Live From the Space Stage: A Halyx Story (1 Viewer)

[Darby67]

 

[MatthewA]

I highly recommend the documentary for fans of Disney, Disneyland, the music of the 1980s, and independent documentaries in general. And Mike Post was involved, too, making the timing perfect since I had recently binge-watched LA Law, which they now own. They managed to capture a niche within Disney history that even I was unaware of, although I recognized Lora Mumford's voice from this song from the 1984 pop album Splashdance without knowing who she was. Even to this day, it says "Various Artists," and COPPA makes it impossible to point out who it is since you can no longer comment on anything for children. But as for the film itself, the music is good, the interviews are very informative (including one with a Disney music executive who shares a name with a classic animated feature character), and it almost kills me to think what could have been if Disney had not…

Spoiler: why you've probably never heard of them until now

given up the album rights to Elektra Asylum records right before Warner Records absorbed them, dropping them like a rock. They believed that the people who bought rock records would ignore one that came from any of their imprints. They kept Mumford under contract doing children's albums, but then she quit the business and died relatively young from diabetes. No one knows where the masters are; Post admits he didn't save a copy, and no one at Warner Records would respond to requests.

It's an emotional rollercoaster that gives Space Mountain a run for its money.

 

[Darby67]

I highly recommend the documentary for fans of Disney, Disneyland, the music of the 1980s, and independent documentaries in general. And Mike Post was involved, too, making the timing perfect since I had recently binge-watched LA Law, which they now own. They managed to capture a niche within Disney history that even I was unaware of, although I recognized Lora Mumford's voice from this song from the 1984 pop album Splashdance without knowing who she was. Even to this day, it says "Various Artists," and COPPA makes it impossible to point out who it is since you can no longer comment on anything for children. But as for the film itself, the music is good, the interviews are very informative (including one with a Disney music executive who shares a name with a classic animated feature character), and it almost kills me to think what could have been if Disney had not…

Spoiler: why you've probably never heard of them until now

given up the album rights to Elektra Asylum records right before Warner Records absorbed them, dropping them like a rock. They believed that the people who bought rock records would ignore one that came from any of their imprints. They kept Mumford under contract doing children's albums, but then she quit the business and died relatively young from diabetes. No one knows where the masters are; Post admits he didn't save a copy, and no one at Warner Records would respond to requests.

It's an emotional rollercoaster that gives Space Mountain a run for its money.

Matthew:

I'm glad you enjoyed the documentary as much as I did. I honestly never heard of Halyx until just a few days ago when a story about the documentary popped up on my SmartNews app on my phone. I watched the trailer first and was hooked as it exactly the kind of kitsch I love. Far from being solely focused on the kitsch, the documentary is a thoughtful and moving tale about the making it (or not) in the entertainment business. I would love to see this producer and director team up again to tackle the story of J.P. and the Silver Stars, a steel drum band that played in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom in Florida from the seventies through the nineties.



Or perhaps the sordid tales from the Eastern Winds, the booze cruise boat at the Polynesian Resort that operated from 1971 to 1978

A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: The Eastern Winds

Whatever Became of the Eastern Winds at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort?

 

[Darby67]

Here is the trailer for the Halyx documentary:

 

[Darby67]

Four more Halyx videos:









Enjoy!