It gives me (Jon) tremendous satisfaction to know that Denny Tedesco has reached some important milestones in his 18-year journey with this film. Having secured a great distributor of documentaries (Magnolia Pictures, who also distributes two of my other favorite films, Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Blackfish), The Wrecking Crew seems poised to get the release it deserves, and we - the audience - will finally get to see the picture in some great theaters and get that box set of BluRays we've been wanting.
The backstory: I made the acquaintance of my lovely friend Desiree Tedesco (Denny's sister) in a hair salon in 2006. We happened to be getting our respective haircuts (or is it 'hairs cut?') in chairs next to each other, and I overheard her say, "(blah blah, something something) The Wrecking Crew." Our stylists happened to walk away at the same time, leaving us to exchange pleasantries with each other, and I took the opportunity to ask if I heard correctly that she was talking about The Wrecking Crew (purposely not italicized -- at this point I'm talking about the players, not the film), and if so, how she knew about them.
Back backstory: I have been a drummer since I was a kid, and had the good fortune to be introduced to Hal Blaine's book of the same title by a local windsurfer named Bill. He was flabbergasted that I knew not of Hal (I was a long-haired kid whose drum universe rotated around Alex Van Halen) and gave me his own copy. I opened the book out of obligation to the gift, and then was captivated and devoured it in two days. Later, I worked at Mix Magazine, and our reference arm, Mix Bookshelf, sold the book. We frequently heard from Hal himself about it, and he generously supplied us with signed copies and whatever else we asked of him, further cementing my admiration for him. He really is a great guy.
Back back backstory: While I was courting the woman who would become my wife, I mentioned that I dug Hal in conversation, and she was also a fan. She and her Mom shared a love for Jan and Dean, and she knew of Hal from their recording from The Tammy Show. That's when I knew it was love.
Anyway, Des explained that the guys she was talking about were musicians, and not whomever it was to whom I thought she was referring. I responded, "I'm talking about Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, Carol Kaye…)". We became fast friends, and she gave me Denny's email address and told me about the film. I reached out to him, and we traded emails for a couple of months about anything and everything, until we could finally meet face to face at a screening in Santa Cruz, CA. Don Randy was there too, and participated in the Q&A afterward, and we all loved it. Since then, I've taken my friends and my family to see it every time he's shown it at an auditorium near me, and seen the additions along the way. It was great the first time, and has only gotten greater. I love The Wrecking Crew, and can't wait to see it in a theater, and in my living room.
Here are some links:
http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com - For info directly from Denny about the movie
https://www.facebook.com/WreckingCrewFilm - The Wrecking Crew Facebook page
http://www.magpictures.com - Magnolia Pictures website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Tedesco - Tommy's Wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Blaine - Hal's Wikipedia page
http://www.carolkaye.com - Carol's website
http://www2.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/tommy-tedesco-guitar-player-0416-2012.aspx - A great article about Tommy Tedesco from Gibson Guitars
The backstory: I made the acquaintance of my lovely friend Desiree Tedesco (Denny's sister) in a hair salon in 2006. We happened to be getting our respective haircuts (or is it 'hairs cut?') in chairs next to each other, and I overheard her say, "(blah blah, something something) The Wrecking Crew." Our stylists happened to walk away at the same time, leaving us to exchange pleasantries with each other, and I took the opportunity to ask if I heard correctly that she was talking about The Wrecking Crew (purposely not italicized -- at this point I'm talking about the players, not the film), and if so, how she knew about them.
Back backstory: I have been a drummer since I was a kid, and had the good fortune to be introduced to Hal Blaine's book of the same title by a local windsurfer named Bill. He was flabbergasted that I knew not of Hal (I was a long-haired kid whose drum universe rotated around Alex Van Halen) and gave me his own copy. I opened the book out of obligation to the gift, and then was captivated and devoured it in two days. Later, I worked at Mix Magazine, and our reference arm, Mix Bookshelf, sold the book. We frequently heard from Hal himself about it, and he generously supplied us with signed copies and whatever else we asked of him, further cementing my admiration for him. He really is a great guy.
Back back backstory: While I was courting the woman who would become my wife, I mentioned that I dug Hal in conversation, and she was also a fan. She and her Mom shared a love for Jan and Dean, and she knew of Hal from their recording from The Tammy Show. That's when I knew it was love.
Anyway, Des explained that the guys she was talking about were musicians, and not whomever it was to whom I thought she was referring. I responded, "I'm talking about Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, Carol Kaye…)". We became fast friends, and she gave me Denny's email address and told me about the film. I reached out to him, and we traded emails for a couple of months about anything and everything, until we could finally meet face to face at a screening in Santa Cruz, CA. Don Randy was there too, and participated in the Q&A afterward, and we all loved it. Since then, I've taken my friends and my family to see it every time he's shown it at an auditorium near me, and seen the additions along the way. It was great the first time, and has only gotten greater. I love The Wrecking Crew, and can't wait to see it in a theater, and in my living room.
Here are some links:
http://www.wreckingcrewfilm.com - For info directly from Denny about the movie
https://www.facebook.com/WreckingCrewFilm - The Wrecking Crew Facebook page
http://www.magpictures.com - Magnolia Pictures website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Tedesco - Tommy's Wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Blaine - Hal's Wikipedia page
http://www.carolkaye.com - Carol's website
http://www2.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/tommy-tedesco-guitar-player-0416-2012.aspx - A great article about Tommy Tedesco from Gibson Guitars