Date: 14 Feb 2006
Posted by: Radical Edward
Some of you may remember the Dear Friends interview that we had last year with Jason Michael Paul; and once again we have been fortunate enough to for him to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer some more questions this year on the PLAY! concert series and the game music industry.
AdventChildren.net: How different has it working with material from different composers and games, in contrast to Dear Friends?
Jason Michael Paul: There is a lot more support of video game concerts due to the success of Dear Friends. Publishers, and composers are putting forth materials and ideas that will ultimately lend to a better show for PLAY!. In the case of Dear Friends, Square Enix ultimately was in control of their properties, i.e. the music, images, etc. not the composers (Nobuo Uematsu). On Dear Friends, I felt as if I was micro managed and not able to contribute as much as I am able to now with my own creation of PLAY!. I feel as if PLAY! will be everything that I could not do with Dear Friends.
AC.net: As you noted in last years interview, one of the difficulties in the Dear Friends tour was getting Square-Enix to see the value of the tour. Have you faced similar problems this year with the additional companies?
JMP: I have not experienced this thus far. The support of the publishers is there and we are working to further the trust and prove everyday that this is something that will add to the credibility of their product(s) and ultimately create more brand awareness and demand.
AC.net: What were the criteria that you used when determining the songs and series to be highlighted in the concerts?
JMP: There are many factors. Here are a few:
- Blockbuster titles with world wide appeal. Our concert series extends beyond the US as it is a World Tour so we had to be conscious of the fact that what is considered a well known title may not be as well known in Stockholm or Portugal for instance. We choose our music on mass appeal that is far reaching and not limiting to our audience.
- The level of support from the publishers plays a big part in the selection process. For example, if a publisher gives us no support than we don’t feel obligated to play their music. For instance, we only feel obligated to the composer because Uematsu-san for example is a big supporter of our project. He is lending to our program in a big way and this announcement will come soon.
- We always take into consideration the orchestrations that exist and or what needs to be created in order for the music to be performed. Due to our teams experience over the years much of the music has been performed at other shows making it easier for us to provide the sheet music to our presenting partners or orchestras, etc. We have orchestrations from past concerts because we created them. For instance Swing de Chocobo that was performed at More Friends in LA last year was arranged and orchestrated exclusively for that concert by my team. Most of the songs that are a part of our program we have the scores for and orchestra parts. Mostly we can just adjust or change little parts. On some songs we will be creating our own brand new orchestrations. For example, a title like Kingdom Hearts 2 is brand new and never performed live before by an orchestra. That will require a new orchestration.
We listen to our fans and of course we have our own personal favorites.
AC.net: What are some locations that you are planning on visiting with this tour, and do you think any will come as a surprise?
JMP: We are planning a world tour. We have already announced Stockholm, Sweden, and Chicago, IL. I can tell you that we have some east coast US performances that will be announced shortly. Our concerts will be performed by some of the best orchestras in the world at some of the most prestigious venues that exist in the world. We need the support of the fans to buy tickets. Please check our website at www.play-symphony.com as dates will be announced constantly and ticket purchase information can all be found there. We also have a newsletter that fans can sign up for to be the first to hear about the latest dates and information about the tour.
AC.net: One of the major points that people remember about the Dear Friends tour was the energy and passion displayed by the attendees and fans; will you be doing anything with the PLAY! Tour to encourage this?
JMP: Of course! It is all about the fans. I have many things in store to create a one of a kind experience. The show will continue to evolve. There will be special guests, new arrangements, visual elements, limited edition merchandise, etc. My job is to keep the energy and excitement for every single show not just one. It is my mission to make every concert attendee feel apart of the show from exiting the car in the parking lot to coming in contact with the venue to sitting in their seat and exiting the venue. It is the total experience. I intend to immerse the audience member in this experience. Perhaps the single most difficult thing for me to do is to keep the fans engaged wanting more all the time. I do not take the fans for granted so I am constantly looking for unique ways to reach people that attend my shows.
AC.net: We've seen a steady increase in the popularity and complexity of video game music. It's gone from beeps and clicks in the background, to full blown orchestrated soundtracks. How does it make you feel when you see gamers and every day listeners appreciating this music on such a grand scale?
JMP: It is the best feeling! I truly feel that I am serving as an impresario much like my mentor and former boss Tibor Rudas did with Pavarotti and the Three Tenors over thirty years ago. When Pavarotti came onto the scene people didn’t even know who he was. They didn’t know about opera singers. Some knew about operas such as Tosca but that was for the Opera halls not major venues with thousands of people. My goal is to bring video game music to the masses. I want video game music to be regarded as great by all music aficionados' not just video game fans. I truly feel that I have made this a reality here in the states and hope to expand this concept to the world. I want to dispel the notion that video game music is purely a niche. I want to prove that the music can be accepted by all.
AC.net: You were one of the masterminds behind bringing video game music, namely Final Fantasy, into the US concert scene. What made you finally decide to bring such concerts stateside?
JMP: I was consulting with Square Enix on a variety of projects since 2000 collaborating mostly with Kyoko Yamashita and Jun Iwasaki formerly of Square Enix now with XSEED Games/ Marketing. She was truly the mastermind behind the success that the company enjoyed for over six years regarding the marketing campaigns of all the games that were churned out there during her tenure. Kyoko and I saw eye to eye on the value of production, and music as a great means of promotion for their products. They wanted to make a big splash at E3 in 2004 since Square merged with Enix to form Square Enix. The Disney Concert Hall had just opened in October of that year. She knew what I was doing with Pavarotti in terms of orchestras and choirs and presenting them. We both knew the beauty of the music of FINAL FANTASY. Well anyways, I had this grand vision for Square’s first ever stateside press event. We also wanted to give the fans their first video game music concert. I had the resources and the knowledge to pull off such a press event and concert and one thing led to the other. After the success of Dear Friends I could not help but see the potential of such a phenomenon. After much lobbying with SQEX (Square Enix Japan) and convincing they granted me a license to perform a series of shows.
AC.net: So far, Dear Friends is the only concert series to leave California, are there any plans in the works for a More Friends, or even a Black Mages tour?
JMP: In my opinion it is impossible. First of all these shows are too expensive. No one is as crazy as me. I was seriously crazy to have promoted More Friends in LA. I took a huge financial loss on that show. One thing the fans should know is that I was the one who spent my own money on all of the shows for Dear Friends and More Friends. I truly believe in the music of Nobuo Uematsu and other video game music composers and that is why I continue with it. I stuck it out because I wanted to promote the brand of Square Enix and I wanted to give the fans a one of a kind concert and something new at that.
To have all of the members of the Black Mages tour is somewhat impossible because they are all employed by Square Enix with the exception of Uematsu-san.
AC.net: One of the biggest complains that fans of video game music has been the high cost of importing CDs (typically between $30 and $50, not counting shipping); do you feel that the success of these concert series may encourage companies to produce more domestic sound tracks?
JMP: We recorded the More Friends show in LA with the Black Mages, Emiko Shiratori, RIKKI, and the US debut of the live performance from Final Fantasy VI, Maria and Draco. It is the first live symphonic video game music concert ever recorded outside of Japan. This is scheduled for release in Japan on February 15, 2006. Please visit our website for more information at the PLAY! Symphony Shop. It is also important to note that we will be selling this wonderful CD at on our PLAY! concert tour. We also are planning to release a CD/DVD of a PLAY! concert some time soon. We will have announcements on that as well very soon.
AC.net: Excluding Final Fantasy, what game music are you most excited to see performed?
JMP: World of Warcraft, Morrowind, Sonic the Hedgehog
AC.net: On a more personal note, if you had to pick three video game songs out that you think everyone should hear what would they be?
JMP: Swing de Chocobo (More Friends LA), One Winged Angel, Soon to be released Opening Fanfare for PLAY! A Video Game Symphony composed by the most famous video game composer of all time. Hint: FINAL FANTASY. This will be performed exclusively at our concerts. Get your tickets as this is a one of a kind show that is not to be missed! I promise!
There you have it - more incite from one of the leading names in the game music industry. Once again we would like to thank Jason Michael Paul for taking the time to answer our questions.
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