Support the Project: Our Crowdfunding Shop is Now Open!
As of December 22nd, we’ve raised $43,602 — 39.6% of our crowdfunding goal.
Perks: CDs, Posters, Postcards & More in the Crowdfunding Shop.
Make a Direct Contribution – Proceeds fund the production.
Photo of Vicki Bock (colloquially known as the Organ Grinder’s “Monkey Lady”) with two good friends.
You can help support the project by purchasing from the Crowdfunding Shop.
In April, as part of our Midwest Tour, we visited Organ Piper Pizza in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Organ Piper is one of three remaining establishments where you can enjoy live theatre pipe organ music with your pizza. Organist Zach Frame kindly allowed us to film a complete 45-minute set, in order to portray what it’s like…
On January 30, 1996, five days before the Portland Organ Grinder closed, three performers entertained the audience: Paul Quarino, Donna Parker, and Jonas Nordwall. Although not a scheduled event, it represents a “Farewell Concert”, as it was the last time these three performers would play together at the Organ Grinder. Three different fans independently recorded…
Today, I met with a charming person who a lot of people might remember from the Organ Grinder’s heyday. This person was in possession of a trove of documents and memorabilia, including multiple scrapbooks kept by Paul Forchuk, one of the Organ Grinder’s co-founders. These scrapbooks were previously thought to be lost. (Obviously, the person…
This childhood drawing was provided by an Organ Grinder fan who spent hours creating elaborate scenes of their dream pipe organ. This instrument has everything – note the inclusion of not one, but two pianos! Sign up for our email newsletter and receive updates about the project. First name Last name Email
This week, we visited the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon to view the Will Martin archives. Will Martin was the architect who designed the unique Organ Grinder building. Will is most famous for designing Pioneer Courthouse Square in Downtown Portland. Among other items, we found this concept drawing of the Organ Grinder exterior, rendered…
As part of the documentary project, Don Feely demonstrated some of the rhythm unit percussions and sound effects (“traps”) that he purchased after the Organ Grinder’s Portland location closed and the organ was being parted out. The Organ Grinder was innovative in many ways, one such way being that co-founder Dennis Hedberg upgraded the traditional…
