Those of you who have read the book or strolled through the back pages hear know of Peter LaBonne, a singularly unique artist who Alex really dug (he once told me that if he recorded an album of Peter's songs he would have his first million seller). Peter lives deep in the Adirondack mountains and rarely performs although his recorded output is immense. He recently performed in Troy NY. Here's an on-the-scene report by Chandler Travis - he being a cult artist with a rather significant following in the New England region (Incredible Casuals, Chandler Travis Orchestra). Chandler put out the only CD by Pete that captures his element to a significant degree (Meditation Garden on Sonic Trout - pretty easy to find a used copy online). Here's a link to Chandler's post...it includes some live footage...
Pete LaBonne live
Friday, October 11, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
July 2, 2013
So where did the year go? Two words: sandwich generation. And no, it has nothing to do with swiss cheese and ham.
As most of you know, Nothing Can Hurt Me: The Big Star Story goes into general release this week. I saw the movie in Rochester NY last month and was just knocked out. The filmmakers have done a fantastic job telling the Big Star story and that wasn't an easy task. However many hats I own, I take them all off to Drew, Olivia, and Danielle.
For starters, you could readily divide people who will see the movie into two groups: rabid Big Star fans who know the story and a lot of the detail and viewers who at best might have a thumbnail sketch of the story, if that. It's like when I tell music fans I wrote a book about Big Star...some will light up and be super-enthusiastic and some will just give me a quizzical look and I know I have to go into my brief (and well-rehearsed by now) explanation. But you could watch NCHM from either perspective and be really enthralled by the film. For a Big Star fan, it's heaven on celluloid. For an intelligent person who likes an interesting tale of art, commerce, and interesting people, it's very compelling, even if you've never heard a note of Big Star.
Then there's the matter of there being no live footage of the band from the 70s. And then add in the fact that neither Chris nor Alex were interviewed on camera (Chris for obvious reasons. The directors had extended conversations with Alex before he passed away before anything was resolved. I donated tapes of my interviews with Alex for my book to the directors and you'll hear a few snippets in the film.)
So whether the film is playing in a theater near you or you watch it on iTunes (available July 5th), your holiday week isn't complete without seeing the film.
As most of you know, Nothing Can Hurt Me: The Big Star Story goes into general release this week. I saw the movie in Rochester NY last month and was just knocked out. The filmmakers have done a fantastic job telling the Big Star story and that wasn't an easy task. However many hats I own, I take them all off to Drew, Olivia, and Danielle.
For starters, you could readily divide people who will see the movie into two groups: rabid Big Star fans who know the story and a lot of the detail and viewers who at best might have a thumbnail sketch of the story, if that. It's like when I tell music fans I wrote a book about Big Star...some will light up and be super-enthusiastic and some will just give me a quizzical look and I know I have to go into my brief (and well-rehearsed by now) explanation. But you could watch NCHM from either perspective and be really enthralled by the film. For a Big Star fan, it's heaven on celluloid. For an intelligent person who likes an interesting tale of art, commerce, and interesting people, it's very compelling, even if you've never heard a note of Big Star.
Then there's the matter of there being no live footage of the band from the 70s. And then add in the fact that neither Chris nor Alex were interviewed on camera (Chris for obvious reasons. The directors had extended conversations with Alex before he passed away before anything was resolved. I donated tapes of my interviews with Alex for my book to the directors and you'll hear a few snippets in the film.)
So whether the film is playing in a theater near you or you watch it on iTunes (available July 5th), your holiday week isn't complete without seeing the film.
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