Jamie Lamm, composer/executive producer at Fearless Music, New York, believes names should reflect action. When Lamm opened Fearless in ’95, he chose the moniker by flipping through his record collection. The title to the soundtrack of the ’93 film Fearless caught his eye and became the company name. "Fearless" epitomizes the way the music house attacks the business of providing original music and sound design for spots.
Lamm’s willingness to take risks to build a more positive creative relationship with agencies carries over into his music house’s approach to composing music. "Whenever any of us work on something, I tell them, ALook, try to make music that you’d want to hear on your television set.’ Think of it that way. Don’t think of it like, AWhat is our client trying to get us to write?’"
He says most of the clients his company works with appreciate that independent approach. "Clients that don’t appreciate that, we’re not working with them as much," explains Lamm. "The first year I spent a lot of time doing spots for people who didn’t understand what we were going for. We wound up trying to fit our square peg into their round hole, or vice versa. Now it seems like the clients are matching up with our vision as a music creator."
Fearless has worked with New York agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO, J. Walter Thompson, Uniworld Group, Grey Advertising, McCann-Erickson, and FCB Worldwide. "We’re actually in little pockets at all those agencies," Lamm explains. "I don’t think there’s one agency where we get to do a major part of their work. The pockets we’re into seem to be the more creative groups that are interested in doing younger, hotter advertising."
To service the shop’s client base, Lamm relies on his own talents, plus staff composers Billy Branigan, Gabriel Solarino, John Wiggins, and "ten freelancers that we have on a list that we use." Fearless’ studio offers 24-track recording and is equipped with total recall, lock-to-picture audio and random-access digital video.
A good example of Fearless owning up to its name can be heard in JVC’s "Excite Your Senses," helmed by freelance director/DP Jamie Rosenberg through J. Thomas, New York, via R&J Integrated Marketing Communications, Parsipanny, N.J. The spot, which is driven entirely by music, is a mix of live action and CG that features a tour of several human organs that are simulated by JVC products.
Lamm likes the creative challenge lent by projects such as "Excite Your Senses." The method the agency used to produce the spot appeals to him even more. "All they had done was to get a storyboard and a concept approved by their client," he recalls. "They put us all in a room together, probably three months ago. The beauty of that whole job was that the editor, the DP, the director, the producer, the agency creatives and the client were all there. That’s the rare part, having the client there. It was probably the first time I’ve done a job where everybody met everybody face to face, and we all discussed it in an adult and intelligent way. It all came together marvelously."
Some of Lamm’s other recent work includes four Three Musketeers spots out of Uniworld Group. Two of the spots, "Missing Chocolate" and "Missing Cask," were directed by Gayle Ayers of Will Vinton Studios, Portland, Ore., while "Tanker" and "Half-A-Tanker" were helmed by Matthew Brunner, also of Will Vinton Studios. Other spots include "E-File" for the IRS, which was directed by Linzi Knight of Open Frame Productions, New York, out of Emmerling Post Advertising, New York; and "Jackie Chan" for online brokerage TD Waterhouse, directed by Bruce Van Dusen of Pfeifer Van Dusen, New York, for Emmerling Post. In addition to Fearless Music’s ad work, the company also produced a CD for Theo Eastwind, a performer Lamm describes as an alternative folk artist whom he found playing on the New York City subway.
"E-File" uses a hip, alternative rock track to persuade taxpayers to file tax returns electronically. In "Jackie Chan," the action star battles intruders while attempting to complete an online trade with TD Waterhouse. The spot’s score is an action picture-style soundtrack. "Missing Chocolate" and "Missing Cask" feature animated Musketeers performing in storylines that parody the Mad Max and Indiana Jones films.
Lamm manages to catch the spirit of the music from the features without resorting to mimicry. "Whenever you emulate somebody’s else’s music, it sounds cheesy and watered-down," he says. "I’ll watch TV commercials and hear something come on, and I will know what kind of track [from a popular song] it was edited to. It never sounds as good."
Lamm is pleased that agencies are not necessarily calling music companies at the last minute anymore. "I don’t know why it got so bad," he says. "Probably because people weren’t looking ahead, or maybe the account people threw the job in the face [of agency creatives] at the last minute. I think it’s bad planning when that happens. The good news is now people are starting to plan ahead."
