YACHT ROCK: A DOCKUMENTARY on 11/13/24
I attended the World Premiere of this super entertaining “dock” filled with great music from the Yacht Rock genre. It featured the stories and mellow music of 70’s and 80’s bands and musicians such as Steely Dan, Toto, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins and more. I learned that the term “yacht rock” was coined for this “soft rock”, jazzy pop music over 20 years after the music became popular and was also reminded that classical music was not called classical music until many years after its creation. I was excited to find out that Academy Award-winning filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, New York Times best-selling author, and member of The Roots - Questlove (who appears in the film), was in the audience. I was disappointed that he wasn’t also included in the Q&A. The film debuted on HBO on Nov. 29th and I can’t wait to watch it again!
Photo: Director Garrett Price is in the center.
DISCO’S REVENGE on 11/14/24
I attended the International Premiere of DISCO’S REVENGE, which traces the evolution of disco music in the 70’s from its counterculture movement in the New York underground gay clubs to its mainstream commercial peak at clubs like Studio 54. The film weaves together firsthand vignettes and archival footage featuring such disco icons as Nile Rogers, Grandmaster Flash and Billy Porter. Watching this entertaining and revealing film brought back memories of when my late brother was invited by someone to attend Studio 54. He went with his newly married wife, my husband and myself and after waiting in line for quite a while, they let my brother’s wife, my husband and myself in, but not my brother. I had to go back and cajole them into letting the one who received the invitation into the disco.
(From L to R): Karen McMullen, film subject DJ Nicky Siano and co-directors Omar Majeed and Pete Mishara
JANIS IAN: BREAKING SILENCE on 11/16/24
I attended the World Premier of the emotional and inspiring JANIS IAN: BREAKING SILENCE, about this American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Born Janis Fink, she is best known for her songs “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen”. Her first big hit, “Society’s Child”, about an interracial relationship and released in 1966 when she was only 15 years old, led to a lot of controversy causing the record to be blackballed by many radio stations. The film follows her life from her Jewish childhood, growing up on a chicken farm in New Jersey to her early success and ultimately to the release of her 1993 album “Breaking Silence” where she publicly sings about her loving relationship with her wife. It was exciting for me to go down in the elevator at the Independent Film Center (IFC) to the theater with Ms. Ian before the start of the film. I admired her colorful shoes and she told me that she has owned them for years and that they were her favorite and so comfortable.
Janis Ian in the center with director Varda Bar-Kar to her right and some of the production crew.
BORN TO BE WILD: THE STORY OF STEPPENWOLF on 11/16/24
I was extremely excited to attend the North American Premiere of BORN TO BE WILD: THE STORY OF STEPPENWOLF and it did not disappoint. I can’t remember if I started following the band before or after “Born to Be Wild” was featured in the 1969 film EASY RIDER (one of the two most disturbing films for me at the time, along with DELIVERANCE), but their music definitely resonated with me from the first time I heard it. The film follows the founding members, lead singer John Kay (born Joachim Fritz Krauledat) and bass player Nick St Nicholas (born Klaus Karl Kassbaum), from their humble beginnings in Germany to their emigration to Toronto and eventually to the formation of Steppenwolf in 1967 in California. It is peppered throughout with stories surrounding the band’s tumultuous relationship, ultimately leading to its breakup, told through recent interviews with John, Nick, John’s daughter Shawn and other members of the band. We also hear from rock icon Alice Cooper, filmmaker/journalist Cameron Crowe and many more. Of course there is lots of archival footage of the band, much of which contains their magical music. During the post-screening Q&A it was wonderful to see John and Nick making peace with each other after many years of estrangement.
Photo on Left from L to R): Moderator, director Oliver Schwehm, Nick St. Nicholas, John Kay and Shawn Kay
