Wyland's Blues Planet: Triptych

What influenced this work?

The 2010 Gulf Oil Spill disaster impacted the lives of
thousands of people and the ecological balance of the region. During the disaster I was invited by the National Wildlife Federation to travel to New Orleans to see first hand the devastating impact to the region. Here I found oil as far as the eye could see across the Gulf Of Mexico from horizon to horizon. When I got got home after the clean up efforts I knew as a pure artist that I had to use my art to try and make a difference. Something about being in New Orleans, the home of the blues, inspired me to respond in a different way. Instead of my normal medium of paints and brushes, I channeled my response into music. Over the weeks that followed, I wrote 60 blues songs. Each song told an impactful story about our environment. It was these efforts to interpret the disaster and its aftermath through powerful assemblage of song and story that would lead to my returning to New Orleans the following year for the Gulf Spill disaster with an all star cast of musicians to record these songs and my film Blues Planet: Triptych follows our Journey.

Storytelling brings people together. How does it in this film?

After writing the songs, I phoned my friend Taj Mahal, the famous blues musician, and I said, "Taj, It's time to get a band together." When he looked at my lyrics he saw something special and agreed to record with me but we could not make this a reality without the help of some friends. So in May 2011, at the one-year the anniversary of the Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, we gathered some of the best blues musicians in the world in New Orleans at Piety Street Recording Studios, and the Wyland Blues Planet Band was formed. We looked at it as a new genre of “Global Blues” that spotlights my passion for conservation through the blues sounds of Memphis, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Delta. The band was like a who's who. We had Taj Mahal, of course, Rod Piazza and Common Sense Vocalist Nick-I. We had Saturday Night Live trombone player Steve Turre, who handled horn arrangements, Delfeayo Marsalis, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s Roger Lewis and Kirk M. Joseph, Sr., New Orleans Clarinetist Dr. Michael White, Blues Pianist Jon Cleary, Miss Honey, Henry Carvajal, Rusty Zinn, Dave Kida, Jonny Viau, Hank VanSickle, Andromeda Turre, Willie K, Mitch Woods, Amy Hanialii Gilliom, Mick Weaver, Joe Sublett, Darrell Leonard, Tony Braunagel, Jon Cleary, Johnny Lee Schell, and Larry Fulcher.

What was the funniest thing that happened during filming?

On the third day of recording of our film's soundtrack we went outside with the band on a break. But musicians being musicians, everyone brought their instruments with them. Eventually, this became a single line march through the industrial part of New Orleans to the song, It's A Wonderful Life." The band was able to decompress and have a little fun. We ended up in a dead end alley where I painted a mural of a sad earth face. I wanted to do it quickly and very large like I always do. So I took a bucket of paint and threw it against this three story wall. Well, guess what? The bucket of paint bounced off the wall and back onto my face. I was blue as a smurf from head to toe.

Is there ant geographical importance to the film?

Recorded in New Orleans’ famed Piety Street Studio, the soundtrack explores a new genre of “Global Blues” that spotlights environmental artist Wyland’s passion for conservation. The blues
sounds of Memphis, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Delta that are highlighted on the album are performed by musicians that grew up in the region or have spent considerable time performing in the many blues clubs in the region. It is these connections that imbue Blues Planet: Triptych when it comes to the future of the planet, and there’s no better musical statement of the blues.

Tell us about the music in the film.

Blues Planet: Triptych is driven by a hard-charging rhythmic exploration of our relationship to our environment through blues music. Bringing together the finest blues musicians in America against the backdrop of the 2010 Oil Spill Disaster, Blues Planet: Triptych explores the healing nature of music in the face of global environmental change. Notable bluesmen and Gramy award winning artists Taj Mahal, Jon Cleary, Rod Piazza, and Steve Turre, among others, create a number of different themes, but it all centers around encouraging people to stay positive and continue to make a difference for our planet.

What would be your pitch for the film/

Seven years after the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, the spirit of the people of The Gulf endures. In remembrance, renowned artist and environmentalist Wyland announces the release of Blues Planet: Triptych. Blues Planet: Triptych issues a call to action with a powerful collection of blues by notable bluesmen Taj Mahal, Rod Piazza and an all-star lineup of musicians. “There's healing in music," Wyland says. "These songs have a number of different themes, but it all comes back to encouraging people to stay positive and continue to make a difference for our planet." Wyland penned forty-five original songs for the three album series in the wake of his post-oil spill travels to the gulf with groups like the National Wildlife Federation. He subsequently rented out famed Piety Street Studios in New Orleans in 2001 and brought together the best blues musicians in the regions. The artist’s masterful musical interpreters Taj Mahal, Rod Piazza and Common Sense Vocalist Nick-I alternate on center stage, with rock solid backing from Saturday Night Live trombone player Steve Turre, who handled horn arrangements. Other featured musicians include Delfeayo Marsalis, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s Roger Lewis and Kirk M. Joseph, Sr., New Orleans Clarinetist Dr. Michael White, Blues Pianist Jon Cleary, Miss Honey, Henry Carvajal, Rusty Zinn, Dave Kida, Jonny Viau, Hank VanSickle, Andromeda Turre,
Willie K, Mitch Woods, Amy Hanialii Gilliom, Mick Weaver, Joe Sublett, Darrell Leonard, Tony Braunagel, Jon Cleary, Johnny Lee Schell, and Larry Fulcher