Jingling all the way to good music By elaine van develde Staff Writer JEFF GRANIT Recording studio business partners Debbie Kanaan and Steve Lewis take ten to reflect on their aspirations in Lewis’ home studio. HAZLET — He’s a man with a song and a lyrical mission. He’s township resident Steve Lewis and he’s his own master of jingle writing and record demo production. Lewis is known as The Jingle Doctor. He is also head of The Record Demo and Creative Records. He operates all three businesses out of one home office. The 56-year-old graduate of New York’s High School of Performing Arts has been "in music [his] whole life." A student of clarinet and saxophone, Lewis said his career path has always led to music. Stationed in Brooklyn, N.Y., he served in the U.S. Army after graduating from high school. He played for the Army Band from 1964 to 1967 during the Vietnam War. As an enlisted member of the U.S. Army Band, he played concerts in Central Park, made music for commencements and to set ships underway. After the Army, Lewis became a projectionist for Walter Reade theaters in Manhattan. He wrote music and learned computer technology while playing movies. "I’ve always thought that computers are closely linked to music," Lewis said. After he relocated to Hazlet from New York with his wife of 34 years, Kay, who also graduated from the High School of Performing Arts, his love of music continued. However, paying bills was a priority, and music was a dream. So while he continued to dabble in music, Lewis got a job in the computer industry. But the opportunities in computers slowly faded, and Lewis decided to build a jingle-writing business that eventually turned into a demo recording business and a record company five years ago. While he was on his own in a business called Mall Melodies, Lewis wrote and marketed mostly mall jingles, the little ditties you’d hear piped into the Monmouth Mall, for instance, in the late 1970s. He created many other mall and product jingles which he calls "high energy," but Lewis’ pride and joy is a Kellogg’s cereal jingle he wrote years ago. He swears it will be used by Kellogg’s in the near future. "If I could just get it to them, it’ll be the best jingle they’ve ever had," he said. The jingle starts out with sunny-sounding music and the words "Wake up to Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes." "The rest is a real attention-getter," he said. "You want to give off high energy and get people’s attention with a good jingle." When Lewis went back to jingles full time, a calling he never truly abandoned, he took on a partner and singer by the name of Debbie Kanaan, a friend’s daughter. Kanaan, 30, lends Lewis her voice for recordings. "She records in a closet in my 12-by-12-foot makeshift recording studio in my home," Lewis said. "Whatever works — and this works. Debbie is great. Not only do we have many jingle ventures, but we also have written and produced a wedding song and came out with an extended-play single called ‘Just One Night.’ " The compact disc has four songs on it featuring Kanaan’s voice and one instrumental dance song. A total of 700 copies have been sold. The two will continue to write, sing, play instruments and promote talent in the industry, he said. Lewis is confident that the duo’s jingles and songs will make advertising history and expose great talent, all for the love of music. Lewis’ talents and a taste of his jingles can be found on the Internet at www.jingledoctor.com; www.creativerecords.com; and www.recorddemo.com.