Episode 97 - The Music of Chris Granner w/ Chris Granner

Chris Granner discusses 15 iconic pinball soundtracks and his creative evolution across synthesizer platforms.

Synopsis

A retrospective podcast episode featuring legendary pinball sound designer and composer Chris Granner discussing 15 of his iconic pinball game soundtracks spanning the 1980s-2000s. Granner reflects on his creative process, collaborations with designers like Pat Lawlor and Steve Ritchie, evolution of synthesizer technology from Yamaha FM synthesis to BSMT sampling, and the artistic decisions behind memorable compositions from games including The Addams Family, Fishtails, Whirlwind, and many others.

Highlights

• Chris Granner has composed music for over 40 pinball machines throughout his career
• Pat Lawlor would sing the choreography and technical direction to Chris Granner during game design, not the music itself
• The Mamushka mode in Addams Family features a Russian-themed variation of the Hava Nagila theme
• Fishtails is Chris Granner's personal favorite pinball game of all time with no close competition
• Steve Ritchie composed the main theme melody for F-14 Tomcat, with Granner transcribing his note bends for the synthesizer
• Early Millionaire soundtrack used no pitch-bending capability, a feature that became available on later games
• John Hay co-wrote tracks on Earthshaker and Jokers after being brought in to help on Jokers when Granner was double-booked
• Transition from Yamaha FM synthesis to BSMT sampling synthesis presented creative challenges due to an established instrument library he did not create

Entities

• Addams Family· game
• Big Guns· game
• Earthshaker· game
• F-14 Tomcat· game
• Fishtails· game
• Millionaire· game
• Ripley's Believe It or Not· game
• Roadshow· game
• The Sopranos· game
• Whirlwind· game
• Wedgehead Pinball Podcast· organization
• Alan· person
• Alex· person
• Brian· person
• Chris Granner· person
• Greg Dunlap· person
• John Hay· person
• Kyle Johnson· person
• Pat Lawlor· person
• Steve Ritchie· person
• Vince Pontarelli· person
• BSMT sampling synthesis· product
• Yamaha FM synthesis· product