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EMMETT the documentary
https://stickist.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2458		 Page 1 of 7
Author:  LADC [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:07 pm ]
Post subject:  EMMETT the documentary
Hello all Stickists, Stickistas, tappers and all manner of thumpers,

At last. I'm happy to formally announce the new "EMMETT" documentary site. The fundraising trailer has been functional for a while, but the full site is up and running now. OK, still one page (news) is in progress. Please check it out at: http://www.chapdoc.com

The documentary is primarily about a person (assuming) you all know as the inventor of a new way of playing music, or a new musical instrument... or maybe just the person you buy Stick strings from. To me, I've always known him as Emmett. So that is the film's working title for now, "EMMETT."

But this documentary is also about you. This unusual community. It takes an independent thinker and a pioneer spirit to play this unique, Free Hands way. Without you there would be no story.

I decided to make this documentary in 2003. With much encouragement from Emmett, Greg and most all Stick players I encountered, I began shooting at the World Stick Seminar in San Jose (11/03) and have shot 145 hours of footage since then. I've heard so many incredible performances and spoke with the most wonderfully wise and colorful players, pros, friends and family that I now can see the light at the end of a long process and a great, classic story is starting to crystallize. I actually started shooting much earlier, countless sessions with Emmett over the years, i.e., the original "Stick Power" shot above the Hollywood Hills, circa 1970. Arm raised holding Stick with L.A. skyline behind. I think it was inspired by the Sandinistas (see attached). We just re-shot it a few weeks ago, 39 years later.

To anyone from this growing community who wants to see this film succeed, I'd like to ask for your help. It takes so much good will plus solid collaborative work to make a feature length motion picture. Please take the time to look through chapdoc.com and let me know your thoughts. I'm open to suggestion and creative inspiration. I know I can't do it alone. Filmmaking is a collaborative art form. I still have numerous interviews to conduct and several critical scenes to shoot. Then the biggest challenge is editing everything. With a documentary, editing is where much creativity happens, and that will take time.

Right now I'm looking for funding to complete it. Then I'll be looking for distribution so that the largest audience possible in the US and internationally can see it. It's a big job, but someone's gotta do it.

Your support can make the difference.

Image
Author:  heartstrings [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
Dan,

If you need any assistance from me, financially and/or artistically, I'm here for you. What you are doing is so important. It's bigger than all of us!

I was knocked out by the revealing and often deeply personal nature of the background on yourself and Emmett. What you said about Emmett making the ultimate sacrifice so he could bring something new to the world; well, that hit me pretty hard. If I can help give back or share with you what your brother and his instrument did for my life, you know where to find me.
Author:  Brett Bottomley [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
I remember reading an interview with Branford Marsalis right after Clint Eastwood's "Bird" movie was released (the movie is about Charlie Parker). I found his comment about the movie
to be very very true.
In a nutshell Branford compared the new movie with "Amadeus". He said that Amadeus did a great job of showing how Mozart's genius affected everyone around him, it really messed people up. Charlie Parker in real life did the same thing, but it didn't come across that way in the"Bird" film. I think whenever you deal with giants like bird, mozart and Emmett
a film needs to find a way emotionally to show how the person affected everyone around them. In Amadeus the Salieri Character gave us insight into how special Mozart was. I'm not sure how you do that in a documentary but to me that is the key. Emmett messes us up big time.

Dan I hope you don't mind the comments, and I'm sure you are way ahead of me in understanding these things. I just thought the Branford analogy was a great one.

Brett
Author:  Shedua511 [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
Brett, I'm not quite sure what you mean... I've dealt with Emmett for 20 years and it has been nothing but a pleasure. Can't say he messed me up at any point... though I must admit that playing his instrument in front of him is a daunting experience!
Emmett is a genius, no doubt, but he should not be confused with "disturbed" geniuses like Bird, Jaco or Mozart: these were people who were overwhelmed by their gift and had a hard time functioning on a social level.
I've had the pleasure of conversing with Emmett by mail and in person, there is nothing disturbing about him, unless you are scared by a very acute mind and deep awareness.
Personally, I think Leonardo Da Vinci would be a much better analogy for Emmett than Mozart.
Author:  heartstrings [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
I really think that Brett meant "messed up" as a good thing :D . Emmett shook things up and changed the landscape of what could be done on a fretboard. Bird and Mozart did the same things to music; things would never be the same after what they did.
Author:  EricTheGray [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
Shedua511 wrote:
Brett, I'm not quite sure what you mean...

The term "messed up" has several meanings and connotations in American English. I'm not sure exactly what Bret meant, but here's what I thought he meant. Emmett has been a positive and disrupting force on those around him for a long, long time. A lot of people, when seeing the Stick get played for the first time, are completely blown away and are never the same. That's what happened to me and I remember it like it was yesterday even though it was in the mid-80s. Even though I didn't start playing the Stick in earnest until 3 years ago, the affect Emmett had on me and my musical life has been profound. It changed everything, I have even given up guitar, which I truly loved for a very long time.

I met Emmett this past summer at Interlochen and I understand how he does this to people better now. He is always challenging, always thinking, always makes me think and challenge myself. I was working hard on learning 5ths on the bass side because that's what I thought made a Stick a Stick. After Emmett and I talked about the kind of music I love and want to play he told me that I should try 4ths in the bass. Well, if Emmett tells you to try something, you just drop everything and try it! I'm now relearning everything with 4ths on the bass side and I think I'm going to really like this.

That really messed me up! I was comfortable with 5ths and getting better. But, 4ths are probably better and I wouldn't have tried it if Emmett hadn't told me to. So I have set myself back several months and have to relearn things. That's what Bret's comment meant to me.

-Eric
Author:  88persuader [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
As mentioned I'm sure Messed up is another way to say changed people forever. The discovery of the Stick and Emmett's free hands method changed us all. I checked the site briefly Dan, can't want to check it out completely! Great Work!!
Author:  Brett Bottomley [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
Thanks guys for clarifying my thoughts. English is often like a second language to me.
Emmett has deeply affected all of us in such positive and deep ways. Having that come across in a movie can be hit or miss. (just like trying to have me explain my thoughts can be hit or miss)

Brett
Author:  BSharp [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
I think it's a "hit", in a good way. Maybe I do like to mess with people "big time", as Brett says, or at least try to throw them off balance, hopefully in a constructive and harmless way. And I might even be a bit aggressive about it at times, in my most mild manner of course.

So I think Brett got it right. It felt right to me and I enjoyed the comment. I loved the Amadeus character in the movie and Salieri who played his "opposite number" (masterful), also the King who declared, "Too many notes."

And thanks Francesco for the positive tone you added to the thread in my defense. I feel greatly complimented by it all.

Still, I'm uneasy being placed in a league of greatest musicians and artists, gratifying though it is. In a relatively small but dynamic group like ours, I think we need to "keep it real" and not blow up proportions. The real Bird or Mozart might be any one of us. There's no way to take measure inside the group. An outside reference is always needed.

Steve puts the message out there to a broader public in his Guitar Player feature on the instrument and the method and the person behind it (many thanks Steve!) and that makes more sense to me - save the praise for outside the family. (I come from a rather challenging Italian family on my Mother's side.)

Thanks to all and best wishes for this Christmas week and family Holidays, Emmett.
Author:  LADC [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: EMMETT the documentary
Matt, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your offer of help. Your moniker, heartstrings is most fitting. Please feel welcome to contact me at: info@chapdoc.com

Brett, Emmett made history on August 26th, 1969 by discovering a new method of tapping on strings. It changed the way music would be played. It broadened the possibilities of expression for anyone who tried it. It definitely "messed him up." After he discovered this way to play, his life would never be the same. 

Emmett, you are too modest. If you are Amadeus in my movie, who plays Salieri?
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