Tag: Vending Machine

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Indie Memphis

This week marks the return of the music video competition to the Indie Memphis Film Festival.

In 2000s, Indie Memphis co-sponsored a music video competition with the much-missed community arts web site Live From Memphis, but the Music Video Showcase has been AWOL for five years. In an era where YouTube is the most important venue for new music discovery, the music video is more important than ever, so Indie Memphis will feature two blocs of music videos during the seven day festival, which begins tomorrow, Nov. 1.

The Hometowner Music Video bloc bows at the Orpheum Theatre’s Halloran Centre on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 8:10 PM. 23 videos from the fusion of Memphis musicians and filmmakers reflect the city’s explosive creativity the Flyer has been covering on our Music Video Monday series. Among the MVM alums is our best music video of 2015, Vending Machine’s “Let The Little Things Go”, directed by G.B. Shannon.

VENDING MACHINE "Let The Little Things Go" Music Video from GB Shannon on Vimeo.

Music Video Monday: Indie Memphis (2)

Another MVM alum is Andrew Trent Fleming and Marco Pavé’s scorcher, “Black Tux”:

Music Video Monday: Indie Memphis (3)

The third MVM alum is the Halloween-appropriate “No Loving But Yours” from Crown Vox.

Music Video Monday: Indie Memphis

Indie Memphis’ newest category is Sounds, which includes both music themed features and music videos. The Sounds video bloc, which is open to videos from all over the world, will screen on Friday, Nov. 4 at 4 PM. Among the highlights of the 18 videos in competition are this naughty puppet party from Eric White:
 

El Muppet Song from Eric White on Vimeo.

Music Video Monday: Indie Memphis (4)

And finally, there’s this highly acclaimed, thumb wrestling epic from Etienne Fu-le Saulnier:

MUSIC VIDEO LITTLE PARTY QUEEN from Fu-Le Saulnier Etienne on Vimeo.

Music Video Monday: Indie Memphis (5)

You can buy tickets to the video blocs or festival passes at the Indie Memphis website. If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Strong Local Offerings Lead Indie Memphis Lineup

Indie Memphis announced its full lineup for the 2016 festival at a bustling preview party at the Rec Room last night. 

Bad, Bad Men,

The most striking feature of the 150-film collection is the strongest presence by local filmmakers since the early-2000s heyday of DIY movies. The Hometowner Competition boasts six feature films, including Old School Pictures’ Bad, Bad Men, a wild comedy of kidnapping and petty revenge by directors Brad Ellis and Allen Gardner, who have racked up several past Indie Memphis wins. Bluff City indie film pioneer Mike McCarthy will debut his first feature-length documentary Destroy Memphis, a strikingly heartfelt film about the fight to save Libertyland and the Zippin Pippen rollercoaster. Four first-time entrants round out the Hometowner competition: Lakethen Mason’s contemporary Memphis music documentary Verge, Kathy Lofton’s healthcare documentary I Am A Caregiver, Flo Gibs look at lesbian and trangender identity Mentality: Girls Like Us, and Madsen Minax’s magical realist tale of lunch ladies and gender confusion Kairos Dirt and the Errant Vacuum. 

‘Silver Elves’


Usually, Hometowner short films comprise a single, popular, programming block; This year, there are enough qualified films to fill four blocks. Sharing the opening night of the festival with the previously announced Memphis documentary The Invaders is a collection of short films produced by recipients of the Indie Grant program, including G.B. Shannon’s family dramedy “Broke Dick Dog”, Sara Fleming’s whimsical tour of Memphis “Carbike”, Morgan Jon Fox’s impressionistic dramatization of the 1998 disappearance of Rhodes student Matthew Pendergrast “Silver Elves”; Indie Grant patron Mark Jones’ “Death$ In A Small Town”, actor/director Joseph Carr’s “Returns”, experimental wizard Ben Siler (working under the name JEBA)’ “On The Sufferings Of The World”, and “How To Skin A Cat”, a road trip comedy by Laura Jean Hocking and yours truly. 

Other standouts in the Hometowner Shorts category include three offerings from Melissa Sweazy: the fairy tale gone dark “Teeth”; “A.J”, a documentary about a teenage boy dealing with grief after a tragic accident, co-directed with Laura Jean Hocking; and “Rundown: The Fight Against Blight In Memphis. Edward Valibus’ soulful dark comedy “Calls From The Unknown”, Nathan Ross Murphy’s “Bluff”, and Kevin Brooks’ “Marcus”, all of which recently competed for the Louisiana Film Prize, will be at the festival, as will Memphis Film Prize winner McGehee Montheith’s “He Coulda Gone Pro”. 

The revived Music Video category features videos from Marco Pave, Star & Micey, Preauxx, The Bo-Keys, Vending Machine, Nots, Caleb Sweazy, Faith Evans Ruch, Marcella & Her Lovers, John Kilzer & Kirk Whalum, Alex duPonte, Alexis Grace, and Zigadoo Moneyclips. 

Internationally acclaimed films on offer include legendary director Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, starring Adam Driver; Manchester By The Sea from Kenneth Lonergan; and Indie Memphis alum Sophia Takal’s Always Shine. Documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson’s spectacular, world-spanning Cameraperson, assembled over the course of her 25 year career, promises to be a big highlight.

Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck in Manchester By The Sea

The full schedule, as well as tickets to individual movies and two levels of festival passes, can be found at the Indie Memphis web site. 

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015

For our final Music Video Monday of 2015, I’m counting down the ten best videos of a fantastic year of collaboration between Memphis filmmakers and musicians. 

I’m not usually one for lists, but hey, it’s the end of the year, so why not? This Top Ten list has13 entries, which just shows you how bad I am at this whole list thing. So here it is, the best Memphis music videos of 2015, arbitrarily chosen and ranked by me:

10. (tie) “If You Want It” – Black Rock Revival / “Lucky Or Strong” by Caleb Sweazy

Two Memphis acts created fight themed videos this year. Black Rock Revival mixed it up in the squared circle with director Nina Stakz. 

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015

Caleb Sweazy directed his own video, took one on the chin, then got up and kept going. 

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9. “Ocean” – Nick Black

In Destyn Patera’s video, all Nick Black wants is a drink of water. 

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8. “Rock On” – Muck Sticky

The Sticky Muck self directed this psychedelic ode to friendship. 

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015 (4)

7. (tie) “Black Tux” – Marco Pavé / “Systemic Collapse” – Stephen Chopek

Director Drew Fleming and rapper Maco Pavé commented on consumerism. 

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015 (9)

Stephen Chopek self-directed this surreal tour of the decline and fall. 

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015 (8)

6. (tie)  “You’re The One” – Deering and Down / “Cosmophobia” – Arella Rocket

Director Matteo Servente and video artist Christopher Reyes teamed up to create a dreamy clip for Deering and Down. 

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015 (3)

Arella Rocket teamed up with filmmaker Michael Norris for this dream hop trip. 

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5. “So Addicted” – Tina Harris

Laura Jean Hocking created a lyric video to bring the former Sweetbox singer’s hit single to life. 

Music Video Monday: Top 10 of 2015 (6)

4. “We Rewind” – Marcella and Her Lovers

Edward Valibus, Ben Rednour, and Erik Morrison of Corduroy Wednesday took Marcella to Molly Fontaine’s for this stylish clip.  

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3. “The Straight Liberace” – Lord T. and Eloise 

As with most things created by the time-travelling aristocrunks, this clip will have you asking where parody ends and actual decadence begins. Then you just won’t care. 

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2. “cicada 3301” – Rick and Roy 

Charlie “the city mouse” Fasano’s animated captures the spirit of Rick & Roy’s experimental soundscapes.
 

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1. “Let The Little Things Go”  – Vending Machine

For his latest entry in his solo project Vending Machine, Robby Grant enlisted some of the best directors in Memphis to create music videos. The best of the bunch, and the best Memphis music video of 2015, is this clip created by G. B. Shannon, with cinematographic help from Ryan Earl Parker and Edward Valibus, and ace editing by Ben Rednour. 

VENDING MACHINE "Let The Little Things Go" Music Video from GB Shannon on Vimeo.

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Thanks to everyone who submitted videos for Music Video Monday. If you want to get in on this action in 2016, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. 

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Vending Machine

This week’s Music Video Monday is a hot mess. 

For the latest record by Vending Machine, Robby Grant commissioned several Memphis directors to make videos, several of which have been featured on Music Video Monday. The latest one, which makes its world premiere today, is for the album’s title track “Let The Little Things Go”. Director G.B. Shannon makes ingenious use of splitscreen and multiple images to tell a harrowing, and surprisingly complex, story of love gone wrong. Brandi Gist, Nathan Ross Murphy, Jamie Harmon, Leah Keys, and Drew Fleming star in one of the best music videos we’ve seen this year.  

Music Video Monday: Vending Machine

If you would like to see your video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Vending Machine World Premiere

On today’s Music Video Monday, we’ve got the world premiere of “White Squared Potato” from Robby Grant’s ongoing music video project for his new Vending Machine album Let The Little Things Go. Director Andrew Trent Fleming takes us on a chase through space in a rickety, retrofuture rocket. 

“When Robby asked me to make a video for his new Vending Machine EP, I knew I wanted to do something off the wall,” says Fleming. “I wanted to do something I’d never done in a music video before (space setting, 3D graphics) and make it silly but a little dark. I also wanted to make a small joke about the plethora of locals (myself included) who shoehorn some iconic Memphis landmark into videos in which they don’t make any sense.”

Music Video Monday: Vending Machine World Premere

If you’d like your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email a link to cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. 

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Vending Machine

Today we’re starting a new regular feature here on the Memphis Flyer Film/TV/Etc. Blog: Music Video Monday. To help your week get started right, we’ll feature a music video by a Memphis musician or filmmaker, preferably both, every Monday. 

We’re kicking things off with Vending Machine’s “Ask You To Leave”, directed by Memphis experimental filmmakers Ben Siler and Doug Sims. Vending Machine’s Robby Grant says it’s the first in a series of music videos he has commissioned from his new album Let The Little Things Go. “My good buddy Doug Sims has a YouTube channel where he posts a lot of random videos about random stuff. He and Ben work together a lot on them so I knew Doug was close with Ben. I’d seen Ben’s short films (met him only briefly) and I really love what he does. I asked Doug if he and Ben would do something together. My only direction for these videos are: 1. do whatever you want as long as you love it and 2. I don’t want to be in it,” Grant says. 

“This is a stereo zoom microscope used on various watches/clocks bought at thrift stores,” says Siler.
“We are trying to show a clockwork order running down. That is my beard hair that appears near the end, along with honey and jelly. This was edited and shot in about two weeks. There is an attempt at a larger story: we see an old-style pocket watch resting against flesh underwater for half a second, implying this all takes place inside of it.”  

Music Video Monday: Vending Machine

If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email me at cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. 

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Music Record Reviews

The cozy comfort of Vending Machine’s homemade pop.

So much indie rock these days can feel so insular — consciously separated from the larger world. But King Cobras Do, the fifth solo album from former Big Ass Truck singer/guitarist Robby Grant and fourth under the Vending Machine moniker, makes insular work in its favor. Recorded at the attic studio of Grant’s Midtown house, King Cobras Do doesn’t sound estranged — it sounds homey, cozy. It radiates a unity of production, tone, and content.

The cumulative impact of this intimate album is that of an energizing hymn to domesticity in both its subject matter and musical spirit. With images of dancing in the den to daylight, the second song, “Rae,” is a hand-clap-fueled love song to Grant’s wife. The memories here are charmingly lived-in: “When you developed photos there/And we hung out and I sat in the chair/Nervous and scared around you” and “Remember when our room was just a bed.”

The album-closing “Tell Me the Truth and I’ll Stop Teasing You” is a delicate tribute to Grant’s 2-year-old daughter. “The animal noises that you make never sound all that fake/It feels like there’s an elephant in the room,” Grant testifies, before a great little moment where he catches her yawning. And Grant’s 7-year-old son makes a more tangible appearance, contributing some free-associative lyrics to “Babies” and “Saturn National Anthem.”

On “Good Old Upstairs,” Grant expands the theme with a personification of the attic home studio where the album was recorded. (“In my sleep, she nudges me/To come up and play around some more.”) And, with his one-man band bolstered by an extended family of siblings (Grayson Grant), former bandmates (Big Ass Truckers Steve Selvidge and Robert Barnett), and friends (Jared and Lori McStay), the intimacy of the record is more inclusive than most bedroom pop.

Even the songs that don’t take domesticity as subject matter — the gently melodic acoustic/electric “Runaway”; the relaxed, toe-tapping “Desert Sun Played” — sound like testaments to the creative comfort zone that home provides. The album feels like a spring breeze blowing through an open kitchen window; a front-porch packed with family and friends. — Chris Herrington

Grade: A-

Vending Machine play a record-release show for King Cobras Do Saturday, Feb. 3rd, at the Hi-Tone, with Jack O. & the Tearjerkers opening. Door opens at 9 p.m.; admission $5.