In June of this year, with gratitude to all of those who have run Mountain Retreat, the organization was moved to Oregon, and Mickey’s family is taking care of business. It’s taken a little while to smooth things out, but work is continuing on a number of projects.
Bob Rosemurgy and Owsley Mannier are finishing the DVD, and have promised it will be ready in January of 2005. This will be a compilation of images from the Hermitage concert and historical photos of Mickey’s life. The DVD/video will feature Mickey and Jack Williams in concert in 1994, plus some selections with Marie Rhines, photos and special surprises. The color is stunning, the audio spectacular, and this will be a one-of-a-kind, “must have” release for Mickey’s fans.
Joe Ziemer’s book, Crystal and Stone, and Ron Lyon’s audio biography, An American Treasure, are available in the CD Store. We are also offering a great tribute album by Cowboy Johnson. Anyone who has tried to sing Mickey’s songs knows how difficult it is to make the songs their own. Cowboy has done that with incredible feeling in Grain of Sand, and brought many people into the circle of Newbury fans because of his performance.
The illustration of Little Blue Robin is getting wonderful treatment from Ted Cheavens. Ted’s incredible talent has brought the birds to life, and you will love the way the story unfolds. Although we had hoped it would be ready for Christmas, we need to release the DVD first, and it should be in printing by the spring of 2005. Everything takes longer than anticipated.
The family is spending a lot of time going through reels of tapes and master sessions that keep appearing from as far back as 1965. There is a great deal of material that hasn’t made its way to release, and Chris is taking the time to review all of those tapes. It looks as though there may be a CD or two left to offer to fans.
Chris is working on a guitar book of Mickey’s songs that will explain tunings and methods of playing. Mickey didn’t always play by musical rules, and lots of fans would like to know how he played particular pieces. This will be a limited, leather-bound edition, and should be available after Little Blue Robin is released.
