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The Mod Eclectic blog

A running review of local artists, modern pop music and culture from Capital Public Radio.

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  • Arts and Lifestyle
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The Story Of Sacramento's Tower Records Premieres At South By South West

  •  Melody Stone 
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Melody Stone / CapRadio Music

Director Colin Hanks with producer Sean Stuart on the red carpet at the premiere of the documentary All Things Must Pass: The Rise And Fall Of Tower Records.

Melody Stone / CapRadio Music

“Growing up in Sacramento, Tower was a point of civic pride,” explained director Colin Hanks, at the world premier of his documentary, All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records.

Hanks said finding out Tower founder Russ Solomon’s journey began in a little drug store on Broadway was a light bulb moment.

“If that’s where Russ’s journey begins, and it ends in 2006 closing hundreds of stores across the world - that’s a pretty incredible journey to go through. That sounds like a documentary," said Hanks. “No one else had done it. So I went out and tried to secure financing -- it was when western civilization was bankrupt.”

There was not very much interest at the time, but Hanks and his partner Sean Stuart stuck with it and sought crowdfunding via Kickstarter. The film finally premiered at The South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin Texas Tuesday morning.

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Producer Sean Stewart (left) and actor Colin Hanks (right) attend the world premier of their movie "All Things Must Pass." Melody Stone / Capital Public Radio

“I have no idea,” former VP of Tower Records, Heidi Colter said about why someone would make a Tower records documentary.

She’s one of the subjects of the documentary. Cotler ran the books division of Tower, and was the first female VP of the company. In the documentary she talks candidly about the drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll the company was built on, and how the store clerks grew with the company to be key players in it’s massive expansion.

“For Sacramento, it’s going to be huge,” she said on the red carpet at the film’s premiere Tuesday morning. “When Tower Records first started in Sacramento it was the only place a kid could get a job. You could wear what you wanted, as long as your privates were covered.”

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Former VP of Tower Records, Heidi Colter, attends the world premier for "All Things Must Pass." Melody Stone / Capital Public Radio

The documentary also features interviews with Elton John and Dave Grohl, talking about what Tower meant to them. Producer Sean Stuart said is was actually pretty easy to get musicians and people involved with Tower to talk.

“What we discovered in this process… the participants all love and adore Tower records,” said Stuart. “People were willing and excited to speak about it and what it meant to their music career or their personal career.”

In the film, Elton John said he spent more money at Tower Records than any other human being. The movie includes a clip of Elton John shopping at the Sunset Tower, with his limo-driver following him holding piles of records. Stuart said the footage was found in a dumpster.

Back to the question of why make a documentary about a failed record store chain?

“I wanted to pop the myth that it was simply because of the Internet,” said Hanks.

So is the whole story behind Tower Records filing for bankruptcy in 2006 after making a billion dollars in 1999? You’ll have to see the movie.

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Bill Sherman composed the music for "All Things Must Pass." Melody Stone / Capital Public Radio

    More about SXSW

  • CapRadio Music At SXSW

    CapRadio Music's Editor Melody Stone is at SXSW in Austin and brings us stories about Sacramento from one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

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    Remembering Tower Records Founder Russ Solomon

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  • Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo

    Sacramento Legend Russ Solomon Changed The Way The World Looked At Music

    Monday, March 5, 2018
    Russell Solomon opened his first Tower Records store in Sacramento at the intersection of Watt and El Camino avenues in 1960. He passed away on Sunday evening at his home at the age of 92.
  • CapRadio Music’s Most Read Stories Of 2015

    Monday, December 28, 2015
    CapRadio Music readers let us know, loud and clear — they love local music. This annual compilation of most-read music stories highlights just how popular articles about the local music scene are.
  • The Life And Death Of Tower Records, Revisited

    Tuesday, October 20, 2015
    A new documentary from Colin Hanks looks back on a business empire that helped shape the tastes of many music fanatics.
  • Melody Stone / CapRadio Music

    For The Love Of Vinyl: Vendors Answer Increasing Demand For Records

    Wednesday, May 13, 2015
    In the age of instant digital downloads there’s a growing number of music fans turning to the retro medium of vinyl records. Two vinyl vendors opened a new shop this week in the Warehouse Artist Lofts.
  • Long-Awaited Tower Records Documentary Debuts

    Tuesday, March 17, 2015
    It's been seven years in the making but the long-awaiting documentary about the history of Tower Records is finally making its debut today at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Filmmakers that Colin Hanks and Sean Stuart talk about the project.
  • The Russ Solomon Collection On Display In Roseville

    Friday, March 6, 2015
    Tower Records founder Russ Solomon is an avid art “accumulator.” His impressive collection of Sacramento art pieces will be on display at Blue Line Art Gallery in Roseville.

 filmSXSW2015SXSW

Melody Stone

Former Interactive Producer

After working in newspapers and doing print journalism for years, Melody transitioned into digital marketing and design. With a healthy blend of journalistic and digital media skills she builds out interactive web stories for Capradio.org.  Read Full Bio 

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