STARRED AS A "MUST-SEE FAVORITE" IN BALTIMORE CITY PAPER'S FILM-FEST FRENZY ISSUE!

When the average music-lover thinks of soul and funk music of the 60s and 70s, the first cities that spring to mind are probably Memphis and Detroit. Perhaps because it never boasted a record label with anything close to the success of a Stax or Motown, the Seattle scene of the same era didn’t explode onto the national consciousness. By the time of the disco era, few of the artists involved had made music their career, let alone found fame. For a time, it looked as though time would forget this entire scene – all of the long studio hours and ecstatic performances existing only for one quickly fading moment.

 

As the galvanizing Wheedle’s Groove documents, all this has changed in the last decade, as a few intrepid DJs and music lovers began hunting down first the vinyl traces left by the Seattle scene, and then the living musicians themselves. Specifically, the film follows vinyl collector DJ Mr. Supreme as he describes his first epiphanies digging for obscure (and now wildly valuable) funk 45s to the many knockings on strangers’ doors and cold calls that led to compilation CDs, reunion shows, and revived interest in acts like Black on White Affair, The Soul Swingers, and Cold, Bold & Together.

 

The fascinating and sometimes outrageous story of Seattle funk does wrap in cultural luminaries such as The Black Panthers, Quincy Jones, Sir Mix-a-Lot, and, umm… Kenny G. That said, at its core it’s a film about musicians that, unlike many of their counterparts at Motown and Stax, didn’t find fame or fortune – but kept their dreams alive. Both their musical legacy and this film are more exciting for it. It’s a lively, endlessly entertaining look at what goes into making a music scene – a film that may even jar some memories and start some discussions about buried treasures in Baltimore’s own musical history. (Eric Allen Hatch)

After graduating from The University of Texas with degrees in math and computer science, director/producer Jennifer Maas warily left Austin for a job in Seattle. After three years, she decided to pursue film, started Evil Bunny Films, and has since worked on features, music videos, and commercials as an editor, a producer, and a director. She co-produced Lynn Shelton's film Humpday, which premiered in competition at Sundance in 2009, and most recently produced Treatment, starring Humpday’s Josh Leonard. This is her feature directorial debut.