"Truth
be told that this documentary not only told the story of Richard and
the Young Lions, their incredible 45's, and why Richard & the Young
Lions got robbed out of a top 10 hit, but the story should also be mandatory
viewing for all aspiring bands.
The story is factual but yet funny. You can laugh, and you can cry.
When it's all over, you will know so much more about those cool 45's
released by Richard and the Young Lions. You will know what it's like
to be in a rock & roll band!" -- 60's Music Radio Personality: Dave the Rave
"I
thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. It is a powerful story, well
told. The point -- that this music that RYL made together was strong
enough, even after 30 years(!) to pull them back together and to get
the ailing Richard Tepp out of bed in the morning, to keep him going
and to make him willing to drive long distances just to play -- is
very evident.
Director
James Hannon's own love for the music and respect for RYL is also
palpable in the way the story is told.
I
love all the interviews; Hannon seems particularly adept at pulling
vivid memories and sparkling stories from his subjects. Lenny Kaye,
in particular, is so ON when interviewed for "Out Of Our Dens"!
Kaye's insightful comments lend the movie a degree of oomph, clout
and credibility.
Richard
Tepp's untimely death just after completion of this film adds poignancy
to the scenes of the reunited band joyfully resuming their 30-year-interrupted
musical conversation.
For
a real story of underdogs who get bad breaks left and right but simply
refuse to give up, you just can't beat "Out Of Our Dens."
An impressive directorial debut for James Hannon!" -- Steve Elliott
Lantern-Media would like to welcome Kathleen Keaney-Springman
to the family as our new lead Ducky Boy Documentary writer...
Kathy and James go way back to fifth grade at Our Lady of Refuge grammar school in the Bronx - right in the heart of Ducky Boy Territory.
Fate (and FaceBook) brought these two childhood friends back together, and Kathy has already proven herself as a great writer who "gets" the Ducky Boys concept.
There is some amazing creative energy going on in the project, and we hope to have it finished shortly.
Sorry for not updating more frequently, but things have been pretty busy over here at the Lantern-Media studios, and we just haven't had time to do all the stuff we have to do, and update this site too...
You might find more up-to-date info on our Myspace or Facebook pages as they are a lot easier to update on the fly..
Here's a run-down of whats been going on lately...
Writing and editing... Editing and writing...
We had an interview recently with an original Ducky Boy ("PeeWee" for those of you in the know) and he answered a lot of questions that I had and tied up some loose strings for me.. I should be writing a blog entry about it one-days
Met Ace Frehley at a convention. As many of you know, he is the most famous Ducky Boy... However, he is unwilling to be interviewed for my project... It's ok, while he's the most famous of the bunch, he wasn't all that integral to the Ducky Boy story. Would have been nice, but oh well...
See a picture of Ace and me here - Full convention pics here
Some bad news... We're killing off the Fordham Baldies / 1950's gang documentary for now...
Not for lack of interest mind you - Its just that no Baldies are willing to talk on camera... I've got a couple of excellent interviews (thanks guys), but not enough for a full documentary... I know a lot of you wanted to see it (me too), but I guess the original Fordham Baldies are either dying off, still in jail, unwilling to go back to a bad time in their lives, or just don't want their families to know how they spent their youth... I know many of them knew about my project - its just that they didn't want to talk... If things change, I'll reconsider...
Sorry about these pieces of bad news, but I just felt that being honest was better than stringing you along for another year hoping you'd forget about it...
Oh yeah, one more thing --
We are putting the finishing touches on the latest RiffSurfers video. Look forour release party in June 2009
Heres the first RiffSurfer video that Lantern-Media.com directed.
On a technical note, I just changed the Video Section to harness the power and user-friendliness of YouTube. All of our videos have been converted to YouTube format and quite a few are on our Video page. There are quite a lot more on our YouTube Page as well. Check them out!
On a Bronx-related note, I found a great website where a talented photographer named Pat Morgan posted some of her photos of her walking trip down the Grand Concourse -- Check it out here as it is quite good!
I have become a "Blog Writer" for SiriusBackstage.com -- the largest online community for Sirius SatelliteRadio. What my duties as "Blog Writer" entail are doing interviews with the various Sirius disc jockeys for the Sirius Backstage website.
My first interview is one that is personal to me - especially with my Bronx-Irish roots. It is with Larry Kirwan who hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio called Celtic Crush which is a three hour show that will play a variety of great Celtic Music ranging from the Chieftains and the Bothy Band all the way to the Dropkick Murphys and Thin Lizzy.
You may know Larry more as the lead singer of the popular Bronx-Irish band Black 47 who coincidentally got their start playing in Ducky Boy territory in the pubs of Bainbridge Ave and 204th Street in the Bronx.
Larry has also been very supportive of my documentary
project and has offered some relevant Black 47 songs for the soundtrack. So it was quite an honor to interview Larry for SiriusBackstage.
8/19/2006
- Back to the Bronx - A Ducky Boy actor and a journal started!
Had
an interview with Konrad Sheehan up in Van Courtlandt park yesterday..
Konrad played a Ducky Boy in the Wanderers and the leader of the
Punks gang in the Warriors movie. He is also one of the nicest
and down to earth people you could know.
Full
details and pictures below in my new Journal feature.
I've
been writing this stuff down in my personal files from the beginning,
and decided to share some key documentary filming events with
readers of my website. Hope you enjoy!
Cool
in Your Code is a series on NYC-TV in the local New York
area that covers fun things to do in a particular zip code (or
more) in each of the 5 boroughs...
It is first aired on Tuesdays
at 8:30pm and repeats on Wednesday 5/24 at 10pm and Saturday 5/27
at 8pm.
NYC-TV airs an episode of the show Cool in Your Code-The Bronx that covered the new changes to the Loew's Paradise Theatre in the Bronx.
A
few pictures from my friend Raymond Ruiz &
my trip to the Paradise were used in the episode and we have a
credit there. Its always fun to have your work shown on TV - even
if it only airs in the NYC area.. And thanks to Tivo, we have
video footage of the Loew's Paradise segment for you!!!
Click
here to see the Loew's Paradise segment
in Quicktime MP4 format
-- Also viewable on your Video iPod! -- You
can get Quicktime at www.quicktime.com
The pictures were taken from this gallery of pictures we have on the site:
On
April 15th 2006, I went on the first official tour offered by
Loew's Paradise since their renovation. And it looks magnificent!
The Paradise was a I had only been to the Paradise in the 70's
and 80's and back then it was a duplex and quad theater, and to
see it now as i one huge theater/concert hall is something amazing.
When i walked out on the top balcony and saw the hall for the
first time, my breath was taken away!
Pat St. John is onboard as the narrator for our Bronx Gangs documentaries!
We
are honored to have Pat onboard -- For those that don't know,
he is a legendary radio personality in New York (WPLJ, WNEW, CBS-FM)
and Detroit (CKLW, Keener). He is currently on Sirius Satellite
radio. He is also the voice of Out
of Our Dens - The Richard and the Young Lions Story and a true professional and pleasure to work with.
Lantern-Media.com has finally made it into the 21st Century and joined MySpace!
Check out http://www.myspace.com/lanternmedia and let us know what you think.
On
October 1st, 2004 "Out of Our Dens - The Richard and the
Young Lions Story" had the honor of being selected as a finalist
in the Hope and Dreams Film Festival!
The RYL documentary is now in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!! (Well sorta) -
I Just received a postcard from Terry Stewart - President
of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (aka the "RockHall")
who just watched Out of
Our Dens: The RYL Story that I had sent him.. He
wrote that he loved it and that the DVD is now in the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame archives!
Lantern-Media.com became the official webmaster for PatStJohn.net - the website of legendary NY and Detroit Disc Jockey Pat St. John. Pat is currently all over Sirius radio
and happens to be the Narrator of our Out
of Our Dens - the Richard and the Young Lions documentary
My first interview is one that is personal to me - especially with my Bronx-Irish roots. It is with Larry Kirwan who hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio called Celtic Crush which is a three hour show that will play a variety of great Celtic Music ranging from the Chieftains and the Bothy Band all the way to the Dropkick Murphys and Thin Lizzy.
