Saturday, March 29, 2008

Dr. Lonnie Smith Sits Down for Killer B3 Documentary

Sorry, it's been way too long since our last update. Joe and I have been working to the bone with other projects. I've been promoting, Road to Standup. It's my documentary styled instructional DVD. You can checkout the blog for that @ roadtostandup.blogspot.com or you can find the DVD on my personal website @ www.murvseymour.com



Anyway, three years ago, Joe and I started our journey into the world of B3 music. The idea for Killer B3 literally started after seeing B3 sensation Shawn Brown at a small smoke filled bar outside Tampa Florida.

I have always been a big fan of music. Before watching Shawn Brown play in person, I really hadn't thought much about the organ or B3 music.

After only a few minutes of hearing Shawn on the Hammond Organ, I felt something. The sound of that C3 was getting all the way down to my bones. Every touch brought emotion. Everybody listening could feel it.



I wanted Joe to see it for himself. I ended up recording a few minutes on a small 4 meg camera designed for still photos. I've saved it for almost four years to remind us of how Killer B3 started. I was trying to find it on my computer. I'll post it once I find it.

One of the first B3 legends we wanted to sit down with was Dr. Lonnie Smith. Not knowing if Dr. Lonnie would make time for us, we just started sending emails and putting the word out to his camp. For various reasons, the time was never right for Dr. Lonnie.

We were lucky enough to meet him at a B3 summit Valentines day week in New York City in 2007. While we were able to tape Dr. Lonnie's performance, he wasn't feeling well enough for an interview.



Two weeks ago, Joe and I drove to Ft. Lauderdale Florida to meet the good Doctor. We didn't know what to expect. We didn't even know if he would have an organ inside his Florida home.

We knocked on the door. Dr. Lonnie answered jokingly with a fork in his hand, as if he was protecting his home. We were only planning on taking up an hour of his time, we ended up spending all afternoon with him.

Our concerns about whether an organ would be present quickly went away. We saw a B3 in almost every room. Some rooms had several B3 Who knows what he had stuffed in the closets.

We can't wait to share the Dr. Lonnie experience with you. We talked about music, passion, aging, life and the future of the B3 and organ music. At one point the good Doctor stood at the foot of his bed and started passionately playing a nearby B3. It was magic.

This summer we plan to wrap up shooting for Killer B3. There's a good chance we may do some shooting in Italy. We just have a few more elements to capture.

We've come a long way, especially for two guys who started this journey with a blank slate.

We hope to have a website up and runing in the next two months. Meanwhile, if you're still hanging on, check us out on myspace. Hell, why hot become our friend.  Like Killer B3 on facebook too.

Peace
Murv & Joe
Producers Killer B3
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