Cliff Martinez
Encyclopedia
Cliff Martinez is an American film score composer and former drummer.
, his first job composing was for the popular television show Pee Wee's Playhouse. At the time, however, he was more interested in rock bands, and played drums in a variety of them, mostly in a temporary capacity.
, The Dickies
, Lydia Lunch
and The Weirdos
, he and Jack Sherman
were drafted in to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers
for the recording of their eponymous first album
after Jack Irons
and Hillel Slovak
left the band to concentrate on their other project at the time, What Is This?
Eventually, tensions between Sherman and his fellow band members culminated in Sherman being fired and Slovak returning for the second album, Freaky Styley
. Irons however, was still committed to What Is This?, so Martinez again stepped behind the kit for the recording of Freaky Styley and its subsequent tour. During the recording of demos for the third album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
, the rest of the band felt that the drummer's 'heart was no longer in the band', but as he wouldn't quit Anthony Kiedis
and Flea
fired him, and Irons returned.
, directed by Steven Soderbergh
. Soderbergh would later call on Martinez to produce soundtracks for a number of his films, notably Traffic in 2000 and Soderbergh's 2002 adaptation of Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris
.
Biography
Cliff Martinez was born in the Bronx, New York. Raised in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, his first job composing was for the popular television show Pee Wee's Playhouse. At the time, however, he was more interested in rock bands, and played drums in a variety of them, mostly in a temporary capacity.
Red Hot Chili Peppers (1983-1986)
After several years drumming for such acts as Captain BeefheartCaptain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
, The Dickies
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
, Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
and The Weirdos
The Weirdos
The Weirdos were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1976 and broke up in 1981, were occasionally active in the 1980s, and recorded new material in the 1990s...
, he and Jack Sherman
Jack Sherman
Jack Sherman is a guitarist best known as a member of Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing on their debut album.He has also recorded with Bob Dylan, George Clinton, Gary Mallaber, Tim Drummond , Barry Goldberg, Jim Keltner, T.Bone Burnett, Danny Kortchmar, Bob Glaub, Peter Case, Gerry Goffin, Tonio K,...
were drafted in to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
for the recording of their eponymous first album
The Red Hot Chili Peppers (album)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the debut studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984 on EMI America Records. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only album to feature guitarist Jack Sherman.-Background and recording:Red...
after Jack Irons
Jack Irons
Jack Steven Irons is an American musician who is best known as the original drummer of the American rock band The Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as the former drummer for Eleven and Pearl Jam. He has also worked with Joe Strummer and The Latino Rockabilly War, Redd Kross, Raging Slab, Spinnerette...
and Hillel Slovak
Hillel Slovak
Hillel Slovak was an Israeli-American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
left the band to concentrate on their other project at the time, What Is This?
What Is This?
What Is This? was a rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in California and would play numerous shows along the coast of California. Originally named Chain Reaction when the band members were in junior high school, What Is This? were formed before and played around the same time as the...
Eventually, tensions between Sherman and his fellow band members culminated in Sherman being fired and Slovak returning for the second album, Freaky Styley
Freaky Styley
Freaky Styley is the second studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1985 on EMI America. The album name holds its origins in a commonly used phrase in the 80's to describe anything as being "freaky styley". Freaky Styley marks founding guitarist Hillel...
. Irons however, was still committed to What Is This?, so Martinez again stepped behind the kit for the recording of Freaky Styley and its subsequent tour. During the recording of demos for the third album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the third studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1987 on EMI America Records...
, the rest of the band felt that the drummer's 'heart was no longer in the band', but as he wouldn't quit Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...
and Flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
fired him, and Irons returned.
Film composing
Eventually, Martinez' interests shifted and he focused his attention toward film scoring. His first soundtrack was for the film Sex, Lies, and VideotapeSex, lies, and videotape
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a 1989 independent film that brought director Steven Soderbergh to prominence. It tells the story of a man who films women discussing their sexuality, and his impact on the relationship of a troubled married couple....
, directed by Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
. Soderbergh would later call on Martinez to produce soundtracks for a number of his films, notably Traffic in 2000 and Soderbergh's 2002 adaptation of Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris
Solaris (2002 film)
Solaris is a 2002 science fiction film and psychological drama directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone...
.
Composer discography
- Sex, Lies, and VideotapeSex, lies, and videotapeSex, Lies, and Videotape is a 1989 independent film that brought director Steven Soderbergh to prominence. It tells the story of a man who films women discussing their sexuality, and his impact on the relationship of a troubled married couple....
(1989) - Pump Up the VolumePump Up the Volume (film)Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...
(1990) - KafkaKafka (film)Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ostensibly a biopic, based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction , creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere...
(1991) - Black Magic (1992)
- King of the HillKing of the Hill (film)King of the Hill is a 1993 film, Steven Soderbergh's third feature film, and the second he directed from his own screenplay following his 1989 Palme d'Or-winning effort sex, lies, and videotape. It too was nominated for the Palme d'Or, at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:Based on the...
(1993) - UnderneathUnderneath (film)The Underneath is a 1995 American film directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Peter Gallagher and Alison Elliott. The film is based on the novel Criss Cross by Don Tracy, and is a remake of the original 1949 film adaptation...
(1995) - Gray's AnatomyGray's Anatomy (1996 film)Gray's Anatomy is an 80-minute motion picture directed by Steven Soderbergh in 1996 involving a dramatized monologue by actor/writer Spalding Gray...
(1996) - SchizopolisSchizopolisSchizopolis is an experimental comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh in 1996 with a non-linear narrative.-Synopsis:...
(1996) - Wicked (1998)
- The LimeyThe LimeyThe Limey is a 1999 American crime film, directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Peter Fonda and Barry Newman.Filming locations included Big Sur and L.A.-Plot:...
(1999) - TrafficTraffic (2000 film)Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the...
(2000) - NarcNarc (film)Narc is a 2002 crime film about corrupt police involved in the illegal drug trade. It was released to critical acclaim and moderate commercial success. It was written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The plot revolves around the efforts of two police detectives as they search for the murderer of an...
(2002) - SolarisSolaris (2002 film)Solaris is a 2002 science fiction film and psychological drama directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone...
(2002) - Wonderland (2003)
- Wicker Park (2004)
- HavocHavoc (film)Havoc is a 2005 American film about the lives of wealthy Los Angeles, California teenagers whose exposure to hip hop culture inspires them to imitate the gangster lifestyle...
(2005) - First SnowFirst Snow (2007 film)First Snow is a 2006 thriller starring Guy Pearce and directed by Mark Fergus. The film was released on March 23, 2007.-Plot:Jimmy Starks is a smooth-talking salesman certain he’s on the verge of a big break, but when his car stalls in the middle of nowhere, a soothsayer named Vacaro First Snow is...
(2006) - Espion(s) (2009)
- In the BeginningIn the Beginning (2009 film)In the Beginning is a 2009 French drama film directed by Xavier Giannoli. The film competed in the main competition at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.- Cast :* François Cluzet* Gérard Depardieu* Emmanuelle Devos* Brice Fournier - Louis* Roch Leibovici...
(2009) - The Lincoln LawyerThe Lincoln Lawyer (film)The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2011 American thriller film adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Connelly, starring Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei...
(2011) - DriveDrive (2011 film)Drive is a 2011 American crime neo-noir drama film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Ryan Gosling as the principal character, with Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Albert Brooks...
(2011) - ContagionContagion (film)Contagion is a 2011 American medical thriller disaster film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, and Bryan Cranston. Contagion follows the rapid progress of a lethal...
(2011)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers (album)The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the debut studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984 on EMI America Records. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only album to feature guitarist Jack Sherman.-Background and recording:Red...
(1984) - Freaky StyleyFreaky StyleyFreaky Styley is the second studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1985 on EMI America. The album name holds its origins in a commonly used phrase in the 80's to describe anything as being "freaky styley". Freaky Styley marks founding guitarist Hillel...
(1985)
The Dickies
- Killer Clowns From Outer SpaceKiller Klowns From Outer Space (album)Killer Klowns From Outer Space is an EP released by The Dickies in 1988.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Jerry Angel - Drums*Lori Buhne - Bass Guitar, Vocal*Enoch Hain - Guitars, Vocals*Stan Lee - Guitars...
(1988) - The Second Coming (1989)
- Locked N' Loaded Live in London (1991)
- Idjit SavantIdjit Savant- Credits :The Dickies* Leonard Graves Phillips – vocals, keyboards* Stan Lee – guitar* Glen Laughlin - guitar, backing vocals, mandolin* Marc Vachon – bass* Jonathan Melvoin – drums, percussionAdditional Musicians:...
(1994)