ComingSoon Senior Editor Spencer Legacy spoke with Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always composer Ron Wasserman about his work on the new special and his many iconic pieces. The new special is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Spencer Legacy: What made you want to return to Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always?
Ron Wasserman: Oh, they contacted me last July and asked me if I wanted to do it, and I thought, “Wow, this will be so exciting, to go back and finally do a reunion.” People have been asking for this for a long time, so I said yes right away. [Laugh]. No hesitation, like in two minutes.
Then, I ended up getting the final cut in early December — well, it wasn’t the final picture, but it was great. Absolutely great. I loved it. So it was super exciting to do it, and it’s completely different than the original series, so it makes it a whole different experience and the score is all on a completely different level.
The trailer gives off a more mature, more serious tone. Was that difficult to adjust to for the series, or did you find it pretty natural?
It was natural because I’ve done so many other projects. So this was like an entirely new film that the Power Rangers just happened to be in. That’s the best way can think to describe it. Because it’s a lot more emotional and there’s a lot more intensity and sad stuff and happy stuff and action.
A large part of what made Power Rangers so iconic, even in the beginning, was the music. So when you first started on the series, did you imagine it would take off and become this pop culture icon as it did?
Not a clue. Not a clue. They just came in and said, “We need a theme for something we’re presenting to Fox.” And that was it. The next day they called and said, “They love it.” I said, “Who are we going to get to sing it?” And they said, “No, they love it. So we’re sticking with your vocals.” I’ve done guide vocals for real singers, but this is the first thing I ever really sang on. [Laugh]. And that started my career as a singer for Power Rangers.
But no, I had no idea. After it aired, a few weeks after that, then I started getting a inkling as to how huge the thing was.
Another theme that you did is the X-Men: The Animated Series theme. It’s one of the most iconic cartoon songs in the ’90s. What was the process of creating that like?
Well, when they had that, I wasn’t a comic book kid, so I didn’t really know any much about the X-Men. So I had my friend, who ended up doing all the sound effects on that show, give me a rundown as to what it was about. We didn’t have any picture yet, maybe some drawings of the characters. And the guy who was head of music at the time had an idea for a variation of a bassline that he had used on a song in his band.
So from that point on, it kind of established that sound, and certainly that theme would never call for any kind of singing on it. It was prior to Power Rangers, but still wouldn’t have called for it. It was just a matter of coming up with the hook. Things like that just fly out of my head — all the stuff I’ve done. It’s my lucky gift,
Even just in this last year, parts of the theme were used in Ms. Marvel and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to signify the X-Men. What does it mean to you that, to this day, that theme is inseparable from one of Marvel’s biggest teams?
Nothing could be more flattering than to know that another composer included that in his score and gave a little tip of the hat. I mean, it’s really, really nice. It made me feel great. I didn’t know about it! I think the next day, people started sending me the clip, whenever it would show. I don’t know how they got those clips, but they sent it and said, “Hey, listen to this.” So it was pretty exciting.
One thing that you also worked on was the early days of Dragon Ball Z, when it was just starting to become a hit. What are your memories of working on that, which would go on to become another huge series here. What was it like at the time?
That was total luck. I had left Saban already, but they called and said — literally, this is true — they said, “We have this show that no one gives a damn about. Do you want to just score them? Nobody’s even going to give you notes. Do whatever you want on it.” And I scored that thing at home in my living room with a Mac computer, maybe two keyboards, and to VHS tape.
So one side, what’s called smpte time code, which locked to the computer and you could still hear it a bit, and the other side was dialogue with Mono, obviously, and all the effects. And I just scored to that, gave them a digital audio tape with the mixes that synced up, and never heard a single thing. [I] did, I think, the first three years? And never even thought about the show again until about 2010 or so. Somebody wrote and said, “Hey, you worked on Dragon Ball Z. It was huge.” I had no idea.
In recent years, you’ve also composed for a lot of comedies like The Thundermans and Hot in Cleveland. Given the tonal change in a comedy compared to something like Dragon Ball Z or X-Men, how do you change your style for different genres? Is it a conscious thing?
You know, I’ve been doing it so damn long that you could put anything in front of me and I kind of know what to do for it. I just get the vibe. For example, I almost had King of the Hill. I remember they sent me some stuff and I did this acoustic guitar stuff. I kind of know the guy by acquaintance that ended up doing it. There’s no way he ever heard what I did, it’s just he had the same sense. We knew it called for that plucky kind of … hick — I hate to use that word — but that kind of acoustic guitar thing. So you just look and you know.
Sometimes, you’re looking and then you ask, “Do you want it to be more modern? Do you want it to be a little bit throwback? Do you prefer acoustic?” But I always find stuff. On a show like The Thundermans, I think I did maybe five or six music cues per section that would need it and started dialing in the sound. Then, when we were on the mix stage, they always had three options. Occasionally, all three were not right. Then I’d run with my laptop and a little keyboard to somebody’s office at Warner Bros. And bang out a short cue very quickly. [Laugh].
That’s impressive. You’ve also done a few video games over the years. Video games can be really long and are a totally different medium. Does anything in your process change when doing a game compared to a movie or a show, or is it pretty similar?
Well, the small game I did, New Terra was a bit easier, but I would just vary stuff slightly — those cues weren’t as long. They were looped at a certain point or they could edit. But on the big video game that hopefully is coming out later this year, some of those cues are 18 minutes long and they need to constantly evolve, and it can’t evolve quickly. It’s a lot of work, too. Change, but not change too much, but not let anybody get bored with hearing the same thing constantly. So it’s very labor-intensive. Especially if you’re delivering a 20 minute cue, then another 20 minute cue. That was long.
What advice would you have for aspiring composers and musicians who are just starting to get their start?
Bust your ass at it, of course. And if you’re really good, you have to start off interning, or be great and offer to do stuff for free for a production company. That’s how you get your foot in the door. It is a rite of passage. It’s something that a lot of guys haven’t ever been willing to do, but it’s what you have to do. I mean, the stuff I did in the ’80s to just get studio time in somebody’s house … little home studios, just to use it when they weren’t around. I mean, I’d go shopping for them, I would deliver stuff for them, I’d take their dry cleaning, I would sweep, whatever needed to be done.
Then Saban, for my first three years I was mixing the other guys’ stuff and then sending in cues. So it is a rite of passage. I’ve never even had an agent. You work hard, you stay nice, and remember, nothing you ever write is precious. Nothing. It’s always up to who the boss is.
