tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549544869442303112024-03-13T16:41:59.313-04:00Drivin N Cryin Movie Blogericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-2725227526567135232010-12-07T18:56:00.003-05:002010-12-07T19:49:20.962-05:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW8/TGABPoster3-1.jpg">ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-40217862415297832462010-12-06T12:04:00.004-05:002010-12-07T19:50:48.957-05:00<div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> <i><span style="color: black;">iPhone Capture #1</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The boys engage in an impromptu hoe-down </b></span></div><div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>after the encore in Chattanooga on 11-27-10...</b></span></div><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CuX82LyqBQk?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CuX82LyqBQk?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-40775687017692044912010-11-11T16:03:00.004-05:002010-11-11T16:23:57.555-05:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/TGABPosterb2-2.jpg" />ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-47806107901544838082010-11-10T13:09:00.000-05:002010-11-10T13:09:44.011-05:00<span style="font-size: large;"><b>It was at the age of 25, after writing this song- 'Scarred But Smarter'- that Kevn Kinney became convinced that he could write songs for a living. My documentary research says that understanding this song is the key to understanding this man.</b></span><br />
<div style="color: red;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="color: red;"><b>Kevn Kinney- Scarred But Smarter/Truckstop Montage</b></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16678031" width="400"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Kevn Kinney explains the Truck Stop concept & </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>sings an acoustic version of 'Scarred But Smarter' </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>through a montage of the night's imagery.</b></span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-1190708489070252402010-11-03T17:14:00.001-04:002010-11-03T17:17:01.566-04:00<object height="225" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16077724&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16077724&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/16077724">DnC Movie Extra</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user869208">Eric Von Haessler</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<b>Only a few choice shots from this actually make it into the movie 'The Great American Band'- but I thought I'd throw this longer form piece out there to show just how close the guys allow me to get with my camera while they perform. You can see that Kevn backs up not knowing I'm there- then I brush into Tim, during a critical part of the song, as I pass by. The great thing is that no one has ever complained about me being in the way (not to my face anyway). That's why the live performances in the movie look different. I'm trying to put the viewer right in the middle of a great rock band while they're chugging away. That's the goal.</b>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-15234614516017094402010-08-16T19:43:00.001-04:002010-08-16T19:45:34.878-04:00<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The opening number from Drivin N Cryin at Chastain Park Amphitheater in Atlanta, GA. on 08-13-10.<br />This is long-form footage shot for the upcoming documentary-<br />The Great American Band: DnC@25.</span><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=14194017&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=14194017&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-29333314508528328962010-08-01T15:54:00.003-04:002010-08-01T15:59:35.413-04:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I've been catching up on editing from raw footage this week. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Found this gem:</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This Town (Sound Check 7/3/10) </span><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dQgHtSt_nwE&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dQgHtSt_nwE&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">After noodling about for awhile Kevn starts this song in earnest & the true sound check begins as the rest of the band make their way to the stage & Mac works out an issue with his guitar. In the first few seconds look for Tim Nielsen exiting to take his kids back to the hotel. The next time you see him he's on stage playing the song. It's like magic!</span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-16642489907992277232010-07-13T18:02:00.003-04:002010-07-13T18:18:44.778-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/GrabberRaster0244.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A bit of a spat concerning the title of the movie broke out on the You Tube page where the trailer is featured. I copied the back and forth and added my comments at the end.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RawYetTender:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It's hard to claim "The Great American Band" when you don't tour outside of the bible belt of America. A new album came out half a year ago and they have yet to leave the southeast. The title should be, "The Great Southeastern Band".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Love the music, love KK, love the band... just get out the corner and tour! </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">________________________________________________________________________________________</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">tdssportsvideo</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">@RawYetTender</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't comment if you don't know what you're talking about. They were up in NY and Massachusetts in November 2009 soon after the release of the new album.. Great shows. Great band.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">________________________________________________________________________________________ </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RawYetTender:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">excuse me... the east coast then.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">haven't seen them in Milwaukie, Chicago, St Louis, Denver, SLC, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, do I need to go on???</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kevn tours predominately the Southeast, and makes his way to Amsterdam every year or so... they rarely play outside of the Southeast or along the East Coast. My claim that they are the Great Southeast Band still rings true. Get on the road and see America!!! </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">________________________________________________________________________________________</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ericvon:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This is a cool dust up- so let me weigh in on it. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RawYetTender's argument is a sound one. The southern identity of the group (pro & con) is covered in the documentary. Kevn has his opinion and others in and around the band express their feelings about it as well. So the criticism as such is legitimate, but it misses the point of the working title of the movie. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The title doesn't presuppose the band is America's band in the way the Dallas Cowboys used to be known as America's team. Rather, the name is meant to be provocative. It's a thesis statement that the movie will then back up with evidence. In other words, the movie is making the case that Drivin n Cryin is the Great American Band. The qualities spotlighted are presented as intrinsic to the character, style, and journey of the members, individually and collectively, through the last 25 years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">As to the cities rattled off that rarely, if ever, see a Drivin n Cryin show- again I concede. But all four current members of the band are lifetime musicians. All have been in various bands since their teen years and all have seen this country inside out. Kevn is from Milwaukee and lived there until he moved to Atlanta at the age of 20. The whole country may not know these guys- but these guys know the whole country.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But let's not get too serious. I promise this movie will bear no resemblance to a VH1 Behind The Scenes special. When I was a kid rock and roll movies would show up at the theater every once in awhile and I loved them because it was kind of like hanging out with the group for a couple hours. This movie will tell the story, including the good and bad, but mostly it celebrates great music by a great band- and the audience is invited to join in the celebration. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Now- we have to be patient. We are only halfway through the documented year. The movie won't be finished till next year.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">eric</span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-55427987498143452222010-07-04T23:03:00.001-04:002010-07-04T23:05:10.600-04:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here is the first trailer for the documentary:</span></span><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xWsTqyzbMOo&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xWsTqyzbMOo&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-44762912582790601002010-06-09T19:26:00.001-04:002010-06-15T21:08:26.724-04:00<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">DnC on CBS @6AM</span></span><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r7WBz_JIo9s&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r7WBz_JIo9s&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-73402144676751422542010-05-14T23:03:00.003-04:002010-05-14T23:32:22.835-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/GrabberRaster0208-1.jpg" />ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-60205419253053572952010-05-12T20:51:00.009-04:002010-07-13T21:50:12.490-04:00<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >DNC Movie-</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Source Material #4:</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Kevn Tests Rock Band Track</span></span></span><br /><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x_ikf4TrbvA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x_ikf4TrbvA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="640"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Kevn Kinney tries to match his own voice while checking out the new Rock Band version of Drivin N Cryin's 'Detroit City'... </span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-23259710784249453692010-04-14T17:11:00.005-04:002010-04-20T16:57:49.141-04:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">I've decided to stop referring to these video postings as DnC Movie Blurbs because I don't want to give the false impression that these are actual scenes from the movie. In truth, only 20 seconds taken here or 40 seconds there will actually make the film. But we are doing a lot of shooting and I don't want to just sit on the cool longer performances we've been lucky enough to capture. So I'll make them available here for those who want to dig a little deeper as we spend the next few months following the band and putting together this wonderful jigsaw of a story. The first video in our new series catches Kevn performing folk versions of some of Drivin N Cryin's best known power anthems.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">DnC Movie </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Source Material #1</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Kevn On Street- Rock to Folk Medley</span><br /><object id="xrPbd787fa21fdb438591b40974753513e3" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,124,0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://exposureroom.com/flash/XRVideoPlayer2.swf?domain=exposureroom.com/&assetId=bd787fa21fdb438591b40974753513e3&size=lr&titleColor=%23ffffff" height="480" width="720"><param name="movie" value="http://exposureroom.com/flash/XRVideoPlayer2.swf?domain=exposureroom.com/&assetId=bd787fa21fdb438591b40974753513e3&size=lr&titleColor=%23ffffff"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="True"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><embed name="xrPlayerEmbededbd787fa21fdb438591b40974753513e3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://exposureroom.com/flash/XRVideoPlayer2.swf?domain=exposureroom.com/&assetId=bd787fa21fdb438591b40974753513e3&size=lr&titleColor=%23ffffff" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="True" wmode="opaque" height="480" width="720"></embed></object><div><div class="viewOnXRDiv"><a href="http://exposureroom.com/bd787fa21fdb438591b40974753513e3" class="viewOnXRLink" title="Kevn On Street- Rock to Folk Medley by Eric Von Haessler - View it on ExposureRoom" target="_blank">View on ExposureRoom</a></div></div>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-87716860755448505082010-04-12T17:41:00.013-04:002010-04-20T16:56:28.154-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/26375_382458829659_734559659_359644.jpg" /><img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/25434_382118419659_734559659_358646.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Time for an update:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I spent 5 days of my recent vacation sleeping on the very comfortable futon in the computer room of Kevn Kinney's place in Brooklyn, New York. I got there on Friday April 2nd & C-Bass joined me on the 3rd to shoot a lot of footage for the documentary thru April 7th. My buddy, and NY resident, Greg Russ helped out for the first round of interviewing on Friday night. We started the first interview with Kevn around 9p. then took a break around 10:30 so Greg and I could run into Manhattan to grab more equipment. Kevn waited patiently until we returned and we resumed the interview and kept on until about 1:30 or 2a. before breaking for the night.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">We concentrated on the early years back in Milwaukee, his trek to Atlanta in the early 80's, and the eventual partnership with Tim Nielsen that led to the formation of Drivin n Cryin. Kevn talked a lot about his songwriting, his dad, and the personal demons he was fighting during the period leading up to and following the recording of the 'Smoke' album.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The plan on Saturday was to set up in a local park for an interview, but along the way we spotted a rocking chair waiting for a trashman and decided to situate Kevn in that chair on a street corner, guitar in hand, to tell some stories. We spent most of that interview talking about New York and Kevn's nearly magical ability to not fit into any musical scene. He was never really accepted by the rockers or the grungers with Drivin N Cryin & his brand of Folk music isn't at all accepted by the NPR crowd. At one point Kevn kind of admits that 'Build A Fire' is his least favorite of the DnC hits- but then played an acoustic version of the song that knocked us out. One of the things he explored a couple of times was how different things would have been if 'Peacemaker' rather than 'Fly Me Courageous' had been the biggest hit from the early days.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">One of the biggest eye-openers for me was to find out that Kevn Kinney is an amazing cook. We were lucky enough to be on hand for one of his legendary Brooklyn barbecues on Saturday night. Kevn and his wife Shayni Rae invited assorted friends and artisans for a party/feast that combined amazing food with good music, good conversation, and general chaos. We had a camera set up in the living room and cherry-picked artists to sit down and talk about Kevn and Drivin N Cryin. We let everyone get a little drunk before sitting them down- ensuring good interviews from all.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The next day was Easter Sunday. I gave C-Bass the day off and decided to leave the cameras at the apartment when we took off to Manhattan to see Anton Fier backing up a singer/songwriter in a small cafe. I hadn't seen Anton play before- so that was a real treat. After that brief set I arranged a time to interview Anton the following Tuesday and Kevn and I made our way over to the Bar 2A. Tom Clark was tending bar with good humor and we spent the better part of the day mixing inebriation with laughter. Shayni joined us as the sun was setting and we all made our way over for a hamburger and good live music at The National Underground- then finally found ourselves at another bar, a sort of speakeasy until about 1:30 or so. Then it was back to Kevn's kitchen where the three of us stayed up talking for another hour or so before turning in.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On Monday morning Kevn peaked his head into the living room to inform me that we didn't have to drink all day again. I agreed it was time to give the liver a break. We did another interview with Kevn on his side patio. This time I spent less time on the musical timeline and more time on pop culture stuff and his love of cooking, etc. At noon Tom Clark came by for an interview, then sat around the kitchen table jamming with Kevn for the better part of an hour. It was during that session that he and Kevn improvised a country version of the Drivin N Cryin power rocker 'Detroit City'. It was the first attempt at this version and I've included the video below. It's just great.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On Tuesday C-Bass and I went into Manhattan to interview Anton Fier who produced the second album (Whisper Tames The Lion) and the latest album (Great American Bubble Factory) for Drivin N Cryin. Anton was very open and gave us a great interview. He admitted that he didn't really get the band the first time around and felt that he had a better appreciation for them this time around. He also revealed that he thinks he was hired the first time based on the grade of marijuana he had on him when he met the band.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">After leaving Anton's place we raced back to Brooklyn to interview Andy Shernoff from The Dictators. Kevn has often said that Drivin N Cryin was set up as a southern version of The Dictators. For those uninitiated, The Dictators were a pre-Ramones New York rock band that fostered a legion of loyal fans, one of which was Kevn Kinney, when he came across their first album as a teenager in Milwaukee in the late 70's. Andy gave us a great overview of the Dictators scene- then Kevn joined us to talk about Andy's influence on him. The whole thing culminated in another great musical session featuring both Andy & Kevn singing 'I Stand Tall'- the Dictators song covered by DnC on their new album.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">After Andy left we relaxed until it was time to go shoot Kevn with his friends at the National Underground in a musical outfit known as Mexican Dirt Weed. Kevn did four songs. The first was a great new tune followed by 'Smoke', 'Underground Umbrella', & the song 'Mexican Dirt Weed'. All great stuff- all captured by our cameras. After the set there was much drinking followed by another late night talk around the kitchen table until everyone admitted exhaustion and turned in for the evening.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Early afternoon Wednesday was spent listening to records with Kevn and talking till it was time for me to head to the airport and back to Atlanta. Kevn gave me all sorts of gifts- books, cd's, etc. Then he gave me the first 45 he ever pressed with his punk band The Prosecutors- for the documentary. He laughed as he handed it to me because somebody paid $800 for one on E-Bay.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">As we stood out front waiting for my car to the airport we kind of compared notes and came to the conclusion that we had become friends in the preceeding days. That was a cool feeling. You couldn't have better friends than Kevn and Shayni Rae. Kindness and hospitality are in endless supply with them. It was a great 5 days. We came home with an abundance of material for the movie and some great memories to boot.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span class="long-title" title="DnC Movie Blurb #2: Detroit City- Kevn Kinney & Tom Clark">DnC Movie<br />Source Material #2:<br />Detroit City- Kevn Kinney & Tom Clark</span></span><br /><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4HfBHPo9mAY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4HfBHPo9mAY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="640"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-23468247237643940772010-03-28T17:06:00.007-04:002010-03-28T17:34:55.298-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/27225_1269039565292_1208922589_3059.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It's not as if things haven't been going on with the movie lately. It's just that I haven't found the time to write it down. So let's go back to Saturday the 20th of March and get caught up.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Since Sunday the 21st was going to be a travel day to Florida for the radio show I had decided to turn in early in order to get a quick start to Orlando the next morning. Just as I was heading up to my bedroom my cellphone buzzed. Kevn's name popped up. This is a rare thing. I answered- "Hey, Eric I was sitting here reading my book and I started wondering if you were going to be around for the KTO reunion at The Earl tonight?" </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This was out of left field because I had planned to cover the Kathleen Turner Overdrive reunion for the documentary but for some reason thought it was happening a week later. The good thing was they weren't hitting the stage till midnight. I quickly arranged to meet Kevn & others at his apartment & called Sebastian to see if he could find some halfway decent equipment & meet us at the venue. C-Bass answered his phone while performing some task at whatever job he holds at night. Luckily he was off at 10:30 & could get everything there by 11:30. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I arrived at the apartment to find a candlelit poker game in progress. I've never played any kind of poker in my life but Kevn insisted & threw a handful of coins in front of me. Everyone at the table coached my every move and I ended up winning the first hand. Beginner's luck. I got stomped in the next dealing of the cards and it was time to head toward the venue.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For the uninitiated- Kathleen Turner Overdrive is a group that was formed by Tim Nielsen in the early 90's with Ray DaFrico. Ray & Tim were band mates in The Nightporters- an 80's group that predates DnC. Like DnC there were various lineups through the years but Mac Carter & Dave V. Johnson have been mainstays. KTO has a deep catalog well worth exploring & getting to see them together was a treat. Unfortunately, the reason for the reunion was sad. Former vocalist/drummer Wally Gates had tragically taken his own life & the guys were part of an evening honoring his musical legacy. The short set was brilliant and honored their friend the right way- plugging in & tearing up the stage.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Before & after the performance we got some great interviews with Dave, Mac, & Tim on all manner of subjects. Then C-Bass put away the camera and the fun really began.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I really wish we had had cameras rolling when I showed up at the Dark Horse Tavern just as Kevn & friends were spilling out onto the streets laughing uncontrollably. They had thrown themselves out just before being asked to leave after tossing a serious wrench into the live Karaoke proceedings. I don't know exactly what happened but I did glean from their laughter that the band actually stopped playing and insisted on order before beginning again. We made our way over to Atkins for one beer- then walked into The Warren just as someone was shouting last call. We ordered & sat on the porch and talked about the Braves & Kevn's reasons for loving the game of golf until the bartenders made good on their threats and threw us all to the curb. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">We decided to walk back to the apartment. Kevn filled me in on customs in The Netherlands as he and Scotty argued about whether Bobby Cox could deliver a championship in his final year with the Braves. It was during this exchange that Kevn let me know he had once done a charity event with Johnny Bench and that the former Reds catcher wasn't very cool. "I hate to say it Eric, but Johnny Bench... kind of a dick!"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">We got to the apartment, agreed to meet in NYC on the 5th to start the formal interviews for the movie, and went separate ways. When I climbed in my car the clock said 3:15. I had originally plannned to leave for Florida at 5a. A change in travel plans was imminent.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">KTO @ The Earl 03-21-10</span><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DjVPJKbnG_I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DjVPJKbnG_I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-69286542147001391922010-03-20T00:19:00.006-04:002010-03-20T00:29:07.625-04:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >'I See Georgia' Edit Session 03-17-10</span><br /><img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/IMG_2413-1.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/IMG_2414-1.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/25444_374675364659_734559659_347-1.jpg" />ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-61934695352995753222010-03-18T19:19:00.007-04:002010-03-18T22:00:02.607-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW%207/GrabberRaster0183.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm an impatient person by nature. But there are times when it's appropriate to slow down a bit and take a little more time than planned with something. While making what I thought was a kind-of, final tweak edit on the 'I See Georgia' video yesterday we experimented with a few different things that pushed the pacing into a whole better place. The good news is that I was walking on air when I left the edit. The bad news is that we have to open the whole thing back up again to apply the lessons learned yesterday to the rest of the video.<br><br /><br />In a perfect world we'd hole up for three straight nights and finish it within days- but this particular video is proudly being put together by a band of mad gypsies. Everyone has other responsibilities & varying schedules so we end up working together whenever it's possible to get together. It's going to take at least two or three more sessions to apply the new tricks to all of the previously 'finished' footage. We'll book and work every chance we get, but those sessions are sure to be spread out over the next couple weeks. So, while on one hand, I feel a bit behind schedule- on the other, I'm ecstatic about the things we came up with yesterday.</span><br><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I've also been going through the hours of footage Rett shot of the band last weekend. I'm always knocked out by how engaging, entertaining & witty the guys are before and after they hit the stage. They always provide a wealth of material whenever we shoot. Most of my impatience with the video making process has to do with my yearning to dive into the documentary with full focus. Drivin N Cryin is the best Rock N Roll band in America right now and I can't wait to introduce more people to them when we complete the movie.</span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-7006153044544378362010-03-15T16:14:00.004-04:002010-03-15T16:42:50.235-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW6/NJW7/GrabberRaster0171.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">As I slowly climb out of a bout with the flu that robbed me of a week of productivity, I now feel the need to be double productive for the rest of the week. Thankfully, Rett Thompson was able to follow the band for the weekend with a camera while I stayed put. He says he has 5 and a half hours of video for me to scrub through when I see him tomorrow. I enjoy diving into hours of video and emerging with a few minutes here and a few seconds there that will ultimately make the film. It's a neat sort of visual scavenger hunt, but I'm going to have to multitask if I want to keep with the editing schedule I've planned out for this project. I'm very glad I was born when I was born- I can't imagine trying to do this with film stock.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">In my mind this needs to be the week we finally shine the 'I See Georgia' video up one last time- and then release it. I have a major edit scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and I'm hoping that by this weekend I'll have that project done, and be able to completely throw myself into the DnC documentary. The year is beginning to slip away.</span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-63323331455301326422010-02-21T21:29:00.003-05:002010-02-22T12:22:51.141-05:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW6/DnCGeorgiaStill1.jpg" /><img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW6/DnCGeorgiaStill2.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I was about halfway through today's edit when I thought to myself- "anybody who doesn't dig this video can kiss my ass...' That's the moment I knew I had resolved everything to my satisfaction. The video is in complete clean-up mode now. Because everyone who works with me on this is very busy, it'll still take a couple weeks to unveil- but, it's basically done. We added the final touches to the story in an edit that went from 10:30a. to 7:30p. I'm proud of the video we've made. In a couple weeks the fans get to render their judgment- then I can focus exclusively on the documentary. It's going to be a fun year.</span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-6448784872076576982010-02-15T13:58:00.013-05:002010-04-20T16:41:13.629-04:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW6/GrabberRaster0170.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm happy to report the 'I See Georgia' video is rounding turn four and heading for the homestretch. We'll be spending most of the next two weeks just cleaning up and fine-tuning the overall look. I won't lie. I've had my moments of doubt during this process simply because I can't know if what pleases my eye will please others as well. But I've shown what I have so far to a few select people and the response has been very good. While that's no guarantee of wider acceptance- it's better than the alternative.<br /><br />One of the biggest challenges of this project has been coming up with a visual piece that lives up to the song itself. I consider it an honor, and a great responsibility, to have Drivin N Cryin music placed in my hands. Let's face it- the song is great. If the video doesn't work- no one is going to blame the song. I think we've got something that not only works, but hopefully, will help turn more people on to their song and their great new album.<br /><br />Meanwhile- we continue to gather video for the DnC documentary. The band appeared at The Peachtree Tavern last Saturday Night/Sunday Morning and we had a camera on hand. The event featured many musicians coming together to raise funds for the "Atlanta Has A Heart" Music Benefit For Lana Turner. Kevn & the boys were in good spirits and the set was, of course, spectacular.<br /><br />I decided to feature a bit of our footage from that night below in the DnC Movie Blurb #1. Because most of this year will be spent gathering footage I'll make a habit of continuing this series of raw pieces to keep everyone abreast of the project as it moves along.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">DnC Movie </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source Material #3</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Night @ The Peachtree Tavern</span><br /></span><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/310106359659"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/310106359659" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-14787668955801657962010-02-05T19:47:00.003-05:002010-02-05T20:30:01.815-05:00<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW6/19748_288635727217_556227217_358263.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l83/evhslr/NJW6/18166_1246400072531_1005284585_3059.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I received a crash course on the finances surrounding a music documentary yesterday over a couple of beers with James Barber at Hudson Grille. Music ownership is a thorny patch that must be navigated properly in order to make a film with any commercial designs. So rather than chase every song in the voluminous DnC/Kevn Kinney catalog I need to choose what I want to use now. That way all the sorting out and cajoling necessary to secure the rights can begin soon and run parallel to shooting. Hopefully this will keep us from having to endure a waiting period for clearances once the picture is completed. Since I only have a handful of footage to date and can't know exactly what songs I would use in what context- I've decided to create a virtual soundtrack for the film that I'll submit to James and Ken. This will serve as a wish list as they go hunting down the various rights and licenses involved. Necessity is the mother of invention and creating the soundtrack album I'd like to see marketed with the movie is as good a way as any to winnow down the songs that will ultimately make the film. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">This is a blog created to follow the making of the DnC documentary but since we're in the process of making the video for the song 'I See Georgia' I'll use this space to keep everyone informed on that project as well. Tuesday was the final shoot and things went very well. We were able to shoot several scenes before the band arrived which allowed us to get DnC through their stuff pretty quickly. I'm always mindful of not wasting the band's time so I keep my head down and hustle through the shots before any boredom or frustration sets in. I think I kept them happy and got the footage I wanted- so I'm chalking it up as a successful day.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My friend Steve Haigh brought his home camera and shot some behind the scenes stuff that I've embedded below. First he catches me realizing I screwed up a previous shot- then he captures the band goofing around between takes. Because we were using a tripod, a jib, & a steadicam there were down times as the camera was switched from one to the other. It was during these down times that the band would improvise and goof around. The latter half of the blurb below captures Kevn & Dave switching roles. Dave straps on the Mosrite and Kevn takes a seat at the drums. I think fans will enjoy it.</span><br /><br /><br /><object height="180" width="320"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/290002819659"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/290002819659" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="180" width="320"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-75567276221338045522010-01-31T15:18:00.004-05:002010-01-31T15:51:31.301-05:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spent yesterday doing more editing on the 'I See Georgia'video with Rett Thompson (one of many people helping me bring this project to fruition). Most of our time was spent on tightening scene transitions, though we did swap out a couple of band segments in the process. I'm finding there's a big difference between the editing needed for the video and the documentary. The doc is more wide-open, and ultimately, linear. A video on the other hand, is more about the layering of imagery. The editing in the documentary can at times be rather chaotic. But every image in the video has to compliment the preceding and following images. Colors, themes, rhythms all have to roll and blend together. Both are fun but they require entirely different mental gears to pull off.<br /><br />I still love the song 'I See Georgia' even though I've heard it about 3,000 times since starting the video. But one reference in the song had fallen on deaf ears until Friday night. About 2/3rds of the way through Kevn sings about being in Europe when he heard that Deacon Lunchbox died. I assumed Deacon Lunchbox was some southern blues musician. I don't know why I assumed that- but I did. Friday night I got curious, did the Google thing and was pleasantly surprised to find out how wrong I was in my assumption. Deacon Lunchbox was a very funny 'Hillbilly Poet' from Atlanta who died at 41 when a drunk driver crossed lanes and hit the car he was riding in. Two members of another very good local group called The Jody Grind lost their lives in the accident as well.<br /><br />Check him out at the link below. He reminds me of a southern Brother Theodore. He won't be everyone's cup of tea- but his stuff makes me laugh.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/deaconlunchbox" target="_blank">Deacon Lunchbox On MySpace</a><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DWWXbunELKk&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DWWXbunELKk&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Jody Grind- Eight Ball</span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hUiCTmXY8_w&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hUiCTmXY8_w&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-21152551358998966212010-01-29T11:43:00.000-05:002010-01-29T12:28:32.369-05:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Balancing the morning show, the shooting and editing of the 'I See Georgia' video, and the documentary requires me to focus on whatever comes next without sweating too much about the big picture. Now that the show is done for the week it's time to zero in on the final video shoot next Tuesday. I think we have everything we need in place. I'm assured the band has kept their hair and overall look the same as it was when we shot a few weeks ago. This is very important because this shot needs to flow right out of the stuff we shot then. I also have my crew ready to do a walk-thru on Monday so that we have all the shots worked out before we start on Tuesday. The only wild card concerns the extras. The scene will look better the more extras we have on hand. We think we've gotten enough people involved. But you never know how many will actually show up until you get there. 150 to 200 people would be ideal. I can make it work with anything above 50. But if we end up with 25 I'll be screwed. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'll spend tonight and tomorrow continuing to edit what we have- Have a beer and put up my feet on Sunday- then dive back in headfirst right after the show Monday. This stuff is fun!</span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-83015375437180879322010-01-28T21:19:00.000-05:002010-01-28T21:41:20.302-05:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">It was a good day. We met with some people about funding and weren't laughed out of the room. In fact, it looks like good news on that front. We'd figure a way to make this thing with or without a good budget to draw on- but the more money we can raise, the easier it will be. The logistics of shadowing the band for several months combined with the need to glean a large archive of photos, videos, super 8's, etc. means a small staff has to be assembled in order to move in several directions at once. Actually the staff is in place. The possibility of a decent budget simply means I don't have to con them into doing everything on a voluntary basis.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The money thing was a quick diversion from nailing everything down for the band's final shoot for the 'I See Georgia' video. We plan on shooting from noon till early evening on Feb. 2nd. Hopefully, I'll have all the footage I need when we're done. Then the plan is to retreat to finish the edit over the next couple of weeks and have it completed by mid-month.<br /></span></span>ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754954486944230311.post-13493493731124824542010-01-25T20:06:00.000-05:002010-01-26T17:53:50.526-05:00ericvonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627800898768773632noreply@blogger.com