Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gary Stockdale. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My mom was a singer, and actually did a record backed up by the musicians from Nat King Cole’s band. She always encouraged me in every way, but especially musically. She started me on piano lessons at age 4, and was my biggest fan and supporter.

Gary, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I went to Los Angeles City Colleg in the early 70s, majoring in Theater Arts. But since I was already a pianist and songwriter, I wound up doing more music for their productions than acting. So I switched to the Music program at the college.

After college, I was accepted into Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, and not long after, I met Oscar-winning composer Henry Mancini, under whose mentorship I learned the craft of film music composition, as well as singing on many of Henry’s movies.

I began my film-music composing career working for the legendary director/producer Roger Corman, scoring Corman’s first “art” film (entered in the 1989 Los Angeles Film Festival), Dance of the Damned.

Around this time, I started working side-by-side with famed film and television composer Lalo Schifrin, arranging and composing cues for his various projects, including Sudden Impact, FX2, and Sam Peckinpah’s last film, The Osterman Weekend.

In 1990, I began composing music for the “Bad Boys of Magic,” Penn & Teller. Leading the band on their critically-acclaimed variety series Penn & Teller’s Sin City Spectacular, I received my first EMMY nomination for my work on that show. I then went on to score 8 seasons of their popular Showtime series, Penn & Teller: BULLSHIT!, garnering another EMMY nomination for composing the show’s theme.

With Spencer Green, I co-wrote the irreverent adult musical BUKOWSICAL, which opened at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2007. After Variety wrote that getting tickets to the sold-out show caused “…a frenzy,” BUKOWSICAL went on to win the Outstanding Musical Award. Since then the show has been performed in various theater companies all over the US.

As a performer and singer, I appeared in NBC’s Studio 60: Live on the Sunset Strip, I was an original member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and played a singing drug-dealer in the cult classic musical TV series Cop/Rock. I was also the main US vocal contractor for Dreamworks’ The Prince of Egypt.
Along with that, I sang in such films as Star Wars: Rogue One, Avatar, The Simpsons Movie, Star Trek: Beyond, The Watchmen, 10, SOB, Planes, Antz, Matrix Reloaded, Polar Express, and TV shows such as The Family Guy, Ellen, and SpongeBob Squarepants.

I also sang on Neil Young’s album Living With War. For the 2013 Oscars, I backed up Adele on Skyfall.

My original songs hit the charts with such artists as Angela Bofill and David Guthrie, and I arranged many records for jazz artist Keiko Matsui, and other Japanese artists.

I was the recipient of a BMI Award for Music Composition for my work on Penn & Teller: BULLSHIT!

And in June of 2016, I again teamed up with Spencer Green for Bumpersticker: The Musical at the Hollywood Fringe Festival which opened to rave reviews.

I continue to perform numerous shows in Southern CA and elsewhere.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My philosophy is that to maintain a long career in music, one needs to be a “moving target:” that is, to be able to develop the skills to be able to provide a number of musical services to many different clients and projects. If one should chance to become a Beyoncé or a John Williams, there’s not as much of a need to diversify, but the majority of those who have long careers in showbiz have had to adjust to changing times, changing technologies, and broaden the scope of what we can do. Always say yes, and if you don’t know how to do a particular thing, if you have the skill and determination, you can figure out how to do it. But first, you have to be willing to learn.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Even for the most talented among us, showbiz can be a harsh mistress. You have to develop a thick skin, bounce back from disappointments, and constantly keep learning, and working on yourself. I always tell people that unless you truly feel you HAVE TO write, perform, dance, sing, etc. you should just keep it as a hobby and do something else for your income.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://garystockdale.com
• Instagram: gary.stockdale
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/garystockdalemusic
• Linkedin: garystockdale
• Twitter: @garystockdale
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@garystockdalevideos/videos