• DECONSTRUCTING DAD •

Yes, back on the festival trail — the film will be screened Sunday February 16th at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.  It’s all happening because Allison Anders and her daughter Tiffany Anders, who originally selected the film for their Don’t Knock The Rock Film Festival in L.A. are curating a selection of their favorites from their festival at the Dublin fest, and asked if they could present my film there — of course I said yes in a heartbeat!

A lot of the people who will read this know about my film, but in case you don’t, here’s a link to the trailer

I was delighted to be invited to attend, and I will be there — the film screens Sunday, February 16th at 1:30 pm at the Light House Cinema–Market Square, Smithfield area in Dublin — click here for more info on the theatre (the way it’s spelled in Ireland).  And click here for the link to the official listing for the film on the festival website.  A lot of the people who will read this know about my film, but in case you don’t, here’s a link to the trailer

I’m also going to be on a panel later Sunday afternoon at The Church (a huge cafe/bar that is in fact in a converted church).  The panel is titled The Story of Music with Allison, Tiffany and other filmmakers whose films are being shown.  It’s being hosted by cutting edge Irish music blogger Nialler9,   And here’s a link to more info about the whole program curated by Allison and Tiffany, which includes some exceptional music documentaries that have shown in L.A. at the festival.

Really looking forward to the festival and being in Dublin, and if you’re in that area or can get there hope to see/meet you at the screening and/or the panel.

Stan Warnow

I’ve been working feverishly to finish a new deluxe edition DVD, and happy and relieved to announce it’s now done (just in time for Christmas, to not coin a phrase). The Deluxe Edition includes all the content from the original plus:

•  A progress report on the Electronium restoration going on in Portland, Oregon by engineer Darren Davison. I visited Darren, shot footage of the machine with him explaining a lot of what he’s been doing. You’ll get a good view of the inner components of the machine and Darren explains in detail how things worked, as far as he knows —he’s still figuring it out and the process is very much a work in progress.   To have a look at a brief excerpt from the progress report click here–there’s lots more detail on the DVD.

An interview with John Cool, an electrical engineer who formed a company with Raymond Scott in the early 1970s. The company was meant to manufacture some of my dad’s many ideas for music related electronic devices. I interviewed him for the film hoping he’d be able to fill in some important missing info about the Motown Electronium but unfortunately his knowledge of that was limited so I couldn’t use his interview in the film itself. But nevertheless he had fascinating tales to tell about Raymond Scott and the mixed results of their business venture, hosting him for Christmas, and listening to him compose one tune after another instantly at the piano (kind of like the human Electronium) and much more.

And then there’s my Directors Commentary — I try and explain why I did certain things the way I did them, give some more background info, philosophize a bit here and there, talk some about editing techniques and inspirations, and try to add something meaningful to what’s in the film itself.

And as mentioned above, there’s all the material from the first edition still intact — see the DVD page here for details.

So if you’ve been thinking about ordering for yourself or as a gift for the Raymond Scott fan in your life, now is the time to act. Prices will go up after Christmas.

The price for ordering directly through Kunaki.com is $18.00, the lowest price ever, and to order through Paypal it’s $18.75 — they add on their fees and for an independent filmmaker like me they become significant, especially because the price is so low. Delivery times etc., are the same depending on what options you choose, and one reason the price is reduced is so you can spend some money on priority or 2nd day delivery if you order nearer to Christmas — but I figure regular delivery should still get it there by in the U.S. by Christmas if you order by about December 17th.

And if you’d rather have the original DVD and save a few bucks, there’s also special holiday pricing for that, $15.00 from Kunaki direct, and $15.75 via Paypal. To order either DVD click here.

Thanks,
—Stan Warnow

That’s right, was interviewed by the legendary Joe Franklin a couple of weeks ago and it will air Saturday on Bloomberg radio (Sirius XM & WBBR 1130AM in NYC).  It’s part of a weekend show called “Bloomberg on The Weekend,” and will air 4 times; Saturday at 3am, 1pm, 7pm, and Sunday at 1am.

In case you’re not familiar with Joe, he’s a one-man encyclopedia of show business lore and legend, and has been around for, shall we say, quite awhile — here’s the Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Franklin.

Joe has a lot of older listeners who will remember Raymond Scott from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s — this is a segment of the population that has been less aware of the film than a lot of younger animation folks and electronic music devotees and musicians who do know about the film.  So I’m actually really happy this is happening.

And even if you’re not over 75 hope you’ll listen!

—Stan Warnow