New documentary on Waddy Wachtel underway

[blackcat]

I think some of you guys already know about this, but I wanted to get the word out on The Ledge:

"The documentary follows Waddy's career and is a piece of Rock 'n' Roll history. There's lots of great footage of the Waddy Wachtel Band, unseen-before interviews with Keith Richards, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Jackson Browne, George Thorogood, Dave Stewart, Joe Walsh, Phil Jones, Bernard Fowler, Brett Tuggle, Rick Rosas, Peter Asher, Niko Bolas, Lee Sklar, Danny Kortchmar and lots of others, and clips including those performers as well as Warren Zevon and Linda Ronstadt.


Check out the newest additions to the King of the Sidemen Kickstarter page - a great video on Waddy and Warren Zevon - plus photos you haven't seen before.


Gary Simson and Waddy Wachtel have done their part, as well as the artists who have taken their time to share their stories and appreciation of Waddy. Lots of energy has been put into this, and Gary will continue if we can come up with funding needed for song licensing, etc.

Now it's your chance to get involved and be a part of the team if you can!"

This is kind of like PBS fund raising, in getting this project to fruition. You are invited to help get this project up and running, and, in term, there's some variety of gifts back depending on the donations. Go here and check out the details if you wish to participate:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...of-the-sidemen


At the time of this posting, $6,421 of the $32,500 goal has been reached.

Thank you for reading, and thanks a million if you are able to participate. Hopefully this documentary will be out September, 2014.
love, blackcat

[becca]

Well, I didn't know... it sounds really interesting! Thank you!

There was a neat doc on Klaus Voorman's career awhile back that was really fascinating and fun. I think the title was 'All You Need Is Klaus' because of his Beatles connections.

I 'kickstarted' a set of Pete Ham (of Badfinger's) early demos put together by his daughter. This seems to be a growing thing.

[blackcat]

Hey, thank you for your response- it looks to be amazing effort. Waddy has lived an extraordinary life, as some of the sneak peek clips show. The Warren Zevon clip can break your heart and also make you laugh as you hear Waddy speak. (Mick Fleetwood chimes in as well) The stories on some of the people he has worked with over the years could fill a mini series!

BTW: there's a facebook page for this project here:

https://www.facebook.com/KingOfTheSidemen

[WildHeart69]

hey guys, I didnt see this posted anywhere else, but there is a Waddy doc that needs funding. there is only a week left to donate and you can get some pretty cool stuff if you help out (but only if the funding goal is met.)

details here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...of-the-sidemen

[blackcat]

Thanks for bumping this up. Yes, less than a week away. If you can kick in a few bucks, this will happen. As of now you guys have contributed $14,671! THANK YOU for every cent you have promised. It means alot!

[WildHeart69]

mods, thanks for adding this to the old thread. I didnt know there was one already.

[Nina]

Thanks for posting this here, blackcat!

Stevie was happy to be a part of this documentary - about her main musical man for over 35 years. She gave some great interviews in this doc, and there's a bit of them in the trailer.

Waddy has a lot of respect and admiration for Stevie - as she does for him.

I hope you all check out the Kickstarter page for King of the Sidemen to view the trailer of the doc and contribute a bit to help make this get finished. On that page you'll also see a vid of Dave Stewart giving praise to Waddy.

I see many of you have already contributed - thank you!
And thank you from Waddy and the rest of us who really appreciate your support.

Nina

[blackcat]

Just an update to say THANK YOU! Kickstarter reached the goal! With 245 Backers $32,575 was pledged surpassing the goal of $32,500! Thank you to everyone that took a part in this effort to get Waddy's documentary started. You guys are great!

[blackcat]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...hards-20130724



pic by Tim Mosenfelder


Waddy Wachtel may be the greatest session guitarist of all time, with a resumé including classic work from the Everly Brothers, Warren Zevon (he co-wrote "Werewolves of London"), Jackson Browne and Stevie Nicks. Now Wachtel is stepping out of the shadows in the career-spanning documentary King of the Sidemen, directed by friend Gary Simson, with guest appearances from friends including Nicks, Browne and Keith Richards. "He is a natural maestro," says Richards, who played with Wachtel in the X-Pensive Winos. "He can take a song to further heights than you expected, beyond expectations. I envy him, quite honestly." A Kickstarter campaign for the film wraps up today.
-Patrick Doyle

There's about 6 hours left for those that still want to contribute.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...of-the-sidemen

[blackcat]

I just got an email from Waddy's wife- Waddy will be on the Huffington Post LIVE tonight about the documentary that is being made about him if you are awake and can catch it!

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/#r/se...8c2a5c5f0008dd

Also, again THANK YOU for contributing to help make this documentary about Waddy and friends closer to completion. If you couldn't make a donation at Kickstarter for some reason but would still like to contribute, you can do so at this KOTS web site using Paypal:


http://kingofthesidemen.wordpress.com/

[BlueDenimLamp]

Could you be the same "Black Cat" that interviewed Waddy years ago??? And said interview can be found on this website???

[ejb1969]

Also, again THANK YOU for contributing to help make this documentary about Waddy and friends closer to completion. If you couldn't make a donation at Kickstarter for some reason but would still like to contribute, you can do so at this KOTS web site using Paypal:


http://kingofthesidemen.wordpress.com/[/QUOTE]


THANK YOU for posting the link for PayPal. I was kicking myself earlier this evening for missing the deadline!

[blackcat]

Originally Posted by BlueDenimLamp

Could you be the same "Black Cat" that interviewed Waddy years ago??? And said interview can be found on this website???

The same indeed.

Hey, ejb1969, cool, glad you found it!

[michelej1]

Investors Sue Over Waddy Wachtel Documentary, the Hollywood Reporter

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr...mentary-748143

10:50 AM PST 11/11/2014 by Eriq Gardner

Gary Simson allegedly abandoned a project about the session musician, then decided to raise funds himself online

For more than five years, Gary Simson has been attempting to make a documentary about Waddy Wachtel, a noted session musician who has worked with such musical stars as Keith Richards, Roger Daltry and Robert Plant. In July, 2013, Simson raised money on Kickstarter for the film, King of the Sidemen, and the project was subsequently featured in Rolling Stone magazine. But according to a $10 million lawsuit filed on Monday, Simson was already obligated to make a Wachtel documentary with other investors.




Thomas Raboin says he was introduced to Simson in 2008. At the time, the defendant appears to have had a good career in television, including producing many celebrity biographies. According to Raboin's lawsuit, Simson represented that he would interview many high-profile musicians like Joe Walsh, Iggy Pop and James Taylor, while Raboin explained that the greater the number of celebrity interviews, the easier it would be to raise investment funds.

Some of the interviews had already been completed. The others would come later.

The two are said to have worked on financial estimates and budgets, including $240,000 to obtain rights for 40 songs, and in 2008, the parties allegedly outlined their joint business plan for prospective investors in the project. The two also entered into a written operating agreement for They Could Be Heroes, LLC.

Over the next few years, both sides appear to have come up short of goals. Raboin wanted to raise $1 million, but was only to raise half that amount. Meanwhile, Simson got some high-profile musicians like Jackson Browne and Mick Fleetwood interviewed, though the complaint implies that he didn't deliver all the musicians who might have come forward to talk about Wachtel, who among other things, co-wrote Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London."

The lawsuit says that by 2010, Simson's interest in the project was "flagging" and how he expressed that he no longer wanted to be responsible for the film's sale and distribution. He only wanted to produce and direct.

Progress was made on the film nonetheless, according to the suit: Some song rights were cleared. Stevie Nicks was interviewed. Film expenditures increased. A fifth round of investment funding was solicited.

In 2012, the parties were still negotiating the terms of a producer/director agreement, and states the lawsuit, "Raboin repeatedly explained to Simson that TCBH simply could not afford to pay Defendant Simson his demanded $93,000 fee and cover other production expenses. During these negotiations, Simson repeatedly proposed that he personally take over the entire Film project from Plaintiffs including, but not limited to, the Film's ownership, distribution, and marketing efforts, which offers Plaintiff Raboin politely declined."

Simson allegedly then resigned, accused Raboin of financial mismanagement and cut all ties to the film project.

Now Raboin and the other investors are going to court against Simson over film footage with claims of a breach of contract, fraud, conversion, tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty. The plaintiff is represented by a host of attorneys including Keith Fink, Henry Gradstein and Olaf Muller.

Simson, who successfully raised funds solicited on Kickstarter from 295 backers, couldn't be reached for comment.

[Macfanforever]

It will take them awhile to recoup the costs if the docu sees the light of day.
I would love to see and hear what Stevie and Mick said in the interviews.