Ghost Brothers of Darkland County Getting an iBooks Release; 20-City Tour Coming in October
Steve Barton
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StephenKing.com
http://www.stephenking.com/promo/ghost_brothers_of_darkland_county/soundtrack/ibook_press_release.html
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If you’ve been following the ongoing saga of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County from Stephen King, John Mellancamp, and T Bone Burnett, here’s some new news about the project: This week it’s being released as an illustrated interactive digital book with exclusive video and graphics.
Sounds cool, right? Hopefully you have iBooks because it was created especially for that particular app. It’s marks King’s first digital book conceived and designed especially for Apple’s iBooks. Also, a 20-city tour of the play is kicking off in October.
From the Press Release:
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (Hear Music/Concord Music Group), the long-awaited Southern Gothic supernatural musical from co-conspirators Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett, will be released as an illustrated digital book created and designed especially for Apple’s iBooks on June 3rd, 2013. Blending the special project’s Stephen King-penned libretto, original songs and lyrics written by John Mellencamp, excerpts of key dialog along with interactive video, sound effects and graphics, the digital book will provide readers a one-of-a-kind immersive experience into this extraordinary collaboration.
A stellar cast of guest artists including Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case, Taj Mahal, Ryan Bingham, Will Dailey and Kris Kristofferson along with actors Matthew McConaughey, Samantha Mathis and Meg Ryan perform the book’s songs and audio excerpts. In an historic note, the Ghost Brothers of Darkland County digital book edition is Stephen King’s very first digital book conceived and designed especially for Apple’s iBooks in the legendary author’s long and illustrious career.
Pre-order GHOST BROTHERS OF DARKLAND COUNTY exclusively from the iBookstore.
The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County saga began when Mellencamp told King about a cabin on his land in Indiana where two brothers had gotten in a fight over a girl; one brother accidentally killing the other, only to die along with the girl in a car crash a short time later. King came up with an outline for a play in a matter of days. And then off and on, back and forth, they began to develop it into a full-length musical.
The superb blues ‘n roots music of Ghost Brothers reflects the wide range of styles and influences needed for a work that jumps back and forth across decades. Rather than use the songs to propel the play’s narrative, as in a conventional musical, Mellencamp chose to make them a way to reveal the emotions and inner workings of the characters—like Neko Case’s exquisite, unapologetic delivery of “That’s Who I Am;” the intense passion of Kristofferson’s “How Many Days;” or Costello’s cunning “That’s Me,” which establishes the persona of “The Shape,” the Puck-like devil figure at the heart of Ghost Brothers who floats between the worlds of the living and the spirits. Numerous other highlights include the thunderous, dramatic ensemble piece “Tear This Cabin Down” and “Jukin,’” a grease-laden delta-rocker performed by Sheryl Crow. Mellencamp himself delivers the closing “Truth,” a sublime meditation on the moral issues underpinning the action.
As the story emerged, it became clear to the collaborators that Ghost Brothers had taken them into unfamiliar territory—and they liked it that way. “John can make rock & roll records and I can write books for the rest of our lives,” says King, “but that’s the safe way to do it, and that’s no way to live if you want to stay creative. We were willing to be educated, and at our age, that’s an accomplishment.”
The highly successful original production of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, staged by Atlanta’s well-regarded Alliance Theatre, premiered in the spring of 2012. A tour of 20 American cities throughout the Midwest and Southeast has been confirmed by AEG beginning October 10 in Bloomington, IN, and ending November 6 in Grand Rapids, MI.
Track Listing:
1. That’s Me ‒ Elvis Costello
2. That’s Who I Am ‒ Neko Case
3. So Goddamn Smart ‒ Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow
4. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong About Me ‒ Elvis Costello
5. Brotherly Love – Ryan Bingham, Will Dailey
6. How Many Days ‒ Kris Kristofferson
7. You Are Blind ‒ Ryan Bingham
8. Home Again ‒ Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Taj Mahal
9. You Don’t Know Me – Rosanne Cash
10. My Name Is Joe ‒ Clyde Mulroney
11. Tear This Cabin Down ‒ Taj Mahal
12. And Your Days Are Gone ‒ Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin
13. Jukin’ – Sheryl Crow
14. What Kind Of Man Am I ‒ Kris Kristofferson, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow Dave Alvin, Taj Mahal
15. So Goddamn Good ‒ Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, Sheryl Crow
16. Away From This World – Sheryl Crow
17. Truth – John Mellencamp
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