Thunder Soul premieres at SXSW
March 8, 2010 11:09 AM   Subscribe

Thunder Soul premieres at SXSW
It was afros and pleated shirts; James Brown and Bootsy Collins. It was the ’70s, and an inner-city Houston high school was about to make history. Charismatic band leader, Conrad “Prof” Johnson would turn the school’s jazz band into a legendary funk powerhouse. Now, 35 years later, his students prepare to pay tribute to the man who changed their lives, the 92-year-old Prof. Some haven’t played their horns in decades, still they dust off their instruments determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they’ve still got it.

Our team has been making this film for the last three years, and I'm excited to launch the film at SXSW next week. It's a beautiful true story about music, passion, funk, education, and the power of a strong mentor. Thunder Soul will premiere Saturday March 13th in Austin at SXSW 2010. For those going to the festival, you can find the screening information on our SXSW page.

Some of the original recordings by the Kashmere Stage Band have been re-released by Stones Throw Records, and have become deep funk classics. DJ Shadow sampled the band's signature song "Kashmere" in his song "Holy Calamity" from the Handsome Boy Modeling School album.
posted by kcalder (11 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite

This sounds awesome! What a great project!
posted by ardgedee at 11:33 AM on March 8, 2010


very cool!
posted by MeatLightning at 4:17 PM on March 8, 2010


....a trailer would be super helpful as I attempt to (re)blog this sukka!
posted by MeatLightning at 4:19 PM on March 8, 2010


There's a distinct possibility that fontophilic and I will be coming to your premiere, assuming it isn't completely full (we don't have passes and would have to buy tickets at the door)! Looking forward to it!
posted by malthas at 5:13 PM on March 8, 2010


You guys should totally come. I doubt we'll sell out as it's a huge 1200 seat theater at 11am.
posted by kcalder at 10:30 PM on March 8, 2010


MeatLightning, we aren't going to have a trailer until a distributor is on board. I've had mixed experiences in the past with cutting and providing a trailer without the input and support of a theatrical distributor.
posted by kcalder at 11:12 PM on March 8, 2010


Just posted our SXSW poster on the Thunder Soul website.
posted by kcalder at 6:21 AM on March 12, 2010


That poster is badass.
posted by malthas at 8:34 AM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


We just went! It was amazing!

Even though I was 2 generations, half a country, and a racial divide away from these people this film made me feel like I was getting to know old friends.

Thrilled to have been at the world premiere, this is going to go far! Congrats!
posted by fontophilic at 1:01 PM on March 13, 2010


So glad you guys came! The premiere went really well, and it seemed like the audience responded very positively. You should try to come to the Austin Chronicle party on Monday where the band will perform.
posted by kcalder at 2:23 PM on March 13, 2010


So now this happened.
posted by kcalder at 12:50 AM on March 14, 2010


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