Marty Irwin

A great musician and a nice bloke.  Let's find out a bit more about someone who has contributed to our industry.

Geoff: When did you start playing the piano?

Marty: Reluctantly from about the age of eight. I would have rather been playing football.

Geoff: What made you want to play and pursue a musical career?

Marty: Initially my mum. She was the ultimate carnival stage mother, and I love her for that. It was also a great way to meet girls. I was very shy as a youngster and being able to sing and play the piano had its advantages, even with average musical ability. By the time I started high school it seemed I had been involved in so many different musical performances ranging from radio/TV and stage, that it was a natural progression to collect unemployment benefits and work as a professional musician.

Geoff: Who were your early influences? Did anyone in particular inspire you?

Marty: Barry Manilow and Elvis Presley. OK you can stop laughing now. I think it was the jump suits, I’m not sure. Once again my mothers fault as she used to dress me in them quite regularly and I would jump around on stage singing and playing. The fact that I made it through my teenage life and did not experience a gay encounter is something I am quite proud of. I was definitely more interested in being a singer/performer than a piano player, which probably explains the Barry and Elvis factor.

Geoff: What was it about the industry that grabbed your imagination and made you want to be part of it?

Marty: I was really into seeing artists perform, whether it was on TV or live. The star factor that these people seemed to exude was something I really wanted to experience.  ………I’m still waiting.

Geoff: What was your first band like?

Marty: They were great, I was terrible. It was a cover band Clive Harrison put together in the early eighties. At this point in time I would like to thank Clive for his patience in putting up with me through my post-pubescent musical period. A lesser man would have crumbled but Clive stuck with me and helped me greatly with my musicianship and on-stage dance moves. Thanks mate.

Geoff: You were a member of QED. What was it like doing the pub circuit in the early eighties?

Marty: It was great. I was 18 years old making $300 a week and touring all around Australia and New Zealand. You know you’ve made it when you turn up to the Prince of Wales hotel in Melbourne, that doubles as a gay bar on Sunday night’s and lug your own bags up the stairs after returning home from a gig at 3am, pull back the bed sheets to crash and discover a small but effective dried blood splatter on the pillow. Umm those were the days. But seriously, I loved every minute of it and have lots of great memories.

Geoff: Any other good stories from that band or time?

Marty: One story is enough, I don’t want come off sounding like a bitch.

Geoff: I remember seeing lots of bands during that time. Was there a competitive environment?

Marty: Not really. If we were touring with a couple of bands, we would all get together after the gig and have a few drinks and rave. It was all very cool. By the way I never saw anybody take drugs.

Geoff: When you had finished the band thing, where did you go?

Marty: I co-produced a duo when I was 22 yrs old. That’s the first time I had really done anything in the studio. From that point on, I slowly stopped doing the live thing and purely wanted to work in the studio environment. The studio was called “Rich Music Studios” in Kent Street, Sydney. It’s not there anymore, but it has lots of memories both good and bad.

Geoff: Was that a full time job?  That would be different to a musical bohemian...

Marty: No I didn't work there full time, I just freelanced. It was my first introduction to Mr SSL console. I did learn lots of things from various engineers. I started to pick up work via word-of-mouth and from that point onward I started to pass on the live gigs.

Geoff: You did a lot of work for Song Zu. What was that like?

Marty: It was an experience.

Geoff: Did you get sick of writing 30sec pieces of music?

Marty: If you do anything continuously it gets a bit draining. Variety is definitely the spice of life or in this case music.

Geoff: You’ve written library music. Tell us about that.

Marty: I use to write for Zomba Production Music Library. In my time there, I think I clocked up about 6-7 CD’s worth of material. Anything from Orchestral Movie Trailers to Dance and Rock. It was a great company to work for.

Geoff: Where did that music end up?  Was some used internationally?

Marty: All sorts of stuff from TVC's to US Drama series to Film.  All over the place.

Geoff: You moved into TV drama. How was it writing for “Water Rats”?

Marty: I really enjoyed writing TV drama and wish to do more in the future. The deadlines are very tight and there are sometimes crazy amounts of music that need to be written. It was also a great chance to experiment with different styles of music.

Geoff: You’ve also written for kids shows. Tell us about “Bambaloo”.

Marty: Once again, thanks to Clive Harrison for the recommendation to Yoram Gross/EM.TV. What a great team of people to work for including Susan Oliver and Geoff Watson. I got to write and program songs for both series 1 and 2. The great thing about working on that show was being able to use adult contemporary grooves and song structures for children’s television. I wish more series producers would take that same approach.

Geoff: You've done some songs for American television.  How did that come about?

Marty: My brother, Ashley, had a post-production connection in Los Angeles. He asked me did I have any new songs that hadn't been published and that sounded good enough for TV. Fortunately at the time I was working with Peter Northcote. We had just written a couple of songs and decided to send them over for a listen. Luckily they loved one of
the tracks and ended up using it in the final episode of Smallville, season two.

Geoff: What is the health of the market? What's the trick to surviving?

Marty: I think you have to do more to survive. One day I’ll be recording vocals for an album track, the next day I’ll be programming a TV commercial, the next day mixing a demo for a rock band. Having said all that, I really do like the variety it brings these days.

Geoff: Do clients expect more for their dollar these days?

Marty: Definitely.

Geoff: Why do they expect more? 

Marty: Clients budgets are also being hit hard so it only stands to reason that they pass it on down the food chain. The technology is somewhat to blame. It is definitely making jobs run faster but then the clients like to fit as much in to an hour as they can. Also, cheap gear means that anyone can own a home recording studio, be it for better or worse.

Geoff: I've heard some people complain about royalties for composers over the years. Some say they don't get any for writing a script etc. How important is it for musicians?

Marty: It is very important. Without royalties, and the deep love I have for APRA, it wouldn't be worth working. The up-front budgets have definitely dive-bombed and our royalties go a long way to keeping us alive and paying the mortgage.

Geoff: How has technology changed the way you work over the last twenty years?

Marty: It is definitely more insular. I can go for weeks without seeing another musician. More and more music is being recorded and mixed without leaving the computer. It has become much faster to make changes, edits and recall entire sessions in seconds. We couldn’t do that twenty years ago. But having said that, let me say this, I still have a love hate relationship with technology. Because budgets are much smaller and getting even smaller, the input of a real musician on my sessions is something I really miss. I enjoy the days when I get to record a real drum kit, a real guitar, even a real chick singer.

Geoff: Is it easier to make better music now with these new tools? Do they give you more ideas, expression, choices?

Marty: Yes. I think the bonus to most programmers out there is that you are really only limited by your own imagination.

Geoff: Now that a guy can sit in his bedroom and make a pretty good sounding piece of music using loops and samples from great players, what separates people like that from professionals?

Marty: The fact that I stupidly spent thousands of dollars on a Pro Tools rig and he didn’t.

Geoff: What's your opinion on some of the new music creation software like Garage Band?

Marty: It only reminds me of how much money I spent on my 2 million dollar Pro Tools rig. Enough Geoff enough.

Geoff: Some producers would say that we muso's just use the same loops, why can't they? What separates the musician from a loop editor?

Marty: It seems not much these days. You only have to listen to some of the crap that gets released on TV.

Geoff: Where do you see the television industry headed over the next decade and the music side of it?

Marty: As long as the networks and production companies keep producing local shows, then hopefully composers will be employed to write the music. I think people are getting sick of reality TV, so we might see a resurgence of more dramatic television.

Geoff: What do you love about running your own business?

Marty: The flexibility.

Geoff: What hobbies do you have to get away from the business?

Marty: Spending time with my two boys Jack & Alex and watching the Rugby League on the weekends.

Geoff: What's your most forgettable, or embarrassing moment in the business?

Marty: Falling off stage on national television but still managing to hold the sustain button on my Yamaha KX5 till the end of the bar. I thought I was a hero until I found out later it was a pre-record. You idiot!

Geoff: Now, we've talked about opening a bait shop in Queensland.  When are you going to get real about it?

Marty: I’ve already got the nets. Let’s go.

A big thanks to Marty for giving us his time.  Find out more about Marty.