Monday, March 16, 2015

Music documentary The Wrecking Crew received its commercial première Friday, screening in cinemas in Los Angeles and New York via Magnolia Pictures.

Two decades in the making, Denny Tedesco’s documentary observes and honours a group of session musicians collectively known as “The Wrecking Crew”. Tedesco explained he was moved to begin the documentary when he learned his father, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, had cancer in 1996. “When they said he had a year to live — and I always wanted to do this story about The Wrecking Crew — my concern was, if I don’t do it, it’s going to be the biggest regret of my life”.

Tedesco commented on his anticipation of audiences’ reaction at Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles, “People say, ‘aren’t you tired of watching it?’ I say, ‘I don’t watch it, I watch the crowd’.”

The documentary showcases interviews with the late Tommy Tedesco, guitarist Glen Campbell, drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer, bassist Carol Kaye, and others, amongst the roughly 30 musicians that formed The Wrecking Crew’s loose roster. Cher, Nancy Sinatra, and Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys are also seen talking about the session artists.

The movie includes home footage of Tommy Tedesco, and photographs of The Wrecking Crew working in studios with artists Frank and Nancy Sinatra.

Originally completed in 2008, and screened at several festivals, the commercial release was delayed until recently as Tedesco needed to raise money to cover licensing costs of the one hundred and ten songs included in the film.

Tedesco explained: “We had a $750,000 bill before we could even release this film theatrically, so no-one was touching us. We still had this thing around our neck. Documentaries don’t sell, and music docs are the worst.” Tedesco described reaching out to sponsors to pay off publishers and labels to get the film into cinemas. “Every time I got money from a donation, I’d pay off a label or publisher.”

A Kickstarter campaign raised $300,000, which paid for licensing and session artists. Billboard reports the money was able to go towards the creation of outtakes for a future DVD. Tedesco said he wanted to keep outtakes of the interviews he conducted that didn’t make it into the movie. “I want to do outtakes of every musician, a lot of whom aren’t in the movie[…] Who are they? What did they do? I want to give everyone their say.”

The Wrecking Crew worked behind the scenes throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s with well-know bands and artists on memorable tracks such as Sonny and Cher, “I got you Babe”; Beach Boys, “California Girls”; Elvis Presley’s, “A Little Less Conversation”; and The Ronettes, “Be my Baby”.

Aside from the interviews, the documentary also includes footage of The Wrecking Crew, filmed by Hal Blaine. He dubbed himself a director as he joked around with the other musicians. “I had a camera, and I took it to work and I became a director of sorts. And I’d tell people like Tommy, ‘Hey, Tommy, do me a favour. I’m going to take a film of you. Just come walking into the studio, and all of a sudden pretend you’ve walked into a great big orgy going on here. There’s all these naked women and guys.’ And we’re laughing about it. I did that with Glenn Campbell, all the guys”, Blaine said.

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Wednesday, April 13, 2005The Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, Monday, launched its slimline manifesto for the May 5th general election, a twenty-seven page document entitled The British Dream.

The manifesto focuses on five key areas:

Lower tax and value for money: The party plans to make up to £12 billion of savings annually by reducing beurocracy such as quangos. £8 billion will reduce previous deficit, and £4 billion of tax cuts will be made, especially to what have been called “stealth taxes”. The party promised that funding for education, health, transport and international development would not be cut, and spending on police, defence and pensions would be increased.

Flexible childcare and school discipline: The manifesto promised an increase in maternity pay and more choice of childcare. Under a conservative government more independence over expulsions and admissions would be given to school heads and governors. Special schools for disruptive pupils would be created, and more vocational courses would be created for 14-16 year olds.

Better healthcare and cleaner hospitals: A major feature of the coservative campaign has been hospital sourced infections, and in respose the party have promised to introduce ward matrons charged with keeping hospitals clean, with the authority to close wards with MRSA infections. A Conservative government would contribute funding towards operations in private hospitals. Econimic migrants with HIV or TB would not be allowed to live or work in Britain.

Safer communities and more police: A Conservative government would increase police recruitment by 5,000 a year. The manifesto promised to increase prison terms and increase Britain’s prison capacity by 20,000 places. The party would reverse the Labour government’s decision to relax laws prohibiting Canabis use.

Secure borders and controlled immigration: The manifesto proposes a new border police at Britain’s busiest air and sea ports, with 24 hour surveilance. The party would set a quota on economic migrants and reject asylym-seekers who are not vetted by the UNHCR.

Party leader Michael Howard summed up the manifesto: “If you long for cleaner hospitals, more police, school discipline, controlled immigration, lower taxes and accountability – you can vote for it, on 5 May”, accusing prime-minister Tony Blair, who is campaigning for his third term, of letting the country down.

Monday, October 9, 2006

France is to ban smoking in all public places in February 2007, the French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin has announced. However cafés, nightclubs and restaurants will not be required to comply until January 2008.

An offence would result in a fine of 75 euros for the person(s) responsible and 150 euros for the premises where the offence occurred.

When announcing the new law in a television interview, he stated his reason as being the “public health”:

“We started on the basis of a simple observation – two figures: 60,000 deaths a year in our country linked directly to tobacco consumption and 5,000 deaths linked to passive smoking. It is an unacceptable reality in our country in terms of public health”

Public places will include stations, museums, government offices and shops, but not streets or private places such as houses or hotel rooms. He also stated that the country would pay for one-third of the costs of anti-smoking treatments:

“That would represent the first month of treatment,” he said.“There are also other solutions, for example the creation of closed, ventilated spaces, where (food and drink) service is not authorised in order to protect employees,” he added.File:Dominique villepin.jpg

A BBC survey made in France, a country notorious for its use of tobacco suggests that 70% of the people support the ban.

The European Union’s most enthusiastic smokers are found in Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal, according to findings published in May this year. When the law activates, France will join Ireland and Italy, which have passed similar measures. Italy, for example, has very strict measures, such as a minimum fine of 150 euros for smoking in public places with additional charges leveled if the offender was near a pregnant woman or a child under 13. Repeat offenders could be fined more than 275 euros, and imprisoned if they continued. In Switzerland, the canton of Ticino is the only canton in the nation to have banned smoking in restaurants. In the The Netherlands, smoking is banned in NS railway stations.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Legendary Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China had one more terracotta warrior guarding his tomb, recently. Pablo Wendel, an art student from Germany, disguised himself as one of the clay sculptures surrounding Qinshihuang in his final resting place, now a museum.

Police protecting the northern China museum searched for an extended period of time, as Wendel stood silently, among several thousand sculptures. When police found the 26-year-old performance artist, who later told them he was fascinated by the monumental display, they carried him away “as if he were a log.”

China was united by Emperor Qin Shi Huang over 2,200 years ago. The tomb in Xian, once the capital of China, is open to the public as a museum.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Tuesday, famed ocean liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, popularly known as the QE2, arrived in her home port of Southampton, England for the final time.

The Cunard Line ship has been in service since 1969, and is to become a floating hotel in Dubai. The homecoming was marred as the vessel ran aground on a sandbank near Calshot at the mouth of Southampton Water.

The ship hit the sandbank at around 0530 GMT, and five tugs took around 30 minutes to pull the QE2 clear. The 70,000 tonne vessel was towed into port and eventually docked at 0730 GMT according to the Solent coastguard. Around a thousand crew and 1,700 passengers were aboard the ship, which was returning from a cruise around the Mediterranean.

A number of festivities are set to occur today to mark the QE2’s last day in Southampton. The Duke of Edinburgh will visit the ship and observe the two minutes’ silence for Remembrance Day at 11am, while a Tiger Moth aircraft will fly over and shower the QE2 with a million poppies to mark the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day. The QE2 will leave Southampton for the final time this evening at 1915 GMT.

The QE2 has been referred to as the “world’s most famous ship” and has been a popular sight throughout her four decade career, taking passengers from Southampton on transatlantic cruises to New York and the Caribbean as well as the Mediterranean. During the Falklands War the vessel was commandeered and used as a troop carrier. For her conversion to a hotel, her distinctive funnel is to be removed and replaced by a steel and glass replica, which will house a penthouse suite.

The QE2 is scheduled to push off for its voyage for Dubai this evening around 7:15 pm with a fireworks display. Its final destination will be as part of a Nakheel Properties‘ resort.