Pete Seeger and the Smithereens are attached to the project. Also attached to host the show is my co-producer, singer/songwriter Jann Klose, an immigrant himself. I have had the pleasure of working with since 2004. Jann was born in Germany, raised in Kenya and South Africa, and Hamburg. He first came to the States as an exchange student in Cleveland, and now lives in the Bronx.
Jann and I met with Pete on the 2011 Martin Luther King holiday, went to his house, and talked folk music and family history at his home in Dutchess County. Pete is a living legend, and has quite a bit to say about the struggle that immigrants went through and how it impacted song.
The Smithereens is a band that I've had the pleasure of publicizing in different capacities over the years. Guitarist Jim Babjak is an immigrant, and Jann interviewed him on January 21, 2012 at BB King Blues Club. The interview is in HD.
My background in show business is as intensive as anyone who has worked steadily the past 35 years. Relevant to this project includes years of writing in a number of capacities, including notably drama, with plays performed by Poets Repertory Theatre of Long Island, read in the New York area including at the HOWL! Festival, and in San Antonio, TX at the River City Living Church. I've contributed to MTV and VH1 documentaries, especially on Van Halen and the band Duran Duran. I'm a consummate researcher, and have a 2007 Bachelor of Science in Audio and Communications from SUNY Fredonia.
As a project coordinator, music services, and packager, I've worked in music, print, events, education, and theatre. I've done tons of public speaking across the United States at conventions and schools, award ceremonies, on radio--I can be a ham before the drop of a hat!
To record the interviews for this project, I need HD crew and 15-seater van, plus driver, and crafts (food)-each interview comes to $1000. Studio time and editor will be another $1500.
We have an entertainment attorney, who is willing to market the project to some of his producer friends, plus I am working other leads. He's willing to work on a percentage deal for us.
One and only one fan exclusive will feature autographed pictures and/or CDs of selected artists from my roster plus my Award-winning/critically-acclaimed book, PAWS FOR THOUGHT: HOW TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR CAT IS THINKING. Other exclusives include copies of books I've had published, a number of scripts and plays I've written. There's a manuscript that I tweaked from a book proposal that I have named "COMMON SENSE PUBLICITY: MAKE THE GIG HAPPEN." This shows you how to find a publicity gig. Add $100 to that one, and I'll give you a phone or SKYPE consultation on how to find paying work, doing publicity, in today's economy.
Other personalized exclusives: one of a kind recorded reading, writing, or drawing renditions of my poetry.
I'm pretty excited about this, and look forward to your help! If you have any questions, please e-mail me at anne@anneleighton.com or call me at 718-881-8183.
Thank you,
Anne Leighton,
Bronx, NY
