The Saga of Godzilla

Paul Carmody

The Saga of Godzilla was written as a musical narrative of the story of the iconic Japanese movie monster. The giant lizard first appeared in a 1954 sci-fi film and has returned in 27 movie sequels plus numerous comic books, video games and novels.

The adventure begins early on a sunny morning on the beach of a peaceful Indonesian island. An egg hatches in the sun. Suddenly, there is a nearby atomic test blast. Woodwinds screech the blinding light of a mushroom cloud, trumpets feather nuclear fallout, and percussion rumbles an earth-shaking explosion. Radiation mutates the innocent baby lizard into a 200-foot monster. He sets out to sea in search of food to a "seafaring" theme. When he steps foot in a Pacific coastal city (Los Angeles), chaos erupts. Traffic and pedestrians panic. The armed forces are called in. Eventually, Godzilla is shot down, and the bass drum pounds his last few heartbeats. Low brass then sing of his ascension into a heaven where there is enough food for a giant lizard.

Paul Carmody composed this work during his senior year at Elmhurst College where he received his Bachelor of Music in Music Business in 2001. It was written to be fun to play and entertaining to listen to.

After graduating Paul worked for Webfoot Technologies, composing soundtracks for Game Boy Advance and PC video games. He has also written and arranged several works for jazz combos and percussion ensembles, such as "Super Mario Suite” which has been played by numerous area high schools. He has written three albums of electronic music and not only plays percussion, but guitar, bass and piano as well. In 2006 Paul received his Master's from Aurora University and currently teaches pre-K - 8th grade computers at St. Theresa School in Palatine.

Paul is a member of the percussion section of the Palatine Concert Band. In his spare time, he enjoys building and designing loudspeakers. His designs have won awards at DIY speaker-building conventions. Paul lives with his wife Gina, also a band member, in Palatine.

Last updated on March 6, 2020 by Palatine Concert Band