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Friday, August 28, 2009

"UNWIGGED & UNPLUGGED": An Evening With Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer Comes Out on DVD Sept. 1 from Courgette Records



LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - August 25, 2009) - "UNWIGGED & UNPLUGGED": An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer has the legendary musical and comedic trio performing music from heavy metal's loudest band Spinal Tap along with the folk music from "A Mighty Wind," and more.

The "UNWIGGED & UNPLUGGED" DVD features two plus hours of songs from the original soundtrack "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), the studio album "Break Like The Wind" (1992), and "A Mighty Wind" (2003) along with some special surprises and rarities thrown in as captured during the trio's Spring 2009 tour at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee.

"UNWIGGED & UNPLUGGED" is not about funny costumes and characters, but rather three long time friends and collaborators who make each laugh and love nothing better than to find some excuse to get together and play music. The trio commented, "With this being the 25th Anniversary of the film 'This is Spinal Tap,' we thought this would be fun and at the same time, a little challenging, as we have never performed as ourselves. Think of the evening as three old friends jamming in your living room. As opposed to OUR living rooms; we won't be home."

About the Trio:

-- Guest and McKean first met in college where they wrote songs together.

-- As for McKean and Shearer, they have known each other since 1970 when they were both members of satirical group The Credibility Gap on radio, stage and records.

-- In 1979, Guest, McKean and Shearer appeared together for the first time in a Rob Reiner-produced, sketch comedy television pilot called "The TV Show." It was here the world got their famous glimpse of Spinal Tap featuring lead singer David St. Hubbins (McKean), guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Guest), and bassist Derek Smalls (Shearer).

-- In 1984, Reiner and the lads devised a way to bring the group back this time in a major motion picture, "This Is Spinal Tap," and the rest is history, literally.

-- In 2003, Guest, McKean and Shearer came back reincarnated for the Christopher Guest directed film "A Mighty Wind" where they portrayed The Folksmen, a trio of folk musicians consisting of Mark Shubb (bass vocals and upright bass, played by Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (tenor vocals, mandolin, guitar, and five-string banjo, played by Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (baritone vocals, guitar, and mandolin, played by Michael McKean).

-- The title track "A Mighty Wind" (written by Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy and Michael McKean) was a 2004 Grammy Award Winner for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture while the song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" (written by Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song.

-- The trio have continued to appear and work together in various configurations in the Guest directed films: "Waiting For Guffman" (1996), "Best In Show" (2000) and "For Your Consideration" (2006).

HERE'S WHAT THE CRITICS SAID ABOUT THE UNWIGGED & UNPLUGGED TOUR:

"THE BEST PARODIC ROCK ENTITY ON THE PLANET" - THE BOSTON HERALD

"Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are masters at their music and certainly at making people laugh. They are the modern, hip, American version of Monty Python." - JACKSONVILLE TIMES UNION

"These guys write songs so well-engineered that their sheer genius is a marvel, with or without props." - COLUMBUS OTHER PAGES

"It was probably inevitable for Spinal Tap to reunite. But it's hard to imagine another reunion as charming as this one." - DAILY VARIETY

"The jokes, the natural between-song banter, the hilarious and sometimes twisted song lyrics as well as the impeccable comic timing of these three gentlemen could easily make you forget that these guys are good musicians." - DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Find us at http://www.unwigged.com/

Follow Unwigged DVD on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UnwiggedDVD

Follow Harry Shearer on Twitter at www.twitter.com/letwits

YouTube: www.youtube.com/viralmediawest

MySpace: www.myspace.com/UnwiggedandUnplugged

Courgette Records: http://www.courgetterecords.com/

Buy it at Amazon.com


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