Difference between revisions of "Tommy Tallarico"

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'''Tommy Tallarico''' is a video game music composer known for his soundtracks to several successful games such as the ''Earthworm Jim'' series, ''Messiah'', ''MDK'', ''Wild 9'', ''Cool Spot'', ''Spot Goes to Hollywood'', ''RoboCop versus The Terminator'', ''Maximo'', ''Pac-Man World'', ''Prince of Persia'', and ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater''.
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{{PersonBob
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| image=Tommy Tallarico.jpeg
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| birthplace=Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
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| dob=1968-02-18
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| dod=
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| employment={{Employment
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| company=[[Virgin Interactive]]
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| notsega=yes
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}}
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{{Employment
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| company=[[Tommy Tallarico Studios]]
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| notsega=yes
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}}
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{{Employment
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| company=[[Video Games Live]]
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| notsega=yes
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}}
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| role=Composer, Musician, Guitarist
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| education=
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}}
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{{stub}}
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'''Tommy Tallarico''' is an American musician and video game music composer. Well known for soundtracks to games like ''[[Earthworm Jim]]'' and ''[[The Terminator (Mega-CD)]]'', Tallarico’s music was considered exceptionally well-composed for the era, and the positive reception of his work led to the creation of his own company, [[Tommy Tallarico Studios]].
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==Early life==
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Tallarico was born in [[wikipedia:Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield, Massachusetts]] on February 18, 1968. He spent much of his youth around music; his parents took him to see the Springfield Symphony when he was 9 years old, and he taught himself to play piano and guitar only a year later. Tallarico cites the scores for ''[[wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:Rocky|Rocky]]'' as inspirations, and later [[wikipedia:classical music|classical music]]. Tallarico was also inspired by his cousin [[wikipedia:Steven Tyler|Steven Tyler]] of the band [[wikipedia:Aerosmith|Aerosmith]]. Tallarico would attend his cousin's concerts as a child, and grew a desire to become a music performer.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20040910133501/https://www.tallarico.com/index.php?s=awards}}
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Ever since childhood, video games have been an important part of Tallarico’s life. He and his father often played ''[[wikipedia:Asteroids (video game)|Asteroids]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:Space Invaders|Space Invaders]]'', and the young Tallarico would take his father's tape recorder to the arcade to record their soundtracks. Later he would play guitar over the result for his neighborhood friends.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20170817082451/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/22/AR2011022205647.html}}
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Tallarico attended [[wikipedia:Cathedral High School (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Cathedral High School]], and later [[wikipedia:Western New England University|Western New England University]] for a year. However at 21, Tallarico went to [[wikipedia:California|California]] to try and obtain a job in the video game industry. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t work in Tallarico’s favor and led to him being homeless and living under a pier. Tallarico was able to acquire a job as a keyboard salesman at a [[wikipedia:Guitar Center|Guitar Center]] in [[wikipedia:Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana, California]]. On his first day of work, Tallarico’s [[nec:NEC PC Engine|TurboGrafx-16]] was noticed by an employee of a newly-founded video game company, [[Virgin Games|Virgin Mastertronic]], and he was subsequently offered a job as their first play tester.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220081142/http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=ourteam}}
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==Career==
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===[[Virgin Interactive]]===
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===[[Tommy Tallarico Studios]]===
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Founded in 1994.
  
He founded Tommy Tallarico Studios in 1994 and the Game Audio Network Guild, of which he is also the president, in 2002. He wrote, co-hosted, and co-produced ''The Electric Playground'' and ''Reviews on the Run'' and co-hosted alongside Victor Lucas in both television programs until he left to focus on ''Video Games Live''.
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===[[Video Games Live]]===
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==Industry work==
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In 2002 he founded the Game Audio Network Guild, and currently serves as its president. He wrote and co-produced the television programs ''The Electric Playground'' and ''Reviews on the Run'' and hosted both shows alongside Victor Lucas.
  
 
He and Victor Lucas also act as video game correspondents for HypaSpace Weekly. Tallarico is the cousin of Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith.
 
He and Victor Lucas also act as video game correspondents for HypaSpace Weekly. Tallarico is the cousin of Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith.
 
  
 
==Production history==
 
==Production history==
{{multicol|
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{{ProductionHistory|Tommy Tallarico|T. Tallarico|Tom Tallarico|Tommy Tellarico|Tommy Tallerico}}
* ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (Game Boy version) (1991) — Quality Assurance
 
* ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' (Game Boy version) (1992) — Music Adapted by (as '''Tom Tallarico''')
 
* ''M.C. Kids'' (NES version) (1992) — Quality Assurance
 
* ''[[Another World]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1992) — Music Composition, Sound Effects
 
* ''[[Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1992) — Music, Sound Effects
 
* ''Monopoly Deluxe'' (1992) — Music and Sound Coordinator
 
* ''Jeep Jamboree: Off Road Adventure'' (1992) — Music and FX by
 
* ''[[Corporation]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1992) — Quality Assurance (as '''Tom Tallarico''')
 
* ''[[Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1992) — Music, Sound FX & Samples by
 
* ''[[Batman: Revenge of the Joker]]'' (1992) — Sound FX (as '''T. Tallarico'''), Genesis Music (as '''T. Tallarico''')
 
* ''[[The Terminator (Mega CD)|The Terminator]]'' (Mega CD version) (1993) — Original Music
 
* ''[[Cool Spot]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1993) — Music, Sound FX & Samples by
 
* ''Color a Dinosaur'' (1993) — Music
 
* ''Super Slap Shot'' (1993) — Music and FX
 
* ''[[Cool Spot]]'' (SNES version) (1993) — Audio
 
* ''[[Global Gladiators]]'' (Amiga version) (1993) — Original Music by
 
* ''[[Disney's Aladdin]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1993) — Sound, Music & FX
 
* ''[[Cool Spot]]'' (Amiga version) (1993) — Original Music
 
* ''[[Disney's Aladdin]]'' (Amiga version) (1994) — Music (Virgin Interactive Entertainment)
 
* ''[[RoboCop versus The Terminator]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1994) — Director of Music & FX
 
* ''[[Disney's The Jungle Book]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1994) — Music and FX (Virgin Interactive Entertainment), Music by (Virgin Interactive Entertainment)
 
* ''[[Disney's The Jungle Book]]'' (SNES version) (1994) — Director of Music and FX (Additional Credits), Music (Additional Credits)
 
* ''[[Heart of the Alien: Out of this World Parts I and II]]'' (1994)
 
* ''Race Days'' (1994) — Music and FX by
 
* ''[[Jammit]]'' (1994) — Special Thanks
 
* ''[[Demolition Man]]'' (3DO version) (1994) — Original Game Music (Music), Game Sound Effects (Music), Green Screen Video Coordination (Green Screen)
 
* ''[[Demolition Man]]'' (Mega Drive and Mega CD versions) (1994/1995) — Special Thanks to (for His Musical and SFX Insights)
 
* ''[[Spot Goes to Hollywood]]'' (Mega Drive version) (1995) — Music and Sound
 
* ''[[Madden NFL 96]]'' (SNES and Mega Drive versions) (1995) — Music and Sound
 
* ''Agile Warrior: F-111X'' (PSX version) (1995) — Sprite Actor
 
* ''[[Earthworm Jim 2]]'' (SNES and Mega Drive versions) (1995) — Music & FX (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc)
 
* ''Screamer 2'' (1996) — Special Thanks
 
* ''Burning Road'' (1996) — "U.S. Remix" Composer
 
* ''[[Earthworm Jim 2]]'' (PSX and Saturn versions) (1996) — Music & Sound FX (Screaming Pink, Inc.)
 
* ''MDK'' (1997) — Sound Design
 
* ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee'' (1997) — Special Thanks
 
* ''Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick'' (1997) — Voice Talent, Music Composition
 
* ''HardBall 6'' (1998) — Sound Effects (Music)
 
* ''WarGames: DEFCON 1'' (1998) — Music & Sound FX (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.'''),  Additional Voices
 
* ''Test Drive: Off-Road 2'' (1998) — Special Thanks
 
* ''WCW/NWO Revenge'' (1998) — Special Thanks (THQ Staff)
 
* ''Apocalypse'' (1998) — Movie Scoring and Sound Effects (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios''')
 
* ''Beavis and Butt-head Do U.'' (1998) — Sound and Music by (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios''')
 
* ''Ultra Fighters'' (1999) — Music (Eagle Interactive)
 
* ''Redline'' (1999) — Music (Accolade) (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios'''), Special Thanks (Accolade)
 
* ''Unreal Mission Pack 1: Return to Na Pali'' (1999) — Sound Effects (Legend Entertainment Company)
 
* ''R/C Stunt Copter'' (1999) — Music and Sound FX (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios Inc.'''), Audio Script by
 
* ''Demolition Racer'' (1999/2000) — Written, Performed & Produced by ("Melt Down" & Moving Violation")
 
* ''Knockout Kings 2000'' (1999) — Additional Design (Black Ops Entertainment)
 
* ''007 Tomorrow Never Dies'' (1999) — Music and Sound FX (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios Inc.''')
 
* ''Wings of Fury'' (Game Boy Color version) (1999) — Music (Magnin & Associates)
 
* ''[[Messiah]]'' (2000) — Sound Effects
 
* ''[[Spider-Man (Dreamcast)|Spider-Man]]'' (PSX, N64, Dreamcast and PC versions) (2000/2001) — Music
 
* ''Sacrifice'' (2000) — Sound Effects (Shiny Entertainment)
 
* ''[[Evil Dead: Hail to the King]]'' (2000/2001) — Music Composed By (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.), Music Produced By (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.), Audio Production Coordinator (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.) (as '''Thomas V. Tallarico''')
 
* ''Knockout Kings 2001'' (PS2 version) (2001) — Audio (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios''') (Black Ops Entertainment)
 
* ''Casper: Spirit Dimensions'' (2001/2002) — Sound and Voice (Lucky Chicken)
 
* ''Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee'' (2001) — Special Thanks
 
* ''Maximo: Ghosts to Glory'' (2001) — Audio (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.)
 
* ''Scooby-Doo!: Night of 100 Frights'' (2002) — Composer
 
* ''MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael'' (2002) — Special Thanks (THQ)
 
* ''Street Hoops'' (2002) — Audio Director (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc)
 
* ''War of the Monsters'' (2003) — Sound FX (as '''Tommy Tallarico Studios''')
 
* ''Black & Bruised'' (2003) — Voice Over Producer
 
* ''Devastation'' (2003) — Additional Tracks
 
* ''Maximo vs Army of Zin'' (2003) — Composer and Musician (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.) (Music and Sound Effects), Peddler (In Game Voice Actors) (Music and Sound Effects)
 
* ''SpyHunter 2'' (2003) — Cinematic Sound Design & Composition
 
* ''The X-Files: Resist or Serve'' (2004) — Audio Director (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.) (Sound Design and Foley)
 
* ''The Bard's Tale'' (2004) — Music written, performed and sung by (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.) (Audio), Lyrics (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.) (Audio), Additional Sound Design (Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.) (Audio)
 
* ''Advent Rising'' (Xbox version) (2005) — Scored Composed and Arranged by (GlyphX Games)
 
* ''Destroy All Humans!'' (2005) — Special Thanks (Intro and Outro Movie by Creat Studio)
 
* ''Advent Rising'' (PC version) (2005) — Audio Director (Audio), Score Composed & Arranged by (Audio), Writer ("Greater Lights") (Audio), Strings arrangement ("Greater Lights") (Audio), Voice-Over Direction (Audio)
 
* ''Jaws: Unleashed'' (2006) — Orchestrations & Arrangements (Appaloosa Interactive Credit List)
 
* ''AND 1 Streetball'' (2006) — Audio Director (Tommy Tallarico Studios) (Sound Effects Design)
 
* ''Pac-Man World Rally'' (2006) — Sound Design (Tallarico Studios) (Smart Bomb Interactive), Music (Smart Bomb Interactive)
 
* ''Snoopy vs. the Red Baron'' (2006) — Sound Design (Smart Bomb Credits), Music (Smart Bomb Credits)
 
* ''Guitar Hero II'' (2006) — An "Industry" Thanks to (Special Thanks)
 
* ''Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia'' (2007) — Special Thanks (for your knowledge and wisdom)
 
* ''Video Games Live: Volume One'' (CD) (2008)
 
* ''Line Rider 2: Unbound'' (2008) — Cut Scene and Other SFX
 
* ''[[Sonic and the Black Knight]]'' (2009) — Music Composer & Arranger
 
* ''Earthworm Jim: Special Edition'' (iPhone and J2ME versions) (2009) — Original Music
 
* ''Earthworm Jim HD'' (2010) — Original Music
 
* ''Video Games Live: Level 2'' (CD) (2010)
 
* ''Flip's Twisted World'' (2010) — Music
 
* ''Super Tofu Boy'' (2010) — Music donated by
 
* ''Play for Japan: The Album'' (CD) (2011)
 
* ''Retro City Rampage'' (2012) — Cameo
 
}}
 
  
==Song Credits==
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==Song credits==
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{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Song credits}}
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[[Category:Old song credits]]
 
{{multicol|
 
{{multicol|
 
===''[[Cool Spot]]'' (Mega Drive version)===
 
===''[[Cool Spot]]'' (Mega Drive version)===
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*[[sonic:Tommy Tallarico interview by Sonic-City.com (April 21, 2009)|Tommy Tallarico interview by Sonic-City.com (April 21, 2009)]]
 
*[[sonic:Tommy Tallarico interview by Sonic-City.com (April 21, 2009)|Tommy Tallarico interview by Sonic-City.com (April 21, 2009)]]
  
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tallarico, Tommy}}
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==References==
[[Category:Musicians]]
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<references/>
[[Category:Outside Composers]]
 

Latest revision as of 05:31, 18 October 2024

Tommy Tallarico.jpeg
Tommy Tallarico
Place of birth: Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
Date of birth: 1968-02-18 (age 56)
Employment history:
Role(s): Composer, Musician, Guitarist

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.


Tommy Tallarico is an American musician and video game music composer. Well known for soundtracks to games like Earthworm Jim and The Terminator (Mega-CD), Tallarico’s music was considered exceptionally well-composed for the era, and the positive reception of his work led to the creation of his own company, Tommy Tallarico Studios.

Early life

Tallarico was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on February 18, 1968. He spent much of his youth around music; his parents took him to see the Springfield Symphony when he was 9 years old, and he taught himself to play piano and guitar only a year later. Tallarico cites the scores for Star Wars and Rocky as inspirations, and later classical music. Tallarico was also inspired by his cousin Steven Tyler of the band Aerosmith. Tallarico would attend his cousin's concerts as a child, and grew a desire to become a music performer.[1]

Ever since childhood, video games have been an important part of Tallarico’s life. He and his father often played Asteroids and Space Invaders, and the young Tallarico would take his father's tape recorder to the arcade to record their soundtracks. Later he would play guitar over the result for his neighborhood friends.[2]

Tallarico attended Cathedral High School, and later Western New England University for a year. However at 21, Tallarico went to California to try and obtain a job in the video game industry. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t work in Tallarico’s favor and led to him being homeless and living under a pier. Tallarico was able to acquire a job as a keyboard salesman at a Guitar Center in Santa Ana, California. On his first day of work, Tallarico’s TurboGrafx-16 was noticed by an employee of a newly-founded video game company, Virgin Mastertronic, and he was subsequently offered a job as their first play tester.[3]

Career

Virgin Interactive

Tommy Tallarico Studios

Founded in 1994.

Video Games Live

Industry work

In 2002 he founded the Game Audio Network Guild, and currently serves as its president. He wrote and co-produced the television programs The Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run and hosted both shows alongside Victor Lucas.

He and Victor Lucas also act as video game correspondents for HypaSpace Weekly. Tallarico is the cousin of Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith.

Production history

Games

Music


Song credits

Main article: Tommy Tallarico/Song credits.

Cool Spot (Mega Drive version)

  • Wipeout Tune — Arrangement
  • Beach Music — Music & Arrangement
  • Jazzy Tune — Music & Arrangement
  • Wall Tune — Music & Arrangement
  • Groovie Tune — Music & Arrangement
  • Play Da Blues — Music & Arrangement
  • Western Tune — Music & Arrangement
  • Parade Tune — Music & Arrangement
  • Rave Dancetune — Music & Arrangement
  • Flag Rising — Arrangement
  • 7 Cool Points — Music & Arrangement
  • Replenish — Music & Arrangement
  • 1-Up — Music & Arrangement
  • Getting Letter — Music & Arrangement
  • Spot Fall Over — Music & Arrangement
  • Game Over Tune — Music & Arrangement

Sonic and the Black Knight

  • Molten Mine — Music, Programming
  • Great Megalith — Music & Arrangement, Programming
  • The Cauldron — Music, Programming

Interview

References