Roman Titus Behind-the-Scenes

Below is a behind-the-scenes video for photographer Roman Titus shooting a campaign for The Boys and Girls Club in Cincinnati.  Roman is also the photographer that has gone with us on a lot of the Reinstate Hank film, and also on some other recent projects that will see the light of day soon.  Be sure to check out his work and his site:  RomanTitus.com

STASH on DVD!!!

My good friend, filmmaker and fellow hometown boy Jacob Ennis's directorial debut STASH is making some serious noise as it hits DVD shelves.

Shot in and around Lexington, Jacob's film was picked up by Camp Motion Picture's Bloody Earth Films and is now heading to two of the nation's largest movie rental chains Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery. The film is also available on Amazon.com.

Buy STASH at Amazon.com
Get out there and get it because "It's breakfast time, bitches!"

STASH Trailer:


STASH cameo:

PYLOT Promo

Promo for forthcoming PYLOT DVD. It includes the Glasgow KY band's last performance and a ton of bonus footage. Directed by Blake Judd, edited by Cody Meek, produced by Blake Judd, Cody Meek, and Wes Buchanan. Cameras by Blake Judd, Jess Sandidge, Daniel Paxton, Andy Gumm, and Tripod.

PYLOT mySpace

60th Anniversary of Hank Williams Recording in Cincy

Monday night Keith, Rick and I attended a private party/meeting in Cincinnati to commemorate the 60th anniversary of when Hank Williams recorded at Herzog Studio. We actually got in the space, where Jake Speed and Freddies, David Rhodes Brown, Ed from Strawboss, Patrick Ewing and Elliot Ruther all performed Hank covers including a couple of Hank's bigger hits "Lovesick Blues" and "My Bucket.." The event was not only to commemorate this historic date sixty years ago when "Lovesick Blues" was recored there, but also an attempt to raise money and awareness to Cincinnati's ties to the history of country music and music in general. Donations and proceeds from the event were to to raise funds to get a marker to place outside the building so that people will know what has taken place in that space. 
CityBeat, a local Cincinnati publication wrote a blog on the space and event that you can read here:
http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-301-hank-williams-citybeat-and-music-history.html

I would like that thank all of those that came out and let us be apart of the event. It was a great experience, and again as with "Reinstate Hank" it is great to meet people who care about the legacy of Hank Williams, music, and their home.

There was also an recent article about Hank Williams and the Opry in a Birmingham, AL publication that you can check out here:
http://bhamweekly.com/blog/2008/12/16/reinstating-hank-williams-to-the-grand-ole-opry/

More soon.

Seven Signs DVDs, Louvin, and Sunday Valley

Hello all.  Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and are planning for a great Christmas.

Seven Signs DVDs are now for sale online and you can pick them up at www.SevenSignsFilm.com.  They'd make great stocking stuffers!  If you live in or around Greensburg, KY and don't want to buy it online, some will be at my mom's beauty shop late Monday evening.  Let me know if you need directions.  And if you live in or around Lexington, KY just let me know if you want one and we can meet up.  Those of you who ordered them online, the first wave of DVDs went out yesterday and those of you that haven't go to the site and grab one!

Again, Reinstate Hank just had a blurb/interview with Hank III in the "Smoking Section" of the issue of Rolling Stone with "100 Greatest Singers of All-Time on the cover.  If you want to see the online article that is a little more lengthy and mentions Keith and myself, the link to that is here:

http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/smokingsection/2008/10/hank-iii-on-the-grand-ole-opry.php

A a good friend and country music legend Charlie Louvin will be released his new CD entitled "Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs" so be sure to out and pick that up.

Lastly, one of my favorite bands of all time Sunday Valley will be playing a show for the first time in a couple of years at The Dame in Lexington, KY on December 27th.  I'm very excited and if you haven't heard of Sunday Valley you need to get out and be sure to see them!  Here is a youtube link to one of their songs we recorded for them several years ago.  Amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb6tWU-ADJ8

A lot of stuff going on, and I will be sure to keep you all posted as it all develops.

Reinstate Hank in Rolling Stone

The newest issue of Rolling Stone (1066) with several different covers of "100 Greatest Singers of All-Time" has an small article in the "Smoking Section" where they interview Hank III and they link the Reinstate Hank website. There is also a longer version of the interview on Rolling Stone's website where Hank III mentions Keith and myself working on the project. Check out the magazine and here is the link to the online article:

Rolling Stone Online Article

IBWIP Podcast, Alabama, and Seven Signs Site

Today the highly popular podcast "It Burns When I Pee" (IBWIP) will be dedicated to the Reinstate Hank campaign, Metal Farm Magazine and will have interviews from the Metal Farm Release Party in Cincinnati with Keith Neltner, Randy Bake, Sarah Luegers, and myself. It will also be featuring music from one of my favorite bands The Kentucky Struts who performed at the Release Party. A special thanks to Blake Clayton and his crew for coming down from Illinois just for the party and letting us be a part of his program. If you are into country music, but NOT "corporate" country music, check out his program, a lot of great bands are always on there mixed in with old country that he pays tribute to. It's a great program.
The full website for Seven Signs will be up and running in the morning. The site looks great and I must thank Adam Martin for all his hard work on the site. If you want to see more of Adam's work you can visit his website: www.AMartinDesign.com
Alabama was a great trip. We stopped in Manchester TN on the way down and spent the day with Mr. Charlie Louvin who was nothing short of a true Hillbilly gentleman and we appreciate his, and his wife's time and hospitality at their beautiful home. It was great to actually visit Montgomery and see the place where Hank Williams legacy began. We interviewed Driftin' Cowboys RD Norred and Braxton Schuffert, The Hank Williams Museum manager Beth Petty, and Joey Allcorn. The trip was very surreal and thanks goes out to all these folks for talking with us and being a part of our project. An extra special thanks goes to Joey Allcorn and Lauryn for taking time out to show us around and letting us stay with them. I also want to thank Keith Neltner, as always being there on everything and also Roman Titus for going along and taking stills of trip. His photography on the trip is a huge addition to the overall project. You can checkout some of Roman's work here: www.RomanTitus.com
Download the IBWIP podcast NOW, check out the Seven Signs site in the morning, and check out some of the links below to see some of the things we were around.

IBWIP Podcast - www.section86.com (cast) and www.ibwip.com (site)
Keith Neltner - www.NeltnerCreative.com

Roman Titus - www.RomanTitus.com
Joey Allcorn - www.JoeyAllcorn.com
Hank Williams Museum - www.TheHankWilliamsMuseum.com
Charlie Louvin - www.CharlieLouvinBros.com

Election Day

I hope everyone is having memorable Election Day.  Whether your side wins or not, it's a huge day in American history so just embrace it and remember where you were and what you were doing on this day.  And yes, I voted.
I want to send a sincere congratulations to my good friend David Givens who we had the honor of shooting his campaign ads.  He was elected to the 9th District seat in the Kentucky State Senate.  I want to thank him for allowing us to be apart of it, along with Russ Goff and Vincent Fields as well for letting us work with David on this campaign.  Below are a couple of the ads that we shot.
Some more good news I have is that Seven Signs is finally available for sale!!! You can go to SevenSignsFilm.com and order it.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
I will be leaving in the morning going to Manchester TN to interview country music legend Charlie Louvin for the Reinstate Hank film and on to Montgomery AL to meet up with Joey Allcorn and learn and see the roots of Hank Williams in his hometown.
Also, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers DVD on Halloween went GREAT and I want to thank my crew Cody Meek, Steve Greer, Daniel Paxton, and Jess Sandidge for filming with me, I also want to thank Casey Perkins for taking some pics, and Joshua Black Wilkins for doing his photography for the DVD as well.  I must also thank John Tyler Bagby, Greg Brock, and Jacob Ennis for lending me cameras and Tom and Katie Frank and Donna and Mason Horton for letting me stay at their home once again.  I couldn't do the things that I do if it wasn't for being blessed to have these people around me helping.
Get to the Seven Signs site and get a copy, again props to David, and I will be back in touch when I get back from Alabama.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all.
Tomorrow night we will be shooting Th' Legendary Shack Shakers Live DVD at Exit Inn in Nashville.  It will be a great show and I hope to see a lot of you there.  Wear your costumes!
Last night we shot Hank III at Layla's Bluegrass Inn.  The show was great and thanks to Cody Meek, Steve Greer, and Chad McIntosh for helping shoot the show.  Thanks to Keith Neltner for getting some nice pics.  It was also good to see Wayne & Cathy, Mr. Bandana, Lori, and Tonya and Brian there as well along with all the other familiar faces.
Hank III's new album that came out last week debuted #18 on the Billboards weekly chart for last week and #2 on the Country charts so big props to Shelton and thanks to all the fans that went out there and picked it up.
Again, be safe, have a Happy Halloween and more news/report after the weekend.

"Damn Right Rebel Proud" Tomorrow!

Tomorrow October 21 will be release of Hank III's new album "Damn Right Rebel Proud." Not only will be album be released on CD but on vinyl as well. As I'm sure you all know, I have been honored over the least year to work with Shelton and the rest of his camp on several projects and hope to continue to do so in the future.

Tomorrow also holds another signifigant place in the story as it was one year to the date that Shelton invited me down to talk about my work and working with him on projects to which started the spiral that has lead to the "Reinstate Hank" film amongst other projects that I have been blessed to be apart of and all the great people I have been able to meet and work along side.

So, all this being said, be sure to get out tomorrow and get the new album. And if you aren't sure what I am talking about or want to hear some songs from the album and see a little of Hank III, check out his site, www.Hank3.com or watch the EPK that we worked on for the album:

Charlie Louvin

Keith and I went to the meet and greet at Shake It Records in Cincinnati and on to the show at Southgate House in Newport of one of the true country music legends, Charlie Louvin.  We filmed a couple of songs of Mr. Louvin's that I hope to have up soon and also discussed his appearance in the "Reinstate Hank" film.  Good night, a great man.

"Cumberland Angels" on Inside Music Row

Inside Music Row, a program on Nashville television just did a segment on Tonya Watts and her efforts with the homeless. The segment has several clips from the "Cumberland Angels" video. Be sure to check it out!

Seven Signs in London England Today

Seven Signs will be shown today at The Raindance Film Festival in London England today. JD made the trip over to the festival. If you want to check out the film's page on Raindance's site, you can go here: Seven Signs Raindance Page

Hank III @ Layla's Bluegrass Inn 10/8

Cody and I made the trip down to Nashville last night to see Hank III perform at Layla's Bluegrass Inn last night. The show went very well I thought for the line-up's second time out. We filmed the entire 2 1/2 hour set and got some footage of them pre-show jamming at Shelton's as well. Jesco White showed up after opening for The Black Keys at the Ryman but he didn't stay too long... I also saw TNA wrestler Jeff Jarrett roaming the packed crowd a couple of times. All in all, the night was a big success and a great step in the right direction. Thanks to Cody and Steve Greer for helping out and as always it was great to Wayne and Cathy at the show.

Shack Shaker Live DVD Halloween Night

I'm proud to announce that on Halloween night we will filming the Official Live DVD for Th' Legendary Shack Shakers at The Exit In in Nashville, TN. Everyone better come out because it will be a special night along with it being a good excuse to dress in your creepiest costumes and be in a DVD! The Colonel also has a few tricks up his sleeve for the show that you will just have to wait and see that night. There will be a more informative, official post on Th' Shack Shakers mySpace page by JD coming soon.

Check out their myspace here:
www.myspace.com/legendaryshackshakers

Here is The Exit In's site here:
www.exitin.com

Seven Signs Official Selection Orlando Film Fest

Seven Signs has been selected to the Orlando Film Festival in Florida. This is a great festival and last year's Academy Award winning documentary Taxi to the Darkside was a selection at the festival. Seven Signs will show Saturday, November 8 at 3PM EST at the City Arts Factory in downtown Orlando.

To visit the festival's site go here:
www.OrlandoFilmFest.com

Givens Ads a Wrap

From sunrise till sundown Thursday and Friday, myself and fellow Green County filmmaker Jacob Ennis of Tuckywood Productions kept it in the county shooting the ads for our friend David Givens.  The shoot went flawless and when the ads are complete I will try to get them up on the site.  It was an honor to work with Mr. Vincent Fields and David and his family.  I would also like to thank Mr. Russ Goff for putting in a good word for me and helping us to get this gig.  Be on the lookout for the ads next week on the local WBKO TV station and David's site here, where some web videos will follow.

Neltner Mentons JuddFilms in Virus Mag Interview

Keith recently did an interview with Virus Magazine out of Germany on his art and was nice to mention his old buddy Blake (#15 but read the whole thing). Below is the English version of the interview and the link to the magazine's site is here.

16 Questions to Keith Neltner  

1. Hi Keith, your’re well known in the business for quite a while. How and when did you start you career? What is your background? I've been in the advertising and design field for little over ten years. I've worked with international brands doing branding, identity work, package design, etc. My true interest lies within the music industry. As a fan of so many bands and artists, it's a perfect collaboration and application of my art. I’m often inspired by the extremes—even bands like the Misfits have such a strong visual with the crimson ghost. These icons can register with kids as much as a Nike logo.  

2. Are you a „natural“ talent or have you been studying art at a school? I've had formal training in Visual Communications where I learned the history of typography, color theory, etc. Illustration has been a talent I've refined and continue to discover new things about since I was a kid drawing dinosaurs. A lot of my illustration derived from necessity, with bands not having any funding or photography. I had to really think about how an illustration could be powerful enough to grab someone’s attention.  

3. Together with your brother you formed Neltner Creative. Let us know how you work together. Rick and I grew up around and on a farm in Kentucky. Our great, great grandfather and his brother came to the U.S. from Germany in the late 1800's and settled in the valley we grew up in. You can see in our work country themes that often have an unsettling nature about them. Growing up, we butchered pigs, chickens, and cattle so we saw things that would be disturbing to most people, but it was just a way of life for us. Now we've found a use for all of this imagery, and where it makes sense it seeps into our work. We also collaborate with peers in the industry such as Tommy Sheehan, Mike Amann, Chris Dye, and Rob Warnick (You can see Keith and Rob's work at www.thesmallprintstudios.com), which can drive our projects in a different direction.  

4. How would you describe your art? I would like to think of my art as powerful. I want the viewer to see or discover new things each time they look at it. At the root of the art is an idea that’s connected to the music or the artist's history. I want it to be relevant and not just a "cool" image—it should tell a story in some way.  

5. Your style is obviously influenced by posters, advertisements and labels of the 19th and early 20th century. How would you explain your preference for this kind of style? Going to a vintage shop or studying old signs, wood blocks, and literature—these have all instilled a sense of history. Being able to repurpose that heritage or let it influence new work makes for a mesh of new and old that can feel timeless but contemporary. If my work were thought to be vintage, or appear as if it's been pulled from an attic, that's a huge compliment. It's relatively easy to create something clean and bold but to age and weather something in a convincing way is truly a craft.  

6. Although the style seems to be very old-fashioned the content is often rather macabre - one of the reasons why your art is so unique. Would you say that this antagonism is the most significant part of your art? I would. It's that eeriness of an old country road at night. You might as well be in an urban area because both backdrops can invoke the same uneasiness and darkness. The contrast of "down home" subjects infused with macabre, absurd, or unsettling imagery or undertones—something slightly off—that’s what I find appealing.  

7. You do a lot of art for Hank III, the grandson of country legend Hank Williams and your style and his music seem to be a perfect match. Where did you meet him and are you into country music? What really sparked the interest in the music industry was seeing Shelton Hank Williams III almost ten years ago. He played an intense 3 hour country set, with fans buying shots, talking about leaving rehab, and ending in him throwing himself and his guitar on the drum kit (ala Kurt Cobain). Then he just sat on the edge of the stage and talked with his fans—a complete southern gentleman. I had always known the lineage growing up on a farm and listening to country music in the 80s but had started listening more to Tool, Nirvana, Metallica, AC/DC, etc. So seeing that punk energy mixed with traditional, ghost like style of Hank SR. was inspiring. I created my first poster with Paul Neihaus, who wrote the line "Bloodline Gone Bad," and we ended up meeting Shelton after a show by pure chance. He called me weeks later and we've been collaborating ever since. As his music has gotten more raw you can see that progression mirrored in my art as well, from the Suicide Cowboy image (Hank blasting away with a double barrel shotgun), a mule meeting the executioner, or most recently a hooded figure (inspired by a Halloween mask Hank III wore on stage). The work just continues its whisky soaked spiral downward.  

8. We can find a lot of skulls – especially goat skulls – in your art. Any reason for that? The hills around me are filled with skulls and bones from horses, deer, and cattle that have met their end, so I have great reference. Usually these fit the artist I'm working for, as a traditional western motif, I always try and spin it into something unique or twisted rather than feeling like you're at a ranch in Texas.  

9. When you start working on a new project, what inspires you? Is it music, movies or simply a name of a band when you do a record cover? It always starts with the music. It's like the score to a movie—the music works with what is happening visually. I think the same flavor shows up in good album art. It might be a lyric or a song or even what you feel standing at a live show. Sometimes bands have a specific idea in mind. When I worked on Superjoint Ritual they had elements and themes they really wanted to come through on the cover. So the end result was a cover that has a lot of layers and southern elements. I try and do as much research on the band, their genre, or their content within the album before getting started. And a lot of times, where I am in my life or things I've seen recently can be an influence or inspiration. I've been working on projects for South by Southwest (SXSW) and have been in Austin, Texas recently, and I can see color and textures that inform the work immediately.  

10. Have you ever done a comic or contributed paintings to a book? I'm influenced by comic book art and very impressed by the incredible talent and story telling delivered in a book you can buy for $2.50. Comics like Oink: Heaven's Butcher, James O'barr: The Crow, and Todd McFarlane are among my favorites.  

11. Are there any artist you were inspired by? There are some amazing poster artists right now. I enjoy Jay Ryan, Rob Warnick, Jason Tidwell, Dave Kinsey, Shephard Fairey, and Banksy. But honestly I find a new favorite each day online—it's amazing the talent out there and how you can access it.  

12. Are there any current artists you’re smitten with? Any comic artists maybe? Right now Dave Kinsey has gotten my attention. I have a 9 color print of his and am just amazed how he layers his work. The dark figures that inhabit his work can be haunting but he creates them in a painterly way.  

13. Have you thought of doing a comic book? I'm always looking for new outlets, so I suppose a comic book would fit the bill. Recently I've been involved in skateboard art for Sector 9, shoes for Vox, sunglasses, a new art magazine called Metal Farm, so seeing new forms and formats for the art is really exciting.  

14. A guy creating such infernal images surely does’t look disney movies. (Or do you?!) What are your favourite movies? What was the last movie you saw in a theater? Ha. Actually my two year old daughter Quinn gets me watching all sorts of things, it's good to have balance, right? Some of my favorites are The Crow, Se7en, Candy, Batman: The Beginning, Seven Signs, Sin City, and 300. The last film I saw in the theater would be Cloverfield, I'm a sucker for the hype.  

15. Your images sometimes show visions of hell. Have you ever thought of writing a script for movie or even create an animated movie? I've been working with Blake Judd of JuddFilms on a couple documentary projects (one being a Hank III project), and he recently finished a project with JD of Th' Legendary Shack Shakers called Seven Signs. So my mind is always thinking of new applications or what to create next. I would never rule it out.  

16. What are your plans for the future? Will there be a artbook featuring your art? I hope to keep refining my skills and getting the work out to as many people as I can. 

This article is a good example of the reach you can have across the globe. From a stone house in a Kentucky valley to Germany, it's amazing how close the world has become. We've been doing more and more gallery shows, Paul Grushkin (coauthor of the Art of Modern Rock) has taken a number of our prints on the road to his lectures, and we're really trying to push the Reinstate Hank SR campaign (www.reinstatehank.org). All of your readers should check this out and sign the petition--it's a crime Hank was kicked out of the Opry and to this day is not a member, although they use his image like the cornerstone of the building. I do hope to publish a book of my work. Finding the right publisher and putting a piece together I'm proud of will be the key.

Getting Political

Tomorrow and Friday I will be shooting some of the campaign ads for a good friend and fellow Green Countian, David Givens, who is running for Kentucky State Senate in the 9th District.

Keeping it in the county, Jacob Ennis will also be on the shoot as we both look forward to helping out one of our good folks from out hometown. You can check out David's website here and I will keep you posted on when some of the ads make it to the internet.

Saturday I will be venturing to Camp Springs, Kentucky to the 10th Annual Neltner Farm Pig Roast. Keith and his brothers will be doing their thing along with the Kentucky Struts performing and some other fun stuff. I'm sure I'll end up filming something there too.

All New

A relaunch of the website is in the works.  Brook Hollis of Type Set Design is in the process of working on the new look which I am very proud of and look forward to seeing at completion.  Till the new site is up all will just have to settle for links and this news feed.

Brook is also going to we working on a new Seven Signs website and it will follow soon behind the relaunch of JuddFilms.com.

There are several projects and things to come shortly and I will get let you all know as soon as they develop along a little more.

Sit tight, good things follow.