Press Kit

I Remember Reading About the ARC Somewhere...

"The ARC...whose three-letter nickname is supposed to remind its clients that like Noah, it has... two copies of everything."
--Bernard Stamler, The New York Times

"Where else can you find a licorice Beatles record in perfect condition?"
--USAir

"A Record collection that will make Tower Records shake, the Library of Congress tremble and Tipper Gore faint dead away..."
--Bill Barol, Newsweek

"It is so important to preserve our music and have a place where it's accessible, to go back and listen to old recordings and experience firsthand what life and the art form was like at that time. The ARChive is the only place that is saving our product."
--Nile Rodgers, Billboard

"In a country that has lost too much culture simply because no one has bother to save it, there are a lot worse uses for money than a nondescriminatory music archive."
--David Hinckley, Daily News

"When the future comes, you who have supported the ARC will never have to stand in line at Tower again."
--David Byrne, at the ARChive Benefit Party, 1992

Who Uses the ARChive?

The ARChive performs services for a wide range of individuals and organizations, including:

Research Projects

AFTRA
Research identifying individual bandmembers who were members of early rock & R&B groups.

BMI
Complete cataloging of all discs that received RIAA Gold or Platinum designation in 1987.

Def Jam Records / Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz
Sampling data & record locating.

Brian Eno
Located natural sound field/ethnic recordings for performance & pop record searches.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Lyrics, Miriam Makeba's version "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

Madonna
Provided sheet music & versions of "I Got You Babe" for Don't Bungle The Jungle Rainforest Benefit.

Located 50,000 authors of musical compositions for MUZE electronic database.

Vox Humana
Promo consultation for "New York Concert for Human Rights", 1989, Beacon Theater, with Van Morrison, Abdullah Ibrahim, Hermeto Pascoal, Michel Camilo & the Danish Radio Big Band.

Research for Film, Theater & Television

AMC
500-page overview of uses of sound in non-musical films for series of Hollywood documentaries.

BBC (UK) / Panoptic Ltd.
Song selection for Television documentary "Corporate America." Selected & located American songs involving work and leisure themes for soundtrack. Credit.

George Butler (Pumping Iron)
Publishing/research for "In The Blood", a film on hunting. Credit.

CBS-TV / "48 HRS."
Background information on Paul McCartney for television segment.

City Arts Series / WNET
Locating music coordinator for WNET's "What's On" magazine program.

Jonathan Demme
Background info on "Compas" music for "Haiti, Dreams of Democracy."

Florentine Films
Research & locating masters for soundtrack of Ken Burns mini-series "Baseball"...credit.

Tom Hanks' directorial debut, "That Thing You Do" Research on one-hit-wonder bands

Robert Altman's film "Kansas City" Preliminary research of jazz styles

Museum of Broadcasting
Locating sources/film footage of performances at the Apollo Theater.

Orion Pictures
Foreign language versions of songs for film release in other territories.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Found rare footage for Induction Dinner, NYC, January 1989...credit. Also ‘91, ‘93.

Martin Scorsese
"GoodFellas". Song searches, incl. Italian version of "I Will Follow Him". Also source material for film soundtrack, "The Last Temptation of Christ." Credit.

Denzel Washington's film "Devil in a Blue Dress" Song Search and research of Black music in 1948 Los Angeles.

Wooster Group / Willem DeFoe
Locating and clearing song rights.

Research for Publications

"ARChive Guide to World Music"
700-page encyclopedia to be published in 1998 by Random House.

"Extended Play"
Essay for catalog & loan of recordings for show, Emily Harvey Gallery, NYC credit.

"Hot 100 Singles," Joel Whitburn Books
Fact-finding on artists & songs.

"Lipstick Traces," Greil Marcus, Harvard University Press
Credit.

"The Readers Catalog," David Wheeler, ARC co-founder
Music Reference book Consultant credit.

"Ricky Nelson," Philip Bashe, Simon & Schuster
Credit.

"The New Trouser Press Record Guide," ed. Ira Robbins, Collier Books
Research done by Richard Gehr at the ARChive.

Research for Sound Recordings

"At the Dark End of the Street" by James Carr, Blue Side/Upside Records
Located source recordings and mastertapes. Named "Best Reissue Album" in the 1987 "Village Voice" Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.

"Konbit," Various Artists, A&M Records
Background information & record search for Jonathan Demme's Haitian compilation LP to benefit local efforts to drill wells & provide clean water. Credit

Rhythm King and Mute Records(UK)
Various rights and master tape searches. Sony Music
Isley Brothers research for re-issue project.

Loose Cannon/Polygram
Covers to photograph & LPs to use as masters, Richard Pryor & Redd Foxx CDs. credit.

Rounder Records
Biographical research for "Divine Divas" (Rounder, 5071/2/3, 1997), credit.

Talent Research

Art Against AIDS Benefit
Chose artists from widely divergent backgrounds to collaborate, such as Laurie Anderson with Gidon Kremer, and Philip Glass with Karen Akers. The Tunnel, June 1987.

Creative Time, a not-for-profit arts organization
Recommended experimental & ethnic musicians.

Mango/Island Records
Located African singers (Izulu Dance Theater) for recording session with Soca artist Arrow, from Montserrat. Sing on "Tell Mama" on the LP "Knock Dem Dead."

Martin Scorsese
Susan Deihim, vocalist, raising of Lazarus scene, "The Last Temptation of Christ." Credit.

Sony Music
Locating musical artists who draw or paint for special portfolio and upcoming CD.

World Financial Center
Presented live bands, "Dance on the Waterfront" outdoor summer series, Aug, 1997, including; Orchestra Broadway, Geno Delafose & Rosie Flores