Tim Conrardy

I met Tim a couple of times when I was trying to unload my beloved Atari ST about 15 years ago. I no longer had a use for it and essentially wanted to just give it away to a good home. God must have led me to him. I went to his house and he shared with me his passion for music and the Atari. I thought it was really hilarious to see a burnt Yamaha DX7 on the floor of his study. He explained that it had somehow been in a fire and the keys had melted together. He pried/filed them apart and the thing still worked! A true illustration of what a resourceful and creative man he was. I still remember just sitting there as he showed me his TT (or was it a Falcon?) running a browser of some sort. Even though our meeting was very brief, he made such an impression on me as an energetic and enthusiastic man who loved life. In fact, the impression he made on me led me to this website. Though we had not kept in touch at all, I would still google him every so often just to see what he had been doing. Today was one of those moments. Reading what Christina Conrardy wrote, I'm not surprised to see how loved he was. May God bless him and his family. Martin

Thanks to those who had video to share!  They are sooooo TIM!!!  Love it. 

I met Tim at the Namm show show (about 3 years ago)  I KNEW of Tim (who didnt!) through all of his marvelous sounds he created for so many synths.  We bonded immediately. We could talk for hours about the Atari and synths.  He was top notch. Made everyone feel like they were someone special.  My biggest compliment (and I'll NEVER forget it) came from him over the phone after I had done a Camel audio demo using a few of his awesome sounds for a piece and after he's finished listening to it he called and he said, "Terry when your piano chords kicked in and that piano patch was used of mine the hair on my arms literally stood up on end. It sounded FANTASTIC".  Well - it's easy writing good stuff with such inspiring sounds! 

Thanks Tim. 

Already missing you and always will.

Cheers buddy.

--Terry Michael Huud
www.Music4TheMovies.com
www.MySpace.com/terryhuud
www.imdb.com/name/nm0404698/

 

Timothy Gerard Conrardy was born March 25^th , 1957 in Paris France. After praying and receiving a communion from Father Padre Pio, his parents Bill and Betty Conrardy were able to conceive.

 

Tim lived the first years of his life in Paris France  with his older brother David Conrardy and his younger sister Maribeth. After leaving France his family moved to isaquah, washington where two additional members of the family, Craig and Patrick were born. In Washington my father had many adventures with his siblings climbing moutains, starting astronomy clubs, looking at pond life and learning music , which would develop into a life time passion.

 

In 1972, the conrardy family moved to Mclean Virginia where Tim attended high school. I remember him telling me that his band won the battle of the bands in high school but it was probably because all the girls thought the lead singer was so good looking.

 

After high school, Tim moved to the bay area in California where he has lived for the last 30 years.  Working part time in a nursing home kitchen with his sister Maribeth, my father went to classes at DeAnza Community College. It was while working as a tutor for an electronic music class where he met my mother, Diane, the love of his life for the last 30 years. It was at DeAnza College where my father also met one of his greatest electronic music mentors, Dr. Allen Strange.  My father and Dr. Allen Strange kept in contact up until last year when Dr. Strange passed away.

 

In  August of 1980, my father and mother were married at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Palo Alto. I remember my mom telling me that daddy always be willing to go out and take the bus to go shopping or whatever needed to be done as they did not have a car at that time . Always cheerful, always with a smile on his face.

 

I remember when I was little my dad used to color with me, bake with me, and watch movies with me. With our endless trips to the library, my dad taught me about classical music and encouraged me as I began to play the violin in the third grade. Every halloween we used to carve a pumkin together and then would go trick-or-treating. When we returned from trick-or-treating my dad would then put a speaker out the window and would play “scary music” on his keyboards. Even when I left for college and was no longer home on halloween, he still would play “scary music” for the trick-or-treaters.

 

 

In 2003, my father was diagnosed with vertigo and had to stay home from work on disability leave. My father was not able to drive or do normal every day tasks without feeling dizzy.  What turned out to be a hardship was then transformed into a blessing as my dad was able to focus more on his music on days when he was feeling better. Eventually my dad slowly recovered from his vertigo and by this time was offerred a job by Camel Audio. It was during this time that he really became known for his sound design and truly enjoyed playing with all his music gagets and instruments.

 

In addition to his love for music, my dad had a passion for astronomy.  My father would go out observing and would make intricate notes about what he saw each night.   My father also loved the Lord of the Rings Triology,  Star Trek and Star Wars. His favorite books included , My Side of the Mountain, Robinson Caruso, and Sherlock Holmes. He truly loved sharing what he enjoyed with others and was also a great father.

 

I remember that my dad always encouraged me in whatever I tried to do—music, school, whatever it was,  my parents were always be there to support me.

 

My father taught me patience, kindness, and unconditional love. He taught me about music and about nature and curiosity. My dad had un-ending cheerfulness and gentleness about him. 

 

Here is an example of some of the nice things that have been written since my father’s passing:

 

Tim was one of the most decent and renowned sound designers I have every had the good fortune to know.
His selfless contributions to the sound design industry were unparallelled and he was always the first to help and advise.

 

Tim was a great inspiration for many and great musician as well

 

Tim was a true gentleman, intelligent and witty. His love for synthesis and his skills in sound design were an inspiration.

 

 With sound, he painted the cosmos for us

 

To my father Thanks for being the best daddy a girl could have.

 

Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for life and music with us. We will always miss you.

I've known Tim for many years meeting him for the first time at our     of employment. After he left we kept in touch for a while meeting with some employee friends to go have soup. He loved to do that and I loved to be with him because he was a bundle of fire. He always had a smile on his face. He had so much energy, he was great to be around.  I used to tease him about the car he drove.That old faded blue Volvo.  He was a thrifty person. I wish we kept in touch more. I guess that always happens when something like this happens.
I was always amazed at his passion for doing anything. But when I first heard him play the piano and the guitar he blew me away knowing he was self taught. I built him a guitar that he told me he loved. I am proud to have done that for you Tim. We used to go to Guitar Center together at lunch and when he started playing the synthesizers there he would always have an audience. You deserve more recognition for your accomplishments.   I will cherish the CD you recorded for me Tim. You will be missed. RIP

Tim and I met a few years ago and quickly began making pretty incredible music together as Twin Planets.  He really was the most humble and amazing musician I've ever met.  He could literally pick up any instrument and immediately make it sound like he'd been playing it for years.  He made the most incredible sounds, but only he could really unlock the magic inside them.  I will always remember him as the greatest musical partner I've shared time with, and as a truly inspiring guy and close friend.  I'll miss him very much, but I'm sure he is happy out surfing the Cosmos...