Doctor Noize

On September 24th and 25th, award-winning children's music artist Dr. Noize will be appearing in Chico and Redding in collaboration with the North State Symphony, in two special concerts geared for youth. North State Symphony Executive Director Keith Herritt encourages all parents to attend this fun musical experience with their children. When asked what's special about the upcoming concert Herritt chuckled, "It's exciting because this will be the most ambitious, fun and original youth concert we've done to date-it's the first time we've reached out to involve a guest artist like Dr. Noize. We'll be playing some very familiar selections like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and we'll also be playing short original works written specifically for the concert by Dr. Noize. It's a great way to introduce kids to symphonic music."

About Dr. Noize

Dr. Noize (Cory Cullinan) performs across the country in family-oriented shows, sharing music in all its varieties with young audiences. He was raised and began his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, and more recently moved to Colorado with his wife and two young daughters.

Cullinan began composing music in junior high school, and fell in love with classical and orchestral music while attending Stanford University. Since then he has created and recorded numerous music releases, and taught many aspects of music composition and production to youth. He's led an award-winning youth choir (winners of Disneyland's huge Music in the Park competition) and his music has appeared in television shows, movies and documentaries.

While attending Stanford, Cullinan met Kyle Wiley Pickett, now Music Director and Conductor of the North State Symphony. The two hit it off and became friends. They sang in the Stanford Chamber Chorale together, and performed together in operas for Bay Area school kids. They've kept in touch and have followed each other's careers over the years...now both fathers, they are excited to be coming together again to blend their musical talents in this very special show for kids.

North State Symphony with Dr. Noize Youth Concert Show Dates:

Chico:
Thursday, September 24, 11:30 a.m.,
CSU, Chico's Laxson Auditorium. Tickets: CSU, Chico University Box Office; (530) 898-6333.

Redding:
Friday, September 25, 10:00 a.m., at the Cascade Theatre. Tickets: Cascade Theatre; (530) 243-8877.
Admission: $4.

For more information about
Dr. Noize visit www.doctornoize.com.
For information about the
North State Symphony visit
www.northstatesymphony.org.

The Birth of Dr. Noize

In 2007, Cullinan created his Dr. Noize character and began devoting himself to music for children and families. He released both a recording and book called The Ballad Of Phineas McBoof (the recording features the Grammy-nominated string quartet "Quartet San Francisco"). Within two months, the track Banana had become a national #1 hit on XM Kids Radio. Word quickly spread from kids to parents to college music professors, and Dr. Noize won awards ranging from the Parents Choice Award to being named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products.

Interview With Doctor Noize

We caught up with Dr. Noize himself to ask a few questions.
Who is Mr. Beethoven?

He's probably the most accessible great composer ever. His music is both deep and instantly approachable. It's hard to find someone of any age who's not instantly riveted by the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which we're performing at the concert. (I use the term "we're" very loosely in the previous sentence...) Also, he wrote what may be the greatest symphony ever written (his Ninth) when he was deaf. I think he did this to make all future musicians look like hacks.

Is playing with North State Symphony a dream come true?

Actually, yes. And not just because of Kyle's "concert night cologne," which is smashing. When I was a senior at Stanford, I had a giant stack of graduate school applications in music composition. In one of the few practical decisions I've ever made in my life, I decided not to apply to grad school in composition. Of all the great composition professors I knew of, almost none of them had any orchestras playing their stuff. I decided to go in directions that ensured I could personally get my music played and recorded. So it is both exciting and ironic that I am now able to perform with and compose for a fine orchestra through Doctor Noize. I am grateful for the opportunity; Kyle, the orchestra and I are going to do something truly unique in the world of family orchestra concerts.

You've been working diligently creating music for the upcoming show-give us a highlight!

One of the songs we are playing is an orchestral/operetta version of my hit song "Banana." It has recitative and aria sections, but it's played for laughs, of course. In the concert, it will be performed by the North State Symphony and sung by... Kyle and me!!! This version of the song will be included on my next - North State Parent Magazine

On September 24th and 25th, award-winning children's music artist Dr. Noize will be appearing in Chico and Redding in collaboration with the North State Symphony, in two special concerts geared for youth. North State Symphony Executive Director Keith Herritt encourages all parents to attend this fun musical experience with their children. When asked what's special about the upcoming concert Herritt chuckled, "It's exciting because this will be the most ambitious, fun and original youth concert we've done to date-it's the first time we've reached out to involve a guest artist like Dr. Noize. We'll be playing some very familiar selections like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and we'll also be playing short original works written specifically for the concert by Dr. Noize. It's a great way to introduce kids to symphonic music."

About Dr. Noize

Dr. Noize (Cory Cullinan) performs across the country in family-oriented shows, sharing music in all its varieties with young audiences. He was raised and began his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, and more recently moved to Colorado with his wife and two young daughters.

Cullinan began composing music in junior high school, and fell in love with classical and orchestral music while attending Stanford University. Since then he has created and recorded numerous music releases, and taught many aspects of music composition and production to youth. He's led an award-winning youth choir (winners of Disneyland's huge Music in the Park competition) and his music has appeared in television shows, movies and documentaries.

While attending Stanford, Cullinan met Kyle Wiley Pickett, now Music Director and Conductor of the North State Symphony. The two hit it off and became friends. They sang in the Stanford Chamber Chorale together, and performed together in operas for Bay Area school kids. They've kept in touch and have followed each other's careers over the years...now both fathers, they are excited to be coming together again to blend their musical talents in this very special show for kids.

North State Symphony with Dr. Noize Youth Concert Show Dates:

Chico:
Thursday, September 24, 11:30 a.m.,
CSU, Chico's Laxson Auditorium. Tickets: CSU, Chico University Box Office; (530) 898-6333.

Redding:
Friday, September 25, 10:00 a.m., at the Cascade Theatre. Tickets: Cascade Theatre; (530) 243-8877.
Admission: $4.

For more information about
Dr. Noize visit www.doctornoize.com.
For information about the
North State Symphony visit
www.northstatesymphony.org.

The Birth of Dr. Noize

In 2007, Cullinan created his Dr. Noize character and began devoting himself to music for children and families. He released both a recording and book called The Ballad Of Phineas McBoof (the recording features the Grammy-nominated string quartet "Quartet San Francisco"). Within two months, the track Banana had become a national #1 hit on XM Kids Radio. Word quickly spread from kids to parents to college music professors, and Dr. Noize won awards ranging from the Parents Choice Award to being named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products.

Interview With Doctor Noize

We caught up with Dr. Noize himself to ask a few questions.
Who is Mr. Beethoven?

He's probably the most accessible great composer ever. His music is both deep and instantly approachable. It's hard to find someone of any age who's not instantly riveted by the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which we're performing at the concert. (I use the term "we're" very loosely in the previous sentence...) Also, he wrote what may be the greatest symphony ever written (his Ninth) when he was deaf. I think he did this to make all future musicians look like hacks.

Is playing with North State Symphony a dream come true?

Actually, yes. And not just because of Kyle's "concert night cologne," which is smashing. When I was a senior at Stanford, I had a giant stack of graduate school applications in music composition. In one of the few practical decisions I've ever made in my life, I decided not to apply to grad school in composition. Of all the great composition professors I knew of, almost none of them had any orchestras playing their stuff. I decided to go in directions that ensured I could personally get my music played and recorded. So it is both exciting and ironic that I am now able to perform with and compose for a fine orchestra through Doctor Noize. I am grateful for the opportunity; Kyle, the orchestra and I are going to do something truly unique in the world of family orchestra concerts.

You've been working diligently creating music for the upcoming show-give us a highlight!

One of the songs we are playing is an orchestral/operetta version of my hit song "Banana." It has recitative and aria sections, but it's played for laughs, of course. In the concert, it will be performed by the North State Symphony and sung by... Kyle and me!!! This version of the song will be included on my next - North State Parent Magazine

Cory Cullinan, the musician/genius/madman behind Doctor Noize is both a very funny and a very loquacious man. The interview below, which was conducted in late December, was even longer what's printed below. I left out jokes and I left out even more of the obvious passion Cullinan brings to his unique family music project. Even if you've never heard of Doctor Noize (or even if you have and can't forgive him for writing that "Banana" song that's still stuck in your head), read on find out more about his musical upbringing, crazy musical plans, and views on U.S. Men's National Soccer Team coach Bob Bradley.

Zooglobble: What are your early musical memories growing up?
Cory Cullinan: Well, my parents used me as a drum. I think. My head's a little fuzzy on that. Pretty much the only rock band we listened to when I was a little kid was the Beatles, and they're still probably my favorite band. Other than that it was musical theater and classical music.

I took piano lessons, sang a lot, and played saxophone. The sax I play onstage as Dr. Noize is still the Yamaha student model I played in elementary school. The first records I bought were Queen's The Game and Saturday Night Fever... I met Howard Jones in my teens and he was super cool to me. I loved his DIY approach to making music and his unabashedly positive, anti-whine philosophical message. I learned to play a bunch of rock songs and started writing and recording my own songs on cheap Yamaha and Casio synths I bought in Hong Kong.

My most significant early musical memories were in high school with my friend Mark Van Horn. His parents were not rich, but his dad nonetheless somehow funded a makeshift eight-track recording studio in the janitor's room at the apartment complex he managed. Mark and I spent virtually all our time there when I wasn't playing soccer. We wrote and recorded entire albums together in our teens, learning both the artistic and technical craft of songwriting and recording. One of those recordings -- "Gotta Teach Others To Enjoy Life" -- is actually used unchanged in our new Doctor Noize online game, Who Dropped The Block? That's 17-year-old me writing and singing all the harmonies. We went deep.

So Mark introduced me to the recording studio and my future wife, then he died in his twenties of a brain tumor -- just like my brother. Crazy. Mark and my brother inspired much of my life's philosophy, really -- I sort of do a lot of things in honor of them -- and they were two of the funniest and most naturally brilliant guys I've ever met. And I was hooked -- on both the music and the girl.

I listened to and played a lot of rock and pop music, then started to find the genre a bit too musically conservative to keep my fire intrigued. I know everybody in mainstream America thinks rock is rebellious and challenging and classical music is conservative, but musically speaking that is precisely backward. That's a whole other conversation.

So I went to Stanford and enjoyed degrees in Music and Political Science. I performed in the Stanford Chamber Chorale with both Dave Kim (co-founder of Outblaze) and Kyle Pickett (the amazing conductor of CA's North State Symphony, who I now play concerts with). I forged a lifelong friendship with Jay Kadis, who runs the recording studio at Stanford and taught me a lot more about recording techniques, and Jay and I still get together to record some of the Doctor Noize tracks at Stanford when I'm in town. (Don't tell the university -- this interview isn't gonna be published, right???)

What specific event or two made you turn to family music?
Well, I met Jimi Hendrix in a dream, and he said... Oh sorry, wrong audience. I was talking to Berlioz about writing his Fantastic Symphony in an opium-induced frenzy of creativity and... Oh sorry, wrong audience.

The two most significant events were the births of my action/adventure superhero daughters. I [also] loved teaching high school music and conducting choirs, and found that there was nothing better than connecting with kids about music. So I wanted to apply that to younger kids like my own kids. I took my kids to see shows by a wonderful guy in the San Francisco Bay Area named Andy Z, and my kids and I decided that daddy should do that too.

What I really wanted to do was create a live show that would engage both kids and the adults in the CREATIVE PROCESS. I would watch kids' entertainment of many kinds with my children, and I'd appreciate 'em because my kids liked 'em, but not necessarily have any inherent interest in it myself. I have attempted to make my show of interest to the whole family by including insane amounts of energy for the kids, and an insane web of musicianship and technology for the adults.

I'm a one-man-band who plays a bunch of different instruments onstage and arranges and records songs live. Adults quickly get the sense that there is an element of danger involved for me onstage -- any number of technological or musical th - Zooglobble

Cory Cullinan, the musician/genius/madman behind Doctor Noize is both a very funny and a very loquacious man. The interview below, which was conducted in late December, was even longer what's printed below. I left out jokes and I left out even more of the obvious passion Cullinan brings to his unique family music project. Even if you've never heard of Doctor Noize (or even if you have and can't forgive him for writing that "Banana" song that's still stuck in your head), read on find out more about his musical upbringing, crazy musical plans, and views on U.S. Men's National Soccer Team coach Bob Bradley.

Zooglobble: What are your early musical memories growing up?
Cory Cullinan: Well, my parents used me as a drum. I think. My head's a little fuzzy on that. Pretty much the only rock band we listened to when I was a little kid was the Beatles, and they're still probably my favorite band. Other than that it was musical theater and classical music.

I took piano lessons, sang a lot, and played saxophone. The sax I play onstage as Dr. Noize is still the Yamaha student model I played in elementary school. The first records I bought were Queen's The Game and Saturday Night Fever... I met Howard Jones in my teens and he was super cool to me. I loved his DIY approach to making music and his unabashedly positive, anti-whine philosophical message. I learned to play a bunch of rock songs and started writing and recording my own songs on cheap Yamaha and Casio synths I bought in Hong Kong.

My most significant early musical memories were in high school with my friend Mark Van Horn. His parents were not rich, but his dad nonetheless somehow funded a makeshift eight-track recording studio in the janitor's room at the apartment complex he managed. Mark and I spent virtually all our time there when I wasn't playing soccer. We wrote and recorded entire albums together in our teens, learning both the artistic and technical craft of songwriting and recording. One of those recordings -- "Gotta Teach Others To Enjoy Life" -- is actually used unchanged in our new Doctor Noize online game, Who Dropped The Block? That's 17-year-old me writing and singing all the harmonies. We went deep.

So Mark introduced me to the recording studio and my future wife, then he died in his twenties of a brain tumor -- just like my brother. Crazy. Mark and my brother inspired much of my life's philosophy, really -- I sort of do a lot of things in honor of them -- and they were two of the funniest and most naturally brilliant guys I've ever met. And I was hooked -- on both the music and the girl.

I listened to and played a lot of rock and pop music, then started to find the genre a bit too musically conservative to keep my fire intrigued. I know everybody in mainstream America thinks rock is rebellious and challenging and classical music is conservative, but musically speaking that is precisely backward. That's a whole other conversation.

So I went to Stanford and enjoyed degrees in Music and Political Science. I performed in the Stanford Chamber Chorale with both Dave Kim (co-founder of Outblaze) and Kyle Pickett (the amazing conductor of CA's North State Symphony, who I now play concerts with). I forged a lifelong friendship with Jay Kadis, who runs the recording studio at Stanford and taught me a lot more about recording techniques, and Jay and I still get together to record some of the Doctor Noize tracks at Stanford when I'm in town. (Don't tell the university -- this interview isn't gonna be published, right???)

What specific event or two made you turn to family music?
Well, I met Jimi Hendrix in a dream, and he said... Oh sorry, wrong audience. I was talking to Berlioz about writing his Fantastic Symphony in an opium-induced frenzy of creativity and... Oh sorry, wrong audience.

The two most significant events were the births of my action/adventure superhero daughters. I [also] loved teaching high school music and conducting choirs, and found that there was nothing better than connecting with kids about music. So I wanted to apply that to younger kids like my own kids. I took my kids to see shows by a wonderful guy in the San Francisco Bay Area named Andy Z, and my kids and I decided that daddy should do that too.

What I really wanted to do was create a live show that would engage both kids and the adults in the CREATIVE PROCESS. I would watch kids' entertainment of many kinds with my children, and I'd appreciate 'em because my kids liked 'em, but not necessarily have any inherent interest in it myself. I have attempted to make my show of interest to the whole family by including insane amounts of energy for the kids, and an insane web of musicianship and technology for the adults.

I'm a one-man-band who plays a bunch of different instruments onstage and arranges and records songs live. Adults quickly get the sense that there is an element of danger involved for me onstage -- any number of technological or musical th - Zooglobble