Girl at a Startup

I love people who fly under the radar especially those whose talents speak for themselves. And with that in mind, please allow me to introduce to you Silas Hite, an artist/composer/musician/band front man etc… Originally from Ohio, Hite resides in LA, but you’ve probably heard or seen his art or scores in numerous commercials, films, TV shows, and video games. Not to mention his bands which include Thunderdikk and Hellbeast of the Night (with his lovely wife Lisa McIntyre Hite). I had a chance to speak with Silas about his latest music and art endeavors.

Dude, you’re extremely accomplished, but super low key about it. I mean, Emmy nominated, Adweek’s spot of the year, Cyber Gold Lion award from Cannes… Pretty impressive. What’s your secret?
Ah shucks, well thank you. There is no secret. I just try to do the best I can and I have been fortunate enough to have opportunities to write for some high profile things.

Humble. Love it. So, when you’re not scoring TV shows, video games, films, and commercials, you’re creating your own music in various bands, one being Thunderdikk. (WHICH I LOVE) Don’t you get tired? What inspires you?
Once in awhile, I’ll feel overwhelmed when I think about all the projects I’m juggling at once, but then I remind myself that I chose to take them on and I get over it. Bands that are doing something really well inspire me. Hiking and travel inspire me. Great artists and design inspires me.

You’re living your dream now, but did you ever have to do a shit job to pay bills before you hit it big?
Not a typical McDonald’s job or something, I always tried pretty hard to avoid those. When I was younger, like old enough to hold a shovel all the way through high school, I dug quite a few ditches for my father and we would work construction together. Of course, since I had no real skills I would just have to carry materials and do grunt work. I think doing manual labor when I was young really gave me extra incentive to figure out how to make a living NOT doing that! By the time I went to college, I knew I wanted a career in music but I knew it was a long shot so, I studied hard and took it very seriously. I practiced and played in bands in and out of school and learned as much as I could.

Of course, my big break happened when I convinced my uncle (Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo) to let me intern at his studio. I started out there doing typical intern stuff, cleaning, errands, etc. but when I was given opportunities to write music for projects I gave it my all and did well and soon I was a full-time composer. I really learned my craft at his studio, Mutato Muzika. In a single day, I’d score music for commercials, video games, TV, and films. It was high energy and quick deadlines. I loved it. Writing at such a fast pace really comes naturally to me now. I don’t sit in front of a keyboard and wonder. I sit down, throw my hands on an instrument, hit record and trust my gut.

That’s awesome. BTW, I love the mullet that you wear in ‘Thunderdikk.’ Do you wear it out in public? Why or why not?
Ha, no I don’t get dressed up and parade around in that outfit. That look, that band, started as a reaction to working on Sunset Strip and watching people walk by who clearly wished the 80′s hair metal days had never ended! Then I had to write some 80s rock for a commercial and I thought, “Wow this is kinda fun”. So I called up my buddy J.P. who is a real rocker and told him we were starting a rock band called Thunderdikk and we were only gonna write songs about partying, sex, and rock and roll. It all came together way too easily and we’ve actually had great success getting our songs into tons of TV shows.

Okay, let’s talk about your art that is shown in galleries all across America. And your current one here in LA. Tell us about it. What are your influences when you create?
Well, I just put together a group show at the Angel City Brewery Gallery. It was a Christmas show, of sorts. The influence for this show was Krampus, an Austrian folk legend. His story is that he comes with St. Nick but instead of giving out presents, he punishes the bad kids. He is a really interesting character and there are many depictions of him floating around out there. Typically he looks like a rascally, hairy, devil fellow. I portrayed him in a few typical Christmas scenes and a few atypical scenes. In the largest drawing, Krampus has knocked the father and Santa unconscious and is spanking the mother while the children watch. Another features him collecting three brats for punishment on Christmas Eve. A few more modern sketches feature Krampus as more of a neighborhood nuisance, pissing in the pool, tagging, etc.

Haha. Thanks for introducing us to Krampus. So, as an artist/composer, what is your process when you’re asked to score a project? Is it something that flows naturally or do you have a way that you approach it?
Well, it really differs from a video game to a film, for example. Let’s focus on a film. generally the director and/or producer will tell me there thoughts about what emotions they might want the music to evoke and what moments in the film can be accented by the music. Often they will have already put in some ‘temp” music that comes close to the mood they are thinking, such as a song from a band they like.

So I take those things into consideration, watch the scene and start with an instrument that I feel is appropriate. For instance, a marimba. I will pull up a marimba on my keyboard and play along to the scene, trying to play the sound of “sadness” or “danger” or whatever.

You’re married to the uber-talented Lisa McIntyre, with whom you have another band. Tell us about that. Also, how do you separate work from home life when you’re both working on music together?
Yes, we have a band together called Hellbeast of The Night. We call it good music for late nights and bad choices. It’s rock music that makes you want to dance, essentially. As far as the separating home life from work, well, I don’t know. From my side, I just try not to push our music into what we are doing all the time. We work on it when we want to and I think that is a healthy attitude. I have a much higher tolerance for being in the studio than my wife does, so when she gets restless, we stop and I work on something else. I’m always juggling a few albums.

I think the trick is to remember that your relationship is what is important and doing music together should just be a fun activity. I don’t mean to minimize the importance of our band in our lives, we do take it quite seriously, but if it starts to be something that is too stressful for the relationship then it’s just not worth it.

You’re living your dream, but do you have advice for artists that haven’t made it yet or are just stuck?
There is no substitute for hard work. If you are just stuck, take a class or some lessons in the field that you are in. For instance, I take music lessons on new instruments all the time. Or sometimes I will just study a particular style on an instrument I already play. Right now I am taking piano lessons, focusing only on old boogie-woogie style blues. I am also taking vocal lessons to become a better rock screamer. The point is to learn something new or to approach your art in a different way, but above all, just keep doing it!

Some fun ones…

Last meal on earth?
My mom’s fried chicken, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Secret to a good relationship?
Mutual thoughtfulness and respect.

Jon Stewart or Colbert?
You can’t go wrong with either, but I am a huge Colbert fan. If I was asked to perform on Colbert, my head would explode.

Thanks for the interview Silas, and if you’d like to check out more his work, check out his website.