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The steel guitar was originally popularized in the early 1900s by Hawaiian musicians, and upon its arrival on the mainland, it was adopted by country music players, with whom it has become a staple. Little known, though, is that since the 1930s it has been a tradition in the House of God Church, where it is known as "sacred steel." The talented and spirited musicians of Robert Randolph and the Family Band are taking music out of the church and into the mainstream.

Randolph grew up on the streets of Orange, NJ with the usual inner-city temptations of drugs, crime and bling bling. But instead of following some of his friends, he stuck close to his roots in the church. Filmmaker Gillian Grisman happened upon Randolph playing in a bar in Charlottesville, VA and began filming him soon after; she has captured many pivotal moments since--his first appearance on THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman, opening for Dave Matthews at Madison Square Garden, and playing at the Grammys. She has made an energetic, uplifting documentary, and while her take on the story is done, Randolph's star continues to rise.

Ray Charles once said that as a child he was taught that if you are going to play the blues or jazz--that's one thing, but if you're going to play spiritual music--then you do that. You don't do both. You can't serve two gods. Thankfully, Robert Randolph is finding a way to prove that idea wrong.

Mary Kerr

Gillian Grisman's credits include GRATEFUL DAWG, her award-winning theatrical debut about the musical friendship between the late Jerry Garcia and her father, mandolin player David Grisman. Grisman went on to create the critically acclaimed four-part series KEEPING TIME: New Music from America's Roots, which aired in August 2003. In 2004, Grisman produced a tour documentary about Matchbox Twenty for their DVD entitled SHOW. She is currently in production on another feature-length documentary entitled ALL THAT I AM about Rob Thomas's solo debut.

Print Source:
Marcie Baeza, 11th Hour Productions & Entertainment
180 Varick St._Ste. 1514
New York, NY 10014
Tel: 212.989.3009
Fax: 212.243.8212
Email: marcie@11thhournyc.com

PRECEDED BY...MATISYAHU
David E. Baugnon
USA, 2004, 12 minutes

Matisyahu explains his conversion to Hasidism and his mission to spark spirituality in others through his eclectic musical stylings--Hasidic reggae/beat box/rap.

Print Source:
David Baugnon, Big Daddy Productions
49 Greenwich Ave. #5
New York, NY 10014
Tel: 917-412-3414
Email: baugnond@yahoo.com

Saturday 6/18 at 7:15 p.m.

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