Welcome to our rodeo.

We started filming the first installment of our “Songs of Unsung America” travelogue/music series in the summer of 2014, a few months before the passing of our dear friend and spirit animal Lou Whitney. Like William Burroughs, we’ve been cutting and pasting nearly 25 hours of interviews.  This week we send  the first chapter off to our editor.

Our working title for this doc is “Sinceriously, Springfield.”

Jaynie Siman Chowning showed us some of her father’s correspondence with the bigwigs in New York and Nashville when he was promoting his 1950s Ozark Jubilee television show. He signed off, “Sinceriously Springfield, Si Siman.

Our first chapter is on Springfield’s evocative sense of place that rolls from the Ozark hills to Springfield Style Cashew Chicken. Subsequent chapters will feature The Skeletons/Morellls, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, the late Ronnie Self (worth his own documentary), late singer-songwriter Wayne Carson, present day stuff like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin along with Ozarks religion and Route 66.

We’ve done this with hope and heartstrings.

We’ve spent nearly $70,000 of our own money to tell this story.

Here’s what Lou Whitney told us in the late summer of 2014: “Why do things work out the way they do? Far as being a mouthpiece of Springfield, well, I have organizational skills. I’m not afraid to talk to people. I’m pretty good at booking a band, which is like if you’re in a band with Donnie Thompson, Joe Terry and Lloyd Hicks, what it winds up is you have pity for the people that don’t book you. It’s almost like okay, I’m sorry you didn’t get it.

“One of these days you might remember this.”

 

Our mission is to see this through.

The thank you list is already profound and appreciated: Producer Jamie Ceaser, cameraman Tom Vlodek, sound man Rene’ Greblo and editor Brent Hannigan.

Our Springfield friends: Lloyd, Donnie, Cecelia Ellis Havens, Nick Sibley, Abbey Waterworth,  Dale Wiley and the generous folks at the Moxie Cinema.

Our St. Louis archivists: John Caspermeyer and Glenn Steinkamp.

Our fiscal sponsor, Chicago Filmmakers-

Chicago friends Bruce Dinsmor , Chris Ligon, Heather McAdams and Bob Roth.

And our Nashville friends: Michael McCall at the Country Music Hall of Fame and David Wykoff.

And last but not least, just some of our on camera subjects who gave their time: Dave Alvin, Eric Ambel, Beatle Bob, Hosea Bilyeu, Mark Bilyeu, Jaynie and Randle Chowning, Philip Dickey, Robbie Fulks, Mike “Supe” Granda.

Also: Merle Haggard, Scott Kempner, King Clarentz Brewer, Brenda Lee, David and Wing Leong, The Luttrell Auction House Barn Band, Mary McBride, Dan Penn, Vance Powell, Annette Sain and the Ralph Foster Museum and the Beverly Hillbillies truck, Andy Shernoff, Vicki Self, Syd Straw, Scott Siman and Geoff Steele.

No Beyonce’. Rest easy Alan Jackson.

Please stay tuned and feel free to share your thoughts, memories and ideas.

Sinceriously,

Dave and Jamie