David Licata | May 4, 2012
When I was looking for subjects for A Life’s Work, I always considered a collector in search of a holy grail object. In the early days I thought I’d like to include someone like a film historian searching for, say, London After Midnight, the lost silent film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. [...]
David Licata | May 1, 2012
A couple of years ago I met with an editor about editing the sample for A Life’s Work. The conversation eventually turned to music for the film. One idea I told her I had idea was of staging a choir performance of Is My Living in Vain? Shooting the choir as it rehearsed and eventually [...]
David Licata | April 11, 2012
Here’s me playing an Aria by Joh. Anton Logy (1650-1721), recorded at the Licata Studios (my bathroom). It’s the first piece most classical guitarists learn. Which is to say it’s very easy to play. Which is not to say that it isn’t beautiful. Of all the tunes I play, this one is often a favorite, [...]
David Licata | January 3, 2012
There I was, sitting on the downtown D train, completely transfixed by Steve Reich’s “Electric Guitar Phase,” when a man walked toward me handing out fliers. I caught a glimpse of one and had to take one. This may look familiar if you happened to read a post in July 2011, Why Is This Pinned [...]
David Licata | December 23, 2011
Happy holidays from A Life’s Work to you and yours! Me playing Erik Satie’s Gymnopiede No. 1. This is just my old, cheap guitar, recorded in my home. More classical guitar music here, here, and here.
David Licata | December 21, 2011
This is as timely this year as it was in 2010, so with that in mind, here it is again. I asked Robert Darden of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project for a list of some of his favorite gospel Christmas songs, and true to form, Robert delivered the goods and then some. The songs [...]
David Licata | November 29, 2011
David Licata | October 25, 2011
Here are three photos. Take a look at them, let them cycle through a couple of times before you read the text below the photos. What do you think of them as photos? The small photo is of gospel musician Blind Willie Johnson. The other two photographs are of blues musician Robert Johnson. Those are [...]
David Licata | October 11, 2011
Dear Filmmaker, Were you nervous before your first interview with Paolo Soleri? I mean, he’s kind of a rock star, isn’t he? R.C. in AZ Dear R.C. in AZ Yes, I think he is, and yes, I was nervous before I met Soleri for the first time. And the second time. And the third, fourth, [...]
David Licata | September 13, 2011
When I deliver the elevator pitch of A Life’s Work– “a documentary about people engaged in projects they may not see completed in their lifetimes” –I’m usually asked to describe the projects. Sometimes the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project takes some explaining, and I think I know why: when we think of recorded music (or [...]
