David Minasian

Last updated
David Minasian
Birth nameDavid Scott Minasian
Born Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Film Director
  • Film Producer
  • Film Editor
  • Cinematographer
  • Screenwriter
  • Film Composer
  • Musician
  • Songwriter
  • Record Producer
  • Author
Instrument(s)Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals
Years active1979–present
LabelsGolden Robot Records
Website davidminasian.com

David Minasian is an American film producer, screenwriter, director, and a musician, singer and songwriter. Since the 1980s, he has worked for various motion picture production companies in the Los Angeles area as a freelance producer/director. In addition to his work on music videos and concert films for artists such as Three Dog Night, English progressive rock band Camel, Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward and The Alan Parsons Project co-founder Alan Parsons, Minasian has produced and directed over 60 documentary films [1] including The Passion Behind the Passion, a behind-the-scenes documentary filmed on location in Rome chronicling the making of Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ . [2] Minasian is also a classically trained pianist. His symphonic rock album Random Acts of Beauty was released in 2010 to critical and public acclaim and features a rare guest appearance on the album's 12 minute opening track "Masquerade" by Camel guitarist Andrew Latimer. [3]

Contents

History

Minasian began classical piano training at the age of five and by the age of fifteen was asked to turn professional. However, he chose instead to pursue a career in film production. After graduating with honors with a degree in film and television from California State University, Northridge, Minasian began working freelance for various production companies in the Los Angeles area as a producer, director, writer, editor, cinematographer and composer. In between his work on various documentaries, Minasian recorded his own symphonic rock album titled Tales of Heroes and Lovers which was released independently in 1984. [4] The album featured Minasian on piano, keyboards, and lead vocals along with a group of backing musicians. Six of the album's nine tracks were written or co-written by Minasian. [5] To promote the album, Minasian directed himself in a comedic music video for the album's intended single "It's Driving Me Crazy". The video received airplay on MTV which led to him being asked by Three Dog Night to write and direct a video for their song "A Shot in the Dark".

In 1996, Minasian recorded a second symphonic rock album titled It's Not Too Late with singer William Drews. And in 1997, Minasian began an association with Camel Productions, the production company owned by English progressive rock band Camel. Over the next few years, Minasian would produce and direct a total of nine concert and documentary DVDs for the band's company including Coming of Age, Curriculum Vitae, the Opening Farewell and In from the Cold. [6] In 1998, while working as a second unit director on the motion picture The Joyriders (1999) starring Academy Award winner Martin Landau and Kris Kristofferson, Minasian composed the film's main theme titled "So Far from Home". [7] The song was released as the single from the soundtrack album by EMI the following year.

In 2009, Minasian began recording a new symphonic rock album with the encouragement and participation of Camel's Andrew Latimer. Random Acts of Beauty was released on October 5, 2010 by ProgRock Records [8] and features David on piano, keyboards, bass and lead vocals together with his son Justin Minasian on guitars. Six of the album's seven tracks are composed solely by David while the seventh, a 14 minute instrumental titled "Frozen in Time", is a joint composition between David and Justin. [9] Appearing on the track "Masquerade" is guest Andrew Latimer on guitar and vocals. This would mark the first studio recording in eight years by Latimer following his recovery from a bone-marrow transplant. [10]

In 2013, Minasian began recording the follow-up to Random Acts of Beauty. The recording process however was interrupted when he was contracted to produce and direct a solo concert DVD for the Moody Blues vocalist/guitarist/composer Justin Hayward. [11] Recorded at Atlanta's Buckhead Theatre on August 17, the resulting DVD, Spirits… Live (2014), features the full concert along with a one-hour behind-the-scenes documentary of Hayward's 2013 American tour, also directed by Minasian. [12] Following its release by Eagle Rock/Universal in the fall of 2014, the DVD immediately rose to the #2 position on the Billboard Music Video charts [13] and would soon be broadcast by the PBS network. [14] Two additional Hayward/Minasian collaborations quickly followed: A concert DVD filmed in Clearwater, Florida titled Watching and Waiting, [15] and The Story Behind Nights in White Satin , an award winning documentary which chronicled the origins of Hayward's classic 1967 composition. [16]

The Spring of 2016 saw another Hayward release from producer/director David Minasian. [17] Titled Live in Concert at The Capitol Theatre , the DVD contained a few surprises including the first live performance of "You Can Never Go Home" from the 1971 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour LP. [18] Also featured was a bonus studio recording of a new song titled "The Wind of Heaven", a joint composition between Minasian and Hayward. Intended as the main theme for a forthcoming motion picture, the song, with an elaborate music video directed by Minasian, was released ahead of schedule on the DVD to coincide with Hayward's 2016 US solo tour. [19]

2019 saw Minasian complete his followup album to Random Acts of Beauty called The Sound of Dreams which contained composition and performance contributions from a host of progressive rock icons including Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Annie Haslam (Renaissance), Billy Sherwood (Yes) and PJ Olsson (The Alan Parsons Live Project). [20] That same year he signed to Golden Robot Records (headed up by Mark Alexander-Erber and Derek Shulman, former lead singer with Gentle Giant and Polygram Records executive) which released the album along with a remastered version of Random Acts of Beauty. [21] A remake of "So Far From Home" featuring PJ Olsson as guest vocalist was released as a single along with a compelling music video. [22] Another track from the album titled "The Sound of Dreams (Third Movement)" featuring guitarist Steve Hackett was released as a follow up single and received nearly 250,000 hits on Spotify almost overnight. [23]

Also that same year, Minasian travelled to Europe and the Middle East to capture The Alan Parsons Live Project in concert. More than twenty cameras were used at each of the venues and two shows were released the following year on Blu-Ray and DVD titled The NeverEnding Show: Live In The Netherlands and One Note Symphony: Live In Tel Aviv. [24] A music video for a new studio recording, also titled The NeverEnding Show was produced by Minasian together with Trinity Houston for IM3 Global Entertainment and Frontiers Records. [25]

In 2021, a ‘greatest hits’ album titled Random Dreams: The Very Best of David Minasian was released on vinyl. [26] And in the summer of 2022, a song titled "I Won’t Be Led Astray," written by Minasian together with Alan Parsons and Kim Bullard of the Elton John Band and featuring David Pack of Ambrosia (band) and Joe Bonamassa, was released as a single off Parsons’ latest album From The New World along with a music video produced and directed by Minasian and Houston. [27]

Discography

Singles

Albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Alan Parsons Project</span> British rock band (1975–1990)

The Alan Parsons Project were a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompanied by varying session musicians and some relatively consistent session players such as guitarist Ian Bairnson, arranger Andrew Powell, bassist and vocalist David Paton, drummer Stuart Elliott, and vocalists Lenny Zakatek and Chris Rainbow. Parsons and Woolfson shared writing credits on almost all of the Project's songs, with Parsons producing or co-producing all of the band's recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camel (band)</span> English progressive rock band

Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in Guildford, Surrey, in 1971. Led by guitarist Andrew Latimer, they have released fourteen studio albums and fourteen singles, plus numerous live albums and DVDs. Without achieving mass popularity, the band gained a cult following in the 1970s with albums such as Mirage (1974) and The Snow Goose (1975). They moved into a jazzier, more commercial direction in the early 1980s, but then went on an extended hiatus. Since 1991 the band has been independent, releasing albums on their own label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Moody Blues</span> English band

The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of drummer Graeme Edge, guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine, keyboardist/vocalist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ray Thomas, and bassist/vocalist Clint Warwick. Originally part of the British beat and R&B scene of the early–mid 1960s, the band came to prominence with the UK No. 1 and US Top 10 single "Go Now" in late 1964/early 1965. Laine and Warwick left the band by the end of 1966, being replaced by guitarist/vocalist Justin Hayward and bassist/vocalist John Lodge. They embraced the psychedelic rock movement of the late 1960s, with their second album, 1967's Days of Future Passed, being a fusion of rock with classical music that established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".

<i>Tales of Mystery and Imagination</i> (Alan Parsons Project album) 1976 studio album by The Alan Parsons Project

Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) is the debut studio album by British rock band the Alan Parsons Project. It was released on 25 June 1976 in the United Kingdom by Charisma Records and 20th Century Fox Records in the U.S. The lyrical and musical themes of the album, which are retellings of horror stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, attracted a cult audience. The title of the album is taken from the title of a collection of Poe's macabre stories of the same name.

<i>I Robot</i> (album) 1977 studio album by the Alan Parsons Project

I Robot is the second studio album by British rock band the Alan Parsons Project, released on 8 July 1977 by Arista Records. The album draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot stories, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence. It was re-released on vinyl and cassette tape in 1984 and on CD in 2017.

<i>On the Threshold of a Dream</i> 1969 studio album by the Moody Blues

On the Threshold of a Dream is the fourth album by the Moody Blues, released in April 1969 on the Deram label. The album reached the top of the album charts, the group's first No. 1 album in the UK. According to guitarist Justin Hayward, "I think Threshold is the defining album for the Moody Blues. And it's the one in the '60's that you would find in people's homes when you went, they would have that album."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Hayward</span> British musician, lead singer and guitarist of the Moody Blues

David Justin Hayward is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until that group's dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific songwriter over the 1967–1974 period, and composed several international hit singles for the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bardens</span> English keyboardist (1945–2002)

Peter Bardens was an English keyboardist and a founding member of the progressive rock group Camel. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with Andrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked alongside Rod Stewart, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and Van Morrison. He recorded eleven solo albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nights in White Satin</span> 1967 single by The Moody Blues

"Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album Days of Future Passed. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 103 in the United States in 1968. It was the first significant chart entry by the band since "Go Now" and its recent lineup change, in which Denny Laine and Clint Warwick had resigned and both Hayward and John Lodge had joined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Collins</span> British musician (born 1947)

Melvyn Desmond Collins is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Thomas</span> British musician (1941–2018)

Raymond Thomas was an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member of the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Nights in White Satin" is regarded as one of progressive rock's defining moments. In 2018, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Latimer</span> English musician

Andrew Latimer is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock band Camel and the only member who has been with them since their formation in 1971. Although he is best known as a guitarist and singer, Latimer is also a flautist and keyboardist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lodge (musician)</span> British musician; bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of The Moody Blues

John Charles Lodge is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of the longstanding rock band the Moody Blues. He has also worked as a record producer and has collaborated with other musicians outside the band. In 2018, Lodge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.

<i>Dust and Dreams</i> 1991 studio album by Camel

Dust and Dreams is the eleventh studio album by Camel. Released in 1991 after a seven-year hiatus during which Andrew Latimer and Susan Hoover moved from England to California to set up their own Camel Productions label, the album was inspired by John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Rainbow</span> Scottish pop rock singer and musician

Christopher James Harley, known by the stage name Chris Rainbow, was a Scottish pop rock singer and musician whose songs "Give Me What I Cry For" and "Solid State Brain" were often played by British radio DJs Kenny Everett and Tony Blackburn in the 1970s.

Stuart Elliott is an English drummer, composer and producer. He was the original drummer for Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel and during his time with this band he became a session drummer playing for top artists such as Kate Bush, Al Stewart, The Alan Parsons Project, Roger Daltrey, Paul McCartney, Claudio Baglioni, Lucio Battisti, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Know You're Out There Somewhere</span> 1988 single by The Moody Blues

"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" is a 1988 single by the English rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by guitarist Justin Hayward, and it is the sequel to the Moody Blues' 1986 single "Your Wildest Dreams", also written by Hayward. It is the band's final Top 40 single in the United States, peaking at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<i>Hall of Fame</i> (The Moody Blues album) 2000 live album by The Moody Blues

Hall of Fame is a live album by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was recorded at a concert performed at the Royal Albert Hall, which included backing by a live orchestra. The album was released on 8 August 2000. It is the second Moody Blues live album to feature a live orchestra, with the first being A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. This is the last live release to feature Ray Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You</span> 1977 single by The Alan Parsons Project

"I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" is a song by the British progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, featured on their 1977 album I Robot. Written by band leaders Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" was sung by pop singer Lenny Zakatek, who would go on to sing many of the band's songs. In the United States, the song was a moderate success and charted at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100.

References

  1. ""David Minasian - Biography"". www.davidminasian.com. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458451/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_3 Retrieved 2014-7-17. [ user-generated source ]
  3. "Review: "Minasian, David: Random Acts of Beauty" - Sea of Tranquility - the Web Destination for Progressive Music!". www.seaoftranquility.org. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  4. ""David Minasian - Symphonic Prog - United States"". www.progarchives.com/. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  5. ""David Minasian - Discography"". www.davidminasian.com. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  6. ""Camel Discography - Video Releases"". www.discogs.com/. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  7. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139394/?ref_=nm_flmg_asst_1 Retrieved 2014-7-17. [ user-generated source ]
  8. "David Minasian". www.therecordlabel.net. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  9. "David Minasian Random Acts of Beauty Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  10. "Review: "Minasian, David: Random Acts of Beauty" - Sea of Tranquility - the Web Destination for Progressive Music!". www.seaoftranquility.org. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  11. ""Justin Hayward on Filming at the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta"". www.justinhaywardrecordings.com/. August 2014. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  12. "Justin Hayward: Spirits...Live". www.kpbs.org. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  13. http://www.bouldertheater.com/event/justin-hayward Archived 2015-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2016-6-19.
  14. "Justin Hayward: Spirits...Live". www.tpt.org. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  15. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4886714/ Retrieved 2016-6-19. [ user-generated source ]
  16. "The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward and the Inside Story Behind 'Nights in White Satin'". parade.com. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  17. "The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward Celebrating New DVD and Solo Tour at Special Boston-Area Event - Music News - ABC News Radio". abcnewsradioonline.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  18. "Join Justin to Celebrate Solo Tour, New DVD and New Epic Song & Video | News". www.justinhayward.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  19. "Justin Hayward's Stage Door Tour off to an Incredible and Emotional St | News". www.justinhayward.com. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  20. ""David Minasian - The Sound of Dreams"". www.mediaversal.com. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  21. ""Golden Robot adds three more labels, signs 14 more acts"". www.themusicnetwork.com. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  22. ""DAVID MINASIAN Releases Video For 'So Far From Home'"". www.metalshockfinland.com/. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  23. ""Steve Hackett and David Minasian team up on new single from The Sound Of Dreams"". www.loudersound.com. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  24. ""Alan Parsons announces new live release One Note Symphony Live In Tel Aviv"". www.goldminemag.com/. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  25. ""ALAN PARSONS Premieres Official Video for "The Neverending Show""". www.sonicperspectives.com/. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  26. ""David Minasian — Random Dreams - The Very Best Of David Minasian Vol 1."". www.dprp.net. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  27. ""Filmmaker/Composer David Minasian Joins Legendary Producer Alan Parsons On His Latest Single"". www.ukdailynewsonline.com/. Retrieved 2022-07-10.