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flanaganfilm · 1 year

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Hey Mike! Can you talk about your experience going from Absentia to Oculus? That process after Absentia went on its festival run to pitching Oculus? Would love to learn about that time in your life & career!

I moved to Los Angeles in 2003, right after I graduated college. I went to Towson University in Maryland, was an EMF major (Electronic Media & Film) and had wanted nothing more than to make movies my whole life. We were a comfortable middle class military family (my dad was in the Coast Guard) and for most of my life, making movies for a living felt like an impossible dream.

When I moved to LA I took whatever work I could find. I shot and edited those local car commercials you see on TV at 2am, I was a logger and an AE for reality TV shows, and I eventually worked my way to editing.

I said I'd give myself 5 years to make it in Hollwood. By the time we shot Absentia, I'd been here for 7 years, and in that time I hadn't gotten any closer to my dream.

I've already written at length about how Absentia came along and what it was like to make that little movie, and I've recently blogged about how the Oculus premiere changed my life and birthed my career, so I won't rehash those - but I don't often talk about what went on in between.

I finished editing Absentia just before my oldest son was born in 2010, and went back to working full-time as a reality TV editor. In fact, in the months leading up to his birth, I was working double-time - I spent my days at a company called Film Garden working on a series for DIY Network, and my nights editing packages at Nash Entertainment for those true crime clip shows. Whatever it took to keep the lights on and provide as much support as I could for my son.

While this was happening, I'd submitted Absentia to a pile of film festivals. We didn't get into any of the majors - Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto all passed on the film. Our world premiere was at the Fargo Film Festival, where Tom Brandau, one of my former professors from Towson - and one of my mentors - was teaching.

(Our original festival poster, WAY better than the weird clip art that would come later)

The movie got into a fair amount of film festivals, and we traveled with it as much as we could. I have fond memories of the Phoenix Film Festival, San Luis Obispo (where I met Greg Kinnear at a party and very awkwardly asked for a picture - you can see how thrilled he is about it) and my personal favorite: the Fantastia Film Festival in Montreal.

(At one of the screenings, I believe the San Luis Obispo Film Festival)

While this was happening, the film was picked up for a tiny VOD and DVD release through Phase 4 Films.

They were a Canadian distribution company whose claim to fame was putting out Kevin Smith's Red State under a very unusual distribution model. They acquired the movie, which led to a company holiday part in Hollywood.

There, I briefly met Kevin Smith for the first time. We've met again since, and I've now had a chance to thank him for the kindness he showed me back then - I was just some starstruck kid at a party, but he was gracious and available and inspiring. I really admire the way Kevin deals with his fans, and I've tried to emulate it over the years.

So that was kind of it for Absentia. We went to a few festivals, went to a few parties, and posed for a few pictures with some people we admired. Phase 4 designed some truly godawful cover art, dropped the movie into video stores, and that was that.

($2.99 is a pretty good deal)

So Absentia had pretty much run its course. It had a passionate following of fans, but between the crappy art design and glut of low budget horror films on the market, its moment had already come and gone. I was back at work, editing a series for DIY Network called Extra Yardage, and yearning for another chance to make a movie.

Absentia might not have broken open the industry doors like I'd wanted it to, but one thing it did yield was a meeting with an entertainment attorney named Joel VanderKloot.

I had been represented a few times over the years by various managers (to be honest, they were actually Jeff Howard's managers, and they took me on because we had a co-written project together.) But those relationships hadn't gone anywhere, I'd never sold a script or booked a job, and when I suggested making Absentia they were not supportive ("You've already tried the indie thing, haven't you?") so by the time Absentia was made, I was completely unrepped.

Joel was a family friend of Jason Poh, who was one of our Absentia Kickstarter backers. He was a guy who'd just found the project online and donated a thousand bucks. He kept up with us, and loved the final movie. He told me he knew an entertainment lawyer and offered to arrange a lunch.

I left my editing job at Film Garden for a long lunch and met Joel in Santa Monica (this was a day-killing drive for me). Joel had seen the movie and really liked it. We had a good lunch, but wasn't immediately sure about taking me on - it's a lot of work to take on a new client, and there wasn't much heat on my movie. But there was something there that he liked, and he called later that day to say he would take me on as a client.

I was elated. I felt like I'd made my movie to the best of my ability, and that it had flashed in the pan and then died... no one had noticed outside of a few festival audiences and critics. But here was someone who worked in the industry and he saw something in the film that he believed in.

Joel started looking for managers while I clung to my day job. He passed the movie around and we had a few nibbles, which led to the first manager in my career who wanted to simply represent ME: Nicholas Bogner.

Bogner went about setting general meetings at production companies who specialized in horror films. There weren't a lot of takers, and not everyone was willing to watch an entire feature film in consideration of a general meeting. So it was hit or miss - I was a nobody, after all, and they get these kinds of incoming inquiries all the time.

But there were a few takers. And the very first meeting I had was with Anil Kurian at Intrepid Pictures.

Again, I took an extended lunch from my editing job and drove across town to Intrepid's offices in Santa Monica. I was beyond nervous when I sat in the waiting room. The young man working the front desk signed me in and offered me a water. And then, just before the meeting started, he leaned over and he said "I loved Absentia, by the way."

Anil was a really cool executive and we had a good general meeting. At the end of it, he introduced me to the heads of Intrepid: Marc Evans, and Trevor Macy.

We all ended up in the conference room, where posters for Intrepid's other movies - at that time, The Strangers and The Raven - were hanging. I vividly remember staring at them while I pitched all five of the ideas I had for movies.

One of them was a story about a little boy whose dreams manifested in real life, and another was a take on Stephen King's novel Gerald's Game. But at the time, none of these ideas worked. The meeting was over, and everyone was politely going about their day.

I felt a panic in me. It was my first real meeting, the door had been cracked open just an inch by Absentia, and I was about to walk away with nothing. Would my new manager want to keep me? Would my new lawyer think he was wasting his time?

I stopped in the doorway and turned back. "I've got one other thing," I said. "I made a short years ago about a haunted mirror, and I have a take for a feature."

They kind of laughed at the idea of a haunted mirror. "How do you make that scary?" Trevor asked. I said "Think of it like a portable Overlook Hotel," and the room got a little quieter.

"I'd like to see that short," Trevor said. I agreed to send it immediately.

I ran back to work, stayed a few hours late to make up the time I'd burned on my lunch hour, and went home to find a DVD copy of Oculus: The Man with the Plan.

I'd made that short in 2005. It was 20 mins long, and a lot of fun. Over the years whenever I'd get into meetings (all courtesy of Jeff Howard, who had sold scripts long before we started writing together), people would see it and ask about a feature. Every time, though, the conversation stalled because they wanted the film to be a found footage movie, or they'd balk at the idea of me directing a feature.

I sent the DVD to Intrepid and waited. About a week later, they called and asked me to come back in.

I took another long lunch (this would become quite a habit as the project advanced) and drove back down. We met again in the conference room, but this time the mood was a little different.

Trevor said "We're interested in this. How would you expand it? I know there are cameras in the room with the man and the mirror, which begs the question of found footage..."

My heart sank.

"... but we're thinking that's a mistake. It looks like all the fun is in playing with reality, and you can't do that with found footage. So how would you do it?"

And we were off.

I won't rehash the long journey between this meeting and the Oculus premiere at Toronto (scroll down to find another blog about that), but that was really the moment when things changed.

I drove back to work a little giddy. Intrepid optioned the short film, I called Jeff Howard to see if he'd still want to work on a feature with me, and we were commissioned to write the script.

It was my first Hollywood job. I was paid the bare minimum, but I was also able to join the WGA because of the deal. I still didn't quit my day job (and wouldn't for a long time, not until the movie was really shooting in Alabama the following year) but I was off to the races.

Once the script was done, Oculus would lead to my first agents (at APA, and they treated me very well) and my first "real" movie.

What's particularly neat about this time, looking back, is that I owe it all to Absentia. We'd made this tiny little movie to try to kick open the door of Hollywood and start a career. And despite the enormous pride I had in the finished film, it felt for a long time like it hadn't quite succeeded in that.

But quietly, subtly, the movie did exactly what I hoped it would. The festival screenings built up a small but confident word of mouth. The movie led directly to my attorney Joel (who still represents me to this day), which led directly to my first real representation, which led directly to Intrepid Pictures.

Trevor Macy is now my business partner and has produced every single thing I've ever made since. We run Intrepid Pictures together, and I see that same eagerness in the faces of young filmmakers who find their way to us for general meetings. I try to be as supportive and accessible to them as I possibly can, because I remember very well what it feels like to stand in their shoes.

And Trevor even ended up making those other pitches he'd rejected all those years ago - Before I Wake and Gerald's Game followed soon after Oculus was done.

Absentia did everything I could have wanted it to do, and much more. I'll always remember that period of time with great affection... but man, it was stressful. The uncertainty of those years still exists in me, I don't think it'll ever leave.

Someone told me, along the way, that there wouldn't be a moment when I realized I "made it." It would happen while I wasn't looking. That ended up being absolutely true.

#absentia #oculus #intrepid pictures #hollywood dreams

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crawfishtits · 8 months

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Knives Out except it’s a modest Southern family in like Austin or something and the adult children are fighting over like who gets to sell dads fancy lawn mower for weed money. There’s no murder subplot or anything Beniot Blanc is only there because he got bored at SXSW.

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saintmeghanmarkle · 2 months

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Anti-Bullying on SXSW? You're a joke. If you & your paid or voluntary hate mongers think you're operating in secrecy then you are bigger fools than I took you for. We know we all know but more importantly Special Services in both the UK & USA know & have proof. Harry your brother knows it's you by u/SherbetTurbulent9787

Anti-Bullying on SXSW? You're a joke. If you & your paid or voluntary hate mongers think you're operating in secrecy then you are bigger fools than I took you for. We know, we all know but more importantly Special Services in both the UK & USA know & have proof. Harry, your brother knows it's you Her anti-bullying stance on SXSW is so painfully ironic I had to take two pills and lie in a darkened room!We all know the self monikered Sussex Squad are the most unhinged hoard of nastiness wrapped in troll skin who specifically target children to cause the most upset possible.Do they seriously not realise that MI5/MI6, the FBI, etc. know exactly who they are and who is behind it all?Making threats of violence against high profile children and bomb threats against at offices (according to that barkjack post) via social media no less , absolutely means that they have drawn attention from security services.Meghan and Harry plus their sugars need to understand that they are personally known to these security and anti -terrorism forces by name. The only question is when the button gets pressed? When will the reports be released and arrests made? I have no doubt that it's coming and if I were H, M or a sugary terrorist, I'd be sweating bullets right about now.And Harry? Just to say it again, they know! Your Dad, your brother, the woman you called the sister you always wanted? They all know that the threats against their children, the vile things said about them is all coming straight from you and your wife.You better pray they treat you with more grace than you've shown them. https://ift.tt/fnBU3Jk post link: https://ift.tt/EbKg0tp author: SherbetTurbulent9787 submitted: March 10, 2024 at 10:01AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

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soupsnakessss · 2 months

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If Mindy is pregnant again, do you think BJ is the father again or is it another person?

This made me laugh about if it’s another person. It’s BJ.

However…. I might lose some of you guys here and you think I’m crazy— but after seeing Mindy at her SXSW event today, I think she’s already had the baby?! All the credit for figuring these things out goes to @heartcm and my other friend— this has all been a wild back and forth conversation for awhile of trying to figure this all out and the last couple weeks have been very confusing. But at this point all the signs are pointing to Mindy having had the baby. There were NO public sightings of Mindy at all after Kit’s birthday at Disneyland in December, outside of the short Mexico trip where she’s again, fully hiding her stomach in everything. Literally not a single instance of her out in public or seeing friends at all. This time of year is typically when she attends Lakers games with her dad too.

At the end of January she posted on stories about having multiple friends sending her takeout food… and she wasn’t attending work in person- it’s been all through zoom and she missed the table read for the basketball show a couple weeks ago. Most things she posts on instagram are delayed and not real time, and she had multiple videos where she’s visibly hiding her stomach, and in her last skincare video she’s very out of breath while again only being waist up with a coat on. This has all been going on up until this week when she’s suddenly popped up out and about again, going to the movies with Akshara and now the event today….

We shall see whatever chaos Oscar Sunday brings us tomorrow I suppose.

#wild just wild #Mindy is impressive with this secret baby business #half of you are definitely going to think I’m nuts but oh well 🤷‍♀️#Mindy and BJ are some crazy people so thinking I’m crazy is fine really

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catttooo · 5 months

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Tagged by @junkmanserenade ❣️

✨TOP 9 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR ✨ Thought this was gonna take some time but I honestly knew all the albums off the top of my head that did a lil tugging to my heart this year

Sarah Kinsley - Ascension EP: helped me through the multiple heartbreaks I endured this year, I had the opportunity to see and meet her at SXSW and I fell in love with her

Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough?: I listen to one song on the album and it spirals and turns into a listening party. I cannot get enough

Paradis - Recto Verso: When I wanna feel like I’m in a chateau in the French country side and I’m dancing on a table with copious amounts of wine

Beach House - Depression Cherry: I sit in the garden and the sun is on me and I feel like I’m in a Sofia Coppola movie

Lucy Yeghiazaryan and Vanisha Gould - In Her Words: Two beautiful humans making beautiful jazz music, I must play the album when I’m having wine

Chopin - Nocturnes: a must listen when it’s raining and I wanna feel like a sad Victorian child (kidding I play this when I’m in my feels which is always)

Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison: I wanna be a cowboy baby! an album played too much while I was cleaning and I don’t know why

Thee Sacred Souls - Thee Sacred Souls: God this whole album is just a masterpiece in my opinion

Coldplay - Parachutes: An album that gets played everytime I go on long car rides with my dad

Tagging @notreallyricky @faeriehannah @pazzman and whoever wants to do it 🫶

#music

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lili2424 · 9 months

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Raiff is still working on his TV series idea, Hal and Harper, which follows two siblings and a single dad who is making them grow up too fast. (Like, seriously too fast—Raiff said the 7- and 9-year-old characters would be played by adult actors.) Shithouse was originally going to premiere at SXSW on March 14.

OK that sounds interesting 🤔

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fuckyeahelijahwoodfan · 2 months

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This photo of Elijah's hand was taken and posted promptly on Getty...from today's event at SXSW .

There are more fans out there of his hands 😁

I have noticed he is is not wearing the dad ring since January. Hope he hasn't lost it or so .

#elijah wood #sxsw 2024 #visitation podcast #spectrevision #events 2024 #hand photo

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haimdaily · 9 months

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haimtheband: feeling v nostalgic today .. this is from the first day of sxsw 2012. After gigging in and around la for 5 years, we decided to go to sxsw to try to get signed. We had self released the forever EP a month before and drove up with our dad to Austin. we didn’t get accepted to the official south by, but figured we would just go and play any show we could. I think we played a total of 14 shows in 5 days. we still didn’t get signed from it.. but this was the moment things started turning around for us. if you would have told us we would be playing the HOLLYWOOD BOWL or MADISON SQUARE GARDEN we would have never believed u. thank u guys for sticking with us 💙 can’t believe we get to do this with you. this tour is going to be the best one yet. tickets on sale friday.

#haim #social media #2021 #december 8 #all #haim sm

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cinematicsstuff · 1 year

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A proud dad...

...And there's a reason for him to be !

The first personal review on IMDB describes 'You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder' as "the best film to come out of SXSW 2023"

Of course, reviews remain subjective - just because a movie has high ratings doesn't mean you'll necessarily like it -, more, the number of reviews remains too low to really conclude anything on the reception of this movie.

However, the few press and personal reviews that have already come out make me very enthusiastic and really make me want to watch it !

I'm fond of this kind of realistic and touching indies, then, if Ewan and his daughter play in it... It's the icing on the cake😊

I hope they will find a good distributor and that 'You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder' will be released on the big screen in Europe.

#star wars #ewan mcgregor #obi wan kenobi #obi wan star wars #like father like daughter #family love

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plasticine · 2 years

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Adore (1998) by the Smashing Pumpkins

★★✩✩✩

favorite track: Ava Adore

i don't like half of mellon collie so i wasnt expecting to like this and that impression was pretty accurate. its biggest crime is being boring and letting billy whine too much, jimmy chamberlains departure is very noticeable and the guitars are not nearly as interesting as w gish or siamese dream. yawn!

Long Haired Locusts (2020) by Godcaster

★★★★✩

favorite track: Bingo Bodies / Long Haired Locusts

this band is fucking insane live i saw them at a psychedelic showcase w my dad at sxsw and there was like 20 people max in the crowd but the did not fail to deliver the best live performance ive ever seen. i think they broke the stage at some point. i love the funk psych new wave fusion but i will say i prefer them live they have an energy that got too cleaned up in the recording process.

Auk / Blood (2008) by Tanya Tagaq

★★★✩✩

favorite track: Force

i didn't like the spoken word as much but no sound is out of of place on this. Fucking visceral album.

#album reviews

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themovieblogonline · 2 months

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"Cuckoo" Is Cuckoo at SXSW on March 14, 2024

The International Premiere of Writer/Director Tilman Singer’s film “Cuckoo” took place on Thursday, March 14 at SXSW. It’s a delightfully weird horror thriller written and directed by German director Tilman Singer. It stars Hunter Shafer (“Euphoria”) and veteran character actor Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley on “Downton Abbey,” “Colossal” at SXSW with Anne Hathaway in 2017.) It will release in the U.S. on May 3rd. When Stevens left “Downton Abbey” in 2010 it created a stir. At the time, addressing the departure to make “The Guest” Stevens said, “OK, what I really want to do is a twisted action thriller black comedy with horror elements. Preferably with an American accent.” Sounds like “Cuckoo,” only with a German accent.” Stevens shared during the Q&A that he only joined the cast of “Cuckoo” three weeks before the shoot began (May 11, 2022). Speaking fluent German to Director Tilman on the phone may have helped him win the role. PLOT The synopsis provided by the “Cuckoo” team said: “On a trip to the German Alps with her father and stepmother, Gretchen (Hunter Schafer, HBO’s “Euphoria”) discovers that the resort town where they’re staying hides sinister secrets. She’s plagued by strange noises and frightening visions of a woman pursuing her. Soon, Gretchen finds herself pulled into a conspiracy involving bizarre experiments by the resort’s owner that echo back generations.” SHADOWS Gretchen Vanderkurt (Hunter Shafer) has just lost her mother---I think. Whether Mom is dead or simply alive and not answering phone messages is never fully explained (like many other plot points in the film.). The “trip” seemed to be a permanent re-location in Gretchen’s life, especially since her father announces he has sold the house she lived in with Mom. That’s why I assumed Mom was dead. That could be right. Or it could be wrong. Who knows? “Only the Shadow knows,” for sure (a very old radio reference). And there were some uber-creepy shadows in this one. Maybe we can ask one of the shadows chasing Gretchen as she rides her bike through the forest late at night ---a particularly creepy scene---for clarification. I mention the very old radio reference, because there is no definitive time set for this movie. It could be today; it could be any decade between 1940 and the present. Again, don’t know; can’t tell you. Just go with it. PSYCHOLOGICAL TERROR The German trip, for Gretchen, is not a happy one. She doesn’t seem particularly fond of her mute half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu) —at least, not until guns come out in the over-long film finale. Her father Luis (Marton Csokas) seems much less interested in his teen-aged daughter than in Alma. Our sympathy goes out to Gretchen. The crowd applauded when Gretchen finally struck back at Dad. At one point, Gretchen denies that Alma is her “sister,” saying, “She had her chance at getting a sister, but then she ate her.” This leads to a discussion of vanishing twin syndrome in the womb. That’s a discussion which seems right at home in this odd 102-minute horror thriller. It gets stranger when the writer/director admits that he was inspired by a cuckoo documentary. We learn that Gretchen’s father and his second wife Beth (Jessica Henwick) honeymooned at Alpshatten Resort eight years prior. (*Plot clue). They are returning to discuss more construction projects with Mr. Konig (Dan Stevens), the resort owner, who is Luis Vanderkurt’s (Martin Csokas’) boss. ALMA Upon arrival Mr. König takes an avid interest in Gretchen's mute half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu). The little girl is having seizures. Mr. Konig suggests that Dr. Bonamo (Proschat Malani), Superintendent of the Chronic Disease Treatment Facility nearb, check out the little girl medically. Perhaps Alma is epileptic? Something doesn't seem quite right in this tranquil vacation paradise. The odd customers checking into the resort, the loopy behavior of Mr. Konig, the strange employees like Trixie (Greta Fernandez) fit right into our suspicion that, as Shakespeare said, “something is rotten in Denmark” (or, in this case, Germany). The people repeatedly vomiting in the lobby, the scary woman offering oozy goo to other women--- also mysterious creepy plot points. Use your imagination. Enjoy the ride. WRITER/DIRECTOR TILMAN SINGER The 36-year old German director (Leipzig, Germany) previously directed the indie film “Luz” for “less than 50,000 Euros ($54,478.10). Tilman’s vibe is best summed up by The Shining.” Then combine a blend of David Lynch and David Cronenberg. For those of us who faithfully followed the antics of the Log Lady (and others) on “Twin Peaks” from 1990-1991, “Cuckoo” was less a revelation than a return to form. Eccentric weirdness, well-executed with German panache. Singer shared that the film “all started with a feeling.” He mentioned the cuckoo bird’s odd habit of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds and abandoning the offspring. Said Singer, “That made me very sad. All the host birds die. There was a kind of beauty to it.” Cue the spooky music, and the sound is a huge component for this film. Star Dan Stevens said, “Filmmaking is an exercise in collective madness. We all believed in this madman,” alluding to Writer/Director Singer. LOCATION Shot near the Belgian border at an abandoned British Army base, the entire movie gave lead actress, Hunter Schafer (“Euphoria”) a feeling that was “just like summer camp.” She described being in the forest with an abandoned town near the Alpschatten Resort from May until July of 2022. Alpschatten is the source of a series of medical experiments supervised by the evil Mr. Konig, played to the hilt with campy verve by veteran actor Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley on “Downton Abbey,” “Colossal”at SXSW in 2016.). THE GOOD The film is very original. It repeatedly uses sound creatively to enhance and create horror. There are scenes that are re-run, shown back-to-back two and three times, with shaky camerawork. Director Singer credited his cinematographer Paul Faltz with suggesting and implementing the technique. Dan Stevens and Hunter Shafer are quite good. Hunter Shafer has to carry the film as its emotional anchor. She is the psychologically traumatized daughter of a negligent father and still suffers from missing her mother. By film’s end the 5’ 10” former model looks about as injured as humanly possible to be and still survive. Shafer gives the part 110% as its imperiled heroine, anchoring the loopy plot. There are weird touches like a pulsing throat, photographed in close-up, that are novel. Said Dan Stevens, “I remember being really freaked out by the throat.” It apparently was a large piece of artificial throat that was periodically wheeled in to be photographed. THE BAD Some of the minor parts. Including the mysterious menacing woman, are not as good as the two leads. Other characters, including those that are supposed to convey menace, were either not well-chosen or not made up effectively enough. The concept is original. Various means of conveying the story were novel. The claustrophobic sense of dread growing from the creative visual and aural touches add to our sense of danger and impending doom. (Examples: the bicycle riding sequence; the bathroom sequence with Gretchen; a car crash scene). Some of those portraying the mysterious and monstrous villains of the plot are either so average-looking or so poorly made up that you yearn for better-looking (or better made-up) protagonists. The plot---despite attempts to explain it along the way--- is often incoherent. Here is one half-hearted narrative attempt to provide a plot that makes sense: “In nature, modern man kills some species by our disregard. Some species need our help to survive.” CONCLUSION: The Q&A emcee called the film “a cinematic smorgasbord.” Synonyms for “smorgasbord” include “muddle” and “jumble.” Only time will tell whether the promising touches in “Cuckoo” lead to films that retain this one’s originality with more clarity. One thing is for sure: Writer/Director Tilman Singer has followed the local First Commandment: “Keep Austin Weird.” Read the full article

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visualimagemarketing · 7 months

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vimeo

Will Carter Band Just Wait And See - 4k.mov from Steve Baker on Vimeo.

Katy, Texas born and bred, Will Carter and his band launch their electric live show to national stages as they continue to herd accolades across the Lone Star State for Will’s songwriting and for the band’s live performance. This country artist has landed over a dozen singles on the Texas music charts with three crossing over to Nashville’s Music Row Chart. Carter’s appetite for storytelling and engaging sets have earned a 2022 “Band Of The Year” nomination and four nominations for “Male Artist of the Year,” including one for 2023, at the annual Texas Country Music Awards.

Carter accredits his hard-won success to his tight-knit family. Between homeschooling, breaking horses, milking goats and tending crops, young Will had to carve out time between his chores to hone in on his songwriting and guitar skills. From his family scrapbooks, Will took his first stage at age three and picked up the guitar at age 10.

When Carter was a teenager, his father became severely ill. Like so many of us, he created a playlist of his father’s favorite songs to share with his dad in hopes of providing some comfort and an escape for his dad. Seeing the initial impact from the music, Will recorded these songs and sold CDs to help raise money for his family. This creative and active way of assisting his family landed him on the Debra Duncan television show when he was just 13. Those songs were played for his father every day until he passed. The peace, comfort, and inspiration of that period would serve as the catalyst for Carter’s songwriting and performance career.

Carter bravely pursued his passions kickstarting his professional career in 2016 after a stint with Texas dance hall headliners The Emotions. His debut album, Good Bad Idea, in 2019, laid the foundation for his sound paving a lane on the sonic highway blazed by headliners Mark Chesnutt, Jack Ingram & Easton Corbin. Since then, Carter has been actively touring with his band, performing 150-200 shows each year. Will’s confident, high-energy performances are a country music tour de force appealing to music fans of all ages and putting industry eyes on this remarkable emerging talent.

The Will Carter Band has opened for Cody Johnson, Randy Rogers, Bart Crow, Jack Ingram, Larry Gatlin, Saints Eleven, Josh Ward, Cody Canada, and played SXSW. Carter and his music have been featured on podcasts such as The Troubadour, The Sports Guys, and Scenes Live. Their releases can also be heard on radio stations nationally with particularly heavy airplay in Texas and surrounding states.

There are few artists today who can match Carter’s blend of native talent, determination, and drive. Audiences find his lyrics compelling and his live shows invigorating.

Links To: Artist Website: willcarterofficial.com Artist Facebook: facebook.com/willcarterofficial Artist Twitter: twitter.com/willcarterband Artist Instagram: Instagram.com/willcarterofficial Artist Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/2fgYyCGINEi2hyDcl2AU7h Artist Itunes: music.apple.com/us/artist/will-carter/252249945 EPK URL/Link (YouTube / Digital Rodeo/Sonicbids) willcarterofficial.com/epk

Label: Way Back Records TRT: 3:33

ISRC: US2762303983

Song IPI# ASCAP# 917281688 Songwriters: Jesse Watson Songwriters’ IPI#: ASCAP# 849498273

Publisher: Jesse Watson Music Publisher’s IPI# ASCAP# 870555519

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ajoytobeheld · 7 months

Text

Gig milestones

April 28th, 2009

I’ve wanted to work this out for my own amusement for a while. It might be worth publishing. My Mum and Dad will definitely find it interesting at least.

(This, obviously, doesn’t include instores, acoustic things and radio sessions, because mostly they suck)

First off, here is a photograph of us before (I think) we had ever even played a gig (it’s scary how young we look):

NB. I’m wearing a tie because I had just come from some awards thing. Not because I wanted to be in the Strokes.

* * * * *

GIGS PER YEAR OF LC! EXISTENCE:

2006 – 17 2007 – 59 2008 – 109 2009 – 43 (and counting)

Total = 228

MILESTONES:

Number 1 – First Gig (Cardiff ‘Fun Factory’, May 8, 2006) Number 6 – First Headline Show (Cardiff Barfly, June 16 2006) Number 8 – First Gig Outside Of Wales (Water Rats, London, September 11 2006) Number 9 – First Gig Not In A Capital City/First Gig With Sky Larkin (Love Apple, Bradford, September 13 2006) Number 18 – First Gig With Johnny Foreigner (The Social, Nottingham, March 1 2007) Number 21 – First Gig In Scotland (Capitol, Glasgow, March 3 2007) Number 28 – First Festival Gig (Leeds Wireless, June 16 2007) Number 30 – First Show Outside Of The UK (Razzmatazz, Barcelona, June 29 2007) Number 32 – First US Gig (Lollapalooza, Chicago, August 5 2007) Number 37 – First Ireland Gig (Whelans, Dublin, Oct 2 2007)

FIFTIETH GIG – Cockpit, Leeds (October 19 2007)

Number 61 – Start Of First European Tour (London Calling Festival, Amsterdam, Nov 3 2007) Number 69 – First West Coast Show (Echo Lounge, LA, November 27 2007) Number 76 – First Japan Show (British Anthems, Tokyo, December 9 2007) Number 85 – First Time Supporting Kula Shaker (Haldern Pop, Haldern, March 1 2008) Number 89 – First SXSW (Emo Jrs, March 13 2008)

ONE-HUNDREDTH GIG – Jailhouse, Hereford (April 16 2008)

Number 105 – Start Of First Support Tour (w/ the Go! Team, Le 106, Rouen, April 25 2008) Number 109 – First ATP Gig (Camber Sands, May 9 2008) Number 199 – First Show In Mexico (Lunario Nacional, Mexico City, March 6 2009)

TWO-HUNDREDTH GIG – Teatro Estudio Cavaret, Guadalajara (March 7 2009)

Number 216 – First South American Show (La Trastienda Club, Buenos Aires, April 21 2009)

* * * * *

I think our 250th gig might be in the UK. Let’s do something special to celebrate, yeh?

#2009 #lc!blog #lc!image

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