Parallel Roads Podcast

Episode 4 - An Interview With The Directors of Adjust Your Tracking

kristianday@gmail.com (Kristian Day) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 17:50:00 -0500

This winter I have been spending a lot of time cleaning my home both physically and digitally. I am a pack rat in many different ways as I have collected so much stuff from past movies, commercials, and of course from my own personal hobbies. On the digital side of things I have hard drives upon hard drives of unfinished films, music recordings, and archived radio interviews. One interview that I found was conducted back in August of 2013 for 100.1 KRUU FM and I found it very fitting as I was digging through the years of material build up in my basement. The interview was with Dan Kinem and Levi Peretic, the directors of Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of The VHS Collectors.

It was April of 2013 when I read online that a pair of filmmakers were heading on tour with their documentary on collecting VHS tapes. The first thing that came to my mind was this was the future of independent film distribution. It is very similar to bands going on tour except it is the filmmakers going on tour. Trying to get these passion projects distributed is becoming harder and harder as the years go by so there needs to be something more to it than just buying a movie ticket. Dan Kinem and Levi Peretic traveled from city to city screening their film at various venues where they would also erect a pop up video store and sell VHS tapes. The whole idea sounded amazing to me so I partnered with local creative Ian Miller and booked them a date in Des Moines.

The film itself was amazing. It brought back memories of visiting Mr. Movies in Cedar Rapids where I would pick up seven movies for seven dollars for seven nights (not new titles of course). This was how I was able to see all of the Faces Of Death, Slumber Party Massacre, and even all of the Children Of The Corn movies. It was a great time to be sixteen years old checking out flicks. Sadly, those days are long gone and while most films have made it to bluray and DVD, there are still several movies out there that have only been released on VHS format.

The movie has since been released on both DVD and VHS by VHShitfest and can be purchased on Amazon. It has also inspired me to start my own VHS collection (which is the last thing I need).

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW

Episode 3 - Veterans Day 2014 / An Interview with Clifford Robinett

kristianday@gmail.com (Kristian Day) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 22:56:00 -0500

Clifford Robinett and Kristian Day October 20th, 2014[/caption] It was October 20th, 2014 when I was out with a small film crew at the Trestle Bridge in Madrid, Iowa. We hauled our equipment a half mile from the van to the bridge. We took some shots for about 30 minutes before we thought that we needed to go to the bottom of the bridge which all I can say is not just a little stumble down to the bottom. I lost the coin toss and had to stay with the gear while the camera operator and his A.C.(Assistant Camera) climbed down to the bottom. While I was waiting I noticed an old man walking down the bridge carrying his own folding chair and stopping randomly to sit down. Eventually he got to where I was and noticed our equipment. He asked if we were shooting for the paper and replied nicely that we were out just shooting for fun (Non-Disclosure Agreements you know…). He began talking about the bridge, but not the obvious bridge that we were standing on. He began talking about the bridge that was at one time right next to this one. The one he painted back in 1941. The bridge that was demolished years ago. Now keep in mind I didn’t know who this man was. He began talking about growing up in Madrid, Iowa and working as a boy and being interested in aviation. He went on to start talking about World War II while he was in a submarine. After about twenty minutes of talking I decided I needed to be recording this conversation. After about 40 minutes I finally asked him his name and I discovered that I just got an amazing history lesson from Clifford Robinett. [caption id=“attachment_21968” align=“alignright” width=“251”] Inside Cover of “POWs of Japanese RESCUED!” by Hal Leith[/caption] Clifford is very detailed with his stories of WWII and the men he served with. There are not many of these old guys left. He reminded of a man I knew several years ago in college named Hal Leith. Hal was also WWII veteran and had published a memoire called POWs Of Japanese RESCUED! In 2004 I gave Hal lessons in using Adobe Photoshop and in exchange he gave me a copy of his book. While writing this blog I decided to look up Hal on online to see what he was up to. I learned that he past away on Christmas Eve of 2013 at the age of 94. Whether you agree with their opinions or not you should take a minute and listen. Some of these stories are already lost and many on the brink of being forgotten.

Download This Show

Links

Purchase POWs Of Japanese RESCUED! by Hal Leith on Amazon Hal Leith’s Obituary/News Article in the Golden Transcript Honey, LTD. “The Warrior” track taken from “Boyd Rice Presents Music For Pussycats”

Episode 2 - A Birthday Party With Laurence Olivier, Pablo Picasso, and Barron Christian

kristianday@gmail.com (Kristian Day) — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:51:00 -0400

What do Sir Laurence Olivier (Hamlet / Henry V) and Pablo Picasso have to do with my birthday party? Keep reading… Turning 29 seems like it should feel different. Most people would see themselves as “racing towards thirty” or thinking “Oh my god! Life is passing me by”. I don’t think that way at all. In fact, I feel like overall I have made the most out of things even when they didn’t always go the way I planned. I had lunch yesterday with my buddy Andy Erickson and we discussed about the importance of failing. Failing takes you to another place. Sometimes you need to let something fail so you can move on to something else. I have never had an overall goal in life or even an overall career. I work in the entertainment industry and that means a lot of things. You do a lot of different things with no real stability but at the end of the day you had fun and there is a story to tell. My old friend Barron Christian lived that life. When I was living in Golden, Colorado we would spend many hours sipping brandy or bourbon while Barron would tell stories about his past life living in Los Angeles and San Francisco as an entertainment professional (actor / voice actor / director). It was an affordable treat that didn’t cost any money and brought good company. So for my birthday edition of the Parallel Roads Podcast, I am sharing a recording I made with Barron telling his story of traveling with Sir Laurence Olivier and how they ended up at the home of Pablo Picasso.

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW

Links

Barron Christian on IMDB

Barron Christian Interviewed on New Zealand Television

Sir Laurence Olivier on IMDB

Episode 1 - Mark Kneeskern, The Last American Hitchhiker

kristianday@gmail.com (Kristian Day) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 10:08:00 -0400

I am both pleased and saddened that I am offering the first episode of the Parallel Roads Podcast. The excitement is that the interview is with one of the most inspiring men of Americana, Mike “Eyeball” Kneeskern. He is an artist, musician, author, and has been hitchhiking across America for over eleven years. This interview also comes with some unfortunate news as Mark Kneeskern passed away three days after this interview was recorded. I booked Mark to come to my theater in Fairfield, Iowa for a talking show on August 30th and this interview was to be part of the marketing plan to promote his show. Mark Kneeskern is someone that I wish I had met much earlier in my life. He was working-man who consistently was chin deep in creative projects from music to sculptures to book illustrations. But even with all the random freelance work Mark did, his “bread and butter” (as he says in the interview) was his book: The Last American Hitch-Hiker, a collection of journal entries, illustrations, and stories that raise awareness of people’s kindness. This interview was recorded over the phone on Wednesday August 28th, 2014. Mark travelled from Des Moines to Fairfield and performed his at the Orpheum Theater at 5PM on August 30th. After his performance Mark left the theater to attend a BBQ/potluck at a friends house which was followed by an evening music at the Arbor Bar. He left the bar sometime after 1:30AM. Around 4AM he was hit by a train inside the Fairfield city limits.

Download E1.1 - Mark Kneeskern

Links

AmericanEyeball.com - Mark Kneeskern’s Official Website - Mark Kneeskern’s Official Website Buy The Last American Hitch-Hiker Kindle Edition on Amazon Buy Rainbows Wait For Rain on Amazon (featuring illustrations by Mark Kneeskern) Buy Tales From Terlingua Porch Vol 1 on Amazon (featuring illustrations by Mark Kneeskern)