Bruce Faulconer didn't make his own music?

[TVfan721]

So, in one of the articles written on DBZOA and DBZ Uncensored 2, it was claimed that Bruce Falconer wasn't solely responsible for the soundtrack he's credited with and had a team of ghostwriters helping him with all aspects of the music. Is this the case?

To GSM777's credit, there was a actually a guy in 2008 that made several comments on You Tube. He said he worked on Bruce's team during DBZ and he actually said the exact same thing that GSM777 claimed. Has anyone ever heard anything about this?

[Metalwario64]

To GSM777's credit, there was a actually a guy in 2008 that made several comments on You Tube. He said he worked on Bruce's team during DBZ and he actually said the exact same thing that GSM777 claimed. Has anyone ever heard anything about this?

Yes, he's a member of this very forum. He goes by the username of "cRookie_Monster".

[TVfan721]

Yes, that was the name! Cool, I didn't know he posted here.

[Bardo117]

Yeah his music DID get better after the Frieza saga...

[cRookie_Monster]

I prefer to call the music "Faulconer Productions" music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_sXOquzxps



Actually Mike Smith (my coworker) was there at Faulconer Productions from the beginning. He was hired a by Faulconer a year before me. I came on as a music editor (though the job ad was labeled "assistant composer") with episode "Frieza Fighting Power One Million?"

(Episode 93 "Keep the Chance Alive")
(1:22 to 3:44)

I started adding real guitar into the tracks beginning with a track in the Garlic Jr Saga erroneously called "Gohan Fights Frieza" (originally used for Gohan killing the Spice Boys)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-WFjpRCSlc
(The power chords starting at 0:13)

Unfortunately I had to leave the studio near the beginning of the Heaven's Tournament, so after that, all the guitar was synth again. The Grand Kai and Pikkon themes were my last arrangements\performances for the show.

Can you link the article you were talking about?
I did find this:
http://animecauldron.com/dbzuncensored2 ... hives.html
which has some interesting stuff in it ^^. Ah the bad old days of only seeing hatred for the dub score on the web. I actually agree with a lot of the detractors' points, but w/e. That's a whole nother discussion.

[Attitudefan]

Well I love The Dead Zone track. It's rippin' with guitar. Anyways, I prefer many of the Frieza saga songs. I don't know why, but they're just great! I didn't like some of the Buu saga-Cell saga songs because of this screeching guitar that sounds so bothersome. But Faulconer music is pretty awesome overall (well at least for me).

Really though, the Garlic Jr saga ost's are actually one of the best; it deserves more credit.

[cRookie_Monster]

Well I love The Dead Zone track. It's rippin' with guitar. Anyways, I prefer many of the Freeza saga songs. I don't know why, but they're just great! I didn't like some of the Buu saga-Cell saga songs because of this screeching guitar that sounds so bothersome. But Faulconer music is pretty awesome overall (well at least for me).

Really though, the Garlic Jr saga ost's are actually one of the best; it deserves more credit.

Thanks man Garlic Jr series was the first time I got to work on a lot of themes. That was fun even it was goofy filler ^^

Yeah the synth guitar could get grating sometimes... =\ I definitely hear you there.

[Patient-mental]

You arranged the Paikuhan theme? That's so unfair, out of all of the themes, you arranged the one which still absolutely blows my mind still to this day?
Well done! I'd love to see that played by you, even if it is synthy and not in the theme of dragon ball i still really enjoy that techno piece. It is a little frustrating that you can't disclose things for legal reasons but, meh, that's how things are.
Hope life's treating you well mate.

[Ahiru77]

Lies, ALL LIES!

He's a musical genius.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Yeah his music DID get better after the Freeza saga...

And had more variety aswell.



But "Ginyu Transformation" was just badass.

[caejones]

I was going to attempt to say that I don't mind the synth guitar. Then I realized that coming up with a decent substitute with the rolland synth that comes with windows doesn't strike me as difficult. Well, in the case of the "Gohan gets mad and pwns things" song. Which I guess predates the improvements that worked for the later sagas. (I don't find the synth in Buu-saga stuff bothersome at all... it's kinda impressive, really...)

Now, if only there were such a thing as decent synth brass. Aside from the never-seen-in-DBZ French Horn... XD
(Ok, so I do have a keyboard with decent brass, but it doesn't interface with anything. It's from like 1993. )

I feel kinda odd, now, as I remember liking the deadzone theme a lot, but don't really remember what it sounds like. . *Goes on a quest to regain memory*

[TVfan721]

Can you link the article you were talking about?
I did find this:
http://animecauldron.com/dbzuncensored2 ... hives.html
which has some interesting stuff in it ^^. Ah the bad old days of only seeing hatred for the dub score on the web. I actually agree with a lot of the detractors' points, but w/e. That's a whole nother discussion.

Sure thing man. It's VERY hard to read because there's barely any structure to the editorial. I'll post the link but I'll also copy and paste the part where he said it. I warn you though man, the article was crazy so don't be freaked out if you decide to click on the link, haha.

"And Faulconer does NOT collaborate with top musicians across America like Toei did for Japan. However- he does hire SOMEBODY- ghost writers to mix and create his own music for him! That's right, Bruce Faulconer doesn't actually make all of his own music even though he takes full credit for it and pretends that he does! Notice how the music quality improved slightly when the Garlic Jr. saga began? That's because Bruce brought in a bunch of kids fresh from college to help him out starting at around that time!

So let's get this straight- Toei does the equivalent of hiring Japanese pop and rock and orchestral quality music of what it'd be like if Faulconer had hired musicians like Britney Spears, Led Zeppelin or the New York Symphony Orchestra, or any orchestra for that matter. He can't even afford one of the smaller orchestras with the shoestring budget he has. Instead of collaborating with top elite artists from across the country, Faulconer hires a bunch of kids fresh from college (either the one he used to go to or just a local college) and claims their work as his own. Even worse, usually the good songs AREN'T the ones he personally records, they're just the ones made by others. And even your high leader Fukunaga agrees with me too!"

http://animecauldron.com/dbzuncensored2 ... unter.html

[GizmoKSX]

It's always a shame when musicians/composers aren't properly credited. I didn't realize until a few months ago when Scott posted here that Faulconer didn't handle everything.
By the way, the "Darth Vegeta" theme is awesome. Nice shredding!

[cRookie_Monster]

But "Ginyu Transformation" was just badass.

That's actually 100% Bruce himself. His best work imo.

You arranged the Paikuhan theme? That's so unfair, out of all of the themes, you arranged the one which still absolutely blows my mind still to this day?
Well done! I'd love to see that played by you, even if it is synthy and not in the theme of dragon ball i still really enjoy that techno piece. It is a little frustrating that you can't disclose things for legal reasons but, meh, that's how things are.
Hope life's treating you well mate.

Thanks!

I do little hints of it in places:
At 4:05 I hint at the ending arps in this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gf-jKLjxpc
Part 1 is really the same sounds as the slower section of the Pikkon theme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEpTuRjHpHM

I did this alt silly hip hop track for Pikkon as well. http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=6596443
which became a rap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPkythqcIpU

I was going to attempt to say that I don't mind the synth guitar. Then I realized that coming up with a decent substitute with the rolland synth that comes with windows doesn't strike me as difficult. Well, in the case of the "Gohan gets mad and pwns things" song. Which I guess predates the improvements that worked for the later sagas. (I don't find the synth in Buu-saga stuff bothersome at all... it's kinda impressive, really...)

Now, if only there were such a thing as decent synth brass. Aside from the never-seen-in-DBZ French Horn... XD
(Ok, so I do have a keyboard with decent brass, but it doesn't interface with anything. It's from like 1993. )

I feel kinda odd, now, as I remember liking the deadzone theme a lot, but don't really remember what it sounds like. . *Goes on a quest to regain memory*

[edit---oops that wasn't you saying you didn't like the screechy leads---different people ^^]
Hmm, there's not really that much leads in the show beyond the synth stuff so I'm not sure what you were calling "screechy" then. Here's some leads that weren't synth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQrreNS_AE (0:27) (Frieza's Death)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciOZEpdPzpA Heroic Trunks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M954D_jyJbQ Vegeta Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcgJZCTpMco Dead Zone- which you liked ^^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_3JjkliWys Wrestling Rock

Not a whole lot more than that in the show really, besides the main theme (which was Bud Guin)

The stuff that grates on me after a while is this kind of thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nEt-0Tdf0U

though it works really well in parts of "16 Rips off Cell's Tail"

[TVfan721]

cRookie monster, that article I linked, was it true or an exagerration? I'd love to get your opinion on it because this whole thing is pretty interesting and I know nothing about Bruce Faulconer.

[GS7X7]

Jon Allen was the main source for this, a topic he did about it at Shadows of Namek.

Also, I don't hate Funimation nearly as much as I used to. Bear in mind we're discussing something I wrote over 6 years ago. Their music's not terrible for the dub, it's just that compared to the original music it usually sucks. (the tv specials are amazing! Movie 6 was good too, but Movie 7 was really horrendous)

Also, somebody from the company e-mailed me about this 2 years ago. Well, an ex-composer actually. I told him I wouldn't say his name but I know that he REALLY does NOT like Faulconer much. I remember we exchanged a lot of old gossip while we were talking to each other.

As for Faulconer, I don't hate the guy really since I don't know him and that kind of thing is probably pretty common in the music biz.

One thing though.... in JA's interview with Faulconer he asks him a question, "hey, were you inspired by music from the Japanese DBZ games cause it sounds familiar." I've always thought that Faulconer's people he hired may have been DBZ fanboys that played that stuff emulated and that may be where the similarities arised.

[cRookie_Monster]

Oops hard to not to triple post with so many people I'm replying to. ^^ I'll make a new post!

Sure thing man. It's VERY hard to read because there's barely any structure to the editorial. I'll post the link but I'll also copy and paste the part where he said it. I warn you though man, the article was crazy so don't be freaked out if you decide to click on the link, haha.

"And Faulconer does NOT collaborate with top musicians across America like Toei did for Japan. However- he does hire SOMEBODY- ghost writers to mix and create his own music for him! That's right, Bruce Faulconer doesn't actually make all of his own music even though he takes full credit for it and pretends that he does! Notice how the music quality improved slightly when the Garlic Jr. saga began? That's because Bruce brought in a bunch of kids fresh from college to help him out starting at around that time!

So let's get this straight- Toei does the equivalent of hiring Japanese pop and rock and orchestral quality music of what it'd be like if Faulconer had hired musicians like Britney Spears, Led Zeppelin or the New York Symphony Orchestra, or any orchestra for that matter. He can't even afford one of the smaller orchestras with the shoestring budget he has. Instead of collaborating with top elite artists from across the country, Faulconer hires a bunch of kids fresh from college (either the one he used to go to or just a local college) and claims their work as his own. Even worse, usually the good songs AREN'T the ones he personally records, they're just the ones made by others. And even your high leader Fukunaga agrees with me too!"

http://animecauldron.com/dbzuncensored2 ... unter.html

Thanks

Can't comment on much of that...but I will say again that "Ginyu Transformation" is all Bruce...and I have a strong belief that the most popular one, "SSJ3 Power Up", is 100% his as well. That one was done after I left, and Mike has told me he didn't work on it.

[GS7X7]

As for the article in question, it is extremely negative (those were very different times back then, heh) but I guess I'm pretty proud of it since the info on Faulconer is pretty legit albeit presented in a much more negative tone then I'd use today.


tvfan721- "Sure thing man. It's VERY hard to read because there's barely any structure to the editorial. I'll post the link but I'll also copy and paste the part where he said it. I warn you though man, the article was crazy so don't be freaked out if you decide to click on the link, haha."


Hello again tvfan721! This is like the 4th, 5th, 6th or whatever time you've done a topic complaining about me and trying to encourage others too. I get that you don't like me- you've made that blatantly obvious. But what I don't get is why you insist on repeatedly mentioning some article I wrote years ago just to complain about it. I'm just curious. And how many more topics do you plan on doing about random things I wrote on DBZU 2 ages ago?

[T Pac]

Interesting stuff.

I'm curious as to who actually wrote most of the music, though.

[jjgp1112]

While we're at it, I have one question that's been bugging me. Was the Episodic Trunks theme ever intended for any particular scene and just wasn't picked up ala Fr­ieza's Death?