Peligro’s Kuehn Powers Women-Centered U.S. Bank Spots

By Chandler Atton, Editor & Senior Writer for The Howler
Full-service advertising agency Supergood and Peligro Music & Sound have teamed up on a duology of uplifting spots for U.S. Bank. The ads, titled “The Power of Jess” and “The Power of Mia,” both of which are narrated by actor Jake Gyllenhaal, and were directed by MAPP of Fancy Content. They highlight the lives of two talented women who use the bank’s services for tracking and growing income, as well as quickly accessing funds, respectively.
Backing these two spots is an equally positive-vibes music score, courtesy of Peligro Music & Sound’s Greg Kuehn, whose background is eclectic to say the least – being a classically-trained pianist whose roots lay within the early Orange County punk scene, performing on keyboards in the influential T.S.O.L. and touring with countless other rockstars, too. (Check out this profile on the Simian blog to get a look at how he leads this double life.)
The Howler reached out to Greg to get a clearer idea of his influences, his creative processes, and how the punk ethos shaped him as a founder of his own music and sound company. Here’s what he had to tell us:
Needless to say, your roots are with the early punk scene in Orange County. What inspired you to gravitate towards scoring? Was it always a passion of yours?
Greg: I always loved writing music, and had a great piano teacher, Mrs. Hall, who encouraged me to write music. I was performing my own pieces at piano recitals from a pretty young age, so I got that bug early!
When punk happened I was into a lot of prog stuff like ELP, Yes and Genesis, but The Damned and the Buzzcocks blew my mind. Punk showed that you could really do it yourself, and made the idea of being in a band that people knew about and liked a lot more possible.
You’re a classically trained pianist and often utilize keyboards in your work. Aside from guitar, are there any other instruments you dabble in?
Greg: Pretty much anything with frets or keys, so I have a lot of fun with banjo, pedal steel, melodica, lap steel, accordion, dobro, ukulele, ronroco, mandolin, cümbüş and a few others.

Was scoring these spots a solo endeavor, or a team effort? What’s your typical process when composing for advertising, film or TV?
Greg: For this campaign I composed and performed the music myself, but it’s always a team effort when working with a great creative team like I did here. I’ve worked with Steve Mapp and Supergood’s CCO Bob Winter a lot over the years, and have always loved collaborating with them. This was my first time working with Copywriter Aaron Marshall and Art Director Jong Yeu Wu, though, and they were both a joy to work with as well.
What usually happens is we have an initial creative call to get their thoughts on the direction of the work, and then I start writing, doing my best to tap into the emotion of the scripts and take them to the next level. I’m the last writer on the project, and I appreciate that my contribution can really affect how the spots are working when they’re all finished.
Are you still playing a lot with your band? Who are you performing with these days?
Greg: I still perform, and enjoy playing with my longtime band T.S.O.L. I also play with L.A. punk legends X occasionally, and with my soul band, The Black Diamond Riders, an all-star band that includes members of T.S.O.L., Social Distortion, The Aggrolites and Cadillac Tramps.
How has the DIY punk ethos driven you as a creative director and founder of your own music and sound company?
Greg: The punk ethos taught me that it’s OK to write your own rule book – you don’t need to wait around for permission to do your own thing. Peligro Music & Sound happened very organically through my relationships with great creatives and producers who appreciated my outlook and perspective on music and composition.

What are your favorite film/TV scores? Was there ever an “aha!” moment where you knew you wanted this to be your career?
Greg: I love Ryuichi Sakamoto’s score for “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” and Gustavo Santaolalla’s score for “21 Grams,” among so many others. For TV, one of my favorites is Dave Porter’s score for “Breaking Bad.”
T.S.O.L. was featured in the Penelope Spheeris film “Suburbia,” and the score was by Alex Gibson, an L.A. musician and leader of the band B People. We wound up being friends and scoring Rex Picket’s film “From Hollywood to Deadwood” together. Seeing Alex get the gig to score “Suburbia: was one of those aha! moments where I realized, “I can do that, too!”
One chance to tour with anyone you want, alive or not – who’s your pick?
Greg: So many I can think of, but I’m a huge fan of Nick Cave, and would love to get a chance to play with him sometime!
Hey, Nick – you listening?
Credits
Supergood
CCO: Bob Winter
Writers: Aaron Marshall
Art Director: Jong Yeu Wu
Producer: Emily Cabral
Fancy
Director: Steve Mapp
Whitehouse Post
Editor: Glorily Vélez
Peligro Music & Sound
Composer / Creative Director: Greg Kuehn
VO: Jake Gyllenhaal