Born and raised in New York, Anthony Baldino is a Los Angeles-based artist, composer and sound designer whose work spans an enormous range of production avenues. The likelihood that you haven’t heard his work is nearly impossible. From production on film scores such as Tenet, Wakanda Forever and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts to remixing artists for trailers including Blondie, Travis Scott, Howard Shore and others, on to music and sound design featured in countless trailer campaigns. From there, his work ventures to the opposite pole of production with solo artist releases and preset design for the industry’s leading virtual instrument companies.
Johnny George hails from Pittsburgh and studied music industry and business at Northeastern University (Boston). In 2006 he and his band moved to Los Angeles and toured nationally for several years before shifting his career into the world of music licensing. He now finds himself as a partner at REPEATER Music handling day-to-day business operations, development and music licensing. He has cleared and pitched music for countless film/tv marketing campaigns and managed business operations/development for multiple business.
We spent two minutes with Anthony and Johnny to learn more about their background, their creative inspirations and recent work they’ve admired.
Anthony and Johnny, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
- Anthony: I was born and raised in New York and currently living in L.A.
- Johnny: I grew up in the Steel City of Pittsburgh and currently live in Los Angeles.
Why you pursued a career in entertainment.
- Anthony: Music is the only thing I could always come back to and still feel excited, so pursuing a career in it was a natural path to follow. I also find so many like-minded people in this small niche music community that all seem to champion for one another and that sort of thing is increasingly hard to find.
- Johnny: Music is an ultimate form of expression to me. I started playing guitar in 7th grade, switched to drums in 9th grade, and the drive to make entertainment a career (in some capacity) only grew from there.
Three movies/TV shows you couldn’t do without.
- Anthony: The Sopranos. Absolutely flawless. Brilliantly written and cast. The Fountain. I love the concept and the score is one of my favorites of all time. Cheers. How can you not feel good after watching Cheers?
- Johnny: City Of God. Phenomenal film, powerful story and extremely well done. Dumb and Dumber. Comedy gold. I need laughter in my life. SportsCenter. Gotta have my daily sports fix.
Your favorite movie trailer or poster.
One of your favorite projects you’ve ever worked on.
- Anthony: Honestly, it’s hard to pick one. Each project has its own unique challenges and victories that feed into and shape the next project. It’s hard to point to one without acknowledging the several others.
- Johnny: A trailer for War Dogs (2016) used a vocal stem from an old bandmate/best friend who passed away in 2012. That one still feels really special for me.
A recent project you’re proud of.
- Anthony/Johnny: REPEATER recently did the first teaser trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon, which provided an opportunity to do something really different and help tell such an important story. We’re grateful and proud to have been a part of that one.
One thing about how entertainment marketing is evolving that you’re excited about.
- Anthony: Coming from an electronic music background, it’s really exciting to see so many people leaning into sound design as the “featured instrument” or backbone of composition. It drastically opens up the possibilities of what music can be.
- Johnny: I think just the overall amount of content, and ways to discover music now, have really provided more opportunities for companies like ours, and for lesser known bands/artists to be heard.
Someone else’s work, in entertainment or beyond, that you admired lately.
- Anthony: Jongnic Bontemps and Ludwig Göransson. Two amazing musical minds that always inspire.
- Johnny: Nate Bargatze’s “Hello World” special on Amazon is fantastic work. I also saw Nine Inch Nails for the fourth time this summer, and their live show (whether you like their music or not) is a mind blowing experience.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.
- Anthony: I recently listened to, and often revisit, Rick Rubin’s conversation with Trent Reznor on his podcast, Tetragrammaton. There’s a lot of honesty in it that I found both comforting and relieving.
- Johnny: How I Built This is a solid podcast. Some really great and inspiring stories behind some really interesting companies. I’m involved with a few other start-up businesses so I’m always intrigued by how others have done it.
A visual artist or band/musician you admire.
Your favorite fictional character.
- Anthony: Godzilla
- Johnny: Probably Ted Lasso, or Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski.
Someone worth following in social media.
- Anthony: @Ouchhh
- Johnny: @ziregolf always provides some quality humor, but it’s definitely golf centered.
Your main strength as a marketer/creative.
- Anthony: Sound design has always been at the center of my music. Creating all of my sounds from scratch gives me a leg up in the fact that my music will have a sound that’s unique to me.
- Johnny: Speaking more from REPEATER’s standpoint, Sound design is the bread and butter. It’s something that I believe sets us apart and is an absolute strength of our business.
Your biggest weakness.
- Anthony: I care too much.
- Johnny: Chocolate chip cookies
Something people would find surprising about you.
- Anthony: Absolute sucker for Christmas.
- Johnny: My old band was the backing band for Slick Rick for a handful of shows on the east and west coasts. I’m also an obsessive golfer.
One thing that always makes you happy.
- Anthony: Christmas with my parents.
- Johnny: Golf
One thing that always makes you sad.
- Anthony: The inevitability of my loved ones’ death.
- Johnny: Watching the Steelers play football this season.
What you’d be doing if you weren’t in entertainment.
- Anthony: I’d own an Italian deli in New York.
- Johnny: Playing more golf and eating sandwiches at Anthony’s Italian deli in NY.
