. ••••:••••• • • Arts Entertainment `SHADOWS' r •• ,•• 4•,. '‘ Tickets start at $20! For tickets, call 313.237.SING or visit www.michiganopera.org from page 73 JN: Tell me more about your Jewish background. Do you think that being Jewish influenced you in your drive to tell this story? AS: That's something I've given a lot of thought to over the years. From a very young age I worked with my father. I was always around black peo- ple way more than the average white kid was. In Philly, there were always a lot of Jewish businessmen working in the ghetto. They had variety stores, cloth- ing stores. My father was in the ciga- rette-vending business. The mob controlled all the "good" neighborhoods. My father, being an independent, had to go into the worst parts of the city to do his business. The mob didn't want any part of that. It was too dangerous. But there was a history in my family of a lot of interaction with African- Americans. My grandparents were very, very religious. And my father was always willing to help people out. In the Jewish religion, it's called tzedakah. I don't think that I was consciously thinkinc, about that, but it was the way I was raised. My parents did a good job on that end. DaimlerChrysfer sponsors the Detroit Opera House Dance Series. DAINTLERCHRYSLER These performances are presented with leadership s support from theUniversity of Michigan. Media Spans*, Da-a:mgr., Performance Sponsors RANK Inve,iments Introducing... ar1 ► bird Menu M op Tours 4:30 - 6:30 Selected Menu Items are $8 95 - $1095 All Dinners include Bread, Soup or Salad Where can you get r % OF F O ' Gourmet Italian Dishes Total Food Bill at reasonable prices? 1 coupon per table. Valid Mon.-Thurs. • With Coupon • Not good with any other offer or Early Bird Special • Expires 77/30/02 ape/v(17,z 4.00.0 r 626 2+8 -8 55-39 9 3 5 Orchard Lake Rd. NE. comer of Maple 6, Orchard Lic- hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30-10 • rri 1 1:30-11 • 5at+:30-11 • Sunday +30,9 Not Good with any other offer or Promotion! HOUSE OF INDIA For Authentic Expires 77/30/02 Indian Cuisine Mon-Thurs 11:30-10 Fri 11:30-11 . Sat 12-11 • Sun 12-10 TN (248) 553-7391 11/15 28841 Orchard Lake Road (between 12 & 13 Mile Rd.) • Farmington Hills 2002 74 JN: So, in a way, the film itself is tzedakah? AS: I think so. Really, the film has to make a $10-million profit just for me to break even. I knew I probably was- n't going to make money on this. It was more an affair of the heart. Whether I have a Don Quixote complex or what, I took it upon myself to help [the Funk Brothers] get their dream. JN: Was that also the case for your partners? AS: Definitely. [Director/Producer] Paul Justman and [Producer] Sandy Passman were heroes. Paul was in this about 11 years; Sandy, six years. That's a long time for people to hang in there and fight against overwhelming odds. I can't say enough about them. As far as the Jewish connection between me, Paul and Sandy: When we were trying to come up with a management name, we would some- , times kid around and jokingly call ourselves "Three Jews Management" or — you know the old Louis Jordan song "Five Guys Named Moe"? — we thought about callino. ourselves "Three Guys Named Moishe." AS: In addition to everything else I've done, I've probably played 2,000 Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs. I've played these songs over, and over, and over, and over. Every bar mitzvah band has its obligatory Motown medley. It's all part of my background. JN: It must mean a lot to you to have your dedication to the Funk Brothers' story pay off. AS: Exactly. The only musical phe- nomenon of the last 40 years that was as big as the Beatles is Motown. And every single story from Motown has been told and retold and exploited over and over. Berry Gordy borrowing $500 dollars — you've heard that story a million times. This was the first new story. Suddenly, we pop up and say, "Guess what, fellas, you didn't know 50 percent of the story." The way the Motown story has been marketed all along — it's the Temps, it's the Supremes, it's Stevie, it's Marvin. To me, the Motown story is the story of a dozen musicians and a cast of revolving vocalists. That's the Motown story to me. But, then again, I'm a musician. JN: So did the film live up to your expectations? Did you achieve your goal? AS: My belief with this film was all we had to do was not screw it up. We had the greatest story in the world. We just had to let [the Funk Brothers] tell their story the way they remembered it and get the hell out of the way. And that's basically what we did. In a couple places they get some braggadocio; they're strutting their stuff. Well, they're entitled to it. They stood in supermarkets with their music playing overhead and people in the checkout lines are snapping their fingers or singing to it. And these peo- ple don't know they're standing next to the guy who played on it. They've had enough years of aggra- vation, and anonymity, and obscurity. It takes its toll. The fact that they're finally getting their due now is a great thing. If this film gets them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — Jamerson already got in last year — or if maybe the soundtrack wins them a Grammy, it'll be a good thing. It'll be a mitzvah. 17_, o JN: How about your musical train- ing? Did being Jewish influence you there, too? Standing In The Shadows ofMotown opens Friday, Nov. 15, in Detroit.