Lou Curtiss may have passed away in 2018, but his larger-than-life legacy still looms over San Diego's local music scene.
The Seattle-born founder of Folk Arts Rare Records and the San Diego Folk Festival is the subject of a new documentary from musician and filmmaker Yale Strom.
Titled "Recordially Yours, Lou Curtiss," the film explores Curtiss' early life, his exploits as a show promoter, and his mentorship of local musicians such as Tom Waits, Allison Brown and A.J. Croce.
“There’s a lot of musicians still playing — recording both locally and nationally — that people like, but don’t know before they became well known, they had a mentor named Lou Curtiss,” Strom said. “When they would come into the store, his record store, he would say ‘Here’s a record, why don’t you buy this.’ But, he’d love to tell the story, say ‘This is why this record will inform you of the style that you’re learning to play and that you’re trying to make a living at.’”
The film will debut Friday, June 23rd at the Digital Gym Cinema.
