Richard Palalay Music

I am a professional musician, composer, arranger, and a former recording artist (which gave me my first 15 minutes of notoriety, as well as the realization that the notoriety can be very brief—it didn’t take long for my albums to go from being featured in the main section of record stores to the discount bin in the back of those stores). Music has taken me around the world, including places I’ve not been to personally. In those places I’ve not been to, my songs have been played on radio and TV. I know this because I am still getting royalties for a handful of songs, some of which are for international airplay.

How did I become a composer and arranger? I was always fascinated with how things work, and to that end I opened up old radios and other devices like clocks just to see how everything was put together. That sort of curiosity should lead to becoming an engineer, mechanic or technician, someone whose life’s work involved assembling—or taking apart—items with moving parts…well, I became a professional musician who plays, arranges and composes music instead. I have always had an ability to play music—my first public performance was at the age of 7. That attention to how things work simply shifted over to the music: how a song would be put together a certain way; why the particular instruments were chosen, why the arrangement was the way it was.

I have over 30 years of experience as a working musician, with performances nationally and internationally, and just as many years arranging and writing music. Being able to perform, arrange and compose music has always ensured that making a living in music would be consistent. If the playing jobs weren’t as plentiful, I could always get work as an arranger or music copyist, and at one point in my career, some of the music I wrote began to earn royalties from being played on national and international radio and TV. To this day a handful of those compositions are still generating royalties, and have recently been added to Muzak, Dish and Direct TV playlists. The music I composed for 3 albums continue to receive airplay worldwide. A recently released 4th album includes 3 songs that I co-wrote and are receiving airplay nationally and overseas.

Playing the piano or electronic keyboards competently in a variety of styles on stage shows and concerts for headliners and acts is a valuable skill. My ability to arrange music has made that skill set even more valuable. Many a time the bandleader or headliner would want a fresh and different way of doing a song, and instead of hiring an outside arranger, I would be asked to come up with a new arrangement. Over the years several singers I worked with would have a signature song or two in their repertoire that was uniquely theirs—tunes familiar to their audiences but presented in a different way from the original recording. Those songs had arrangements crafted by me, songs that became part of those singers’ identities.

Writing my own songs led me to another opportunity to make use of my composing skills. Because some of those songs were getting airplay, I would get asked if I’d ever consider writing a piece of music on commission for people other than myself. Of course, I said yes, and over the years I wrote music for stage show opening numbers, the soundtrack for a couple of independent short films (one of which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival), and theme music for a Phoenix TV show, a radio show, and more recently, theme music for business websites.

As a performing musician, I am not here to seek further work. I have built a reputation that ensures that the piano jobs are still coming my way! What I would like to say here is that as a musician I can offer a couple of options aside from my pianist abilities, options that go beyond the gig! I have found over the years that one of the keys to a successful music career is to partner with talented musicians. That kind of collaboration leads to remarkable and memorable performances or recordings.

In addition to playing the piano I do music production, and have put together small but highly entertaining shows for your venue or community—very affordable shows that are sure to delight your guests. Shows like The Magic Of The Movies, Broadway & The Movies, An American Tribute, just to name a few, and which have been successfully performed at such venues as Peoria Center for the Performing Arts and Fountain Hills Theater. As a composer and arranger I can create music for your business—imagine how unique your website could be with your own original theme music playing on the Home Page, or on your company’s video or other media presentation. Rather than use existing music (which in most cases has to be licensed, and can be heard on another business website), I can write a piece of music that no other company or business in the world would have, because it was composed specifically for you.

After spending a few years traveling the world, my wife and I now call Arizona home. My music career has flourished here, and I've been featured in articles in the Arizona Republic, Scottsdale Tribune, Scottsdale Magazine and in an on-air piece on the Westwood One Network. Recently I was interviewed by VoyagePhoenix Magazine and Shoutout Arizona.

http://voyagephoenix.com/interview/meet-richard-palalay/
https://shoutoutarizona.com/meet-richard-palalay-pianist-composer-arranger/

If you are looking for that extra something when it comes to music, or if you want to go beyond just hiring a musician to play for your event, I ask you to give me a chance to present music in a very different manner. As the poet Heinrich Heine once said, “When words leave off, music begins.” I would love to start that music for you, whatever it is!