ISSUE 87 FALL FASHION
Mind, body and spirit are the fundamental design principles and the foundation of ONEC1TY. We didn’t set out to only build sustainable buildings, we focused on promoting sustainable lifestyles. Stop for a sun salute, soak in mindful moments, share your expertise with customers and co-workers, or grab some fuel for your day. Making the healthy choice, the easy choice. The Mind Body Magic Festival is a FREE all day event taking place in Nashville, TN on October 26th. We'll have everything from live music and drinks, to wellness experiences and panels, to seasonal activities like pet costume contests and pumpkin relays! We're bringing together the best of Nashville's wellness scene to spark inspiration, well-being and education throughout the city.
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Contents Issue 87
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32 The Goods 13 Cocktail of the Month 16 Master Platers
Features
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20 Fall Fashion 32 Lovenoise 44 Literature Spotlight: Crystal Wood 54 Billy Senese NATIVE NASHVILLE
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Behind the Issue: Issue 87
ISSUE 87 FEATURED FASHION
#3 #1
#2 Would you have picked a different cover? Let us know what alternative cover you would have picked by posting with the hashtag #nativecover
PRESIDENT, FOUNDER:
ANGELIQUE PITTMAN
PUBLISHER, FOUNDER:
JON PITTMAN
WRITERS:
KYLE COOKE DYCEE WILDMAN
JOSHUA SIRCHIO
OPERATIONS MANAGER:
JOE CLEMONS
CRYSTAL WOOD
TAYLOR RABOIN
ART DIRECTOR:
COURTNEY SPENCER
EXPERIENCE MANAGER:
HUNTER CLAIRE ROGERS
PHOTOGRAPHERS: ASHTIN PAIGE
ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE:
EMILY DORIO KAILEE WILLIAMS
ANDY DUENSING
PRODUCTION MANAGER:
GUSTI ESCALANTE
WILL FOX
FOUNDING TEAM:
MACKENZIE MOORE
FOUNDER, BRAND DIRECTOR:
DAVE PITTMAN
FOUNDER:
CAYLA MACKEY
FOR ALL INQUIRIES: HELLO @ NATIVE.IS
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The ofďŹ cial photobooth of NATIVE
Use Code NATIVE19 for a booth rental discount NATIVE NASHVILLE @hifibooth
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hifibooth.com
G ULCH
NI GH T M AR KET AUTUMN SERIES
SEP
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OCT
NOV
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11TH & LAUREL STREET
07 ǀ
5 – 9 PM
FOOD ǀ DRINKS ǀ SHOPPING ǀ MUSIC
S P O N S O R E D BY
BENEFITING
P R E S E N T E D BY
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G U LC H N I G H T M A R K E T.C O M | @ G U LC H N I G H T M A R K E T | # G U LC H N I G H T M A R K E T
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Tall, Dark & Deadly
BY MANE & RYE PHOTO BY EMILY DORIO
THE GOODS
DIRECTIONS
2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
Measure and add each ingredient into a glass and stir well. Transfer mixed cocktail into a small snifter. Add orange peel into drink and enjoy!
2 dashes Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters .25 oz Fernet Branca Menta 1 oz Carpano Antica Formula 1 oz Pig’s Nose Blended Scotch 1 oz Belle Meade Reserve Cask Strength 1 oz Orange peel, expressed
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Local, high quality, ethically made goods.
Cool Beans
Graveyard Shii
Dive Motel
Butcher & Bee
Swwters Swizzle
Cold Shoulder
Oaxacan Full Moon
Saltine
Union Teller
5th & Taylor
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MASTER PL ATERS
BY CHEF MAILEA WEGER
Sesame Caesar Chicken Salad
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CHEF AT LOU
THE GOODS STEP 1: 6-8 anchovies 1 garlic clove 2 egg yolks 2 tsp lemon juice
3⁄4 tsp Dijon mustard 3 tbsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste STEP 2: 1⁄4 cup olive oil
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil STEP 3: 1⁄4 cup dressing (from above recipe) 1 cup escarole, frisee, watercress, mint,
dill, chives (ratio to preference)
1⁄4 cup roast chicken, pulled 1 jammy soft boiled egg, halved 2 tsp shaved bottarga
DIRECTIONS Blend all of the ingredients from step one until smooth. Slowly add in oils and continue to blend. Add water to thin if needed. Toss greens and chicken with ¼ cup of previously prepared dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with egg halves and shaved bottarga. Enjoy!
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NOW
I WAN
I DON’T WANT FLOWERS WHENI DIE
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HE M T T
photos ASHTIN PAIGE stylist KELSEY KOPECKY makeup ANAIS SHIBA BRITTANY MUSE models CRYSTAL AUTUMN CRYSTAL WOOD ANGELL FOSTER JANE CLAUDIO designers LAURA CITRON FUFU CREATIONS NATALIE BUSBY VAN HOANG
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GIV FLO
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VE ME MY OWERS
SO THAT I CAN SEE THE BEAUTY NATIVE NASHVILLE 25
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I DON’T WANT FLOWERS WHEN I DIE
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HAND FORGED CUTLERY + PROFESSIONAL WHETSTONE SHARPENING 933 Woodland St. STE C | 615.915.2335 | Tues-Sat 10-6
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(KEEP MAKING)
Lovenoise by KYLE COOKE
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“You will always be able to find someone to pay you to help them make money.” When Eric Holt was in his final year of law school at Vanderbilt, he needed to hear that advice from his uncle. Holt had been waking up in the middle of the night with ideas and visions about Lovenoise, an urban music promotions group he founded with four of his friends. Still, he was unsure. He was about to graduate from one of the best law schools in the country—was entrepreneurship the responsible choice? “For you to go out and make your own money for yourself only comes around once or twice in a lifetime,” his uncle said. “And if you fail? Go take the bar. Be a lawyer.” Seventeen years later, Eric Holt has never practiced law, and he couldn’t be happier about it. We’re sitting in his office in the Johnson Building at Belmont University, where he teaches music business courses. Unlike many of his students, Holt is a native. He was born and raised in Hendersonville, and both his parents worked at Tennessee State University. He comes from a musical family, but unfortunately he wasn’t blessed with that gene. “I didn’t have that talent, but I love music,” Holt says. “[Lovenoise] is a way I felt I could stay connected to something I love and have a passion for.” Holt says Lovenoise began as a way to provide a platform for urban artists in Nashville who didn’t fit in with the music scene at the time. “We saw this problem where you couldn’t have a hip-hop guy that was semi-positive but also kind of street,” Holt says. “There was no platform for him. He couldn’t go to churches because he cussed a little bit, and he couldn’t go to hip-hop clubs at the time because they were all hardcore rap venues. Three 6 Mafia, that kind of thing. Someone like a Kanye type of artist didn’t have a platform, so that was the idea for Lovenoise: to provide that platform.”
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The first Lovenoise event didn’t go as planned. It was Labor Day weekend 2002, and Holt and his team were preparing for a sold-out show at a hotel near Vanderbilt’s campus. So far, so good. But once hotel management realized it was going to be a mostly urban event—i.e., mostly black people—they canceled the show. “They came up with a bogus reason, and it was really disheartening,” Holt recalls. “I was in law school at the time, and I was like, ‘Let’s sue them!’” But cooler heads prevailed. Someone on the Lovenoise team had an in with B.B. King’s Blues Club on Second Ave, which had opened earlier that same week. Lovenoise moved the show to the basement of the club, and five hundred people showed up. After that, B.B. King’s was Lovenoise’s home for their first year of shows. They hosted music and poetry shows every Sunday. Holt says Lovenoise was lucky to land at B.B. King’s because there were not many venues at the time that were eager to book hip-hop, r&b, or spoken word artists. Clearly in some cases that was due to racist attitudes toward black musicians and their fans. “You would go to a venue and literally their response would be, We don’t do black music,” Holt says. But in other cases, he continues, it was because many venues didn’t feel a need to break the mold and host urban music shows. They could afford to be just country or just rock. That is no longer the case. “Now, you can’t survive unless you have a diverse platform,” Holt says. “And also, the audience is larger, so it’s easier to have a successful hip-hop show than it was fifteen years ago.” After the first year at B.B. King’s, Lovenoise wanted to do something a bit bigger, so they started hosting Sunday night shows at Bar Car in Cummins Station (the space is now occupied by Eventbrite, which was the first ticketing service Holt and his team ever used).
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Holt has described their time at Bar Car as a sort of Bluebird Cafe for urban artists. They stayed there for almost twelve years. In fact, the shows were so popular that people thought Bar Car’s name was Lovenoise. While they had their loyal following at Cummins Station, Lovenoise was able to expand in popularity with a few sold out shows at larger venues in Nashville. The first big, big show was Musiq Soulchild at the now-closed Gibson Showcase in Opry Mills Mall. Lovenoise also hosted two sold-out shows at Wildhorse Saloon: Mint Condition and Anthony Hamilton. Now, booking the biggest names in r&b and hiphop at some of the city’s most popular venues is to be expected from Lovenoise, be it Maxwell at Ascend Amphitheater or Common at The Ryman. “Those types of spaces, you didn’t see that type of talent [fifteen years ago],” Holt says. “But these people were willing to give us a shot, and we exceeded expectations. That’s what established the confidence in Lovenoise outside of the patrons, but in the business community.” Before Lovenoise, Holt says, there was a general lack of credibility when it came to urban music promoters in Nashville. Too often, “promoters” would publicize a show, sell tickets, and then take the money and run. That created a pattern of distrust that resulted in fans not buying tickets ahead of time. People would just buy tickets the day of. Lovenoise doesn’t have that problem anymore. “When we say we’re going to put on a show, we’re going to put on a show,” Holt says. “We were on a mission to prove that people of color could get into those spaces and produce a just as quality show, get the people out to pay their money, and it would be good money,” Holt says. “And we’ve done that.” Eric Holt is a Gemini. He wears many faces. Perhaps it is for that reason he is able to seamlessly switch between teaching college students, promoting concerts, and managing artists. Then again, he had a lot of practice juggling responsibilities as a kid. Growing up in Hendersonville, Holt wrestled, played football, and ran track. All on top of being a student with the grades to get into Howard University in Washington, D.C. He recalls a specific afternoon in high school when he had wrestling practice immediately after a football workout. “This one guy, all he did was wrestle, and I tied him up in a knot,” Holt says, laughing. “He was like Man, how do you
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have all this energy? How are you able to do all this? I said, ‘Because I want to wrestle.’” Holt says he still has that same attitude when it comes to his current projects. His passion for teaching doesn’t take away from the energy he puts into Lovenoise, and vice versa. It kind of has to be that way. He and his team are an ambitious bunch; he can’t half-ass anything with the goals he has in mind. Holt tells me he wants to build an “ecosystem” in Nashville for urban music. A promising preview of that musical eden was on display at Marathon Music Works in August. Holt helped organize the event, called “The Underflow,” which was presented by Red Bull. Local acts like past NATIVE feature Daisha McBride took the stage, while Dreamville producer Ron Gilmore Jr DJ’d for most of the night (Gilmore cut hit teeth playing the keyboard for local artists at Lovenoise events back in the day). Producer Tay Keith of Sicko Mode fame, who was born in Memphis and graduated from MTSU, was the headliner. “That show spoke to the possibilities of local music and how powerful local art is,” Holt says. “And we want to keep moving with those things.” To do that, Holt realizes it’s important to do more than just elevate and retain urban artists who started their careers in Nashville, like McBride or fellow NATIVE feature Mike Floss. They need to draw outside talent to help grow the market. This is partly why Holt and his partner Zack Cobb started managing artists. “We are hopefully assisting artists in making [Nashville] a viable community to stay in,” Holt says. “Without building that [community] and really making it stick, it doesn’t make sense for urban artists to stay here. But once it’s built—and it’s going to be built—it’s going to be a great place, and I think we’re going to attract artists to the city. And that’s the goal.”
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monday | nov 4
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NASHBUILD ART EXHIBITION
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9a
Holding onto Nashville’s History: A Walking Tour of the Capitol District
for more details
nashvilledesignweek.org /calendar
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1:30 p - 3:30 p
11:30 a - 1:00 p
9:30 a - 10:30 a
7:30
a
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5p
HOSTed by:
Hastings & David Ewing LOCATION:
Hastings | 225 Polk Ave., Ste. 100
Breakfast AT TANGERINE’S HOSted by:
Galerie Tangerine Daigh Rick Landscape Architects LOCATION:
Galerie Tangerine 900 South St., Ste. 104
BEHIND THE ZINES HOSTed by:
The Packing Plant SALT Weekly zine LOCATION:
Channel to Channel Gallery in The Packing Plant | 507 Hagan St.
ROOM FOR ALL: Designing for Inclusion HOSTed by:
Belmont University, O’More College of Architecture, Art & Design LOCATION:
Belmont University Hitch Building, Room 302
COPPER
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MP&F Strategic Communications Steelcase + ORI VF Workwear
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7:00 p - 9:30 p
2019 SPONSORS
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Happy Hour Show + Tell @ The Hill Creative Collective HOSTed by:
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TAKING THE LEAP: DESIGN WEEK OPENING PARTY HOSTed by:
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Ed Nash Studio | 1015 W Kirkland Ave. #414
N
TUESday | nov 5
WEDNESday | nov 6
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THURSDAY | nov 7
FRIDAY | nov 8
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Design Thinking and Branding in Public Transportation
What’s next for Nashville Arts? HOSTed by:
Room At Our Table: A Breakfast with Leading Women in Design
Nashville UX
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HOW DESIGN CAN BE MORE: START-UPS AND SUSTAINABILITY: A CONVO WITH NASHVILLE ENTREPRENEUR CENTER
Reframing the Reclaimed: A Material Discussion
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Design Below the Line: How Design Impacts People Experiencing Poverty HOSTed by:
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It’s Only New to You: A Conversation about Adaptive Reuse
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East Side Studio Crawl
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Sustainability in Fashion: Challenges & Possible Solutions
Design for Equity Dinner & Discussion
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KO Creative
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Belmont University, O’More College of Architecture, Art, and Design
Van Hoang Alfred Williams & Company Couture Tech Black By Maria Silver LOCATION:
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Citizen Architects: An Evening with Rural Studio
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Johnson Center Theater at Belmont University | 1953 15th Ave. S.
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Behind The Curtain: The Process, Inspiration, and Execution of Stage Design: design week closing Event HOSTed by:
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401 UNION STREET - UNION-TELLER.COM - @UNIONTELLER
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I N S I D E T H E FA I R L A N E H OT E L
Literature Spotlight: CRYSTAL WOOD
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ANTIGUA When I close my eyes I see beyond. That day The air Was clear. I could see volcanos. They wouldn’t ignite for me. A crow landed Sat at my table. It reminded me Of you. It was dark. Like death. I shooed it away. Today was not My day To die.
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THEY SAY IT COSTS TOO MUCH They say it costs too much to be a madwoman, To them or to me, never specified – You waste your body, Blood, sweat, tears. You waste your time. Raving red shoes, dancing feet one can’t control. I’d rather be mad.
Not enough to keep me here
I’d rather lay naked
So instead I chose to roam.
body open, melding under
Gathered up a bag of my selves,
this waning moon
the shifting things –
Than to flee from it.
And a woven rope to Lasso down stars.
Rotting flesh Takes life with hungry
I headed to the mountains
Teeth, infused with
With nothing but a song
Soul glow sucked out
on my lips, one I heard
From marrow, life force.
when howling winds came to crawl down my throat.
My body is a broom
Creeping into my gut,
To sweet up dying fruit.
Rattling knotted strings.
I’ve eaten poisonous apples From the palms of
What is the cost to resurrect my soul?
Many scarred hands,
All I carry in this tied up purse,
Many of men.
Coins the color of shame. A deep purple like that of berry
I gently wipe the ash
Stain gushing down my chin.
From my cheek. Out the window, cities burn.
It costs too much to pay
In the mirror I looked –
Tolls down this holy mountain.
I looked so much like my mother.
Walking then racing back to earth. Stumbling back to myself, Where I sat still, furrowed brow Pinched lips, expectant return. Red shoes the ultimate envy And gluttony for that endless Fever. I heard they had to chop Her feet off to keep her From dancing, no more.
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THE LAPSE THAT TIDES US OVER... Can you see me From where you are? Witch eye in this Season of our souls Stars crossing. Open exchange Missed connection Words left unsaid In my mouth of errors. I want to hear what Words you’ve tucked Under your tongue Away from men. Honestly tulip,
Half moon in Gemini
Flower yearning
Still no word. By the time
To bow at your feet
I realized your genius
Humble enough to stand
I woke up with visions
Again with you large
Of you while the mountain
And equal wailings
Cried out your name.
Of pressure under
The swirling aesthetic persistent
Wings of shadows
Upon walls of distant sleep
Cabin tucked in tight.
held down from the heavens by heavy, chains. Rattling.
Envisioning saintliness Painted upon your
All channels flow
Face with each notch
Down the mountain of
Edged in carved wood
Experience with visitors
Fashioned after a bird
Crowding around my bed.
Of prey. The practice
Not enough room for all
Of patience traveling
The opinions, loud voices of the
The cosmos with nothing
dead. Ephraim* and Mirabell.
But our minds.
The moon begins The stirring. Half poet. Half shaman. Bodies Breathe down by the river. *Ephraim, a guiding spirit of the Other World, encountered and written about in James Merrill’s poem “The Book of Ephraim”.
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LA PUERTA DE MI MEMORIA The dream slips behind curtain: Marmalade velvet shambles Of visions, la mirador, Eye peers through. The dog whom I could not name, But in blissful sleep Sought to be known. Sunlight, hot springs Flourishing desert. What wakes memory? Smashing beautiful oblivion. Warped from my lips: Tell me what you see. Full upper fold, chapped From torrid winds. Oh, sweet rapporteur. Pearls of electric skin.
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TO SUCCUMB TO My muscle memory mass. A lingering tick. Wavy tunes drenched in acid rinse. Songs of eerie echoing hill. The banter on the creek edge is littered with leeches. Sucking blood from the fat of our fallacies . Familiar entrance incubus. Walks upon bedroom walls. Following shadows of Blood red moon wolf. Take rise, raise your will In venomous dying flesh. Possess this hand. See the deed done. Impregnating womb. Seed of madness.
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STONE Yes, I will wrap my frail bones in the embrace of my burnt black tar, feather tipped wings. I will fall gracefully, into my grave, a safe coven. I will return to dust. Minerals and spells will seep from my bones and feed the dry earth. I will be stone. From my cracked greying lips, a flower will bloom. Enlightening the surface. And I will be born anew.
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JOSEPH w/ THAD - CANNERY BALLROOM MUNA w/ CHELSEA JADE - MERCY LOUNGE JULIA JACKLIN w/ CHRISTIAN LEE HUTSON - MERCY LOUNGE REAL ESTATE - THE HIGH WATT HILLBILLY CASINO, THE HI-JIVERS, VOLK - MERCY LOUNGE BIG WRECK w/ TEXAS KING - MERCY LOUNGE SWERVEDRIVER w/ MILLY MIL - MERCY LOUNGE HOUNDMOUTH w/ MARK CHARLES - MERCY LOUNGE AMIGO THE DEVIL w/ KING DUDE, TWIN TEMPLE - MERCY LOUNGE FAYE WEBSTER w/ JENNY O. - THE HIGH WATT MT JOY w/ SUSTO - CANNERY BALLROOM OH SEES w/ PRETTIEST EYES - MERCY LOUNGE KISHI BASHI w/ PIP THE PANSY - CANNERY BALLROOM MY SO-CALLED BAND - CANNERY BALLROOM ANDREW COMBS - THE HIGH WATT JAY SOM w/ GIA MARGARET, BOY SCOUTS - THE HIGH WATT LEE FIELDS AND THE EXPRESSIONS w/ THE ARTISANALS - MERCY LOUNGE YOKE LORE w/ FUTURE GENERATIONS - MERCY LOUNGE 52
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BILLY SENESE Billy Senese is an independent director, producer, and writer living in Nashville, TN. He has written and directed several indie short films and audio plays, including the award-winning horror short, THE SUICIDE TAPES. Billy Senese’s debut feature film, CLOSER TO GOD, a modern day Frankenstein cloning thriller, screened at numerous film festivals to critical acclaim, including winning “Best Screenplay” honors at Fantasia International Film Festival. He just finished his second feature, THE DEAD CENTER, a psychological horror film starring Shane Carruth ( PRIMER, UPSTREAM COLOR ) and Poorna Jagannathan (BIG LITTLE LIES, THE NIGHT OF.) The film won the “Nightfall” award at the LA Film Fest and went on to screen on the festival circuit, winning “Best Director” and “Audience Award” at other film festivals. Nerdist wrote, “Writer-director Billy Senese proves himself a masterful new voice in terror, specifically the body horror kind previously dominated by David Cronenberg.” Arrow Films, the well-known British distributor of recognized world cinema, cult, art, and horror films, acquired worldwide rights and is releasing the film in October, 2019, with a limited theatrical run and on digital platforms everywhere.
Q&A by DYCEE WILDMAN photos ANDY DUENSING WILL FOX
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You’ve made a lot of independent features here in Nashville. How has the film community in this city changed throughout your time working here? Billy Senese: Just in the last 15 years, I’ve lived here, I’ve seen Nashville’s talent pool grow from a small number of really talented actors and crew to a much, much larger group - which is excellent. I hope it keeps growing and that more people in the film world find out what this city is capable of. You see, if you produce a feature film in a smaller city like Nashville, sometimes people from New York or LA come with preconceived notions. They expect some small town production on the screen. After the two shorts and two feature films I’ve made here in Nashville, I have defied those expectations tenfold. And I see a lot of other productions here that defy those expectations, as well. There is incredible talent in this town. My latest film, The Dead Center, was entirely shot in Nashville. Except for about three people, the entire cast and crew live and work in Nashville. I’ve taken this film to festivals all over the world, and almost every time, people want to know how I was able to get such good performances from all the actors - not just the more prominent roles, but all the smaller ones, too. And I respond each time by saying, “It’s easy. I hire good actors.” I’m looking forward to continuing to work with these amazing folks.
from there. There are several sources I drew from this time around: Sally Mann, Bill Brandt, Francis Bacon, and several others. I was very much inspired by outsider art. These are artists that were selftaught or had little connection to the mainstream art world. For instance, I found this book from the 1920s, where mentally ill patients created all the art. All of these pieces fascinated me. They were completely raw, uncompromising, and naive in a way. My story takes place in an emergency psychiatric ward, so this particular source inspired me quite a bit.
A local treasure, Jeremy Childs, stars in the short film (The Suicide Tapes) from which The Dead Center was born, as well as your previous feature, Closer to God. How has that creative relationship moved and shifted for your many partnerships with him? BS: Jeremy Childs is the real deal. I first hired him to play a role in one of my radio plays, called Flu, back around 2009. We were immediately a great fit. My writing and directing sensibilities lined up perfectly with his acting style and approach. With each new project we’ve worked on together over the years, we push each other, so it’s bigger and better than the one before. The Dead Center is our best work yet. His role in the film was incredibly nuanced and difficult, and we worked very hard on it for several months, trying to get each state of consciousness he would go through just right. I believe our work paid off, as you watch the arc of Michael Clark’s slow and steady death turn into this terrifying entity over the course of the film. Jeremy is a close friend and a creative collaborator, and I just can’t say enough good things about this guy. It’s been great to watch him on his path, as he continues to grow as an actor and get more and bigger roles in TV series and films. He’s the hardest working actor I know, and he deserves every bit of his success.
Shane Carruth is usually thought of as an auteur. What would people be surprised to know about working with him as an actor? Did you two butt heads ever, since he’s used to being in charge? BS: Yes, he couldn’t exactly turn off being a director, and we certainly butted heads. But he always respected my decisions, even when he disagreed. For him, though, this was an experiment. He is a director who stars in his own films. This is the first time he’s ever starred in a feature film that wasn’t his. So I think he had to get used to the idea of letting all the details of the process go and just focussing on his character. I could see him struggling with this at times, but mostly, he embraced it. I think it became a kind of relief for him. When I would be pulling my hair out over something on set, he would come over and put his hand on my shoulder, smile, and tell me how wonderful it was to not be in my shoes right then. Shane also came on as a producer on this film. He became someone I could confer with regarding the script, on-set choices, and in the editing room. He truly understands independent filmmaking. The man is a true artist, and it was a privilege to have worked with him and gotten to know him. I know I’m a better filmmaker because of it.
I know you are exceptionally inspired by fine art when preparing for your films. What works were part of your process for The Dead Center? BS: I love this question. This is usually where my projects start. Cinema is a visual medium, and for me, art helps me find the center of the piece, the poetry. You find that seed, and everything grows
Your Ms. Lewis character is played by an unknown, un-actress, unusual woman, who is also my mom, Maureen Wildman! How do you pull performances out of your actors, and how do you approach the casting process? BS: First, let’s talk about Maureen Wildman. This was the very first movie she’s acted in, and it feels like she’s been doing it her whole
Closer to God, a modern-day Frankenstein story is a film about monsters and the creation of life. The Dead Center is about a monster and the abyss of death. Are you ever going to make a movie with essential or grand themes ;)? BS: Haha, what can I say? As a filmmaker, you gravitate toward what moves you and what you think you can actually pull off. If I thought I could make a great romantic comedy or English period piece, I totally would. I love me some Nora Ephron and Downton Abbey. But I don’t think I would be any good at it. You make what you know how to make. In other words, there will probably be no cute family dog movie or buddy road picture coming your way from me. Just more existential dread and murder :)
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life. Her instincts were that of a seasoned pro - she asked all the right questions and approached each scene with an unflinching willingness to dive deep looking for the real stuff. She has such an authentic, unaffected quality. It was such a pleasure to get to know her, on and offset. Casting is a stressful and arduous process for both the actor and the director. Everyone feels like they’re in limbo. If you’re an actor, you’re waiting for the call. If you’re the director, you’re waiting for all the pieces to fall into place so you can start the real work. It’s never fun, and I can’t wait for it to be over every time I go through it. As far as pulling out performances, it’s not any one thing. It’s a process, and I would be happy to share mine. I can break it down into three phases. First, we intellectualize together - lots and lots of talking - why you think the character is doing this or that, etc. In this phase, what’s most important is we that are building a language with each other. We are forming a bond and hopefully even a friendship. The second phase is the rehearsals. Here is where I work with the actor to help them find the core of their character. The core is everything. This is also when I give the most direction. You want to make sure all the actors are making the same movie you are. And lastly, you shoot. By the time I get to set, there should be NO MORE THINKING. I’m simply there to remind them of what we’ve already worked on in rehearsals or to help them out of a jam. My main job is to stay out of their head and make room for honest moments. Make room for the magic. You and I talk about movies a lot since we started the Defy Film Festival together, and I know we’ve both been moved deeply by the work we get to see and screen there. How has your time, peeking behind the curtain as a senior programmer at an underground festival, changed the way you think when you’re on the filmmaker side of things? BS: Yes, I’ve learned so much curating Defy with you! As a filmmaker, the biggest take away for me is a stark reminder of how important editing is. You and I watch so many films with so much potential and wonderful intent, but the edit keeps us from programming the film. I think it was Faulkner who said: “In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” Same goes for filmmaking. A particular scene or moment in the film may be very special to you for whatever reason, but it could be getting in the way of your film being a success. You absolutely must be willing to cut moments you love for the good of the film. And when I say success, I don’t mean a popular success. I mean your voice as an artist being heard and seen by the audience and that you are making a true connection. And as an artist, that’s the reason you exist.
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I know from reading early versions of the script to seeing work in progress cuts, that the story for The Dead Center shifted a lot throughout the process. You appear very open and comfortable with the labor of sanding a rough block into a finished, polished piece. How do you find patience with that stage of creation? BS: That’s part of the fun! Filmmaking can be so frustrating, and it’s that much more satisfying when you finally get it right. If you’re in this game for only the end result, you shouldn’t be in it at all. As cheesy as this sounds, it is about the journey, not the destination. Filmmaking is an extremely rich, dynamic, and layered endeavor - very much akin to life. And like life, it’s an ongoing, evolving process. When you try to force things, they fall flat. But when you make room for growth, things often go your way.
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You’re never still for long. How many new films do you have in various stages? BS: I’m collaborating on a few projects right now. One is an Iranian spy movie adaptation that I was commissioned to write. Another is, hopefully, my next directing project. It’s a little too early to share the details, but it’s an American thriller in the vein of Green Room and Deliverance. And I’ve got some other things in various stages of development, as well. In this business, it’s good to have as many projects going on as you can.
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