Mattel Original Music

Being a Sound Designer at Mattel means immersing yourself in the world of creative songwriting for some of the most iconic brands. From crafting melodies that showcased Barbie's empowerment and endless possibilities to capturing the thrill and adventure of the Hot Wheels universe, I was able to bring these beloved brands to life through music. Additionally, I wrote and produced catchy jingles for television advertisements. Being part of the Mattel Sound Design team allowed me to harness my passion for music, fusion with storytelling, and engage audiences of all ages.

Songwriter/Producer/Engineer/Performer/Vocalist

The song that started it all. In December of 2018 the Hot Wheels team approached our Sound Design Studio with a challenge: To write a 20 second intro theme song for each of the 6 Monster Trucks that were going to be featured in the live action show “Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: LIVE”. In addition, write an epic anthem to open the show. Oh yeah, and the show debuts NEXT MONTH! My team and I quickly got to work, whipping together quick musical ideas to see if we could define each trucks personality. Since there was no brief to go off of, it was truly up to us to define the sound for all Hot Wheels Monster Trucks. By the time the show launched in January 2019, they had everything they needed to put on an epic night of smashing and crashing. When the lights go out and the engines start revving, this is the song that is blasted all throughout the arena. This song is also heavily used in the brand campaigns on both TV and web.

“Smash Hits: The Music of Hot Wheels Monster Trucks”

After a few weeks of the tour, the live events team came back with one “small” request. “Can we get longer or extended versions of the songs?”. Turns out, 20 seconds wasn’t long enough, and they were having to loop the songs over and over during each truck’s competition. So, I opened back up all the Pro Tools sessions of the songs and started writing more verses, bridges, solos, and before we knew it, we had what appeared to be a full length album of original music on our hands. After writing a few more songs inspired by the live show, I pitched the idea of releasing the collection of songs as an album to the team and it would eventually become “Smash Hits”, the very first musical release by the Hot Wheels brand.

Original “Pop Punk” Version

After the success of “Smash Hits”, the Hot Wheels brand team came to me with a new challenge. With an upcoming launch of a brand new line of product in a category and market they had never reached, and with the partnership of the iconic Tony Hawk, they were in need of an anthemic song. They approached me with the title “Drop in to Hot Wheels”, and with a short brief on what they want the song to represent, I was off to the studio. What came out, and what was later released to the world, was a pop punk banger full of inspiring lyrics and catchy riffs.

“Drop in to Hot Wheels”

In the search for the perfect brand anthem for Hot Wheels Skate, we experimented with different sounds before we ultimately went with the original Pop Punk version of the song. One of the styles we played with was something straight from the 90’s era of Grunge and Hip Hop. With a new vibe and reimagined lyrics, we had a formidable brand anthem contender, which ended up being tested head to head in a kid-parent focus group against the original Pop Punk version. While it wasn’t chosen as the winner, it was brought back to life thanks to the Digital Engagement Group at Mattel, who decided to release the song as a YouTube music video.

When I think of skateboarding I immediately think of playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and Ska music. Probably because of my roots growing up in the Orange County Ska/Punk scene. Bands like Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish defined the sound that would eventually become my musical DNA. Along with the Grunge version of “Drop in to Hot Wheels”, I also created this Ska version as a possible candidate. Again, thanks to the DEG team at Mattel, this song lives in on as a YouTube music video, where it’s destined to eventually get stuck in your head for hours and hours.

After gaining a massive amount of momentum and success with music for Hot Wheels Monster Trucks and Hot Wheels Skate, the Digital Engagement Group approached us in the Sound Design Studio with an opportunity to keep creating music for the Hot Wheels YouTube channel. First up was a Halloween Monster Truck song. Inside I was giggling, thinking of all the years I spent in the band “New Years Day” writing Halloween inspired rock songs. I was kinda the perfect guy for the job. The only major asks from the team was to have some sort of sing-and-dance-along moment, and some sort of “glow in the dark” moment. They wanted to lean into the neon vibe that was happening during the current run of the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: LIVE show. The title “Crash the Party” emerged from the kickoff meeting with DEG, and I was immediately in Pro Tools laying down guitar riff ideas. When we were finished, we had a timeless Halloween song that is sure to live on as a fan favorite.

Jingles & Commercials