Drake was the ultimate cult artist. He was the creator of three well-regarded and oft imitated albums which only achieved a significant mainstream impact a quarter century after his death, in large part due to the use of his tune, “Pink Moon,” in a 1999 ad campaign for Volkswagen.
Drake was the kind of artist who couldn’t exist today. He was one who chose not to perform live, or do interviews for that matter, a young college student who was given well over a year of studio time to create his brilliant but barely selling debut album. Nick’s reluctance to play the careering game wasn’t born of ego or snobbery. It was the result of an emotional illness that would deepen and ultimately swamp him over time, one that would lead to his death at age 26 due to an overdose of anti-depressants in 1974.
While not an officially sanctioned book, NICK DRAKE: The Life is the only biography written with the blessing, involvement and a mountain of material provided by his sister and estate. The author interviewed well over 200 of Drake’s friends, school mates, family and fellow musicians to chart his life and career. He also had full access to a deep archive of personal material unavailable to previous writers. This included volumes of correspondence by Nick, his family, friends and teachers – material that provides an almost day-by-day catalogue of his activities and frame of mind during his short and enigmatic life. An especially important one is the diary Nick’s father kept as they worked to help their son cope with the growing disappointments in his life and musical career, and the final chapter of his battles with the treacherous illness that would ultimately win out in the end.
Raised in a comfortable upper middleclass family, Drake’s love of music was heavily influenced by his mother, Molly. Molly would play piano, write and record her original songs that would show their influence on Nick when they were ultimately released on an album a few years back. Though a gifted athlete, Nick would be a largely uninspired student, all they way through his time at Cambridge University. He would dabble on piano and sax before settling on guitar influenced by Joan Baez, Dylan, Donovan, the bossa nova of Joao Gilberto, Brit folker John Renbourn and Peter, Paul & Mary, from whom he learned classic blues and folk tunes like “Cocaine.” His progress on the instrument was nothing short of astounding. Through constant hours of practice, he would develop his revelatory use of a variety of alternative tunings and the intricate, clean fingerpicking that still amazes and inspires to this day.
In his youth, Drake would establish a pattern of vagabonding. There were with summer hitchhiking trips through France paid for by busking on the street and one to Morocco where he actually got to meet and play for The Rolling Stones. The author actually tracks down Nick’s traveling companion for the Morocco trip who had no idea that Drake achieved any sort of fame. He then laments having thrown out a recording he made of Nick’s performance for The Stones in a purge of his belongings during a move 20 years back.
Somewhere bootleggers are tearing their hair out over this!
During his school years, Drake would also develop a love of smoking hash, something that he said “soothed” his social anxiety and helped him create. By late 1967, he would pen songs like “Day Is Done,” “Time Has Told Me,” “Saturday Sun,” “Joey,” “Magic” and “Thoughts of Mary Jane,” tunes that would define his debut disc and career.
At his first major public performance at the Roundhouse in London, he is seen by Ashley Hutchinson of Fairport Convention. The musician who would sing his praises to his producer, Joe Boyd, who would sign Nick to his Witchseason label. Boyd would exercise both great belief and personal support for Nick throughout his career. He would provide him with a monthly stipend to live and work in London and make great efforts to insure Drake received his critical due well after his death.
The author devotes a good deal of time to the making of Nick’s three wonderful albums. The debut, Five Leaves Left, would take well over a year of sessions and take its name from a message in a package of Rizla rolling papers. Robert Kirby, his Cambridge classmate who created the lush string arrangement for Drake’s song, would say that his lyrics were “more about atmosphere than meaning… something to compound a mood that the melody dictates.” His fellow guitarist Paul Wheeler would concur saying they were “more about sound and rhythm than meaning.” Kirby’s orchestral arrangements were influenced by Nick and Boyd’s love of Randy Newman and Leonard Cohen’s self-titled debuts and Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. Fun fact – the leader on the string overdubs was none other than David McCallum, the esteemed violinist father of the same named acting star of TV’s “The Man from U.N.C..L.E.”
While everyone was convinced Nick would be a star, the release of the album on July 4, 1969, would be overshadowed by news of the death of Brian Jones and high-profile albums by Blind Faith, Jethro Tull and King Crimson. Drake would turn down all opportunities for press interviews and the album, with only 1,500 printed, would receive no radio play and no foreign licensing interest. A long letter from his father when he was thinking of leaving Cambridge to concentrate on his musical career warns Nick that he comes “from a family of slow starters” and that “self-employment needs discipline.”
The author sets straight a lot of misconceptions about Nick that have grown over time. Firstly, while quiet, Drake was anything but an odd ball during his school years. He was praised for his dry sense of humor and his proto-Goth style, like that of an old Romantic poet. And Nick did actually play live, about three dozen gigs in total, including major venues like Royal Festival Hall and the London folk den Cousins. It was at the latter that he would finally quit live performing in the middle of set in August 1970. Also, many were at so-called Working Men’s clubs out of London, where he would simply be drowned out and/or totally ignored, many which he opened for another new band, Genesis. The question of his sexuality is also addressed. The summation provided by the author and the consensus of those he quotes? It is that while Nick had infatuations like that with his early girlfriend Kirstie Clegg and his interest in French singer Francoise Hardy, he was largely asexual.
For his second album, 1970’s Bryter Layter, Boyd leads Nick to more fully arranged versions of his songs, with guest appearances by folks like Fairport Convention’s guitar virtuoso Richard Thompson and The Velvet Underground’s John Cale. Cale was at Sound Techniques producing Nico’s Desert Shore album and agreed to provide overdubs to one of the album’s most gorgeous tunes, “Northern Sky.” Though there were some good reviews and his engineer John Wood still rates it his best, this record only sold about 3,000 copies. Muff Winwood, the executive in charge of promotion, called working with Drake “a hopeless task,” and that maybe “he was too stoned to be bothered.” But there are more efforts to build his career. Boyd considered teaming Drake with another of his artists, Vashti Bunyan. In July 1970 in an effort to get his songs covered by other artists, Boyd produces a demo disc where the then unknown Elton John performs four of his classic songs: “Day Is Done,” “Way to Blue,” “Saturday Sun” and “Time Has Told Me.”
Drake becomes more untethered when his champion, Joe Boyd, decides to sell Witchseason to Island Records and take a job with Warner Brothers in America. In July 1971, some of his music is finally released in the U.S. on a compilation. A promotional party at the Troubadour for the album features an appearance by a cardboard cut-out of the reclusive Drake.
Drake will return to Sound Techniques in October 1971 for two, three-hour sessions where he cuts his bare bones classic third album, the 28-minute long Pink Moon. Boyd thought its brilliant “starkness” was a rebuke to the lush production on Bryter Layter. Others found it a reflection of Drake’s increasingly isolated and depressed existence.
The final quarter of this nearly 600-page book is a tough read for anyone who has loved someone who has suffered mental illness. Much of this comes from the diary his father created than spanned the last two years of Nick’s life.
Around this time, Nick expresses a desire to quit music – to get a job at a bank or a brewery. He also makes two attempts to join the Army and has a less than weeklong stint as a trainee computer programmer. He ends up back at his parents’ house. He will begin to make trips to London or Paris and turn around and head back home. He has frustrations which make him lash out and smash his guitars, a tape recorder and furniture – something at odds with the effete image of Drake propagated before this book. He will be hospitalized, have electro-shock treatments and go on and off his medications. His friend and label mate John Martyn will spend time trying to encourage him and immortalize these vain efforts in the song, “Solid Air.” He will return to the studio one last time cutting four even starker songs including “Black Dog,” named after Churchill’s famous term for his own depression.
Unlike others, this author seems to conclude that Drake’s death was likely not an accidental overdose but a suicide, maybe an impulsive one. Sixty powerful Triptyzol tablets were found in his stomach in the autopsy after he was found dead in his childhood bedroom at his parents’ home in November 1974.
The book concludes with Nick’s critical resurrection, led by the U.S. release of Bryter Layter in 1976 and Fruit Tree, one of the first high-quality boxed set released in 1979.
Richard Morton Jack has done a great thing for Nick and the fans of his music. He has provided a deeply researched and thoughtful critique of his life and creative struggle – and how a man so emotionally challenged could create such a warm and still entrancing body of work.
The final word comes from the dust jacket and his discoverer/benefactor Joe Boyd. “This is the book we’ve been waiting for… a biography to be treasured.”
2023 has been a busy year for Mikaela Davis and Southern Star. It all started in January with two three-show residencies in Rochester and Woodstock that had the band playing one set of originals and one set of themed Grateful Dead material. In the band’s home base of Rochester, the three shows sold out in advance at the living-room-intimate Abilene. The band then took the show’s concept on the road, hitting venues along the eastern seaboard and even more multi-show residencies across upstate New York. They would continue to tour hard throughout the year as headliners, openers, and a part various festival lineups. They also released their first album as a band late in the summer.
They closed out the year with a short run of shows with their old friends Maybird, culminating where the year, and the band began, back in Rochester. This time at the brand new venue, Essex, which is younger than even their new album. The space holds roughly ten times what Abilene can, and was nearly full, so the hard work paid off with a bigger fanbase. Davis declared it the biggest headlining show they’ve ever played, and the exchange of energy from the crowd to the stage and back was palpable.
A Brian Blatt liquid light show bathed the stage in slow oozing organic forms throughout the night. From the get go, it matched and complimented the music perfectly. The band was in no rush with a spacey intro to the show opening “Cinderella.” The ensuing “In My Groove” likewise got going with spacey looping. “Get Gone” also got front-loaded with a short jam, this one groovier, almost Dead-like. Post-verses, it showcased one of the bands many strengths as Davis’ harp led the way, interweaving brilliantly with Cian McCarthy and Kurt Johnson’s guitars and Shane McCarthy’s bass.
Languid and lovely, “The Pearl,” featured a slowly unfolding gorgeous improvisation that had all five members contributing an interlocking piece of the whole. A rock band led by a harp is unique in-and-of-itself, but add in a pedal steel and a sax-playing guitarist, and a penchant for turning pretty things into down and dirty jams, and Southern Star is a one-of-a-kind marvel. Even when they lean into familiar influences, they’re approached from a new-to-the-world angle. No one is doing this, sounding like that.
“Leave It Alone” let loose with this uniqueness. A lengthy guitar choogle dissolved into spacey noodling. Davis grabbed the reins and the band slowly crystallized around her flourishing harp. Cian McCarthy switched to his sax and the music took a turn into avant-garde jazz, reaching into searing cosmic domains. When McCarthy got back on his guitar, the jazz tenor remained, advancing to a 70’s style fusion for a short spurt. His brother pounded a repetitive theme into submission and eventually the rest of the band followed as they deftly drifted into “Promise.” The extraordinary sequence highlighted the growth a year on the road as provided.
Later, “Don’t Stop Now,” provided more groundwork from which they could showcase their multi-faceted approach. Davis answered the age-old question, “Can a harp choogle?”, with a big jam out of the gates, which ceded to guitar and then Johnson’s electric lap steel and eventually back to McCarthy on sax. They went deep into a sparse and chunky space which would slip into the psychedelic “Pure Divine Love.”
The show closed out with “Other Lover,” with the opening band Maybird out in full, each on a different piece of percussion, from the traditional congas to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink variety (literally) like a metal colander. Maybird, another Rochester band, appropriately joined Mikaela Davis on her first tour. But more than that, Kurt Johnson was an original member of Maybird and Shane McCarthy is frequently playing bass for them. Davis and Josh Netsky frequently collaborated in various projects before Maybird or Southern Star were even conceived. So it was an appropriate end-of-the-year hometown billing for sure.
The ragtag group of percussionists would be back for the encore, along with Overhand Sam on guitar as the band ripped a celebratory version of “After Midnight” played just before 11pm. And now we wait to see what 2024 has in store for Mikaela Davis and Southern Star. Of course we know it will start with a co-headlining tour with Circles Around the Sun, so check that out if they’re heading your way.
Maybird opened with a solid 45 minutes overview of their strengths, including some of their oldest material and some of their newest. “Open Your Eyes” appropriately opened up into a quality psychedelic workout, with guitarist Overhand Sam and keyboardist Sam Hirsch combining into a fuzzed-up mash.
Shane McCarthy was pulling double-duty, holding down the bass for both bands, wearing the appropriate band tee for each set. Brother Cian and Kurt Johnson joined in on the fun during the band’s namesake “Maybird.” With Johnson returning to his former band, and McCarthy on sax, the band was truly at full power. The denser their sound gets the better, and that played out perfectly during the slow ferociousness of “Maybird.” The pair stayed on board for the following “Gonna Lose Your Mind,” and Johnson remained for the rest of the set. He provided some just-like-the-old-days moments during “Turning Into Water” and “Call You Mine.”
It was a great night to celebrate Rochester music, past and future, at Essex with Maybird and Mikaela Davis and Southern Star.
Setlists
Mikaela Davis and Southern Star: Cinderella, In My Groove, Home in the Country, Get Gone, The Pearl, Far From You, Leave It Alone, Promise, Don’t Stop Now, Pure Divine Love, Other Lover*
Encore: After Midnight** * with Maybird on various percussion ** with Sam Snyder on guitar, Maybird on percussion
Maybird: Keep In Line, Don’t Keep Me Around, Open Your Eyes, Lost In Wonderland, Maybird*, Gonna Lose Your Mind*, Turning Into Water**, Call You Mine*** * with Cian McCarthy on sax, Kurt Johnson on pedal steel/lap steel ** with Kurt Johnson on guitar *** with Kurt Johnson on lap steel
Lespecial’s Odd Times Tour stopped in to play Buffalo Iron Works Dec 06, 2023 to an eager and packed house. Opening for Lespecial this night and next on tour is Grub. Grub, a Niagara Falls based band are well known to the Western New York music scene and beyond for their high energy flowing Psych Rock jams.
Grub took to the stage and wasted no time jumping right into their set. The spacy, angelic, bass thumping, drum driving songs filled the room to a very engaged crowd all night from the very first song on. There is no surprise why this band has a continually growing fan base.
The trio is made up of Zack Tilton – Guitar/Vocals/Synth/Samples, Nick Woodcock – Bass/Vocals/Synth, and Ryan Henderson – Drums/Samples.
Lespecial are no strangers bringing the house down with their building shaking, body pounding and air ripping sound. And that’s exactly what they did all night. Right from the start they came out hard and fast. The crowd took notice and kept right up with them dancing and cheering. Some almost seemingly ready to mosh with the energy so high.
This prog-tronic Power Trio is made up of Luke Bemand – Bass/Synth/Percussion/Vocals. Jonathan Grusauskas – Guitar/Synth/Sampler/Percussion/Vocals. Rory Dolan – Drums/Sampler/Percussion/Vocals
Setlist: Lungs of the Planet, Snells Fleet, Jackwise, Fear the Djinn, Repeater, Machine Elf, Homieverse, Whats Crappenin’, DGH II (FT Noah Fense), What’s the Use (FT Noah Fense), Fruit Wolf Dance, I Might Be Wrong, Rays, Onlookers, Chird, Chromakey, The Vessel, They Live Encore: Tonberry
The Screaming Orphans transformed The Roslyn Cellar into their living room on Sunday, December 3, inviting audience members into their family’s Christmas celebrations during their Mini Christmas Tour.
The Diver sisters, from left to right, Angela, Joan, Gráinne, and Marie Thérèse, performing at The Roslyn Cellar at 3:00 pm on December 3 as part of their Mini Christmas Tour.
The Screaming Orphans consist of the Diver sisters, Angela (bass, violin and vocals), Joan (drums and vocals), Gráinne (guitarist and vocals), and Marie Thérèse (keys, accordion, and vocals). The four sisters from Donegal aim to have their familiar bond transpire within audience members during performances.
“For a lot of our shows, we want people to feel like they’re in our sitting room. Or we’re in the house or kitchen and just having a sing-song,” guitarist Gráinne stated.
Within minutes of their performance, The Roslyn Cellar was quickly transformed into the Diver sisters’ living room. After their first song, a cover of “Merry Christmas Everyone,” the sisters informed the audience that they bought their sparkly holiday / concert attire for a steal at just $14.99 from Marshalls! The Screaming Orphans transformed into your best friend letting you in on the latest holiday deals.
For a lot of our shows, we want people to feel like they’re in our sitting room.
Or we’re in the house or kitchen and just having a sing-song
Gráinne Diver, guitarist and vocalist of Screaming Orphans
In the true fashion of Christmas, the Screaming Orphans continued to tell stories and reminisce throughout the afternoon performance. Guitarist Gráinne recollected on when her family would drive down to Germany for Christmas. On one particular Christmas, they drove from Germany to Austria, to the place where Silent Night was written. While Gráinne joked about how silly the journey was, given they drove in the snow without snow tires and that all the sisters wore ankle socks instead of boots in the freezing cold, she also noted the divine beauty of it all.
The revered beauty of the site transpired in the sister’s cover of “Silent Night.” Their haunting harmonies melted together into a wintery vortex’s siren call. The harmonies amplified when they switched from English to German midway through the song, harking back to the birthplace of the lyrics.
The sisters’ signature harmonies were truly highlighted in the slower, stripped back covers of the night. Songs like “O Holy Night” and “That Night in Bethlehem,” which was sung in Irish Gaelic, showcased the sister’s range of harmonies.
Angela (left) and Joan (right) Diver singing their rendition of The Turtles “Happy Together,” which is featured on the Screaming Orphans’s 2019 album Life in a Carnival.
But like all great Christmas parties, there also had to be some good craic. Songs like “Miss Fogarty’s Christmas Cake,” a song describing a horrific fruit cake that is sure to work up a fine stomach ache, resulted in cackling from the crowd. Lyrics weren’t the only culprit of good craic on December 3 though. So were the Screaming Orphans’s unique take on classic Christmas carols. Synthesizer, for instance, was added to the start of “We Three Kings.” The result was a time-traveling song that sounded futuristic yet nostalgic all at once.
The Screaming Orphans’s signature sound, melodic old-school pop with heavy folk influences, radiates throughout their cover of “We Three Kings.” Their signature sound allows the Screaming Orphans to reinvent these Christmas classics as well as to create new ones. The sisters played original songs “Song We Used to Sing” and “Bells,” the later of which is featured on their 2021 Happy Christmas Vol. 1 album.
The Screaming Orphans hinted at new original songs as well as a cover of “Christmas Wrapping” to appear on their Happy Christmas Vol. 2 album. The second volume is rumored to be released next December. Gráinne stated she hopes there will be not only a volume two but a volume three, four, and five! “We fully intend to do more,” she stated.
To close out their set, The Screaming Orphans kicked it into high-gear with a Christmas Eve reel. The energy continued and skyrocketed during their encore, which included their renditions of “Happy Together” and “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” Notably the chorus of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles” was changed from “Da d-da da” to “Shot of Vodka.” Here, the gears shifted to a full-blown folk rock concert Drummer Joan was throwing her long blonde hair from side to side as she belted out the lyrics with unparalleled passion. One might have easily forgotten they were at a Christmas concert and jumped straight to St. Patrick’s Day. The result, a standing ovation.
Gráinne (left) and Marie Thérèse Diver (right) perform their encore set, which consists of their covers of “Happy Together” and “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”
The stormy Irish weather may have followed the Screaming Orphans from Donegal to The Roslyn Center in New York, but the rain certainly did not damper their spirits. Respite from the storm was found in their Christmas carols as the sisters invited audience members into their home.
The Screaming Orphans will be back at The Roslyn Center, located at 19 Bryant Avenue, Roslyn. They’ll return in March for St. Patrick’s Day. The exact date of their concert at The Roslyn Center is scheduled to be announced soon. To view tickets for their other tour dates, click here. Until then, fans can check out the sisters’ recent album Paper Daises, which was released this past August.
Setlist: Merry Christmas Everybody, Blue Christmas, Wishing You a Merry Christmas, O Holy Night, Christmas Time is Here, Jingle Bells, Miss Fogarty’s Christmas Cake, Ho Ho Ho, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Song We Used to Sing, Bells, That Night in Behtlehem, Happy XMas (War is Over), We Three Kings, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Frosty the Snowman, Silent Night, Sleigh, Fleiz Navidad, Fairytale of New York, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Christmas Eve Reel
Rochester surf-rock outfit Harmonica Lewinski released their newest album, SUPER HOT, on November 24. Recorded in analog style on a Tascam reel-to-reel machine, the album showcases 12 tracks with a fun groove and creative tone.
Harmonica Lewinski formed in 2012 in Rochester. The group cites a distinct blend of surf-rock, disco, and punk that inspires their new EP. Since their first release, Good Vibes/Bad Vibes released in 2012, the five-piece band has dropped eight full-length releases, with SUPER HOT marking their first since their 2021 EP Lost Weekend.
Largely focused on instrumentals, SUPER HOT marks an investigation of funky, groovy disco-rock beats. The album was recorded on a Tascam reel-to-reel machine, an analog tape recorder that dates back to the 1980s.
A key track on the record, “Burgundy Bandit” is a groovy, methodical track to open the album. Led by the commanding bass line and meandering guitar melodies, the track introduces Harmonica Lewinski’s style and strongly holds listeners’ attention for its four and a half minute instrumental run.
“Shadow Sequence,” the fifth track on SUPER HOT, diverts slightly from the groovy, meandering tone that the majority of the record follows. Beginning with an alternative, syncopated rhythm, the vocals are reminiscent of an excitable Orville Peck. The track is relatively short with only two minutes and change, but is certainly a strong point in the EP.
Finally, “Cakewalk” is introduced by a solo bass line supported by a steady, rhythmic drum kick and vocals. Again, this track is only about two minutes, but after a few listens the guitar melody will get caught in your head.
SUPER HOT is a proficient review of funky, bass-driven surf rock. Though many of the tracks get lost in each other due to similarity in overall sound, this doesn’t detract from the clear skill and fun listening experience from the whole album. SUPER HOT is available on all streaming services and Harmonica Lewinski on BandCamp.
Guitarist extraordinaire Keller Williams drew a sold out crowd at Lark Hall on Saturday, December 2.
The master of looping has been at it for nearly 30 years, and his following has never waned a bit. From sell out shows at The Egg in 2006 to festival performances all throughout the state with unique projects, Keller always draws well in Albany.
Keller Williams at Lark Hall – photo by Dave DeCrescente
A chatty crowd took in the show on this pre-winter evening, a mirror ball providing subtle lighting that paired well with Williams’ sound and style. Even without his right hand man, Louis Gosain, the evening was full of fun, laughs and surprised, as well as a great deal of experimentation, particularly throughout set one, which would end with a fantastic “Naive Melody.”
“Freeker by the Speaker” would open Set 2 to great cheers, a segment of “Pets” by Porno for Pyros found worked into the original tune deftly.
Keller Williams at Lark Hall – photo by Dave DeCrescente
A subtle nod to Phish on their 40th anniversary was found in the form of “The Wedge” > “Stash” which segued cleanly into “Scarlet Begonias” and “Gatecrashers Suck,” one of Williams’ best known tunes for the autobiographical nature of the Grateful Dead’s ill-fated Deer Creek, IN run in 1995.
Whether you prefer Keller playing solo acoustic/looping as he did tonight, or with a unique project like Keller and the Keels, KellerGrass or More Than a Little, his shows are never one to miss when he rolls through. Catch him at Buffalo Iron Works on Saturday, December 9, part of NYS Music’s Jam for Tots series.
Chess Club recently released their debut EP, They Wanted a Demo onNovember 17. The 4 track brain-child of Adam Chase (JAZZ IS PHSH, James Brown Dance Party) and Danny Darress clocks in at just under 15 minutes. The EP notably features both Felix Pastorius (Cindy Blackman, Jeff Coffin, and son of Jaco) and Isaiah Sharkey (John Mayer, D’Angelo).
Chase and Darress, also known by their stage names Champagne and Paris, recorded the entirety of the EP live at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina. They recruited Cory Wong (Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers) as their mixing engineer for the release. Headed into the studio with an all star line-up ready to record, They Wanted a Demo was born.
Photo courtesy of Chess Club
When Chase and Darress formed the group in 2023, they set out to create something unique, fresh, and different from their previous projects. As the drummer and keyboardist/vocalist respectively, Champagne and Paris utilized their jazz backgrounds and expertise to write four ear-worm pop songs. The EP features lighthearted, sometimes humorous lyrical topics, and an extremely tight rhythm section reminiscent of early R’n’B and Vulfpeck-like minimalist funk.
Photo courtesy of bandcamp
The first and third tracks off the EP, “Your Shirt” and “Stay Fresh” feature Felix Pastorius on bass guitar. “Your Shirt”, a song about getting caught staring at someone’s shirt, is driven by Felix’s bassline and Darress on Wultizer. “Stay Fresh”, which tackles the topic of letting someone you love know they might need a breath mint, is defined by its chill, laid back pocket groove. This track features a solo by Pastorius.
The remaining tracks, “Santa Knows” and “It’s Not Me, It’s You” feature Isaiah Sharkey on guitar. He provides beautiful accompaniment to the duo’s Christmas ballad, and brings the song to new heights during a meticulously built guitar solo. His stylistic techniques during the introduction of “It’s Not Me, It’s You” and phrasing throughout adds an additional layer of depth and flavor. He is the featured soloist on both tracks.
As stated on their Bandcamp, “With an irreverent sense of humor and a knack for infectious hooks, Champagne and Paris have crafted a songbook that will go down in history as one of the best catalogues ever recorded.” They Wanted a Demo is officially available on all streaming services here
KISS’ End Of The Road Farewell Tour found them playing the second of two sold-out nights at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City on December 2. After 50 years of rock and roll music, KISS decided to go out where they started, at home in New York.
Photo Credit: Instagram/thegarden
The New York natives announced back in March of 2023 on The Howard Stern Show that the band’s final show was to take place where it all started. KISS was able to sell out The Garden for the second straight night ahead of their final curtain call.
All around the arena leading up to the show, the energy was through the roof. People dressed as their favorite members of KISS past or present and were walking around, dining in the local restaurants, or being interviewed by members of the press outside. Other fans flocked to the giant screens outside MSG promoting the sold-out show to snap a photo.
Before KISS hit the stage, Amber Wild got the chilly New York crowd in the right mood for the rock and roll domination that was going to take place. Amber Wild consists of Jacob Massanari on bass, Marshall Via on guitar, Thomas Lowrey on drums and Evan Stanley on lead vocals and guitar. Stanley is the son of KISS frontman, Paul Stanley, who is also a founding member of KISS .
Amber Wild performed just six songs for the audience. Despite the short set, the band made sure that the New Yorkers didn’t forget them. From the moment that they jumped on stage, fans immediately took notice as the band jumped into one of their first singles called “Breakout.” From that moment until they left the stage, fans listened intently as the next wave of rock and roll music debuted before them.
Photo Credit: Instagram/amberwildband
After pre-recorded interviews with the band and other interviews with family and friends that were being broadcast on PPV.com were complete, the house lights dimmed and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” off of Led Zeppelin IV blasted through the speakers signaling that it was time for KISS to take the stage. This version of KISS consists of founding member Paul Stanley on lead vocals and guitar, founding member Gene Simmons on bass and vocals, Eric Singer on drums, and Tommy Thayer on lead guitar
Photo Credit: Instagram/kissonline
As KISS entered from the ceiling on platforms, the band blasted in “Detroit Rock City” off of Destroyer, and from there, they played 20 songs that spanned their entire catalog. From classic songs off their self-titled debut record to one of their most recent albums, 2009s Sonic Boom, every era of KISS was played. This is in part because KISS has become a generational band. Kids as young as three and people as old as their 70s attend this final show as the KISS Army joined and became one for one final time.
Photo Credit: Instagram/thegarden
For the entire two-hour show, the entire arena did not sit down once. From the fans on the floor to the bleacher creatures up in the rafters, fans stood the entire time as they witnessed the final show from their beloved band. Throughout the entire show, the classic KISS theatrics took center stage. Before “God of Thunder,” Simmons spat out fake blood and breathed fire after “I Love It Loud,” Thayer shot rockets out of his guitar after “Cold Gin” and Stanley flew through the air to a mini stage in the middle of the crowd to sing “Love Gun” and “ I Was Made For Lovin’ You.” KISS did not miss a beat the entire show.
They looked and sounded like they were at the top of their game. If you put them up against any version of the band, it would be hard to pick a winner due to the band being at its peak of performing.
Photo Credit: Instagram/thegarden
Stanley and Simmons were very thankful for all the fans who showed up to every one of their concerts as throughout the show, they kept saying “thank you” to the cameras as well as making hearts with their hands to show their appreciation. The band has cited throughout their career that the fans are the ones that got them there and that they will always be thankful to them for that.
Photo Credit: Instagram/thegarden
As the show powered through into the night, the anticipation of former members jumping on stage hit an all-time high when Singer sang “Beth.” For the other two encore songs that ended with the KISS anthem of “Rock and Roll All Nite,” no former members of the band jumped on stage with the current lineup which didn’t sour anyone’s mood as the band went out with a bang.
Photo Credit: Instagram/thegarden
As the band took their final bows and announced that a new era of KISS was coming (which ended up being digital Avatars of the band), fans excited MSG with commemorative 24 Karat Gold plated tickets. As fans spilled out onto 34th street in Manhattan, they knew that they helped write the final chapter of KISS-story that started in 1974 with their self-titled debut record and ended, where it all began, in New York.
KISS Setlist: Detroit Rock City, Shout It Out Loud, Deuce, War Machine, Heaven’s on Fire, I Love It Loud, Say Yeah, Cold Gin, Lick It Up, Calling Dr. Love, Makin’ Love, Psycho Circus, 100,000 Years, God of Thunder, Love Gun, I Was Made for Lovin’ You, Black Diamond, Beth, Do You Love Me, Rock and Roll All Nite
Dances With Films have announced this year’s indie focused film festival lineup, highlighting 135 films in four days including 64 world premieres beginning on Thursday, November 30.
Advanced Chemistry by Etana Jacobson
On their 26th year, Dances With Films celebrates the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. They rely on innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionizes the entertainment industry, that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct (etc). Among DWF NYC’s lineup of 136 films, including 20 narrative features, 9 documentary features, 19 television and streaming pilots, and 88 short films, are an impressive number of world premieres, all screenings will take place at Regal Union Square.
After becoming the leading beacon for true indie films and filmmakers in Los Angeles over the past 26 years, this will mark Dances With Films’ return to New York City for the second year.
“This year’s theme is “the color of imagination”, and that imagination, by its various definitions, exemplifies what Dances With Films will be highlighting this December. We could not be more excited to return to NYC and debut so many wonderful films and help provide a platform for all our indie filmmakers and their projects under the spotlight of this great city.”
– DWF Founder and Director Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent
On Thursday, November 30 will feature the opening night presentation of DWF alumni Dylan K. Narang’s Tapawingo. Tapawingo is a light-hearted coming of age comedy starring Jon Heder as an eccentric young man who lives with his mother and works in a mailroom. The film also stars Gina Gershon, Billy Zane, John Ratzenberger, and Amanda Bearse.
Tapawingo by Dylan K. Narang
Additional feature films making their world premieres are Etana Jacobson’s Advanced Chemistry about a scientist who attempts to help his lesbian best friend stop cheating on her wife suddenly backfires. Kevin Interdonato’s The Bastard Sons a story of revenge by a group of men, Michael Groom’s British romantic drama Between The Lights, Isaac Hirotsu Woofter’s Bound. The North American Premiere is Vardan Tozija’s M, a multi-national production centering a young boy who lives in the forest under the watchful eye of his overprotective and mysterious father, their sheltered existence is all he knows.
The Zombie Wedding by Micah Khan
Also making their world premieres are Sara Katarina Burke and Aaron Andrew Keene’s Can’t Seem to Make You Mine about a recent parolee who tries to make amends with his ex. Ryan Moore’s Influencefocuses on a struggling female filmmaker, Michelle Bossy’s Nobody’s Home follows the mind-bending journey of a young man after he is released from the psychiatric hospital. Brendan Boogie’s buddy comedyTallywacker, Micah Khan’s outlandish comedy The Zombie Wedding and finally, Justin Best’s Sherylabout a woman who goes on a bloody quest to create the perfect face after dumped by her serial killer boyfriend. As part of DWF NYC’s dedicated programming of horror, thrillers, and genre films, the Closing Night selection also comes from the film festival’s Midnight section. On Sunday, December 3 the closing night will feature Nicholas Gyeney’s The Activated Man making its first world premiere to officially close off the film festival. In the film, a man, struggling with the grief from losing his best friend and beloved dog to cancer, begins to have strange visions only he can see, questioning whether his mind has been fractured.
The Activated Man by Nicholas Gyeney
For more information about the Dances With Films NYC film lineup, events, passes, and tickets, please visit here.
The 2023 Dances With Films NYC official selections:
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION Tapawingo Director: Dylan K. Narang Country: USA; Running Time: 109 min An oddball becomes the bodyguard for a misfit teenager and finds himself in the crosshairs of the town’s family of bullies.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION The Activated Man World Premiere Director: Nicholas Gyeney Country: USA; Running Time: 115 min As Ors Gabriel struggles with the grief from losing his best friend and beloved dog to cancer, the trauma brings on strange visions only Ors can see. While he questions whether his mind has fractured or if it’s real, a mysterious rise in murder-suicides takes hold of the city, and Ors becomes haunted by images of a shadowy figure known as ‘The Fedora Man’. Through torments and terror, Ors must face his fears and confront ‘The Fedora Man’ as he uncovers dark secrets from his past, while finally embracing who he really is, and what he is meant to do.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES Advanced Chemistry World Premiere Director: Etana Jacobson Country: USA; Running Time: 96 min A scientist injects his lesbian best friend with a compound he’s created to make her stop cheating on her wife (who is bi), but when the wife finds her new monogamous fixation suffocating, he injects the wife too, which backfires when she falls for him.
The Bastard Sons World Premiere Director: Kevin Interdonato Country: USA; Running Time: 90 min Life for a crew of organized criminals is disrupted when Vincent Damiano’s father, the family’s boss, is murdered. Vincent’s ‘bastard’ brothers (UFC legend Frank Edgar, Chicago Med star Malik Whitfield), a group of orphaned souls he raised together, have an idea of who killed their father…his partner Rome (TV/Film veteran Al Sapienza). In a valiant and calculated attempt to regain the business and enact vengeance on Rome over the course of one day, the Bastards wage an all-out war to get their pound of flesh.
Between The Lights World Premiere Director: Michael Groom Country: UK; Running Time: 104 min When skeptical scientist Alice falls for reluctant medium Jay, she’s taken on an odyssey of love, loss and discovery that will turn her world upside down. Between the Lights is a romantic drama with a liberal dose of the supernatural, in which we visit our characters over three consecutive Christmases. It is set within the ancient walls of York and the stunning natural beauty of the Lake District.
Bound World Premiere Director: Isaac Hirotsu Woofter Country: USA; Running Time: 101 min To escape her drug-dealing controlling stepfather, a young introvert flees to NYC with only her pet pocket squirrel. After successfully reinventing herself, she realizes she must confront her dark past, to truly be free.
Can’t Seem to Make You Mine World Premiere Directors: Sara Katarina Burke, Aaron Andrew Keene Country: USA; Running Time: 102 min A man who was just released from prison tries to make amends with his ex and become a father to his 6-year-old son while staying with a stripper he met on a pen-pal website.
Daruma Director: Alexander Yellen Country: USA; Running Time: 104 min Patrick (bitter wheelchair user) must enlist the help of his cantankerous neighbor (double amputee veteran) to transport the daughter he never knew he had to live with her maternal grandparents on the other side of the country.
Grounded Director: Justin Chan Country: USA; Running Time: 84 min William Lee, a 30-something Chinese-Filipino American, introduces his Caucasian girlfriend to his overbearing, immigrant parents when a mysterious cosmic force takes hold of their day.
Home Free Director: Aaron Brown Country: USA; Running Time: 98 min In 1997, a group of college misfits invite an unhoused professor to crash on their porch. Home Free is a Trojan horse, a bold coming-of-age comedy aimed at reaching a mass audience, but also intended to be a catalyst for serious social change sharply focused on one of the most pervasive problems across America—the homelessness epidemic. Humor is our spoonful of sugar.
Influence World Premiere Director: Ryan Moore Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min A female filmmaker struggling with her career and her mental health reaches a breaking point and decides to kidnap a famous social media influencer in an attempt to coerce them into playing the lead role in her latest project.
Katie’s Mom Director: Tyrrell Shaffner Country: USA; Running Time: 111 min A heartfelt comedy influenced by The Graduate but told from the perspective of a protagonist inspired by Mrs. Robinson. Set in modern-day Pasadena, California. Nancy Rosenfeld (Dina Meyer), a nurturing mom and recent divorcée, whose beloved Jewish/Christmas mashup holiday celebration with her adult children is derailed when she falls for Alex Rojas (Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), her daughter’s charming new boyfriend. Their electrifying affair upends her status quo and sets her on a path to becoming who she was meant to be.
M North American Premiere Director: Vardan Tozija Countries: Macedonia/Croatia/Kosovo/France/Luxembourg, Running Time: 99 min In a secluded forest, young Marko lives under the watchful eye of his overprotective and mysterious father. Their sheltered existence is all he knows. Marko seeks solace in his cherished picture book, finding comfort and answers within its pages. One day, an encounter with a kind-hearted, helpless boy named Miko, brings a glimmer of warmth and connection into Marko’s isolated world. As his curiosity grows, Marko yearns to uncover the secrets that lie beyond the confines of the wilderness. But, a cruel turn of events grants him his wish sooner than he expects…
Nobody’s Home World Premiere Director: Michelle Bossy Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min When Luca is released from the psychiatric hospital where he and his girlfriend Theodora live, she escapes with him. To remain in control, she takes him to his childhood home, the root of his trauma. Time lapses. Consciousness is distorted. A dead body is discovered. Theodora insists Luca committed the murder in his sleep. Is she telling the truth? A knock on the door suddenly diverts them. Angelica and Jeremy show up, high on acid. Theodora invites them in to test Luca’s loyalty. Her jealousy increases to the point of danger. In the end, nothing is what it seems. Everyone has darkness inside.
Palimpsest North American Premiere Director: Hanna Vastinsalo Country: Finland; Running Time: 109 min Two elderly roommates are selected for a medical trial that makes them younger. Given a second chance at life, with the memories of their past life intact, they realize that growing young is not just fun.
Space Baby Director: Rex Dean Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min Three friends fight fascist Nurse Nancy to rebuild the holy grail and get a new soul for the earth. Each friend is different. 8-year-old Sam (“Mental Man”) is a mad scientist and inventor; 6-year-old Sophia (“Nature Girl”) is a caretaker of the earth; 300-year-old Blue (a great ballplayer like Satchel Paige) was the keeper of the holy grail in Africa before he and his siblings were captured as slaves. With help from a squadron of ladybugs, they fight the “greed, intolerance, and just plain cruelty” that Nurse Nancy and her demonic crow inhabit. A story of courage, friendship, and love.
Tallywacker World Premiere Director: Brendan Boogie Country: USA; Running Time: 90 min A rock and roll buddy comedy about 2 bandmates whose relationship gets tested when one of them gets a gig touring with a major rock star.
The Zombie Wedding World Premiere Director: Micah Khan Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min A young Cumberland County, NJ couple decides to go through with their wedding – during the Zombie Apocalypse. Unfortunately, he’s a zombie and she’s not. Both families are fearful, but the humans’ behavior is brutish. When the Zombies begin feeling brain-deprived, the ceremony takes a turn for the weird. Weekly World News reporters are there to cover this wild wedding – while trying to get out alive!
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES 44 Lights: Music from Ground Zero Director: Barbara Blackburn Tuttle Country: USA; Running Time: 68 min A musical journey to healing in the aftermath of 9/11. A story of pain, loss, and ultimately rebirth through music.
American Pot Story: Oaksterdam Directors: Dan Katzir and Ravit Markus Country: USA; Running Time: 97 min This award-winning documentary is a decade-long follow-up of the underdogs who put their blood, sweat, and tears to overturn a 100-year-old policy, proving in the process that “a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world,” to quote Margaret Mead).
Brothers Broken Directors: Geoff Levin, Lily Richards Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min This is the story of brothers Geoff and Robbie Levin, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of the 60’s music scene including Jerry Garcia, the Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin. The brother’s band PEOPLE! had the hit record “I Love You” in 1968 and toured with The Who; then Scientology entered their lives destroyed their band and split up the brothers. After 46 years Geoff despite losing his children and friends to the cult, left the church and reunited with his brother and band. It’s a tale of breaking free from a modern-day prison of belief.
Denim Hunter U.S. Premiere Director: Emilio Di Stefano Country: Sweden; Running Time: 87 min In the road movie documentary Denim Hunter, we meet Viktor – a regular guy from Sweden but with a burning passion for really old jeans. The film follows Viktor on his wild journey through the deserts of California, Arizona, and Nevada as well as up the snowclad Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where he hunts for denim treasures in hazardous run-down gold mines from the 1880s. On his journey, Viktor comes across an array of unlikely desert characters, like Indiana Jeans, Dynamite Dan, and Redneck-Mike. In various ways, they all lead Viktor from one failure to the next.
The Depths of My Despair Director: Elizabeth Lawrence Country: USA; Running Time: 68 min The Depths of My Despair is a visceral rabbit hole toward the authentic self. Filmmaker Elizabeth Lawrence takes an emotional, first-person detour inward. Oscillating through saneness and psychosis; debris and lucidity, the film stares at depression dead-on.
District Of Second Chances World Premiere Director: Wynette Yao Country: USA; Running Time: 76 min District of Second Chances follows the journeys of three men from Washington, D.C., all sentenced to life in prison during the 1990s. Now, because of sentencing reform, they have a rare chance at release and new lives.
Meet Me Where I Am Director: Grant Garry Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min Meet Me Where I Am explores the topic of grief through individual stories of loss, love, and hope. The film aims to normalize grief in our culture and explores how we can actively participate in helping others through grief. By accepting grief and its impact, we hope to help individuals find new meaning as they move forward with their grief.
Studio One Forever Director: Marc Saltarelli Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min The untold story of America’s iconic gay disco, a kaleidoscopic excursion into LGBTQ+ history through the lens of this groundbreaking club. From 1974-1994, Studio One and its adjoining live music venue, The Backlot, became symbols of hope and community for gay men during tumultuous times. Amidst the rise of gay rights, disco’s heyday, and the devastating AIDS crisis, the club offered sanctuary from rampant homophobia and police oppression.
Torched – The Story of Austin Torch Director: Hoag Kepner Country: USA; Running Time: 66 min Torched tells the story of the Austin Torch, a wild and fiery group of women/non-binary athletes in Austin who are trying to legitimize and professionalize their fringe sport of Ultimate Frisbee in a historically male-dominated sports industry. As we follow the Torch on the road and at home during their 2022 season, we realize that though the Torch might not always win, they never really lose, because it’s more than a team: it’s a movement.
MIDNIGHT FEATURES Sheryl World Premiere Director: Justin Best Country: USA; Running Time: 72 min After she’s dumped by her serial killer boyfriend for not being “hot enough”, a beauty-obsessed woman goes on a bloody quest to create the perfect face, all while navigating her new relationship with the cop investigating the murders.
Wild Eyed and Wicked Director: G.S. Foxwood Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min Lily Pierce is sick of being haunted. She decides to reconnect with her estranged father, a disgraced history professor, and learn how to draw upon a time of steel and blade when armor-clad knights rode out and dueled their monsters to the death.
TELEVISION AND WEB SERIES PILOTS
A Killer Service Director: Gio Randazzo Country: USA; Running Time: 25 min The hapless daughter of an incarcerated con-artist finds she has inherited a substantial debt to a dangerous crime boss. Forced into a corner, Elliott discovers how to take control of her life while helping empower other women.
Awesome Director: Paul Munger Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min Every night, 20-year-old Joy gets a glimpse of the future. But with a dad on parole, a pill-popping boyfriend, and a recent lay-off, that doesn’t mean she can stop it from being shitty. That is until she foresees an event that will ruin the lives of her loved ones forever. She’ll have to figure out how to change her future–or live with the consequences.
The Blind ZoneWorld Premiere Directors: Federica Marchese, Vinushu Sundaresan Country: China; Running Time: 32 min Battle of wits and violence ensues when the separate worlds of two teenage sociopaths collide after they set their eyes on the same target.
East Director: Dana Marisa Schoenfeld Country: USA; Running Time: 32 min When Ella Goldman, a New York City Corporate attorney, gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Josh, she is ecstatic to embark on the next stage of her life. With a wedding to plan and a blossoming career, Ella thinks she has it all. But when she suddenly loses her job and catches her boyfriend cheating, her world comes crashing down. This devastating turn of events forces her to confront the truth about her life – and what it is she really wants. Convinced that this is a “wake-up call,” Ella pursues her childhood dream of being an actress.
Events At Hemlock Manor Director: Katie North Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min At its core, this is a series about underdogs: a ragtag group of spooky weirdos with nowhere else to go. Hemlock Manor is not only a year-round haunted house with a terrible business model; it’s also a home. But what do you do when the thing you love is in trouble? You fight for it. Even when that means throwing a baby shower for a group of rich ladies who thought “the historic Hemlock Manor” was a charming country villa, not a haunted house open in July.
For Years to Come Director: Micah Stuart Country: USA; Running Time: 27 min An irreverent and heartfelt romantic dramedy about a gay man who falls in love with his dead mother’s hospice nurse, while struggling to reconnect with his elderly father…who’s secretly a porn director.
Hit Man: Secrets Of Lies Director: Elias Plagianos Country: UK; Running Time: 19 min A reflective hitman from New York City travels to small towns around the country trying to find meaning in his seemingly inconsequential life as he fulfills his contracts and eliminates his targets.
Hot Angry Mom Director: Clarissa De Los Reyes Country: USA; Running Time: 34 min A people-pleasing mom must face her rage, as a video of her epic meltdown goes viral.
I Could Eat Director: Rick Bedrosian Country: USA; Running Time: 28 min A new TV/Web Series showcasing the cuisine & music that unites diverse cultures. Host, Rick Bedrosian (“George” in a Beatlemania stage show for 7 years, leader of Celtic music powerhouse, Hair Of The Dog, since 1993 and an international tour guide) spans the globe seeking out the finest food and the most interesting music makers.
L.I.F.E.: It’s Wonderful Director: Dathan Smith Country: USA; Running Time: 22 min L.I.F.E. is an anthology series set in the near future where citizens receive a hand-delivered card notifying them the day they will die. Rose feels trapped in her new “home”. Emilia feels trapped by her daughter’s recent news. Bob is forced to deliver a card he has been dreading since joining L.I.F.E. Corp. as Diane adjusts to her new job.
MomentsNorth American Premiere Director: Aaron Lewis Country: USA; Running Time: 23 min Moments is a gripping 9-episode digital series, each under 13 minutes, offering intimate glimpses into characters on the brink. Driven by black trauma and mysticism, it unravels mind-reading and hidden truths through therapist Dr. Winston. An enigmatic narrator, Rutina Wesley, introduces time travel, adding layers of self-discovery. Momentshints at an expanded episodic journey, diving deeper into characters’ histories and relationships, while authentically addressing themes of healing and transformation within the mystical. Boasting a stellar ensemble cast and profound storytelling.
Morse Code Director: Travis Nicholson Country: USA; Running Time: 37 min In the eccentric community of modern-day East Nashville, Simon, a talented but flawed thirty-something indie folk singer finds himself at a crossroads as he struggles to strike a balance between family and career.
Off The Menu Director: Daniele Sestito Country: USA; Running Time: 37 min “Chef” is a perfectionist, Italian cook who works for an unordinary institution. Typically stern and grandiose, a new side of Chef is revealed when he is forced to make a meal that’s beyond his grasp.
Q Train Directors: Dionne Van Den Berg, Samantha Tran Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min A Brooklyn based DJ explores the queer dating scene.
Roboto Directors: Mari Madrid, Keone Madrid Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min Ky loses his entire career as a highly successful choreographer when AI takes over the dance industry and the world by storm. This throws Ky into suicidal ideations until Mikah, a bright and optimistic 12-year-old boy, decides to disregard the latest craze of dancing with Roboto and instead asks Ky to choreograph for his school performance. While at first Ky reluctantly decides to help the kid, he begins to find a bit of light in his life again. And when it’s revealed that Mikah had a battle with cancer Ky’s perspective is completely shifted.
The SelectmanWorld Premiere Director: David Antonio Martin Country: USA; Running Time: 26 min In the wake of Selectman Joseph Allenby’s untimely death, this absurd comedy begins amid a memorial service in the small town of Picasquiddy, Maine. Subverting the idyllic nature of small-town New England, our protagonists are trapped in a picturesque world where the forces of learned behavior, arrested adolescence, and the quest for power forever collide. As two unlikely successors emerge as candidates for the Board of Selectmen, the town’s fate hangs in the balance. Does anybody have what it takes?
Travel Fox World Premiere Director: Henk Pretorius Country: UK; Running Time: 5 min Get ready for a wild adventure in Travel Fox, the pilot episode of an animated series tailor-made for curious kids. Follow the inquisitive Travel Fox and Bogie the Tortoise as they race across the world, chasing rainbows in search of a legendary pot of gold. But here’s the twist – instead of gold, our friends discover something even more precious: a treasure trove of unique characters and unforgettable experiences.
Ülom: The Primary Experiment World Premiere Director: Jon Da Country: USA; Running Time: 25 min In Ülom, one can find anything, even meaning. A desperate scientist undertakes a labyrinthian experiment he believes will locate his missing daughter. Journeying ever deeper into the labyrinth, he must confront an invasive, fictional reality. Remember: what feels real, is real. Ülom is here.
XanderWorld Premiere Director: Jonathan Chao Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min When lonely high school student Luke befriends Xander the Genie, he’s forced to consider if making his one wish is worth losing his new genie best friend.
NARRATIVE SHORTS (In)Convenience Director: Alexandra Greenspan Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min
#Pizzagate World Premiere Director: Danny Piñeros Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
The 1971 Kitchen Grand Brie Director: Ian Beckman Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Bisected World Premiere Director: Danny Piñeros Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
Black Silk World Premiere Director: Patrick Michael Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Blight World Premiere Director: Markus Hoeckner Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Bloodworm World Premiere Director: Kai Wen Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Bounce House Directors: Callie Bloem, Christopher Ewing Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Burraco World Premiere Director: Isabella Tagliati Country: Italy; Running Time: 14 min
Candice Director: Tyler Martin Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Career Day Directors: Jason Robinson, Chris Hooper Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Chauncey World Premiere Director: Reilly Anspaugh & Daniel Rashid Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Cheol World Premiere Director: Yeajoon Cho Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min
Church Camp Director: Andrew Bourne Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
The Chat World Premiere Writer/Dir/Prod: Artie Brennan Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
Clownfish Director: Clayton Henderson Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Dear Owner Director: Jing Ai Ng Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Delta World Premiere Director: Jonathan Coleman Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min
Detox Director: Alex Hanno Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min
Dropping Director: Rj Collins Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Echoes Of My Father World Premiere Directors: Junko Kajino, Ed M Koziarski Country: USA, Japan; Running Time: 18 min
The Electro-Rocker Director: Chris Edgar Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Entrainment Director: Bill Prokopow Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min
Esperance To Fremantle World Premiere Director: William Sebastian Turner Country: Australia; Running Time: 18 min
Everything Goes Dark International Premiere Director: Alex Casimir Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Fate Vs. Elena World Premiere Director: Laura Sedlak Country: USA; Running Time: 23 min
From The Dark North American Premiere Director: Erika Sanz Country: USA; Running Time: 7 min
Hot Soda Director: Nello Digiandomenico Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
How To Disappear World Premiere Director: Milton Woods Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
I Keep Bumping into Candy Maldonado World Premiere Director: Luke Black Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
In The Quiet World Premiere Director: Merle Dandridge Country: USA; Running Time: 5 min
Interracial Couple In A Cheerios Ad Director: Christine Lakin Country: USA; Running Time: 4 min
The Invaders Director: Erin Doyle Cooper Country: USA; Running Time: 4 min
Itch World Premiere Director: Mohammad Anwerzada Countries: Pakistan/Canada; Running Time: 9 min
Letters To the Wind World Premiere Director: Terrence Shu Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
If you grew up in the past three decades paying attention to pop culture, then you know Britney Spears. She took America by storm since she was just a little girl with her raw vocal talent and knack for dancing. With her quick rise to fame came unexpected and unwanted attention: being scrutinized by the media for her clothes, her body, her virginity, and later on, her mental health.
It didn’t matter that she was successful; she shaved her head and went “rogue,” so she was “bad.” She was put under a conservatorship, a legal status where someone else is appointed to take care of personal and financial matters instead of the original person, typically reserved for the elderly or disabled: of which, she is neither. Britney Spears’ book The Woman In Me uncovers the Circus that was her life, the abuse she endured, and how she is recovering to this day.
Britney Spears revolutionized teen pop during the 1990s and early 2000s. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 at the young age of 15, and faced immediate success. …Baby One More Time and Oops!…I Did It Again are among the best-selling albums of all time.
She’s a famous artist, but she’s also a mother of two boys (Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline), as well as an author, as of October 2023.
Spears, with the help of ghostwriter Sam Lansky, tells her story. She starts with her early life, hiding no tarnishes, such as her family’s struggles with mental health and her father’s alcoholism, and how both have affected her throughout her career.
Spears began taking dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and from then, she was hooked. She later tried out for the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club, and after being rejected the first time and returning later with more experience, she was hired in December of 1992 as well as Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell. After the termination of The Mickey Mouse Club, she realized she needed to pursue her true passion: music.
After a few rejections, Jive Records signed Spears and ordered a full album, which we know today as the infamous …Baby One More Time.
With so much success so fast, Spears realized that her life would never be the same. She was no longer a 15 year old girl in Louisiana: she was a national super star. And with all that attention came a lot of unwanted attention, too.
Male hosts, some who could be classified as Womanizers, constantly asked about her breasts, her virginity, and her “risqué” clothing. She noted that many of her male peers simply weren’t asked these questions. In fact, the sexism in the industry is very easily distinguished from her recollection of her time dating Justin Timberlake.
Their relationship was very serious very fast, which unfortunately led to many issues. Timberlake allegedly cheated on Spears with numerous women, but that’s not how he told the story. Through his music videos, he alluded to Britney Spears cheating on him, and how it hurt him so much– and everyone believed it, because why wouldn’t they?
What didn’t make it into the press was the abortion she underwent at Timberlake’s request, and the pain and heartache it caused her. Britney Spears recounts her loneliness at this time and how, no matter what, she felt her story would be overshadowed by Timberlake’s.
She fell into a deep depression, feeling as if the world was against her, and no matter what she did, it was wrong. She later married Kevin Federline, with whom she had their children, and ultimately divorced in 2007. During a long and difficult custody battle, Spears was often photographed at her worst: she lost her children, lost her voice, and lost any support system she had (if there even was one to begin with). The most infamous photos from this time are when she shaved her head, and proceeded to smash a car window with an umbrella. This image tarnished her reputation, changing her from being a pop star to a Crazy woman. She was put under a conservatorship for her well-being, but what she really needed was support and real, genuine help.
After 13 years of having her life controlled at the hands of her Toxic father, being told what to eat, when to eat, when to go to the bathroom, when to perform, and even being denied the removal of her IUD, she had enough when her father allegedly hurt one of her sons. She started searching for a good lawyer, and a court date was eventually set.
In November of 2021, the conservatorship was removed, and Britney was free. After years of other people telling her story– the press, her Criminal father, and numerous documentaries– she decided it was time to tell hers.
“Sometimes I talk trash on Instagram. People don’t know why I have such anger toward my parents. But I think if they were in my shoes, they would understand.”
Britney Spears’ “The Woman In Me,” pg. 171
Britney does not deny that the trauma she endured made her Stronger, and she makes it clear that she would not be the woman she is today if it weren’t for that trauma. But she also makes it clear that she, or any woman for that matter, shouldn’t have to be that strong in the first place, because no one should go through what she did.
Being a religious woman herself, one would think that she’d be preaching “forgiveness sets you free,” but it’s the opposite.
In our patriarchal society, women are indirectly, and sometimes directly, told to not express anger. It’s not feminine, it’s not pretty, so don’t do it. But Britney Spears has a lot of rage because of her past, and she doesn’t hide it, because women shouldn’t have to.
“In that moment, I made peace with my family– by which I mean that I realized I never wanted to see them again, and I was at peace with that.”
Britney Spears’ “The Woman In Me,” pg. 251
While there were some flaws, such as a vague description of some vital points in her career (such as the sexualization of her from such a young age and how that affected her later on, and her Instagram posts), one thing that this book really gets right is peace.
While she says that reaching peace is important, she actually defines her version of peace. “Peace,” to Britney, is not forgiving her family for what they did to her, or even keeping them in her life. Peace is being alone, and being at peace knowing that you are okay alone. So no, she does not forgive them– but she’s still free.
The idea that you have to forgive someone who traumatized you is absolutely ludicrous: and that’s really the takeaway from Britney’s book. Sometimes it’s okay to be angry, and it’s okay to feel that. Don’t let it destroy you, but remember that you don’t owe anyone anything.
