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After wrapping up the Ohio leg of our Midwest Tour, our travels took us through Indiana. There, at a freeway interchange just outside of Indianapolis, is an unassuming small cemetery. A fitting symbol, as just around the bend lie the remains of the once grand and much beloved Paramount Music Palace. Much like the Organ…
Last week, as part of our Midwest Tour, we interviewed Clark Wilson, who is an accomplished organist and silent film scorer. Clark has been called “Master of silent film and showman of the first order.” We had an animated discussion with Clark about the history of the theatre organ, his experience with the “Pizza Organ”…
Last Monday, kicking off the Ohio leg of our Midwest Tour, we interviewed Shawn Kenney at his home. In addition to his duties directing a museum in Columbus, and his position as Vice Chair of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS), Shawn, with the help of many friends, has managed to put together an amazing…
On Sunday, we traveled to Detroit, Michigan for the first shoot of our Midwest Tour and interviewed organist Lance Luce at the historic Senate Theater. Lance is a man of many talents – and of many duties. He’s currently the organist at Little Caesar’s Arena for the Detroit Red Wings, and was once the organist…
Update: The Midwest Tour is complete – check out the updates! A whirlwind of activity commences later this week! Have you heard of the book (and films) titled “Around the World in Eighty Days“ ? How about “Around the Lakes in 18 Days” ? Well, that’s the less-than sane, destination-packed trip that is coming up…
Update: The Denver Road Trip is complete – check out the updates! That’s right, we’re going to Denver! A recent uptick in contributions is allowing us to plan our next “road trip” phase of production. Denver is very important to the Organ Grinder story. The second Organ Grinder restaurant – bigger and louder than the…
This week, we interviewed Mike DeSart. Mike has many interests, including flying model aircraft, and raising parrots – for many years he and his wife ran a parrot breeding and related supplies business, “The Bird Barn”, out of their home in Portland. But for Organ Grinder fans, Mike was the often-unseen hand that kept the…
Is paperwork your passion? Do you enjoy spending long hours performing tedious tasks with recordings and documents? Do you like working in a situation where you legally cannot tell people about the contents of said documents? All without pay? Well, have I got the position for you! I need help proofreading and formatting interview transcripts….
Last week was the anniversary of the start of the documentary project! In January, 2024, after pestering Organ Grinder co-founder Dennis Hedberg for months about doing an interview, I met with him at his home, and convinced him to share his story with the world. Our initial schedule was thwarted by January’s big ice storm,…
Pipe Dreams and Pizza Crusts is a new documentary about the weird and wonderful (and loud!) Organ Grinder restaurants in Portland and Denver. I’ve been working full time all year to cover every angle of this amazing story, and I’ve invested a significant amount of my own money in this project. But now, it’s time…
This month, we interviewed Ed Zollman at his home in Port Orchard, Washington, as part of our first Washington State Road Trip. Ed told us about his career as an organ technician, and what led him to become associated with the Organ Grinder, and his work with others to combine multiple Wurlitzer organs to create…
When you tally everything up, it’s pretty frightening! But there is much more to do! I simply MUST get to Denver for up to 2 weeks to conduct interviews and do library and TV station research. Your help, as always, is greatly appreciated and greatly needed. If you haven’t already, please consider contributing or purchasing…
This week, I traveled to Port Orchard, Washington, to the home of Patti and Ed Zollman, as part of the first Washington State Road Trip for the film (there will likely be more). First, I interviewed Patti, who performed regularly at the Denver Organ Grinder (as Patti Simon), as well as in Portland and at…
Rich Greenland, that’s who! Rich lives near the Wurlitzer Building in North Tonawanda, New York. In 2023, Rich took extensive drone videos of the site, and posted excerpts of the footage to YouTube: Rich has graciously licensed his footage for use in the Organ Grinder documentary. A bit of history: Already an established company making…
Indiegogo, gone… Our 30-day Indiegogo campaign ended on September 17th. To put things frankly, it didn’t do so well. Here’s the cold truth: The advice I followed said it was best to fully budget your film, and ask for the whole amount, so as not to annoy people by going back again and again for…
On Thursday we interviewed Donna Parker. Donna was one of the original performers at the Paramount Music Palace in Indiana. She later moved to Portland to work at the Rodgers Organ Company in Hillsboro, and later began playing regularly at Organ Grinder Portland, up until it’s closing in 1996. Donna recalled a story of inviting…
This week, we interviewed Bob MacNeur at his home near Oregon City. Bob was the co-founder of the Paramount Music Palace, a gigantic pizza and pipes restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana. Opened in 1978, it was one of the few establishments that rivaled the Organ Grinder in terms of size and customer traffic! Bob spoke of…
On Tuesday, as part of our island-hopping Hawaii Trip, we interviewed Jerry Forchuk at a location in Waikiki near his home. Jerry and his brother Paul were among the original co-founders of the Organ Grinder. Jerry spoke on many topics, from growing up working closely with his mother and brother in the family’s restaurant business,…
On Saturday, as the first major stop on our whirlwind Hawaii Trip, we interviewed Stan Cadwallader. Stan lives on Maui, along the famous, twisty and mountainous Hana Highway, on a ranch that he and his husband, the late, beloved actor and singer Jim Nabors, purchased in the 1970s. Nestled in the hills of northeastern Maui,…
Yesterday we interviewed Mark Reed at his farm in the forested countryside near the foothills of Mt. hood. Mark was the one of the technicians responsible for the maintenance of the Organ Grinder instrument in Portland. Mark provided a great a mount of technical detail, and told the history of the development of the theatre…
