T.T. Tucker, a.k.a. Tom Diventi, as Himself

This weekend is jam-packed with music, so what better time to profile my dear friend T.T. Tucker?

I am not sure when I first met Tucker. It was at least 10 years ago, and I am sure a good bit of alcohol was involved. I probably met him through Thom Hickling, or it may have been the other way around. Or it may have been through Anne Fulweiler at Baltimore Theater Project. It's a mystery.

I have always known him as Tucker, and that is what he likes to go by, but as more people hear about, "Smalltimore," and see the trailer, I have had more than one person say, "Tom Diventi?! I know that guy!!!" Said people are often musicians, late forties to early fifties, and won't give me much more information than some sort of vague, "it was 'back in the day'," kind of answer. It is probably better to not know the details, so I don't press the issue.

Again, don't really remember how it came about (and this was only 10 years ago, not 30, so maybe those people aren't being as purposely elusive with the details as I sometimes think they are), but I hired Tucker and his band, the Bum Rush Band, to play at my second annual holiday party. The 10th and final one was in December 2007, when I announced I would be making this movie, which was nearly precisely the moment when my previous life-as-I-had-known-it vaporized. The place where I work my day job and had that party is a very ornate Victorian mansion in Mount Vernon. Tall gilt mirrors over marble fireplace mantles, a Knabe square grand piano that is likely older than the house itself, one of the most beautiful chandeliers I have ever seen, decoupage on the ceilings, each room has a different pattern AND different border pattern in the parquet floors... you get the idea... and every guest dressed as if they are going to the Baltimore version of Oscar night...

Enter T.T.Tucker & the Bum Rush Band.

I have a magnet on my refrigerator which holds up a photograph of my parents. It says, "The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed."

T.T.Tucker plays an upscale party in a turn-of-the-century mansion. This ought to be interesting.

It was awesome, so awesome that Tucker & the boys played every holiday party of mine thereafter. The first year of the party, in 1998, I had a more conservative, soft rock sort of band. They were lovely, but I don't think a single person danced. Tucker arrived year two, and played the final 9 of 10 parties. What was so great about this seeming miss-match of performer and venue is that to me, it represented all things Baltimore. Like most people, my friends and acquaintances love to dress to the nines, sip champagne over great food and conversation... generally speaking, who doesn't like to play grown-up? And how many times a year do you actually get to do so? But the beauty, the REAL beauty of being a grown-up is never having to hear, "while you're under my roof..." again, because now it is YOUR roof. And under my roof, the rule is, you gotta have a good time.

So, being a grown-up, I can have ice cream for breakfast. Stay up late. Skip the lima beans. And hire a cow-punk/southern rock/rockabilly/whatever you want to call them , loud, fun band for my hoity-toity holiday party! And it worked! It really worked. I think having Tucker and the guys play kept the party legitimately Baltimore. Here are a whole bunch of people who don't spend a lot of time in high heels or suit jackets. I think if I had a string trio playing chamber music, we would all have felt like imposters. But instead, having Tucker there I feel made everyone relax, have fun, and be able to be themselves. Some years Tucker would dress up, too. Some years he'd show up with his signature jeans jacket with the sleeves cut off. It didn't matter to me. T.T.Tucker and the Bum Rush Band made my now-legendary parties just that. They wouldn't have been the same without him.

Tucker's role in "Smalltimore," is not huge, but he is so perfectly himself in it. He ad-libbed more than any other actor in the film, and I let him, because he was always natural and always funny. He and the Bum Rush boys - Jamie Wilson, Wayne Werner, Craig Hopwood, and Stevie Cecil - were so helpful and cooperative in helping Phil Calvert to get a grasp on the role of Thom, which was based loosely on their deceased bandmate, Thom Hickling. Tucker and the guys told Phil loads of stories about Thom, practiced songs with him on their own time before we started production, and even let him sit in on a live gig at the Cat's Eye Pub. I know that working through this story with a make-believe Thom had to have been a bit tough for Tucker. It was tough for me, but Thom was Tucker's best friend. He never complained about that, though, even when I asked. He keeps those things to himself. Though you might hear it in a song of his.

Tucker & the guys are featured performing songs in Smalltimore such as "How Did We Survive," "That Was Then/This is Now," and "Garden of Stone," as well as contributing several other songs as background music. They did me the huge favor of recording two songs that I wanted specifically for the movie - "America is One Tough Town," which, when Tucker first wrote and started playing that at gigs, replaced "That Was Then/This Is Now" as my favorite T.T.Tucker song. You can also hear it on the trailer (click on top video at the right). As a matter of fact, you can hear "That Was Then" on the original teaser, which is the video on the bottom right.

The other song they recorded for me is, "The Other Side", a song that Tucker wrote for Thom after Thom died in December 2005. The day after Thom died I went out of town and was gone for almost a month, so I missed 2 of the 3 memorial gatherings that different groups of Thom's friends and co-workers had for him. Tucker and the band played these parties, and played this song at one or both of them. I was back in time for the final party, but by then Tucker decided they couldn't play that song live anymore, it was just too sad and would bring the house down, not in a good way, and it was just too much for Tucker and the guys personally. So I have never, ever heard that song performed live, and I doubt I ever will. But "Smalltimore" is dedicated to Thom, and I really wanted it for the soundtrack. Again without complaint, Tucker and the guys worked hard to get the song done in time for me to edit it into the film in time for the December 27th (third anniversary of Thom's death) screening of the rough cut of the movie. I know it was a sacrifice of time for all of them, and just plain not an easy thing to do, emotionally. Words can't express my appreciation to Tucker, Jamie, Craig, Stevie and Wayne for doing that. It is a beautiful song, and it breaks my heart every time.

But on to happier things. T.T.Tucker & the Bum Rush Band are playing at the Cat's Eye Pub in Fells Point this Sunday night, March 15th. I'll be there, so come on down and say hi, have a Natty Bo, throw a few dollars in the tip bucket! They are there the third Sunday of every month. Click on their link under the "Partners in Crime" section on the right to view their web page and link to their songs. Whether you know him as T.T.Tucker or as Tom Diventi, there is no denying that he is a piece of work, and a piece of work that can play the hell out of a song.


p.s. Also on the musical menu this weekend, Jen Swartout plays tonight at 9:00pm El Rancho Grande in Hampden; Lawnchair (with drummer Jimmy Brink) plays tonight at 10:00pm at the Waterfront Hotel in Fells Point; I may make it to one or both of those, after attending the Shorts Screening at the Creative Alliance. And, The Remnants also play tonight at Armadillo's in Annapolis. Click on their links to the right, pick your pleasure and go out and have a good time tonight! Also keep your eyes peeled for performances by Reina Williams and Lazerbitch, they have each had several performances pop up lately at places such as Joe Squared.

Third Time, Getting More Charming

The strangest thing happened a couple of days ago. I started editing, taking a third pass at the movie... and I am not even at the threshold of a deadline!!! I mean, there is one coming up pretty quick, but it is not even the 8th hour, let alone the eleventh. Hmm, I wondered, what gives?

Well, it is not that hard to figure out, really. It is, I am, all about the music right now. Recently Libby, "Lazerbitch" Picken and The Degenerettes joined the cause, and I couldn't wait to find a spot to fit their tunes into. Then on Saturday I went to see The Remnants perform at Cat's Eye (they are there again on 3/27, you must go!!!). Tom Boynton, their singer, songwriter, self-appointed Benevolent Dictator, sent me several shout-outs regarding the movie during their sets. I don't care who you are, having the band say your name onstage is a good feeling, not to mention boku cool points. (Do people say "boku" anymore? Damn, I may just have sent myself into negative points...)

It is simply astounding the difference that music can make when it is perfectly paired with a scene. It is hard to figure out the sound levels, so I have been watching other romantic comedies that have bar and restaurant scenes to help me make educated guesses. Another lesson learned... don't forget that if there is supposed to be music in the background, have your actors talk loudly during taping (when you, of course, have silence in the background).

But what has been happening this week has been very cool... I find myself actually craving to watch a scene that I know I have found the exact perfect song for, when as of just a few weeks ago I was pretty sick of looking at the whole thing and was getting bored of it. But now I have found yet another challenge, another puzzle, and as the pieces fall into place I find it immensely satisfying.

Another facet of that satisfaction is me wanting to make dead certain that all of these musicians who have gotten on board are, in the end, absolutely proud of being associated with "Smalltimore." That, in regards to the actors and crew, was a driving force during the first months of editing. I hadn't expected or thought about that happening again with the musicians. But it is just what I needed to happen.

I think it was seeing Tom onstage saying my name (now I just have to get him to say the name of the film :) ) that did it for me. I've known his music for a decade and have such respect for him and his talent. To see him so tickled, and proud, when I told him I want to use at least six of The Remnants songs, well... it touched me. He hasn't seen anything more than the trailer, and he barely knows me, and he agreed whole-heartedly to do this. I can't let him down.

The last week and a half have been lots of fun, I have been out almost every night, catching up with friends old and new (and the Steelers kicking this period off by winning the Super Bowl for me - that's right, just for me - didn't hurt my mood one bit). I have been so far off the grid for so long, or at least it feels that way, that I was afraid that when I finally came up for air that all my friends would be mad at me or have forgotten me altogether. It has been quite the opposite, and additionally my social skills have not seemed to degrade at all, so that is a good thing. Gives me hope, because I need to get back to business soon, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then it will be time to start narrowing down the festivals to submit to. It is all good, and though my sleep patterns have still not quite recovered, when I do find myself watching the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling over my bed fade in the wee hours, I am often aware there is a smile on my face.

The Wire

As in, "Down to the..." I did manage to submit Smalltimore to the Maryland Film Festival on the final day possible. Since my wireless still wasn't (and isn't) working, and my parking lot was a sheet of ice so I couldn't move my car, I had to walk my freezing butt half a mile to the Enoch Pratt Library and stand at a computer to submit through WithoutaBox.com, then walk another half mile or more to the main Post Office building so I could get it postmarked that day.

From there I walked down to the Inner Harbor, just cuz I COULD, now that I had met my deadline. I burned a gift card at Barnes & Noble, had lunch, and cabbed it home.

One of my purchases was Carrie Fisher's new autobiographical, "Wishful Drinking." I read the whole thing that evening, which was not a big feat, it was less than 200 pages and a pretty quick read. It was good, but having read her novels I was a little disappointed. She is my favorite author. Yep, Princess Leia, believe it or not. She wrote "Wishful Drinking" after going through electro-convulsive therapy (which she now swears by, despite it erasing huge chunks of her memory). She has spent most of her life as a mess, so I am glad for her as a person that she is finally feeling better. But as a writer... I think she was better when she was miserable.

That's the way it seems to go for most artists, though. I know that I usually do my own best writing when I am terribly upset or depressed. My problem, artistically speaking, is that I am hardly ever all that upset or depressed. But I have been told that I am a good storyteller. It took me a long time how to figure out how to tell a long, good story (i.e., write a screenplay) without suffering much for it. Well, maybe that is not the right way of putting it. Many of the storylines in Smalltimore are based on my own experiences, and not all of them were fun to go through. But I think (hope) I have successfully found a way to put a funny spin on even the tragic moments. Time and audiences will be the judges of that.

I have been listening a lot lately to one of my favorite local bands, The Remnants, who are on board to be on the soundtrack. I first got to know their music within my first year of living in Baltimore, over a decade ago. My first friends in Baltimore, Joe, Chris, and Bradley (aka The Wine Guys) used to take me down to the Cat's Eye Pub in Fells Point to hear The Remnants and other live music. I have never seen a bad band there, and there is never a cover charge.

Until a couple weeks ago, I only owned one Remnants CD, "Double Wide", but now I also have their latest works, "American Grit" and "As/Is", and just yesterday received in the mail "Songs for Sale", which I bought online at cdbaby.com. It usually takes me listening to a CD the whole way through a couple times before I know if I like it or not, but it doesn't take me long to warm up to anything by The Remnants. It is all good stuff, but my personal favorite is still "Double Wide", probably largely due to those tunes taking me back to my early days in Charm City. Maybe I am just remembering things the way I want to, but I feel like I didn't have so much responsibility then, just regular work stuff and the rest of my time was spent having fun. That is what "Double Wide" sounds like to me, too. Those songs are either just plain fun, like, "Ain't Got a Lot," or some of them are very sweet ballads, my favorite being, "Take This Ride."

Some reviews I have read online about "American Grit" tout this CD as The Remnants' most personal and most political work to date. It is rocking good stuff, with a lot of energy and musical depth. Almost all of the songs are at a pretty quick pace, but I prefer the slower ones, and on this CD I think my favorite is, "Everything's Good," though I really love, "Happy, Too" as well. A lot of the songs on "American Grit" make references to the war(s), politicians, etc, but not so much that they are depressing or anything.

I don't know what I am trying to say here, because Tom Boynton (who writes all of The Remnants' songs) kind of disproves my earlier point, as his pre-9/11 stuff is just as good as his post-9/11 work. I prefer the non-political songs, because for me, music is an escape from the crappy things in life. But as an artist, and especially as a writer, I understand the need to express it. I very recently came across a journal I started immediately after 9/11. At the time, I couldn't really talk to anyone about it, it was just too much. But I wrote about it, a lot. Some people exorcise their demons by painting, dancing, working out, whatever. I write. Reading over those things that I wrote seven and a half years ago... I had forgotten how much it hurt, how engulfing those times were, how black, and bleak. Writing it all down was what helped me to forget that pain, but also what helps me to remember it.

I'm not sure how this all connects, I am just being very stream-of-consciousness right now, because, for a short window, I have the luxury to do so. I still have many, many hours worth of editing to do on my next pass at Smalltimore, but I am taking a little break this week before hitting it again. Last night I went to the CAMM Salon/CineLounge at the Creative Alliance, saw some friends and met some new contacts, and then afterwards went out for drinks with my friend Kerra. It was almost like I had a life again! And tonight I'll see Eric for a bit, tomorrow sushi with Greg, Thursday Allison Pasarew's art exhibit at Dougherty's, Friday drinks with Caren at the Wind-Up Space, and Saturday, guess what, The Remnants are playing at Cat's Eye again! So, you should come out take a listen for yourself. Don't forget to bring some bills for the tip jar (don't be stingy, you get in for free!) and to buy a CD if you are so inclined. I promise you will not be disappointed!

School of Rock

Argh! Wireless problems AGAIN. I am actually writing this from my neighbor's house, as I had some email that I HAD to get out for my other job (the paying one). It is probably for the best, though, because it is really coming down to the wire and I have to be completely done with this round of editing by tomorrow. I have put more than 40 hours into it since Saturday, including 12 straight hours of color correction on Wednesday with Michelle. She has a helluva lotta patience, I tell you what.

Watching the whole thing through with her, veeeerrryyy slowly, I saw some more little glitches I wanted to correct, and a WHOLE lot of sound issues. So yesterday was watching the whole thing straight through in real time and making notes, including what songs might possibly fit in scenes I had not put any music in yet, and THEN 8 straight hours of dealing with sound and songs and a few more video cuts. So almost 10 hours yesterday, and I'll probably log that many today.

Last night I stopped at almost 4:00am, about halfway through the movie. Tonight (I can't seem to get any work done until the sun goes down, I don't know why, I just can't seem to concentrate before that)should go a bit faster, as I already have most of the music laid in in the second half. But the sound is terrible, I have everything maxed out because I wasn't paying attention to the little meter that tells you that when I first did it. I am sure there are much more technical terms for all this, but I don't know them and it will only confuse those of you who might if I try to guess.

For a movie like "Smalltimore," you don't really realize how much music goes into a feature length film until you are the one trying to lay out this giant puzzle and make it all work. I have about 85 to 90 scene changes. Almost all of them require some sort of music in the background. Think about that.

See, when I was first mulling over how much music I would need, I thought, 95 minute movie, songs average 2-3 minutes, not every scene needs music, so, what, 20 songs? Maybe 30? I have close to 30 songs laid in already and can probably use 20 more, PLUS some scoring inbetween. Songs might average 2-3 minutes, but most scenes are 30 to 90, MAYBE 120 seconds in a movie. Lucky for me I have some longer scenes, or scenes that kind of connect so I can cheat and bleed one song from one scene to the next. It is a LOT of work.

The biggest nightmare, though, is layering all the sound. No wonder the pros charge so much! In any given bar scene I have to layer the dialogue of the characters, room tone, background chatter, and music. The levels of all of these have to be measured out so that it sounds natural, but so that you can still understand all of the dialogue. If the microphone wasn't in the right place or if the actor moves their head around (away from the mic) then you really have to screw around with it, sometimes phrase by phrase or even word by word. And if the music is a live band instead of just piped-in bar music, that is a whole 'nuther animal.

Eventually, I will probably have a pro take a pass at it, but for now, it is just me. Have to do my taxes first and see if I have any money left over for such luxuries (not bloody likely). But though it is very difficult, I am glad to have my hands all over it. While we were doing color correction Wednesday, Michelle asked me if I felt I knew a lot more now than I did before we started production. I laughed and said, "You're joking, right? I am still learning something new every single day!" And that is what I love about it, even the really crappy stuff that is mind-numbingly tedious. At the end of all this (assuming there is an end to this project) I will have learned more than I could have possibly imagined I ever would have. I know this to be a fact, because I still have a long way to go and I have already learned that much.

11:15

By now you know I am beyond an 11th hour kind of person (as is almost every artist friend I have, so I don't feel too guilty about it - I always deliver), and I am finally back in full edit mode. I spent more than seven hours straight last night going over the first 65 minutes of the movie, and I think I lopped off 5 to 8 minutes, which is GREAT. It is so much tighter already. Today I have to go through the remaining 35 minutes and I hope to slice another 4-5 minutes off there. I've only lost a few lines that weren't working, it is mostly shortening pauses or taking out a few things that were redundant or overly expositional. I tell you what, it is a LOT tighter already, and I can't bear the thought of ever watching the rough cut straight through again, it makes me cringe. I am very happy for what it was - a rough cut - but it is time to move on to the next level.

Then I have to lay in the music, and I know that I will need a whole 'nuther pass at the movie after this one because I have been bombarded with Baltimore musicians wanting to be on the soundtrack, on top of the ones I have solicited, and now I have way too much good stuff to choose from! It is a GREAT problem to have, though. I am happy with the movie, I think it is as entertaining romantic comedy with some great performances, and I think it is a little different in how many local artists' work I managed to show off through the course of it. But bottom line, it is a romantic comedy, not anything groundbreaking - but the soundtrack is going to be OFF THE HOOK.

Some of these musicians are my friends, some are friendly acquaintances, and some I have just met. I am so glad to have the opportunity to show them off as well as the visual artists in the movie. When I first started making friends within the creative community of Baltimore, almost 11 years ago, I was so blown away by the talent here, on all fronts. I can't tell you how many people I have met, and still know, and sometimes I just look at them and wonder, "How the hell aren't you famous?" as well as, "How lucky am I to know you?"

Music to My Ears

Okay, the only thing cuter (and more addicting) than cute kitten videos is baby panda bear videos. Argh.

Gotta buckle down this week and whip out these edits, so I hope to get completely snowed in. Michelle is helping me with color correction and other issues one week from today, which is great, I need that deadline.

More good news on the soundtrack front. I'm talking with The Remnants and also Tatiana "Reina" Williams, and it looks like they are on board. I'm almost afraid the soundtrack is going to outshine the movie! With them, T.T.Tucker & the Bum Rush Band, Joyce J. Scott, Jennifer "Juice" Swartout, and a few other locals, this thing is going to be off the HOOK. I'm so psyched.