Another Song Cleared

I just heard back from Martin Walker letting me use his song "Fools" for Love Song. Matt and I are back at work on the rough cut and we stopped editing on the spot where that song goes (it was already 1:30am and I had to be at work at 8:30am the next day). I was praying that I'd hear back before Matt and I meet today. So on to finishing the cut.

xoxo,

Lucy

When Drummers Sing

A drummer is often overlooked. They sit in the background, propelling the rhythm, beat and movement. The singer and the guitar player have the spotlight and the drummer and the bass player usually get left behind.

A magical thing happens when the drummer moves up front to the mike. You get Dave Grohl, Don Henley, Phill Collins, Ringo anyone? Anymore out there? Yes, my myspace friend Mark Pickerel.

Mark used to drum for the Screaming Trees, the Seattle band that came up with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam & Alice in Chains to name a few. By the time the Screaming Trees reached their pinnacle with the song “I Nearly Lost You” featured on the Singles soundtrack, Mark had already left the band to follow the beat of his own drum.

I had the privilege of finding his music when I was looking for songs for my film. I fell in love with “I’ll Wait” and I’m hoping that he lets me use the song for the film. He sent me a message saying that if I came to his show and bought him a drink he’ll give me a great deal on the songJ

So I urge all of you to please support Mark at the Knitting Factory on 1/24. He’s from Seattle and needs all the LA Love we can give. If you can’t make it, then please forward this to the music lovers in your life.

The best way to describe Mark’s music is melancholic rockabilly but that’s just me. Take a listen & enjoy.
http://www.myspace.com/markpickerelandhisprayinghands

In no particular order these are my favorites, why? Because I feel like he wrote them all for me, that's the magic of a great song, when you feel like it belongs to you and you alone.
I’ll Wait
Cherokee Grove
Graffiti Girl
Let Me Down Easy

Lucy

Music Clearance

I am very excited because today I got clearance for an amazing piece of music for Love Song. The song is Holiday by Dilana (she was the runner up for Rock Star Super Nova & she should have won). The song will be used in a montage of Shane & Dustin hanging around Venice Beach.

I managed to squeeze 2 montage/music video moments in the film and as we speak I'm working on adding a third; a series of time lapses set to music by The Fabulous Miss Wendy for the opening of the film. That will make 3 songs from Her Fabulousness/Dirty Virgin.

We've been toying with the idea that the song at the end of Christine's film should open mine but I don't know how we are going to make that work. Christine emailed me a song that almost made me puke. I don't want Vagina Music touching Love Song. If this turns out to be a juicy battle you'll have to buy the book. This blog is a small sample of what we've gone through to get this far!

I am super excited to have Dilana's contribution to this project.

Check out her myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/dilanarox

Purchase her music on itunes:

I need to reach out to three more artists whose music I love, and Watson will reach out to the rest.

xoxo,

Lucy

Music for Love Song

It feels like Matt and I have spent a better part of the summer working on the rough cut for Love Song. Matt is a busy cinematographer so I’ve been blessed to have him give me so much of his free time. We finally assembled a rough cut and last night added the potential soundtrack. The previous version had music from Matt’s iTunes (well known, unaffordable songs).

I gave the rough cut to Watson, our music supervisor. He put together a list of 10 songs and cued the music where he thought they should be placed in the film. I loved 8 of Watson’s picks and I added a few of my choices to the mix. At the moment we are working with 13-14 songs (including two from The Fabulous Miss Wendy). I am very excited at the prospect of having these talented musicians be part of the Love Song soundtrack.

I broke one of the cardinal rules of filmmaking when I fell in love with one of the songs on the first temp track; Mazzy Star’s Fade into You (from Matt’s iTunes). I even wrote a letter to Hope Sandoval via the Mazzy Star website to see if I could use the song (I have not heard back). The more I watched the clip, the more I fell in love with the song and it became all about THAT SONG. It made me realize that I needed to get back to reality and put the focus on balancing the film with the music and not the other way around.

Watson did a great job with the song/scene selection. The film now has a different vibe than it did before (in a good way). I love how all these different layers are coming together to further enhance the look and feel of the film.

xoxo,

Lucy

Vagina Music

I've been very busy and have had little time to blog. Between pre-production on Love Song, working on Movies by Women, life and the curves it throws your way, blogging has not been a top priority.

Christine sure found a way to get me here. It's what I call Lilith Fair crap or Vagina music. She told me of the songs that she has playing here and that I should listen to them. I had a cringe fest - that girly stuff really makes me go into convulsions. I LOVE female singers and female rockers, I like them when they are melancholic and when they rock out, I also like good pop female singers. I don't like them when they whine, bitch and complain. I like my women musicians/singers/songwriters the way I like my friends; talented, cool & low maintenance.

I love Fiona Apple, Hole (Live Through This), Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, Dusty Springfield, Dione Worwick, The Supremes, Joan Jett, Heart, Bananarama, Patsy Cline, Mazzy Star, Peaches, Shocking Blue, Ladytron, Janis Joplin,K.D. Lang, The Poppy Family etc. - so you see, it's not that I don't like women singers, I like my vagina music to have some balls (sorry to be crass but that's the best way to describe it).

Some local acts that I LOVE - LA based The Fabulous Miss Wendy and Seattle's Mono in VCF.

Coming up with music for the film has been one of the most fun and creative parts of the project for me. The music in my portion of the film is not just part of the soundtrack, the music itself is one of my characters. Before I started writing, I came up with a kick ass soundtrack that included a lot of the music from the aformentioned artists. I wrote a blog about how music inspires me a few years ago. It's one of the earlier blogs and it's titled Thank You For The Music if you're so inclined to go back and read it.

I will blog more often, and I'll definitely write about my upcoming location scout w/my kick ass dp - we're going on a bike ride in Venice. The creative juices never stop flowing.

xoxo,
Lucy

Music

I've been listening to some songs that Watson, our music supervisor, has compiled for the film.  We talked several months ago to go over what kind of music I'm looking for.  He did a great job putting together a nice collection of songs. We haven't obtained the rights to use these songs yet, but Watson searched for indie musicians who may be willing to let us use their music for free in exchange for getting exposure on our website and film.  So one of the songs that I loved is "See You Through" (listen to it above).  

Lucy and I have a running joke that our musical tastes are completely different, with the exception of both of us loving Mazzy Star.  It will be interesting to see how the music in her story will be different from the music in mine (and Laura's).  I can't wait to see how the music will fit with the images.