fluxfaze blog

Insanity At Its Finest Tour

2010-04-24T10:12:00.004-06:00

I just launched a Kickstarter fund raising project to screen the documentary at select locations along Route 66. Nice rewards for all backers, check it out at Kickstarter!

Last Day of Shoot

2009-12-15T08:06:00.001-07:00

I moved in and lived with Harley and Annabelle to shoot this documentary. We woke up and started the days together, moved out and began preparing for arriving tour groups together, had our meals together, and wrapped up the days of hard work together. Every day was an event, to say the least. But the most eventful day of all for me was the final day of the shoot.

The day before had been as busy a day as any and we had all gone to sleep late that night totally exhausted. We were all hoping to sleep in a little while in the morning to recharge a bit more than we had the day before but mother nature had other plans for us.

The first thing I usually notice of a morning is the sunlight intruding into my blissful dreams. That morning it wasn't sunlight that intruded but an overwhelming odor that I knew all too well from a single childhood close encounter with the only creature on earth capable of generating it.

SKUNK! The odor was so strong I was certain that one, or maybe even two had gotten into the house and sprayed right under the sofa bed I was sleeping on. Of course, that was not the case at all, but it turned out to be pretty damned close.

Begrudgingly, thinking all skunks should immediately be exterminated from the face of the planet, I got up and got dressed. While I was folding up the sofa bed, Harley and Annabelle shuffled into the living room as bleary-eyed as I'm sure I still was, wearing grimaces I'm sure were just as pronounced as mine. The smell was horrific. "Must be a skunk under the house", Annabelle said. "I wonder how we're going to get it out?"

The first thought to hit my brain at that moment was memory of a story a neighbor lady told me about how her husband sent her under the house with a long stick to prod the skunk from under their house while he waited outside with varmint gun in hand ready to shoot it when it emerged. I'm pretty sure Annabelle wouldn't have gone for such a plan, though. She was just too smart.

Ever the gracious hosts, neither Annabelle or Harley suggested I go under the house to ferret out the vile pests, which was a relief because they know I can be fatally altruistic if encouraged even a little bit. Harley grabbed his rifle and donning a grim countenance, headed down into the basement. Annabelle and I looked at each other, our eyebrows scaling our foreheads in unison.

Initial glottal/gagging noises from Harley confirmed how much worse the smell was in the basement than it was upstairs. Shortly, he emerged from the basement and turned to me. "There's four of 'em".

I'm sure I blanched. "Two ran inside a couple of big garden vases." he added. I just nodded, thinking exactly what he was, how to get those two out of the vases and all four of them out of the basement?

Harley went back down to deal with it. I knew he could handle it, being a natural at improvising. I stayed at the top of the stairs, keeping watch in case any of the skunks made a break for it. I had no intentions of trying to stop them if they did. My plan was to give a warning shout for Annabelle and get the hell out of the way.

One shot rang out. Well, it didn't exactly ring out. The basement walls muffled it considerably, but that first little pop was a sweet sound to hear. I fervently hoped the target was suffering a slow, painful death. Then another shot. Some grumbling and gasping noises all combined together with the sound of garden vases being moved, and finally, two more shots.

Wide-eyed and expectant, Annabelle and I asked together "Did you get all of them? Harley nodded, exhibiting no signs of remorse for his killing spree. "I need a pair of gloves." was all he said.

One-by-one, he carried the carcasses at arms length to the pickup truck, then he drove them out to the dump for unceremonious disposal. While he was doing that, Annabelle opened up all of the windows to get the house airing out as much as possible, and I moved my gear and clothing out to my truck to prevent further, irreversible fumigation. Then I checked the dogs (Harley and Annabelle allowed me to bring my two dogs along for the duration of the shoot). None of them had been sprayed by the skunks.

When Harley got back and had thoroughly washed his hands (up to his elbows), he said "Let's get outa here!". No one argued one bit and we all set out together heading west on Route 66 with no real destination in mind. I wouldn't have cared if we had gone all the way to the Santa Monica pier before turning around. It was going to be a long time before the Redneck Castle was not so malignantly odorific again. It was just so good to be out and away and no longer having to smell that smell that it didn't really dawn on any of us that all three of us were carrying a good dose of that smell on us.

In retrospect, everyone was so nice to us, considering the distinct aroma each of us exuded. And I suppose it's probably good that none of us realized how bad we smelled. We were having fun, the people in the shops didn't seem to mind so much, and the weather was great for a road trip.

From Shamrock we headed south and east to Hobart, then north to Cordell (where we ran into Harley's brother Steven) and then to Weatherford, antique sign shopping all the way. No one, not even Steven, said one word about our odorous state. It was amazing.

By the time the sun was starting to set, we realized we were all getting pretty hungry, so we stopped at a buffet joint in Elk City and chowed down amongst a good-sized crowd there, never hearing a peep out of anyone along the lines of "Do you smell that?" or "Where's it coming from?" because I'm sure everyone there knew everyone else smelled that smell and knew precisely where it was coming from because there is absolutely no way to hit a buffet line alone and we didn't even think to do so. We all three moved up to the lines and moved through them together. So it was skunk-o-rama times three where ever we went. The song 'O Sole Mio comes to mind now as I reflect on it all.

We were so hungry we tried a little of almost everything. Chicken, shrimp, mashed potatoes, spinach, okra, salad...and dessert. It was all so, so delicious. After the feast at the buffet joint, we drove a circuitous route back to the Redneck Castle for a little sightseeing around the large wind generator array going up just outside Elk City. We got out and stood beneath one of them, marveling at its size and the low, powerful whoosh the blades made as they rotated majestically.

Back in Erick late that evening, we were happy to find the Redneck Castle did not smell quite so horrible any more and began settling down for a good night's rest after a hectic day. We sat and talked for a little while then Harley and Annabelle began commenting on feeling some stomach upset, asking if I was feeling any. "No, not a bit." I told them, feeling some deep worry that they fell ill almost simultaneously.

Before I finally got to bed, Harley and Annabelle had both surrendered their magnificent buffet feasts to the Redneck Commode and immediately staggered off to bed feeling deathly ill. It didn't hit me until midnight when I woke with a start and lurched out of the sofa bed toward the Redneck Commode, reaching it just in the nick of time. After that, we all three did our level best to take turns at the Redneck Commode as the food poisoning ravaged our systems.

After spending weeks recording Harley and Annabelle performing energetically for dozens of elated groups of tourists from all kinds of places around the world, our time together for the season was coming to a close amidst much heaving and groaning.

No one felt any better at all by morning but I knew I it was high time for me to get going on home. I had more than a hundred hours of footage to review and edit once I was well enough to get to that, and as it was, I wasn't sure just how long it would be before I would ever feel well again to begin that work. So between two or three more sessions with the Redneck Commode, I loaded up the rest of my gear, folded up the sofa bed for the last time that summer, and went outside to give the dogs the news that we were hitting the road.

The dogs were nowhere to be found. They had somehow managed to flip the latch on the back gate and escape. Fighting the urge to hurl every few steps as I staggered around the neighborhood trying to whistle them up, I finally spotted them near the end of the ally. All I had to say was "Let's take a trip!" and they were dashing for the truck.

I managed to get the rear hatch opened just in time for them to leap in, and as they did I was bowled over by that distinctly nauseating smell of skunk again. Apparently, they had chased down the fifth sibling of the bunch Harley had handily executed and it had thoroughly sprayed them for their trouble (or out of revenge, maybe).

I didn't tell Harley and Annabelle about the dog's odorous state. I just pulled myself into the drivers seat, weakly waved goodbye, and eased out of town, keeping the dog bowl handy all the way back home as waves of nausea overwhelmed me at almost every rest stop and town along the way.

What a way to wrap up a documentary shoot, I can think now and laugh about it...until I realize that I didn't think to shoot even one second of the whole ordeal. What a totally unique segment it would have made in the documentary!

Documentary Released: Harley & Annabelle - Living Legends in Erick, Oklahoma

2009-11-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

The documentary "Harley & Annabelle - Living Legends in Erick, Oklahoma" is now available at filmbaby.com (http://www.filmbaby.com/films/4471).

Two years in the making, this documentary reveals the story of transformation of a couple of struggling, conventional-business entrepreneurs into wholly unconventional entertainers now responsible for dealing out "Insanity At Its Finest" for thousands of travelers coming to Erick, Oklahoma from around the world specifically to see Harley & Annabelle, "The Mediocre Music Makers" and their "Sandhills Curiosity Shop".

Harley & Annabelle Invited to the Czech Republic

2009-01-22T10:15:00.008-07:00

In late December, 2008, the Czech Republic Route 66 Association invited The Mediocre Music Makers to appear at their annual convention in Zlin, but because it is their policy to never leave their headquarters at The Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick, OK, Harley and Annabelle respectfully declined the invitation.

In early January, 2009, the Czech Republic Route 66 Association requested presentation of the documentary (or some part of it) being made by FLUXFAZE Creative Enterprises, LLC at their annual convention in Zlin on January 24, 2009. Because barely a third of the editing of the documentary has been completed, FLUXFAZE owner, Joe Summars, provided a short, nine minute segment (563 MB) for the convention goers to view. Fortunately, the Czech Republic Route 66 Association was one of the first to visit the Sandhills Curiosity Shop during early shooting for the documentary in April and those visitors will appear in the segment provided for screening at the convention.

Shooting Completed For Harley and Annabelle Doucmentary

2008-10-14T08:15:00.006-06:00

Shooting has been completed for the documentary about Harley and Annabelle, The Mediocre Music Makers in Erick, Oklahoma. It was an experience unlike any other in my entire life. I am the kind of person who likes to pause and take extended breaks now and then to recharge and let my mind explore things totally unrelated to my work. Yet in the entire time I spent watching and shooting Harley and Annabelle do their daily thing during the tourist season, I never once saw them pause in a similar manner.

Always on the move, always practicing, preparing for, thinking about, planning for, and discussing their act, venue setup and improvement, and all of the sundry chores we all do (like weeding and mowing the lawns, doing the laundry, cooking, shopping, cleaning, paying bills), Harley and Annabelle were in constant motion. It is true that they open The Sandhills Curiosity Shop when they wake up, and close it when they pass out.

Now begins the reviewing and editing of the hundreds of hours of footage collected. I am sure it is going to be as much fun, and as exhausting, as it was shooting it. And I am just as sure the end product is going to be Insanity At Its Finest.

Harley and Annabelle Welcome Norwegians to Erick, Oklahoma

2008-07-07T08:58:00.003-06:00

The Harley and Annabelle Blog

2008-05-12T21:32:00.002-06:00

The Mediocre Music Makers now have their own blog where they can post, amongst other things, their very own Redneck Chronicles.

They aren't able to promise huge amounts of posts to the blog, especially during the summer Route 66 tour season. But its out there and they welcome any of their visitors to The Sandhills Curiosity Shop to post comments to it.
Enjoy!

H&A Documentary Shoot Underway

2008-05-08T06:04:00.000-06:00

It's been a few days now since the first stages of the shoot started in earnest at The Sandhills Curiosity Shop. During the first short week of the shoot, a pair of groups from the United Kingdom and another from the Czech Republic touring Route 66 arrived to experience The Mediocre Music Makers' Insanity At Its Finest. Mainly test shooting was planned for this first week, to get a feel for best camera locations, angles, lighting, and for moving around in the shop but a lot of excellent footage was collected as tour buses began to arrive.

This was the first time witnessing the Old City Meat Market packed with more than a handful of Route 66 revelers and the revelry was as intense as it was insane. Harley and Annabelle's merrymaking is always energetic for individuals and small parties coming to see them but it's a totally ramped up level of energy and fun from the moment a large audience arrives. Both audience and performers are imbued with a redneck liveliness not achievable in smaller gatherings. Listening to a house full of pumped, happily foot-tapping English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish folks shouting "YEE HAW!" repeatedly of their own volition between songs is quite an awesome thing to behold. If you can ever manage to see Harley and Annabelle do their bit for a larger group, you will discover yet another powerful dimension of these talented, zany, performing artists.

As this project progresses, news and information about the documentary will be presented here in this blog and on the Harley and Annabelle - Living Legends in Erick Oklahoma project page. Coming soon will be photos and short video clips visitors interested in this project may vote on as candidate material to become part of the documentary. Photos and clips receiving the highest positive ratings will be considered for inclusion in the documentary. The rejected ones will, of course, go into the "extra features" section of the documentary DVD :P

Harley And Annabelle - Living Legends in Erick, Oklahoma

2008-04-30T13:08:00.000-06:00

Shooting is underway for a documentary about Harley and Annabelle, The Mediocre Music Makers at The Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick, Oklahoma. FLUXFAZE Creative Enterprises, LLC estimates release of the documentary on DVD in spring 2009.