Could anything be better preparation for a global pandemic that puts society on hold than the profession of film composing? There are many horror stories, perhaps the most famous of which being James Cameron’s Aliens in 1986, where several filming delays led to composer James Horner having to compose and record cues for the film overnight with the film’s theatrical release just weeks away. Headliner got chatting with composer Joseph Stephens, who has scored HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones and Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever, to see if the relentless life of a film scorer might serve as emotional preparation for being placed in quarantine.
“I’ve definitely been in situations where I’ve had to work all night, or suddenly make last-minute changes in the wee hours,” Stephens says. “Especially when projects pile up on top of each other. I don’t actually mind those situations that much, I kind of enjoy the stress of it! I feel like I do well under that pressure, at least in my mind. Sometimes I triple up on jobs, and when the deadlines overlap, things can get a bit hairy.”
You might think Stephens would much prefer a smoother process, considering his website bio mentions his love of tending to his hot pepper garden at his home.
“That’s very relaxing,” he says. “If I’m in a meeting on the phone, I’ll often be out there pulling weeds and doing the jobs that need doing out there. It’s raining right now, otherwise, I’d probably be gardening right now!”
Stephens entered the world of film “through a band I was in (named Pyramid) that had connections to some film school buddies — we made a film together around 2005. The director wanted our band to do the music. That certainly wasn’t a paid job, but it got our feet into the door. The filmmakers then brought me along for a lot of other projects, which led to more contacts and more work. I’m just glad I stayed in touch with talented people like Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, This Is The End). I didn’t come from a classical background or anything like that, I just played in bands.”
Stephens’ music on one particular show has become very popular indeed, on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, which his friend Danny McBride is the creator and star of.
Stephens was not only asked to write the original score, but also to pen a country-western style theme song for the series.
“I work with these guys a lot, so I knew what I was in for in terms of the score side of it,” he says. “But at first, the song was just referenced as being in the backstory of the show. So we didn’t even know if we were going to hear the song. But as we were writing, it became a reality, and Danny tasked me with coming up with this thing. It was daunting at first, knowing that kids were going to sing it and that it needed to sound vintage and sixties!”
