Acclaimed musician, author, educator, and storyteller Doctor Noize (Cory Cullinan) has spent decades using creativity to educate, entertain, and inspire audiences of all ages. In this exclusive interview with WorldAuthors.org, he opens up about his remarkable journey, the inspiration behind Funk The Planet, the power of storytelling, and his mission to create a more compassionate and sustainable world through music.
Welcome to WorldAuthors.org! For readers meeting you for the first time, how would you introduce yourself and the many creative hats you wear as Doctor Noize and Cory Cullinan?
I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. Oh wait… actually that was Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. My bad.
The honest answer is that I’m a musician, writer, teacher and armchair philosopher who has believed in the power of diversity since before it became cool, before it became uncool, and before it became something we all need to fight for again. I have thought it was cool since I was a child, because I’ve always been sincerely curious in all people and art. So I make music, write books, teach, and collaborate with and for kids as Doctor Noize; and I make music, write, teach, and collaborate with and for adults as Cory Culinan. I move from different styles and genres and musical approaches all the time. It’s exploration. It’s celebration. It’s fun. I tell my Recording Arts students at Stanford on the very first day of every new class that we’re gonna make an album that represents every single person in this room, and it’s gonna be all over the place, inclusive and expansive, and it’s gonna open up all of our minds, not the least of which is mine.
And thank you for the opportunity to talk to you. It’s an honor.
Your life changed profoundly after music helped you navigate the loss of much of your family at a young age. How did those experiences shape your purpose as a musician, educator, and storyteller?
They completely and utterly shaped all my views on life, commitment, purpose, and who and how I want to spend my time. My childhood story is a long one, but the very short version is this: I grew up in an idyllic, Leave It To Beaver like family — my dad was the Mayor of a major Silicon Valley city and my Mom was PTA Mom — until it all unraveled in my teens. My brother — a famous programmer in his teens who was profiled in detail on The Today Show at 15 — got brain cancer and died at 17. My distraught father turned to alcohol and ended up dying within the year. My mom had a lot to try to piece together after that. And that was it. Time for me to step up and direct my own life, much earlier than most people do.
I learned that I really wanted to be there, in a sustainable way, for my kids, and even their generation. My parents were really there beautifully for me and burned bright, perhaps too brightly, and they kind of fizzled out, through a combination of fate and choices. I don’t want to be angry about that, because my folks gave me a lot; I just want to learn from it. I want to be around for the marathon, if possible, and not just the sprint. This is where it really ties into my new single Funk The Planet. I’d like to leave my kids — and their generation — in a position to win the race.
I’m writing a book called Scenes From Fatherhood: Photo Albums & Skeleton Closets that will describe in very emotional and philosophical detail my experiences as both a child of the city’s favorite father — a father who ultimately very publicly followed a rather Shakesperian trajectory — and as a father myself. The book will also have three albums associated with it — two new albums (Scenes From Fatherhood and Photo Albums & Skeleton Closets) and one album I wrote and recorded during that time in my teens that has never been released but addresses my life at the time (Rechording The Times). It’s kinda gonna lay bare all my experiences and emotions about all of that. I’m a little wary of doing it all. But I’m doing it. Because I think it will resonate with people and maybe help them navigate their similar issues.
If you want the version that’s shorter and far less detailed than the upcoming book, but longer than this interview answer, check out the keynote that I sometimes give addressing precisely what I learned from those experiences and how I’ve used those key lessons to literally shape my time, relationships and life. I give versions of it in person, but I’ve made it free online because some people have said it was meaningful and helpful to them, and I love that.
Your latest single, Funk The Planet, blends humor, hip-hop, pop, and environmental awareness. What inspired this song, and why was World Environment Day the perfect moment to release it?
On a macro level, the song was inspired by what’s actually going on in the world — basically our lack of proper attention to the changes we ourselves are making in our environment, and our lack of thought and foresight to be accountable now for just how much damage that lack of attention is doing to all future generations, including our own kids. On a more specific level, the inspiration was four guys from very different backgrounds — 3x Grammy-winning recording artist Ricky Kej from India, 3x Grammy-winning producer extraordinaire Lonnie Park from New York, the incredible poet and rapper Konshens The MC from DC (son of hip-hop legend Master Gee, who had the first rap chart hit in America), and the schmuck who’s giving you this interview right now.
We released an album called Funk The Earth about sustainability, and we all contributed songs and parts to it. It was cathartic and fun. We ended up opening up a United Nations General Assembly meeting with one of our songs and participating in the UNICEF World Children’s Concert.
World Environment Day was the perfect moment to release it because it’s when more people are willing to put their eyes, minds and hearts on this topic! Thank you for asking about it and helping us spread the word.
Throughout your career, you’ve created music that entertains while teaching important lessons about creativity, leadership, sustainability, diversity, and community. Why is storytelling such a powerful tool for education?
Storytelling is everything — whether you’re talking about movies, music, teaching, writing, politics, social movements, or even just communicating to your friends and families. It always surprises me that so many don’t really think about how we’re all the shepherds of our own story. We’re wired for stories — telling them and hearing them. We’re not as wired for concepts, like “environmental science” or “the diminished ninth chord.” We all have a few areas of expertise where we go deep, and then rely on storytelling — told and heard — for the rest.
Early in my teaching career, I learned that students would try admirably to be interested in the great works of art I lectured on, like Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony or Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique… but they wouldn’t have to try if I told them the incredible stories and characters behind those pieces first. Then they were locked in. So before you lecture on the melodic and harmonic details of the Ninth, you sure as hell should tell them the story about the man who wrote what many consider the greatest symphony of all time… was the only person in the audience too deaf to hear it when it premiered.
The Doctor Noize albums I do for kids are all musicals. Stories. People ask me who my children’s musician influences are, and as much as I love so many other kids’ musicians, my answer is always: “Pixar.”
The final release from Konshens & The Earth Band brings together an extraordinary group of collaborators, including Ricky Kej, Lonnie Park, and Konshens The MC. What was the creative experience of working with such diverse and accomplished artists?
They are my brothers from another mother. So basically what I’m saying is we’re all bastards. Serious answer: I’ve spent my life working with as wide a range of talented artists as I can. All four of us in this group brought very different musical sensibilities, backgrounds and perspectives to this project. All four of us not only respected each others’ musical sensibilities, but were genuinely curious as to what direction each of the songs on our Funk The Earth album would take after we all added our color to it. It was a joy to work on. Funk The Planet was one of the songs I brought to that album, and it’s on my upcoming Doctor Noize retrospective album Positive Energy! (The Music of Doctor Noize) too. That album comes out in August.
Your daughter Sidney Cullinan directed and scripted the music video for Funk The Planet. What has it been like collaborating creatively with your family, and how has Sidney influenced your artistic vision?
I love working with Sidney! She is the chillest industry professional I work with. I think anyone who’s worked with her would agree with that. Sidney is really good at distilling the point of something, throwing out all the distracting details that don’t fully contribute to that point, and creating videos that actually deliver a message and are enjoyable to watch. I have learned a lot from her about not packing everything into a video and streamlining the story and message.
She’s learned this both through her own creative sensibilities — it’s actually her natural personality — and through her video and social media content work, which ranges from directing music videos with Grammy winners to creating the social media content and campaign of the world’s largest environmental organization, The Nature Conservancy.
Sidney worked for them and designed the two-year social media campaign they’ve been running, and her content secured the greatest engagement they’ve ever had. So she was the natural director for our environmental video — it’s literally one of her areas of expertise.
Many artists focus on a single genre or audience, but your work spans children’s music, adult songwriting, symphonic compositions, education, and multimedia storytelling. How do you stay authentic while moving between so many creative worlds?
How dare you say I’m authentic.Honestly, my diverse output is my authentic self because I am truly curious. That’s it. Not much more complicated than that. There are so many fascinating and beautiful avenues and aspects of this world. I want to experience as many of them as I can. And I think my audience shares that adventurousness.
As an author, educator, and performer, you’ve spent decades inspiring curiosity and lifelong learning. What advice would you give to young creators who want to use their art to make a positive impact on the world?
I LOVE THIS QUESTION! THANK YOU!!! The answer is simple: Stop making art to succeed. Make art to improve the world. To improve your experience in the world. To improve yourself. To improve your understanding, ability to collaborate, and ability to empathize with others and feel for and with them. And get that art out there, in every way you can, seeking help from others to do so.
If you do that, you’ll find you attract all the most interesting and rewarding people. Like the person smart and curious enough to ask this question.
Looking ahead, what can audiences expect from your upcoming retrospective album Positive Energy! (The Music of Doctor Noize), and what legacy would you like your music and stories to leave behind?
I believe anyone who listens to Positive Energy! — and I truly hope adults will listen too, not just kids and educators — will instantly get a two-decades picture of a family musician who is insanely dedicated to diversity of experience and color, audiophile production values that most adults don’t realize is done in children’s music, and musical, philosophical and educational exploration.
There are tracks on the album with Grammy-winning opera singers and one of the worlds’ most acclaimed orchestras; there are tracks on the album with the Tower Of Power horn section; and there are tracks that are basically just me in the studio. But they all exude exactly what the album purports to be: Huge doses of positive energy, which include a love of reaching for something beautiful, excellent and joyous.
Or they’ll just think I’m a nutcase. They are not mutually exclusive.
You can connect with Doctor Noize through website doctornoize.com, Facebook @corycullinan, and YouTube @doctornoize