'True Blood' tunes provide HBO series with extra sustenance

Vampire saga gets crucial doses of humor, menace from carefully chosen soundtrack

HBO"True Blood" is based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. Anna Paquin plays the main character, Sookie Stackhouse. To introduce her to the TV audience, the show chose Robbie Fulks' song "Goodbye Good Lookin'."

When a vampire and a mortal hop into the bathtub for a candlelight cuddle, not just any song will do.

The same goes for the music at a bloodsuckers' bar, where snarling dancers swirl for customers at supernatural speeds.

Demon chasers, serial killers and shape-shifters thrive on a particular soundtrack, especially in a swampy town in northern Louisiana. And if the focal point is a rowdy roadhouse called Merlotte's, the jukebox is bound to play some Steve Earle, Wayne "The Train" Hancock and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Welcome to the sonic world of "True Blood," Alan Ball's latest TV series for HBO. The Georgia-born creator of "Six Feet Under" has built a reputation for his music tastes, injecting tunes into each episode to achieve subtle or potent effects. This campy-sexy-contemporary vampire saga is no exception.

"There's a built-in sound to 'True Blood' because of the regionality," says Gary Calamar, who works with Ball as a music supervisor. "There are a good 10-plus songs in every show, and the main setting calls for classic blues to new Southern rock to Americana. There's also industrial and Goth, lots of heavy, dark beats."

Calamar, 53, has a huge mental flip-file of songs at his disposal, after more than two decades in the music retail and radio businesses in Los Angeles. He's the programmer and host of a Sunday night show, "The Open Road," on KCRW-FM, and a veteran at managing record stores for chains and independents.

As a music supervisor, Calamar's credits include "Six Feet Under," "House," "Dexter," "Weeds," "Entourage" and "Swingtown." He's also been part of the team for several films.

"The trend on television these days is music, music, music," Calamar says. "Some network shows use it as padding. Fortunately, in the case of 'True Blood,' we're using it artistically and creatively. And the budget, although not extraordinary, allows us to use a lot of good music."

Tonight's episode at 8 p.m., which concludes the first season of "True Blood," is likely to leave viewers gasping from a dramatic cliff-hanger. Calamar's not authorized to be a spoiler, but you can bet that he helped to choose the crucial tune that plays over the closing credits.

That's a music supervisor's job, he says, along with securing permissions to use the songs and handling the licensing fees.

SPECIALGary Calamar, music supervisor for "True Blood," says songs for the TV series usually are added after scenes are filmed. Although choosing the tunes is a team effort, the show's creator, Alan Ball, has the final say. "He's the last word on 'True Blood,' but he doesn't abuse his power," Calamar says. For more on Calamar, see his Web site.

When decisions are made for "True Blood," Ball rules supreme. Calamar says his boss has the last word on song selection, and has a firm notion of how each piece of music supports the plot and visuals.

Case in point: the show's opening theme, "Bad Things," by Nashville singer-songwriter Jace Everett. Ball discovered the track on iTunes and was a strong advocate.

Although Calamar says he liked its sharp, snarky, country-blues vibe, he challenged himself to find something better, scouring his music library and searching the Internet for alternatives.

"It was a nice little exercise to try to beat it, but Alan's instincts were right," Calamar says. "It's a fantastic song that mixes up the menace with humor and wit."

Composer Nathan Barr handles the show's original score, contributing instrumental motifs for characters such as Sookie and Bill, the telepathic waitress and courtly vampire at the heart of the narrative.

Still, the bulk of the "True Blood" soundtrack comes from existing music. Ball has encouraged Calamar to let his imagination run wild in that regard, shunning pieces that are traditionally spooky or deadly serious.

The eerie theme from "Dark Shadows" or wrenching strings from "Psycho"? Not on "True Blood," unless they're employed in an ironic or humorous way. Calamar says Ball wants the soundtrack to be current and clever, to startle and tickle its listeners, to "walk the thin line between fun and cheesy."

That's the specialty of acts such as Country Fried, the Legendary Shack Shakers, Robbie Fulks and Southern Culture on the Skids, all of whom have been heard on "True Blood." The show also leans to oddball covers (Cobra Verde's rendition of "Play with Fire," for instance), and authentic doses of Cajun and zydeco music.

Two groups with Birmingham connections, Little Big Town and Vallejo, have provided atmosphere as the closers of early episodes, with the songs "Bones" and "Snake in the Grass," respectively.

That's a happy accident, Calamar says; he and Ball made no effort to link the soundtrack to Alabama. However, the state's proximity to Louisiana, and its Southern rock and country roots, fit snugly into the "True Blood" aesthetic.

Web sites such as True-Blood.tv and True Blood Wiki serve as music archives for fans, posting lists of the songs played, clips of available tunes and/or links to relevant band sites.

SPECIALLouisiana's C.C. Adcock "has been a good friend to the show," says Gary Calamar.

There, viewers will realize that each episode has been named after a certain tune on the soundtrack, such as "Burning House of Love" by the Knitters, "The First Taste" by Fiona Apple, "Escape from Dragon House" by Dengue Fever or "Cold Ground" by Mark Seliger's Rusty Truck.

A compilation CD linked to the first season already is under way, Calamar says, and should be released next year. With such a rich array of music at hand, the selection process is bound to be teeth-gritting. Dr. John or Johnny Cash? The Watson Twins or the Felice Brothers? Cat Power or the Dixie Chicks?

Calamar says he'll be pushing for a track by C.C. Adcock of Lafayette, La., who has provided several songs for the series, including the very first piece played after the theme song on Episode 1, "Y'all'd Think She'd Be Good 2 Me." (Adcock also appeared on Episode 10, playing with his band at an engagement party.)

"Putting together the music for this show is a hard cocktail," Calamar says. "It has to be scary and funny and tongue-in-cheek. Sometimes it's heartbreaking. I'll find what I think is the perfect song, and we'll end up going with something else. It's a big collaboration and compromise."

THEY DON'T BITE:

Here's a "True Blood" sampler, siphoned from the first 11 episodes:

"Bones," Little Big Town

"I Don't Wanna Know About Evil," Dr. John

"Rolex," Tchaka Diallo

APJohnny Cash's "The Fourth Man in the Fire" can be heard on Episode 8. It's from the box set "Unearthed," released in 2003.

"The Dreaming Dead," Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

"Walking the Dog," Rufus Thomas

"Escape From Dragon House," Dengue Fever

"Bleed to Feed," C.C. Adcock

"Dang Good Stuff," Kim Lenz and Her Jaguars

"The Fourth Man in the Fire," Johnny Cash

"Kaki's Song," the Mother Truckers

"Goodbye Good Lookin'," Robbie Fulks

"I Want You so Hard (Bad Boy News)," Eagles of Death Metal

"Two Wheels," Alligator Stew

"Lullaby," Dixie Chicks

"Whiskey in my Whiskey," the Felice Brothers

"Wiggle Stick," Rev. Horton Heat

"Don't Fear the Reaper," Heaven 17

"Half of You," Cat Power

"That Smell," Lynyrd Skynyrd

"Two," Ryan Adams

"Just Like Heaven," the Watson Twins

"Soccer Practice," Jonny McGovern

"Stumble and Pain," Joseph Arthur

"Snake in the Grass," Vallejo