Blick Van Glory is the invention of me, Todd Edwards, who co-directed and wrote songs for the movie "Hoodwinked."What is Blick Van Glory? In the saga chapters at blickvanglory.com, its the name of a ship bound for absurd adventures. But its also the life of an artist... An itch that can never be scratched... an ongoing search for a quest that might never be found. Blick Van Glory started as a senior art show in 1994 where I tried to combine my experience as an art major and student filmmaker with my desire to perform and put on a big show. The result was a disaster. The songs were unrehearsed, I think the audience was confused, and ultimately it became a performance piece about a dude who had spread himself too thin.The experience convinced me to put music on the back burner for a couple years while I focused on building my professional career as a filmmaker. In 1999 my first movie "Chillicothe" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews and packed audiences. I even got mentioned in Entertainment Weekly. But as I quickly learned, a successful festival run does not a career make. For the next few years as I struggled to get a second film off the ground, my screenwriting partner Peter Bedgood and I began performing music in coffee shops around Los Angeles under the name "Milk the Spider." We wrote about 100 songs, and had about 50 fans. So that's like...2 songs per fan if you do the math.In 2002 I went into hibernation with a small group who spent three years making "Hoodwinked" which went on to open number 2 at the box office and become a global hit. During the production I had the privilege of working on 10 songs with composer/producer John Mark Painter (of Fleming & John). It was John who convinced Ben Folds to perform my song "Red Is Blue". Anne Hathaway also performed "Great Big World," Jim Belushi did "The Schnitzel Song" (with John's wife Fleming), and Andy Dick performed "Top of the Woods." "Critters Have Feelings," "Eva Deanna," "Tree Critter," and "Glow" were all featured songs that I wrote and sang for the movie. The project was a success for me on a lot of levels, not the least of which was getting myself back in the game of writing and singing rock songs. I decided it was time to wake that sleeping giant called Blick Van Glory...to make her sing and dance once again. The band currently consists of myself (writer and singer), Peter Bedgood (guitar and vocals), my cousin Josh D'Elia (bass and vocals, also of "The Sane"), and a rotating group of talented musicians who perform with us depending on the venue. On the new album, "The Search for Quest," John Painter has been my secret weapon...I wrote the songs and devised the parts, and he performed most of the instruments and brought it together as a producing genius, bringing on top Nashville talent like Lindsay Jamieson (Ben Folds), Bobby Huff (Tim Finn) and Matt Slocum (Six Pence None the Richer). I'll be honest with you, myspace friends, I'm okay if my career ends up looking a little weird—like Orson Wells setting himself on fire and doing an Evil Knievel off U2's ellipse runway. If you're like me, then there's a crazed old sea captain in your head and he's a pushy bastard. There are crumbs in his matted beard and he reeks of fish and old man sweat. His pistol nuzzle isn't always cute as it presses against your temple, forcing you to sail this ridiculous high-seas journey... but at least he keeps it interesting, that guy. Put your raincoat on.
