'Storefront Hitchcock' Coming This Fall

07/20/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(7/20/98) - There's finally a tentative release date for Storefront Hitchcock, the film by Jonathan Demme and the accompanying live soundtrack album by veteran British eccentric Robyn Hitchcock.

The album is tentatively set for an October 27 release date on Warner Bros., while the film is scheduled to open November 18 in New York. In making the film, Demme captured four performances by Hitchcock on December 10 and 11, 1996 in an abandoned New York City storefront located on 14th Street.

For the shows, Hitchcock was backed by Tim Keegan (of Tim Keegan & Homer Lounge) on guitar and backing vocals, and Deni Bonet on violin. He performed a mixture of old favorites and songs specifically written for the performance.

"Robyn and Jonathan devised the setlist," says Rick Gershon, Hitchcock's publicist at Warner Bros. Records. "Jonathan had a lot of input over what he wanted to hear in the film."

Witnessing the performances was a select group of approximately 100 guests, including Hitchcock's mother and actor Tim Robbins ,who rollerskated by the storefront one day with his son.

The interesting thing about the project--which will also be released on home video and possibly on vinyl--is that each configuration will have slightly different material, Gershon adds.

In addition to Storefront Hitchcock, singer-songwriter Hitchcock has already completed another studio album, which will be released some time next year on Warner Bros. The album, which features contributions from L.A. session-player-about-town Jon Brion and Grant Lee Buffalo frontman Grant Lee Phillips, is the "best record Hitchcock has ever made," Gershon adds.