From the inbox:
Gish Creative (www.gishcreative.com) and Southwest Alternate Media Project/SWAMP (www.swamp.org) have come together to celebrate the arts and cultural landmarks with a public screening of “For the Sake of the Song: The Story of Anderson Fair” (www.andersonfairthemovie.com) on Tuesday, October 26, 7pm at the River Oaks Theatre, 2009 W. Gray. All proceeds from the evening will go to SWAMP.
This event was organized to honor SWAMP as a cultural landmark and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Gish Creative. SWAMP is a 33-year-old nonprofit media arts organization serving independent filmmakers in Houston and statewide; they were the fiscal sponsor for the documentary film being screened. Gish Creative is a marketing company that specializes in personal and family enrichment as well as local cultural explorations. Sarah Gish, owner of Gish Creative, chose SWAMP as the funds beneficiary because they were her first client. Sarah used to manage the historic River Oaks Theatre and helped get it designated as a city landmark in 2007.
“For the Sake of the Song” tells the extraordinary tale of another venerable Houston landmark, Anderson Fair, a small music venue in Montrose with a loyal following and major impact in the world of artists working in the singer/songwriter tradition. Featured in the film are artists who got their start at the “politically subversive and neighborhood coffee house and restaurant,” including Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith.
Advance tickets are $15 online at www.swamp.org and $20 at the door. There will be an intimate after party at Anderson Fair, 2007 Grant Street, which includes one movie ticket. Confirmed after-party musicians are Don Sanders, Vince Bell, Denice Franke, Bill Cade, Shake Russell, with more to come!
Small World Department: I once lived in Don Sanders’ old house. He and his wife, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, sold their little north Montrose bungalow to their longtime next-door neighbor in the early 90s after the birth of their son. The neighbor, whose name was also Charles, rented the house to me and my then-roommate Matt. I was there for a bit more than three years, before moving to the Heights. Houston is just a big ol’ small town sometimes. Anyway, here’s the flyer for the event:
Go here to learn more about the film, and here to buy tickets. Sounds like it will be a good time.
We saw this film at its world premiere at SXSW. If you’re interested in Anderson Fair and/or Texas music, it’s worth checking out. Also, for licensing reasons, there were no plans to release it on DVD, so you should see it while it’s on the festival circuit.
I’d forgotten Don’s name until I saw your reference – we sure did love that house! I’m glad it’s still there and hasn’t been knocked down in the rebuilding of Montrose….