Drummer Billy Conway, whose work with revered Nineties group Morphine blended jazz, blues, and rock into a critically-acclaimed amalgam, died on Sunday at the age of 65. Conway’s friend and bandmate Jeffrey Foucault confirmed the musician’s death to Rolling Stone, adding that the cause of death was cancer.
“We are devastated to learn that our brother, Morphine drummer Billy Conway, has passed, finally succumbing to cancer after a long fight,” the band Vapors of Morphine, who Conway performed with alongside other former members, wrote on Facebook. “Our deepest condolences...
“We are devastated to learn that our brother, Morphine drummer Billy Conway, has passed, finally succumbing to cancer after a long fight,” the band Vapors of Morphine, who Conway performed with alongside other former members, wrote on Facebook. “Our deepest condolences...
- 12/20/2021
- by Jason Newman
- Rollingstone.com
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Chicago – I can still remember when I first heard the band Morphine. It was the title track from their stellar 1993 album, “Cure For Pain,” which also serves as the title for a strong new rock doc about this underrated and underappreciated trio that’s now playing On Demand. The movie has some rough edges in terms of production and its subject’s notorious privacy makes him a difficult centerpiece but if the greatest accomplishment of “Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story” is merely that it reminds viewers of the pure genius of Morphine then it’s done some good.
A two-string bass, a baritone saxophone, and a drum set. That shouldn’t be a band. But with the amazing songwriting of Mark Sandman, it became a very successful one under the name Morphine. 1992’s “Good” was a strong debut but it was 1993’s “Cure For Pain” that really...
Chicago – I can still remember when I first heard the band Morphine. It was the title track from their stellar 1993 album, “Cure For Pain,” which also serves as the title for a strong new rock doc about this underrated and underappreciated trio that’s now playing On Demand. The movie has some rough edges in terms of production and its subject’s notorious privacy makes him a difficult centerpiece but if the greatest accomplishment of “Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story” is merely that it reminds viewers of the pure genius of Morphine then it’s done some good.
A two-string bass, a baritone saxophone, and a drum set. That shouldn’t be a band. But with the amazing songwriting of Mark Sandman, it became a very successful one under the name Morphine. 1992’s “Good” was a strong debut but it was 1993’s “Cure For Pain” that really...
- 9/3/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Wichita’s own Tallgrass Film Festival announced its feature lineup, and a schedule of events Friday. The ninth annual Tallgrass Film Festival is coming to 16 venues in the heart of downtown Wichita and the surrounding area from Oct. 20-23, and will showcase 44 independent feature films representing 18 countries from around the world.
“Get Twisted,” this year’s theme is “a nod to the state of Kansas’ notorious weather patterns, as well as to the beauty of independent filmmaking, which allows filmmakers to tell interesting, unique and non-formulaic stories.”
“The Tallgrass Programming Committee has worked for several months and is extremely proud of the 2011 feature film lineup,” said Co-Director of Programming Nick Pope. “The team has strived to fill the weekend with films that will connect with an audience of varied taste. We’re excited about the amount of world cinema represented in the program and are pleased to be bringing in...
“Get Twisted,” this year’s theme is “a nod to the state of Kansas’ notorious weather patterns, as well as to the beauty of independent filmmaking, which allows filmmakers to tell interesting, unique and non-formulaic stories.”
“The Tallgrass Programming Committee has worked for several months and is extremely proud of the 2011 feature film lineup,” said Co-Director of Programming Nick Pope. “The team has strived to fill the weekend with films that will connect with an audience of varied taste. We’re excited about the amount of world cinema represented in the program and are pleased to be bringing in...
- 10/1/2011
- by The Moving Arts
- The Moving Arts Journal
Photograph courtesy of Gatling Pictures.Featuring interviews with Ben Harper, John Medeski, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Mike Watt (The Stooges), Les Claypool (Primus), and Seth Mnookin (a Vanity Fair contributor), Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story tracks the life and career of Morphine front man Mark Sandman. Morphine, whose members achieved the status of cult heroes during the band’s 10 years of existence, formed in Boston in 1989. Known for their distinctly woozy sound, classified by critics as “low rock” (but described by Sandman as “fuck rock”), the group abandoned traditional rock instrumentation in favor of slide bass, multiple saxophones, and drums. The music stopped, however, when Sandman died of a heart attack onstage during a show in Italy in 1999. His last words were: “Thanks, Palestrina. It’s a beautiful night. It’s great to be here and I want to dedicate a super-sexy song to all of you.
- 4/15/2011
- Vanity Fair
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: A number of documentary films that made splashes at this year’s Sundance and South By Southwest film festivals have been added to the schedule for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. A total of 66 selections have been selected for the festival’s New Docs program, which consists of of 43 feature films and 23 shorts from all over the world. This year’s Full Frame fest will be held April 14-17, in Durham, N.C.
“Each year, over a thousand filmmakers give us the opportunity to review their work, and it’s extremely rewarding to curate a selection of titles that represent a wide breadth of the documentary form,” said director of programming, Sadie Tillery.
Specific screening times and venues will be announced with the overall schedule on March 24. Here are the 66 films being screened so far.
New Docs
Angst (Director: Graça Castanheira)
Portuguese filmmaker...
Hollywoodnews.com: A number of documentary films that made splashes at this year’s Sundance and South By Southwest film festivals have been added to the schedule for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. A total of 66 selections have been selected for the festival’s New Docs program, which consists of of 43 feature films and 23 shorts from all over the world. This year’s Full Frame fest will be held April 14-17, in Durham, N.C.
“Each year, over a thousand filmmakers give us the opportunity to review their work, and it’s extremely rewarding to curate a selection of titles that represent a wide breadth of the documentary form,” said director of programming, Sadie Tillery.
Specific screening times and venues will be announced with the overall schedule on March 24. Here are the 66 films being screened so far.
New Docs
Angst (Director: Graça Castanheira)
Portuguese filmmaker...
- 3/17/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
Previously known as Sandman: At Your Service, the upcoming documentary about the life of iconic bassist Mark Sandman and his trio Morphine is finally complete and priming itself for a run on the festival circuit. And with things now wrapped up the film has been rechristened as Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story - a far superior title, I think you'll agree - and released a new trailer.
Cure For Pain examines the life and work of Mark Sandman, deceased frontman of Boston "low rock" band Morphine. From his Newton, Mass., roots to his travels across America and around the globe, Sandman left an indelible imprint as one of the most distinctive musicians of his generation. Along with revisiting the "unique and sultry sound" of his music, Cure For Pain explores the meaning of family through this critically praised and personally conflicted singer, songwriter and innovative instrumentalist.
The...
Cure For Pain examines the life and work of Mark Sandman, deceased frontman of Boston "low rock" band Morphine. From his Newton, Mass., roots to his travels across America and around the globe, Sandman left an indelible imprint as one of the most distinctive musicians of his generation. Along with revisiting the "unique and sultry sound" of his music, Cure For Pain explores the meaning of family through this critically praised and personally conflicted singer, songwriter and innovative instrumentalist.
The...
- 10/19/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Though I discovered the music of Boston trio Morphine relatively late - shortly after the release of what would prove to be their final album, back in the days when 'alternative rock' could still mean something other than loud guitars - I was smitten hard. There was something completely unique about this band, some infectious, and an awful lot of that had to do with lead singer and bassist Mark Sandman. Sandman would die on stage a little while later, struck down by a heart attack during a performance, and the music world would move on in entirely different directions but Morphine has never really been forgotten by those who were around at the time.
Which is why it pleases me greatly that documentary film Sandman: At Your Service is now in production. A straight ahead bio-pic about Sandman's life, there is still lots to be done before it is...
Which is why it pleases me greatly that documentary film Sandman: At Your Service is now in production. A straight ahead bio-pic about Sandman's life, there is still lots to be done before it is...
- 1/30/2010
- Screen Anarchy
If any band ever carried the spirit of Morphine in their blood, it has to be New Zealand reggae-inspired outfit The Black Seeds. Musically the connection is subtle; vocally, Barnaby Weir exhibits the easeful, country-tinged, downtrodden-but-hopeful tendencies of Mark Sandman. Had that man not passed on a decade prior, you'd think he just reappeared somewhere just south of the Shire. Sure, comparisons are awful when dealing with a group as talented as the Black Seeds. This one, however, is an honor--Morphine was a damn good band, and Solid Ground (Easy Star) is a damn fine record. What I loved about Morphine was how much they did with so little. Much the same can be said for the Black Seeds, friends and former band mates of Flight of the Concords. Pulling from a basic selection of vintage ska, dub, and reggae, New...
- 8/26/2009
- by Derek Beres
- Huffington Post
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