CMJ 2004

a.k.a. Huevos Rancheros

Bellmore in MovieMaker Magazine (2004)

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Kansas International Film Festival (9/13/04)

When we got word that Bellmore: The Unscene was accepted into the Kansas International Film Festival, Jim (Bellmore producer) suggested we take a trip out there. I thought he was nuts, but he wanted to use the trip as an excuse to shoot a short film he was cooking up – based on a zine called Dishwasher Pete. Kansas would be a nice backdrop to his film. He even had a small crew waiting to go. So I figured, if anything, it'll be a nice trip for my wife and I.

Being the makers of a film in the festival we got VIP treatment. So Kim and I took in a bunch of the films for free – nothing worth writing about – and we enjoyed the special cocktail gathering for the film makers. Jim, on the other hand, spent his time shooting The Dishwasher. I barely saw him the whole trip.

We had a decent turnout for the screening of Bellmore: The Unscene. Afterwards, Jim and I took part in a Q & A session with the audience. The people of Kansas really connected with the movie – probably the small town scene aspect – and they treated me like a real director. I had kids coming up to me asking how to go about making a documentary and stuff like that. It felt good but weird.

Bellmore: The Unscene wound up winning "Best Documentary" (well, actually, we tied with a film called Mojados). I honestly was not expecting that! It's funny how you can be turned down from some festivals and wind up winning at others. One man's junk is another man's treasure I guess.

A month later I got my award and a congratulatory letter in the mail. Thanks Kansas International Film Festival!

The Kansas City Star (Sept. 2004)

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Suicide Girls Interview (June 2004)

Being interviewed for Suicide Girls was a pretty cool experience. I'd never been interviewed before so I was a little nervous and some things didn't come out quite as intended. I was misquoted a little, too.

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I'd just like to clarify what I meant at the end of the second question. It either came out wrong or I was misquoted…probably a little of both. What I meant is that there are three basic groups (of friends) that make up the scene; the Justified "Violence"/Zombula guys, The Intellectuals guys, and the Whatsoever guys. (By "guys", I mean the whole crew of friends, not just the band members.) Back then we were separated by graduating year, until years later when we all molded into one scene.

Clarity.

Eggplant Queens @ Arlene's Grocery, NYC (6/19/04)

This show was great but it was plagued from the beginning. It started with Scott Jacobs accidentally sitting on Michael McCarthy's (Eggklair) guitar, snapping the neck. (That's when I got the call to bring my guitar.) Then instead of going on at their slotted midnight spot the Eggplant Queens got pushed to sometime after 2am. This drove Matt (Yo-Yo-Yolk) bonkers and he got angrier and angrier (a.k.a intoxicated) as the performance went on.

 Scott's Mishap & "Shame"

Not only did Sunnyside do his famous suicide dive during "Shame" (at 3:07), he also did it again – off the stage – during "Suicide Dive" (at 2:43)…

"Suicide Dive"

Scott Jacobs goes for a wild ride during "Patty" (at 1:23)...

"Patty" & "Drugs"

By now Matt was off the deep end and gets into an altercation with Jimbo...

"Bull Skank"

The Eggplant Queens closed the show with "Rock Out". I started cutting it together but it became too painful to finish. It wasn't Matt's finest hour to say the least.

They haven't played Arlene's Grocery since.

The Improper Hamptonian Magazine (May 2004)

Bottom right hand side...

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