Month: July 2019

‘Please, hug your loved ones’

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I was never really a Frightened Rabbit fan. I don’t know why some bands seem to have the ability to just grab me by the soul while others don’t. But I’m currently listening to the newly-released album Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit’s “The Midnight Organ Fight” which is an album of artists covering Frightened Rabbit songs from that album.

Two of my favorite artists are on it – Julien Baker and Manchester Orchestra. That’s how I found out about it.

I remember hearing about Scott Hutchinson’s death last year. The Frightened Rabbit founder and frontman was 36.

From Pitchfork:

“The fact that his body was found in a body of water called the Firth of Forth, where on The Midnight Organ Fight’s ‘Floating in the Forth’ he had imagined his own suicide (before rejecting the idea ‘for another day’), became the stuff of tabloid news.”

From “Floating in the Forth”

“And fully clothed, I float away
(I’ll float away)
Down the Forth, into the sea
I think I’ll save suicide for another day.”

He was known for being very open about his struggles with depression, as Mental Health America encourages: fight in the open.

Reading articles about how his openness and honesty inspired so many and gave people hope is encouraging. It’s also paradoxical – he gave hope while simultaneously losing it himself.

In his family’s statement, they said:

“Depression is a horrendous illness that does not give you any alert or indication as to when it will take hold of you… His willingness to discuss these matters in the public domain undoubtedly raised awareness of mental health issues and gave others confidence and belief to discuss their own issues.”

Even in his last tweets before his disappearance, he was still putting kindness into the world:

“Be so good to everyone you love. It’s not a given. I’m so annoyed that it’s not. I didn’t live by that standard and it kills me. Please, hug your loved ones.”

Listening to the Tiny Changes album and reading about Hutchinson has me feeling a certain kind of way. I think it’s because of my own struggles with some of the same things he dealt with. It’s difficult sometimes. I just hope I can put some positivity out into the world while I’m here.

To quote Hutchinson: Please, hug your loved ones.

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Film announcement!

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You ever want to talk about something, but you know you need to be patient and wait? Like a big announcement or something? Yeah? Me, too, which is why I’m so glad this day has finally arrived.

Last year, 2018, around April, I think – anyway, over a year ago – I had an idea for a new documentary project, and I approached two extremely close friends who happen to be filmmakers as well, and I asked them if they were interested in making this happen.

Both of them – C. DeWayne Cunningham and Royce Willliams – jumped on board as producers immediately, and together, we have completed a new feature-length documentary.

I have talked with people one-on-one, in person, about this project over the past year or so, but I haven’t made any official public announcements – until now.

So on behalf of my producers, I am pleased to announce the completion of our new film, titled:

Remembering Anarcha.

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The film explores the controversial history of Dr. James Marion Sims, who is known as the “father of modern gynecology,” or by his detractors as “father butcher.” If you haven’t heard of him, there are statues that were put up in his honor on the Capitol grounds in Montgomery, AL, the statehouse grounds in Columbia, SC, and in Central Park in New York City. The one in New York has been removed.

But along with his story, the film also explores the enslaved African women that he operated on while in Montgomery in the late 1840s. We know three of their names – Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey.

And within these historical stories, we explore issues of race, slavery, and ethics, and how those issues impact modern society and medicine.

So, I know some people will be asking where they can see the film. Well, we are in the process of submitting the film to various film festivals in the hopes that we can find a distributor. That process can take a while. (It can also be costly, so if you’d like to help us out, we are accepting donations – PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, checks… we’re open to any help we can get.)

In the meantime, we ask that you follow Remembering Anarcha on social media – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the film. We’ve also set up RememberingAnarcha.com.

And, be sure to follow my page, along with Terrible Master Films, Carolyn Jean’s Son Visions, and 803 Films to keep up with our other projects.

Thanks!

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Marsellus “Trouble”

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Years ago, I was in a band called Marsellus with my friend Dillon Fiore. We went through probably seven or eight drummers over the years, but Dillon and I kept going for quite a while.

We recorded a three-song EP, followed by an album titled “Our Name in Lights.” There was one song, however, that we never got a chance to record – until last year.

In 2018, Dillon and I went into the Jackelope Studio in Birmingham, AL, with drummer Timothy Stanton and engineer Andy Jackson (Hot Rod Circuit) to record a song called “Trouble.”

It is now available on all digital platforms – Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, etc.

Also, I shot some footage while we were in the studio and put together a music video for it:

Also, if you want to catch up on the previous releases, they’re all on YouTube:

Live at Goat Haus – July 5 and 6

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Just a reminder – I’m performing at Goat Haus Biergarten tonight and tomorrow – July 5 and 6, 2019. Click here for details.

And speaking of Barrens, did you see the video where Bam Margera from Jackass announced our album title?

Well he did: