Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Painting the World

Bluesman Steve White was a presence in Europe.
Bluesman Steve White was a presence in Europe.

“I never got to interview him because [doctors] had taken his voice away, and I didn’t want to do that.” When Leucadia-based filmmaker Clint Burkett began work on a documentary about Steve White last year, he didn’t know the North County bluesman was dying of esophageal cancer. “When I found out he was sick, I started shooting the benefits and interviewing friends and fellow musicians.” Burkett edited the rough footage in June.

The finished result is Steve White: Painting the World with Music, a 75-minute rockumentary that premiers August 14 at the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. “It starts like his music: rapid, with sound bites and clips of him playing. It draws your attention right away. That’s how he played. He got your attention.” He says the story of White’s life is otherwise told through interviews with family, copies of radio interviews, and performance videos.

Sponsored
Sponsored

To make Painting the World, Burkett gained permission to use footage of concerts filmed in Italy, Czechoslovakia, Vermont, and here at the Adams Avenue Roots Festivals. “Steve was huge in Europe. I don’t think people realize how huge he was there. He would pack concert halls. There were billboards [advertising his concerts] on the street.”

White died on April 22. He was 61.

“I didn’t think he was going to die, to tell you the truth. I took Steve to the Leucadian to see Ben Powell play, probably a month before he passed. He said I can’t wait until next year, until all this health stuff is over. His mind was constantly going, constantly reinventing himself.”

Will the documentary reveal a side of White’s personality that is not already known? “He was an amazing painter,” says Burkett. “He kept that part private.” Hence, the film title, he explains. “He made hundreds of paintings,” many of which, Burkett says, are featured in the documentary.

Burkett, an Emmy-winning video producer and editor, tells me the White documentary is self-financed. “My number one goal is I want Steve’s name, his art, and his music known around the world.” To that end, Burkett says he will submit to Sundance and other international film festivals. “I’ve already got a request to show the film in Germany.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Next Article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
Bluesman Steve White was a presence in Europe.
Bluesman Steve White was a presence in Europe.

“I never got to interview him because [doctors] had taken his voice away, and I didn’t want to do that.” When Leucadia-based filmmaker Clint Burkett began work on a documentary about Steve White last year, he didn’t know the North County bluesman was dying of esophageal cancer. “When I found out he was sick, I started shooting the benefits and interviewing friends and fellow musicians.” Burkett edited the rough footage in June.

The finished result is Steve White: Painting the World with Music, a 75-minute rockumentary that premiers August 14 at the La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. “It starts like his music: rapid, with sound bites and clips of him playing. It draws your attention right away. That’s how he played. He got your attention.” He says the story of White’s life is otherwise told through interviews with family, copies of radio interviews, and performance videos.

Sponsored
Sponsored

To make Painting the World, Burkett gained permission to use footage of concerts filmed in Italy, Czechoslovakia, Vermont, and here at the Adams Avenue Roots Festivals. “Steve was huge in Europe. I don’t think people realize how huge he was there. He would pack concert halls. There were billboards [advertising his concerts] on the street.”

White died on April 22. He was 61.

“I didn’t think he was going to die, to tell you the truth. I took Steve to the Leucadian to see Ben Powell play, probably a month before he passed. He said I can’t wait until next year, until all this health stuff is over. His mind was constantly going, constantly reinventing himself.”

Will the documentary reveal a side of White’s personality that is not already known? “He was an amazing painter,” says Burkett. “He kept that part private.” Hence, the film title, he explains. “He made hundreds of paintings,” many of which, Burkett says, are featured in the documentary.

Burkett, an Emmy-winning video producer and editor, tells me the White documentary is self-financed. “My number one goal is I want Steve’s name, his art, and his music known around the world.” To that end, Burkett says he will submit to Sundance and other international film festivals. “I’ve already got a request to show the film in Germany.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Operatic Gender Wars

Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Next Article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader