Don Bodin, Composer; Instrumentalist; Producer; Movie Theater Janitor . . .
In 2000 Don Bodin's electro-rock group, File Underwater, took the #27 position on Amazon.com's Emerging Artists Sales charts.
As a producer Don has worked with Dave Hoffman (Ray Charles), Billy Stritch (Liza Mennelli), and Atlantic Records recording artists Kill Hannah.
In 2003 Don relocated to Los Angeles to studing film scoring at UCLA. Don is currenlty utilizing his classical composition training, studio production skills and multi-genre performance experience to work on music for picture.

Bio - long version

Stating his influences as Authors, Visual Artists and hyper-fantastic memories of real life experiences as opposed to composers or musicians, Don Bodin connects with the works of Kurt Vonnegut, Christopher Moore, Edward Gorey, Lao Tzu, Andy Kauffman, Alexander Rodchenko, Claude Monet, Frank Shepard Fairley and Terry Gilliam.

"A couple years ago I went on a vacation with my family on a tour of the southwest . . ," Don states, " what I remember from that trip are the stories that we made up. A story about a murder on "Devil Dog Rd" or the one about hoping a freight train in the middle of the desert trying to get away from a glowing-green radio-active werewolf."
Recording Engineer, Event Promoter, Guitarist, Creative Director and Movie Theater Janitor . . . A partial list of the 52 "jobs" Don has had to date. These experiences he wears proudly, and likes to reflect upon when people ask him “When did you do that?”

When Don was 9, his parents recognized the attraction he had to his dad’s guitar, so they bought him a guitar for Christmas.
“There was this huge box under the tree and it was the last thing to be opened. I was hoping to find a giant robot or a big building set. I was not the least impressed when I found the guitar inside. But within the next couple of months, the guitar ushered me into a new and exciting world of music.”
Since then, Don seems to embrace change and unexpected events with an open heart, a sense of adventure and a fiery smile in his eyes.

When finished with high school Don was accepted to the acclaimed Liberal Arts program at Millikin University on a full music scholarship. He spent the next four years immersed in performance, composition and recording.

By his third year, Don’s reputation in the studio led him to a couple jobs producing several albums, including a jazz project with Dave Hoffman from the Ray Charles Band and Billy Stritch, Liza Mennelli's sideman. Upon completion of his senior recital, which consisted mostly of his own composition, Don moved to Chicago.

In 1993 Don began servicing music and advertising clients as a Producer, Art Director, Engineer and Marketing Consultant. Over the next four years Don had the privilege to work on over 900 albums and several national advertising campaigns including projects with: The Smashing Pumpkins, Cheap Trick, Pepsi, Jim Beam Brands Worldwide and SONY Walkman. That same year, he also formed an electronic rock band, File Underwater, with Garret Hammond (Prick – Nothing/Interscope).

Throughout late the late 1990's File Underwater gained regional momentum. In the spring of 2000 the group took the #27 spot on Amazon.com’s Emerging Artists Sales charts. Don also kept busy producing albums for several indie artists in the Chicago area, including album's with the group Kill Hannah (who were soon picked up by Atlantic records) and 1000 Liquors fronted by the now popular author Joe Meno .

In 2001 Don moved to little known island in the middle of the Puget Sound seeking perspective. This seems to have been the perfect place for him to retreat and refocus.
“I moved in with some friends in Washington, I relaxed, and I waited for the radio inside of my head to come back on.”

Before long, the need to be around music and musicians led Don to a gig engineering shows at Seattle’s legendary Showbox Theater and working at some of the best studios in town. He was constantly inspired working with emerging artists and industry veterans including: Pedro the Lion, Modest Mouse, Slater-Kinney, Pink Martini, Frank Black and David Lingquist of the Pixies, Puff Daddy, Elliot Smith, The Reverend Horton Heat, Busta Rymes, Concrete Blond and an impromptu performance with Guided by Voices.

In 2003 Don relocated to Los Angels to study film scoring at UCLA. He now shares his life with photographer Charlie Grosso and is currently scoring music for films and media while competing several of his own album projects.

###