Bronx
Gangs Documentary Diary
December
20th, 2006 entry - "Black
47, Pat St John, Chess Sets & a Deal"
Not
a lot has been happening with the documentary that is exciting...
That doesn't mean that nothing is happening tho - far from it -- just
a lot of "non-glamorous" stuff like researching, transcribing
interviews and organizing everything into a flowing story. It's not
pretty, but it needs to get done...
A
few exciting things worth mentioning tho...
The
Bronx Gangs soundtrack is coming together!
I
was listening to a show called "Celtic
Crush" on Sirius Satellite Radio
last night, and the host Larry Kirwan of the great
Bronx Irish rock band Black
47 surprised me with a mention of me and my documentary
on-air.
Luckily
I was taping his show like I do every week and have a copy of it to
share with you: Click to hear Larry's on air mention
Larry,
having strong Bronx roots, has been a great supporter of this documentary
project and has offered some relevant Black 47 songs for the soundtrack
- which I am VERY appreciative of...
In
addition to Black 47's input, we have been building up the soundtrack
to the documentary with musical commitments from other heavy hitters
such as:
It's looking to be a great soundtrack!
And
this is what you call top quality narration!
Click picture for larger image
|
On
another great note, we've locked in the super-cool Pat St John
as our narrator and we are VERY appreciative of Pat's involvement
in this, as well as all the support and great advice he has given
over the years... You
may remember the outstanding job he did on our "Out of Our Dens
- The Richard and the Young Lions Story".
Pat
is also a legendary NY Disc Jockey who is now on quite a few channels
over at Sirius Satellite Radio.
Check
out his website: www.PatStJohn.net
for a lot more about him!
A
request for my current and ex-Bronxite Readers
I'd
also like to put out a request for any old video clips or pictures
from the Bronx -- particularly if it relates to the following:
- Belmont
& Arthur Ave
- Botanical
Gardens & Bronx Park
-
The Fordham Road to Gun Hill Road section between Webster &
Jerome Avenues.
-
Anything related to Bronx Gangs of the 1950's and 1960's - particularly
the Ducky Boys or the Fordham Baldies
Heres
the deal: We're poor independent film-makers and really can't pay
you for these clips & photos, but if you contribute something
that I can use in the final product and you are willing and able to
sign the proper release forms, heres what you will get in return:
-
Two passes to the premiere of the documentary to be held in NYC.
-
A DVD copy of the final Bronx Gangs documentary.
-
Your name prominently displayed in the credits of the documentary
as a contributor.
A
very cool Bronx Chess set
One
of the common questions I am asked is "Why do a documentary on
Bronx Gangs?" and while I wrote a long-winded article for Back in the Bronx magazine
detailing exactly why I'm doing this, the short answer is
that while looking for a project to work on, I happened to come across
an advertisement for a Bronx Chess Set
with the Fordham Baldies as pawns. This re-awakened
a childhood obsession with the movie "The Wanderers"
and the rest was history... It goes a lot deeper in the article (which
can be found here).
Anyhoo,
this chess set was one of those things that I've had my eye on all
year. And when my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year,
the answer was obvious. So, we took the drive up to Elmsford, NY to
see Steve Samtur of Back in the Bronx,
and purchased the set which fortunately was on sale for $129 ($70
less than I was expecting based on last years price)
Click picture for larger image
We
got it home, and of course I had to check it out before it got wrapped
and put under the tree. And it was even cooler than I imagined...
The Fordham Baldies were there with bats hidden behind their back,
as well as other great Bronx memories of my youth -- Loew's
Paradise, the
Bronx Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, Kingsbridge
Armory, and Yankee Stadium.
The
pieces are very cool, and the presentation is excellent.
Click picture for larger image
Now
I know this is starting to sound like an advertisement for this thing,
and I guess it is... But this chess set is related to my project directly
and is important to me for so many reasons that I just had to talk
about it... And if it helps Steve sell a few of these, all the better
-- He's a good guy who has helped inspire and support this project.
Plus he has some REALLY excellent books, videos and posters for sale
on the Bronx too..
The
website there is http://www.backinthebronx.com
Well
thats about it for this journal entry -- I know there are quite a
few of you who read this and I just want to say "thank you"
for doing so, and I appreciate all the e-mails, stories, questions
and comments that you send me. Keep em coming!
-=James
