MIRA presents an evening with ‘Wrecking Crew’ director Denny Tedesco

Music Industry Recording Arts

St. Petersburg College students and the public are invited this month to screen a documentary about the musicians who drove many 60s hits and meet the film’s director.

SPC’s Music Industry Recording Arts Program presents “The Wrecking Crew: An Evening with Denny Tedesco” on April 24.  Tedesco’s film will be screened at the Muvico Sundial 19 with a reception and Q&A with the director following at the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College’s Side Door Cabaret.

Adobe Photoshop PDFProceeds from the event will support MIRA scholarships at SPC. The MIRA program helps students develop “real world” skills that artists need to thrive in a diverse and competitive music industry.

What the Funk Brothers did for Motown, The Wrecking Crew did, only bigger, for the West Coast Sound. Six years in a row in the 60s and early 70s, the Grammy for Record of the Year went to Wrecking Crew recordings. And now, “The Wrecking Crew” tells the story in pictures and that oh, so glorious sound. The favorite songs of a generation are all here, presented by the people who made them.

“The Wrecking Crew” is a documentary film produced and directed by Denny Tedesco, son of legendary late Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. It didn’t matter if it was Nat “King” Cole, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, The Byrds or The Beach Boys. These dedicated musicians brought the flair and musicianship that made the American “west coast sound” a dominant cultural force around the world. The film is a fun and moving tribute from Denny to his father and to the music, the times and to the secret star-making machine known only as The Wrecking Crew.

MIRA offers a well-rounded, technology-based educational experience to student musicians, composers, producers, DJs, live-sound reinforcement enthusiasts, broadcast audio engineers and post-production technologists. It emphasizes creative processes, technical training, business practices and entrepreneurial skills in a collaborative environment.

  • Time: Film screening at 6:15 p.m.
  • Location: Muvico Sundial 19 + IMAX, 151 2nd Ave N, St Petersburg
  • Time: Reception and Q&A with Denny Tedesco from 9 – 11 p.m.
  • Location: Palladium’s Side Door Cabaret, 253 5th Ave N, St Petersburg
  • Admission: FREE for SPC students with ID. For non-students, a suggested $10 donation goes towards Music Industry/Recording Arts scholarships at SPC. Limited theater seating, so get there early!
  • Contact: Chad Mairn, mairn.chad@spcollege.edu; 727-394-6917