Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"PAUL WILEY"!
BMI composer Paul Wiley has signed with Different Direction Management for representation.
Paul Wiley grew up to the awesome sounds of a massive vinyl collection, comprising everything from The Beatles to Adam and the Ants. Having played drums and guitar in several bands from an early age, Paul eventually made a name for himself by landing two record deals and producing/engineering albums in many Chicagoland studios.
After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, Paul found work composing music for commercials and features while continuing his career as a band musician, playing lead guitar in the six-month U.S. tour of the musical Rock Of Ages, as well as touring all over the world with Marilyn Manson, from 2014 until 2019. Manson’s album, We Are Chaos (2020), was co-produced by Shooter Jennings and featured Paul on guitars. It debuted as the highest-selling album in the first week of its release, went to number one in 17 countries, and peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart.
While on tour with Manson in 2016, Paul was asked by director Damien Leone to provide the music for his movie, Terrifier. Scoring most of the film in hotel rooms and on tour buses -though not ideal - turned out to be a great experience. The movie became an instant indie horror favorite, spawning an even more successful sequel, Terrifier 2 (2020), also scored by Paul. Shot on a $250,000 budget, Terrifier 2 opened in limited release but soon took off to land in the top 10 at the box office (placing just behind Halloween Ends at one point). The movie eventually grossed nearly $15 million, making it one of the most stunning sleeper hits in recent memory.
Paul’s film music is a combination of synthesized, electric and acoustic colors which create a one-of-a-kind soundscape, blending seamlessly when married to picture. Paul is currently composing the music for the film Stream which will be released this year.
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH: So, I just interviewed David Howard Thornton, and he confirmed "Terrifier 3" is in the works, my question for you is, are you doing the soundtrack?
PAUL: Terrifier 3 is a ways off but hopefully I can continue to score the sound of Art The Clown for the rest of the franchise.
STANDISH: Tell us a little about your overall mission, Paul -
PAUL: As far as my mission. It’s always to please the director first. And myself second. I would like to continue to do good work for good films. I have three other films I’ve scored coming out this year. So I’ve been fortunate to keep a steady work flow and do things that are a little more abstract, and able to experiment a lot.
STANDISH: How does it feel to be such a Horror icon?
PAUL: I don’t look at myself as a horror icon. I’m still a new face in a genre with great composers past and present. I still study the art form and still learning everyday. But it is really flattering when Terrifier fans reach out and tell me how much they love the score. I’m just really grateful that I got to work with Damien Leone and that he put his trust in me to deliver.
STANDISH: What was it like to tour with Marilyn Manson?
PAUL: Touring with Manson was always a great experience and a lot of monumental shows I got to be a part of , and will always be grateful to the whole camp involved.
STANDISH: Was it difficult to transition into movie soundtracks?
PAUL: I always wanted to score films and the transition was pretty seamless. I’ve been scoring indie films, commercials etc since 2010. I always thought I had way more to give than just being in rock bands.
STANDISH: What can we look forward to in the future from you?
PAUL: This year a few films I did are getting released in time for Halloween. I did the score for a film titled Stream that has an all star horror legend cast. It’s about the dark web and is very unnerving. It also has the longest score I’ve done to date. The other film is The Art Of Killing which was a lot of fun and is a more campy film with a lot of over the top kills. I am currently working on a film called Macabre Mountain that is near completion as well.
STANDISH: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
PAUL: In five years hopefully I will have branched out and done a few dramas or even comedies. The horror genre is great, but I would definitely like to transition into those types of films, and use more orchestra and do some uplifting music.
STANDISH: Who are some of your mentors?
PAUL: Tyler Bates was a great mentor to me. I also recently met Christopher Young and Harry Manfrendini and loved hearing their stories and feel fortunate to have had the chance to talk to them about what their approach etc. Tangerine Dream has always been a major influence as well
STANDISH: During COVID, we all faced struggles, what was one of your main struggles?
PAUL: Luckily for me I had things to work on during Covid. One of them being Terrifier 2. Things didn’t change much for me, because when I wasn’t on tour, I’ve always been a homebody working in the studio. So I feel fortunate that the world didn’t stop for me.
STANDISH: Where can fans find your work?
PAUL: People can get my physical product at sensoryrecordings.com and everything digital is on all the major streaming sites. My two projects outside of film are Razor Candy which I do with Chad Cherry and the other is Deveraux which is all me.
STANDISH: What's your social links?
PAUL: My main social media line is Instagram. PaulWileyMusic although I’m not on social media that often
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Thanks so much for your time!!!
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