music shows booking goodies home/blog
Goodies
Other Projects

Going to Bend

Going to Bend, the audio book version of Diane Hammond's critically acclaimed novel, is Kenni's second collaboration with one of Hollywood's favorite voice over actors, Patrick Fraley, who directed the reading and produced the original music. Kenni co-composed the soundtrack for Going to Bend with LiSA ALiCE in a marathon, day-after-Christmas studio session.

The audio book can be had in cd, cassette, or even mp3 form at www.amazon.com or directly from Blackstone Audio.

Good reviews of the book itself and of the audio production abound:

"Hammond's debut novel about two thirtysomethings struggling to get by in an isolated Oregon beach town feels at first like a working-class weeper, the sort of female buddy story that Oprah's fans would love. Lurking between the Kleenex, though, is something considerably more subtle..."

- Booklist Magazine

"Bad things happen, good things happen, mistakes are made and forgiven. Hillary Huber delineates each character with such delicacy that you somehow see whole flesh-and-blood people, and care about all of them."

- AudioFile

Spoon River Anthology

Spoon River Anthology, though Kenni was pretty much completely unaware of it before Patrick Fraley approached her to compose the audio book soundtrack, is indisputably part of the canon of American literature. It's showed up less on class syllabi in recent years, but seems to be making a comeback in academic circles. Spoon River came to the attention of alt country/folk audiences with Richard Buckner's 2003 release, The Hill, a setting to singer-songwriter-style music of some of the book's prose-poem monologues. Kenni composed the soundtrack for Spoon River Anthology and performed and recorded the music with bass player Joshua Zucker.

The audio book is available at www.amazon.com or directly from the publisher, Audio Partners.

Good reviews of the book itself and of the audio production abound:

"From a cemetery in a mythical small town in Illinois, the dead rise and speak about their lives. Each free-verse monologue stands as an epitaph for the person speaking, yet the play is ultimately about life, not death. Featuring 50 performers with specially commissioned original music, this is the only audio version of this landmark classic available."

- Booklist Magazine

... and that "specially commissioned music" is, we'd like to think, part of what earned Spoon River Anthology an Audie Award in 2003:

"Tombstones, as the man who carved them says he learned over the years, are a form of false history. In this 1915 collection, Edgar Lee Masters tells the stories of the dead--through their own posthumous words--in the fictional town of Spoon River. The stories are well told and often harsh, as the dead of Spoon River carry their anger and grievances to their graves. Masters portrays a town filled with injustice, corruption, and cruelty, an inverse to the idyllic community of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. The cast of 50, headed by Patrick Fraley and Edward Asner, is well matched to the many characters in this excellent production. J.A.S. 2003 Audie Award Finalist ©"

- AudioFile

Out of Season

Out of Season, the debut of independent filmmaker Jeanette Buck, features four Kenni songs in its soundtrack. Kenni wrote the songs specifically for the film in close cooperation with Jeanette... and with some help from the fabulous Trisha Varley. Longtime compatriot and worldclass songwriter Deborah Greene has some songs in the soundtrack as well, and we'll direct you to Deborah's music as soon as possible.

The DVD is available at www.amazon.com. You can get Out of Season on DVD or VHS directly from the distributor, Picture This! Home Video.

The movie's won Jeanette a bunch of festival awards and generated some excellent reviews:

"A very promising debut from writer-director Jeanette L. Buck. Hard-bitten and husky voiced Micki (Carol Monda) doesn't like to stay in one place -- or with one woman -- for very long, but she agrees to spend a little time in South Jersey resort town Cape May to help care for her dying Uncle Charlie (Dennis Fecteau). Micki can't cook and isn't much of a caregiver, but Uncle Charlie is actually more interested in helping her: He senses that Micki's wanderlust is really a form of running away, and cooks up a plan involving his best friend Roberta (Joy Kelly), an attractive fry-cook at a local eatery who's already caught Micki's eye. But Roberta resists Micki's hot-and-heavy advances -- she's still smarting from a painful break-up five years earlier -- and even after the pair agree to become just friends, their friendship remains charged with intriguing sexual possibilities. Shot for next to nothing, Buck's film features some lovely cinematography, two strong performances from newcomers Monda and Kelly, and a funny bit by Nancy Daly as Roberta's sweet 'n' sour boss. The film lingers longer than Buck's simple story really warrants, but the melancholy atmosphere is wonderful: The whole film is suffused with the bittersweet loneliness of a seaside town during the off-season."

- Ken Fox, TV Guide

"Though complete opposites often attract, the question is "Can they make it together?" Polar opposites, Micki And Roberta, try as each struggles to overcome the obstacles that have scuttled previous relationships. Will there be a future? -A strikingly subtle love story, at once engaging, credible and satisfying.' (Kevin Thomas, The Los Angeles Times)."

- Olive Films

return to home/blog