Documentary Shines Spotlight on Berkeley Musician

A documentary featuring a recording industry legend and founder of Arhoolie Records and the Down Home Music store in El Cerrito made its Bay Area debut to a sold-out crowd Thursday night.

“This Ain’t No Mouse Music!” chronicles the eight-decade life and career of Chris Strachwitz as he trekked everywhere from major American cities to the backwoods to record roots music and bring it to the masses via Arhoolie Records.

A screening of the 92-minute documentary, attended by Strachwitz and the film’s creators, Maureen Gosling and Chris Simon, was held for a sold-out audience Thursday night at Rialto Cinemas in El Cerrito.

The film will also be shown at 7 p.m. Friday at the Rialto Elmwood in Berkeley, to be followed by a post-screening chat with Strachwitz and music from Cajun musician Michael Doucet, and again at the Elmwood in Berkeley and at The Roxie in San Francisco daily through Sept. 25.

“For us, the film represents an opportunity to share the story of an unsung hero, a German immigrant who left an indelible mark on American culture -- in fact, on the culture of the world,” the film’s directors said in a prepared statement.

The documentary’s title stems from Strachwitz’ avoidance of what he calls “mouse music.” Ry Cooder, one of many renowned musicians to appear in the film, describes it as “music that’s cheap and not real.”

“Most record companies, they record everything they think is commercial,” Strachwitz says in the documentary. “I didn’t want to record stuff I don’t like.”

Instead, he was drawn to lesser-known artists, many from rural parts of the country, and would go on to regularly record musicians in the South and at his home in Berkeley. Snapshots of his musical travels from Texas to New Orleans and Appalachia are featured in the documentary, according to the filmmakers.

After immigrating from Germany to California in 1947, Strachwitz “became addicted to jazz” and captivated by the different types of American music he heard on the radio -- from country to gospel and rhythm and blues, he explained on Arhoolie Records’ website.

As a student at UC Berkeley in the 1950s, Strachwitz learned to make records with the help of Oakland producer Bob Geddins, he said.

Later, after quitting his job as a teacher in Los Gatos, Strachwitz slowly began to build Arhoolie Records, recording bands in the Bay Area and occasionally in other parts of the country.

He says in the documentary, “I just fell in love with making records. They’re kind of neat snapshots -- there’ll never be another one like it.”

His passion began to turn a profit after he recorded and obtained the rights to an anti-war song by Berkeley folk musician Joe McDonald that later became an international hit after it was performed at Woodstock.

Today, when the 83-year-old isn’t crisscrossing the country to capture the sounds of roots musicians, he can be found in Berkeley or in the Arhoolie Records offices in El Cerrito. His record store, Down Home Music at 10341 San Pablo Ave., sells Arhoolie-produced blues, gospel, jazz, country, world music, Tex-Mex and other regional music styles as well as imports.

--Bay City News