Dren McDonald
- Collegiate
- Technology and Applied Composition
- Technology & Applied Composition
Contact
Departments
Technology and Applied Composition
Education
BA - CSULB
Courses Taught
Middleware, Advanced Game Audio
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Long Beach, CA
What is your favorite recording? Why?
That's tough. Sly Stone's "Fresh", Captain Beefheart "Ella Guru", Fela Kuti "Zombie", John Lurie's "Stranger Than Paradise", Brittany Howard "Jaime", James Brown "Mother Popcorn", Sharon Jones "Soul Time"
What are you passionate about outside of music?
Indie film, creativity, modern art, indie games
Who were your major teachers?
Chuck Wackerman, Lanny Cordola
What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?
"All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this." - Ira Glass
What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?
After my first gig at 12 years old. My band played AC/DC and Black Sabbath covers for my junior high at lunchtime in 8th grade and we became heroes! I guess I was hooked after that.
What was a turning point in your career?
Switching from the music industry (post-Napster) into the game industry, where I actually ended up writing a lot more music and began to work with a lot of different musicians.
If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?
Probably some kind of storytelling or visual art (film or painting, though I can't draw very well at all...it is fun though)
What is your daily practice routine?
I wish I had one - every day is different between mixing, writing, recording, implementing, sound designing etc...I try to keep my voice in shape every day, and get some guitar/bass in most days but it depends on the current project that I'm working on.
If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?
ackk!, JS Bach, Kurt Weil, Debussy, James Brown, Miles, Mingus (i think i failed that question)
What is your unrealized project?
I have a huge backlog of ideas to move on to next, there's always something
Please list your most important collaborations.
"Lonely Lullaby" with Iva Bittová (on my Polyhedren "Psychic" record), "Sixteen Gold Candles" with The Residents and Josh Freese (also on the Polyhedren record), "Fading" with Sophia James (coming soon on my Vox Pterous record...this collaboration was an experiment which inspired me to write/record the rest of the record)
What recordings can we hear you on?
"Oceanic" - Dren McDonald (Appearing Records), "Pterous" - Dren McDonald (Appearing Records), The Residents – Secret Show (Live In San Francisco) - Cherry Red Records, Masterminds 2 Music Kit Box (Counterstrike 2), "Psychic" - Polyhedren - BAMP Records
Biography
Dren has made many different impressions throughout his musical adventure. From touring and releasing records with Giant Ant Farm in the 90s, founding Vaccination Records Co, to composing/sound designing for over 75 video games, scoring for film, TV, animation and theme parks his music has been enjoyed by millions. He's recently collaborated with artists such as The Residents, Nels Cline (Wilco) Josh Freese (Foo Fighters/NIN), Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) , Ivá Bittova (Nonesuch), and many others. Visit the Nerdtracks site for details on his interactive music and sound design work.