All these pieces started to come together in my head after Petunia and I first started conversing about working together. It came from a few places: 1) from meeting the talent that is the man-not-of-this-era, Petunia 2) from a backlog of music history information I'd compiled from my film The Winding Stream that had no place to go but into another film and 3) from a bunch of experiences I'd had in graduate school in American Studies and in attending academic country music conferences. Where did the idea for The Musicianer come from? Instead I found my way into: 1) a rock band and 2) filmmaking. I was surrounded by music and musicians and the excitement of all that and I was sure I was going to be a freeform radio DJ when I got out of college. As a teenager, I played guitar and volunteered at a progressive rock station in Boston. Rock and roll in all its forms was/is a huge part of my life. Dad also sang as a very high level amateur (Bing Crosby aficionado, sang in bands in the Navy). Mom was a creative spirit and an art teacher. My dad was an artist and a Mad Men era advertising guy (which, if you followed that show, makes me Sally Draper). GS: How did you get into roots music and rockabilly? How did you get into filmmaking? Which came first, for you?īH: Music and art and communications were part of my family culture. The Straight also spoke with Harrington about her career-which also includes singing backup vocals for Jonathan Richman!-and the curious story of The Musicianer (a trailer for which can be also found online). That talk also takes in the time Petunia sang along while someone played Jimmie Rodgers’ guitar, and his enthusiasm for the Carter Family, which initially brought him together with Harrington, whose past film credits include a documentary about the Carter Family, The Winding Stream. ![]() Last week, Petunia spoke to the author about the film and his role outside the WISE Hall, where he continues his Monday residency with the Vipers, as part of his process towards recording his next album. The narrative, shall we say, is “layered”. To Petunia’s surprise, the film-within-the-film actually ends up starring, apparently, himself. Petunia plays-big stretch here-a yodeling roots musician, led into intrigue by the rediscovery of a long lost short film, also called The Musicianer, which stars fictional yodeler/singer Vern Lockhart. The short film, a 20-minute pilot for a series she’s developing, stars local roots musician and yodeler Petunia, of Petunia and the Vipers, who will also be performing on the 19th. ![]() Filmmaker and musicologist Beth Harrington is normally based in Vancouver, Washington-“the one that is always mistaken for yours,” she tells the Straight- but she occasionally forays north, as will be the case on Sunday, May 19, when she attends a screening of her film The Musicianer at the Rio.
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