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Sam Battle is a popular YouTuber in the vintage tech and music spaces. He’s best known for his channel “Look Mum No Computer”, and related channels “This Museum is Not Obsolete” and “Look Mum No Engine”. Among Sam’s many projects, he created a series of videos where he restored a residential pipe organ that was…
Here’s a newly-restored and upscaled vintage commercial from the famous Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland, Oregon. This ad was produced in the late 1980s, and features cameos of brother-and-sister Jay and Stephe, children of Organ Grinder co-founder Dennis Hedberg. The Organ Grinder Documentary Project has digitized and restored dozens of hours of vintage footage which…
Featuring Jonas Nordwall and Sawyer Best. The Cleveland High School Theatre Pipe Organ began in the late 1920s as a nine-rank Kimball from the Columbia Theatre in Longview, Washington. In the 1930s, it was installed in Portland’s Simon Benson High School, as a gift from the graduating class, and enlarged by Seattle’s Balcom & Vaughn…
(And Switches and Knobs) Playing a theatre pipe organ inherently requires keeping track of a lot of things simultaneously – with many controls such as: And of course, powering up the blower and relay (the organ’s brain) that make everything possible. But for the organists who performed regularly in pizza parlors, that was just the…
In February of 1996, shortly before Organ Grinder Portland closed, fans turned out to visit the restaurant one last time. Fortunately, several brought their camcorders with them, and have provided their footage to the documentary project. In this video, patron Ted Welty recorded organist Don Feely’s rendition of “Powerhouse”, which you may recognize as the…
An Organ Grinder Documentary Project Special Feature As part of our return to the Midwest in September, 2025, one of our stops was in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for a visit with Jeff Baas, owner of the Kenosha Theatre. Jeff and his brother purchased the derelict theatre in the 1980s, with plans to restore it and reopen…
As mentioned in our post about the Kenosha Theatre, the story of the Organ Grinder is also the story of the movie palace and the theatre pipe organ. We’ve previously been lucky to obtain and restore rare footage of the Oriental Theatre in Portland, Oregon. The Oriental’s Wurlitzer was the basis of the instrument in…
Inside a warehouse in Franklin, Wisconsin, belonging to Carma Labs, Inc. (the makers of Carmex), is the world’s largest theatre pipe organ. As part of the Organ Grinder documentary project, and our return to the Midwest in September, we visited Carma Labs to see what weird and wonderful things people are doing with theatre pipe…
(*Or, “Nerding Out about Credits” Part II) It takes a lot of people to make a movie – including a documentary. This film may be very lean on the crew side (often it’s just me doing the shoots), but it’s especially heavy on the participant side, whether its the long list of interviewees, or people…
(Post updated 2025-07-13 with technical info.) In this newly-acquired footage from the 1970s, organist Jonas Nordwall performs a full set at the Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland, Oregon. This compilation is from vintage video tapes which were recently provided to the documentary project. Sometime around 1977, representatives from Sony visited the Organ Grinder to test…
Happy Fourth of July! In this newly-acquired footage from the 1970s, organist Jonas Nordwall performs John Philip Sousa’s “Washington Post” March at the Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland, Oregon. The Organ Grinder’s performers would work various bits into each 45-50min set, including interacting with the mechanical monkey. The organist would play along as the monkey…
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…
During each performer’s 45-50 minute set at the Organ Grinder, there were a few routine bits that were usually included, such as a silent movie, or a round of Happy Birthday. One well-known bit was to play “Tiny Bubbles” while running the bubble machines located high above the audience. Children (and some adults!) would run…
On April 8, Toby Washburn stopped by Carma Labs in Franklin, Wisconsin to demonstrate the unusual pipe organ constructed in the warehouse. As part of our Midwest Tour, The Organ Grinder Documentary project visited Carma Labs (which you may recognize as the manufacturers of Carmex lip balm) to explore the wild and over-the-top things people…
A lot has been happening with the production… not only are there multiple news items yet-to-post from last month’s five-state tour of the Midwest (some really amazing stuff), but a lot has already happened during the still-ongoing Denver road trip. On Monday, I visited the Denver Public Library’s research floor. There’s a special room for…
On Sundays at lunchtime, organist Paul Quarino would perform gospel tunes to appeal to the “after church” crowd, before the regular secular/pop program began later in the afternoon. This recording is from January 30, 1996, five days before the Portland Organ Grinder closed. Tuning Note:A sudden cold snap (part of a series of unusual weather…
It sure looks like the Organ Grinder, doesn’t it? But it’s not! While visiting Shawn Kenney as part of our Midwest Tour, Shawn provided a notebook filled with photos and documents of “Pipe Organ and Pizza”-themed establishments. There were over 100 restaurants with pipe organs created throughout the 1960’s-1980’s, most of them independently owned and…
This is a fun coincidence that happened recently. It’s not specifically Organ Grinder related, but it ties in nicely with the theme, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t embarked on this documentary project. Back in September, when I interviewed Mark Reed, he made several comments regarding a book called “The Best Remaining Seats…
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…
Happy Valentine’s Day! High school sweethearts Brad and Debbie Avakian describe going out to the Organ Grinder in their teenage years, and then later recount a humorous interaction between their parents during one family outing to the restaurant. Brad and Debbie have been together 40 years, after dating over six years before getting married. In…
