People in the advertising industry know Paul Brokaw and Joe Refano as writers, producers and performers of “award-winning’ RADIO & TV Commercials, Jingles, Music and Sound Design working out of their Centerport, New York studios (Long Island)
Their company Sound Mechanix created some of the most memorable Radio campaigns over a 20 year period. They won so many BOLI’s (Best on Long Island) that at one point they decided to stop entering! They have also been recognized by the BPMA by winning the prestigious international Gold Medallion for excellence. They also have a Telly, a Silver Microphone and several Emmy nominations in their list of credits. Says Refano, “The best award we can win is the positive results we provide to our clients. That simply put, is what this is all about”.
They have worked with everyone from the New York Yankees to Panasonic Office Products…from WLNY-TV to AT&T…from The Pinebarrens Society to the Long Island Power Authority…from Kozy Shack Puddings to DCAP Auto Insurance. It’s an eclectic collection of clients and projects to be sure.
In 2005 they changed the name of the company to Media Mechanix to reflect their expansion into the Video and TV realm. Brokaw says, “We had always dabbled on the video side of things but we never made the commitment to it like we have now. It’s a visual world out there..and having more colors to paint with means the possibilities are virtually endless”.
Their workload would certainly keep most producers quite busy, but Messrs. Brokaw and Refano have also written and produced hundreds of songs and instrumental tracks that have appeared in a diverse collection of TV shows and movies. Their work has appeared on The Sopranos; Saturday Night Live; The Young & The Restless; Northern Exposure; Ed; Third Rock From The Sun; Montel; Inside The NFL; Oprah; Chris Issak Show; Passions; NCIS; America's Most Wanted; All My Children; Maury Povich; The Beach Boys:An American Family; Summerland, Any Day Now and a host of others. Their songs and instrumental music is available for license for TV, FILM, Video, Photographic and Advertising uses from Broken Joey Records.
They have also produced several CD’s of instrumental music for Sonoton Music , the world’s oldest and largest independent music library located in Munich.
“We’re lucky. We enjoy a great deal of freedom. We get to work in many different areas” says Brokaw. “It’s definitely a unique situation. We get to flex our creative muscles on a regular basis.” “I wouldn’t trade it for anything…well maybe I’d trade some of it for a chance to jam with Paul McCartney”, says Refano as he tunes up his 350V63 black and white Rickenbacker, the same model John Lennon used on The Beatles Ed Sullivan Show appearances back in 1964.
