Volume 30 · Number 2 · Winter 2013
Alumni Profiles
Peter Afterman ’78
MacArthur fellows
Two UC Davis alums were selected this fall to each receive a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as the “genius award” — Uta Barth ’82, for her abstract photography, and Eric Coleman ’87, for his work improving health care for elderly and chronically ill patients moving from hospitals to nursing homes. Barth is professor emeritus at UC Riverside. Coleman is a professor of medicine and head of the Division of Health Care Policy and Research at the University of Colorado.
MacArthur Foundation photos)
Peter Afterman
(courtesy photo)
Occupation: Founder and president of Inaudible Productions, a music supervision company based in Sherman Oaks.
The man behind the soundtracks: You probably have never seen Afterman on film. But if you watch movies, chances are that you’ve heard his work. Afterman is a leading Hollywood music supervisor who has worked on more than 150 films, including Juno (2007), Hellboy (2004), The Passion of the Christ (2004), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (I and II) (2001 and 2003), The Patriot (2000), and The Color Purple (1995). He also produced It Might Get Loud, a 2009 documentary on the electric guitar featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. He has won two Grammy awards for soundtrack albums — The Apostle and Juno. He also oversees the licensing of the Rolling Stones’ post-1970 music, as well as merchandising rights to James Brown’s name, likeness and songs.
“How do I get more records?”: As a UC Davis student, Afterman studied art history, thinking that he’d pursue a career in art restoration. But music was already his passion. “I moved into Malcolm Hall with a nice sound system, my reel-to-reel tape recorder and over 2,500 records on reel-to-reel tape. I was thinking, ‘How do I get more records?’” A friend at the California Aggie mentioned that the student newspaper received promotional records, and Afterman signed on as a reviewer. “I got all kinds of records free, and it really focused my interest.”
Gigs on a glass patio: Afterman idolized rock concert promoter Bill Graham, and wanted to try his hand at putting some shows together in a small, nightclub style venue on campus. “There wasn’t really anything like that available, but then I saw this space in the Coffee House. It was a glass patio, not being used for anything…and I got an idea.” He recruited a crew of friends to help him organize concerts there. Audience members paid $3 a ticket for now-legendary shows by artists including Devo, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Pat Metheny, The Police, Emmylou Harris, Ultravox, Dire Straits, Don Cherry, John Cale, Gil Scott Heron and Joe Jackson — all in a concert space of 35-by-65 feet. Afterman says, “We’d forget how we fit all the seating in there from one show to the next, so we’d all be standing there scratching our heads, saying, ‘How did we do this last time?’”
“It blows my mind that in 1972, I was dreaming about the Rolling Stones and rock songs, and today, I’m the guy who oversees their music.”
Winemaker profile: Jeff Runquist, Jeff Runquist Wines
Jeff Runquit with wife, Margie, and their dog, Pearl. (Courtesy photo)
Jeff Runquist ’80 did not choose UC Davis for its wine program, nor did he plan to pursue winemaking courses. Like most undeclared freshmen, Runquist just wanted to enroll in his required classes.
With luck, he was admitted to all of his requested courses, and tested high enough to skip an English course. With room on his schedule to explore, he ended up in an introduction to winemaking class.
“I found that I really enjoyed the class, so I started taking more classes, and got into viticulture by my second year,” he said.
During his third year at UC Davis, Runquist saw an internship listing for Paul Masson winery in Madera. Soon, he was out of the classroom and working in the industry. By his fourth year, he declared himself a fermentation science major. His fifth year included another internship.
Runquist, who went on to work as a winemaker for Montevina Wines, Napa Valley Cooperative Winery, J. Lohr Winery and McManis Family Vineyards, says, “Graduating with two years of experience definitely helped me get a job.”
Today, Runquist owns a winery in Amador County, about an hour east of Davis, and continues to act as a consulting winemaker for J. Lohr. Jeff Runquist Wines produces approximately 20,000 cases a year, almost all of it red.
Runquist is a life member of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association. Although he’s not on campus often, he makes an effort to keep in touch with people at the university and stay involved in the UC Davis Alumni Wine Program. In recent years, he has hosted CAAA’s Aggies in Amador wine tour, and looks forward to future events.
For more information about the UC Davis Alumni Wine Program, visit CAAA.