Saturday, March 26, 2011

BILL O'BRIEN IN POWDER RIVER and the MOUNTAIN OF GOLD




SGT. BILLY O'BRIEN stars in CRT's POWDER RIVER AND THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD being released on CD and Download April 19th!
Bill was a guitar player and he
worked for Lou Ciarfella, who
was a member of the Junior
Redmen in Wakefield, MA and
played Chief Black Eagle on
the Boomtown show.
Lou mentioned to Bill that Rex
needed a handler for Goldrush
and Bill took the job.
Eventually,with all his musical
talents, he found himself on the
show.

Bill played folk music most of his
young career. He was " a
character with a banjo", (as he
put it to me), In High School, Bill
played in a group called "The
'Wildwood 3" with Chick
Woodman and Steve Potter.
They played in bars and coffee
houses. They found themselves
competing in 'The Battle of the
Bands'.

Bill graduated school in 1963
and followed his older brother
into the Army. He was off to
Korea in 1964.

In the Army, Bill was part of a
folk group that played at Service
Centers. He later, found himself
in a traveling Army show that
entertained the troops. Bill
traveled to Hawaii and even got
to see the whole Orient!

Bill was a member of the U.S.
Cavalry and rose to the rank of
Sergeant,-just like his character
on the Boomtown show.
Bill was also a member of The
Honor Guard at his Fort.

Back in the U.S., Bill met Dick
Kilbride, (who played Pablo on
the show). Dick provided Bill
with a manager to get him jobs
at night time 'happy hrs.'
He made a couple of recordings
to MGM Records. He had
become a pretty busy guy. He
was attending Berkley College
of Music, made a living doing his
music gigs, the Boomtown T.V.
show and traveled all over the
country. He went with Rex
Trailer doing Boomtown road
shows at places like Indian
Ranch and also went on the
Crimson Travel Tours to
" beautiful sunny California ".
If this wasn't enough, he was
also a flight instructor!

When the Boomtown show
ended it's run, "it was time to
find a real job" he said.

Bill and Rex Trailer are reunited in CRT's POWDER RIVER AND THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD.

*Bill's bio is from the great BOOMTOWN MEMORIES site by Bob Jordan!
http://www.boomtownmemories.com/

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

CRT SUMMER STOCK!




We've got a fun summer of titles lined up for CD and Downloads! Great for car trips! Here is the schedule -

MAY 10th
OZMA OF OZ
Dorothy Gale, on a voyage at sea, is tossed overboard during a storm. She is washed ashore at Ev, a country neighboring Oz, where she meets up with her old friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. She also meets Ozma, the new Princess of Oz, who has come to Ev on a mission of her own, which will bring them all in contact with the nefarious Nome King.

JUNE 7th
VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS - Vol. 1
The Tinglers—from an original story by Mark L. Miller In this sequel to the Vincent Price classic The Tingler, Dr. Chapin and his crew search for a primitive tribe with ties to the elusive creature that is spawned from fear with a grip like iron. What they find in the dark jungle gives new meaning to the word terror! Canus—from an original story by Chad Helder In this macabre tale where gothic horror meets the perversions of science, a young boy must survive a bizarre rite of passage—he must confront a creature deep within a mad scientist's dungeon! Road Rage—from an original story by Darren G. Davis An advertising executive involved in a little fender-bender must suffer through a nightmare— the retribution of a sinister adversary with a twisted mind. Fade Away—from an original story by Nick Lyons Private Eye Frank Wood is investigating the mysterious break-ins at the home of a wealthy old man named Jack Leonard. Is there really an intruder or is Jack losing his mind—seeing someone, or something, that isn't really there? Includes a special guest interview with Mr. Price's daughter, Victoria Price.

JUNE 7th
RAY BRADBURY'S THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES
The people of Earth are preparing for war – a war that could potentially destroy the planet. Explorers are sent to Mars to find a new place for humans to colonize. Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams, and metaphor - of crystal pillars and fossil seas—where a fine dust settles on the great empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn - first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars...and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES is presented here as a full cast audio production with an original music score and thousands of sound effects by the award winning Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air. It marks their fourth collaboration with one of the most celebrated fiction writers of our time – Ray Bradbury.

JUNE 14th
GETTYSBURG
Highly detailed and accurate, you will find yourself in the middle of General Buford's skirmish line as he tries to halt the Confederate advance into Gettysburg, you will feel the anguish and hell of war — of the slaughter that took place in the wheat field. You will live the heroism of Picket’s doomed charge and hear the immortal words that President Lincoln delivered in his consecrating address some four months later. No matter your loyalties, Gettysburg will have your heart pounding with its thunderous action, high adventure and suspense. “Here are the fatigue, the despair, the pain, the screams, the deafening cannon plowing through human ranks, death, and dismemberment. Sometimes the politicians are heard, more often the generals and officers and foot soldiers. One would swear that a newspaper reporter with cassette recorder in hand was dashing around the battlefield in the thick of it.” — AudioFile

JULY 5th
TREASURE ISLAND
After finding a treasure map belonging to the notorious pirate Captain Flint, Jim Hawkins, Squire Trelawney, and Doctor Livesey charter a ship and set sail for the Island of Treasure – unaware that most of the crew they have hired once sailed with Flint – including the man with one leg … Long John Silver … and they mean to take the ship and the treasure for themselves. One of the all-time great adventure stories!

JULY 5th
WILLIAM F. NOLAN'S LOGAN'S RUN - LAST DAY
It’s the 23rd Century — at age 21 your life is over. Logan-6 has been trained to kill. Born and bred from conception to be the best of the best. His time is short, but before his life ends he’s got one final mission — find and destroy Sanctuary, a fabled haven for those who chose to defy the system. When Logan meets and falls in love with Jessica, he begins to question the very system he has sworn to protect. Soon they are both running for their lives. When your last day comes, will you lie down and die — or run!

JULY 12th
DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ
n this adventure, Dorothy gets caught in a California earthquake with her cousin Zeb, and they have many adventures underground with none other than the Wizard of Oz! But can they find their way back to the surface world?

AUG. 9th
PERRY MASON AND THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG
Arthur Cartwright, an anxious man, goes to Perry Mason to have his neighbor arrested for his vindictive and noisy dog. He is under the belief that his howling is an indication that somebody has been murdered in the neighborhood. He demands that his will be written bequeathing the estate to the lady living at the neighbor's house. However, the will is mysteriously altered by an unknown person and Cartwright goes missing, along with the lady.

AUG. 9th
THE FATHER BROWN MYSTERIES Vol 2.

Episodes include: The Three Tools of Death — A man is murdered, a man confesses to the murder and is arrested, but Father Brown doesnt believe either claim. The Flying Stars — Father Brown has been invited to a Christmas masquerade, which becomes the target of another robbery. The Point of a Pin — A labor dispute leads to murder. The Invisible Man — The inimitable Father Brown is called to help in the hunt for a mysterious killer, known only as an "invisible man."

AUG. 16th
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S KIDNAPPED
David Balfour has never had an adventure, never sailed the high sea, nor fought in a battle - that changes after the death of his parents. Now he must collect his inheritance from his father's younger brother, and assume his station as man of wealth and standing, but that is not as simple as it sounds. He must first survive and outwit his treacherous uncle to gain what is rightfully his.

SEPT. 6th
A VISIT WITH AESOP
The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air presents J.T. Turner as Aesop in A VISIT WITH AESOP. Highly entertaining and funny, this will surely be enjoyed by both children and adults. Based on his stage play, J.T. Turner weaves these tales in such a way that you will feel you are hearing them for the first time. The Boy who cried Wolf, The Mouse and the Lion, The Grasshopper and the Ant - they're all here, and will surely give you a smile and some laughs .... no matter WHAT your age is! A VISIT WITH AESOP is a new gem that your family is sure to enjoy.

SEPT. 13th
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
“Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony. And whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. And the red looked pretty upon the white snow, and she thought to herself, "Would that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window-frame." Soon after that she had a little daughter, who was as white as snow, and as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony; and she was therefore called Little Snow-white. And when the child was born, the Queen died. A year later, the King remarried a haughty and vain woman and that’s when Snow White’s troubles began.

SEPT. 13th
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
A poor woman lives far from London in a cottage with her "indolent, careless, and extravagant" son, Jack. The two have little money and are forced to sell their last possession, a cow. Jack leads the animal along the road and meets an old man who trades some magic beans for the cow. Jack’s mother is furious when she discovers he has come home with no money, and tosses the beans away. The next morning, Jack finds a beanstalk has grown to the clouds and climbs it … finally reaching a castle, high above the sky! A musical adventure for the whole family.

SEPT. 13th
THE ROAD TO OZ
Looking for the road to Butterfield, Dorothy (Amy Strack), along with the Shaggy Man (Joseph Zamparelli Jr.), little Button-Bright (Evan Cole), and Polychrome, the rainbow’s daughter (Shonna McEachern), find themselves on the road to Oz, where they discover Ozma (Leigh Ann
Price), is about to have a spectacular Birthday Party. On the way, they travel through the magical lands of Foxville, Dunkiton, and the Land of the evil, head-throwing Scoodlers. L. Frank Baum’s The Road To Oz, was the fifth book in the OZ series, first published in 1909, and is a truly wonderful adventure for the young, and the young at heart.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Busy Busy!

Getting ready for an 11am recording session today; also need to review new scenes for our upcoming TREASURE ISLAND and later on continuing on getting GETTYSBURG ready for Brilliance.

As we're gearing up to record the final episodes of our western series POWDER RIVER, Brilliance Audio is gearing up to begin releasing the series on CD, starting with Season 1 on November 15th 2011.
It's been seven years since we started the series and I am blown away with how well it has done and the response from our fans. There is not a week goes by that I do not receive email about it.

The original CD Release by our former publisher, was doomed from the start, with the CD's priced at an outlandish $54.00. I mean - come on. The new release will offer an entire season for $9.99 (hard case copies for Libraries will cost a little more).
Jeff Hayes will be designing the cover art for all 5 seasons, and to start it off, completed the Season 1 design, pictured here, with Britt (yours Truly)and Chad MacMasters (Derek Aalerud) in front of Starr's General Store, in Clearmont WY.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Check out the new header for our blog! Jeff Hayes created it for us (Jeff designs some of CD covers!)
Thanks, Jeff!