MOVIE FOR OCTOBER 2014: “Beware of Mr. Baker” – Director/Writer: Jay Bulger
Ginger Baker looks back on his musical career with Cream and Blind Faith; his introduction to Fela Kuti; his self-destructive patterns and losses of fortune; and his current life inside a fortified South African compound.
Stars Ginger Baker, Femi Kuti, Eric Clapton
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1931388/
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Born in South East London the same week the Nazis began bombing, Ginger Baker’s first memory was running after a train that carried his father off to death in WWII. From his music to his life, at the expense of family and fortune, Ginger would never be left behind on the tracks again.
Though best known for his work with Eric Clapton in Cream and Blind Faith, the world’s greatest drummer did not hit his stride until years later in 1972 when he drove the first Range Rover ever produced from London to Nigeria in pursuit of the African rhythms and musical icon, Fela Kuti. There he found his Mecca of drumming, introducing the African beat and “world music” to the West, years before any other musicians in the field.
Unfortunately, Ginger’s African glory days were short-lived as he found himself looking down the barrel of a Nigerian officer’s machine gun. Signaling his departure from the continent and the loss of his fortune, Ginger returned to England where a pattern of divorces, self-destruction, and countless groundbreaking musical works continue on to Italy, California, Colorado, and current day South Africa where he lives inside a fortified compound with his 29-year-old internet bride and 39 polo ponies.
Chain smoking and ingesting copious amounts of morphine while sitting in his leather recliner, the 73-year-old reflects back on his life as we concurrently witness his current law suits, local disputes, and yet another chapter in his path of destruction. Unfortunately, Ginger’s ginger hair has faded, and we wonder if he is physically capable of saving himself by playing the instrument that has defined him. In his own words, “God is punishing me for my past wickedness by keeping me alive and in as much pain as he can. I wasn’t planning on living this long!” In true Ginger Baker fashion, 3 years into shooting the film, after squandering yet another fortune, Ginger Baker triumphantly returns to the stage. As he went on a 30 date sold out European tour, we were there to capture it.
The documentary includes stories from his ex-wives, children, and many of the greatest living musicians that worked with Ginger including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, Max Weinberg, Chad Smith, Femi Kuti, Neal Peart, Simon Kirke, Marky Ramone and many more.
This documentary is one such story – a marriage of the film and music worlds through the life of one of the most unforgettable and controversial musicians. He was there the night Jimi Hendrix died, shared the drugs, the music, the names, the groups, while stripping away the other voices as the conductor, time keeper, the master drummer of our time. Beware of Mr. Baker catapults the viewer into his beat – with every smash of the bass drum there is a man behind it smashing his way through life.
http://bewareofmrbaker.com/about-1/
BOOK FOR OCTOBER 2014:
Chris Stein: Negative – Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk
On the occasion of Blondie’s fortieth anniversary, Chris Stein shares his iconic and mostly unpublished photographs of Debbie Harry and the cool creatures of the ’70s and ’80s New York rock scene. While a student at the School of Visual Arts, Chris Stein photographed the downtown New York scene of the early ’70s, where he met Deborah Harry and co-founded Blondie. Their blend of punk, dance, and hip-hop spawned a totally new sound, and Stein’s photographs helped establish Harry as an international fashion and music icon. In photos and stories direct from Stein, brilliant writer of hits like “Rapture” and “Heart of Glass,” this book provides a fascinating snapshot of the period before and during Blondie’s huge rise, by someone who was part of and who helped to shape the early punk music scene—at CBGB, Andy Warhol’s Factory, and early Bowery. Stars such as David Bowie, the Ramones, Joan Jett, and Iggy Pop were part of Stein’s world, as were fascinating downtown characters like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Hell, Stephen Sprouse, Anya Phillips, Divine, and many others. As captured by one of its greatest artists and instigators, and designed by Shepard Fairey, this book is a must-have celebration of the new-wave and punk scene, whose influence on music and fashion is just as relevant today as it was four decades ago.
http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Stein-Negative-Blondie-Advent/dp/0847843637