Photography courtesy of The John Fahey Trust, Bettina Herzner, Jessica Anne Cullingham, James Cullingham,
Igal Hecht, Stefan Grossman, Paul Kelly, Marc Minsker & Doug Whyte.
Produced with the support of The John Fahey Trust.
Spring 2013
Tamarack Productions is proud to release a feature documentary about the tremendously influential composer, guitarist, author and provocateur John Fahey (1939-2001).
Fahey is known as "the father of American Primitive Guitar." Some think of him as a foundational figure in American folk music. Fahey himself, however, insisted "I am not a volk, how can I be a volk? I'm from the suburbs." All jesting aside, Fahey, as both musician and musicologist, made a fundamental contribution to the global understanding of classical American musics such as Delta blues, Appalachian bluegrass and New Orleans jazz.
Fahey's own music stretches the boundaries of past musical traditions, creating a complex musical dialogue primarily with his steel stringed solo guitar. Fahey transcended his essential Delta influences combining bluegrass, Brazilian, classical, Indian, New Orleans, musique concrète, and gothic industrial ambience.
Participants in the film include Pete Townshend, Joey Burns of Calexico, Chris Funk of The Decemberists and many of Fahey's closest collaborators and friends, including renowned radio personality Barry Hansen aka Dr. Demento.
