Photo: Andreas Neumann

Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has revived his long-stagnant Desert Sessions project with the release of Vol. 11 & 12, now available on vinyl and most digital platforms. Beginning in 1997, Homme’s side project was created with a bunch of friends in the middle of the desert, as Homme and Co. hung out, jammed, and free-associated songs on the fly at Homme’s Joshua Tree crib. At his desert compound, Homme stashes rare recording equipment and instruments which helped produce ten volumes of tunes between ’97 and 2003. The latest release is the first output of these sessions in 16 years.

The goal of the sessions is to help promote songwriting in a chilled out, improvised atmosphere, away from the cold confines of a studio or label interference. Each Desert release sees a rotating crew of collaborators that in the past has included Alain Johannes, Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Ween, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, and more. This time around Homme landed contributions from Les Claypool, Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa, Autolux’s Carla Azar, and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, among others.

“There’s a bit of mental disrobing that goes on as you drive to the desert,” Homme told NME about Joshua Tree’s influence on the creative process. “I think as a musician, particularly in this day and age, you have a bit of armor on to protect yourself from grabbing hands and chatting mouths and closed ears. You do it to insulate yourself. But on the way to Joshua Tree, you take a lot of that off – which is ultimately a combination of insecurity and bravado – and you really empty your pockets of the residual of trying to protect yourselves.”

The entire collection is solid, but there are highlights you could skip to for samples including the QotSA-esque “Move Together,” featuring ZZ Top’s Gibbons on lead vocal. The track traverses an electronic backbeat of boops and beeps before Homme’s signature licks sear through. The track settles in with a breezy, melodic harmony that exemplifies the sort of freedom Homme and his crew seemingly strive for on these releases. “Move Together” could’ve easily been a Queens B-Side in another life, another studio.

“Crucifire” is also a standout with Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr grabbing the mic. It’s a no-frills rock jam that gets in and gets out in just under two minutes. It would certainly be a pit pleaser and palate cleanser if it was ever taken to stage.

And then there’s “Chic Tweetz,” featuring…whoever the hell Töôrnst Hülpft is, and comedian Matt Berry (What We Do In the Shadows). The lyrics, delivered in some sort of Euro-accent: “I sent you: chic tweets! / Unanswered for weeks, I want take peeks in those cheeks / I sent you this: hot fax! And you gave me de axe / I I would wax all your cracks.” Nothing about the track makes sense which makes it simultaneously magical, absurd, and brilliant.

The internet is already attempting to crack the case with theories swirling over the identity of the mysterious Hülpft. Is it Them Crooked Vultures co-collaborator Dave Grohl? Trent Reznor? Homme himself? Your guess is as good as mine.

Check out the Desert Sessions Vol. 11 & 12 tracklist and cover art below and check the album out wherever you stream music.

Desert Sessions Vol. 11 & 12 Tracklist:
01 “Move Together” (lead vocal: Billy F. Gibbons)
02 “Noses In Roses Forever” (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)
03 “Far East for The Trees”
04 “If You Run” (lead vocal: Libby Grace)
05 “Crucifire” (lead vocal: Mike Kerr)
06 “Chic Tweetz”(vocals: Töôrnst Hülpft, Matt Berry)
07 “Something You Can’t See” (lead vocal: Jake Shears)
08 “Easier Said Than Done” (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)

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In Robert Eggers’ last feature, The Witch, the writer/director showcased his fresh brand of stylized horror with a story that was slow-cooked to perfection until its juices exploded into chaos. The Lighthouse, his latest starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, pushes his characters closer to the brink, unraveling their sanity as kaleidoscopic and claustrophobic surroundings threaten to suffocate them. Eggers’ method of storytelling comes preloaded with a creeping sense of unease that stalks his characters like prey and mystifies his audience until the very last frames.

Dafoe and Pattison play two lighthouse keepers working a challenging station in the middle of the ocean off the coast of New England. Dafoe’s Thomas Wake is a demanding veteran of the post, delegating the most physical and grimiest of tasks to Pattinson’s younger Ephraim Winslow. It’s Winslow’s first lighthouse gig; he’s looking for a new beginning while tolerating the difficulties of living with a curt old man. As the duo’s time together nears its end, tensions swing back and forth from drunken camaraderie to flying fists as a terrifying storm threatens the remote island they’re stationed on. That’s when things go from odd to surreal.

Weeks trudge by and the gruntwork and isolation grinds Winslow down. The loss of sleep distorts his reality: he beefs with a one-eyed seagull that seems to hate his existence; he dreams of Wake stripping naked and turning into a grotesque tentacled monster; he discovers an unsettling mermaid strewn on the rocks that he then has sex with. Or is it all a dream? In the midst of the hysteria, he’s forbidden by Wake to climb to the top of the lighthouse. Is the island keeping a secret from Winslow? The paranoia further fuels his insanity as Eggers tightens the screw delivering a mindfuck of events and sheer WTF moments.

The challenge of having a minimal cast is eradicated thanks to the strength of its performers. Dafoe, with his late 19th-century dialect and sailor’s superstitions, is mesmerizing. He’s brutish and guttural, playing up the character’s irritability and intolerance with every muscle in his body. Pattinson more than holds his own. As Winslow begins to let madness (and vodka) take over, he’s a filterless, drunken buffoon acting purely on impulse and panic. The physicality of both actors cannot be understated. When shit hits the fan culminating in knock-down-drag-out battles, both actors become unhinged. Oscars be damned: these were two of the most compelling performances I’ve seen all year.

Written alongside his brother Max, Eggers once again delves into terror with subtlety and style, subverting expectations and conventions. The Lighthouse was shot on 35mm film with vintage lenses and is presented in black and white. It has an approximate aspect ratio of 1.19:1 which makes it nearly square, adding to its already alluring mise en scène. The movie’s sound design is also noteworthy with its jittery, distorted audio that pulsates tension through the speakers. The effects are so manic and scratchy (à la David Lynch’s Eraserhead) that we’re forced into submission when the hysteria and hallucinations build to a breaking point. Eggers’ creation looks and sounds terrific, perfectly complementing the madness of the story it’s spinning.

Everything about The Lighthouse fires on all cylinders from its technical proficiency and approach to the fully-committed performances by its talent. Eggers not only expands his brand here, but pushes the genre to its cinematic limits. In a world full of franchised, big-budget projects swirling about, it’s immensely satisfying to have a visionary filmmaker like Eggers in the mix serving up imagery this daring, competent, and unique. Grade: A

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Harry was adopted when she was just three months old and learned about it at the age of four. The truth of her origin story instilled a profound love for her encouraging parents, but also a gnawing fear of abandonment she’d carry with her for most of her life. Growing up in northern New Jersey, Harry was drawn to the dangers and excitement of New York taking on a smattering of odd jobs before she became one of the most photographed faces in rock. She immersed herself in the city life cutting her teeth waiting tables at Max’s Kansas City and go-go dancing at local discotheques. She scratched the itch to perform joining early acts like The Wind in the Willows and the Stilettos before taking a page out of Marilyn Monroe’s book. She embraced the bleached bombshell look and spun art, fashion, and sexism in her favor, eventually becoming a regular headliner at the legendary CBGB.

“I was playing up the idea of being a very feminine woman while fronting a male rock band in a highly macho game,” wrote Harry. “I was saying things in the songs that female singers really didn’t say back then. I wasn’t submissive or begging him to come back, I was kicking his ass, kicking him out, kicking my own ass too. My Blondie character was an inflatable doll but with a dark, provocative, aggressive side. I was playing it up, yet I was very serious.”

Face It paints a gritty picture of a rough-and-tumble 1970’s New York, one filled with characters like The Ramones, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and David Bowie. Harry recounts run-ins and collaborations with these NYC scenesters and more, retracing her steps of climbing the art world ladder. Then there’s her near-deadly run-in with serial killer Ted Bundy and another close call during an apartment fire. Her stories are from a world lost to time, bizarre and circumstantial, yet her undying hunger for expressionism pushed her forward.

Harry reveals plenty of shockers. While reaching artistic highs and critical acclaim, Blondie was broke thanks to sheisty contracts and shady managers. Despite the financial misfortunes, Harry became a sex symbol and rock goddess leading to more modeling opportunities, an acting career that included a David Cronenberg film, and a steady solo career. She spun once-in-a-lifetime opportunities into gold, weaponizing her sex appeal. But when a label showcased her nipples on a billboard, she was understandably pissed. “Sex sells, that’s what they say, and I’m not stupid, I know that. But on my terms, not some executive’s.”

It’s mystifying are how unbothered she seems by things that would shake others to their cores like her incidents with a stalker or a sexual assault she reveals for the first time. Coming home from a show one night, she and boyfriend/Blondie guitarist Chris Stein were attacked at knife-point by a man who tied Stein up, stole their gear, and raped her. Harry wrote: “I can’t say that I felt a lot of fear. In the end, the stolen guitars hurt me more than the rape.” It’s a brief mention that she doesn’t elaborate any further on. (Harry did tell The Guardian: “I just said: ‘I’m not hurt, I’m alive, I’m doing what I want to do, I have a wonderful boyfriend’ and that was it. I had to consider what was important to me, and being a victim was really not who I wanted to be.”)

And then there’s her relationship, both romantic and professional, with Stein. Harry writes that the two never talked to the press about their break-up, but there was never a question as to whether the two would continue working together. They remained each other’s muses even after the band—and their relationship—exploded. What actually transpired, she doesn’t say. It’s admirable that Harry keeps some things private, but also puzzling that she’d mentioned the secrecy (in a memoir, nonetheless) only to shrug it off and not give us the tea.

In between her frenetic stories are some famous photographs of Harry taken by Stein, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Mick Rock among others. Also included are curated handfuls of fan art as a thank you to those who gave her their time and attention. The pages are printed on thick paper stock giving the package dual life as part-coffee table book, part-autobiography. Of course Harry would want her book to be a work of art itself.

Face It is a gripping, almost unbelievable account of an artist who took the art world by storm at a time when women barely existed in rock’s darkest, dingiest clubs. She says she has more to tell, but it’s hard to imagine what else could possibly lie in Harry’s memory. For a woman who’s survived drugs, a crime-ridden city, sexual assault, tangos with death, and even the volatile, sexist ’70s-era music industry, Harry barely seems shaken. She unfolds her life’s story with that ever-calculated cool of hers as if to say, “Yeah, this happened. Whatever.” Always a punk.

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If you’ve read any reviews or reactions thus far, you’ve likely seen critics chastising Jay and Silent Bob Reboot for being a movie aimed at 45-year-old slacker types hungry for dick and fart jokes. Well, that’s not entirely inaccurate. But the movie being targeted to a specific audience has unfairly been spun as a negative, an easy takedown of Kevin Smith’s scrappy View Askewniverse that made waves in the ’90s and early aughts for its crass crudity. Yet, however lowbrow, why would we want Reboot to be anything but?

When we’re reintroduced to Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), the duo’s getting busted by the cops for their marijuana grow house they’ve set up in the old RST Video Store. They wind up in court with a lawyer (Justin Long) who gets them cleared from the drug charges, but in doing so manipulates them to unintentionally sign their naming rights away to a film studio looking to produce a massive Bluntman and Chronic reboot. After Brodie (Jason Lee) tells them the reboot is shooting a major scene at a fan convention aptly called Chronic-Con in Los Angeles, the two hit the road to put an end to the production before Hollywood can further sully their names.

If you’re the type of fan who’s been following the ‘verse for decades, Reboot is up your alley. There are tons of familiar faces (which I won’t spoil), with actors from many other Smith movies showing face. Clerks, Mallrats, and Dogma fans will be particularly tickled. Some play new characters, but most of them reprise older roles playing hard on the nostalgia factor, but also working the “reboot-within-a-reboot” angle the movie pushes. Reboot feels straight out of the ’90s thanks to its meta sensibilities, pop culture references (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead), Shannon Elizabeth appearance, and its fanfare over the Method Man/Redman weed comedy How High (which was technically released in 2001, but still).

The script does offer up a new twist that both ages Jay (in a good way) and gives him something new to consider in his slovenly stoner life. When the two see Justice (Elizabeth) on TV in her new role as a newscaster, they pop in to visit her on their way to Hollywood. She drops a bomb: Justice’s teenage daughter Milly is Jay’s, and unsurprisingly, Jay is nowhere near ready to become a dad.

After a few scuffles and a lot of swearing, Jay and Silent Bob agree to take Milly and her pals to Chronic Con which expands the movie’s universe and attempts to wrangle a “kids these days!” B-plot. With Milly’s friends in tow, including Jihad (Aparna Brielle) from Syria and Shan Yu (Alice Wen) from China, the script blatantly leans into Hollywood’s diversity discussion because yes, diversity is good and fine and see how diverse we are right now? It’s doubtful anyone’s looking to Smith to make a statement about diversity, but he tosses his two cents in and it works well enough.

The daughter element gives Jay a secret to keep until the movie’s third act, but it also softens him. Mewes has room to showcase some heart, humanizing Jay and allowing the character to introspect. Sure, a stoner-buddy-comedy doesn’t need interpersonal drama and tender familial moments—we all know what we’re here for—but it’s nice to see these characters have grown up at least a teeny bit since we first met them loitering outside a convenience store. (Don’t worry…there’s still plenty of dumbassery and blunt smoking to be had.)

A lot of the laughs come from Smith taking jabs at himself, (specifically, his movies Jersey Girl, Yoga Hosers, and Cop Out). Last year, he even said of Reboot, “It’s literally the same fucking movie all over again,” which is entirely true and also sort of amazing. In an industry full of reboots, remakes, and exhausting franchise sequels, Reboot both mocks Hollywood while simultaneously and predictably following its footsteps. It’s a satisfying sequel-or-reboot-or-whatever with heaps of self-awareness and self-flagellation. If you’re a Smith fan, you likely know what you’re in for. In that case…you know the drill: $15 bucks, little man, put that shit in Smith’s hand. If that money doesn’t show, then you owe him owe him owe. Grade: B

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) – Official Red Band Trailer | Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes

Get tickets for the Jay & Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow: ►► http://bit.ly/reboot-rs The stoner icons who first hit the screen 25 years ago in CLERKS are back! When Jay and Silent Bob discover that Hollywood is rebooting an old movie based on them, the clueless duo embark on another cross-country mission to stop it all over again!

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It’s only been a year and a half since Melvins’ last release and tour for Pinkus Abortion Technician (which featured a second bassist, the Butthole Surfers’ Jeff Pinkus), yet singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne, drummer Dale Crover, and bassist Steve McDonald are already back at it. This time around the seasoned road warriors are bringing McDonald’s childhood band Redd Kross around with them which features McDonald’s brother Jeff on guitar and vocals. Crover and Steve McDonald are pulling marathon duties on this tour, doubling down with both bands and playing all night long…a feat that looks equally as impressive as it does exhausting.

The sludge vets stopped by Hamden, Connecticut’s Space Ballroom midway through their 10-week trek with Redd Kross. Though the rhythm section remained the same for both acts, the lighter (dare I say, poppier?) alt-rock tunes of the latter both complemented and differentiated itself from the deafening amp-crushing grunge-metal that Melvins served up.

During the Redd Kross set, both McDonalds came alive on stage. The brothers started the band while in middle school, breaking between 1997 and 2004 before picking back up for Round 2. Since their reunion, the band produced two albums, Researching the Blues in 2012 and this year’s Beyond the Door. Crover officially joined the band in 2017 setting the stage for this year’s tour and the collaboration between members of both acts.

The Redd Kross set blended heavy alternative sounds with power-pop, covers (The Beatles’ “It Won’t Be Long” and Sparks’ “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way'”), and a healthy dose of the band’s newer material like “Beyond the Door” and “The Party Underground.” Older tracks “Linda Blair” and “Annette’s Got the Hits,” a cut from a 1983 compilation called Posh Hits Vol. 1, closed out the performance.

Melvins’ set was quite different from their last appearance in the area. Minus Pinkus’ additional bass, the band was far less sludgy but no less deafening. Crover’s unlimited reserve of energy is mind-boggling; he attacks his kit and he hits hard. Steve McDonald ate up the sold-out crowd’s vibe, smiling, skipping, and making faces at everyone in front of him. The dude is a character who loves his job and he was loved for it in return. Over three decades later, a Melvins show never disappoints. It’s a no-frills spectacle with zero fat to trim—a non-stop 90-minute ride that’s every bit as inciteful as it is dominating.

This tour is one you shouldn’t miss and there’s still time to catch these two bands in action together. They stop in Georgia tonight before hitting Florida, Texas, Arizona, and more starting next week. All remaining dates (and photos from the Hamden show) are below.

10/18 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
10/19 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
10/21 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
10/22 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Rom
10/23 – Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
10/25 – Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
10/26 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
10/27 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
10/28 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
10/29 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
10/30 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
10/31 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
11/03 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
11/04 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
11/05 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon

Photos courtesy of John/coma323 and Aidan Stewart, as credited below. All others by TLW. McDonald in a white suit = Redd Kross shots; McDonald in a red/black suit = Melvins. Jeff McDonald is seen on stage with Melvins in a purple/black flannel. 

Melvins rocking out in Hamden. #melvins #themelvins #kingbuzzo #live #hamden #metal #escapefromla

37 Likes, 6 Comments – John (@coma323) on Instagram: “Melvins rocking out in Hamden. #melvins #themelvins #kingbuzzo #live #hamden #metal #escapefromla”

By Stewart:

By TLW:

“Sesame Street Meat” and “Kicking Machine” cut off on top

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Australia’s King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard made its Connecticut debut recently performing an aggressive, yet wildly diverse set at New Haven’s College Street Music Hall. The band is known for its chameleon-esque shape-shifting as a psychedelic rock outfit that smoothly diverges into prog rock, psychedelic pop, indie rock, and garage rock on whims.

The band’s latest album, Infest the Rats’ Nest, is its heaviest album to date, diving headfirst into thrash metal just six months after the blues-rock boogies of Fishing For Fishes. The album’s galloping drums and army of guitars were alive and present as the band, led by singer/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Stu Mackenzie, scorched the stage with skintight arrangements, maximum velocity, and face-melting, ear-splitting mania.

Despite the fact that the album was laid down by just three members—Mackenzie, fellow guitarist Joey Walker, and drummer Michael Cavanagh—the reunited King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard was a pulsating force with double drummers, synths, keyboards, maracas, multiple guitars, and trippy visuals. Photographer Matt Esposito captured all the madness (below), including shots of openers ORB and Stonefield.

ORB

Stonefield

Follow Matt Esposito on Instagram.

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Directors Zoe Eisenberg and Phillips Payson (Throuple, Aloha From Lavaland) are back with another feature film set in the lush jungle of the Big Island of Hawaii. Stoke follows Jane, an entitled mainland tourist who hires two wannabe guides to take her to the Kilauea volcano. Shot on Hawaii island, the road-trip style drama was partially filmed in front of Kilauea volcano’s famous 2017 “lava hose,” and features many iconic Hawaii island landscapes that were covered in lava during the summer of 2018.

The film explores themes of grief and impermanence as its lead character, Jane (Caitlin Holcombe), struggles to cope with a devastating loss that shattered her world. Along with Dusty (Ka’uhane Lopes) and Po (Randall Galius Junior), the trio travels across the island en route to the volcano, as an untimely detour spins the group in unexpected directions.

Stoke is dark and grievous, but it’s also funny and poignant; it highlights the beauty of rebirth and discovery while showing viewers that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.

Written by Eisenberg, Stoke (now available to rent or purchase through Amazon and Vimeo) has been heralded as “somber visual poetry” by the Maui Time Weekly and “downright surreal” by the Hawai’i Film Critics Society. TLW recently talked to both directors about the film’s thematic darkness, the healing powers of the island, and why the lava flow was the perfect destination for Jane.

TLW: What made you want to write a story surrounding grief? 

ZE: The idea to centralize Jane’s journey around her grief actually came when Phillips and I were working on an earlier film, our documentary called Aloha From Lavaland, which chronicled our community’s experience with a lava flow threatening our only access road back in 2014. We were out on the street asking community members how living so close to an active volcano has shaped their life, and folks who moved here continuously discussed coming to lava zone one to heal from grief or trauma. It just kept coming up, interview after interview, and so that’s how Jane first developed. On the other end, many of the people born here, kanaka specifically, brought up lava tourism and their feelings about it. This is how we approached the mindset of characters Dusty, Po and Kaila – they feel conflicted about the tourism industry surrounding such a sacred element in their culture, but because of where they live, the local economy is dependent on it. 

TLW: Tell me about the healing powers of the Big Island. Why is Jane drawn to it and are those characteristics of the island true to life? 

PP: Hawaii Island has a bit of a reputation for being a healing ground. As Zoe mentioned, many people who moved to Big Island to heal felt called here. Jane is beckoned by the call of the lava and follows the urge to see fire create instead of destroy, as many people before her have done.

TLW: What does Stoke say to those who might be going through the grieving process themselves?

ZE: What the film says to me might be different than what it says to someone else, but for me, it says, be open to change. That’s often one of the foundations of grief–struggle over a loss, yes, but also a loss of control, the inability to go back in time and change something. But even the saddest turn of events can turn into something positive, even if only by offering you a chance to deepen and grow. That’s also how I feel volcanic activity fits into the film’s theme. Lava creates as it destroys. Our community recently lost over 800 homes and countless points of natural beauty, but we gained acres and acres of fresh land that future generations will get to enjoy. Perspective.

TLW: Why is Jane’s Hawaii trip so important for her grieving process? What did she learn from her time on the island?  

PP: I think Jane’s trip to Hawaii shook her, and her behavior as she journeys across the island exemplifies how what you put out comes back around. I don’t think Jane is a likeable person, and she was never meant to be. She steals, she doesn’t respect her surroundings, and she is continuously irritated by the kindness the two boys display along their journey. Jane is humbled on her trip because the disrespect she exhumed hits her back.

TLW: How did you know that Caitlin Holcombe was right for the lead role?

Photo: Directors Zoe Eisenberg and Phillips Payson at the “Stoke” Premiere, 2018, Hawai’i International Film Festival

ZE: We met Caitlin in 2013 when casting for our first feature, Throuple. We cast her as a supporting role in that film, and while she nailed that role, we always felt she’d been underutilized there and we wanted to see what she would do as a lead. I had Caitlin in mind as I wrote Jane, but we did open up our casting call and see dozens of potential Janes before making our final decision. Although ultimately Caitlin got the role because she is an excellent actor, we also already knew that we liked working with her, which is huge on a small set with limited resources.

TLW: Tell me a bit about the casting process. How did you find your Dusty and Po characters? Your Kaila character?

PP: Going into the casting process, it was important for the Hawaiian characters to be played by actors who connect with their Hawaiian heritage. It’s all too common for larger profile Hawaii-based projects to whitewash roles with Hollywood talent, which diminishes opportunities for Hawaiian talent and provides an un-authentic representation of Hawaii’s population. With that in mind, we were incredibly lucky to have Randall Galius Jr. (Po), Ka’uhane Lopes (Dusty), and Danielle Zalopany (Kaila) come on board the project. Each of these performers brought so much insight to the characters, grounding them as believable people.

During our casting process for Dusty and Po, we were nervous about finding two boys that could carry the majority of the film. Not only did they need to be captivating performers individually, but the chemistry between the two boys needed to read as life-long best friends. After an initial casting sweep, we brought our final few choices in to read with each other in separate pairs. When Randall and Ka’uhane were paired together, their chemistry was immediate. 

TLW: Zoe, I read elsewhere that you chopped a romantic subplot from the final cut. What originally happened and why did you ultimately make that call? 

ZE: My original version of Stoke had no romantic subplot. It was Jane on a journey to get over a huge, unexpected loss in her personal life. But as I sent the script around for feedback, literally every set of notes that came back wanted to see some sparks between Jane and Dusty. Dusty’s character is a bit of a “woke lothario” – he’s not an asshole, but he’s sexually driven and pretty upfront about it. In the original script, Jane wasn’t interested and we got to watch Dusty try and fail, which was new for him. He had to learn to see Jane as something other than a potential love interest. But as I received the same ubiquitous note from every reader, I ended up adding a sexual element between the two of them because ultimately I wanted the film to succeed. We shot that script, and then in the edit, Phillips and I felt that twist in the Dusty/Jane dynamic felt cheap. It didn’t add anything to Jane’s story arch and it actually detracted from Dusty’s because he remained exactly the same the entire time.

It also angered me when I realized how commonplace it’s become to be shown, and for me with Stoke’s earlier feedback to be directly told, that a woman’s story is only a story if it centers around romance—usually with a man. So we returned to our original idea of Jane and Dusty during the edit, which was complicated to pull off logistically but ultimately paid off. The irony is that when screening Stoke we continue to receive commentary from women on how refreshing it is to see a woman’s story not centered around romance. 

TLW: What’s the story behind the lava flow on the Big Island? When did it start and why did you decide to wrap up the film there?

PP: Hawaii Island is home to Kilauea volcano, the most active volcano in the world. There has been constant volcanic activity and lava flows in the Puna area, where the ending of the film takes place, continuously since the 1980s. The community in Lava Zone One is so special to us. It’s where we live, and it is a community that holds the will of the land above the needs of modern commercial society. Our documentary Aloha From Lavaland directly inspired many of the themes we explore in Stoke: resiliency, gratitude and impermanence in the face of nature. It was clear to us from the beginning that Stoke had to end at the lava to fully illustrate the power of this island and the humility that the raw elemental force inspires in those who are lucky enough to be in its presence.

TLW: There are tons of gorgeous shots in this film. What is your number one favorite and why? 

ZE: Our DP Taylor Powell did a wonderful job capturing the majority of our cinematography, and we also had a talented drone operator on board, Jeremiah Lofgreen. My favorite shot is the drone shot near the end when the group is laying on the lava. It shows both the expanse of the lava’s destruction all around them and the challenge of the journey to come, and is a really incredible moment for me.

TLW: What was it like shooting near the volcano?

PP: Humbling. Spiritual. Shooting at the ‘fire hose’ ocean entry point is an experience I will never forget. Experiencing the moment fresh lava meets the ocean waves will be an inspiration for years to come.

TLW: Are any new ideas brewing for your next movie or are you taking a breather now that Stoke is out? 

ZE: I’m a bit too addicted to work for a breather unfortunately, ha—working on that issue. But in the meantime, I am working on a delayed coming-of-age dramedy set in Hilo, and currently taking that project through the Creative Lab Hawaii Producers Immersive. I plan to shoot it in late 2020 or early 2021. Phillips and I also founded the Made in Hawai’i Film Festival in an effort to provide a platform for our community of filmmakers, so that keeps us busy, in addition to our day jobs.

PP: I’m excited to play with some short-form projects and experimental pieces before diving into another feature-length story. My focus is now turning to the Made In Hawaii Film Festival and enriching the film community on Big Island.

Stoke is now available to rent or purchase through Amazon and Vimeo. You can also check out Facebook and Instagram for all things Stoke, or follow the directors on Twitter. 

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The Parlor Mob has been obscenely slept on. In an alternate universe—or better yet, the near-future of this one—the Asbury Park, N.J. band, known for dispensing classic-style riffs with a modern approach, will be taking over the world and headlining festival stages. If last night’s set at Hamden’s Space Ballroom was any indication, their new album, Dark Hour, should take them to soaring new heights.

Ahead of the album’s August 16 release (via Brittania Row Recordings/BMG), the band opened for Reignwolf, previewing new tracks and melting faces with older faves. While rock has seen many forms since the aughts when the band formed, The Parlor Mob continues delivering their signature style backed up by stealthy on-stage charisma and bluesy croons. One could say the band is for fans of old school rockers like Zeppelin or Rush, but they’re far more talented to simply be labeled as Classic Rock revivalists. The new tracks deviate from vintage sounds, toying with synths and R&B elements thanks in part to a new collaboration with producer Malay (Frank Ocean, Zayn), founder of Brittania Row.

“We aimed to add modern perspective to old school musicality,” singer Mark Melicia said in a statement. “We asked ourselves, ‘How can we bring rock ‘n’ roll into the current zeitgeist, so it reflects what’s going on in other genres?’ We embraced dynamics, tones, synthesizers and textures more synonymous with hip-hop or R&B production than rock. The duality extends to the lyrics. We were exploring the idea that light and darkness run through everything and exist for everybody. On all of the songs, darkness outlines the light moments as hope and light outline the dark portions.”

This duality was well-represented live. While the new songs thankfully don’t make the egregious leap that Kings of Leon or The Black Keys made, the Mob certainly seems to be building towards a bolder, more accessible stadium sound. But that’s not to say they’re going soft. Opener “House of Cards” could’ve fit anywhere on the band’s previous effort, Dogs, while lead single “Someday” pulses with electronic sounds amid scorching guitars and sassy lyrical swagger. The title track for the new record also came out to play, starting with low-key buzzy synths and rising to a powerful crescendo that bordered the edges of psychedelia.

For those hoping to hear the older jams, the band ripped through “Into the Sun” and “American Dream,” two of the set’s best, before closing out with “Everything You’re Breathing For” and “Hard Times” off of 2008’s And You Were A Crow.

For a 45-minute opening slot, The Parlor Mob flexed major muscle, their versatility on full display all while exuding a presence that was both cool and collected and high-octane without any air of pretension or arrogance. With its new tracks seamlessly complementing the older catalog, The Parlor Mob proves it’s possible to carve out new directions without totally restructuring its sonic DNA.

Check out the latest video, tour dates, Dark Hour tracklist, and photos below. 

The Parlor Mob – Someday (Official Video)

SOMEDAY single out now – https://theparlormob.lnk.to/Someday DARK HOUR album pre-save – https://theparlormob.lnk.to/DarkHour Follow The Parlor Mob: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theparlormob/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theparlormob Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theparlormob/ Website: https://www.parlormob.com/ Directed and Edited by Corey Asraf Cinematography by Jeff Melanson and Zephaniah Ohora

See you guys this fall with @_dealcasino_ and @danluketheraid. Tix on sale this Thursday at 9am EST

644 Likes, 67 Comments – The Parlor Mob (@theparlormob) on Instagram: “See you guys this fall with @_dealcasino_ and @danluketheraid. Tix on sale this Thursday at 9am EST”

The Parlor Mob – Dark Hour Track List

1. “All I’m Holding Onto”
2. “House of Cards”
3. “Someday”
4. “Setting with the Sun”
5. “Gun in My Hand”
6. “The Spark (Interlude)”
7. “Dark Hour”
8. “So Low”
9. “No Harm”
10. “Not Your World”

The post ‘Someday’ You Might Love The Parlor Mob appeared first on The Littlest Winslow.

A few weeks back I was a special guest on another horror podcast – this time the Dead Ringers podcast! Dead Ringers covers horror movie double features that share similar DNA, yet still have distinct personalities. Hosted and produced by Nolan McBride and featuring a rotating cast of co-hosts (ME!), each episode is a discussion exploring two horror movies individually before delving into the ways in which the two comment on one another through the convergence or divergence of their ideas or execution.

I was on an off-topic episode where we delved deep into the Final Destination franchise (Not 4…never 4!) discussing the best of death’s kills until we narrowed it down to the franchise’s best! The official episode description is below and if you want to check out the episode, it’s now available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and TuneIn, or you can head here to stream it on the site. Subscribe, rate, and leave a review if you dig it!

On this Off-Topic episode, Emily takes the reins and is joined by Kat Adams, Thomas Foster, and Nolan McBride — as well as special guest Nick Caruso of The Littlest Winslow blog — to discuss their love for the Final Destination franchise (except for 2009’s The Final Destination because it stinks) and debate death’s best designs.

As will always be the case with this show, be aware that our discussion contains spoilers. If you want to watch the movies before listening to the show, there are a couple of ways you can do so. Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and Final Destination 3 are available to stream on Netflix (…as well as The Final Destination for fans, completionists, or anyone just curious). Final Destination 5 is available to rent via video-on-demand (as are the other entries).

Links of interest and/or sources cited for research for this episode:

‘Final Destination’ – Death and the Inescapable Boogeyman by Emily von Seele (Bloody Disgusting)

A Second Glance Into STARRY EYES: Why Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer Are the Perfect Pair for the New PET SEMATARY by Nick Caruso (Daily Dead)

[Review]: ‘Pet Sematary’ Isn’t Bleak or Brutal Enough by Nick Caruso (The Littlest Winslow)

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