Here I’m fowarding the latest Wrecking Crew Movie newsletter entirely. These are not my words, but the words of the movie’s creator Denny Tedesco (yes, Tommy Tedesco’s son).

quoting:

Never give up. And never, under any circumstances, face the facts
– Ruth Gordon

Well here are the facts that I will face and conquer, as well as a few questions that need to be addressed.

Why has the film not been released yet?

• I have to pay off the licensing before we can distribute. Pretty easy to understand when you have 133 music cues the majority of which are huge hit records, but without them there is not a story!
• Once we pay off the licensing we will hit the road with the film. Small art house theaters, special events-fund raisers, universities, local music stores. (if they want it, we’ll be there)
• The DVD of the film will have a companion DVD of out-takes.  I continue to shoot more interviews to be included in the 2nd DVD.
• We hope to have a compilation soundtrack to go with it. (CD and LP— dust off the turntable)

Why haven’t I given up?
That wouldn’t be a great example to my children.  The screenings that we have give me hope and faith by the encouraging words from the audiences at Q&As as well as the emails that follow. If they were walking out, then I’d quit. Neither my father nor his friends ever gave up their dream of playing music for a living so I will keep going to share their story.

Why is this film and other music docs of this era important?
If you were an art student and someone asked, “Who is Michelangelo, Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci?”, they know who they were (hopefully). Well I feel the same way about these musicians and artists in the 20th century. Thousands of years of making music, but we are the only generation in the history of mankind to experience the first recordings. We know exactly what the artist meant the piece to sound like. The only way to teach any subject is to know the fundamentals, and what came before us influences what we produce in the future. This is not just music but everyday life.

I guess Ella says it better.

Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong – Ella Fitzgerald

One Last Request…
I received an email from a fan of the movie in Europe. He loved the film which is very gratifying, but then he said he bought it on the internet. Oh wow! I hope that’s not true. If it is, I beg you with all of my heart -? please, please don’t buy this film until you receive an official announcement from me that it’s available to purchase. You’ll be the first to know if you’ve signed up on the website.

I have spent 14 years of my life, trying to make this dream come true. I can’t even imagine the kind of person that would do that. That is bad Karma.

(If you want the Wrecking Crew Film with Dean Martin as Matt Helm — that’s different… go for it)

My other request goes to others who have made copies from screeners without my permission. Some of you I know. (this is different then selling it)

I truly thank you so much for the greatest compliment by bootlegging the DVD. And the buzz is the best thing that keeps others wanting to see it which is awesome. But it doesn’t get me across the finish line.

Ask any musician how they would feel if they found out someone didn’t buy their album because they already had a copy. (hit home?)

But please at least send a donation to help me pay for the rights. It’s tax deductible. Send me the matinee price if you watched it during the day. But if you watched it at night with a room full of musicians, please think of it as a cheap night out with friends.

If you’re one of the many tour buses that had the chance to view it and liked it, dedicate a song from your band. (details on website).

Enjoy the out-takes and please tell others to sign up on the site. It’s the most important need next to raising donations.

Thanks.
Denny
www.wreckingcrewfilm.com

Believe it or not, I heard this tune for the first time tonight and when I saw how many versions there are on YouTube and considering the nearness of spring I made a playlist for you!

link to the YouTube playlist Spring is Nearly Here.

The father of the Beach Boys’ Wilson brothers was the personified dark cloud over the family. Now a lengthy letter surfaced on the internet that documents this. Apparently in his own words.

Quote from Letters of Note:

In 1964, less than three years after the release of their first single Surfin' and following many years of psychological and physical abuse, Murry Wilson was fired as manager of The Beach Boys by his son Brian. A year later, Murry wrote him the following eight page letter. In it, he blames Brian's mother for their ongoing rift due to her less severe punishment techniques, questions Brian's honesty and the actions of his friends in the music business, and even recommends that Brian dissolve the band as soon as possible in order to avoid any future problems. It's an incredibly interesting – albeit dark – snapshot of a showbiz family in free-fall, made all the more remarkable when you consider that just a few months after this was written, The Beach Boys began to record Pet Sounds, an album regarded by many as one of the best ever produced.

Quote from the actual letter:

No matter how many hit songs you write or how many hundreds of thousands of dollars you may earn, you will find when you finish this short cycle of Beach Boy success that you didn’t do it honestly and for this reason you are going to suffer remorse. I have been trying to fight you on every act of what I thought was not honest to protect you from yourself some five or seven years later; because I knew that when competition hit you between the eyes that you would not be able to cope with this vicious competition, regardless of how talented you are, because you got so much much too fast and the fact that you used your own father and then threw him away when you thought you didn’t need him will come back into your mind over and over again.

via Letters of Note: All I tried to do was make you all honest men.

Domenic Priore writes this, check it out here:

Pop expo: A column explained.

My Surfing Videos Playlist at YouTube.

Here’s a playlist of 40 pretty random skating (as in sidewalk surfing) videos on YouTube. I never searched systematically. Obviously I find 60s and longboard films the most interesting, you don’t have to turn down the sound as much as with some of the hectic stuff.

YouTube – Broadcast Yourself..

The classic prototypical Exotica tune Taboo is taken under musical scrutiny by Randy Wong of Waitiki fame.

Nice vintage dutch footage of Hawai’i with ukulele/vocal/fiddle music. At the end there’s even some surfing, people were having fun and sharing waves.

thanks Legendary Surfers: Hawaii 1916 Footage.