Friday, September 19, 2003
Big names in music part of film fest
By John W. Barry

Poughkeepsie Journal

There is a scene in the new documentary, ''Go Further,'' starring
Woody Harrelson, in which the jam band String Cheese Incident
performs a song in a parking lot about ''being in the mountains, driving
up in the hills,'' according to band member Michael Kang.

''We did a funny little parking lot scene,'' Kang, who plays violin and
electric and acoustic mandolin in the Boulder, Colo.-based quintet, said
about shooting the song, ''Up the Canyon.'' ''But we filmed it in
Columbus, Ohio. There were absolutely no mountains. We were looking
and looking around.''

One of many

The String Cheese Incident is just one band in a group of musicians
to appear in the documentary, which has sold out three screenings at
the Woodstock Film Festival this week, and is one of many movies in
the festival to feature music. ''Go Further'' examines alternative and
environmentally-conscious lifestyles through the eyes of Harrelson and
a group of his friends as they travel on a bio-fueled bus.

''I think, philosophically and what he stands for, and all the work he's
been putting toward it, this is something that we're totally behind,'' Kang
said of Harrelson's outspoken approach on behalf of environmental
causes. ''It takes his vision to get the message out there.''

"Go Further'' also features the music of Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead,
Dutchess County resident Natalie Merchant, Dave Matthews, Medeski,
Martin & Wood and many others.

Other music-related films include ''Bluegrass Journey,'' which is being
shown Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Catskill Mountain Theater in Hunter
and looks at the contemporary bluegrass music scene. This
documentary was filmed largely at the Grey Fox bluegrass festival in
Ancramdale and was made by a husband-and-wife filmmaking team
from Columbia County.

In ''Godfathers and Sons,'' set for screenings at the Bearsville Theater
tonight at 9:30 p.m. and at the Catskill Mountain Theater on Saturday at
9 p.m., blues legends and hip-hop artists come together in Chicago to
make an album. This documentary, part of Martin Scorsese's ''Blues
Series,'' features Chuck D of Public Enemy, archival footage of Howlin'
Wolf and original performances by Ike Turner, among others.

For insight on the making of a record from the perspective of a
recording engineer, check out ''Tom Dowd & the Language of Music,''
also Saturday at 9 p.m., at the Bearsville Theater. This film examines the
evolution of sound recording by examining the world of Tom Dowd, a
renowned sound engineer. The film includes appearances by Ray
Charles, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band and many other rock
'n' roll heavyweights.

Live music staged by the film festival at the Colony Cafe in Woodstock
includes Lillias White and Joshua Pearl tonight at 9 p.m. and Dean
Wareham, founding member of the band Luna, on Saturday night at 10
p.m. White is in the film ''Pieces of April'' and Wareham is in the film,
''Piggie,''both of which are being screened at this year's film festival.

The Woodstock Film Festival runs through Sunday. For a complete
schedule, visit www.woodstockfilmfestival.com.