New norman blake documentary

[Bob Wiegers]

check it out:

http://blog.artsedcouncil.org/archives/2008/08/-a-world-premie.html

show afterward by the New Binkley Brothers, who are the best young old-time guys around, despite their lack of mandolin (last I checked). I will be there.

[Trey Young]

wow, that is so cool! Too bad it's on a Thurs. night. I may be sick next Friday...

[woodwizard]

I am a huge fan of Norman. Sure wish I could be there. I study his tunes all the time.

[Ken Olmstead]

Any event held at a place called "Rhythm and Brews" has got to be an enjoyable evening!! That would be a great one though!!

[Bob Wiegers]

yeah it's a pretty good venue and a great location and good beer (it's owned by the Big River microbrew/restaurant), but I always groan at the name.

[Crowder]

It's a nice hall. I've seen some great acts there. Nickel Creek, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Mountain Heart, Cadillac Sky, Jimmie Vaughan, Anson Funderburgh, and lots more. Met my wife there, too. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[telepbrman]

If you all go, please post a review of the film, big fan out here in Manassas Virginia...dy.

[bgmando]

I can't wait to buy the film on DVD.

[Bob Wiegers]

yeah I'll ask about DVD plans

[Crowder]

Anyone in the area that is out and about tonight (Saturday) should come by the Market Street Tavern to see the Bluegrass Pharaohs. We've got Brian Blaylock sitting in on banjo and dobro tonight--should be fun. 9-12.

[Bob Wiegers]

I'd love to but I'm in IL at the moment. do yall still do a regular gig there?

[Crowder]

I'd love to but I'm in IL at the moment. do yall still do a regular gig there?
About once a month. The next time is 9/13. We'll go back to Friday nights after that, since Nightfall will be over. Ya'll come!

[Bob Wiegers]

bump...this is tonight if anyone's near Chattanooga.

[telepbrman]

Any reviews yet?

[Bob Wiegers]

very nice. I'll give a rundown tomorrow.

[Bob Wiegers]

ok, as requested, here's a brief review:

firstly, this is still a relatively rough-cut production. geeks might call it a beta release. apparently the original filmmaker did this 6 or 7 years ago, and he passed away before completing it. then his digital files were corrupted. someone resurrected the files and now we have a mostly-complete film. given the circumstances, I think the film was rather well done, with good production values (although the projector equipment was having problems at the venue too, so it's hard to tell what was film glitches and what was playback issues)

anyway, there wasnt anything necessarily groundbreaking here, but I think it was a very good portrait of Norman and his work. there were appearances/interviews from George Gruhn, Sam Bush, Michelle Shocked (!), Nancy Blake (of course), John Hartford (who had some very funny stories), a music historian whose name I forget (he gave some good perspective on Norman's chosen career path) as well as some vintage footage from the Johnny Cash show.

there was a jam with Sam Bush, and a few other songs from Norman throughout, mostly on the guitar, although he was on mando in the Johnny Cash clip, as well as one other time.

he discussed his youth, the old days playing with all the legends, song writing stuff, touring stuff (and his decision to stop flying in 1974), spoke about Nancy (they're very quirky in an endearing and cool way), O Brother, etc.

I think the best stuff (besides John Hartford's stories) was him talking about how he hopes his music can serve people in some small way, and the importance of staying humble. this attitude is in stark contrast to that of the vast majority of the music industry, in my opinion, and I find it very inspiring, to say the least.

the guy in charge of the project now (didnt catch his name) said they're planning on adding some to it to bring it up to today, and they've had interest from producers and from PBS. so hopefully that will go well and everyone will get to see a final version sometime in the near future.

[telepbrman]

Super info Bob and thanks so much for passing it along. I am a huge fan of Norman and all sounds great, dy.

[bgmando]

Thanks for the excellent review. I hope so much to be able to buy this on DVD someday.

[Crowder]

I thought the program was great. The technical difficulties were a shame, but the quality of the work was very fine. Norman and John Hartford proved to be born storytellers with a natural humor (RIP John).

I didn't know until I got there that the filmmaker was Fred Landry, who was the long time heart-and-soul of the longest running bluegrass jam in the area. He died of cancer a few years ago. The picking rotates among lots of different locations. I can still remember his voice on the answering machine that everyone would call to find out where the picking was being held. "Hello you've reached the Landry's....if you're looking for Wednesday Night Picking it's being held at the home of...." He was one of a kind. Played a Gallagher guitar with the toughest action I've ever tried to pick on. RIP Fred as well.

[telepbrman]

About how long was the movie?

[Bob Wiegers]

about an hour. maybe a touch longer.

is the wed picking still going on Crowder?

[Crowder]

about an hour. maybe a touch longer.

is the wed picking still going on Crowder?
Yeah. I think Cindy Pinion keeps the schedule. I don't go often. We live on Signal and it's a long drive to most of the locations.