Palomino Club, Otis Gibbs & Todd Snider, Leroy Virgil Ready Film Projects
There are a couple of really important film projects coming up that are readying their debut, and another that hopes to get off the ground that country and roots fans might find interest in. Wide distribution will hopefully be forthcoming. But for those hardcore fans, your first opportunity to see these projects are coming up soon.
On April 25th at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater, Mule Kick Productions will be debuting The Palomino, a documentary on the imperative and influential club in North Hollywood that operated from 1949 to 1995, and helped cultivate the careers of folks like Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Merle Haggard, and so many more.
“Just north of Hollywood, hidden in plain sight on a rustic stretch of Lankershim Boulevard, stood a neon-lit honkytonk that would unexpectedly shape the future of American music,” the synopsis reads. “‘The Palomino’ is a vibrant, untold history of the most influential country music venue you’ve never heard of – the beating heart of California Country.”
The film was directed by Adrienne Isom, written by KP Hawthorn, and edited by Emmy Award and ACE Award winning editor Damian Rodriguez. The film features interviews with Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Rosie Flores, James infeld, Chris Shifflett, and more.
Along with the film screening at 2:30 on April 25th, there will also be a panel discussion. To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE.
Otis Gibbs continues to be one of roots music’s most important storytellers and story facilitators through his YouTube channel that grew out of his old “Thanks For Giving A Damn” podcast. He was also a close friend with Todd Snider, and one of the last people to speak to Snider before his death. And for those of you who only know him through viral online videos, Otis Gibbs a great songwriter as well.
Over the last year of Todd Snider’s life, Todd and Otis Gibbs were working on a film that was inspired by the idea of approaching art with gratitude that took on the form of Todd Snider talking about his mentor and friend John Prine. But as Otis Gibbs explains, the film ended up being “An intimate portrait of Todd Snider in the last year of his life. What starts as a film about gratitude, and a way to say thank you to John Prine, becomes a rare glimpse of the artist at home in his most quiet moments.”
A Love Letter To Handsome John will premier in Indianapolis, IN and Nashville, TN for one night only. There will be two separate screenings at Nashville’s Bellcourt Theater on April 9th. To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE.
Leroy Virgil, the frontman of Hellbound Glory, has long been intrigued by the story of serial killer Billy Gohl, who is from Aberdeen, Washington—the same place as Virgil, and incidentally, Kurt Cobain. The story inspired Hellbound Glory’s 2018 album Streets of Aberdeen. Now Virgil wants to make a film based on Gohl’s story.
“‘The Ballad of Billy Gohl‘ — a historical western noir based on the life of infamous Pacific Northwest union leader and serial killer William F. ‘Billy’ Gohl.
“Operating in early 20th-century Aberdeen, Gohl has long been rumored to be responsible for the deaths of dozens — possibly hundreds — of men along the harbor. Both feared and revered, his story sits at the intersection of labor politics, crime, and folklore, making him one of the most enigmatic figures in American history,” says Hellbound Glory. “Blending dark humor, historical detail, and noir storytelling, ‘The Ballad of Billy Gohl’ aims to bring this legend to life through a gritty, character-driven lens.”
To support the project on Go Fund Me, CLICK HERE.