Dennis Arfa is CEO of Artist Group International where he is the agent for Billy Joel, Metallica, Def Leppard and many more. Arfa is a student of the game who knows where all the dollars in a deal are buried. We cover everything from the role of the agent in the world of overall touring deals to the duties of an agent to the evolution of Arfa’s company and his career. This is a must listen for those interested in the touring business, it includes up to date information you’ll want to know!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

A. This includes platforms subscribed to via Amazon Prime, like Acorn, BritBox and MHz Choice.

B. This is a first pass, the rankings are fluid.

C. Reviews do their best to reveal as few plot points as possible.

D. Foreign shows should be watched with subtitles. It’s easy to go into the settings and choose them.

1. SPIRAL

The best cop show on streaming TV period. The seasons get better in quality, both in image and story, not that the initial 2005-6 episodes are not satisfying. You must watch from the beginning, in order, because the characters and their relationships evolve. Thierry Godard plays a completely different role than he does in “A French Village” and you can’t take your eyes off him or his costar, Caroline Proust, who is certainly beautiful, then again if you watch enough French television you find her in roles where she’s mousy and at times unrecognizable. And the left field star is the judge, Philippe Duclos. This is one of the biggest international hits extant, it’s only the Americans who are clueless, but they’re catching on. Watch it.

Viewing: MHz Choice

2. A FRENCH VILLAGE

One of the best streaming series available. It’s the story of a French town occupied by the Nazis during World War II. Audrey Fleurot delivers a riveting, far-ranging performance. And the Nazis… The Resistance in the mountains doesn’t play true enough, but this series will affect you viscerally, you’ll start asking what you’d do in the same situation. You’ll get addicted.

Viewing: MHz Choice

3. THE BUREAU

The French CIA. One of the best streaming shows extant. The first season is a bit slow, but then… You’ll be tense, on the edge of your seat, this is as good, if not better, than any drama that’s played on the big screen in years.

Viewing: Sundance Now

4. LINE OF DUTY

On multiple services, this is the #1 show in the U.K. right now. It’s a procedural about the anti-corruption division of the police pursuing “bent coppers.” The seasons all connect and it’s phenomenal. There is some violence, but that’s not what the show is about. A unique look at the cops with fantastic acting, it’s a must-see.

Reviews: https://bit.ly/3kUtIY8 and Season 6: https://bit.ly/3B6v6MA

Viewing: Seasons 1-4 Amazon Prime Video

Season 5 Acorn

Season 6 BritBox

Seasons 1-5 can be viewed via Hulu

5. THE BRIDGE (BRON/BROEN)

Danish and Swedish cops work on crimes together… The first season has the same plot as the first season of “The Tunnel,” but the rest are unique. Sofia Helin as Saga, the Swedish cop on the spectrum, is so good, you can’t take your eyes off her, you’ll start talking like her, it’ll become an inside joke. Great acting depicting three-dimensional characters and interesting plots to boot. There’s nothing this good on American television right now, nothing! “The Bridge” has been shown in over a hundred countries, it’s been remade not only in the U.K./France, but there have been USA/Mexico, Estonia/Russia, Malaysia/Singapore and Germany/Austria remakes. But you’ve got to watch the original, really.

Review: https://bit.ly/3og6I7S

Viewing: Topic

6. THE AMERICANS

Like “Bosch,” this is one of the few series that gets better as it unfolds. Discard the fact that it was on FX originally, this is a first class, first rate show. Forget that Keri Russell was once Felicity. This is Russian spies in America and look out for supporting actors Noah Emmerich and Alison Wright, they’re superb. You will think about this show when it’s over. Also, unlike almost all long-running series, the ending is satisfying.

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

7. THE A-WORD

I could watch this show every night. (Same deal with “Ozark,” even though they couldn’t be more different.) Joe is a young child who is autistic, he’s addicted to music, and he and his extended family live in the Lake District in England, with a landscape so beautiful you can’t wait to go there. This story is very common, parents have a child, they know something is wrong, they must ultimately confront the fact the kid is autistic and then cope. You can’t fix autistic, there is no operation. Then again, every kid has their special qualities and generates love. The combination of the parents’ issues, mixed in with the extended family and neighbors, makes for riveting television. No one is trying to get rich, this is about living your life and coping. Positively excellent.

Review: https://bit.ly/2XUtOWt and Season 3: https://bit.ly/3kSBuSd

Viewing: Seasons 1&2 Amazon Prime

Season 3 SundanceTV via your cable provider

8. BOSCH

A police drama based on the Michael Connelly books that stars Titus Welliver and a host of character actors. It’s gritty, it twists and turns and is wholly gratifying. You won’t be intellectually challenged, but you’ll love the ride.

Review: https://bit.ly/3oko0k4 and Season 6: https://bit.ly/2XZd68z

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

9. SRUGIM

Unmarried Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem trying to find their way in love, religion and career. The Israelis (and the Danes!) make the best television in the world, and this lives up to the billing. There are no superheroes, no special effects, just a group of friends trying to figure things out. Yes, they are Orthodox, but they are not the black hat-type. They wear regular clothes, live normal lives, but they observe the Sabbath and adhere to other traditions. At times you’ll be elated, at times you’ll find your heart breaking, but this is life, and it doesn’t matter where you live, what religion you are, ultimately it’s the same. This is about the script and the acting, not the images, which are relatively flat and washed out, but isn’t that how it is in the heat of the desert?

Review: https://bit.ly/3uoUhYe

Viewing: Season 3: Amazon Prime Video Seasons 1&2 and all three seasons now on the Roku Channel and tubi

10. TRAPPED

Genius Icelandic TV starring Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as an endearing, but lumbering policeman in season one trying to find a murderer in an icy fjord community. In season 2 a foreman at the local power plant dies and… I absolutely loved this series, highly recommended. Slow, but satisfying

Viewing: Amazon Prime

11. FOLLOW THE MONEY-BEDRAG

Addictive Nordic noir. There are three connected seasons and you’ll love them all.

Viewing: Topic

12. TRANSPARENT

You don’t have to be Jewish to dig “Transparent,” but it helps. If you’re interested in family dynamics, sibling rivalries, interpersonal relationships, you’ll love “Transparent.” However, it may take you a couple of episodes to get into it.

Review: https://bit.ly/39Nb4en

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

13. THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

Sometimes the tone wavers, it becomes less than believable, subsequent seasons are not as good as the first, but if you like historical dramas of the mid-century, the twentieth century, you should enjoy this. Once again, you don’t have to be Jewish, but it helps. Meanwhile, Rachel Brosnahan, who was self-controlled and meek in “House of Cards” is exuberant and excellent here, playing a wannabe Jewish comic even though she isn’t Jewish. Can you go against the family wishes? Can you afford to disappoint your parents? Do you have enough strength to do it your way? Watch and find out.

Review: https://bit.ly/3ilskff and Season 3: https://bit.ly/3kSKsif

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

14. THE TUNNEL

A French/English crime show whose first season is lifted directly from the Danish/Swedish show “The Bridge”… I thought this was positively great, until I saw the original…

Review: https://bit.ly/3ATHTlv

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

15. ZEROZEROZERO

The brainchild of Roberto Saviano, who is responsible for “Gomorrah,” which got caught up in the Weinstein sale and disappeared but is now streamable on HBO Max. This is a road movie, in some ways akin to “The Wages of Fear” or Friedkin’s underrated “Sorcerer.” We travel from country to country trying to deliver the product… The imagery is a ten and so is the journey. The meaning is not really there, but the experience is top-notch, this needs to be seen.

Review: https://bit.ly/3F3V31W

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

16. AUTONOMIES

A fantastic Israeli series set in an alternative world where the Orthodox live separately from the less observant, it’s another visceral Israeli watch that draws you in. Who do you obey, the rabbi or the law? What is the right thing to do, what will you sacrifice?

Viewing: Topic

17. DEUTSCHLAND ’83, ’86 AND ’89

This is a trilogy concerning East German spies from the nation’s heyday until its fall. The tone can vary wildly, from deadly serious to comical, but the series is ultimately very rewarding, the peek into East German life feels very real.

Viewing: Acorn for ’83 and ’86 or watch all three on Hulu

18. THE ATTACHÉ

Israeli musician follows his wife to Paris for her gig and they encounter terrorism and it all feels real, especially the tug and pull of the wife’s family, meddling in the marriage.

Viewing: Acorn

19. HIDDEN

Another U.K. whodunit with creepy characters and family drama that will keep you watching.

Acorn

20. DEADWATER FELL

The always great David Tennant in a murder mystery in a small town in Scotland…watch “Broadchurch” first, but if you’re a fan of this U.K. stuff you’ll love this.

Acorn

21. WHEN THE DUST SETTLES

There’s a terrorist attack in a restaurant, how do the disconnected yet affected cope with this? You get backstory, you get hopes and dreams… There are better series, but this is a very good one (and it’s Danish!)

Viewing: Topic

22. KEEPING FAITH

Eve Myles as an attorney with a duplicitous husband involved in nefarious affairs. The show is not as good as Myles, by the same token Myles is as good as it gets, you can’t take your eyes off of her! Shot in Wales, I can’t say that I loved it throughout, but the final, third season, is a triumph, and that’s so rare.

Review: https://bit.ly/3mgRGMG

Acorn

23. THE HOUR

50s TV news show with politics, both office and governmental/world, and murder. The marvelous Ben Whishaw is excellent as usual, it’s fun to get a peek into the 50s both in image and political issues, but it just doesn’t feel real.

Viewing: Acorn

24. THE RETURNED

The dead reappear, but to call it a zombie show would be unfair. It’s French, the production qualities are high, the show is very watchable, but at times it’s a bit slow and unbelievable. I wouldn’t put it at the top of your list, but if you want more French television…

Viewing: Sundance Now

25. PATRIOT

Bizarre and nearly inexplicable, watch half an episode and you’ll know whether this is up your alley. What you’ve got here is big business mixed with foreign intrigue and interstitial music played on the guitar by the star. Whacked. And a bit slow. But those who’ve seen it comprise a cult of fans who always talk about it.

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

26. LONG STRANGE TRIP

Overrated Grateful Dead documentary that somehow misses the mark. The early days are done well, after that…

Review: https://bit.ly/2XZ7v22

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

27. GOLIATH

First season is great, after that beware. Billy Bob Thornton is phenomenal, as is his costar Nina Arianda. And the cinematography is brilliant too. “Goliath” is a legal drama that becomes less satisfying as the seasons roll on. This is middlebrow fare.

Review: https://bit.ly/3m9lCKu and Season 4: https://bit.ly/39SDNhP

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

28. I LOVE DICK

A Jill/Joey Soloway production just like “Transparent.” If you are into the art scene, you’ll love this. And unless you are, or are into foreign drama, beware. This stars Kathryn Hahn, who Soloway has helped make a major star.

Review: https://bit.ly/3AUkpNp

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

29. HOMECOMING

Overhyped and overrated. Julia Roberts is great, but the plot is convoluted, unbelievable and ultimately unsatisfying. Real world sci-fi, if I tell you any more I’ll ruin it. But you don’t need to see it.

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

30. ARDE MADRID

This is a whacked comedy/drama set in Spain in the sixties starring Debi Mazar as Ava Gardner with the Perons living next door, angry about the noise she’s generating while Franco lurks in the background. Can be an endurance test, but the twists in character are interesting.

MHz Choice

31. FORTITUDE

I love Scandinavian dramas, but I could only make it through the first season of this. Once Dennis Quaid appeared, I was out. It was a step down in quality, it was akin to an American show. What you’ve got here is mysterious deaths in the bleak Norwegian Arctic. There are many great shows with similar settings, this is not one of them.

Viewing: Amazon Prime Video

https://spoti.fi/39ICZMq

Dear Bob, thank you for the article on Leon. It warmed my heart. As you know I adored his style of playing, singing and songwriting. He was a one off and treated me with incredible kindness when I came to America. He took me on tour with him and I was able to watch the maestro every evening. What a beautiful experience it was!

So glad that other musicians are playing homage to him.Great musicians and singers.

To be honest you have to be good to play his stuff. Derek Trucks is a beautiful man and an incredible guitarist as you so rightly point out. In fact DT plays on one of my upcoming album tracks. Tedeschi Trucks keep soulful music alive amongst many others.

Their tribute to “Layla” being a recent example. This is the music that inspired me and thousands of other musicians/singers. Joe Cocker was an extraordinary singer and performer. The rendition of “The Letter” has been shown many times to  new artists that I encounter. They always make me play it again. Also the backing vocalists are sublime. Ditto Bobby Keys. Going to shows like “Mad Dogs” made you feel superhuman after you left. Your whole being became joyful and full of love.

When I did “The Union” with Leon, I took HIM on tour and we played big arenas the likes of which he had not played for many years. When he came on stage at every concert he got a standing ovation. During  the barren years he had lost his self worth as an artist.

I was SO happy to give him his belief back. The album came in at number 4. He got into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The Songwriters Hall Of Fame. His star was shining again. Alas his health had long deteriorated long before we started the album. He was unable to take advantage of his resurrection, so to speak. But, he got his self respect back which was all I ever wanted.

By writing about him you help keep the magic alive. Thank you so for doing that.

He was a true musical genius. And, I still think about him, talk about him and play his music on my radio shows.

I send buckets of love to you Bob.

Elton x

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Hey Bob, Mad Dogs! The Best. I grew up with that record, found the movie on DVD a decade ago. It is the most compelling music ever and the movie?  I couldn’t stop watching it. Being a young musician in LA at the time those people were heroes of mine. Jim  Gordon, Jim Keltner, Leon, Russell, Rita Coolidge, I mean with Carl Radle on bass and Chris Stainton on keyboards?  A few friends of mine knew Don Preston. Did you know they took the band into A&M studio after rehearsals before they hit the road? Henry Lewy recorded it. I know a big time engineer/producer that was the second engineer, he’s got a 1/4 of the roughs. He even said that night was the best music he has ever heard. I keep telling him to dig the tape out of his closet!

Marty Walsh

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I remember seeing this movie with my brother and some friends in the early 70’s when it came out.  I was in 10th or 11th grade.  I thought it was one of the best rock documentaries ever.  Became big fans of Cocker and Russell after this.  And since seeing it I never found another person who saw it.

Over the years I’ve had people talk to me about “rockumentaries” that we each had seen and when I mentioned this movie I just got blank stares.  So much so that I began to wonder did I dream that?  Was I just confusing it with something else?  Over the last 15 years I have searched the internet for a copy of the movie all to no avail.  Guess I never looked in the right place.  A couple of years ago I found a DVD copy of the movie on eBay and bought it immediately.  Alas, I wasn’t crazy.

This music was fantastic. I remember you saying you actually saw this show live and I was so jealous.  I actually met Rita Coolidge in 2017 when she came to see the band I was in play a couple of shows.  I really wanted to ask her about this tour but I thought of your constant advice about when you meet a star don’t talk about their work so I didn’t.  She did say she loved the stuff we had written and we should absolutely record it, so what more did I need in my musical life.  Frickin’ Rita Coolidge liked it and saw us more than once!

So I got that going for me.

Loved, loved, loved this piece and will definitely check out the documentary.  Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Charlie Vanture

Member of the now-retired Sarah Mac Band

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Cool man! Glad you liked it. I played bass in tedeschi trucks in that show. Was one of the best shows I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been part of a few. Was super powerful to be around those people and yes, sue and derek and chris Robinson are genuine stars.

Tim Lefebvre

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I was lucky enough to be working at A@M records when the employees were invited to participate as audience members for the filming of the original video of Mad Dogs and Englishmen in Hollywood.
One of my fondest memories.
It was a joy to work for Herb and Jerry during those glory days on the lot at Sunset
and La Brea!
Lin in Honolulu

Howard Wolen

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I was there at ten years old!

Between them and Sly Stone I thought all bands were about community, then later I joined one.

What a lesson I am still smarting from.

John Payne

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The link!

This Diamond Ring was my first 45 and this one was where it all began for me.

So – the link is that Leon Russell did the arrangement for the song and, of course, Al Kooper who you just highlighted last week, shared writing credits as part of The Brill Building stable.

My earliest LPs included the 2nd “Joe Cocker” LP and not long after, Leon Russell’s first.  Saw MD&E at the Fillmore East and the album was a had-to-have as soon as it was released.  The earliest incarnations of the jacket had a semi-floppy fold-up half.  The entire cover was made from some unusual material, not quite cardboard but something glossy and thinner than a standard LP jacket.

And without Carl Radle’s Oklahoma connection with Leon Russell, he’d have never been a Domino.

Leon Russell followed up the MD&E tour with a PBS special – The Homewood Session (recorded, or broadcast, the same night I saw the next to last Derek & The Dominoes US tour show at the Portchester Theater). An eye-opening peek at the creative Russell with entourage.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bwMqliLXZQ

Alan

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That was the shit. Went to see Mad Dogs & Englishmen in a theater in Hollywood on acid, came out at midnight and went downtown for one of my first tattoos. That music sounds better today than the day they made it and while we are on the topic, it was pretty much the same time frame as the first “Delaney & Bonnie” album was popular and to me those two recordings were THE best of the era and of course those musicians often mixed and matched. Jesus our generation brought it like a mother fu**er. Gerry McGee’s guitar on the Delany and Bonnie thing was hipper than anything old no mask Eric ever did once they got famous enough to be self destructive.

Larry Brown (guitar)

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I went to Franklin & Marshall College (Class of ‘71). Back in the late 60’, early 70’s, we had more major concerts per month than any college in the East Coast . Why? Because every major act that played Philly either Friday or Saturday would be offered to play Lancaster on the other night. Bill Honey was the Philly promoter who came up with the arrangement. Who else had Simon & Garfunkel in the afternoon and James Brown at night on the same day? I was on the F&M Student Union Board that booked the shows.   Bill offered us The Grease Band ( Joe’s 6 piece band) for $7,500.  A good draw as Joe was getting great FM play from his solo albums. But what showed up at Lancaster Airport when I drove out to pick up Joe,  was an old 1940’s Constellation plane that spilled out with over 40 musicians, singers and “ friends.” Sure Leon ran the music, but no one was there to see him.  It was Joe’s show, 100%.  They must have been losing many thousands of 1970 Dollars per day.   Jerry Moss was underwriting it as the double album was selling millions.  Years later, when Joe had a resurgence on Capital Records,  we saw each other in a NYC club, and reminisced about the insanity of it all.

Marty Scott

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I saw mad Dogs and Englishmen at Winterland in San Francisco. My girlfriend liked Joe Cocker and we had previously seen him with the Grease Band at Fillmore West.

I can still picture them onstage with Leon playing guitar standing on top of the piano and me with my mouth hanging open going WTF is that! I could not take my eyes off Leon the whole night.

I went to see him on tour with his own band as well. I later found out about his history as a studio musician in Los Angeles and his being part of the Wrecking Crew.

I think Carney is my favorite album of Leon’s.

Larry Green

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Bob, love the newsletter. But I’m an old friend of Jim Horn and I’m pretty sure I would’ve heard if he had died. In fact, Steve Cropper and I were talking about Jim just the other day and in the present tense (as in still circling the drain). If you know otherwise hit me back. But I’m pretty sure you got this wrong.

Thom Flora

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Leon and Shelter actually set up in Tulsa and their studio, The Church Studio, still stands today. After Leon, it was sold to Steve Ripley of The Tractors and then it passed through a few more hands in the late 00s before being purchased by the new owner, Teresa Knox. She and her husband are in the middle of restoring it into a functioning studio, along with adding an addition that will include a museum and event space. If you ever do make it to Oklahoma, make sure to stop in Tulsa. Get a tour of the studio and get a taste of our musical history. Like Leon was the in-demand studio musician that everyone in the know knew about but only had a flicker of mainstream success, Tulsa gets overlooked, but I’ve lost count of the number of touring musicians I’ve heard proclaim their affinity for this city after playing for a Tulsa crowd (or even better, in a legendary room like Cain’s Ballroom).

Sarah Martin

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Leon had 3 studios in Oklahoma. One in his house in Tulsa. One at his lake house on Grand Lake. His main studio was in a converted Church in Tulsa. It sounded amazing. Dwight also had an unknown bass player play with him, Tom Petty.  Leon signed two other locals, JJ Cale and the GAP band. GAP is short for Greenwood Archer and Pine. It was the location of the Black Wall Street and Tulsa’s race mass murder. Leon never had a studio in OKC….that I know of.

Steve Ripley of Tractors and Bob Dylan fame purchased the Church when he moved back to Tulsa from California. I will send you Steve’s radio show he did for the the Oklahoma Historical Society about Oklahoma music. It focused on Rock and Red Dirt.

Hope you are well.

Mike Busch

P.S. Here is a video of Dwight with Tom Petty playing bass.

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The Shelter Records studio in Oklahoma was The Church Studio in TULSA (https://thechurchstudio.com/)! Please come visit Tulsa in late 2022 or 2023, check out the Woody Guthrie Center (https://woodyguthriecenter.org/) and the soon to open Bob Dylan Center (https://www.bobdylancenter.com/) and the Oklahoma Museum of Pop Culture (https://www.okpop.org/).

You can learn more about all those great Okie musicians you mentioned including some of the all-time great drummers (Chuck Blackwell in Mad Dogs and the LOCKN reunion, Jamie Oldaker, David Teegarden (https://teegardenstudios.com/), Jimmy Karstein and the amazing Jim Keltner), as well as J.J, Cale, The Gap Band, David Gates, Jesse Ed Davis and more.

You can take in a show at the historic Cain’s Ballroom (https://www.cainsballroom.com/) and if you time it right, you can sit in on one of my Oklahoma Music History classes.

Twilley is still around, plus great art deco history, Greenwood/Black Wall Street (https://www.greenwoodrising.org/), and The Gathering Place (https://www.gatheringplace.org/). I’ll even treat you to a show at the Hard Rock.

Randy Cale

Hard rock Tulsa

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I don’t usually have much to say about music as I got out of DJing and went into news radio where I stayed employed for 34 years in Los Angeles. But before KNX & KFWB I was a construction worker in Tulsa and did a small bit of carpentry on the Church Studio that Leon built in 1972. It’s not in Oklahoma City. Although I never met Leon the club scene at that time was a blast. Freddie King , El Roacho ,Gary Montgomery & Gary Busey. My construction worker buddy the late Buzz Clifford,himself a musician, knew all of them.  Buzz went on to be a fabulous blues man but never made the charts again like he did with “Babysittin’Boogie”
They are restoring the Church Studio . You can read about it here:

THE CHURCH STUDIO NAMED TO NATIONAL REGISTER

I did say hello to Joe Cocker at the Byrds reunion show in Ventura.

John Brooks

KFWB-KNX  1979-2013

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We promoted Leon‘s last show with mad dogs at the swing auditorium in San Bernardino. I stood on the stage with my wife and my dog and watched how Leon ran the whole band. And an evening I’ll never forget turned into the honor of currently representing the estate.

I think the movie is great and I am sure  it will make the kind of impact that will help reawaken interest in Leon’s music. We have many hours of unreleased material and what You realize is if it was happening,  Leon was there, and his songs stand the test of time. You will be hearing a lot more Leon in the years to come.

Bill Siddons

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Hi Bob. Thank you for taking the time to watch and wax at length on my film Learning To Live Together: The Return of Mad Dogs & Englishmen. I’m honored by your reaction and touched that you connected so profoundly to it. I know a lot of that has to do with your fundamental relationship to this music- you actually got to experience the original Mad Dogs tour (at the Capitol Theatre no less, which makes a cameo in the film)! Not a lot of people can say that… You’re in a special class, along with Jon Landau, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan…

But I think ultimately what your letter hits upon is the very reason Tedeschi Trucks needed to organize the only-ever reunion of the Mad Dogs (and why I needed to make a film about it… and I certainly was not alive when the original took place)- the music of Mad Dogs & Englishmen is some of the most sacred in the history of rock’n’roll. You say it yourself, “You’ll ponder your own life path.” “The music is bigger than the players.” Amen, amen…

There was a piece I left out of the film, where Leon tells me a few hours before showtime that he hoped the audience that night would receive “the holy ghost.” That they did (I’ve heard the trope “greatest concert I’ve ever been to” from many in reference to the reunion concert), and I’m fairly confident that “spirit” is captured in the film. You certainly hear it in the performances (I’ve watched/heard these edits/mixes hundreds, if not thousands, of times over and I’m still not tired of it).  As much as I still mourn his loss, I really wasn’t surprised that Leon passed so soon after the reunion. The Master of Space & Time himself needed to have this one last communion with this all-powerful music he dreamt up, this time with Derek at the helm. Sure the spirit has moved on to Susan, Derek, Chris Robinson (“superstars” in their own rite),  but my hope is that some teenage singer or college-band sees my film and the spirit of Joe and Leon and Tedeschi Trucks passes on to them (like when the lead singer of my college band played me Mad Dogs for the first time), and they go on to create inspired music or art that has some impact on someone, not matter how big or small. Mission accomplished if that happens, because that’s what it’s all about…

As you note, it was a long-time coming for us- six years in the making actually (with a couple pauses and a pandemic thrown in), but I couldn’t be more thrilled that the film will finally see the light of day. Major gratitude to Wayne Forte, Blake Budney, Derek and Susan for their tireless support and efforts, and the countless others who invested creative energy, finances or simply opened doors, made connections etc. It was a herculean task to get this film cleared (simply look at the Mad Dogs repertoire), but we got it done, and now the greater public can enjoy it soon, like you have.

Thanks again for watching and I think I would be remiss if I didn’t mention we have our world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival this Thursday September 30, will be in theatres nationwide later in October (you can follow @maddogsdoc on any social platform for updates), and will make our international premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London on Halloween! We hope that reactions like yours will get it on a streaming platform in the near future, and that the film doesn’t suffer the same fate as the original Mad Dogs documentary, which I own on LaserDisc…

Jesse Lauter
Director/Producer, Learning To Live Together: The Return of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen