DavidHoffner.com/bravingalaska

Soon after retiring from the road (1990), I began getting calls from one of my heroes,
John McEuen. John is a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and has had a
successful career as a solo performer and a film composer. As a teenager, I drove
countless miles in my jeep to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concerts, and spent hours absorbing
their records, and learning to play John's guitar and banjo parts.

John was calling to say that he was being considered as the composer for a National
Geographic Society TV Special titled "Braving Alaska". National Geographic only
produces four major TV Specials a year, and in the world of documentaries, they are
considered the best. "Braving Alaska" chronicles the lives of four families who live in the
most remote parts of Alaska. The producers liked John's music, but didn't feel that his
acoustic string instruments (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo) could completely cover
the musical needs of the film. They wanted a co-composer who could broaden the score
with keyboards and orchestration. John called me, we both submitted demos to the
producers, and they hired us as a team.

We made several trips to Los Angeles, the first one for the purpose of "spotting" the film.
This involves meeting with the director and producers, watching the rough cut of the film,
and deciding where music is needed and what emotional purpose it is to serve. We then
headed back to our respective homes (Nashville and Salt Lake City) to write for several
weeks. John then came to Nashville, where I had booked a studio, musicians, and
engineers to record the bulk of the music. Guest musicians included percussionist Kenny
Malone, bassist Craig Nelson, and dobro legend Josh Graves, who was an original
member of the "Flatt and Scruggs" band. John played banjo, guitar, and mandolin, and I
played keyboards, guitar, and hammered dulcimer. Actor Martin Sheen was our narrator
for the show.

As each group of cues was recorded, rough mixes were Fed Ex'd to the producers,
followed by conference calls about what they liked and (mostly) what they didn't like.
After weeks of revisions, we packed up the tapes and our instruments and headed to
California for the final mix, which was to take place at Aspen Studios, near Santa Barbara.
Aspen was owned by John's brother Bill McEuen, who had been the long-time
manager/producer of both Steve Martin and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

The film's director, editor, and music supervisor came for the mix session, which began
at 10:00 am, and ended the next morning at 6:00 am. Obviously, they still wanted quite a
few revisions, and we obliged to the point of total exhaustion. The director had warned us
that the National Geographic folks are extremely picky, but that their attention to detail is
what makes their programs shine.

The finished film was wonderful and received two Emmy Award Nominations. The editor
was nominated for "Best Editing of a Documentary or News Show", and John and I were
nominated for "Outstanding Musical Achievement". So we flew to NY, donned tuxes, and
partied with Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, and a host of other celebrities.

"Braving Alaska" was an incredible musical experience and the beginning of many collaborations with John McEuen. Since
then, we've played on each other's albums and performed together on TV at least a dozen times.

In retrospect, nothing is more fun than watching one of your "pipe dreams" come true. One day I was driving to the TV studio
to perform on a national TV show with John. As I glanced back to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I realized that I was
driving the same jeep that used to take me to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concerts years before. The only difference was that
instead of the jeep being full of friends and beer, it was now full of keyboards, and I was going to play instead of watch.

John and I have enjoyed a good musical partnership, a great friendship, and a common sense of humor. As he said during a
late night phone call, "Hey, if we lived in the same town, we could be friends or something."

____________________________________________Web Links:

____ ______John McEuen's Website ____ ____"Braving Alaska" at Amazon.com

____ _______ _________ ___Photos from TV Shows