The Wrecking Crew, Directed by Denny Tedesco

The movie has been making its way through the film festival circuit, and in fall 2008 will also be screened in San Diego, Boise, Vancouver and Mill Valley.

For anyone who has listened to The Beach Boys, The Monkees, The Mamas and the Papas, and many other popular bands from the 60’s, The Wrecking Crew exposes the true artists behind the music and what day to day life was like for these people(none of the aforementioned bands played their own music).

Documentary Style Film

During the 60’s, after being located mostly in New York, London and Detroit, the recording industry migrated to Los Angeles. Shot as a documentary, the film chronicles the rise and fall of a group of musicians whose attitude and style was poised to “wreck” the entire music industry.

A group of twenty and thirty something musicians in their primes, The Wrecking Crew were the flame that ignited the sudden influx of recording work in the area. What followed was almost unprecedented. The “Crew” outworked and outdid the competition, producing a string of hits still recognizable after 40 years.

The film has a distinctly personal feel; Director Denny Tedesco is the son of late “Crew” member Tommy Tedesco which is reflected by hearing the younger Tedesco’s narrative voice throughout the film. The audience is lead to feel that not only is there a vested interest on the part of the director, but also a deep rooted love for the music and the musicians who created it.

Family Creation Started in 1995

Tedesco began work on the film in 1995, and it is no surprise that the entire project is a family affair. Tedesco’s wife Susan is one of the producers; his brother Damon helped with the sound work, and his mother is interviewed and featured several times throughout the film.

The movie is happy and upbeat, but exposes the dark side of an industry that misleads legions of loyal fans; producing groups to front for music they never created. The Monkeys received so much negative press for not playing their own instruments, but the film shows how this was the norm; most “bands” of the time were doing the same thing.

All the while, The Wrecking Crew played on hit record after hit record, shunning their fame and frequently not even knowing what artists they were playing for or with.

As with any rise there is always a fall, and the movie goes on to show how session players became less and less in demand as bands began writing and producing their own music. Many members continued having successful music careers after their days with the “Crew” were over, but the story recounts “the good old days”; the infancy of Rock and Roll and what it was like being a part of it.

An Exceptional Example of Independent Film

The Wrecking Crew is everything good about independent film. There is a feeling of intimacy with the picture and the audience is connected and brought back to a time long past. The story gets right to the point and does not use any of the glamour or hype tactics that more commercial films often do.

These men and one woman are the unsung heroes of sixties style rock and roll, and while the movie could have been “in your face” about how the events transpired, the story is told with humility, and firmly gives credit where credit is due.

Click Here for upcoming screenings.

Click Here for an interview with Director Denny Tedesco.

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