COWTOWN BALLROOM...SWEET JESUS!
Robert Butler KC Star 5/10/09
Rollout parties begin for a rockin' local doc about Cowtown Ballroom
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
The Kansas City Star
Joe Heyen is just about beside himself with giddy anticipation.
After nearly two years of work and a not-inconsiderable investment of his own money (he has maxed out his credit cards), Heyen’s documentary, “Cowtown Ballroom ... Sweet Jesus,” is ready for its debut.
The film opens exclusively at the Tivoli Theatre on May 22.
After that Heyen and his partner, cinematographer/editor Anthony Ladesich, will take “Cowtown” on the road for a series of screenings paired with concerts by some of the rock ’n’ rollers who performed at the legendary emporium at 31st Street and Gillham Road.
“In the last few days I’ve gotten feelers from Connecticut and San Francisco about putting on a movie/concert,” Heyen said.
“And Dan Moriarty, one of the owners of Good Karma” — the company that ran Cowtown — “was in Memphis talking to the guy in charge of all the Elvis businesses, and even that guy had heard of the movie.
“So there’s buzz out there about it.”
Not bad for a rather grungy music venue that operated for only 38 months in the early 1970s.
The title, “Cowtown Ballroom … Sweet Jesus,” refers to a line from “One Toke Over the Line,” a Top 40 hit for Brewer & Shipley, a Missouri duo and Cowtown regulars. Making it has in many ways been a community effort.
A few months ago Heyen issued a call for former Cowtown customers to share their memories for his camera. About 130 crammed into a midtown tavern for the session.
The musicians who played Cowtown contributed their own memories — B.B. King, members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Blue Oyster Cult, Brewer & Shipley, Steve Miller, Roger Earl of Foghat, Ray “Dr. Hook” Sawyer, George “Commander Cody” Frayne, Mike Finnigan, Charlie Daniels.
There were other celebs who got away. Heyen, for example, was unable to land interviews with Van Morrison, Steve Martin and Linda Ronstadt.
“My fear is that once the movie gets out there, all these people will call up wanting to be in it,” Heyen said. “Or that someone will show up with a whole bunch of Cowtown footage we never knew existed.
“My position is that it would be a more sellable film with Steve Martin in it. I’m not sure it would necessarily be a better film.”
The moviemakers were able to amass a huge collection of still photographs from Cowtown’s brief heyday. Most were taken by fans who attended the concerts. And they came across a cache of silent Super-8 footage of performers like Alice Cooper, Rory Gallagher, and the Byrds.
Obtaining visuals was relatively easy. Getting the sounds was something else.
“Getting movie rights for some of these songs was a nightmare,” Heyen said.
“Let’s just say we’ve become quite schooled in the legalities of ‘fair use,’ ” Ladesich added. “We’ve been informed by our attorneys not to say anything more on that topic.”
Whether “Cowtown Ballroom” will find an audience beyond Kansas City is a question the filmmakers are eager to answer.
“We cut the movie based on the possibility that it will play somewhere other than Kansas City,” Ladesich said. “So every storyline woven into the movie was there because it would be relevant not only to those who went to Cowtown, but to those who were never there and know nothing about it.”
The old model of independent film distribution — selling the theatrical rights to a distributor — no longer works, the two filmmakers said.
“Even if a big company did want to pick up the film, they’d only pay a pittance,” Ladesich said. “You’ll get only pennies on the dollar for every DVD sold.
“Better for us to do it guerrilla style — sell DVDs on the Internet and stock it in every head shop we can find. And we can take it on the road like a rock show and play it in clubs.”
Liberty Hall in Lawrence already had signed up for a screening of the film and a live show by Brewer & Shipley.
“We’ve got others we’re working on. John McEuen” — of the Dirt Band — “is doing a show in Richmond, Mo. Foghat is doing one in St. Joseph. And the whole Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is going to play at the Midland.
“So there are some things happening out there.”
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COWTOWN REUNIONS
“Cowtown Ballroom … Sweet Jesus” is scheduled to open May 22 at the Tivoli Theatre in Westport. In addition, filmmaker Joe Heyen and friends have set up some pre-opening events:
•At 9:30 p.m. Thursday, a reception for the crew and participants will be at the Beaumont Club in Manor Square. Admission is free and the public is invited.
•At 7 p.m. Friday, a reunion will be at the former Cowtown (most recently El Torreon). Admission is free and the public is invited, but only those who sign up in advance will be admitted. To get on the list send an e-mail request to heyenj@prodigy.net.
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