Tommy Tallarico
From Sega Retro
Tommy Tallarico |
---|
Place of birth: Springfield, Massachusetts, United States |
Date of birth: 1968-02-18 (age 56) |
Company(ies): Virgin Interactive, Tommy Tallarico Studios, Video Games Live |
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.
Contents
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.[1]
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
- The Terminator (Mega Drive; 1992) — Quality Assurance by[3]
- Corporation (Mega Drive; 1992) — Quality Assurance (as Tom Tallarico)
- Batman: Revenge of The Joker (Mega Drive; 1992) — Sound FX[4] (as T. Tallarico)
- Batman: Revenge of The Joker (Mega Drive; 1992) — Genesis Music[4] (as T. Tallarico)
- Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators (Mega Drive; 1992) — Music, Sound FX & Samples by[5]
- Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing (Mega Drive; 1992) — Music & Sound Effects
- Another World (Mega Drive; 1993) — Music[6]
- Another World (Mega Drive; 1993) — Sound[6]
- The Terminator (Mega-CD; 1993) — Original Music[7]
- Disney's Aladdin (Mega Drive; 1993) — Sound, Music & FX[8]
- Caesars Palace (Mega Drive; 1994) — Music by
- Cool Spot (Mega Drive; 1993) — Music, Sound FX & Samples by[9]
- Caesars Palace (Game Gear; 1994) — Title Screen Music (uncredited)
- Jammit (Mega Drive; 1994) — Special Thanks[10]
- RoboCop Versus The Terminator (Mega Drive; 1993) — Director of Music & FX[11]
- Heart of the Alien: Out of this World Parts I and II (Mega-CD; 1994) — Music[12]
- Heart of the Alien: Out of this World Parts I and II (Mega-CD; 1994) — Sound[12]
- Spot Goes to Hollywood (Mega Drive; 1995) — Music and Sound
- Demolition Man (Mega Drive; 1995) — Special Thanks To[13]
- Madden NFL 96 (Mega Drive; 1995) — Music and Sound[14]
- Demolition Man (Mega-CD; 1995) — Special Thanks To[15]
- Earthworm Jim 2 (Saturn; 1996) — Music & Sound FX[16]
- Powerslave (Saturn; 1996) — Lobotomy Would Like to Thank[17] (as Tommy Tellarico)
- Black Dawn (Saturn; 1997) — Music and Sound Effects[18] (as Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.)
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Saturn; 1997) — Sound Conversion[19]
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Dreamcast; 2000) — In-Game Sound FX[20] (as Tommy Tallarico Studios, Inc.)
- NFL Blitz 2001 (Dreamcast; 2000) — Music and Sound FX[21]
- Evil Dead: Hail to the King (Dreamcast; 2000) — Music Composed By[22]
- Evil Dead: Hail to the King (Dreamcast; 2000) — Music Produced By[22]
- Spider-Man (Dreamcast; 2001) — Music[23]
- WWF Royal Rumble (Dreamcast; 2000) — Visual/Audio Transfer
- Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii; 2009) — Composers & Arrangers
Music
- Video Games Live: Level 2 (CD; 2010) — Album produced by[24]
- Video Games Live: Level 2 (CD; 2010) — Guitars[24]
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Cool Spot (Amiga version) (1993) — Original Music
- Disney's Aladdin (Amiga version) (1994) — Music (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
- 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)
- 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 (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
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 [ ]
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/22/AR2011022205647.html
- ↑ File:TTerminator md us manual.pdf, page 11
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 File:Batman Revenge of the Joker MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Global Gladiators MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 File:Another World MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Terminator MCD opening credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Aladdin MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:CoolSpot MD US credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Jammit MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:RoboCop vs The Terminator MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 File:Heartofthealien mcd us manual.pdf, page 18
- ↑ File:Demolition Man MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Madden NFL 96 MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Demolition Man MCD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Earthwormjim2 sat us manual.pdf, page 21
- ↑ File:Powerslave Saturn credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Blackdawn sat us manual.pdf, page 17
- ↑ File:Mktrilogy sat us manual.pdf, page 26
- ↑ File:THPS DC US Manual.pdf, page 21
- ↑ File:NFLBlitz2001 DC US Manual.pdf, page 32
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 File:Evildead dc us manual.pdf, page 25
- ↑ File:SpiderMan DC US Manual.pdf, page 27
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 File:VGL2 CD US booklet.pdf, page 2