“By and By” Kickstarter launches!

It’s been an exciting week!

For one, we launched our Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds for the film, and we’re already 12% there in less than a week.

In the lead-up to Jazz Fest, OffBeat Magazine published this wonderful profile of the Crown Seekers and By and By.

And the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s NOLA.COM site had this to say about the Crown Seekers opening gig in the Gospel Tent on Friday.

And on Tuesday, we’ll start posting our EXCLUSIVE content for folks who pledge $1 or more to our Kickstarter campaign, including the full performance from this moment in the French Quarter with Greg Sanders of the Crown Seekers.

Stay tuned!

Mahalia Jackson in her backyard, New Orleans 1961

A sweet find in the Amistad Archives at Tulane University.

Offbeat calling for Jazz Fest …

Just back from New Orleans for voice-overs and other last-minute work on “By and By”. Offbeat Magazine has confirmed a feature on the project for the JazzFest issue, and with a few screenings of the rough-cut under our belts, we’re ready to get down to the nitty gritty!

Below is a clip that we love but know will not be in the film — the cutting begins.

Dimmerswitch project featured on NPR!

Months and months later, the short feature we did with 78 collector Ian Nagoski see’s the light of day on NPR! Ian’s put together a stream of some of his “greatest hits” for this feature — pretty amazing stuff. Enjoy!

“To What Strange Place” — the mini-feature!

Ian Nagoski’s “To What Strange Place” is selling well, and the trailer posted a few weeks ago has around 1,100 views — not bad for a clip promoting 99-year-old 78′s sung in Greek and Turkish!

What we have here is a deeper look into Ian’s project. Shot in NYC and in Frostburg, MD in late May/early June.

“Wrong side of the bed”

As I’ve been plugging away on several two-character scenes, I keep coming back to this amazing sequence from Barry Levinson’s “Tin Men” — it really doesn’t get much better than this.

“To What Strange Place: The Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora, 1916-1929″

In 2003, I met Ian Nagoski at the True Vine record store while searching for 78′s in Baltimore. I quickly learned to give myself a 3 hour window any time I walked into his store, because conversation with Nagoski isn’t just academic exercise — Ian, his records, and his stories are life-affirming, presented with the kind of spirit that makes you WANT to know more about the world around you. When he told me about his “Ottoman” project, there was no question I wanted to put together a trailer. Amazing music and amazing stories — the 3-disc set from Tompkins Square will be out on 06/28/11.

Special thanks to Ian, Josh, and everyone at Zinnia Films!