My first paid gig in Hollywood
I was house-interning at Second City Hollywood in 2012 when I heard a terrible sounding sample of saxophone over a lovely jazz tune. The sax sample was cringe-worthy and I’m a mediocre sax player at best. The tune kept blasting throughout the office. I investigated further and found Second City Hollywood’s Artistic Director, Joshua Funk, plucking away at his keyboard.
Josh Funk happened to be my Conservatory 1 teacher and was also the composer on Key & Peele, so I shot my shot and popped into his office. I had absolutely no plan, and to be honest, I was nervous as hell. I mean, he is an alumni of the Second City Detroit as well as a multiple Jeff Award-winning director in Chicago. I offered my services to help him with his sax situation and within the hour he emailed me the sheet music. I sent in an audition on my cellphone. He liked my tone and the next day we recorded the track at Second City Hollywood. It all happened so fast – it was like a dream…
Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine…
I remember Funk draping the studio in Duvateen – heavy black felt material – on a hot summer day. Beads of sweat poured down my face as usual. Our session turned out great and he was happy. One hundred bucks and a handshake later, I was on my way to the first of many gigs in this weird world of Hollywood. How do you think it came out?
