Tag: Eric Clapton

ECHO IN THE CANYON – Review

As the classic song goes, “Rock and roll is here to stay…”. That’s true at the clubs, the arenas, the stadiums, and, for the last year or so, the movie theatres. We’ve seen a love story, a couple of biographies, and now a feature documentary. Now those bios told the story of music superstars of the ’70s, so many younger fans may wonder about the artists that inspired them in the decade before. And not those from the home turfs of Elton and Freddie, but rather some home-grown American icons. Those influencers are remembered and celebrated by their works that still reverberate all through the years from a never silenced ECHO IN THE CANYON.


This nostalgic rock odyssey is mainly helmed by two men: the film’s director, and head of Capitol Records Andrew Slater and musician Jakob Dylan (yes, he’s Bob’s son). Oh, the canyon in the title refers to Laurel Canyon, a hilly rural area not from Los Angeles which became the “happening” music community in the sixties (the film is mainly concerned with 1965 to 1967). The creative fires were really lit the year before with the British invasion led by the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Those lads from Liverpool were a big inspiration to the three bands that are the doc’s focus: The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas. Of course, there are sidebars on the Beach Boys (including a visit from their eccentric genius Brian Wilson), along with admiration from later artists like Jackson Browne and, in his last filmed interview, Tom Petty. Dylan becomes the researcher/interviewer as he guides us through this magical, creative period when the radio hit songs dug deeper with rock merging with folk styles. His research is building up to a new album of the era’s tunes, mainly recorded in the original studios with those music legends and a few new ones like Norah Jones. We also get to sit in on rehearsals at one of those Laurel hide-aways, where Dylan harmonizes with Cat Power, Regina Spektor, and Beck. This leads to an incredible 2015 concert at LA’s Orpheum Theatre, where they’re joined by Fiona Apple and Jade Castrinos (who dazzles the crowd). Happily, the live concert footage is smartly intercut with new interviews and archival footage that create a truly engaging piece of “infotainment”.

So you will learn a lot about that long-ago music revolution, but this flick is far from homework. Slater and Dylan capture the joy of creation and experimentation in the songs and the bands that electrified fans, leaving them with tuneful, enduring melodies and memories. We get a Beatle, a Beach Boy, “guitar god” Eric Clapton along with record producer Lou Adler. And all this was inspired by a little flick of that era. MODEL SHOP from 1969 was the catalyst to look back on the California epicenter of rock (when archival footage was presented I was surprised to see 2001’s Gary Lockwood until the connection to the 50-year-old movie was explained). Dylan turns out to be a very unobtrusive researcher, letting the artists tell their tale. Particularly memorable is the last surviving member of The Mamas and the Papas, Michelle Phillips. Rather than be apologetic or embarrassed by her trysts and flings, Phillips seems delighted and a little bit proud of her “scandalous” past, as she lived her young life to the fullest. With girlish glee, she tells of how her husband’s frustrated retort (“Do what you wanna’ do! Go where you wanna’ go) become a huge hit song. Later she delights in a new rendition by Dylan and the superb song stylist Jade Castrinos (such an engaging stage presence). Slater does a wonderful job of pacing the film, knowing when to shift from interview to rehearsal to concert performance (that was some night in 2015). And the tragedies are dealt with as the bands began to break up, some from clashing egos, others from substance abuse (in one brutally honest exchange David Crosby says he caused a split by “being an as*#ole”). ECHO IN THE CANYON is a true celebration that will have you humming as you leave the theatre and later searching those streaming music services. More convenient, but not nearly as wonderful as those big scratchy “33” discs. Truly groovy.

4.5 Out of 5

ECHO IN THE CANYON opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre

St. Louis Filmmaker Art Holliday’s JOHNNIE BE GOOD Fundraising Concert w/Conan O’Brien Band Members‏

JOHNNIE BE GOOD Fundraising Efforts

Music documentary on Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson gets fundraising concert with Conan O’Brien musicians & a tax deductible crowd-funding site on IndieGoGo

ST. LOUIS: Filmmaker Art Holliday is hosting a September 19th fundraising concert “Johnnie’s Jam: A Tribute to Johnnie Johnson” at The Sheldon for his music documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD, the story of St. Louis native and Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson. This film is also featured on the site IndieGoGo where people can “buy” various tax deductible items from the film while helping Mr. Holliday build up the funds needed to finish the film.

“Johnnie’s Jam” features Conan O’Brien musicians as well as Holliday’s discussion on his seven year documentary project about the life and music of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Johnnie Johnson and show excerpts from the film-in-progress. LA singer/songwriter Dona Oxford will open the evening with the Johnnie Johnson Band.

Before they joined Conan O’Brien’s band, guitarist Jimmy Vivino, bassist Mike Merritt, and drummer James Wormworth toured internationally and recorded with Johnnie Johnson. These world class musicians will perform at The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd, St. Louis on September 19th at 7 p.m. Tax deductible tickets can be purchased at Metrotix (314-534-1111  or Metrotix.com).

Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, and James Wormworth have performed with the likes of B.B.King, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Branford Marsalis, Robert Palmer, Pete Townsend, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Phoebe Snow, Cissy Houston, Al Kooper, The New York Rock and Soul Revue with Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Levon Helm, Wynton Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Rufus Wainwright, Bo Diddley, Trisha Yearwood, Michael McDonald, and Isaac Hayes.

Dona Oxford was a protégé and great friend of Johnnie. Every musician on stage September 19th will have a direct link to Johnnie Johnson and they’ll share their stories about the man behind the legend behind the music.

Synopsis:

On New Year’s Eve 1952, band leader Johnnie Johnson hired a guitar player he admired named Chuck Berry and they became two of the creators of rock and roll, influencing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. JOHNNIE BE GOOD is the story of the complicated relationship between two Rock and Roll Hall Famers: Chuck Berry, the brilliant lyricist and businessman, and piano man Johnnie Johnson, a master boogie woogie and blues keyboardist, complimented each other perfectly and collaborated on hits such as “Maybellene”, “Rock and Roll Music”, “No Particular Place to Go”, and “Roll Over Beethoven”. Only Berry’s name appeared on the writing credits and it will always be contested how many of Berry’s songs should have been co-credited to Johnson. Not even a lawsuit settled the debate. Eight members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame conducted interviews for JOHNNIE BE GOOD: Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Bob Weir, the late Bo Diddley, Joe Perry, and John Sebastian.

Money can’t buy happiness, but can buy a music documentary! For anything from photos, cds and signed copies of the script all the way up to producer’s credit in the film, fans can help finish JOHNNIE BE GOOD. The script is being edited and a rough cut put together while Holliday gives IndieGoGo a “go” to raise the $15,000 online to finish the film and begin entering festivals and submitting to distributors. For more on the documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD, visit the film’s official site, like it on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.

Promote your business & help finish our film! Put an ad in the program for “Johnnie’s Jam” at The Sheldon. 1/4 page: $35, 1/2 page: $60, Full Page: $100. If interested, please contact Marla: m.stoker@att.net and she’ll set you up! Hey…it’s an advertising cost so you can use it as a tax deduction!