This is a long shot: back around 1986-1988 I saw an independent film in a D.C. theater, which I have been trying to track down again...
...it's a story about an aspiring New York (I think) jazz and blues musician who's desperate to break into the local scene. When he over-hears a more established performer talking about this great reclusive guitar-maker who hasn't been seen in years, the aspiring musician decides to claim that he knows the man, can find him, and will bring back one of his guitars in exchange for being given a break to perform, himself.
The quest takes him all over the state, having weird, bizarre misadventures along the way, and always seemingly one step behind a mysterious Japanese woman apparently on the same search.
He eventually finds his man - only to discover that the mysterious woman is the agent for a group of Japanese investors who have bought up all the maker's available guitars, and now want to offer him huge $$$ to destroy his remaining instruments, and commit to quit crafting any more (to inflate the value of their investment, of course).
The main character gets to play some of the guitars before they're destroyed, and is allowed to pick one for himself - there's this great scene of him standing out in the snow, playing this double-necked electric guitar with neon built into it, the instrument sparking and flickering while he plays...
...sound familiar? Anyone else seen and remember this...?
...it's a story about an aspiring New York (I think) jazz and blues musician who's desperate to break into the local scene. When he over-hears a more established performer talking about this great reclusive guitar-maker who hasn't been seen in years, the aspiring musician decides to claim that he knows the man, can find him, and will bring back one of his guitars in exchange for being given a break to perform, himself.
The quest takes him all over the state, having weird, bizarre misadventures along the way, and always seemingly one step behind a mysterious Japanese woman apparently on the same search.
He eventually finds his man - only to discover that the mysterious woman is the agent for a group of Japanese investors who have bought up all the maker's available guitars, and now want to offer him huge $$$ to destroy his remaining instruments, and commit to quit crafting any more (to inflate the value of their investment, of course).
The main character gets to play some of the guitars before they're destroyed, and is allowed to pick one for himself - there's this great scene of him standing out in the snow, playing this double-necked electric guitar with neon built into it, the instrument sparking and flickering while he plays...
...sound familiar? Anyone else seen and remember this...?
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