It Was the Music

IT WAS THE MUSIC A film directed by Mark Moskowitz A musical odyssey and love story about two musicians, who after four decades of supporting other acts, decide to step into the limelight and make it on their own. Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams pack their bags, guitars, amps and thirty-year marriage into their SUV and set out across America to sing their own songs as well as their own riveting interpretations of American Gospel, Blues, Country and good old rock ‘n’ roll. Can this unique musical duo, he from New York’s Upper East Side, she from rural West Tennessee, start all over and establish themselves as relevant artists in today’s changed musical landscape? What are the personal and professional risks? What is the measure of success? From its starting point on a Friday afternoon in Teresa’s hometown of Peckerwood Point, Tennessee “It Was the Music” expands geographically, generationally and musically. The project was filmed over the course of fifteen months on the road, in the studio and in their homes in Woodstock, NY, New York City and West Tennessee. It features exclusive footage from Larry & Teresa’s performances in intimate clubs and music festivals as well as the grand finale to the film, selections from the “The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary Concert”. “It Was the Music” reveals the process of creating and performing music as a couple in many private, candid moments that only an implicit trust between filmmaker and subject can evoke. That means much of the music plays out off-stage, on back porches, back yards, farm fields, kitchens, cabins, dressing rooms and in church. And as the story moves forward, it looks back to the music that brought many people together in the halcyon years of the sixties and early seventies. It speaks to the power of music and to an era where making music, performing music and sharing it with others resonated with an entire generation. The film includes interviews and performances with Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, William Bell, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Phil Lesh, Tracy Nelson, Jerry Douglas, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Garland Jeffries, Happy Traum, David Bromberg and others. Most of all, this is a love story. “It Was the Music” presents two artists in their early sixties who amazingly are just now at the top of their game: One of today’s most respected guitarists and multi-instrumentalists, Larry Campbell wrestles truth and meaning out of every chord and every riff. Steeped in singing traditional gospel and with years of performing in musical theatre, Teresa William’s extraordinary voice and love for music that “comes from the dirt” bursts forth from every song. And it’s those two hours on the stage, together, that demonstrate how love can create the music, and the music can bring us together. AUDIENCE: “It Was the Music” vividly captures the everyday struggles and dynamics between a working musical couple, which widens its appeal beyond the core music fan. It would be easy to say the audience is anyone who has ever loved a song, a concert, a record. Or, as Tom Hanks says, feels music is a magical marker to the emotional moments of one’s life. Still, there are direct connections to immediately accessible audiences. • The Americana Music Association’s fan base. The AMA has a large fan base, a ten-day event every September, at which Larry and Teresa are well known (dubbed the “king and queen of Americana”), and its chief, Jed Hilly, is a supporter of Larry and Teresa, having co-presented them at the 40th Anniversary of The Last Waltz at Lincoln Center. • Larry and Teresa’s own fan base • The Grateful Dead’s fan base: Larry and Teresa have played with Phil and Friends, and recently toured with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. • Bob Dylan’s fan base. Larry is well-known among Dylan fans, having played over a thousand live shows beside him for the eight years (1997-2005) he was Dylan’s lead guitarist in the Never ending Tour. • Levon Helm’s fan base. Larry was musical director of Levon’s Midnight Ramble band, up until the time of his death, and wrote, produced, and played on 3 Grammy Award winning records with Levon. • Guitar aficionados. Larry Campbell is recognized as one the world’s leading guitar masters, and multi-instrumentalist. He owns 125 vintage and collectible guitars. An authority on the instrument, he headlines the Luthier’s Convention each year. • Blues fans. Larry Campbell has taught the music of Reverend Gary Davis to guitar players all over the world, both in live workshops, tutorials, and through DVDs. • Folk, Gospel, Church, and other Americana streams. Teresa Williams’s background encapsulates a large swath of old country, old-timey, and church music, where, with her family, she has sung since the age of 4. ANCILLARY OPPORTUNITIES: • Television/Streaming series A continuing TV series based upon the original “It Was the Music” pilot project. • Other Television Larry and Teresa have appeared on a number of national TV shows over the years, recently with Emmylou Harris on Colbert’s Late Night show. They are well-liked by people behind-the-scenes, and with their own project in-hand are charismatic and talented guests for booking. In addition, as their on-camera appeal shows, “It Was the Music” could serve as a launch for various TV projects for the couple. • Soundtrack The project owns 45 hours of live recordings from Larry and Teresa, Larry and Teresa and The Midnight Ramble Band, Blind Boy Paxton, Hot Tuna, Shawn Colvin, and others, including both the 40th Anniversary of The Last Waltz and the informal concert of the same the previous night at Levon Helm Studios The Barn. Artist performance rights to be negotiated. • Tour Many of the artists in “It Was the Music” have played together before and have intersecting touring and management relationships. An “It Was the Music Tour” and even a continuing TV series based on it are possible. One such idea is The Honky Tonk Tour, a tour through the remaining old Honky-Tonks of the 50s and 60s. • Merchandising OBJECTIVE: To find a strategic, financial, and marketing partner or partners with a passion for the project and who can bring “It Was the Music” to the widest, dedicated audience. STATE OF PRODUCTION: Principal photography complete for what is envisioned as a pilot limited series leading to a continuing series. A full-length assembly for a limited series is complete and available for viewing. RIGHTS: Red Poppy Films, LLC, the producing entity, holds all the rights to “It Was the Music”. Red Poppy has worldwide all media rights to Larry Campbell’s and Teresa Williams’s story for this project, as well as Larry Campbell’s music for use in it. It has also cleared 90% of the music, and expects to clear all the remaining publishing at or before deal completion, while retaining the option to substitute songs in the cases of master use. PERSONNEL: Mark Moskowitz wrote, produced, and directed “It Was the Music.” Among other programs, Mark produced and directed the award-winning feature-length and theatrically released documentary, “Stone Reader”, picked as one of the ten best films of 2003 by many critics. Mark is also known for his documentary work on behalf of hundreds of Democratic political candidates. He has directed across a wide range of real events, from commercials for Presidential candidates, to national independent expenditures, to entire media campaigns for women and men in eleven different countries. “When I set out to make a film about what music means to us, I didn’t know Larry and Teresa. I went to see a show in a horseshoe-shaped bar, a place packed with people I didn’t know—but somehow did. The same crowd of growing older men and women I’ve seen at concerts for some years now, trying to feel, once again, the “narrative” of music. Not just a song downloaded, but a whole journey that old albums or early FM rock radio or great live acts, used to take us through. It Was the Music picks up where that show left off. And then some.” Steve Riggio, Executive Producer, is a 40-year veteran of the bookselling and publishing industry. From 2002 - 2012 he served as Chief Executive of Barnes & Noble. His association with Mark Moskowitz began when Barnes & Noble helped promote Mark’s first feature film, “Stone Reader” and published The Stones of Summer, the novel around which the movie revolves. Steve and his wife Laura have been long-time advocates for individuals with developmental disabilities, creating and sponsoring a wide range of initiatives, including the Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program at four colleges in New York. Steve is a board member of the AHRC Foundation. Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Larry Campbell and singer-guitarist Teresa Williams’ acclaimed eponymous 2015 debut met with widespread critical acclaim. Their follow up album “Contraband Love” demonstrated Larry’s evolving skills as a songwriter and the couple’s ability to bring fresh interpretations to classic American songs. Larry & Teresa maintain a steady tour schedule and are in demand at all major festivals. http://www.larryandteresa.com/ TREATMENT ADDENDUM: Act 1 “Surrender to Love” in which Teresa at home in West Tennessee takes care of her aging parents while she waits for Larry to join her for the Christmas holiday. Larry is in the studio producing a record with David Bromberg and Bill Payne. When the two come together that weekend, Larry plays her a new song he wrote for her, and while the forward story, from that point, sees the two of them set out on a tour of small bars and clubs, “joints” as Teresa calls them, to bring their own music to America for the first time in their 30-year marriage, the back story begins to reveal how they came together in the first place.

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