SLO Film Fest 2021 review: ‘BLEEDING AUDIO’ rocks.

BLEEDING AUDIO

Told through the eyes of quirky, charming and humble bandmates Shawn, Jon, Matt and Justin, BLEEDING AUDIO is an intimate portrait detailing The Matches’ promising career, defeating break up, and inspiring reunion, as they reflect on what success truly means for musicians in today’s digital industry. Their story overlaps with the drastic changes the music industry has undergone in the past several years. From declining record sales, to excessive touring, to illegal downloading and streaming, this film digs deeper into the challenges the average musician faces in the digital age and how artists can navigate their careers today

How do I not know about The Matches? Their sound is right up my alley. The minute I heard their songs in the introduction, I was hooked. Shawn, Justin, Matt, and Jon have distinct personalities and styles, and together they are unbelievable. This is the most badass entrepreneurial band I’ve ever heard of. The things they did to become known were geniuses. This was pounding the pavement in its truest form. Members Justin and Shawn made all the band’s art. Their parents worked the door, security, snack bar while they slowly wracked up fans.

Huge names in the industry like Mark Hoppus of Blink-182,  Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, Tom Higgenson of Plain White T’s (just to mention a few) all wonder why the hell these guys aren’t one of the biggest bands in the world. Their consensus is they had everything they needed to be massive; catchy songs, genuine talent, an ambition that blew people away. Why aren’t they household names?! Bleeding Audio breaks down the music industry. Literally explaining where the money goes and why. I think we all sort of understood this concept when Taylor Swift took Spotify to task over streaming but I don’t think I ever thought about what happens to get to the album itself. The money comes from publishing. The Matches didn’t necessarily go searching for a label. Once they were popular the labels came to them. Epitaph was their dream. They got it. Warped Tour was next. Meeting other bands who became their fans opened even more doors. These guys were loved. Their creativity surpasses anything I’ve ever seen from a single band. Then… Napster happened. Music was about to change forever.

After their third album, they were burnt out. The band played one final beautifully, raucous show. 2 years later, they find out that their overbearing manager Miles didn’t register their songs, with the exception of 4. The amount of money they lost because of this was ultimately the reason they broke up. It was a brutal blow. In 2014 the guys meet up for pancakes. This leads to a show that sells out in 2 minutes. Then another. Then another. The Matches were inexplicably back for what would become a sold-out world tour.

The doc has an unreal amount of footage, art, interviews, it’s pretty magical. If you’ve never heard of The Matches, there’s no way you’ll walk away from Bleeding Audio without needing to go find their music. Thank you to director Chelsea Christer for introducing me to my newest musical obsession.

Bleeding Audio – Official Trailer from Chelsea Christer on Vimeo.

You can get tickets to a watch BLEEDING AUDIO here

 

Free Virtual screenings of ‘Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice’ June 4th-10th from BrightFocus Foundation!

The life and career of singer Linda Ronstadt is traced from her childhood in Tucson through her decades-long career and to her retirement in 2011 due to Parkinson’s disease.

If I’m being honest, when asked to review this film, I wasn’t able to name a single Linda Ronstadt song. Growing up, The Beach Boys and Carole King were on constant rotation in Mom’s station wagon tapedeck.  How then, 40 years later, was I recognizing so many hits from a woman whom I assumed was a country singer when I heard her name? Clearly I was mistaken. This film was a reeducation, and boy am I glad for it. In watching Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice I came to realize I have always been a fan.

Linda Ronstadt’s extraordinary rise to fame is almost like a fairytale. Her incomparable voice quickly rose her from the LA club scene to a record deal. She broke genres and records along the way. Her intellect and wit were evident in the way she promoted herself and other female artists. She was fearless in calling out the toxic masculinity that was rock up until that point. Her vocal range was unmatched by almost any other artist. When a producer told her not to make a certain album, she went ahead and did it anyway… and usually won awards for it. Linda Ronstadt is someone to be respected and amazed by. You can tell, simply by the number of industry stars that participated in sit down interviews (Cameron Crowe, Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Don Henley, to name a few) what an impact she made in her long and successful career. Without even knowing it, I’ve been a Linda Ronstadt fan through Blue Bayou, Don’t Know Much, A Different Drum, Rescue Me, Desperado, When Will I Be Loved, You’re No Good, It’s So Easy To Fall In Love, and many many more. She is someone I can look up to as a performer and as a woman. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice is a stunning lesson in music history. You will find yourself singing along and living in the music just as Linda does.

Lucky for audiences, LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE At-Home Movie Night with BrightFocus can
be watched for free at brightfocus.org/movie, or via Facebook Live and viewed on any computer, tablet, or phone from June 4-10. BrightFocus Foundation, a nonprofit organization funding
scientific research and promoting public awareness to end diseases of mind and sight. The at-home movie night will feature an introduction from producer James Keach, and interviews with key scientists discussing their current research.

“I believe in the power and promise of science to end disease and save lives, and this is why I am glad to showcase both the transcendent beauty of Linda’s voice in this film as well as
the bold, groundbreaking research of BrightFocus,” Keach said, noting that Ronstadt’s iconic career was cut short by a neurodegenerative disease.

Stacy Haller, BrightFocus Foundation President and CEO, added, “The scientists supported by BrightFocus are relentless in their drive to slow and end diseases that rob us of our memory and
our sight. We could not have found a better film to both bring back so many great memories and remind us how now, more than ever, the need for innovative science is abundantly clear.”
In addition to James Keach’s introduction prior to the presentation of the film, four BrightFocus- funded scientists will briefly introduce their work. They include: Sarah Doyle, PhD, Assistant
Professor in Immunology, Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin; Makoto Ishii, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University;
Amir H. Kashani, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, the University of Southern California and Roski Eye Institute; and Yvonne Ou, MD, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology,
University of California, San Francisco. They are among over 200 scientists around the world whose ongoing research is supported by BrightFocus.

FREE VIRTUAL SCREENINGS beginning Thursday, June 4 at 7:00 PM EST to benefit the BrightFocus Foundation. More information at brightfocus.org/movie

Review: ‘SONGWRITER’ gives birth to Ed Sheeran’s best album yet.

I feel like if you don’t like Ed Sheeran‘s music you may be a bit of a sociopath. His songs are the ones you here over and over on the radio and either find yourself singing or waxing philosophically about. In the new doc by Murray Cummings, Songwriter, we get to go behind the magical creativity that becomes an Ed Sheeran album. Specifically, his third (and latest) album, “Divide”. One gorgeous hit after another is created by Ed, producer Benny Blanco, and a slew of family, friends, and fellow songwriters. The songs come in waves and sometimes tsunamis. Cummings, who just so happens to also be Sheeran’s cousin, has real-time studio, tour, and vacation footage mixed with childhood films of Ed. We’re even treated to his very first recording session, something altogether different from the songs we’ve fallen in love with. I often wonder how many babies exist in the world because of his melodies. Sheeran’s passion and talent permeate the screen. He is as charming and genuine offstage as he is on. Songwriter deserves to be watched on a device with superior speakers. Sheeran and his cohorts let us peek behind the curtain of their process. It is honest, funny, emotionally indulgent, and damn near perfect. Sheeran is something akin to a modern-day Shakespeare, in a word of 140 characters of all too often vitriol. So, if music be the food of love, play on Ed Sheeran, play on.

In Theaters on August 17th in NY and August 24th in LA and exclusively on Apple Music August 28th

Songwriter is an intimate and personal look into the writing process of one of the world’s leading artists – Ed Sheeran. Songwriter details the creation of Ed’s third studio album “Divide” and gives an authentic insight into Ed’s life through never before seen home videos. Witness firsthand the creativity, from the very first chord to the finishing touch – as the sounds become the songs.