I received a call late December from a Producer in the U.S. who told me that Zorro would be produced at the Hale Theatre, Salt Lake City. He told me that they would be using backing tracks for the run and that he was in charge of recording the backing tracks. He had previously phoned various Guitarists on the L.A session scene, including the Guitarist who recorded the parts for Zorro the motion picture, without success. At the time, he was using as a reference the original cast recording from the west end and, having no luck finding someone locally, searched out the Guitarist who did the recording – me! So, he called and asked if I would make the trip to Salt Lake City and spend three days in the studio recording all the guitar parts for the show. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and was on the plane from Schipol Airport less than 10 hours after playing the last note of the Dutch tour in Apeldoorn….
It was a great experience and fantastic to work with such professional, talented musicians. Barry Gibbons, the owner of the studios (The MT Pit) collected me at the airport and took me for dinner with his wife and children before I checked in to my hotel. We began recording at 9am the following morning and spent the next three full days in the studio and even the final day before I flew to New York we squeezed another 3 or 4 hours in to polish some bits up.
Barry’s son Michael Gibbons recorded and produced the soundtrack and was an absolute pleasure to work with. He has the enthusiasm of a youngster but the wisdom and knowledge as if he had been in the business for 40 years, a real pro.
All in all, a fantastic experience and a job well don. This was one of those jobs that reminds me why I love doing what I do.
