fbpx

San Francisco Premiere:
Taking Back the Groove

Join us for the San Francisco Premiere of Taking Back The Groove, a documentary biopic on Disco Legend Richie Weeks, and how he clawed back the rights to his music and restored his legacy in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Taking Back the Groove Dir. by Celia Aniskovich
32m runtime

Saturday, June 8, 2024

Doors: 8PM
Screening: 8:30PM

Sliding Scale $15-30 / Free for Gray Area Members

All Ages

Seated Screening followed by On-Stage Discussion

View our FAQ page for more info, or contact us at [email protected] with any accommodation requests.

About The Film

Join us on June 8th for a special screening and the San Francisco premiere of the award winning documentary short Taking Back the Groove (2023), a documentary chronicling the life and legal battles of disco legend Richie Weeks. Afterwards, Gray Area will host a panel discussion with film producer Roddy Lindsay in dialogue with Chuck Fishman, a music industry consultant at TONAL Agency, and Vivek Sridharan, Partner at Counsel LLP, that traces the past and future of music and technology, creative agency and copyright, and remix and sample culture.

Directed by Celia Aniskovich, Taking Back the Groove tells the story of Bronx-born, disco superstar Richie Weeks, whose hit song Rock Your World made it to No. 1 on the dance charts in the 80s. Like many Black artists throughout American recording history, his talent was strip-mined to enrich white-owned record labels. Weeks and his manager Jerome Derradji narrate the story of how they clawed back the rights to Weeks' music and the ongoing fight to restore his legacy and share his music. Exploring the intersection of dance music, copyright law, and social justice, the film opens new avenues of conversation in our contemporary moment in which AI and other algorithmic tools have drastically impacted music and other creative industries.

“Growing up in NY, I was around some of the best disco music – I loved it. It inspired me. Richie, and many artists like him, helped influence the culture. What happened to Richie is an example of something that happens all of the time in the music industry. I’m really glad I can be a part of bringing his story to the world.”

-Raekwon, Wu-Tang Clan, Executive Producer of Taking Back The Groove


Meet Richie Weeks

Richie Weeks, a dance music legend, significantly shaped New York's disco, boogie funk, and house scenes, releasing hits like Rock Your World (Joho, Joho) which gained international acclaim. His career was launched when Patrick Adams recognized his talent, leading to prolific collaborations. Weeks later started his own projects, scoring chart-topping hits and forming The Jammers under Salsoul Records. Post Salsoul, he transitioned to Electro and House, creating multiple labels with Reynald Deschamps and releasing an array of singles and albums into the mid-90s. Today, Weeks continues to produce music, with a vast collection of unreleased tracks.

LEARN MORE

About Roddy Lindsay

Roddy Lindsay

Roddy Lindsay is Taking Back The Groove's producer and started the Taking Back The Groove documentary film project in the fall of 2022. Roddy is an entrepreneur, software engineer, and tech executive, as well as a co-founder and board chairman of the music nonprofit Envelop, which operates the Envelop SF music venue in San Francisco. He has been DJing and collecting classic disco and house records for nearly twenty years.

Panelists

Chuck Fishman

Chuck Fishman is a music industry consultant at TONAL Agency providing artist and label services to independent record labels, and both emerging and legacy artists. He's a tireless artist advocate being that he himself is an artist leading the 6-person disco-funk-house music production team FSQ, an integral part of the dance music record label Soul Clap Records. Chuck has 30 years of experience working in music beginning his career in the mid 1990s as a touring and recording artist with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic (P-Funk). He works with the Estates of Charlie Parker and Michael Jackson through JAM Jampol artist management, and at TONAL with the Estate of James Mtume (Mtume "Juicy Fruit", Miles Davis band) to keep the legacy of these important artists alive and thriving. Chuck also has deep experience in working for technology companies that enable the music industry including most recently growing the market for music metadata solutions at Gracenote. He is currently serving on the Executive board of the Association for Electronic Music representing the interests of rights holders in the dance music industry.

Vivek Sridharan

Vivek Sridharan is a Partner at Counsel LLP and has been with the firm since its inception in 2007. His primary practice includes general business representation of entertainment industry clients, including artists, bands, music festivals, digital media companies, event producers, content creators, and licensors in transactions, deals, copyright, trademark and corporate matters. Vivek’s entrepreneurial experience in the industry informs his approach to representing clients in his legal practice. Before becoming an attorney, Vivek worked in the music industry as one of the first employees of the influential digital music start-up IODA (Independent Online Distribution Alliance). At IODA he wore multiple hats, signing labels and artists to distribution deals and working as the company’s financial analyst. IODA was eventually acquired by Sony Music and merged into The Orchard. Vivek has always loved music and for many years was a hip hop DJ at various venues and college and community radio stations. He also jams regularly on Indian percussion instruments.

Become a Gray Area Member

As a Gray Area Member you get special access to events, behind-the-scenes content and more. Gray Area is a dedicated family of supporters who believe in the power of creative action to catalyze social transformation. Join as a member today to provide sustaining support for our globally unique arts, education, research, and incubation programs.

Subscribe to our mailing list