Bluff will be available on Amazon Prime beginning April 28, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Indie Rights, in association with Catharsis Films, is proud to present Bluff from writer-director Sheikh Shahnawaz in his feature directorial debut, starring Gurj Gill, Jason Adam, Nisaro Karim (24 Little Hours), James Jaysen Bryhan (Shadow and Bone) and Joe Egan (Sherlock Holmes) with music by Savfk. BLUFF will be available on Amazon Prime April 28, 2022. (Catharsis Films, 2022).
Detective Sergeant Daniel Miller is suspended from the London Metropolitan Police so that he can be secretly deployed to a small English town on an undercover assignment to uncover Britain’s major suppliers of heroin and crack cocaine. He poses as a heroin addict and manipulates an unsuspecting junkie into working with him so that he can infiltrate the local drug network and work his way up the supply chain. The line between duty and criminality begins to blur as Miller’s investigation becomes increasingly dangerous the closer he gets to finding the source of a drug trafficker. The truth will get you killed.
British-Bangladeshi screenwriter and producer Sheikh Shahnawaz is the director. He has written and directed a host of short films, including Friend Request (2015), Stalker (2016), Duality (2018), The Woods (2018) and Trick (2018) to name but a few. Bluff is the feature directorial debut by Sheikh Shahnawaz.
Michael Shaw’s debut album He Rode On will be out June 3, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Surrounded by the majestic beauty and rugged wilderness of the Northern Rockies, songwriter Michael Shaw worked as a horseman and wilderness ranger in Western Montana for more than a decade, patrolling the wildest reaches of Glacier National Park with his two horses, Pancho and Snuffy. Without knowing it at the time, that unpredictable natural landscape, and the isolation that goes along with it, shaped his upcoming debut album, He Rode On, bringing an unbridled authenticity to his music and truth in every lyrical reference—from living off the land to cheating death. Wide Open Country premiered the first taste of He Rode On with the hard-driving, honky-tonk lust story of “Cowboy Boots And A Little Country Dress.” (Michael Shaw, 2022)
“Cowboy Boots And A Little Country Dress” came about after Shaw and his cronies ventured to Elko, Nevada, for the “National Cowboy Poet Gathering”—a weekend which included an encounter with Canadian country artist Corb Lund’s guitar player and now-He Rode On producer Grant Siemens, Shaw learning the fine art of yodeling, having the legendary Ramblin’ Jack Elliot sign his guitar, and meeting the song’s muse while swing dancing at a country music concert. “It’s exactly what happened on our second night in Elko,” says Shaw. “In fact, nearly every idea from ‘Cowboy Boots’ is pulled directly from my experience that weekend.” Fans can relive the wild memories via the raucous Jerry Lee Lewis-meets-Dwight Yoakam vibe of “Cowboy Boots And A Little Country Dress” right now at this link. He Rode On is now available to pre-save or pre-order ahead of its June 3 release right here.
He Rode On leads with “Bad Honky Tonker,” a sly anthem described by Shaw as “the bastard love child of Keith Richards and Dwight Yoakam.” “Outlaw’s Refuge” follows, written when Shaw was living along tribal wilderness on the Flathead Indian Reservation, making homemade wine, hunting, and fishing, and harvesting the fat of the land. Carrying on that independent streak, the song “Billy” is inspired by his long-time friendship with a wilderness muleskinner who leads his life in an inimitable fashion. Through his time living in rural places all across Western Montana, including an off-the-grid cabin without running water or electricity, to his stint as a National Parks Service Backcountry Ranger, to seven winters as the lone caretaker of an isolated horse ranch on the Blackfoot River—and all of the rambunctious extracurriculars in between—Shaw’s captivating songwriting can be directly traced to his own experiences in the West. Yet his stories are universal, whether he is delivering a rowdy barroom anthem or a meditative song about the loss of a loved one. With a swagger in his vocal and a sharp eye for detail, Shaw brings authenticity to HeRode On, as everything he references on the album is rooted in truth.
Barton Stanley David’s new album Crest will be out April 22 via Kenshire Records. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
After nearly a decade of recording and performing in New York City, fifth-generation Texan Barton Stanley David decided it was time to return home. However, a fresh romance developed around the same time that left him torn between his grand return to the Lone Star State and Marketa, a Czech immigrant living in the Bronx who stole his heart. Eventually, love won out, with the pair now married and living in Dallas, but the road back to Texas inspired the first track on BSD’s upcoming album Crest, set for release on April 22, 2022. “Cicada” instantly conveys a sense of longing in a lush expanse of acoustic guitar, anthemic drums, and expressive vocals, landing somewhere between Americana and 90s alternative. “The city’s made of promises,” he sings on the album’s visceral opener. “But I’m too old to wait.” Central Track premiered “Cicada,” writing, “With a spacious and clean sound, Barton and his studio players sound confident and bright here. It’s great folky pop that gets right to the point.” Fans can hear “Cicada” and watch the video here. (Barton Stanley David, 2022)
Upon his return to Texas, with live music lost to the pandemic, Barton Stanley David formed Kenshire Records with executive producer Shane Stein and began recording remotely with Grammy-winning engineer Dave Schiffman (Tom Petty, Adele, The Killers) mixing from Los Angeles. Studio sessions finally began in January of 2021 with Jeff Saenz at Modern Electric in Dallas. However, tragedy struck six months into recording when Saenz lost both arms following a freak accident with a downed power line in his front yard. Remarkably, Jeff Saenz has since returned to producing at Modern Electric, which he owns, and his story has been featured in Rolling Stone and The Dallas Morning News.
With Saenz still hospitalized and the Dallas community rallying around the widely beloved producer, Barton eventually turned to Scarlett Deering, a young engineer and violinist (The Eagles) managing the late Charley Pride’s studio to complete the album. Other notable contributors to Crest include legendary mastering engineer Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Jeff Buckley) and additional mixers Matt Pence (Jason Isbell, Elle King) and Roman Klun (Sarah MacLachlan). Drummer Matt Young (White Denim) turns in a break-out performance, along with bassist Chris Anderson (Martin Sexton), pianist Ben Fisher, and David playing many of the instruments himself.
Thematically, Crest is a heavy but hopeful ride: the soaring alt-rock conviction of “All Ways,” chamber pop showstopper “Evelyn,” reincarnation themed closer “And The Crowd Goes Wild Again,” even ‘90s-tinged break-up ballad “If I Didn’t Tell You First” rings with a certain triumph. Still, at the album’s heart, there is a bracing. “Collectively, I think there is a feeling that we are at the crest of a societal and spiritual wave that is about to break,” the Texas songwriter says. “We paddled out on a sea of circumstance that brought us here,” he sings on the title track, “And a storm is coming clear.”
Reed’s Point is now available on digital and DVD. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Reed’s Point is a psychological-thriller/creature-feature that tells of Sarah and Alex, two survivors of an RV crash near the New Jersey Pine Barrens. On the anniversary of the accident, Sarah and Alex drive to Reed’s Point to investigate the crash site. Things quickly go downhill as they find themselves stuck in the woods unsure of who they can trust and questioning if monsters really do exist. Written by Tricia Aurand, Suzanne DeLaurentiis and Sandy Lo, and directed by Dale Fabrigar (D-Railed), Reed’s Point stars Sasha Anne, Julia Kelly, Evan Adams, Madison Ekstrand, Anthony Jensen, Joseph Almani, Lanett Tachel, and veteran actor Joe Estevez (Soultaker, No Code of Conduct). (Uncork’d Entertainment, 2022)
Reed’s Point Genre: Horror/Fantasy Run time: 1hr 17 min Release date: April 12, 2022 Available on digital and DVD. Amazon,Google Play, YouTube,Vudu,
Izaak Opatz has a real It’s a Wonderful Life moment on new single ‘Wild-Eyed George Bailey Heebie Jeebies’ from upcoming album Extra Medium, due out April 29. 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Songwriter Izaak Opatz has a thing for words. More specifically, fitting them together in couplets and verses of wry humor, thoughtful simile, and close observation—a therapeutic process of narrating his own life that, almost as a byproduct, turns out savory nuggets of literate, confessional pop, processing life’s tough stuff into downright enjoyable musical moments. Extra Medium, Opatz’s upcoming release—out April 29 via Mama Bird Recording Co.—splits time between his native Montana, up the East Coast, and in faraway Los Angeles. (Izaak Opatz, 2022)
Montana and LA become the main characters of more than a few tunes on Extra Medium, including the freshly debuted “Wild-Eyed George Bailey Heebie Jeebies,” which was written after Opatz was suddenly dumped in Montana by a lady friend who, a couple months later in LA, refused to acknowledge their previous relationship. “She’d visited me in LA when we were dating, and the contrast in feeling between the two visits almost gave me the sense that I had gone crazy, and maybe our relationship never existed, similar to George Bailey’s experience of having never been born in It’s a Wonderful Life,” remembers Opatz. “We went for a walk in Glendale’s Forest Lawn cemetery, where a number of celebrities are buried, and only after finishing the song did I find out that James Stewart, who played George Bailey, was actually buried there!” Opatz released the tremendous, perfectly-disjointed music video for “Wild-Eyed George Bailey Heebie Jeebies,” directed by Aaron Curry. Fans can hear “Wild-Eyed George Bailey Heebie Jeebies” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Extra Medium ahead of its April 29 release right here.
Extra Medium features Opatz’s bandmates and collaborators, Malachi DeLorenzo and Dylan Rodrigue, who he met in Los Angeles while working alongside Jonny Fritz at the infamous Dad Country Leather. DeLorenzo, Rodrigue, and Opatz worked together on taking the album’s songs from demo form to the quirkily-arranged, ever-evolving final track list of Extra Medium. Utilizing varying instrumentation, creative engineering, and blends of non-traditional hooks with classic song forms, the trio creates a living, breathing work, at once familiar—borderline nostalgic—and wholly unique. Fans of country and Americana will be just as likely to enjoy Extra Medium as those who lean more indie rock or experimental, perpetuating Opatz’s hard-to-describe but easy-to-listen-to style, one that Opatz and his band have dubbed dirtwave. From the feel changes and horn stabs in the previously-released single “Chinook Wind,” to the tension of the unison melody line that opens “Wild-Eyed George Bailey Heebie Jeebies,” Opatz provides never ending excitement for adventurous listeners, windows-down fun timers, and jaded industry vets alike. If Izaak Opatz’s life outside of music was noy interesting and free-wheeling enough, a step inside of his sonic world is sure to enrapture fans and fans-to-be upon first listen.
Self-described ‘yacht soul supergroup’ brings together top tier touring and studio musicians for a modern take on beloved vintage sounds. Photo: Ebunctions, used with permission.
A combination of all things funky—and a stacked list of Los Angeles’ finest, hardest working musicians—is exactly what vocalist/saxophonist Woody Mankowski envisioned when he started piecing together quarantine tunes with keyboardist/songwriter Jeff Babko for Ebunctions’ debut album This Just In. With touring sidelined in 2020, every piece of their puzzle fell miraculously into place. (Ebunctions, 2022)
Ebunctions—the band’s name stemmed from a dream in which Mankowski was a contestant on American Idol introduced by Ryan Seacrest as “Ebunctions Hef”—gathered in the studio with giddy enthusiasm running high and nailed down the ten tunes that make up This Just In. The first of which to see the light of day is the roller-rink ready, get yourself unstuck anthem, “Running In Place.” “I wrote ‘Running In Place’ on bass as a nod to Freddy Washington’s bass line on Patrice Rushen ‘Forget Me Nots’ and Cameo’s ‘Alligator Woman,’” says Babko. With bassist Ethan Farmer bringing slap bass into this millennium and horn work from Mankowski, Babko, and the additional “Hef Horns,” “Running In Place” provides a throwback straight from the late 70s to the early 80s for modern fans to nerd out to. Check out the hilariously fitting video for “Running In Place” at this linkand pre-order or pre-save This Just In ahead of its April 22 release right here.
This Just In is a fun-loving testament to the power of sharing music with friends. When Mankowski found himself “looking for his lost mojo” after being burnt out on the music business, he finally moved back to California full of devotion and dedication to a life in music, eager to make something happen. An open heart and a head full of ideas led to his connecting with Babko, which led to the creation of Ebunctions, which leads to a sense of joyfulness for anyone who puts their ears to the music. As Mankowski says it best, “I would like this music even if I wasn’t a part of it. It reminds me of happy times.”
This Just In track list: Nothing But Your Love Feast or Famine Running In Place This Ain’t Over The Real Thing One Year I Wouldn’t Change A Thing Cold Hard Truth Somebody Like You She Don’t Love Me
The Occupant is now available on Digital and Video On Demand. Photo: google
The Occupant stars Rik Billock (The Barn) David Flick (American Pastoral, Jack Reacher, One for the Money) Dylan Grunn (The Retreat, Lake Artifact) Nathan Hollabaugh (Concussion, Father’s & Daughters) Caroline Nicolian, and Megan Bolton. It was released March 29 on premium TVOD followed by a full digital release on all platforms cross USA and Canada by DevilWorks. (DevilWorks, 2022)
Directed and written by Samuel Krebs, the film follows four estranged siblings who find themselves in the grip of demonic possession after inheriting their family home. When an eccentric stranger arrives claiming the house was left to her, they start experiencing strange, inexplicable manifestations, which have malevolent effects on everyone in the house.
Dan Riddle’s new supernatural spine-chiller The Last Possession is available on Terror Films AVOD Channel and Video On Demand. Photo: Terror Films, used with permission.
From director Dan Riddle and writer Greg Shouse and featuring Fear the Walking Dead’s Stephen Brodie, experience the spine-chilling thrills of The Last Possession. Out of options after a foreclosure, Kent Peroni is forced to move his wife, Stephanie, nine-year old son, Jack, and six-year-old daughter, Gabby into the home where his estranged father committed suicide years ago. Once there, the young family begins to notice strange events around the house, which become so terrifying they finally turn to a medium. Spirit guide, Granny Inez arrives, hoping to cleanse the home for Kent’s family, only to learn they are horrifyingly wrong about the nature of the evil that surrounds them. (Terror Films, 2022)
The Last Possession, starring Stephen Brodie, Cassie Shea Watson, Tom Proctor, and Patricia Rae is available on the Terror Films Channel and digital and Video On Demand.
“The Last Possession is a foreboding tale about a family at odds with themselves and each other as they move into a new home. Sometimes families want to love each other, but daily annoyances, financial pressures, and personal insecurities get in their way. In order to survive this house’s dark history, they’ll have to accept unwanted gifts, accept love where it’s offered, and trust each other. It’s hard to be a busy mom. It’s hard to be a father who is struggling to provide for his family. It’s hard to face adolescence. It’s hard to be the powerless little kid. …And it’s even harder when something diabolical is at your doorstep. Cassie and Stephen brought to life this uncomfortable family dynamic of tension and longing. Lourelle and Sawyer were shockingly astute for child actors, delivering naturalistic childhood taunting and true dread. Sometimes the last thing you want, becomes the last thing you have.” – Dan Riddle, director
Director: Dan Riddle Cast: Stephen Brodie, Cassie Sea Watson, Tom Proctor Genre: Horror Run time: 94 minutes Rating: NR
Dallas Ugly explores the vast reaches of three cords and the truth on their debut album Watch Me Learn, due out April 8, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
The music of Dallas Ugly shines with lustrous nostalgia on their debut album, Watch Me Learn. Built on a foundation of mellow interchanges of electric guitar and pedal steel, the rhythm and flow evoke an old-school country version of lo-fi hip hop radio. Combined with soaring fiddle and heartfelt vocals, it becomes something wholly new – a sound as unique as it is dreamy. Themes of change, loss, and growth, felt alongside the band members’ decade-long friendship, lend themselves naturally to the rolling country music vibes of their melodies and instrumentation. Together, Owen Burton, Eli Broxham, and Libby Weitnauer present a dreamy, last-call rendition of three chords and the truth. If you close your eyes, you can practically feel yourself slow dancing under the lazy orbit of a disco ball at midnight. (Dallas Ugly, 2022)
Dallas Ugly’s unique, quietly intense sound is all at once nostalgic and new, carrying an Americana torch into their own technicolor future. This group of college friends turned dedicated bandmates shared a track from their upcoming full-length debut, Watch Me Learn, out April 8, 2022. You can pre-order the album here.
The song, “Liberated No Ones,” lumbers along, ghostly, with touches of Gillian Welch-esque verses and bursts of spazzy Radiohead-sounding drum beats and violin-turned-arpeggiator fills. Watch the historically inspired video here which features footage of coal miners sourced from documentaries Steel: A Symphony of Industry, “Original Pocahontas” Coal and A Chance To Play.
The whole of Watch Me Learn—produced by Alec Spiegelman (Cuddle Magic, Ana Egge, Taylor Ashton)—explores the missed adventures and misadventures of life in one’s early twenties—mistakes being made, lessons being learned, bonds being formed and broken as one grows into the person they are meant to be. The band explores these themes with fondness and love, a gentle empathy for the inner child they have left behind. More than anything else, they explore them together. “I hope that what people take away from the album is an emotional response—take away the feeling of having just caught up with some old friends in a very intimate experience,” says Weitnauer. After all, that is what the album was to them: a way to reconnect with old friends after time apart—sharing the stories of the hardships and triumphs that led them back to each other. It is an album that in part looks back on the journeys and evolutions we make as individuals, but also looks towards the communities and people who shape our lives in equal measure.
Watch Me Learn track list: Remember When You’re Leaving Watch Me Learn Anyone New Saint-Louis Part of a Time Gold Money Liberated No Ones Fool’s Life Big Hands Ought To Miss You By Now Sleight of Hand
Dreaming Hollywood is available On Demand and Blu-Ray. Photo: Cleopatra Entertainment, used with permission.
Cleopatra Entertainment released Dreaming Hollywood, a dark action-drama from Writer-Director Frank Martinez, on March 22. Described as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” meets Tarantino, Dreaming Hollywood takes a deep dive into Ray Balfi’s bizarre world of drug dealers, prostitutes, dirty cops, and social rejects as he tries to begin a new life and shops his cartoon screenplay to 100 L.A. production companies. While facing rejection after rejection Ray learns that someone has stolen his script and made his movie, “The Dog’s Meow” without his permission. Now, Ray’s already messed-up life is thrown into catastrophic mayhem as he seeks revenge. Who stole his script? Everyone he meets is suspect as Ray is now motivated with a new lust for life and for blood. (Cleopatra Entertainment, 2022)
In addition to winning the Audience Award at the Erie International Film Festival and winning the Best Feature Film at the London International Monthly Film Festival, Dreaming Hollywood continues its journey thru the Festival circuit, being officially selected at the upcoming Baja California International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Lift Off Film Festival, the Studio City International Film & TV Festival, the Rome International Movie Festival, and the 4TheaterMovies Film Festival in the Best Film and Best Screenplay Categories.
The film stars Turk Matthews, Eliot, Link Ruiz, and Madelyn Allen along with appearances by Rafael Sigler, Ben Lin, and Thomas Evans. The film is available on DVD and VOD Platforms and will also be available as part of a deluxe Home Entertainment Blu Ray package that also includes, as a bonus, a blistering audio soundtrack CD, featuring the music of DMX, ONYX, and more.
Cleopatra Entertainment is a Los Angeles based multimedia company founded by Cleopatra Records head Brian Perera. Recent films in release include Glenn Danzig’s vampire spaghetti-western Death Rider in the House of Vampires, Danzig’s debut horror feature Verotika, the critically-acclaimed rock and roll biopic Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynryd Skynyrd Plane Crash, the UK drama Mrs. Lowry & Son starring Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave, and the action-adventure extravaganza China Salesman starring Mike Tyson and Steven Seagal.
