Interviews

Interview with Guy Shavitt

Published in Vandalism News #32
Performed by Jazzcat and DJB






D)
Welcome to the magazine, great to have you here! As normal with interviews, introduce yourself to the audience.

G)
My name is Guy Shavitt. I'm 27 years old, and married. I composed music for C64 under the Sidchip Scratchers music group between the years 1987 and 1992. In 1992 I left the scene. I composed music for many demo groups and e-zines. I also composed music for a number of games. Today I'm working in a start up company as project manager.


D)
When did you first start composing on C64? how did you enter the commercial game scene and could you name the highlights of your career leading up to the present day...

G)
As said before, I started composing on C64 in 1987. My first music for a commercial game was 'Crazy Cars III', which was released by Titus. The guys who made the game were from the French group 'Babygang', for which I composed music before. So, they asked me if I wanted to write music for their game, and I agreed. There weren't any highlights in my music career since I left the C64 scene, simply because I almost did nothing since then. I just composed music for some educational games on PC. That's about all. All the excitement was when I was active in the scene.



D)
Does Sidchip Scratchers exist on another computer?

G)
No. It only existed on C64.


D)
Which musicians on the old C64 did you respect or which ones impressed you the most?

G)
Well, my list of most liked musicians was not so different than the usual common list: Rob Hubbard, Martin Galway, the guys from MON, and Vibrants.


D)
How many tunes do you think you have completed and which one did you spend the longest time working on?

G)
I think I composed around 100 tunes, maybe a little less. Some took a day to complete, some took a week or so.



D)
Did you use an editor or assembler?

G)
I used Future Composer editor to compose the song, then converted the song to my player, and designed the instruments and extra effects/final touch.


D)
What players did you use before you started writing your own, and what players inspired you to create your own player?

G)
I used my own player from the beginning. It belonged to what I call the 'new generation' of players, such as MON's player and Vibrants' player.


D)
Which would be your personal favourite SID you composed?

G)
There is no favourite one. But I guess I can choose about 5 music which I like most.



D)
Any hints and tips for the learning C64 musician out there?

G)
Are there still new musicians on the C64? My tip for you: go on the simple melodic stuff. It works best with a few channels.


D)
Are you working on any new projects these days?

G)
I want to work on a professional (MP3) music project, but I don't have any time for that these days...


D)
Any words to leave a final impression on the audience?

G)
I'll always remember the great time I had on C64. Thanks to all the ones who liked my music!

Regards,

Guy.


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