GoNintendo interview: Tommy Tallarico's Earthworm Jim project

As a lot of you know, just recently we went out to Phily to see Video Games Live, a video game symphony put together by Tommy Tallarico. Mr. Tallarico has been in the games industry for quite some time, composing many, MANY game soundtracks along the way. I have a sweet spot in my heart for the soundtracks from Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, games which I remember very fondly. The music was a mix of original tunes and classical songs, all of which fit the game perfectly. I don’t think a week goes by where I don’t listen to some part of the sountracks.

Little did I know that Tommy Tallarico was working on an Earthworm Jim compilation CD. The CD will contain hand picked songs from Earthworm Jim 1 & 2, played on real instruments by Tommy Tallarico and others. I got the chance to ask Mr. Tallarico a little more about the upcoming CD.

GoNintendo - What gave you the idea to put together an Earthworm Jim CD?

Tommy Tallarico - So many people have always e-mailed me or sent me letters over the years asking for something like this. It was always something I wanted to do and now that Video Games Live is up and running I thought that being able to sell the CD at the concerts would be cool.

GoNintendo - Is the EJ soundtrack one of your favorites to have worked on?

Tommy Tallarico - Absolutely! It was one of the most fun projects ever for me! One of the reasons was that the small team of people who worked on it were so cool and talented. It was like we were all given free reign to do whatever the heck we wanted. No rules, no game design, no bitchy publisher or producer telling us to change stuff…. Just a group of friends with a budget and a deadline to make something fun and funny.

GoNintendo - How are you deciding what songs will be included?

Tommy Tallarico - I’ve spoken to a lot of people over the years about what they liked the best. That being said… I’m gonna fill up the entire CD and probably put 20+ tracks on there so there won’t be much missing!

GoNintendo - How many people will be performing on the CD?

Tommy Tallarico - There are probably about 5 or 6 different musicians but I’m still keeping it true to form so a lot of the original CD version from the Sega CD & Saturn versions are going to be used… which not a lot of people have heard.

I’ve also taken a bunch of remix stuff that fans have done over at OCRemix. I love supporting the community over there and giving those very talented people their props!

We’ll have 3 or 4 EWJ remixes done by the fans!

GoNintendo - What instruments can we expect to hear you playing?

Tommy Tallarico - Let’s see… I did piano, synth, bass, drums, guitar and even some accordion with my dad!!

GoNintendo - Do you have a favorite track?

Tommy Tallarico - Two are my personal favorites. From the original I always liked the song “Falling”. I extended the track out and put in a guitar solo for the album version.

Subterranean was a favorite from EWJ 2 (aka Lorenzo’s Soil). It has a really nice Enigma/Delerium vibe to it. I really love that sytle of music and wish I had the time to write more of it.

GoNintendo - When is the CD coming out, and where can we get it?!

Tommy Tallarico - The CD will be coming out in July and initially it will only be available on the Video Games Live online store or at one of our shows

GoNintendo - Can we expect to hear any of these songs played at a future VGL?

Tommy Tallarico - Lots of people ask me about that. I hope that someday we can play something cool. Martin Leung actually plays an amazing version of the really fast Banjo Tune on the piano. Maybe as an encore or something? Because I already have Advent Rising in the show with the orchestra and choir, I kinda feel bad having two segments when there is so much great music out there and we’re trying to promote as many people and projects as possible.

Huge thanks to Mr. Tallarico for taking the time out to talk with us!