Last week, we filmed multiple events at the American Theatre Organ Society’s annual Summer Youth Adventure: “The Summer Youth Adventure (SYA) is a week-long event designed for young theatre organ enthusiasts who are interested in learning, developing, or refining their skills with the theatre organ. During the week, students will attend a variety of instructional…
Working on this project, I’ve learned that you never expect where a lead might take you or who you might bump into. Case in point: After seeing an article about the Organ Grinder documentary project in Willamette Week, Tres Shannon, probably most famous for co-founding Voodoo Doughnut, reached out to us. Tres loved going to…
It was Sunday evening, February 4, 1996. The last time the Organ Grinder would be open to the public. People had heard the news, and were showing up to experience it one last time. Ironically, like the early days, there were once again people queued up on the ramp behind the console, waiting their turn…
Yesterday, we returned to the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon. The AHC had just unearthed a set of slides from the architecture firm Martin, Soderstrom and Matteson (now Soderstrom Architects), originally co-founded by Will Martin, the architect who designed the Organ Grinder building. The slides feature the Organ Grinder building in 1973 around the…
This morning we were joined by Bret Goss in front of an abandoned Walmart at an undisclosed location. (Why? Read on…) Bret had a harrowing “Home Alone” story to tell, when, at the age of six, he was accidentally left behind at the Organ Grinder after a large family celebration (each group leaving thought that…
Today’s interviewee was Ron Buel. Ron is a journalist, author and activist who was involved in the “Freeway Revolt” movement in the 1970s. He also was a founder of the Willamette Week newspaper. Ron spoke to us about the fight to stop the Mt. Hood Freeway, which would have destroyed the neighborhoods along SE Clinton…
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…
Today we interviewed Brad and Debbie Avakian. Brad and Debbie were high-school sweethearts who would often gather up a car load of friends to drive all the way across town to enjoy the Organ Grinder together. They are also the parents of Nathan Avakian, who was thrilled as a child to experience the Organ Grinder…
The Organ Grinder restaurants in Portland and Denver were special places to spend your birthday back in the 70’s, 80’s, and into the 90’s. Now, you can send an Organ Grinder birthday greeting to anyone by sharing this video’s YouTube link. The clip used here was recorded at the Portland location in 1996, shortly before…
Located in Coos Bay, Oregon, the Egyptian Theatre is home to the last remaining Wurlitzer pipe organ in Oregon which is still playing in its original location. This short film features a demonstration of the historic instrument, with interviews of Paul Quarino, an original and long-time Organ Grinder performer who is now a caretaker of…
Behind-the-Scenes photo from yesterday’s interview with Jonas Nordwall, one of the original Organ Grinder performers. Not only did Jonas expound on a wide array of topics, he also gave us a demo of the Mary L. Collins organ at First United Methodist Church in Portland. Jonas and his son Christopher with Rose City Organ Builders,…
The project now has an IMDB Listing! For the occasion, we worked up a teaser poster based on the original Organ Grinder poster of the console “walking on water” on a lake in front of Mt. Hood.
The Organ Grinder experience wouldn’t have been possible without the talented performers who worked there. We’ve been in touch with several, and now the first of them has been filmed. Here’s a behind-the-scenes photo from our interview on Saturday of Organ Grinder performer Don Feely. Regular patrons may recognize the percussions & traps that Don…
I had a great time yesterday filming our third interview, this time with Vicki Buck. Vicki was engaging and energetic and had wonderful stories to share, from raising and working with monkeys, being the “World’s Only Female Organ Grinder”, TV game show appearances, and close friendships with Organ Grinder founders and staff. She’s also shared…
Well, hello, little fella! Thanks to a tip from our Facebook group member, Jason Pittman (who also took the photo), we know that the original Organ Grinder sign’s monkey (which is likely about 8-10ft tall – not a little fella) still exists! We are not disclosing the exact location at this time, as we are…
The vintage videotape rig has been activated! Time to digitize some precious memories with the highest-possible quality. A number of people have provided us with videotapes from back-in-the-day. If you have something Organ-Grinder related, please reach out to us, we can digitize most consumer (and some pro) formats and provide you with a digital copy…
Yesterday we interviewed Nathan Avakian, who was so inspired by his visits to the Organ Grinder starting at 4-years-old that he made a career of being an organist and composer. Nathan spoke about that inspiration, what it’s like to be a young organist, how new people come to discover and enjoy organ music in their…
Behind-the-scenes photo from Sunday’s interview shoot with Organ Grinder co-founder Dennis Hedberg. We grilled him for 3.5 hours, this man has had a lot of experiences! That’s one interview down – who’s next?
Greetings, all. I wanted to share a little bit about why I’m doing this project. My name is Bob Richardson. I’m a videographer and occasional web/app developer in Portland, Oregon. I’m also a bit of an organ nerd – as the photo above readily demonstrates. In 1973, when I was just 4 years old, my…
“Guess What’s Coming” – Those were the words on the new sign outside the first Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland as it was nearing completion in 1973. It’s a very appropriate phrase, as something new is coming – a documentary film project which seeks to tell the whole story behind the rise and fall of…