From Prehistory to Present

IMDb lists it as 2002, so I suppose perhaps it was the year before that, 2001, when Aaron Crozier brought a stack of storyboards to my and Pace's apartment in University City that outlined the plot of a caveman movie called Grumboon. At the time, the both of us were in a band called the Baysayboos. My friend Suzanne had brought Aaron to one of our shows, and now Aaron wanted us to write and record the music for this new caveman movie he was directing. He had bona fide storyboards! This was for real!

Since the movie was set in caveman days, there was to be no dialogue (cavemen can't talk). Instead, it was to be a "silent" film with a musical score. After raising the money, shooting the film (much of it at Elephant Rocks State Park) and making a final edit, Aaron handed a copy over to Pace. Pace ended up writing most of the score, in of all places, a hotel room in Toronto. At the old Radio Penny Studio on Lemp the Baysayboos recorded the score synced-up to the movie. Grumboon premiered at the Omnimax at the Science Center where Aaron worked. Later, the Baysayboos live-accompanied Grumboon at the Tivoli for the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Grumboon is a prehistoric film in more than one way. Grumboon is prehistoric too in the sense that it's the prehistoric R&P MPO. The score for Grumboon is, for two of R&P MPO's current members, the very first movie score we wrote and recorded, and the very first movie score we performed live in accompaniment.

Next Monday evening we're screening Grumboon at 10PM in addition to three other locally produced and directed short films of which all or some of the ensemble has had a musical part. After the screening of these local films we'll play our scores in accompaniment to three Buster Keaton shorts, including our most recently-composed score to Keaton's The Goat.

Prehistory to present ... I'll probably get at least a touch nostalgic about all of it.

Local films + 3 Keaton Shorts

10PM: Aaron Crozier's Grumboon (musical score by the Baysayboos), Mike Pagano's Chicken & Waffles (musical score by R&P MPO), Hugo Fleming's The Cask of Amantillado (musical score by Heather Rice) and Cody Stokes' Heartland Transport (musical score by R&P MPO)

11PM: The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra performs its scores in accompaniment to Buster Keaton's The High Sign, The Goat and One Week (One Week score composed by Kevin O'Connor)

Monday, September 12th
10PM Movie Time
El Leñador
3124 Cherokee St. STL MO

21+, free admission (but donations welcome and appreciated)