NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
In this episode I expand on some ideas that came up in my discussion with Brian A. Loschiavo about his documentary about the Bluebird Cafe, a now iconic music in Nashville. After I did the interview, certain subsequent news stories involving Taylor Swift came out, and they did affect my take on the film. Since Taylor Swift was prominently featured in the Bluebird documentary and discussed in my interview with Brian, I decided to do a supplemental commentary track to expand on my thoughts about her and how she affected my interpretation of the documentary. # Sponsors for this Episode nsavides...
info_outline Bluebird, a Music Doc on the Storied Nashville Venue, with Director Brian LoschiavoNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
Brian A. Loschiavo, the director-producer-editor of the Bluebird documentary, was first exposed to The Bluebird Cafe through the show Nashville, a series for which he developed supplemental digital content. The now iconic country-music venue that has been instrumental to the careers of so many musicians including Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, and Taylor Swift made enough of an impression on Brian that he set out to create a documentary about the place and the community of singer-songwriters it has nurtured over the years. Bluebird premiered at SXSW 2019 but had a stronger reception at Nashville...
info_outline Sheriff of Mars: the Long-Lost Musician Who Inspired Townes Van ZandtNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
Premiering at Nashville Film Festival 2019, The Sheriff of Mars is a music documentary that tells the story of Daniel Antopolsky, a country and folk musician who was friends with Townes Van Zandt and who, the film suggests, helped to inspire Townes' now iconic outlaw country song "Pancho and Lefty." Wanting to escape the dark influence of the 1970s outlaw country music scene, Daniel retreated to France where he was discovered by Jason Ressler, the director of Sheriff of Mars. Jason was so captivated by Daniel's music that he became his manager, helping him release his first album at the age of...
info_outline Will the Robots Save Us: Byron Reese on AINICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
Byron Reese is an acclaimed author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He's spoken at TEDx Austin and SXSW and has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, Wired, and The Washington Post. Byron is also the publisher of GigaOm and hosts the Voices in AI podcast. Byron's latest book, The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read this year, so I brought him on the show to discuss it. I think pessimism is the thing that will get us all killed." - Byron Reese Some of the things we discuss include How artificial...
info_outline When a Comedy Documentary Turns TragicNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
What's Eating Ralphie May won Best of the Fest at Nashville Film Festival and Documentary of the Year at Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival. The film was initially intended to be a weight-loss documentary that followed beloved comedian Ralphie May and his family, but it turned into a raw and intimate portrait of a family dealing with addiction during the last years of Ralphie’s troubled life. At Nashville Film Festival I had the chance to interview comedian and wife of Ralphie, Lahna Turner, and director Cat Rhinehart. Some of the things we discuss include What to do when shooting...
info_outline Two Notable Shorts from Nashville Film FestivalNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
My podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival continues in this short-films episode where I interview the directors for two different short films that got my attention at the festival. One has more of a documentary feel while the other one is a more stylized film with elaborate production design, so I paired the two interviews to explore how shorts can come together and the creative possibilities they can offer. The first interview is with Amanda Young, one of the directors behind Every Two Minutes, a compilation of stories relating to human trafficking. The short was done through StoryGive,...
info_outline How to Make an Award-Winning Film with a Two Person Crew: The PlantersNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
Hannah Leder has a variety of acting credits including Deep Impact, Pay it Forward, and Judd Apatow’s Love series. She also has a recurring role on Apple TV+'s The Morning Show. On this podcast episode I interview Hannah about her work on The Planters, a quirky, character-driven comedy that won Best of the Fest, Best Cinematography, and Best Song at Nashville Film Festival. Along with Alexandra Kotcheff, Hannah co-wrote, co-directed, co-starred, and co-shot the film. The Planters ended up taking 127 days to shoot, and Hannah and Alexandra were the only crew members on set. Some of the things...
info_outline Nashville Film Festival 2019 Recap: Part III - My Top 5 PicksNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
This is Part III of my podcast recap of Nashville Film Festival 2019. In it, I share my top five films from Nashville Film Festival and why I picked them. It's a more personal take, so I also share some related things that came up when trying to put together the list. Sponsor for this Episode nsavides productions – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. We got to explore all kinds of places in Houston while making this music video I directed for the chamber-rock band Mystery Loves Company. Not long after the video was released, the band got an opportunity to perform at a...
info_outline Nashville Film Festival 2019 Recap: Part II - Ideas on ScreenNICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend and do podcast coverage at the 50th Nashville Film Festival. While there, I interviewed a number of filmmakers and filled an entire notebook with observations about the various films and events I attended. My Nashville Film Festival podcast coverage began with this interview I did with some of the filmmakers behind . More filmmaker interviews are coming soon. Here, I'll recap some of the notable films and experiences I had at the festival and share some of the things I learned while attending. The filmmakers, musicians, and creative people...
info_outline Nashville Film Festival 2019 Recap: Part 1NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend and do podcast coverage at the 50th Nashville Film Festival. While there, I interviewed a number of filmmakers and filled an entire notebook with observations about the various films and events I attended. My Nashville Film Festival podcast coverage began with this interview I did with some of the filmmakers behind . More filmmaker interviews are coming soon. Here, I'll recap some of the notable films and experiences I had at the festival and share some of the things I learned while attending. The filmmakers, musicians, and creative people...
info_outlineAlex V. Cook is a journalist and music critic who has written for an assortment of publications including The Believer, The Oxford American, DownBeat, and Paste Magazine.
His book Darkness, Racket and Twang: Essential Listening from the Fringes of Popular and Unpopular Cultureis a compilation of his music essays, which includes commentary on artists ranging from Lou Reed to Bob Dylan to the Mountain Goats. He has also written a book on Louisiana's Juke joints, honky-tonks, and dance halls called Louisiana Saturday Night: Looking for a Good Time in South Louisiana's Juke Joints, Honky-Tonks, and Dance Halls.
Alex also sings and plays guitar for The Rakers, a Baton Rouge band that has played at a number of prominent venues around town including The Baton Rouge Gallery. The band describes itself as "The thinking man's drinking band."
He's one of the few critics I know of who started playing music after working as a critic. As you'll hear from Alex in the interview, he got started as a musician relatively late, compared to other musicians, but he still holds his own amidst musicians who have been playing far longer.
Some of the things we discuss include
- What makes for a great album
- Why a good critique can be a gift to person receiving it
- The relationship between critic and artist and how they influence each others
- What popular bands Alex likes and dislikes and why
- How his background as a music critic informed his music sensibilities
- Why showmanship and point of view matter to an artist
#
For more tips on how to succeed as a musician, check out this interview I did with Bree Noble, a musician who got to sing at Dodger Stadium and who now coaches other musicians and interviews industry luminaries.
#
Sponsor for this Episode
#
Related Things
-
The Rakers, other band members: Lance Porter (guitar, drums, vocals),
Lewis Roussel (bass, guitar, drums, mandolin), Leon Lejeune (guitar, bass), Anna Byars (drums) - Baton Rouge Adult Music Club, where Alex developed his skills as a musician
- Teddy's Juke Joint, where the Rakers had their album release party
- Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show
Music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.
#
Book Mentioned
- Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think About Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truthby A.O. Scott
- Darkness Racket and Twang- Essential Listening from the Fringes of Popular and Unpopular Music by Alex V. Cook
#
Bands & Musicians Mentioned
- Belle and Sebastian
- Bob Dylan
- Dean Martin
- Devo
- The Fall
- Glyn Styler
- Johnny Cash
- Lydia Lunch
- Kenny Rogers
- Kiss
- KC and the Sunshine Band
- Moby
- The Mountain Goats
- Nancy Wilson
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- The Rakers
- Rolling Stones
- Ruyter Suys
- Ryan Adams, albums mentioned
- Demolition
- Prisoner
- Tony Cobb, "Share My Whiskey"
- The Velvet Underground, albums mentioned
- Loaded
- The Velvet Underground & Nico
#
Other People Mentioned
- Amanda Petrusich, music journalist at The New Yorker
- Greil Marcus, music journalist for Pitchfork, Rolling Stone
- John Ruskin, Victorian-era art critic
- Lester Bangs, music journalist for Creem, Rolling Stone
- Rick Rubin, music producer
#
Shows & Movies Mentioned
- Big Bang Theory
- Hustle & Flow
- Lawerence of Arabia
- Raging Bull
- Ratatouille
- Taxi Driver
#
If You Liked the Show
- Say hello on Twitter: @nsavidesPRO
Thank you for visiting!