HOT HOUSE: Big Foote

The tag line pretty much says it all: “Making lives better through music.” Brothers Ray and Sherman Foote not only live and work by those words, but they founded their audio studio on them in 1994. Big Foote Music, now in its 13th year, was always intended as a place where creative, musical minds could meet and make great music together for a variety of media outlets- from TV and Web to radio and, more recently, film- and have fun doing it. The key, they say, is team work.

“Without a doubt, our dedication to a collaborative working style has been the fuel that keeps this company vibrant, flourishing and growing, both creatively and commercially,” says big brother Ray. “Our ability to tap into the’team brain,’ if you will, has continually helped us to solve problems and tackle challenges.”

Some of Big Foote’s recent gigs include television campaigns for American Express, Cingular Wireless and Mastercard, as well as scoring the pilot episode for Shark on CBS and VH1’s four-part series, The Drug Years.

Big Foote recently began exploring new frontiers in film- working on last year’s Oscar-nominated Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room and Charlex Studio’s animated short, “One Rat Short,” a 2006 Siggraph show winner and potential 2007 Academy Award nominee.

The brothers’ background in music has helped situate Big Foote in quite a favorable position- between the two, they’ve played in bands, worked as session musicians, composed and recorded music, studied it in school and worked in film production. Ray, who’s known as the guy who played the famous guitar riff for MTV’s original “Moon Landing” network identity, says, “The vibe on the film stage inspired me because of the high level of intelligence and collaboration.” “I’ve always been a composer,” adds Sherman. “The creative process thrills me and I never want to stop writing and recording.”

The brothers describe Big Foote as “a band, not a company.” “That’s a great metaphor,” explains Sherman. “It says we’re part of something bigger than just one person.”

Within 5,300 square feet of space, housing five studios, three live rooms and a centralized area called the‘Digital Kitchen,’ which facilitates the inflow and outflow of all materials (audio and video), everyone at Big Foote works on the same platform: Pro Tools HD Accel systems with Logic audio interfaces.

The team draws a lot of its creative inspiration from its environment. Unlike the dark settings of many audio studios, Big Foote centered itself in New York’s Union Square and enjoys its 360-degrees of windows. “That’s been brilliantly handled,” says Sherman. “We have nature shine in- or rain or snow. That was a very intentional move on our part.”

According to Sherman, someone is always creating something. “A lot of it isn’t always heard, except by us, which makes us kind of nerdy. But that’s also the fun of it. It’s a musical playground and we’re inspired by musical, gifted people.

“Our interest is to make a life that’s music centered. That ideal in itself creates a community and a very vibrant atmosphere- something we can really be proud of. And that’s what we’re all about.”