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Allentown Screening 10-24-09

Hi everyone.

We just wanted to thank all the people that showed up at the Allentown BrewWorks this past Saturday. There were about 50 people there to see the film. What a great turnout! The viewing was in the downstairs martini bar called the Silk Lounge. Two screens were set up so that nobody would have a bad seat.

Special thanks to Diane and the rest of the BrewWorks crew for making this event possible.

Please check out the pictures below to see some of the crowd.

Film Editor Matt Lewis & Diane from BrewWorks

Local musician Dave with Producer Bob Ross and artist Zehra

Artist Vicki DaSilva & husband Antonio

Filmmakers Sarah Fulton, Bob Ross & Matt Lewis

Peter & Joseph with a front row seat

Screening Scheduled in Allentown, PA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

A nationally screened film produced by Lehigh Valley filmmakers to premiere locally at Allentown Brew Works on October 24.

“On Joy & Sorrow – The Glass Prism Story” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 24 in the Silk Lounge at Allentown Brew Works, 812 W. Hamilton Street.

The film tells the story of The Glass Prism, who rose out of industrial Scranton with the first concept album, “Poe Through The Glass Prism.”

The Glass Prism achieved rock ‘n roll fame in the 1960s using the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe as the lyrics to its groovin’ progressive rock tunes, but the group’s journey to stardom was quickly snuffed out like so many bands of the time.

The film chronicles the rise of the band, its ultimate demise and the journey of the remaining members, who 40 years later, decided to reunite and start rocking again.

The film is an Official 2009 Selection of the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the Flint Film Festival, of Flint, Michigan.

The documentary is a collaboration of Bob Ross, of Jim Thorpe, and Sarah Fulton and Matt Lewis, of Allentown. The filmmakers plan to attend the screening.

The event is open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m. Oct. 24. The screening will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Silk Lounge, lower level of Allentown Brew Works. Come early to claim a good seat! Guests are encouraged to patronize Brew Works, which is graciously hosting the screening, and enjoy the restaurant’s delicious food and award-winning microbrews.


MEDIA CONTACT:

Sarah Fulton
610-435-1864
postsputnik@postsputnik.com

UPDATE: Here is the link to the Brew Works Listing.


Visit the official documentary blogsite: OnJoyAndSorrow.blogspot.com

Another Festival!

The 6th annual Flint Film Festival in Flint, Michigan, has accepted the documentary for screening. It will be showing Saturday, October 17.

We are very excited that our film is being recognized and accepted in other places that have no ties to the Glass Prism or Poe. We think it really speaks to the quality of our storytelling and that makes us proud!

We will provide updates as they arrive.

R.I.P. Les Paul

Les Paul died last night, Aug. 12, of respiratory failure. He was 94 years old.

We were all very proud to have met this incredible man - inventor of the electric guitar, multi-track recording, and up until this year, a live performer for more than 70 years.

Our film crew met Les at Iridium Cafe in NYC last winter (2008) to interview him for "On Joy & Sorrow." Les was willing to speak with us before taking the stage for his weekly jazz performance. He discussed The Glass Prism, recording in the 1960s, musicians changing taste in an attempt to please the public and his mission to preserve the enormous catalog of famous musicians that he recorded at his home studio in Mahwah, N.J. He was a kind old man and offered us popcorn, one of his favorite treats.

Les leaves an incredible legacy, from the engineering feats he completed, ideas he invented and mastered and the hundreds of talented musicians he recorded. May he rest in peace.

Film Screening Success!

The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival screenings of "On Joy & Sorrow" went really well. Producer Bob Ross and his wife attended Thursday evening. The crowd was small, given that it was a weeknight, but the venue was a charming outdoor garden.

On Friday, 20 people came out for the show at the Exit Skate Shop. Editor Matt Lewis and assoc. prod Sarah Fulton attended. As unsual as the venue sounds, the skate shop had a large, open room with great acoustics where they showed the film.
(above photo depicts some of the attendees)

The film festival staff and volunteers told us how much they enjoyed the film.

Of the 20 people that came on Friday, a handful of them made the ride from the Scranton area and were the first GP fans to see the film. They told us how much they enjoyed the show and thanked us for making the film. But really, thanks to all of YOU for supporting us and coming to Philly to be part of the screening.

Newspaper Review of the Documentary - 6/25/09

Here's a great review from The Morning Call's Go Guide:

New documentary tells the story of a '60s Scranton band
By Amy Longsdorf
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL
June 25, 2009

Even though he was too young to experience the psychedelic band the Glass Prism in its prime, Jim Thorpe resident Bob Ross has been a fan of '' Scranton's answer to the Beatles'' for decades. The Channel 13 cameraman was still in high-school when he discovered the quartet's first album, a trippy synapse-scrambler that blends progressive rock with lyrics culled from the pages of Edgar Allan Poe short stories.

''What I always loved about the Glass Prism is that, lyrically and musically, they did things differently,'' says Ross, 43. ''You don't get any more unique than recording an entire album of Poe lyrics.''

Last year when Ross noticed that Glass Prism was re-uniting for the first time in decades for an appearance at Philadelphia's Edgar Allan Poe House, he got the idea to document the band's resurrection as well as its rise and fall.Ross contacted long-time collaborators Sarah Fulton and Matt Lewis -- owners of the Allentown-based film and video production house Post Sputnik -- and the trio set off on a mission to spread awareness about the psychedelic Scrantonians.

The end result is ''On Joy & Sorrow: The Glass Prism Story,'' a terrific, hourlong documentary that uses vintage photographs and fresh interviews to tell the story of the group that signed with RCA Records in the late '60s and enjoyed considerable chart success with ''The Raven'' before imploding over a management snafu and a poorly received second album.

The documentary will screen as part of the Second Annual Philadelphia International Film Festival at 9 tonight at the Arbol Cafe, 909 N. Second St. A second screening will be 9:49 p.m. Friday at Exit Philadelphia, 825 N. Second St. For ticket info, see http://www.piff2009.com/ .

As for the band's reaction to the movie, Fulton says they were ''blown away. They seemed to be moved by it, seeing their youths played out on the screen ... I think they really appreciated the story we told.''

Film Screening Information

We are anxiously awaiting the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival to see the first live screening of "On Joy & Sorrow: The Glass Prism Story."

The film will screen twice, which is a special treat since so many do not get this privilege. We hope you can make it one of these times:

Thursday, June 25 at 9 pm at Arbol Cafe

Friday, June 26 at 9:49 pm at Exit Skate Shop

Individual tickets are $8 and may be purchased through the festival website: http://www.piff2009.com/

The fest is not selling tickets for specific screenings, they are general admission only and first-come, first-serve. So get there early to grab a seat.

Some of the film crew plan on being at both screenings for Q&A. We hope you can make it!

GOOD NEWS!

####UPDATE#### June 15, 2009

The dates and times of the screenings are as follows:
Thursday, June 25 at 9 pm at Arbol Cafe, 909 N. 2nd St. (near Poplar), Phila.
Friday, June 26 at 9:49 pm at Exit Skate Shop at 825 N. 2nd Street (near Poplar), Phila.
Go to www.PIFF2009.com for other info.

****

The documentary has been accepted to the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival!

This is a huge accomplishment for us. We really think it speaks to the quality of this film. We hope to make everyone in Scranton proud!

The fest runs from June 25-28. We will post an official screening date and time as soon as we learn when that will be.

Hopefully there will be more good news to come in the next month....

Making Plans

We're still entering the documentary in festivals. We also submitted a copy to PBS. They've been very supportive of our past productions, so we're really optimistic that it will be televised there.

We're hoping to make plans very soon to show the film at a live event this summer, hopefully with the members of The Glass Prism in attendance......performing would be even better!

We will keep you all posted. Thanks for the support.

Movie Momentum

Momentum is definitely growing for this film! There have been more than 225 views of the trailer in the last week. We're so glad everyone is excited to see the finished product.

We plan to televise the documentary through PBS, submit it to film festivals and hopefully share it at some public screenings. We appreciate everyone's support throughout the project. Please stay tuned to this blog for more updates. We will try to post something regularly to keep you all informed.

UPDATE: Shadoe Steele will be talking about the trailer and the blog for "On Joy & Sorrow: The Glass Prism Story" on his Saturday night radio show on 98.5KRZ. (Thanks for your support, Shadoe!)

New Trailer!

Welcome to the the ON JOY AND SORROW blog. Here we will be keeping you updated on the status of our documentary and where it will be showing. We hope to see many of you very soon!