Star & Micey – “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

On a warm morning in Memphis, during our Southern Road Trip, we met Star & Micey in St. Mary’s Cathedral. They started the day with this sweet and haunting version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, and as the days warm up and we start this summer, we’re excited to share it with you.

We think about this performance often, the beauty of the sound and the setting, the way loneliness can be soothed by singing. So it was a joy to include it in the bonus materials included with The 78 Project Movie. And to share even more of this immense journey with you.

Star & Micey – “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
Shot on the road in Memphis, TN September 4, 2012

Thank you again to the city of Memphis and all of our dear friends there.

The 78 Project Movie will screen at IFC Center in NYC on June 4!

With a live 78 recording with special guest Craig Finn of The Hold Steady after the movie!

The 78 Project Movie
at IFC Center

Thursday, June 4
8pm
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave at W. Third Street
We’ll be there for Q&A!

We’ve spent a lot of days on the road this year, screening The 78 Project Movie in dozens of cities on our Nationwide Theatrical Release Tour. All the while we were eagerly awaiting the day we’d get to show it at home again. Which is why we’re so thrilled that IFC Center in New York City will host our homecoming screening on June 4th. And we couldn’t be happier to announce that Craig Finn of The Hold Steady will join us to cut a 78rpm record live at IFC Center after the screening.

It’s a special occasion when The 78 Project Movie is playing in New York.  Don’t miss this chance to see it on the big screen!

Tickets are now available on the IFC Center Website, and at the theater box office.

 

** Pre-screening Happy Hour at Goorin Bros Nolita **

Join us before the show at Goorin Bros Nolita Shop! Our great friends there will be hosting a special happy hour to celebrate The 78 Project Movie homecoming. Come for cocktails and great discounts on their fantastic hats.

 

The 78 Project Movie + Goorin Bros Happy Hour
June 4, 2015 5pm-8pm
Goorin Bros Nolita Shop
26 Prince St
New York, NY 10012

The 78 Project logo

Episode #23: Adam Faucett’s “Moonshiner” 78, recorded live at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock, AR

We love a gentle winter lullaby and a sweet, cheery carol, but sometimes your holidays just need a little holler. That’s why we wanted to share this recording from our nationwide theatrical release tour to screen The 78 Project Movie.

This September as we journeyed once again across the country, we made a stop in Little Rock, AR, where The Oxford American presented a screening of The 78 Project Movie in the beautiful CALS Ron Robinson Theater. Onstage after the screening, local musician Adam Faucett joined us to craft a very distinctive live 78. Adam wowed us all with his mighty voice, performing “Moonshiner” a capella. It’s a performance that remains as commanding on record as it was in the room.

Thank you again to Adam Faucett, our great friends at the Oxford American and everyone who came out to see the film screen in Little Rock.

Two Movie Clips to Warm Your Winter’s Morning

Waking up to this chilly December morning, we thought some warm memories might be in order. Enjoy these two clips from The 78 Project Movie, of Joe Bussard at home in Maryland, and the Reverend John Wilkins in Mississippi. They’re both featured tracks on the Original Soundtrack to The 78 Project Movie on vinyl + digital, now available in The 78 Project Shop!

Joe Bussard – “Guitar Rag”
Shot in Frederick, MD, December 2012

Reverend John Wilkins “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me”
Shot at Hunters Chapel in Como, MS, August 2012

The Big Bright “I Never Will Marry” – recorded live at the Film Society of Lincoln Center

We enjoy traveling immensely, whether it’s for filming or for screenings of the film. But there’s no place like home, and there’s no time to be there that is quite as warm as the winter. These last two weeks at home as the holidays have drawn closer, we’ve been thinking about all of that for which we’re deeply grateful. The opportunity to connect with you through music and film, in person and online, is the thing we find ourselves most thankful for this year.

Being at home also reminds us of the very first time The 78 Project Movie screened in our hometown of New York, and we wanted to share that happy memory with you this holiday weekend, by streaming the one-of-a kind acetate The Big Bright cut that night.

When we were fortunate to be invited to premiere our movie at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater this past August, we wanted to make it an unforgettable evening. But even with all our excitement and preparation, we couldn’t have dreamed how beautiful the night would turn out to be. That is thanks to the overwhelming support of our family, contributors, friends and fantastic New York filmgoers, and also because of the stunning recording by The Big Bright.

Without the need for amplification, the music was alive and sweet.  The gentle harmonies of Fiona McBain and Liz Tormes and the sweet drone of Glenn Patscha’s pump organ lured us all closer, to the edges of seats, our senses piqued by the deep feeling of the performance. We were all hushed in our hope to drink in every part, every second, of those three minutes.

Thank you again to The Big Bright, our friends at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and everyone who came out to see the film screen in New York City for the very first time.

 

Hear John Reilly & Tom Brosseau’s 78, see The 78 Project Movie in Seattle and Portland

The afternoon sun streaming in through the windows took on a longing feel as our Presto clicked on and John Reilly & Tom Brosseau started their haunting harmonies. Though moments before the bright L.A. light seemed gentle and sweet, their performance of the lost love lament “Careless Love” was so perfectly harmonized and utterly heartbreaking, by the time the record was full, it had made even the sunshine understand the song’s timeless yearning.

Our Official Nationwide Release Tour for The 78 Project Movie continues as we cruise up the West Coast to show the film in Seattle and Portland at two amazing independent theaters. We can’t wait to see you there!

Northwest Film Forum
Sunday, September 14, 7:00 pm
1515 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA

Hollywood Theatre
Monday, September 15, 7:30 pm
4122 NE Sandy Boulevard
Portland, OR

Hear John Doe’s 78 “Skip to My Lou”, Our West Coast tour starts today

John Doe, being the punk rocker that he is, mined “Skip to My Lou” for its fiendish fun in his masterful recording. On our New Year’s Day visit to his house in Northern California for The 78 Project Movie, he showed us a Folkways Collection LP of the song performed by Lead Belly that inspired him to dust off this sweet tune from childhood and sharpen the edges a bit.

 

Our Official Nationwide Release Tour for The 78 Project Movie is officially in full swing. This week we’re returning to the West Coast for the first time since our road trip to make The 78 Project Movie, excited to share the finished film with you. We have screenings scheduled in Los Angeles, Camarillo, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland. And we’ll be there in each city to answer questions and spend time with you if you’ll be there!

 

The Library of Congress to screen The 78 Project Movie, and a new acetate from Louis Michot, Corey Ledet & Ashlee Michot

The Library of Congress will host a screening of The 78 Project Movie and live recording event as part of its Botkin Lecture Series.

On September 5th a great dream of ours will come true as we screen The 78 Project Movie and cut a record live at the Library of Congress. Over the two years since we began working on the film, we’ve had the privilege to visit the Library’s American Folklife Center in Washington, DC and its Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper, VA, where we were shown Alan Lomax’s Presto, his correspondence and actual acetate recordings, and given a glimpse into the work the truly amazing folks at the Library do to preserve America’s musical treasures. We’re honored to be able to return to the Library’s historic halls to present our film and to use our Presto to record a 78.

The 78 Project: Documenting Historic Sound in the Contemporary World Botkin Lecture & Screening of The 78 Project Movie
The Library of Congress
Friday, September 5th 2:00 – 4:30pm
Mumford Room, 6th Floor, James Madison Building
Independence Avenue, between 1st and 2nd Streets Washington, DC

 

Louis Michot told us that what he loved about French music was that everyone playing was driving the same rhythm and the same melody together at the same time. A community of song.  We had driven to the Michot family home in Arnaudville, LA last August, and in the course of a hot and happy afternoon, recorded Louis with his wife Ashlee and their friend and musical collaborator Corey Ledet for The 78 Project Movie. The trio cut a 78 of the traditional Cajun dance-ending song “’Trape mon chapeau,” fiddle, accordion and guitar working together the whole way through to forge a powerful, cohesive feeling into the song.  Compelling imaginary dancers to crowd together on the floor and enjoy the last joyful moments of the party.

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