[The-Real-Link]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I recently sat down and had a nice chat (via. Instant Messenger) with Pianist, Arranger, Composer, and all-around nice guy Michael Gluck. Michael Gluck is a major player on the video game music scene. Going by the monichre "Piano Squall", Michael Gluck has been the guest of honor and numorous video game and anime conventions, and his self-published CD "GAME" has achieved international success over the past couple of years. Here's how the interview went down...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRL: Hey Mr. Gluck, how are you doing?
Mr. Gluck: I'm doing great man, how about yourself?
TRL: I'm doing fine!
...

TRL: When did you first become interested in music?
Mr. Gluck: After I played Final Fantasy IV for SNES, I was about 9.
I became interested in music because of the soundtrack to FFIV.
[It was] Good enough to make me want to try out the piano.

TRL: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Mr. Gluck: Good one, let me think...Definitely not a pianist, I didn't even
realize that was possible. I wanted to be a video game music composer for sure.
Also wanted to be a criminal defense attorney for a while. Game designer/producer was on my
mind too. Either something with making games, writing music for games, or law.

TRL: What type of musical education do you have?
Mr. Gluck: I studied privately with a master pianist named David Syme. David has taught me for
two years and is my current teacher. Prior to that I studied under another master named Di Wu.
Di taught me for two years. Prior to that I studied under a non-professional pianist, but a great teacher, named Rosina Bove. she taught me for six years.

TRL: When did you first start playing video games?
Mr. Gluck: [I have been playing] video games since age 5, RPGs since 9; [I] taught myself for a
few years plinking around on the piano, trying to figure out the RPG music

TRL: What or where was your first professional performance playing video game music?
Mr. Gluck: I played my first concert in 2003 at AnimeUSA in Virginia.

TRL: How did the GAME album come into being? What was the creative process behind it?
Mr. Gluck: There were no independently produced video game music piano albums [at the time]. The only thing that existed were released by the publisher. I wanted to create a professional quality piano album of my favorite video game and anime songs, and use the proceeds to support Multiple Sclerosis fundraising. So I licensed the music and self-published my own album. Then I went digital through the publisher Nettwerk. So the album is available for purchase on [my website] in hard copy purchase, and [by] digital download on every site like itunes, emusic, amazon, etc.
TRL: I own one of the hard copies myself. It's a very good album!
Mr. Gluck: Thanks! One of the most rewarding things I've done with my life is make that album. It keeps on selling so well after all this time too, its heartwarming to see how many people all over the world are loving it.

TRL: Was there any kind of legal process that you had to go through with the companies like Square-Enix or Viz Media to use the songs?
Mr. Gluck: [It was a] Very simple process, everything is done through the Harry Fox Agency. They secure the licenses for you, you pay them,
they pay the publishers. No problem at all with the licensing of this music.

TRL: You've struck up a bit of a fan-base. What is this like for an independant musician? Do you interact personally with your fans, such as signing CDs, or playing at private engagements?
Mr. Gluck: I do more than just that, whenever I play a show, I take all of my forum members out to dinner afterwards. anyone who shows up gets a free dinner on squall!. I answer every email myself, no one does that for me. I outsource logistics like marketing and CD shipping to make time for answering the emails
TRL: You must really enjoy meeting all the people who support your work!
Mr. Gluck: I'm humbled that anyone would take their time to come out and support me.

TRL: All of the profits from GAME, as well as your performances goes to charity, do you make your personal living in music as well?
Mr. Gluck: 100% of my performance fee and 20% of the gross revenue from GAME goes to charity. I do not make a living at music, it is my charity work. I own a video game market research firm called VGMarket. That is my personal income.

TRL: Have you ever competed in any type of music competition, such as an arranging or performing competition?
Mr. Gluck: [I've] Never had an interest in making music competitive. Just me and the audience having fun

TRL: What type of process do you go through to create your arrangements? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Mr. Gluck: Chopin, Scott Joplin, Liszt. I figure out the right hand by ear. and then I think about what type of left hand would be suit it. and then look at mostly those three for ideas.

TRL: What do you do if you find yourself with a case of writer's block when writing a piece of music?
Mr. Gluck: Go play RPGs.
TRL: *laughs*. You Can't beat that!
Mr. Gluck: Or [I] do Dohnanyi or Hannon or something. whatever it is something productive.

TRL: You included an original composition on GAME. Do you write a lot of original music?
Mr. Gluck: I don't write much, but I love it. I own this company: www.GameSong.com. We write music for video games. We wrote the soundtrack for the most recent Ultima Online expansion pack. It is me and a group of my composer friends.

TRL: Are there any other activities or hobbies that you enjoy outside of music and games, such as art or athletics?
Mr. Gluck: Athletics, *laughs*, man i'm inept dude! I'm lucky enough to put one foot in front of the other...I kinda like ping-pong!
TRL: I'm right with you.
Mr. Gluck: I know right? *You and I have to take vitamin D supplements. Oh! you want a funny tidbit for the interview here it is, *laughs*. Okay in 10th grade I won 9th place at the US National Chess Championships, *laughs* I know you were hoping for basketball or something. True story! I used to be really into competitive chess

TRL: Is there any one particular video game score that is your favorite?
Mr. Gluck: Yes, Final Fantasy VI is my favorite.

TRL: What is your all-time favorite anime score?
Mr. Gluck: Something by Yuki Kajiura. She is my favorite composer for anime anything she does I love it.

TRL: Seeing as you go by the alias "Piano Squall", I have to ask, is Squall Leonheart your favorite Final Fantasy character?
Mr. Gluck: Nah, he's not my favorite. I like Steiner. and ViVi. But I guess it would be hard to play in a mage hat or suit of armor...

TRL: What kind of music do you play or listen to outside of video game music? Are there any composers that you particularly enjoy listening to?
Mr. Gluck: Yes, Liszt, Chopin, Rach, Joplin, Bach; more and more these days. I like certain pianists too. Cziffra [is my] my favorite, also Horowitz, like everyone else

TRL: Are there any projects that you are working on right now that you could tell us about?
Mr. Gluck: Absolutely! I am preparing a new concert program of original video game and anime music as well as GAME 2. Tracks will include Final Fantasy favorites that were not included in GAME such as To Zanarkand, the Aria, Terra's Theme, and various other selections from classic and modern games and anime.

TRL: What is your favorite food?
Mr. Gluck: Chicken baby! Dont even have to think about it.

TRL: What is your theme song?
Mr. Gluck: Hmm thats harder...I was thinking "Kyle's Mom is a b***h in g minor" from South Park would have been a good answer.

TRL: Is there anything that you would like to say to prospective performers and composers?
Mr. Gluck: Yeah for sure man, [you] gotta find your reason to play. Peformance is an exciting life. You get to travel the world entertaining and meeting new people. You get to affect peoples' lives with music, and if you're lucky, you might even inspire someone to do something that they have always dreamed of. However, the concertizing itself is only one small piece of the whole process. The rest of it is about regimented practicing, marketing, sales, and logistics. You have to love the music enough to push through the unpleasant aspects of performance life and get to the fun part, which is sharing music with people. That's what it's all about, but you need to come into this world with a profound love for the music itself or the work will
burn you out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately Michael's internet connection cut off, but we later exchanged fairwells via email.

TO SUPPORT MICHAEL GLUCK AND ALL THE GREAT CHARITY WORK THAT HE DOES, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PIANOSQUALL.COM

[MilesOfMusic]

Jealous of the piano teachers
A Cilburn finalist
Makes me want to move to America...