Quick bit of news… Four Arrows’s latest book, a novel called Last Song of the Whales, is now available as an ebook.  You can check it out at Savant Books.

Memorial day is almost here — make your reservations and we’ll see you there.

Check out the new contest radio spot.

Hi everybody,

We are making lots of progress on the editing and, although we announced this on our Facebook page (if you don’t already “like” us, you should!), we’ve been taken on as a client by the USC Law School’s IP and Technology Clinic.  They are going to help us with our music rights issues and figuring out some of the thornier IP-related legal problems we might run up against.

They don’t take on a whole lot of clients, so we feel very grateful for their help!

Here’s a video from Contest founder, emcee, and friend of the movie Ted Lemen! Check it out:

From the depths of The Entertainers library of footage, I put this together to hopefully make your summer a little cooler. Martin Spitznagel and Bryan Wright withstand blindfolds and a little colleague shenanigans to bang out this two-piano masterpiece. Sorry if the camera is shaking too much. I enjoyed this one…and sort of forgot I was shooting.

Here’s two more clips from the Ragtime to Riches festival that was held in Omaha on July 10th and 11th. Sundays shows featured Adam Swanson, who set R to R’s modest attendance record for the six years of its existence, and Burns Davis, who performed rags composed by Omaha’s own Gil Lieby.

It was an honor and privilege to join Jim and the gang in Omaha last week for the Sixth Annual Ragtime to Riches Festival at the University of Nebraska – Omaha. Jim busted his tail to put together some great shows featuring Adam, Marty, Burns Davis, and Jim himself rollicking the 1920s Steinway grand piano. And the lucky many who came also helped raise some respectable dough for Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

In case you weren’t able to join us, we’re here to make up for it with a few clips. Here is one each from the Saturday lineup of Marty Mincer and Jim Boston.

Check out the Ragtime to Riches Festival this weekend July 10-11 in Omaha, NE!

Organized by our own Jim Boston and the Great Plains Ragtime Society, it’s going to be quite the ragtime extravaganza.

Scheduled to appear at the festival are: Adam Swanson, Marty Mincer, Burns Davis, and of course Jim himself. Hope you can make it. Our intrepid director/producer/editor Nick Holle will be there, too. So stop by and say hello, give Nick’s cheeks a squeeze, and enjoy some ragtime.

For more info, check out the festival’s website or call the Great Plains Ragtime Society at 402 556-3340.

I went to the Dodgers game last night. While they didn’t end up winning, it reminded me of one of the many little factoids we learned while out on the road making this film.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is actually a Tin Pan alley song — one of the most popular of 1908. We learned this while attending a lecture of Ethan Uslan‘s at UNC-Charlotte, where he was teaching a course on music history.

Check out this version of Adam Swanson playing it with Jeff Barnhart:

Contest founder and emcee Ethan Uslan shares his impressions of this weekend’s contest:

The Carolina Ragtime Contest was a big success. We did two shows, and the first show was so packed, the museum had to stop letting people in. The building was filled to capacity. I played duets with New Orleans trumpet master Kevin Clark, and vocalist Wayne Powers sang “I Love a Piano” to thank Steinway for lending us a glorious Steinway.  (Wayne Powers has had an illustrious career as an actor, radio host, and voice-over artist. He’s been on Murder She Wrote and Laverne and Shirley and he does the voices of the birds for those Windex commercials).

Anyway, the main part of the event was that Perf Bill, Russell, and Martin played a few songs each and brought the house down, and then did it again for the second show. There were a lot of kids there so Martin played a Mary Poppins medley and that went over very well. The audience voted by pulling out ballot-tabs in the programs, and then the ushers collected and counted.

Russell has a certain je ne sais quois, as he won the contest both shows (but it was close!). I ceremoniously crowned him twice. It was a hoot watching him play encores in a robe and crown. Not something I’ve ever seen before.

Here are a few pictures from the show: