MRH: My next-to-last question is just about another show you worked on and has always been one of my favourites, which is American Gothic (1995-1996).

JLD: Oh! Wow!

MRH: I sometimes have a tendency to get hooked on shows that don’t last because they’re perhaps too risky for the networks to fully support, and I always liked the fact that American Gothic gave you some striking opportunities to score situations with really odd characters.

JLD: You’re right. It was, and I’m glad that you noticed. I think the show unfortunately was ahead of its time. It was a show that was really destined to be what was in the emerging cable network, but it ended up in what was then the number four network, CBS, on a Friday night at 10pm. And the subject matter was certainly controversial for that time. What was great is [I had] Christian western music combined with southern music combined with the devil worship music. It was quite an interesting blend.

MRH: The show also had some wonderful characters that made it easy to write strong music around because whether it was the sheriff or whether it was the doctor or the love interest, they were all really strong characters.

JLD: Yeah, they were strong characters in strong situations; dramatically, very intense situations. Some of them were human situations, some of them were supernatural situations. It was a very intense show. It was a lot of work.

MRH: I remember when they broadcast the pilot, they issued a warning saying it might be too intense for some people. As a viewer, it was interesting to see how dark the show could become. Some episodes were really shocking.

JLD: Oh, it really was, and that was Shaun Cassidy’s baby. It was a great show to be on. I’ve been fortunate because a lot of the dramatic shows that I’ve worked on have had a lot of meat to them, and have had a lot of meat to the music as a result.