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Cinematic route to City's
music roots
A film exploring how Liverpool became
1 of the most famous music cities in the world is to be launched
internationally.
Routes Jukebox: The Documentary was commissioned by Liverpool International
Music Festival 2015 and tells the story of the ever evolving music scene in the
City, looking at the influential records that have come here since the 1940's by
air and sea from America, Jamaica and Ireland which went on to shape the sound
of the City.
Featuring contributions from song writing legend Lamont Dozier, Cream founder
James Barton, Grammy Award winning producer Steve Levine, CEO of Cornerstone and
The Fader Rob Stone, singer Rebecca Ferguson, Jamaican saxophonist Dean Fraser
and music journalist Paul Du Noyer, the well received film will now be shown at
the following:-
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20 September 2016, AmericanFest 2016, Nashville.
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22 Septtember 2016, The Grammy Museum, Los Angeles.
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12 October 2016, Memphis (Venue TBC).
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26 October 2016, Shoreditch House, London.
The aim is to promote and profile the documentary along with Liverpool's music
profile and at the same time showcase exactly why Liverpool holds the
prestigious UNESCO City of Music title. Plans are in place to secure a screening
of the film at key European events and film festivals over the next 12 months.
Before the film goes on its USA tour, there will be a special FREE screening, at
FACT, on Monday, 12 September 2016, at 8.30pm.
To get tickets go
online. Places are limited and will be allocated on a
1st come, 1st served
basis.
The film was produced and directed by Liverpool Filmmaker Jernice Easthope.
Click on
here to see the trailer.
What they say:-
"I'm really proud that a legacy of the Liverpool International Music
Festival 2015 is this high quality documentary which shows how Liverpool music
has influenced and been influenced by music from right across the world. At a
time when we have recently been designated a UNESCO City of Music it is fitting
that this film documents the continuing strength and genuinely international
nature of Liverpool music."
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson.
"Routes Jukebox is, for me, one of the most important project we have
produces as part of the LIMF series of events. It looks at the roots and routes
of the music and sounds that have brought Liverpool to its storied height within
the music world. Both elements; the live event and the documentary; are
entertaining, educational and ultimately a celebration." LIMF Music Curator Yaw Owusu.
"I'm always amazed at the strength and diversity of all the great music that
emerges from Liverpool. The Routes Jukebox documentary in a thoroughly
entertaining and informative way explains the uniquely international nature of
Liverpool music. As well as some of the best known names of the Liverpool music
scene of the last 40 years it features major global music figures talking
passionately about the international influence of Liverpool music."
Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Member for Culture, Councillor Wendy Simon.
"Routes Jukebox is a documentary which is very close to home. Given the
opportunity to produce and direct my first feature documentary has been an
overwhelming experience. Twinning Liverpool with other music cities from across
the Atlantic has taken us down paths we don't often venture when trying to
understand music. We can take music for granted; as we
listen and enjoy; but exploring the grassroots and history of music development
brings together audiences both old and new."
Jernice Easthope, Director and Producer.
"Even if you think you know everything there is to know about music in
Liverpool there is always something new to learn! This well produced,
entertaining film is full of fascinating music history, great stories and
amazing characters talking with passion about Liverpool music; what helped shape
it, what makes it special, and how it continues influence music across the
world. It's a documentary that fits perfectly alongside Liverpool's designation
as a UNESCO City of Music."
Kevin McManus, Liverpool's Producer of UNESCO City of Music.
"Growing up in Liverpool my first musical influences were from the
American songs that my dad taught me on the ukulele - Everly Brothers, Mamas and
Papas, Peter, Paul and Mary and John Prine , to name a few. My own career in music then took me
across the Atlantic to Nashville and to work with some of the great artists that
had influenced me. It was an honour to be included in the Routes Jukebox story
documenting this type of musical journey." Siobhan Maher Kennedy, Liverpool singer and songwriter now based in Nashville
"Routes Jukebox is the best film I've ever seen on what makes Liverpool
distinctive as a Music City. It concentrates on the post World War 2 years.
These were the years that saw Liverpool begin to lose its status as the main
Atlantic port. What was extraordinary, though, was that, even as the city began
to decline, economically, it became rich in creativity. As the UK's major
Atlantic sea port, Liverpool had long enjoyed a rich mix of cultural heritages.
These had been apparent for decades within the city, but the rise of the
recording industry allowed this special mix to reach far beyond its boundaries.
Liverpool has produced wave after wave of musical innovation from the 1950s
onward, and Routes Jukebox captures these rising waves like no other music
documentary has done before."
Mike Jones, Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool.
"A great film that captures the rare quality of its native city. Liverpool
is a living jukebox. Music thrives here because Liverpool looks outwards, to
embrace the whole world, and finds its musical inspiration everywhere. This is a
big story, brilliantly told."
Paul Du Noyer author/journalist
"It's always fascinating watching a documentary film that delivers those
gems of information that you never knew before and that was certainly the case
when I saw a screening of "Routes Jukebox". The DNA of so much of the UK's song
writing and record production can be traced back to some of the USA early
pioneers. Liverpool with its Cunard Yanks bringing
those treasures home enabled all the North West to get its hands on so much of
that music 1st. Without which musical history would be very different." Steve Levine record producer. |
