You may know Parry Gripp
from internet earworms like “Chimpanzee Riding on a Segway,” or “Boogie Boogie Hedgehog.” Or perhaps you remember Nerf Herder – the folks that gave you the Buffy theme song? He’s got a new gig – writing ditties for Disney TV’s latest animation offering: 7D.

NERDIST: How did you get involved in 7D?

PARRY GRIPP: Some mysterious force at Disney TV contacted me to come pitch show ideas to them, I think someone over there must have been watching my videos, and said “We should bring this guy in for some ideas!” – But Jay Stutler who is the head of music at DTV and is responsible for all the great Disney Television Animation music that’s been coming out, like Sophia The First and Jake and The Never Land Pirates grabbed me and said, “Hey why don’t you try out for some of these different shows?” and I ended up on the 7D! I feel really lucky, and it’s a great honor for me!

N: We know the show is about the 7 dwarves from Snow White – can you tell us more about it?

PG: The creator of the show is this guy Tom Ruegger who created Animaniacs – this show is like his favorite love – it has his distinct humor – it’s going to be great for kids, but adults are going to enjoy watching it too. There’s so many details, and he’s lovingly crafted everything – I don’t think there’s anything else out there like it, but I think if you’re a fan of Animaniacs, you’ll like this show! This show is very fun for me to watch – when I get the episodes in to finalize the music, I just enjoy watching it. And the voice actors are just some of the best guys in the business – they’re so funny – especially Grumpy.

N: Do you have particular Disney films that you loved as a kid?

PG: Of course, when I was a kid – remember I’m old – I saw all the classics, like Peter Pan and Mary Poppins – which I just saw again recently, and loved it. That is such a great movie – and the music is just incredible – it’s almost all about the music. But when I was a kid we had movies like The Cat From Outer Space – remember that?

N: Yes! There’s a generation of us that grew up on Wonderful World of Disney – we would watch it every Sunday night!

PG: Yep! I watched The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night!

N: Where do you find inspiration when you’re creating music for a TV show – Obviously the show itself, but do you ever pull from outside sources?

PG: Well, it has to happen really fast. And they send me the script, so I’m working from a script. For instance, there will be a part when Happy will sing a song – and sometimes there are lyrics, sometimes there aren’t. A lot comes from hearing the actor’s voices in my head and trying to make it funny – how they would say it. I was inspired by the Robin Hood movie – with Roger Miller – it just has great acoustic guitars and singing – I used that a lot in reference with this show. I felt it was a good thing to call on.

Roger Miller has a southern style of singing – and there’s a song called Whistle Stop – which I don’t know if you know, but it was used as a sample for Hamster Dance.

N: I’m mad at you, because now I have Hamster Dance in my head

(laughs)

PG: That’s from the Robin Hood movie! Break it down, you’ll hear it!

N: You’re such a master of catchy songs, and we can’t wait to hear your additions to the Disney legacy.

PG: Thank you. I can’t believe I get to work on this stuff. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

Check out 7D on Disney XD on July 7th.