‘Sons of Anarchy’ Band Forest Rangers Reunites at The Mint on Nov. 29-30
By DONNA BALANCIA
Bob Thiele Jr., the music supervisor on “The Mayans,” and who created the sound of “Sons of Anarchy” says success with sync licensing is just as much luck as talent.
Thiele is the band leader for The Forest Rangers, which generated the road-ready sound for the “Sons of Anarchy.” The Forest Rangers will reunite at The Mint on Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30.
Thiele took the time to have a chat with California Rocker on the ins and outs of the music supervising business.
Q. How does one get into music supervision?
A. With music supervision, there’s no school you can go to,” he said. “It’s kind of like A and R. It’s a mystery. From my own experience — having done both — it’s really a matter of luck.
Q. What’s the secret to getting a gig?
A. It’s who you know and how much you hang around. Great A and R guys have made terrible records and terrible A and R guys have certainly gotten lucky here and there with a great record. It really is a matter of luck for both. There is no science.
Q. Is there money in the industry?
A. If you want to be a music sup, don’t expect to make a lot of money. And give up any ideas of it being at all glamorous (you’d be better off in A and R). Hang out and try and find show creators and producers.
Q. Should people call around to find work?
A. Don’t waste your time calling studios and networks. Those people have little say in who gets hired for a series.
Q. How can a band or musician get their work on a show?
A. For a band or musician wanting to get their songs into shows, same advice. Avoid the studio and network people and talk to supervisors and show creators. Also, not a bad idea to find picture editors because they do temp music into the cuts as they work on piecing together the episodes. Too often, a song will land for the director or producer because the temp music works so well.
For tickets to The Forest Rangers at The Mint go here.
