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The Ventures: Stars on Guitars

USA 2020
produced by
Staci Layne Wilson, Tim Wilson, Jill Fairbanks, Don Wilson (executive), Lisa S. Johnson (executive), Michael Kaplan (executive) for Wilson Ventures, Excessive Nuance
directed by Staci Layne Wilson
starring Don Wilson, The Surfrajettes (= Nicole Damoff, Shermy Freeman), John Fogerty, Jeffrey Baxter, Tim Polecat, Randy Bachman, Bill Englehart, Billy Bob Thornton, The Neptunas (= Leslita, Laura Bethita, Pamita), Wayne Kramer, Jimmy Page, Jeff Cook, Eric Roberts, Ruiko, Josie Cotton, Joe Carducci, Roger Fisher, Jack DeFranco, Del Casher, Pleasant Gehman, Lalo Schifrin, Raiyuki, Waddy Wachtel, Giddle Partridge, Barry Goudreau, Christian Wilde, Mark Farner, Joe Rosignolo, Deke Dickerson, Paul Warren, Seymour Duncan, Bob Spalding, Marky Ramone, Mel Bergman, Leon Hendrix, Bill Ford, Lisa S. Johnson, Deanna Passarella
written by Staci Layne Wilson, music by The Ventures, Michael Trapp

documentary

review by
Mike Haberfelner

As the title suggests, this is the story of The Ventures, the instrumental rock band that has over the decades sold over 100 million albums and has over the years influenced many musical styles, starting with surf rock of course, but also psychedelic and punk and hard rock and that has over the years emulated many musical styles, even disco. And yet their beginnings were mundane, as co-founders Don Wilson and the late Bob Bogle were bricklayers in Seattle, Washington in the late 1950s who bought themselves guitars and learned to play them (Wilson on rhythm and Bogle on lead guitar) so they could jam on breaks, and eventually they started playing cllubs and released their first single Walk, Don't Run, originally a jazz tune by Johnny Smith, in a slimmed down rock'n'roll version in 1960, with Wilson's mum being their producer/manager. The tune took off almost immediately and made it to number 2 in the Billboard charts, in part at least due to their innovative way of playing their instruments - which might have been born out of ignorance to be honest. From there their career took off, leading to many more hits in the 1960s, everlasting fame in Japan, a slump in the 1970s and resurgence in the 1980s to induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, when the band had been around for almost 50 years already ...

 

Now I'll admit up front I really like The Ventures, so of course this documentary had my attention from square one - but even if you're not really into the band but are at all interested in popular music, this is a mighty interesting film as it goes beyond just a dry re-telling of the band's story, and has many of The Ventures' fellow musicians from pretty much all eras (including some pretty big names, see credits above) doing a pretty good job explaining their music and their influence, but not in an academic way but in a way that even people who don't talk music (myself included) "gets it". And the whole thing is done in a very light-footed, well-paced and entertaining way that it's really just fun to watch this!

 

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review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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Thanks for watching !!!

 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!