job. How would life have been different if you\u00a0hadn’t\u00a0changed your mind?<\/strong>
\n\u201cI probably would have been lucky enough to pursue a career as a drama composer for movies, features-of-the-week, and TV shows. But \u2018The Simpsons\u2019 is a whole different deal. So many times the laughter factor is worth its weight in gold. I can go to a music spotting and see the episode for the first time and get true belly laughs every week. It\u2019s so intensely funny \u2014 you can\u2019t buy that. It\u2019s something that has to happen from within.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean there’s been cake in our freezer for eleven years?! Why was I not informed?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u2013 Homer J. Simpson <\/em><\/strong>(<\/em>Episode 203, “Natural Born Kissers\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

At the Bridge Recording on May 9, \u201cSimpsons\u201d orchestra musicians surprised composer Alf Clausen with a cake to celebrate his 25 years writing music for the series. Photos by Gayle Levant.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t