Local News
Thursday, December 24, 2009
H-L grad makes hip hop -- and a differenceStaff Writer
Stephen Sendelbach has been interested in making music since he was a kid in Bascom. Now, his songwriting skills are helping children in need.
A 1985 Hopewell-Loudon graduate, Sendelbach now lives in Clermont, Fla., just west of Orlando. He recently completed a CD of music that he wrote and produced.
Sendelbach met NBA Orlando Magic player Dwight Howard, nicknamed "Superman" because of his famous Superman dunk at the NBA dunk contest and on YouTube. Sendelbach was impressed at Howard's dedication to the Orlando Magic Youth Fund. The fund pays for opportunities for children from less privileged families.
After meeting Howard, Sendelbach decided to add the pop/hip-hop dance club song "I Saw Superman" to his CD, including a Dwight Howard NBA remix. Sendelbach also will donate 10 percent of the CD's profits to the Orlando Magic Youth Fund.
The fund is designed to help youths, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. Sendelbach said they get opportunities to do things they might not otherwise be able to do, such as attend basketball camp.
"The players actually take part, and try to be positive role models," he explained. Vocal producer/film scorer Michael "Mike B" Brassell (Disney, Turner Feature Animation, EA Sports, Yanni) produced the vocals for the songs. Brassell is a childhood friend of Sendelbach's and is originally from Bluffton.
Sendelbach said Orlando DJ Bobby Steele is already playing "I Saw Superman" in the clubs. Sendelbach intends to pitch the song to stores, radio, film, sports and television projects "very soon."
Last week, Sendelbach met with Tina Shepherd, manager of the foundation. He presented her with a framed CD for Howard and 20 free CDs for the foundation. The album is a mix of pop, hip-hop and dance club songs.
"As much as I enjoy success in the music business, I also want to be a part of a good cause," he stated.
Sendelbach and Brassell started writing songs around age 16, dreaming of getting into music. They moved to California in 1988 and performed as a band, Act II.
In 1992 the two of them did a song called "Gotta Do Something" for a Disney film of the same name. Sendelbach said it wasn't a big box office film but it did end up released on DVD. Writing a song for a film opened some doors for Sendelbach and Brassell professionally.
Sendelbach noted that he and Brassell mostly collaborated on writing songs but there was an element of "friendly competition" between the two of them.
He left California and moved back to Ohio, then to Florida. Brassell remained in California.
Sendelbach said he was impressed when he met Howard, 23, an age where, he said, many young adults devote time to partying. Instead, Howard was dedicated to the charity and spent a lot of time with the children it benefits, Sendelbach remarked.
Sendelbach, 43, said as he has gotten older his tastes have turned to "adult" music such as jazz. But dance, hip-hop and R&B are better sellers, so he decided to create a dance record. The hope is "it's got everybody dancing and moving and having a good time," he said.
He added that the Orlando Magic cheerleaders got a copy of the CD to see if they might do a routine to accompany it.
Meanwhile, a DJ in Texas has asked for the CD to promote songs.
"Little things like that are a big help," Sendelbach said.
Sendelbach offered advice to would-be musicians and songwriters.
"Now that everything is going online, there's a lot of things you can do yourself with YouTube and being able to put songs online," he reflected. "But in my opinion, if you're a band, you probably need to be in a place like Los Angeles or Atlanta or maybe Nashville to get the career going.... Someone like myself who's a writer or producer can be just about anywhere."
He recommended two companies, Taxi and SongLink. Once you pay the membership fees you get access to a regular listing of movies and television shows looking for songs for their soundtracks, Sendelbach said. Even if your song hasn't been released professionally it can still be eligible, he continued. And if your song is rejected, Taxi will offer a critique telling you how to improve for next time, Sendelbach said.
Once you have had a song released professionally, you can join New On The Charts, or NOTC, which gives you access to more contact information for film supervisors, Sendelbach said.
"Once you can show that you've had a song released nationally, a lot of doors open up," he noted.
Sendelbach is mostly self-taught. When he was in high school, "break-dancing had just gotten popular," he said.
He learned to program drums on electronic drum kits, and also studied the piano.
Today, Sendelbach has a home studio set up with a program that allows him to simulate bass, guitar, drums and other instruments on the keyboard. He can program his keyboard so it sounds like an entire band. Sometimes, he said, he'll mimic up to 15 or 20 different instruments.
Sendelbach attended Pasadena City College for a year, learning music theory and engineering, but said most of his education in music has come through "trial and error." Listening to movie scores, he has learned what instruments sound good together, he said.
Sendelbach would "absolutely recommend music classes for anybody," but he feels he benefited from being self-taught. It's easy to find lessons to play the piano or the guitar but songwriting lessons aren't as readily available, so songwriting is a skill musicians must learn as they go along, he stated.
"I find writing original songs so much more exciting than playing something someone else wrote," he concluded.
The CD "I Saw Superman Rock the Floor" is available for download on iTunes and cdBaby as well as on Sendelbach's Web site, http://www.Ste-Vo.com.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
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The Findlay Publishing Company
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Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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