00:00We're alive!
00:01We're alive!
00:02Hello and welcome to another episode of EOM Presents.
00:05I am Douglas Davison, founder and head writer for Elements of Madness.
00:09Today EOM contributor A.J. Fryer sits down with director James Keech and producer Michael
00:16Lehman to discuss the documentary, Greg Ullman, The Music of My Soul, which is coming to select
00:21theaters on June 17th.
00:23It's a four year project which is finally coming to fruition and they discuss Lehman's
00:28proximity to the project as Allman's manager, Keech's sense of discovery in the development
00:33of the project, and much more over the course of the six minute conversation.
00:37Now do be advised that for most theaters this is being advertised as a one night event, so
00:45make sure to check the official site for the documentary because there are few places that
00:50are advertising additional screenings on June 18th, so make sure to check your local listings
00:55before you head out to the theater and make your plans.
00:58Now, on to the episode.
01:03Hey James and Michael, how are you guys doing today?
01:07Good A.J.
01:07How about yourself?
01:09Doing good.
01:09Thank you for joining me.
01:11So, James, the first question is for you.
01:13How long have you been involved with Greg Ullman, The Music of My Soul?
01:18I would say four years, right Michael?
01:21Four or five years, yeah?
01:22Yeah.
01:24And Michael, this question is for you.
01:27With the documentary coming out, what kind of tough directions or anything that you had
01:34to take reliving some of these moments from Greg Ullman's life and being the manager as
01:42well?
01:42How were you responsive to this documentary as well?
01:48James has created a beautiful documentary that has brought up a ton of emotions again in my life.
01:54Honestly, it's been very, very emotional.
01:57Every time I watch it, and I've seen it many, many times with James, it brings tears to my eyes
02:04because I see, first and foremost, a friend, someone that I was so close with and I adored as a
02:12friend and admired.
02:14And then second is someone that I collaborated with and worked with for 14 years that we went through a
02:23lot together.
02:24And I relive the great music, I relive Greg getting sick, I relive the closing years of his life, both
02:35celebrating
02:36it and feeling the pain that I'm going to lose a dear, dear friend.
02:41And James, while working on this documentary, what new aspects of the Greg Ullman's life did you
02:52recollect with this documentary as well?
02:56Well, I would say for me, the whole film experience was new.
03:01I knew of their music, but I didn't know of Greg's personal story.
03:05And when I started doing the research on it, I connected very deeply with his relationship with his brother.
03:10I have an older brother, Stacey, who's an actor and and I've been very close with over the years.
03:15And and the idea of losing my brother at that that age, at formative age, just before they become the
03:20biggest band in the world,
03:23really got me. And the the so many so many things, the integration piece of him
03:31integrate, having one of the first integrated bands in the South.
03:34I grew up in a small town in small South Texas where the black people, white people,
03:39they all live in different sections of the town.
03:41And it always bothered me because we we play football together, but we weren't supposed to have dinner together.
03:45And it's just, you know, that that and Greg was totally against all that.
03:50And he was growing up in the South where that kind of stuff was common, you know, you know,
03:56black water fountains and white water fountains.
03:58And Greg says, no, that's bullshit. That's not who I am.
04:02And his influence was where black singers, Otis Redding, Floyd Miles, Hank Moore, Little Anthony Imperials and, you know, and
04:10so forth.
04:10And so that, too. And then I have addiction in my family and the way Greg fought his addiction, admitted
04:19to it, showed the world himself at his worst.
04:24You know, I mean, and the irony of him celebrating the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, getting the greatest
04:28honor you can get as a musician,
04:30being the low point of your life, you know, in terms of that that that conflict is a filmmaker is
04:37tremendous.
04:38So it was a great canvas for me to and to to paint paint with and a great character for
04:44me to portray.
04:46And this question is for both of you.
04:48How have you responded to the response that this documentary has gotten from festivals or venues that it's played at?
04:56What has been the most rewarding response that you guys have gotten from this documentary?
05:03I'll start with that. So what I would say is we had we had the grand world premiere two nights
05:09ago in New York City.
05:10And tonight is the one and only other premiere, which is in Macon, Georgia, before it appears nationwide across the
05:17country next Wednesday in over 200 theaters.
05:21And the response has been overwhelming. The movie played incredibly well.
05:26There were a lot of music industry professionals, film professionals and such at the premiere and some that had screened
05:35it ahead of time.
05:35And the response is that James overwhelmingly has created something that is revealing, beautiful, dramatic, that I think the world
05:48is going to love.
05:49Because not only do you get to to see never before seen archival footage and hear never before heard interviews
05:57with Greg,
05:59but you get to explore the inner person of Greg in a most revealing way.
06:06And James, how about yourself?
06:12Well, all I know is that when Greg's children saw the movie, then they interviewed the movie that I felt
06:18like they were going to be the toughest audience because it's their father.
06:23And they said, thank you, James, this movie is so beautiful.
06:28It's a great tribute.
06:30And you showed all the you showed the gnarly truths, warts and all, you know, because they experienced some tough
06:36times during childhood.
06:37And then you told it in a poetic and a loving way.
06:42But you told the truth.
06:43And I'm sure Dad would have been proud of it.
06:44That's the best review you can get when you're making a movie about somebody's family.
06:48And what's next for the documentary as well?
06:52So it will roll out June 17th across the country to 200 theaters.
06:58Greg Allman Documentary dot com will point you towards a theater that's near you.
07:02Subsequent to that, I am sure it's going to hit streamers.
07:06And we have plans for the future taking this around the world.
07:11I think this is going to be really an impactful documentary.
07:15Well, guys, thank you so much for joining me today.
07:17It's been fun.
07:18And congratulations on the documentary.
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