KJM Leaves For Tour - Gets Over 3,000 Plays in Less Than 48 Hours!

I failed again... Last Friday night (cue the Katy Perry), the 27th, I was supposed to be down at a club called Heartbreaker's in downtown St. Louis. I was supposed to be there because Kyle Jordan Mueller was playing a live set of his cover songs along with a live DJ, DJ TYTY (of Tear Out The Heart). This was the second performance of its kind by the pair, the first occured last month... when, I passed out at home waiting for the witching hour to arrive, so I could head down to the club.

Well, this past Friday ran the same route, when as I was getting ready to enjoy the action thrill ride of Liam Neeson's newest romp The Grey, I checked my facebook and saw that the event was currently in production... I had thought that it was on Saturday.

To make matters worse, it was Kyle's last night in St. Louis until May, when he returns home from a tour with The Dangerous Summer (Hopeless Records). So twice now, I've missed an awesome opportunity to film a live performance of Kyle in action... and for that I apologize to all you die hard KJM fans.

Before Kyle left, we shot a BRAND NEW drum cover... pure. raw. drum. cover. No flashy production, no extra musicians. Just Kyle, myself and my camera... Oh, and Andrew Kremer, who runs AKAudioMedia in St. Louis, where we recorded the song/video on very short notice. Kyle chose the track "Miscommunication" by The Dangerous Summer to highlight the tour he was about to embark on and to introduce his fans worldwide to the band he was embarking with.

When I saw "worldwide"... I mean it, this dude has hardcore fans from British Columbia, Canada to Columbia, South America. It's serious shit (Dr. Emmett L. Brown). So we thrw together a completely improved intro to the video, letting fans in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, U.K., Belgium, Switzerland, Part Unknown, etc. where to see Kyle in person this Spring.

Unfortunately, as things look right now, this will be the last video I do with Kyle until May... so hang tight, keep your eyes peeled for new videos from other artists and, as always....

Stay tuned,

-P

MY TAKE ON SOPA & PIPA

I believe two things in life... Never talk about Politics and Never talk about Religion. 

It's something that you have to learn first hand, especially as a teenager, but it is something that I will not fail to attempt to pass on to my children. So, in short, you will NEVER hear me speak about my Political or Religious beliefs on this, or any other website.

That was a Disclaimer. Today, we are dealing with the passing of the SOPA and PIPA acts against online piracy in the United States. Now, I'm sure that everyone has seen the videos, read the articles, posted their images and such, but let me take a second to talk about how these acts impact artists.

I ride the line of right and wrong when it comes to these acts. I am a young, upcoming filmmaker who desires to work in the film industry some day, but I currently make my money by filming other young artists, who record cover songs for YouTube. The SOPA and PIPA acts would not only destroy the structure of YouTube, which we love so much, but it would also put a hault to these talented artists getting their voices or talents seen/heard worldwide. Not only that, but it would also stop the distribution of my art.

As many of you know, I try my damndest to create original music videos and short films, outside of the cover videos that I direct for such artists as Kyle Jordan Mueller, CeCe Frey and others. We curently live in a world where young filmmakers like myself can have their works seen worldwide without the help of major studios or "Music Televsion." That is an unbelievable blessing and an opportunity that generations before ours would have killed to have. In less than One Year, my videos have reached over 630,000 viewers on YouTube alone, without the help of any internet meme or viral fad. Try to imagine the possibility of something like that 20 years ago. 

I spent 5 years of my life working in Music and Movie retail and I watched its steady decline as two companies I worked for went bankrupt and thousands of employees lost their jobs. I've seen (like so many others have) the movies that we love, become oversaturated with CGI and poor content, just to save a few bucks, as major production studios close their doors forever and constrict the amount of original content coming out of Hollywood. This is a life that I long to have, but yet the future seems so bleak.

I ride that line, just like everyone does. I enjoy our freedoms, but hate what it has done to an industry that I love so much.

The fact of the matter is, the SOPA and PIPA acts will not save the film industry, it will not save the music industry (which is a whole 'nother story altogether). In the long run, it will just cause more problems for the American public and progress us more into the future of 1984 than 2014. 

Do what you believe is right, but make informed decisions. Thanks for letting me speak my peace.

-P

CeCe returns with Skyscraper

She's traded in one Mueller for another. CeCe is back again this time venturing solo, but with the help of Ryan Mueller, Kyle Jordan Mueller's younger brother. You may remember Ryan from the "Marry the Night" video last month, in which he was playing Bass along side the pair and Matthew Amelung. This time around we built a small fire in the woods and let Cecelia belt her vocals out as loud as she wanted in the dead of winter. 

I'm not partial to the artists I work with, I will admittedly let you know if you suck or not and most of the time, I will take note of that before choosing to work with an artist. Here is an example of the extreme opposite. I was well aware of CeCe's vocal ability before I began working with her in October, but this time around, she really blew my mind. 

I worked on this video for a week, without every having listened to the original song, by Demi Lovato. Upon completion, I decided to have a listen to the original track and was completely disgusted by what I heard. Lovato sounded like a wounded calf screaming for emminent death, while CeCe's version sounded sweet, sad and full of longing for a love she can not have. Lovato sounded like she needed to be back on diet pills.

Needless to say, I am very proud of CeCe's work and hope that those in Hollywood, that have already been eyeing her talent, really take notice after this one.

Keep up the good work and keep watching!

-P

Behind the Video: "Until the A.M."

Yesterday, after 3 months of work, my first ever Rap video hit the halls of YouTube. Chocolate Mylk and Scrambled Eggz is the comedy hip-hop act of James Hargove and Jayson "KoKo" Bridges. The pair have worked together for years and wrote the music for Nelly and Tim McGraw's smash hit "Over and Over."

"Until the A.M." is the first video and first single that the group is releasing under the name Chocolate Mylk and Scrambled Eggz. Talk about making the video first began in July 2011, but with the birth of Jimmy's first son and my work on OPTION//CONTROL's "Falling Star" (which Jimmy and KoKo wrote the beats to) taking place in August, the video was pushed back to the beginning of October. 

It was Monday, October 10th. The St. Louis Cardinals had skated their way into the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and after a Game 1 loss, they were looking to make it even in Game 2. As exciting as that was, we just so happened to be shooting the video at Gettemeier's Bar and Grill in Florrisant, MO that night... so needless to say, our environment was not going to be ideal. Gettemeier's could not have been more pleasant to work with, they gave us the full run of the bar and even let us film the video in their brand new patio section, which had yet to be opened.

Having never made a rap video before, I was unsure of which route I should take with "Until the A.M." I could stick to my guns and make a full out mini movie, much like "Falling Star" or I could make it an all out party video, in the vein of rap videos I've seen in the past. One such video was Three Six Mafia's "Stay Fly," which formed the basis of my video concept for "Until the A.M" The group would arrive at an already amped up bar/club and pretty much spit each one of their verse's amongst the extremely drunk and rowdy patrons. Thankfully the Cardinals winning their Game 2 match against the Brewers helped the to elevate the party atmosphere in the room. In fact, if you look closely at some of the TV screens in the video, you might catch sections of the game.

We only had the one night to shoot the entire video, which included 3 separate locations, all along North Lindbergh in Florrisant/Bridgeton, MO. For the rough task, I called up one of my favourite partners in crime, Ashley Alcamo, to help assist. direct the video with me. Ashley and myself have worked together numerous times now, and every single time, she does not fail to see a unique angle or imaginitive vision that I might have missed while being completely flustered with production. The energy of video, speaks for itself and I don't want to give too much away, but by 1 a.m. that night, the magic of Cardinals game was beginning to wear off and the bar patrons had begun to stumble home. After one final shot of Jimmy and KoKo doing some chocolate milk shots off the bar, the video was a wrap.

So far, a lot of people have asked me about the Burger King... It's become apparent that he was definitely the star of the show. BK, was just one of Jimmy and KoKo's friends who agreed to dress up and drive them around in a real taxi. He was game for any rediculousness that I asked for and I greatly appreciate that. His dedication to his friends and willingness to have a great time on cue, definitely come through on camera.

Enjoy the video, check out Chocolate Mylk and Scrambled Eggz and hopefully there will be another video on the way soon!

-P 

The Game - Production Begins

Whoah, sorry it's been a minute, but I had to take some time off for the Holidays and get my life together before filming begins on my next short film THIS WEEKEND.

Yes, after 4 months of develeopment, planning, a script change, two location changes, casting and rehearsals, we are finally ready to roll on the filming of "The Game."

Based on a short story by director and my personal mentor, Jack Snyder, "The Game" focuses on a group of blue-collared workers who play a dangerous prank that goes terribly wrong. We are extremely lucky to be working exclusively with Lamplight Films and Bad Dog Pictures out of St. Louis, as well as with Director of Photography Chris Benson (Up in the Air, Ghost Image, 23 Minutes to Sunrise).

The film stars all relatively up and coming actors from the St. louis area: Josh Thomas, Maurice Walters II, John Lewis and Aleh Neliubin. It is Produced by Joshua McNew, who has worked tirelessly over the last few months to keep this project on track and get it in front of the camera.

We are hoping for a limited premiere this Spring at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, who generously helped fund the project.

On behalf of myself and the rest of the crew, thanks so much for all of your continuing support.

Wish me luck,

-P