Greg McGuirk Music & Audio

08/07/2023

...And here's my latest jingle! The fine folks at CoolToday in southern Florida took the jingle and put visuals to it to make a great new TV spot. Head to their FB page and you'll see they've even made a fun little contest to go with it. Great way to roll out a jingle! This was also my first opportunity to work with 2 terrific singers in the area: Eric Maitlen and Natalie Marque. Horn arrangement by Tom Clark, performed by Tom & Jeff Parker. Guitars by Doug Henthorn and backing vocals by Sarah Reitmeier Fun stuff!

06/21/2023

Recently finished a jingle for MyGuy Plumbing LLC. Fun, fun project. We decided to lyrically paint a picture of 2 young ladies (with VERY heavy New Jersey accents) bragging about their guy, always trying to one up each other until they realize they're talking about the same guy. And who else besides the wickedly talented (and funny) Faith Marie and Teresa Giles Kelly could pull off such delightful vocals? Check out the link & enjoy!

:60 second Full Sing Jingle for MyGuy Plumbing in New Jesrsey.

03/24/2023

Jingle #101: Certified Heating and Cooling, Inc in Southern Florida.

In the initial creative meeting we established all the required info and dicussed taking a quirky approach, wanting something to cut through the clutter.

My first demo was loosely inspired by Missing Person’s “Words”. I figured a slightly more modern version of the music, with a slightly toned-down vocal approach, but a fun pop-punk feel might work well for their demographic. I was REALLY liking how this was turning out, but… as is often the case in creative discussions, 1 person’s “think outside the box” can be another’s “that’s a bit over the top”. My client liked it but didn’t love it. Looking for something a little different (but not knowing what), they asked to hear the same piece with a male vocal lead.

For the new vocal, we let go of the pop-punk quirkiness and kept it straight. It was really good, but I worried we’d lost that edge that made the piece stand out. Then while editing the vocal takes, I solo-ed the lead & backing vocals and suddenly it hit me…. This could totally work as an a ca****la piece! So, we cut a simple vocal bass line and I added a basic beat box track. I didn’t go too deep as we were veering WAY off course… but suddenly I felt that we’d re-captured that “cut thru the clutter” sound.

Client loved the new approach. Developed, tweaked, mixed, and finished! Lead vocals (and some other odds & ends) by Ryan Ahlwardt, Backing vocals by Sarah Reitmeier & Kyra McGuirk.

a ca****la jingle for HVAC company in Southern Florida.

03/12/2023

Today is my 25th anniversary of being a full-time composer & audio engineer. The last 7 years have been out on my own, which I love, but I owe deep & profound gratitude to Bennett Innovations. Back in 1998, Joe Bennett took a chance, hired me and gave me the opportunity to prove myself in an industry about which I was clueless. Joe has long since retired but doesn’t seem to mind when I call to bug him about how to navigate the occasional business challenge. Fast forward to 2016, Bruce White, who has fearlessly continued carrying the Bennett torch, was instrumental in helping me transition to the realities of being self-employed. For starters, he remodeled the loft in my home into a functioning studio and has kept me busy with his music & audio needs since... I still feel like I owe him another 1000 thank you lunches… or maybe whatever new fancy three gazillion mega pixel camera is out today.

Coincidently, this week I also just completed my 100th jingle (and that doesn’t include alternate versions or re-sings for sister companies in outer markets). Jingles aren’t the only thing I do, but they sure are fun because of the wonderfully talented people I get to work with. Check out Ryan Ahlwardt and Kyra McGuirk on my centennial effort. They both have a knack for bringing my sometimes-awkward ideas to life. This is for a company in Maryland, so I’ll likely never hear it on the airwaves. Like most jingles, this had a LOT of checkboxes that the lyrics need to check: Company name, what they do, tag line, phone number & website in both the :30 second and :60 second versions. Oh, and it needed to be an earworm that sticks out like a sore thumb on the airwaves. Dang, I love my job! Enjoy...

Cool :60's hippie vibe approach to a jingle!

03/02/2023

Just finished a fun jingle for Garage Door Doctor . What a fun project... especially with these 2 delightfully quirky, over the top talented singers, Brett & Faith from The 78's. Ace gtr work by Doug Henthorn. Check out the jingle here: https://soundcloud.com/user-559053094-311814194/garage-door-doctor-60-full-sing-indpls?si=d460a17954e44a9b81739d5acd386feb&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

08/30/2022

"let me see if I understand you correctly. You have a 12 word, seventeen syllable tag line that has to come in under 3.5 seconds? And it has to swing And rock?" Luckily for me (and my client), she nailed it. Love working with Mimi!