The Perlich Post: Thunder Soul

Showing posts with label Thunder Soul. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hot Docs fave Thunder Soul gets major release

It took some time but Mark Landsman's brilliant Kashmere Stage Band documentary Thunder Soul is finally getting a major theatrical release on September 23, 2011. The genuinely heartwarming film about the one-off reunion of the formidable high school orchestra from Houston's Kashmere Gardens which won the coveted Audience Award at Hot Docs 2010 – despite negligible mainstream Toronto media coverage – appears to have greatly benefited from the support of co-producer Jamie Foxx who grew up in the Dallas suburb of Terrell, Texas. It's good news for film fans and Stones Throw Records who really got the whole ball rolling with the inclusion of a Kashmere Stage Band track on the Funky 16 Corners compilation and followed it up with the essential retrospective reissue Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974. Check out the trailer.

Thunder Soul trailer

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Thunder Soul wins BIG at Hot Docs!

Time to make some room for more hardware in the Kashmere High School trophy case. I'm thrilled to report that Thunder Soul, The Perlich Post's pick to click at Hot Docs 2010 (see preview), has won festival's prestigious Audience Award by popular vote.
With more than 170 films screened for an estimated 136,000 attendees, the 11-day event was the biggest and most successful Hot Docs festival ever. Yet despite the disappointing lack of advance press for Thunder Soul – none of Toronto's numerous daily or weekly newspapers previewed the film in any substantial way – Mark Landsman's brilliant chronicle of Houston's Kashmere Stage Band under the direction of Conrad "Prof" Johnson still connected with Toronto's knowledgeable film fans. Ballots were cast by filmgoers and Thunder Soul proved to be the clear audience favourite when the results were announced on Monday (May 10) with the runners up being John Walker's A Drummer's Dream, Germán Berger-Hertz's My Life With Carlos, and Jan Tenehaven’s Autumn Gold which took the Filmmakers Award selected by participating directors.

"Hot Docs was a rich experience for me as a filmmaker," wrote director Mark Landsman exclusively to the Perlich Post. "It was my first time, and I was amazed at the crowds – the sheer number of people who lined up, in all kinds of crazy weather, to see all kinds of docs. The audiences were packed, dynamic, engaged. The quality and range of films was fantastic. It was just inspiring and a really good time.
"Working on THUNDER SOUL has been a profound privilege for me--getting to know Conrad "Prof" Johnson, his family, his students; the treasure trove of KSB's music; helping to convey a truly soulful story. Everyone connected with the film feels honored and grateful to have won this award today. One thing that cracked me up, someone from Texas texted to say: 'Congrats on winning at Hot Box!' I think they were confused about which fest we played at.
"I owe you man, The Perlich Post was our lone champion up there! My thanks."

Thunder Soul's remarkable triumph at Hot Docs 2010 not only underscores the cultural cluelessness of Toronto's mainstream media which appears to be growing more irrelevant by the day, it's also a heartening testament to the power of a fabulous film to find an audience against all odds. Hopefully this means that Thunder Soul will eventually get wider distribution in first-run movie houses so many more people can enjoy this wonderfully moving documentary about one man and one band that made a difference. Who knows, maybe some sharp concert promoter will bring the reunited Kashmere Stage Band to Toronto for a show – they'd be perfect for Harbourfront!

Mark Landsman discusses Thunder Soul

LINKS
Thunder Soul http://thundersoulmovie.com/
Kashmere Stage Band http://www.myspace.com/texasthundersoul
Stones Throw Records store

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Thunder Soul takes over Hot Docs

Besides being among the most heartwarming films you'll see at Hot Docs 2010 (which runs through May 9), Thunder Soul: The True Story Of Conrad Johnson & The Kashmere Stage Band will also have one of the very best soundtracks. Of course there's some stiff competition from some of the festival's other entries like Blank City, A Drummer's Dream, 1991 The Year Punk Broke, Complaints Choir and We Don't Care About Music Anyway but then again, those exceptional high school students from the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood on Houston's nasty northside were never afraid of a little friendly competition.

During the the late 60s and early 70s, the Kashmere Stage Band won nearly every single high school stage band showdown they entered – an astounding 42 out of 46 contests. As you'll discover from Mark Landsman's informative and inspirational Thunder Soul documentary, Kashmere's phenomenal decade of dominance on the stage band festival circuit actually had less to do with the 1973 group's super-tight rhythm section of drummer Craig Green (see interview in links below) and bassist Gerald Calhoun or the various stunning teen soloists who came and went than the wisdom and guidance of the program's indefatigable music director who built the KSB into an unstoppable stage band force year after year. Conrad Johnson, affectionately known as "Prof," wasn't satisfied with merely having the most ferociously funky high school stage band in Texas, he wouldn't settle for anything less than the very best high school band – ever.
The Kashmere Stage Band's amazing recorded legacy, neatly compiled on the Texas Thunder Soul 1968-74 (Now Again/Stones Throw) 2 CD archival set, provides hard evidence that they achieved Johnson's lofty goal. Certainly you won't hear a word of disagreement from credible deep funk authorities like Keb Darge (considered to be the first to spin a KSB record in a club setting) and DJ Shadow who helped touch off the schoolhouse funk craze with his KSB-inspired compilation series of the same name and also sampled their signature tune Kashmere for the Handsome Boy Modeling School track Holy Calamity.

What set the Kashmere Stage Band apart from the thousands of other school bands across North America is the way Johnson looked beyond the conventional big band jazz charts to embrace the contemporary funk idiom as a viable music form all the while encouraging his students to compose their own songs, perform them and record them. Of course, there's much more to the Kashmere story than a few badass tunes and Landsman puts it all into proper perspective with Thunder Soul which screens as part of the Small Acts series at the Cumberland 3 on Friday (May 7) at 9 pm, Bloor Cinema on Saturday (May 8) at 6 pm and again at The ROM Theatre on Sunday (May 9) at 1:45 pm. For tickets see link below.

Mark Landsman discusses Thunder Soul