March 1, 2007 – In a rare St. John visit, St. Croix's legendary James Brewster will appear several times around St. John this weekend in conjunction with a Friday showing of a documentary about his music, "Jamesie, King of Scratch."
The documentary will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the St. John School of the Arts. If more than the 100 people who can fit into the school's auditorium show up to see the documentary, a second screening will begin at around 9:30 p.m.
Following the initial screening, Jamesie and the All-Stars Band will play at 9 p.m. Friday at Fred's Bar and Restaurant in Cruz Bay. Tickets are $5 at the door, which includes both the documentary screening and the performance at Fred's.
Jamesie and the band will also perform from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Westin Resort and Villas Beach Bar.
Part-time St. John resident Andrea Leland produced the documentary. "He's an absolute icon, a real old-time tradition bearer," Leland said of Brewster Thursday.
The documentary, which outlines the historical significance of scratch band music, includes performances by Jamesie and the All-Stars at various locations on St. Croix, the U.S. mainland, in Denmark and with friends.
"It puts the music is a cultural context," Leland said, adding that Brewster and the band would be answering questions at the School of the Arts screening.
Leland has produced several documentaries and holds a master's of fine arts from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
The documentary was sponsored in part by the V.I. Council on the Arts.
For more information on the making of "Jamesie, King of Scratch," visit www.jamesieproject.com.
The DVD of "Jamesie, King of Scratch," as well as a CD of the band's Chicago performance, T-shirts and posters will be for sale at the School of the Arts event and on the website.
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