NYC Premiere May 16, 2008"Please Call Home: The Big House Years"
Documentary Film Captures Defining Years of the Allman Brothers Band
In the early 1970s, an 18-room, turn-of-the-centuryTudor-style mansion on Vineville Avenue in Macon, Georgia, known asThe Big House, served as the center of the universe for the members ofthe Allman Brothers Band, their families, road crew, friends andwayward fellow travelers. Within the walls of The Big House, timeless songs were written, romances blossomed, children were reared and parties were thrown. During the years in The Big House, the AllmanBrothers Band established themselves as the premiere live performance group in rock music.
The role of The Big House in the making of the legendary band is explored in the documentary Please Call Home: The Big HouseYears. This 100-minute documentary will debut in New York City on Friday, May 16, 2008, at the historic Hudson Theatre located at 145 W.44th Street, an ornate 700-seat theater in the heart of Times Square.
The screening of the documentary will begin at 8:30 p.m. Attending the premiere will be the filmmakers and the entire production team from Macon, Georgia's Bright Blue Sky Productions, officers of The BigHouse Foundation plus various band members and other distinguished guests.
"This is not a comprehensive biography of the band per se, but rather an intimate look at the family that was this band," states Director Kirk West, who has served as the Allman Brothers Band Tour Manager since 1989 and lived in The Big House with his wife Kirsten from 1993 to 2007. The film explores the making of the band, some of its most successful songs, its big breaks and darkest hours faced bythe band members with the death of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. "What it really talks about is the life of a family in a particular house for three years," said West, "and in the story of this band,that is an amazing three years."
Two levels of tickets will be available. VIP Tickets willbe $100 per person (a portion of which is tax deductible) and will include a cocktail reception from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., preferred seating for the screening and guests will receive a special gift bag which will include a copy of an extended version of the Please Call HomeDVD. General Admission Tickets for the screening only will be sold for $25 per person (a portion of which is tax deductible).
To purchase tickets, please email pchpremiere@aol.com.
For additional information, please contact E.J.Devokaitis, The Big House Foundation @ 478-973-6338.
Proceeds from the premiere will benefit The Big HouseFoundation/The Allman Brothers Band Museum, which is being developed in Macon Georgia to preserve the home and history of the AllmanBrothers Band. Scheduled to open in April 2009, the interactive museum will house the world's largest collection of Allman BrothersBand memorabilia.
From the day Linda Oakley answers the "for rent" ad in the local newspaper in hopes of finding a bigger home for her family–husband Berry, baby daughter Brittany and eventually Berry's sister Candice, Gregg and Duane Allman, Duane's girlfriend Donna and their daughter Galadriel – Please Call Home looks at the spirit of brotherhood and love of family that defined The Big House era of theAllman Brothers Band.
"The heart and soul of the house was Linda Oakley, or 'Big Linda' as she was known," said West. "In the movie, she speaks and shares in the same way that the band played their music. She is poetic, lyrical, mystical – it's moving." Others brought back to the house for filming include roadies Tuffy Phillips, Kim Payne, Willie Perkins and Mike Callahan. While there haven't been many music documentaries to spend as much time on the road crew's perspectives,West said it was essential.
"This is what really went on. It's the story about this house, this family. It's not just a story about a rock band," West emphasized. The story explores the good times, the love shared and the tragedies endured by the band during these years.
Revealing interviews also are included with AllmanBrothers Band members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks, Jaimoe and Chuck Leavell.
Macon film makers Bright Blue Sky Productions also captured personal recollections by Macon residents connected to the band, including music promoter Alan Walden, family members, girlfriends and friends.
"The band moved into that house making $1,000 a night and playing three sets to earn it. When they moved out, they were making $100,000 a night," said West. "Those three years were a dynamic and tragic period. The music that came out of that house – the joy, thefamily, the tragedy – it's a heavy address."
NYC Premiere: May 16, 2008 "Please Call Home: The Big House Years" 8:30 p.m. Screening Time
The Hudson Theatre at The Millennium Broadway Hotel 145 W. 44th Street New York City Friday, May 16, 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment