Brock & Sgro

Carved in Sound is a New Jersey-based boutique custom composition and sound design company, created by Alan Brock and Chip Sgro. Based upon their years of musical experience and their passion for songwriting, the duo saw Carved in Sound as an avenue to share their work outside of the traditional band structure. Brock and Sgro had many discussions over the years about how the “right” music is essential to the feel and ultimate success of what traditionally is thought of as a visual project. Carved in Sound is the vehicle for the duo to share that vision. 

Rocketing out of the gate, Carved in Sound achieved immediate success by creating a number of musical compositions for the soon to be released Lionsgate animated cartoon, The Freak Brothers. The Freak Brothers was created by the producers of Highly Gifted and King of the Hill, and is animated by award-winning Starburns Industries, Rick and Morty and Pure Imagination Studios The Simpsons. This immediate success has made Carved in Sound a sought after source for bespoke music scores. The duo continues to contribute to a number of ongoing projects, such as an original Netflix’s American romantic drama series, while establishing relationships with new partners in television, advertising and film to address their music and composition needs.Explore the world of Jazz music and learn about its history, famous musicians, and different styles. Find out how it influenced other genres and listen to some of the most iconic Jazz tracks of all time.

I grew up in a suburban wasteland just outside of the urban warzone that was Southeast DC in the ‘80s. It was in that world that I developed my love for music – for pop and rock & roll, for rap and Go-go, for the harDCore punk scene that was thriving. I never felt pigeon-holed. The dichotomous music scene simmered with life — rigor and vigor.  

I cut my teeth playing clubs around DC and when the call came, I moved to New York City where I was quickly immersed in the East Village anti-folk scene. Amidst an eclectic crew of artists, I became a true songwriter and performer. I started seriously producing and recording myself and others – and the craft took on new forms.

After 20+ years, I moved out of the city with my family to the suburbs of New Jersey, and holed up in my personal studio. That’s when I met Chip… with his collection of any classic guitar I could ever hope to play. We hit it off as musical comrades with a shared dream and vision, and started to seriously write and record some of the best stuff I think I’ve ever done. We formed a band called Brock & Sgro, put out an album, a few singles and played some really well-received local gigs.  

From there, we were able to parlay that into licensing our songs and even writing original material for TV and film. Who knew a bunch of tenured musicians turned career guys could create a musical library, influenced by an array of genres, produced in-house. So, as the title of our first album says – I Got No Reason to Complain… 

When I was growing up in New Jersey, there was always music playing in our home. We listened to Motown, rock, classical, jazz, show tunes, and of course, Sinatra. I took piano lessons for a couple of years when I was 9 and started playing the guitar a few years later — I’ve continued playing both ever since. While Alan is a virtuoso on lead guitar, I’m our “utility infielder” – I play rhythm guitar, keyboards, and some different instruments like the harmonium and sitar. 

Alan and I have been playing and writing together for a number of years and really enjoy it. Because we have varied musical backgrounds and different points of reference, I think we’ve made each other better songwriters. You can hear it in certain chord changes or lyrical choices where we’ve had direct – or sometimes subtle – influence on one another’s songs. 

I am lucky to have a substantial guitar collection that has been featured in the Guitar Aficionado section of Guitar Player Magazine. One of the great things about having a number of guitars is that I have a lot of different options for capturing the right tone and feel when writing or recording a song. Different guitars have different feels, tone, and yes – mojo – that tend to lead you in a certain direction. I’d go even further and say a guitar is an important partner in songwriting. A great guitar makes its wishes known to you as soon as you begin working the fret board.