Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Fraumeni.
Hi Mike, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My music journey began by chance in 7th grade when a friend assembled a rock band but couldn’t find a decent bassist. I convinced my parents to buy me a cheap bass and amp and immediately joined the band. I had already been playing trumpet in my school’s wind ensemble but something about playing contemporary music got me hooked. After that I never really stopped playing.
I went on to fill my high school days with music classes that sparked my creativity and set me on a clear path. By sophomore year, I knew music was my future and committed to it fully.
I attended Berkeley College of Music, graduated, got on a plane to Los Angeles, and the rest is history.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t believe that anyone working in the arts today can honestly tell you they had a smooth path unless they are extraordinarily lucky. I’ve had more than my share of good luck but even with my nearly unwavering conviction there were stumbles.
After graduating from Berklee I moved to Los Angeles and naively thought my degree gave me this huge leg up on other job applicants. I was able to find work but it was not glamorous.
I quit my first job as a composer after I was asked to clean rat feces out of the studio attic.
At another job I worked for a really inspiring and talented composer named Lawrence Shragge. I learned so much and earned my first screen credits, but the connections I was making were exclusively for productions that required composers Canadian citizenship. At a certain point I realized that I would need to move on to build my career.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a composer specializing in films, advertising, and branding. I think one of the reasons my collaborators seek me out is that my compositional strengths are very broad. On any given day, I might be writing indie rock for an ad, sweeping orchestral underscore for a film, or EDM-infused pop for a short.
My most noteworthy project was a collaboration with Jonathan Elias on the now ubiquitous Farmers Insurance Mnemonic “We are Farmers.”
I am most proud of my score on an upcoming feature film called American Sognare. It was the final film of Johnny Wactor who was tragically killed last Summer. It was immensely fulfilling (and nerve wracking) to work with some of his closest friends to score his final moments on screen.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I often receive compliments from collaborators on my writing for piano. They are surprised when I tell them I have almost no training on piano and instead am painstakingly planning the parts by ear. It would be much quicker if I was a gifted pianist, but I would likely be making different decisions as a result.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Fopianomusic.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/fopianomusic
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/mike.fraumeni
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikefraumeni
- Twitter: https://X.com/fopianomusic
- Other: https://Vimeo.com/fopianomusic
