Saturday, September 22, 2007

New Who



Never-before-seen concert and archival footage is at the center of"Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who" and its companion film "Six Quick Ones," due Nov. 6 on DVD via Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The movies were made with the cooperation of surviving members PeteTownshend and Roger Daltrey, who also contributed material from their personal archives."We decided the film was really about the journey to the top," executive producer Nigel Sinclair tells Billboard.com. "You really see these four young people putting it together. Then, the band becomes successful and many things happen: some good and some bad. We discerned from it that the most interesting thing was the evolution of Pete and Roger's relationship. The fact that these two are able to continue as the Who, it is almost like it was meant to be that way. Discovering, as we did from interviewing them, what the magic or their working partnership was, that was very exciting."When the project first got off the ground, original director Murray Lerner put out a request online for fan-shoot footage or rare clips. This yielded "quite a considerable amount of stuff that nobody had ever seen before," Sinclair says. "I'd say almost half of the [clips] have never been seen before in any context."Sinclair is particularly excited about film shot by managers Chris Stampand Kit Lambert in 1964, when the Who were still known as the High Numbers. "They shot a number of songs of the band playing in a hotel in London," he says. "The film was lost for the ages, but three years ago, an old gentleman in Amsterdam was cleaning out his loft. His grandson knew this was what the Who used to call themselves, and they put it onand realized what it was."But taking possession of such disparate footage proved a bit of a logistical nightmare for the production team. "We had 834 separate items we had to clear in the past few months," Sinclair says. "Ourpost-production specialist is now writing a PhD paper for NYU based onthis project. It was unprecedented. It is really difficult to take thesedifferent formats and make them work."The film culminates with a clip of the Who performing "Tea & Theatre"earlier this year in California, a moment Sinclair says was "key to the story telling. You take for granted how many partnerships have really survived in the art business. Simon ain't with Garfunkel anymore. We find ourselves in the film reflecting on that and that song becomes very poetic and powerful."Elsewhere, the narrative is helped along by interviews with fans such as Sting, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, U2's the Edge and Oasis' Noel Gallagher. "For me, Edge's comments about Pete's guitar playing really revealed what is his sound and why does he sound so different," Sinclair says.Look for "Amazing Journey" to have a limited theatrical run in theUnited Kingdom later this year, as well as a handful of screenings inmajor U.S. markets.

I can't wait for this. For most of my formative years, The Who were Top 5 on my list. I'll take anything from "Tommy", "Who's Next" or "Quadrophenia" any time. Unfortunately, they haven't really knocked me out with anything since "Eminence Front" in 1982. But, the three afore mentioned albums are all in the Raley Album Hall of Fame as Charter Members. I hope it comes to St. Louis.


stuff from saturday

having breakfast on my back porch, looking over the neighborhood on this beautiful saturday has inspired me to write stuff...oh, how lucky you are.....





this guy is john anderson, he ran for president in 1980. i think he was one of the smartest guys to ever run, which, of course, precluded him from winning the nomination. his idea at the time was to raise the gasoline tax by fifty cents a gallon and all of that money would have been set aside to reasearch alternative fuels. he decared we would be energy independent by 1990. that was 17 years ago. i wonder how that would have turned out. he would have never been elected because the companies that depend on us sucking oil out of the ground in the middle east would never have allowed it. i just wonder....


'goin downtown, gonna see my girl, gonna sing her a song, gonna show her my'....' taste of st. louis' is this weekend, and i am heading down town, hey i even have free parking. definately going to catch the radiators at 7 pm and then try to stick around to catch big head todd and the monsters at ten. i love the radiators and think big head todd were very much overlooked in the nineties. yeah, i may actually eat and drink something.



this weekend is the weekend i attempt to transfer a number of theold vhs tapes i have to dvd. tapes of my band, emily at one day old, paul playing in the snow with our new puppy who died a couple of years ago at the great old age of 14. very important stuff that i am afraid will start to disappear soon. wish me luck



we close with another great old gas station.....


this reminds me of what might have appeared on the old route 66. speaking of which, there is news coming concerning that. oh wait, what the heck, while i am feeling nostalgic, let's visit an ad from yesteryear

Monday, September 17, 2007

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Brush With Greatness 14

Tony Jordan (ass't promotions guy at KSHE), Richie (I nailed Heather Locklear AND Denise Richards in one year)Sambora and me. KSHE lobby circa 1997.

This weekend

Every September in my little town of Kirkwood, the Greentree Festival is king. Here is a link the festival's website. It starts with a Friday night opening of all the booths that cram Kirkwood Park. The parade is on Saturday morning and it IS the place for all Kirkwooders to see and be seen. Yesterday, I manned the Kirkwood YMCA's booth as we were the only booth selling grilled corn. Believe me, with one of my very first jobs detassling corn (ugh, hot, nasty, dirty, work) I know how to get those tassles and husks pulled down in record time. I did 11-2pm and will go back today from 12-5:30. Being on the Board of Directors at the Y, I feel it's my job to pitch in.
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Got great news from the doctor this weekend. Love that!
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What the hell is up with the weather, anyway? 105 two weeks ago. 48 last night. This week 90.
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My second favorite teacher in the world has infected another high school with her enthusiasm and love for the kids. When I went to make my every semester trip to Washington High School, Michelle Hoch gave me a copy of a DVD that chronicles what her kids are doing when it comes to reporting for their local "TV station". These kids are very very good. They also have that passion required to be successful. And 80% stems from the motivation provided by the teacher. Well, the idea has now been adapted by St. Louis Priory and the debut of "Rebel TV". The idea is in place, the logistics need to be worked out. Congrats, Michelle, you are the teacher I have always wanted to be. You rock! You continue to have an influence on all you touch in some way. See ya next semester.

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