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May 5, 2006
Long time no chat!
It's taken me absolutely ages to post
a new diary entry but Glenn has yet to post a single diary entry on
his site since its inception, so I don't feel so bad. I’ve just been
unbelievably busy with - what else - the film! Yes, the film is out
into the world and available on DVD!
The months leading up to the DVD
release were unbelievably busy for me. I am pretty much handling all
of the press for the US by myself.
Sony/BMG
and PPR
Publicity handled the PR in the UK and it doesn't take a genius to
see who was more successful! But, I did everything I possibly could on
my own for the US. I put in 12 hour days on the computer literally
emailing every major newspaper, every alternative newsweekly, every
triple A radio station, every magazine, every in-flight magazine and
every major music blog on the internet. I also emailed every TV talent
coordinator on every show I could think of. My favorite reply from the
Letterman show was “We have nothing to offer Glenn.” Next time I’m
asked out on a date by someone I’m not particularly interested in, I’m
just going to nod and politely say, “I have nothing to offer you.”
The press
that the movie has received has been overwhelming and beyond anything
I could have ever imagined. I am amazed that almost everyone who has
reviewed or written about the film ‘gets it’. They are able to look
past the crappy camerawork and crappy audio and non-existent budget
and understand the message of what I worked so hard in trying to
convey. When we were in the green room at
SKY TV studios,
Glenn actually said to me that he has gotten more exposure through the
film than both of his solo albums combined. That realization
single-handedly justified my decision to embark on this five-year
odyssey. The journalists who have covered the film even told me that
there are a million singer/songwriters angling for press. But the FILM
is what makes a story about Glenn a bit more unique. So needless to
say, I’m thrilled to bits because the main reason I did the film was
to expose Glenn’s music to more people and to try and reach out to
filmgoers who might not be aware of Glenn.
My trip to the UK in January for the
DVD release was quite simply, astonishing and life changing for me.
After five years of feeling like the invisible girl putting every drop
of energy into the invisible film day after day, for the first time, I
didn’t feel invisible anymore. I wish I could describe in words what
it was like to see my film in DVD form for the first time! Every
color, every sentence, every placement of every word-all in place and
in the perfect DVD package that I spent countless hours agonizing
over! And my name was on it! I can’t explain the thrill of walking
through the throngs of pink British people in
Piccadilly Circus and going to the magazine rack in the basement
of Virgin Records and opening up one of my favorite UK music magazines
to see an ad for my film and a positive review. I wanted to grab
anyone nearby and squeal, ‘This is my film!!!’ (Knowing how
reserved the Brits are, I don’t think that would have gone down to
well!) After hearing I had gotten the go ahead for Glenn and I to
appear on
Jonathan Ross’ BBC Radio 2 show, I floated back to my friend’s
flat and decided to listen to Squeeze on my headphones for the journey
home. For the first time in a long time, I was able to hear Squeeze
like I used to rather than associate it with the festival of pain that
the movie had become. I remember listening to Squeeze 20 years ago
when the only light in my room was the glow from my stereo and their
music took me places my feet couldn’t. I fantasized about coming to
London and going to Piccadilly and to find myself in London all these
years later, getting positive feedback for something I created, was
nothing short of a miracle. Even though it was freezing cold in the
middle of winter, I was grinning to “I’m so made up I feel I could
take off and fly!” from “This Summer”. I think the folks on the
double decker bus must have thought I was crazy since I was grinning
like an idiot the whole ride home.
PPR Publicity and Sony/BMG handled
all the print press for the film in the UK and did an outstanding job.
They were very supportive of the film and I think their enthusiasm for
Glenn’s music and the DVD really helped it get attention. I couldn’t
help but stick my oar in though and ended up booking the TV
appearances and most of the radio appearances myself. If I could have
had a bit more time and resources, we could have gotten almost twice
as much press! I called in so many favors and so many of my mates
helped put me in touch with talent bookers and producers. Everyone was
lovely and it meant such a lot to me that everyone involved pulled out
all the stops to help and were genuinely enthused about the film. I
never worked so hard in my life. The schedule was insane.
After a lovely feature on the film
appeared in The Guardian, the
Daily Mail on
Sunday commissioned me to write a piece on my
experience touring with Glenn and making the film. (Wow! I was going
to get paid to write an article for one of the UK’s leading
newspapers??) So while I was doing TV and radio WITH Glenn, I was
booking press FOR Glenn and writing a feature for the newspaper
mentioned in a Beatles song!!! I was also trying to generate future
employment from the UK trip and took several meetings where I was
treated like a film director! (After seeing the DVD the night before,
one bigwig enthusiastically told me that I invented a new genre of
documentary called the ‘fanumentary’ and that music
DVD’s in the future need to have a strong storyline with music in it
like my film instead of your everyday concert/backstage footage DVD!!
Uh... who knew that I could foretell the newest trend in music DVDs?!
haha) I left London in 1999 after unsuccessfully trying to work
steadily in radio and TV as a presenter/producer. But now, after the
DVD was released in London, I was taking meetings as a Director,
giving good ‘mic’ on the radio (and possibly hired by the BBC in the
future), getting paid as a writer and getting positive feedback from
the TV people. I no longer felt like a ‘pop idol’ who had deluded
herself into thinking that she could sing all these years! I was
completely spoiled and validated as a professional and I’ll be honest
with you, I basked in every glorious minute of it. I’m not ashamed to
admit it. I was living the life that I wanted in London rather than
the life that I had back in LA!
Although I’m sure Glenn is used to
talking about his latest project, I was unbelievably excited to talk
about the film and to talk about Glenn’s music to the press. (If you
think you guys have tired with the last five years of ‘we’re almost
there’ or ‘we’re still working on the film’. Imagine LIVING it.) It
was slightly surreal to be interviewed WITH Glenn, (that will be the
fan in me then) but it was such a hoot! If any of you have met me at
Glenn’s merch stand at his gigs will know, I love talking about his
music, but that’s just the music geek in me. And Glenn, being
quintessentially English, would rather be peeled than partake in any
kind of self-promotion, so I’m sure he found it more enjoyable to have
me talk about the film and how great he is, as opposed to him doing
it. (And anyway, I’m better at it than he is! He even said to me,
“Amy, you’ve been doing press for 1 day and you’re already better at
it than I am and I’ve been doing it for 20 years.”) Don’t get me
wrong. Glenn is very funny and warm and charming when being
interviewed by the press, but when it comes to you know, mentioning
the website, promoting his upcoming projects, etc... his brain takes a
vacation and it doesn’t occur to him! So before every interview Glenn
and I did, I drummed into his brain, “Mention the websites. Talk about
the upcoming acoustic tour. Talk about the special features on the
DVD.” The whole purpose is to make sure you get across what you think
will make people buy the DVD!!! Don’t just sit there passively and
answer the odd question without thinking about the
listener/viewer/reader and what they might want to know about the
DVD/CD in order to buy it! (Am I being too American when I say that?
Oh well.)
Due to the re-scheduling of a
Channel 5 TV
interview, Glenn and I had two hours to kill before our
BBC London
Live radio interview. Since it was the day that the DVD was released,
I had the brilliant idea to drag him to the local
HMV to see if they
carried the DVD. As soon as we walked in the door, Glenn made a
beeline for anywhere but the DVD section, but I looked under G, under
T, under O, under Squeeze and found nothing. I asked a lovely Scottish
guy who worked there if he happened to stock the rather fantastic film
“Glenn Tilbrook: One For The Road” and he looked on the
computer and said, ‘We’re supposed to have two copies in, but I don’t
see them anywhere.’ Undefeated, I dragged Glenn the next few blocks
into the HMV at Oxford Circus and
there it was! In all its DVD Glory! Right next to the other REAL
DVD’s by Travis, Thin Lizzy, Justin Timberlake,etc... I was freaking
out. It had the English price tag on it and was wrapped in plastic,
just like all the other DVD’s. tee hee. I begged Glenn to take a
picture of me with the ‘nonchalantly perusing the DVD section and
then happening upon...wha? Why look! Hmmm...there is a film that I’d
like to see “Glenn Tilbrook: One For The Road” look’ on
my face!’ I then asked him to
pose
next to the DVD and I don’t think I’d be exaggerating when I say
that he would have rather had his eyes poked out with a hot stick but
in this case, I had to go for a little more Amy and a little less
Glenn at that point and I told him to suck it up and say, ‘cheese’ so
I could click a pic. As humiliating as it was for him, I’m glad he
humored me because it was a big moment for me! FIVE YEARS LATER
PEOPLE!!!!! It’s the least he could do right?
My
appearance on the Jonathan Ross show is up on the
PRESS page if you’d like to have a
listen to my 16 minutes of fame. Andy Warhol said we all get 15 and I
managed to eek out another cheeky minute! I was THRILLED to be
on JR’s show. For those non-Brits reading this, JR is a bit like the
Jay Leno of the UK. He’s one of the UK’s biggest broadcasters and
when I met him, it was like we had known each other for years. JR
hadn’t seen the film since the booking was made so last minute. (Many
frantic emails and calls were made, people stayed late at their
offices, I ran half way across London to deliver the DVD personally
and a lovely, lovely mate of mine put in a call to the bat phone and
made it all happen for me!) But, JR is a fan of Glenn’s and he said he
had heard many good things about the film! I sat down and JR and I
just talked about music. A
Joe Jackson
song was playing and we were both singing out loud and we just were
like two music geeks. Our conversation went something like: “Have you
heard this?” “No! Have you heard this?” “If you love that, you’ll love
this”. He was such a sweetie and the appearance couldn’t have gone
better. As JR said, ‘Glenn pulled a sickee’ at the last minute and
couldn’t make it, which was mortifying for me after all the strings I
pulled to book us both on the show, but I’m just thankful that they
went ahead and let some unknown chick from Dayton, Ohio that didn’t
actually write “Tempted” on the show. JR was super cool about
it all and even asked me the rather controversial question, “If the RV
was on fire, which Squeeze member would I rescue? Glenn or Chris?”
You’ll have to listen to the show to learn my answer! JR was very
generous with his time and we had such a laugh together. I want him to
give his sidekick the boot and hire me!!!! JR was such a pro -
mentioning he website and he did his very best to promote the film. I
worship him. My appearance caused my
inbox to be very full
afterwards from lovely, lovely Brits (and even some non-Brits
listening online elsewhere in the world) who told me that they enjoyed
the show and that they were going to order the film! I’d like to say a
big thanks to those who shared their lovely stories with me and to JR
and all his staff for being so amazing. I left with a bit of a crush
on our Jonathan.
The DVD is now out in Australia and
we got a great review in the
Sydney Morning Herald and, apparently, there will be more Aussie
press to come. (Thanks so much to
Karen
Conrad, who is promoting the film down under!) We
are posting new reviews/features often
so please check back. If you want to know what journos and bloggers
have to say then click here. There is
also a new link to my
Japanese distributor, the lovely
Yoko
(also featured in the new page up on the
Photo Gallery!) for any
press inquiries in Japan. Yoko also tirelessly promotes Glenn’s CD’s
and tours in Japan and sorted out shooting the Tokyo Q and A for the
special features on the DVD. (and a thanks to Tadd for the excellent,
enthusiastic hosting and translation!)
We also have a heap o'
new merchandise up on the
merch page. And, we've added a few
new links. We've joined the wacky music
crowd on
myspace.com/glennmovie and Glenn has his own solo page as well!
Check it out on
myspace.com/glenntilbrook! Many thanks to David Bailey who set the
spaces up for us. And, speaking of David, you need to check out his
excellent website
www.packetofthree.com. Also, Andy Metcalfe has a new fantastic
business and the website is
www.bluegrasscollege.org. It is a revolutionary online,
interactive learning resource for bluegrass players of all levels!
You’ll never learn bluegrass the same way again. It makes me want to
pick up the mandolin and start a-pickin’! You can actually watch the
world’s top players pick a bluegrass tune online and you’re able to
rewind it, pause it, see where the fingers are placed and see how the
pros play your fave tunes. If you need to improve your bluegrass
skills,
check out his website! It’s such a great idea and please tell any
friends who are in need of some schoolin’ too!
Many people have asked me what’s
next! Well, as far as the film goes, I’m still entering it into
festivals here and there and will be sure to let you know. I would
like to do a “One For The Road” series. Paul
McCartney: One For The Road or Neil Finn: One For The Road
sounds good to me. (One can dream!) I’m still working on some final
bits and bobs of press for Glenn when he’s next in the US. I’m still
trying to get the film on British Television and just having no luck
whatsoever - in spite of the great reviews
- which is frustrating to say the least. But, the major donkey work is
pretty much done believe it or not. After the fantastically fun and
successful UK radio appearances, I'm working on a new podcast that
you'll be able to download soon, so stay tuned to the website for
that. The success of the DVD hasn’t really sunk in with me yet because
I’m so immersed in the struggle of getting it out there. And when I
say success, I mean the fact that it’s out in the world and enjoyed by
the press and the majority of people who have seen it. I’ve received
the loveliest, most inspiring emails by people who have been genuinely
affected by the film and since it is likely that I will forever be in
‘the red’ over the film, it is really lovely to hear that people have
enjoyed the film and connected to it in some way.
And, if any of you in the US order
anything from
amazon.com with any frequency, please go to
glennmovie.com and click on the
amazon.com link before you browse and purchase! I get a very small
commission for any items bought from my site’s link to Amazon! Every
little bit helps me cover the expenses of the trip to London and of
course, the past five years making the film. I had to laugh because
not only do I get a commission for items purchased but I also get a
report telling me what people have bought. It’s fascinating to see
what people purchase. I was very happy to see that many people bought
the excellent
Squeeze: Song by Song
book
as well as
Chris
and
Glenn's
solo albums! You guys clearly have excellent taste! But, a Glenn fan out there also bought a book called
“Riasing Earthworms for Profit”. A note to that fan: let me know how
that works out because I could use some tips!
What’s new in Glenn’s future? We’re
working together on a new energy drink called GLENNERGY! It is a
combination of a secret ingredient and as Glenn said, ‘Various herbal
compounds’. We’re jumping on the bandwagon by developing a new energy
drink and I’m suggesting that Glenn work on a personal fragrance for
men as well. KIDDING! Seriously, Glenn is awaiting the birth of his
second child with Suzanne and he’s busy working on his solo album due
out in 2007. I’m still hustling my ideas for TV shows, other docos and
radio shows and will keep you posted on the latest news. Don’t forget
to go see Glenn’s solo acoustic at the
Jazz Café in London on May
23th! And,
buy
the DVD at the merch stand while you’re at it!
I’m very grateful for the support
that I’ve received in the past five years and wanted to let everyone
know that there is truly “nothing you can do that can’t be done”. And,
I’ll leave you with this quote that sums up how I feel about the film,
Glenn’s career, my career and life in general!
"What's money? A man is a success if
he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does
what he wants to do." - Bob Dylan
Preach it Bobby Z!!!
Amyx
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