Showing posts with label Frank Zappa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Zappa. Show all posts

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Summer of '82 - When Zappa Came to Sicily


"Summer of '82 - When Zappa Came to Sicily"
Coming to DVD and Digital Formats on December 8th

Zappa's '82 Italian tour comes to life with never-before-seen concert / backstage footage

Limited theatrical run starts in LA on November 5th

Where were you in the summer of '82?


In the feature documentary, Summer 82 - When Zappa Came to Sicily, filmmaker and Zappa fan Salvo Cuccia tells the behind-the-scenes story of Frank Zappa's star-crossed concert in Palermo, Sicily, the wrap-up to a European tour that ended in public disturbances and police intervention. Cuccia had a ticket to the concert but never made it. 

Thirty years later, collaborating with Zappa's family, he re-creates the events through a combination of rare concert and backstage footage; photographs; anecdotes from family, band members, and concertgoers; and insights from Zappa biographer and friend Massimo Bassoli. The story is also a personal one, as Cuccia interweaves the story of Zappa's trip to Sicily with his own memories from that summer.

The film looks at the rise and heyday of Frank Zappa's career as an innovative composer and libertarian provocateur, and includes tales of the relationship of a busy father with his children.

While in Sicily for the concert, Zappa visited Partinico, the birthplace of his father and grandfather; and in the film's warm and loving coda, three of Zappa's children, Dweezil, Moon Diva and his wife Gail, return to meet their relatives there for the first time.

A Blu-ray edition of the film, distributed by MVD Entertainment Group and produced by Eleonora Cordaro for Abra&Cadabra, will be released on December 8th (pre-order HERE). Bonus features include unpublished photos of Zappa behind the scenes.

SCREENINGS:
11/5 - Los Angeles - The Regent Theater - Q&A with Dweezil & Moon Zappa + Steve Vai
11/17 - Philadelphia - PhilaMOCA - Q&A with Dweezil Zappa
11/20 - Boston - The Regent Theatre - Q&A with Dweezil Zappa

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Go "Barenaked"!

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Dive into the Barenaked Ladies pond!

Barenaked Ladies have announced a very special collaboration with the legendary “Kings of A cappella” titled, Ladies And Gentlemen: Barenaked Ladies And The Persuasions to be released April 14, 2017Produced by Gavin Brown, the album features 14 tracks re-imagined BNL’s award-winning catalogue and the classic ‘Good Times’. BNL recorded the album live off the floor with The Persuasions last Fall at Noble Street Studios in Toronto.

Ladies And Gentlemen: Barenaked Ladies And The Persuasions is available to pre-order on iTunes on March 10. Album and bundles featuring exclusive merchandise of Barenaked Ladies and The Persuasions will also be available worldwide through PledgeMusicEach pre-order includes four instant-grat downloads of “The Old Apartment”, “Odds Are”, “Keepin’ It Real”, and “Don’t Shuffle Me Back”.

The video streaming app Sessions X filmed the entire session and will feature full-length performances, interviews, and behind the scenes moments. Sessions X will launch their BNL content on Wednesday, March 22.

WATCH + SHARE SESSIONS X TEASER TRAILER HERE

The seed for Ladies and Gentlemen: Barenaked Ladies & The Persuasions was planted when Kevin Hearn befriended The Persuasions at Lou Reed’s memorial held at the legendary Apollo Theatre in 2013. The friendship led to an invitation for The Persuasions to perform with BNL at Central Park Summerstage during the Barenaked Ladies 2016 Last Summer On Earth tour. Both bands had such a fun time, they all agreed to “do more” together. Before hitting the studio together, and after running through about 25 songs from the BNL catalogue, both BNL and the Persuasions’s excitement grew and the songs were narrowed down to the final 15 tracks featured on the LP.

Can We Persuade You To Get "Barenaked"?
Barenake Ladies & The Persuasions
Photo: Matt Barnes
Although The Persuasions enjoy a long, storied career, the group has admittedly never recorded an album in a room live, with the band performing the songs. Says Dave Revels, lead vocalist for The Persuasions “…with Barenaked Ladies, [their] music is passionate so I guess that’s why we identify with it…because we can feel passion so I think that’s why it was a natural union.” Says BNL drummer Tyler Stewart, “To actually play with these guys who are veterans of music making for so long… everything that comes out of their mouths is dripping with soul and you can’t help but absorb some of that when you’re in the room.” 

Considering the once-in-a-lifetime feel of a musical project between two groups who have collectively released 40 albums across their careers, Sessions X, which is an online subscription music series that features intimate performances straight from the stage or studio, was an opportunity to document the recording session, all of which was recorded over two days in October, 2016 in Toronto. Tyler Stewart described the collaboration as “Top three most fun things I’ve done” in his twenty six years of performing. Dave Revels, lead singer for The Persuasions described the collaboration as a “beautiful chemical reaction”.

Founded in 1962, The Persuasions first came together on the street corners of Brooklyn with a musical inventory deep rooted in gospel, with a major measure of soul, and a dose of pop. Featuring original members Jimmy Hayes and Jayotis Washington, along with Raymond Sanders and Dave Revels, their eclectic repertoire has drawn from country to blues to gospel to rock to jazz. The group has released 26 albums, performed in concert halls worldwide, and shared stages with such seminal artists as Lou Reed, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Richard Pryor and Frank Zappa.

Currently, Barenaked Ladies are putting the finishing touches on their 16th studio album
Fake Nudes, expected to be released later this Fall. More information will be announced in the coming weeks.

  
Catch the Barenaked Ladies and The Persuasions (select dates only) on tour this spring.

4/21/17
Albany, NY
The Egg w/The Persuasions
4/22/17
Valley Forge, PA
Valley Forge Casino
4/25/17
Huntington, NY
Paramount Theatre w/The Persuasions
4/27/17
Ridgefield, CT
Ridgefield Playhouse
4/28/17
Englewood, NJ
Bergen PAC w/The Persuasions
4/29/17
Burlington, VT
Flynn Theatre
4/30/17
Ithaca, NY
State Theatre
5/2/17
Rocky Mount, VA
Harvester Center
5/4/17
Catoosa, OK
The Joint at the Hard Rock
5/5/17
Tunica, MS
Bluesville at Horseshoe Casino
5/10/17
Des Moines, IA
Hoyt Sherman Palace
5/12/17
Deadwood, SD
Deadwood Mountain Grand
5/13/17
Colorado Springs, CO
Pikes Peak Center
5/15/17
St.Louis, MO
Peabody Opera House
5/16/17
Waukegan, IL
Genesee Theater