Posted in: Disney+, Nickelodeon, Paramount+, TV | Tagged: Pepper Ann, Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life, Pepper Ann Composer Reflects on Shows' Legacies

Composer Pat Irwin (Dexter) spoke with Bleeding Cool about the legacy he built on Nickelodeon's Rocko's Modern Life and Disney's Pepper Ann.

Composer Pat Irwin has amassed an impressive nearly four-decade career in film and television, working across several genres, including horror, thriller, comedy, and drama. One of his earliest works was the beloved Nickelodeon animated series Rocko's Modern Life. Created by Joe Murray, it follows the wacky misadventures of an Australian wallaby (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) and his friends as he finishes his transition to American life, which ran on the network from 1993-1996. Another was the Sue Rose-created Pepper Ann. Featured on the ABC's Saturday morning cartoons block from 1997-2000, the series features the title character (voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite), a 12-year-old girl trying to get through life with her family and friends, with her quirky adventures. While promoting his work on the Dexter franchise, Irwin reflects on the various musicians he's worked with on both shows and their legacy.

Rocko's Modern Life & Pepper Ann Composer Pat Irwin on Contributing to the Animated Shows' Place in Pop Culture Zeitgeist

Bleeding Cool: I wanted to ask you because it was a part of my childhood with your legacy on 'Rocko's Modern Life' and 'Pepper Ann'. What was your inspiration behind creating the score for those animated shows, and what legacy did you leave on them?

[Brings in Pepper Ann figure] Right above it is an original drawing from 'Rocko's Modern Life,' which was such a blast. I had a live band; it was what I thought making records was going to be like. Some of my favorite musicians every week, and we would get together and play live. 'Pepper 'Ann, that band with Art Baron on trombone. Did you know Art was in the Duke Ellington Orchestra? Rob DeBellis on woodwinds, who now plays in the pit at 'The Lion King' (on Broadway). Kevin Norton on drums was at the time with one of my favorite saxophone players, Anthony Braxton, and David Hofstra on bass; he plays with everybody and anybody I go see.

We had a core band, and I still work with the engineer, Patrick Derivaz, who worked 'Rocco.' It was such a special experience, and the fact you are even mentioning it now means the world to me.

When I was at Big Ears in Tennessee, people would come up to me and say, "I watched Rocco" or "I watched Pepper Ann." That's super cool. It's a big deal for me, and I'm proud of that music for both shows. They're very different. I recorded the shows, the music for Pepper Ann, while in Los Angeles with LA-based musicians, and it was a great experience with great musicians, and it was live. I think I was the last guy to have a live band for a Saturday morning Disney cartoon. That was something that doesn't happen so much anymore. That was fantastic and priceless, man. I can't tell you. It's just the fact that you mentioned it, makes my day.

The opening theme of a TV series is something that gets so lost in the process, because everyone loves to condense the show, and audiences have shorter attention spans. It's a lost art, and that's just one of those things that is the hook of the show, and the theme brings you into that world. You're on the front line as a composer for the series. It's special that they did that for an era that dedicated that time to developing the theme. I also feel your role makes you one of the unsung heroes of animation, having grown up on the orchestra music of Looney Tunes.

There are great themes, like the one from 'The Simpsons.' 'Looney Tunes', that music was a constant influence on me, sounded like it came from another planet or something, which is so fantastic. When I did the music for 'Rocko,' clearly, I wasn't going to have an orchestra. We didn't have the time or the budget, but basically, we had the imagination. "Let's try to go for that kind of a feel," and the creator of 'Rocko's Modern Life,' Joe Murray, made that. He was the driving force, and I remember when he said, "I want it like sensory overload. I want to be too much." I'll never forget that. That's great direction.

You can stream Rocko's Modern Life on Paramount+ and Pepper Ann on Disney+.

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