Last week we ran a review of the brand new Bamboo Trading Company CD. (Scroll back to Wednesday, April 24th if you missed it.)
Along the way, we touched briefly on the soundtrack for the new, upcoming film "Return Of The Killer Shrews", for which The Bamboo Trading Company have provided several tracks.
As promised, here are more details, courtesy of David Beard, mucho-involved with the songwriting and production of the album ... as well as placing these tunes on the film's soundtrack. Check it out!
Along the way, we touched briefly on the soundtrack for the new, upcoming film "Return Of The Killer Shrews", for which The Bamboo Trading Company have provided several tracks.
As promised, here are more details, courtesy of David Beard, mucho-involved with the songwriting and production of the album ... as well as placing these tunes on the film's soundtrack. Check it out!
Hi Kent -
Thanks for the great coverage on The Bamboo Trading Company. The group is really glad you're enjoying the sounds inside.
The album project really began when I was approached to supply film director Steve Latshaw with music for the film "Return Of The Killer Shrews" (a kind of / sort of B-movie starring James Best and John Schneider of Dukes Of Hazzard fame) in early 2011. Steve and I share a mutual and infinite love for the music of Jan & Dean and the Beach Boys. Steve was looking for new Tiki / Exotica music. Gary Griffin (Brian Wilson band, Beach Boys band, Jan & Dean band, Surf City Allstars) was the very first person I thought of when it came to writing something new. Gary is one of those guys that no one really knows because he's the "behind the scenes guy who makes everyone sound great." Gary has recorded on Brian Wilson's Reimagines Gershwin and In The Key Of Disney releases, as well as the Beach Boys' recording "Strange World" (released on 2012's That's Why God Made The Radio). So, in my opinion, he's the best in the business.
What I found interesting — at the time — was that Steve had cast Bruce Davison (Willard, X-Men, etc.) in the role of the heavy in this film. If you recall, Bruce portrayed Dean Torrence (Jan & Dean) in the 1978 TV Movie "Deadman's Curve." I thought that was fate … so I contacted Dean and inquired about his interest of being involved on the recordings. Before he could really give me a definitive answer, I inquired about his daughters Katie & Jillian (knowing that Katie was studying music). Dean sent me a recording of Katie singing "Ave Maria;" it was beautiful.
Dean Torrence, David Beard and Bruce Davison ...
Photo courtesy of David Beard
The results of my first collaborations with Gary were "Shrewd Awakening" and "Tonga Hut." We wrote both of these specifically for the film. For "Shrewd Awakening" Steve arranged for Bruce to visit Gary's studio for the recording sessions while Dean and his daughters were there. The event was filmed on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. Everyone had a great time.
The two other tracks that were placed in the film were "Star Of The Beach" (co-written with Miami Dan Yoe) and "Don't Say It's Over" (co-written with Randell Kirsch, who is a current touring member of the Beach Boys band). The four songs were turned in November of 2011. Four very good songs. Each different and unique. It seemed to me, because the recordings turned out so nicely, that we might have a potential soundtrack album on our hands.
As we entered into January of 2012, I re-approached Gary with the idea of pursuing a legitimate album release that would include the previous four songs. As a result of these discussions, The Bamboo Trading Company was born. The name is inspired by Dean's merchandise "shop" that he came up with in the 1970's. We didn't just want to throw together an album … We wanted it to tell some sort of story. We decided on taking the listener from Kitty Hawk, NC (on tracks one and two) across country to Surf City, CA (on the last four recordings). This loose album concept was born out of my love for Jan & Dean ("Surf City") and the inspiration provided by Dean's graphic art company (Kitty Hawk Graphics).
By placing the "Return Of The Killer Shrews" material on this collection, it sounds as though the group makes a pitstop on "Shrew Island "… Like finding yourself in the Bermuda Triangle. The music video for "Shrewd Awakening" was just posted on Friday, April 28.
The group and I are very pleased with this release, and if you listen to the samples on iTunes, you'll hear both the diversity and likeness between all the tracks. Great harmonies, super cool instrumentation … And a whole lot of fun!! We even recorded a theme song (just for the heck of it).
"Shrewd Awakening" Music Video by The Bamboo Trading Company
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2gq58e_XY1I
TWITTER — https://twitter.com/TheBambooTradin
SOUNDCLOUD — https://soundcloud.com/thebambootradingcompany
OFFICIAL PAGE — (*Go here to buy the CD …) http://killershrewsmovie.com/
iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-bamboo-trading-company/id632106234
The "Shrewd Awakening" video clip is TONS of fun ... be sure to check it out via the link above. And hop on over to iTunes to sample all the tracks ... I think you'll enjoy this CD. And, if you do, please visit the "Go here to buy the CD" link above and pick up a copy. (kk)
The "Shrewd Awakening" video clip is TONS of fun ... be sure to check it out via the link above. And hop on over to iTunes to sample all the tracks ... I think you'll enjoy this CD. And, if you do, please visit the "Go here to buy the CD" link above and pick up a copy. (kk)
