Bob Edwards Weekend
December 19-20, 2009
HOUR ONE
Sean Lennon recently released a new CD, a soundtrack for a low-budget vampire flick called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead. Lennon composed the moody, instrumental score on his home computer and he runs Chimera Music out of his kitchen. Lennon is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and he talks with Bob about vampires, music, working with his mom, memories of his father and the highs and lows of being the famous son of very famous parents.
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with executive director Dan Gediman about the essay from stage, film and radio actor Lionel Barrymore. He won an Academy Award for “A Free Soul” (1931). He appeared in more than 200 movies, including It’s a Wonderful Life where he starred as Mr. Potter and he played Disko in Captains Courageous. Barrymore was also an accomplished author, composer, artist and director.
HOUR TWO
Terry Gilliam’s new movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is a fantastical morality tale set in the present. The film stars Christopher Plummer as the title character, musician Tom Waits as the devil, and Heath Ledger as a mysterious stranger. Ledger died during filming but Gilliam decided to have three other actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law & Colin Farrell) fill in, sharing the role. Gilliam is one of the founding members of Monty Python, the comedy troupe that celebrated its 40th anniversary in October.
Rey Fresco is a new band made up of old high school friends from southern California. Bob talks to the members about their multicultural backgrounds, their catchy sound and their unusual instrumentation. The band’s lead instrument is a 36-string harp played by an ethnomusicologist, while the drummer taught himself to play AND to make his own drums from surfboard fiberglass. Rey Fresco’s debut CD is called The People and it features reggae, pop, country, Latin and soul influences.