Trailer: MANSON: MUSIC FROM AN UNSOUND MIND Explores Cult Leader’s Failed Music Career
Josh Millican
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With Charles Manson set to return from the grave as a character in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, expect interest in the real-life exploits of the infamous cult leader to surge. Many will be surprised to learn that, in 1967, Mason had a legitimate shot at rock and roll superstardom.
Would fame have prevented the terrifying murders that paralyzed Los Angeles in 1969? Did rejection influence or accelerate his criminal designs? And most importantly, was Manson even any good?
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These are questions the documentary Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind seeks to answer. Give the trailer a spin at the top of the article and read the synopsis below.
Synopsis:
When career-criminal Charles Manson was released from prison in 1967 after a ten-year stretch, he headed straight into the heart of San Francisco during the Summer of Love. He had one goal – to become a rock star. The film follows Manson’s journey from the Haight-Ashbury to the Sunset Strip, recording sessions in Hollywood’s most illustrious studios and auditioning for the most powerful figures in the music industry. It reveals the untold story of his musical ambitions, his close friendship with Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson, and the fear and pain that spread through his Los Angeles contacts once they discovered the darker side of the man they called “The Wizard.” As Manson’s dreams fell apart, it would lead to his descent into violence and chaos.
“I first found out about Manson’s musical ambitions back in 2007, while producing a Byrds documentary,” said writer and director Tom O’Dell (How the Beatles Changed the World, Duane Allman: Song of the South). “It was an unbelievable backstory to a case I thought I understood. We’ve gone back and have interviewed those who were actually there, who believed in Manson’s talent and were appalled by his transformation into a monster. The revelations in this film make the Manson myth more real, more complex and ultimately more tragic.”
Interviewees include Manson Family member Dianne Lake, who joined Manson’s cult at just 14 years old and was arrested with him two years later; Dennis Wilson’s song-writing partner Gregg Jakobson, who became Manson’s closest ally on the LA scene and was a key witness for the prosecution at his trial; Manson’s fellow inmate from 1966, Phil Kaufman, who would release the cult leader’s only ever album; Beach Boys’ producer Stephen Desper, who recorded Manson at Brian Wilson’s home studio, and Ernie Knapp, the guitarist in Manson’s only ever band, The Milky Way, and many more.
The film will release on all major VOD platforms on August 13th
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What do you think of the synopsis and trailer for Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
