''Southlander'' (also known as ''Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician'') is a 2001 American
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
by
Steve Hanft
Steve Hanft is a writer, director, musician, and artist.
Early life
Steven Paul Hanft was born in Ventura, California where he started making films at the age of nine.
He has an MFA in Experimental Narrative Film from California Institute of the ...
and
Ross Harris. Originally titled ''
Recycler'', after the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
of the same name, the film writers changed the name of the movie to ''Southlander'' to avoid
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
issues.
Plot
Down-and-out keyboardist Chance (
Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane (born February 28, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in '' Dazed and Confused'', Lucas in ''Empire Records'', Lee Schatz in ''Argo'', Freck in ''A Scanner Darkly'', and Tim Speedle in ''CSI: Miami''.
C ...
) sees his redemption in touring with dub-pop band
Future Pigeon Future Pigeon is an American punk/ dub band from Los Angeles, California, contemporary to the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band is composed of Eddie Rucha on bass, Brandon Wells on percussion, Lindsey Glover on drums, Jason Mason on skank guitar, ...
, fronted by the lovely Rocket (
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...
). However, to guarantee a spot in the band, Chance needs a signature sound, which he finds in the futuristic '69 "Molotron" keyboard. Chance's dreams are put on hold on the eve of the tour, however, when the Molotron is stolen from his car. ''Southlander'' follows Chance and his friend Ross Angeles (
Ross Harris) as they track down the stolen keyboard through the pages of the ''Southlander,'' a local rag that publishes classified ads for musical equipment. The journey quickly becomes a surreal trip through LA's underground music scene.
Cast
*
Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane (born February 28, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in '' Dazed and Confused'', Lucas in ''Empire Records'', Lee Schatz in ''Argo'', Freck in ''A Scanner Darkly'', and Tim Speedle in ''CSI: Miami''.
C ...
as Chance
*Ross Harris as Ross Angeles / Bek's Jam Double Axe
*
Lawrence Hilton Jacobs
Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, also credited as Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs (born September 4, 1953), is an American actor and singer. Best known for playing Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington in ''Welcome Back Kotter'' (1975–79), he has also appeared in ...
as Motherchild
*
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...
as Rocket
*
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
as Bek
*
Hank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his unique fusion of traditional country music, rockabilly, heavy metal and punk rock. He was the ...
as Hank 3
*
Jennifer Herrema
Jennifer James Herrema is an American rock music singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and model best known for her work as one half of the rock band Royal Trux.
Career
Herrema formed Royal Trux with her partner Neil Hagerty and lived wi ...
as Record Girl
*
Gregg Henry
Gregg Lee Henry (born May 6, 1952) is an American character actor and rock, blues and country musician.
He is best known for his performance as serial killer Dennis Rader in the made-for-television film '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and for ...
as Lane Wildbird
*
Richard Edson
Richard Edson (born January 1, 1954) is an American actor and musician.
Personal life
Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York to a Jewish family. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters, Andrea, who resides ...
as Thomas
*
Ione Skye
Ione Skye Lee ( ; Ione Skye Leitch; born September 4, 1970) is a British-born American actress and the daughter of singer Donovan. She made her film debut in the thriller ''River's Edge'' (1986) before gaining mainstream exposure for her starr ...
as Miss Highrise
*
Mark Gonzales
Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time ...
as Vince
*
Laura Prepon
Laura Helene Prepon (born March 7, 1980) is an American actress. She rose to fame with her role as Donna Pinciotti in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006). She is also known for portraying Alex Vause in the Netflix comedy-drama series ...
as Seven = Five
*
Robosaurus
Robosaurus is a transforming dinosaur robot created by inventor Doug Malewicki in 1989 and originally owned and operated by his company, Monster Robots, Inc. Robosaurus is modeled after Transformers toys with the driver sitting in the head of the ...
as Self
*
Scott L. Schwartz
Scott Leslie Schwartz (born March 16, 1959), also known as The Ultimate Bad Guy, is an American film and television actor and stuntman, and former professional wrestler. His size and agility at 6'8" and have allowed him many roles as thug or v ...
as Chef
*
Steven Barr
Steven Barr is an American actor who voiced Urdnot Wrex in the ''Mass Effect
''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant futu ...
as Policeman
*
Darren Lavett
Darren John Lavett (October 31, 1964 – October 11, 2012) was an American music video director, who directed videos for The Offspring, Bad Religion, Bush (British band), Bush, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Claw Hammer, Testament (band), Testament and s ...
as Stoner Cop
*
Tony Maxwell
Anthony D. Maxwell (born June 3, 1968) is an American musician. From 1991 to 1997, he was the drummer for the band That Dog, for which he also played for a 2019 reunion album, ''Old LP''. After the breakup of the band, he worked as composer on th ...
as Lane's Guest
Notes:
*Singer/songwriter
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
, who has a cameo role as the bus driver, also wrote two exclusive songs for the film.
*''Southlander'' marked the film debut of Laura Prepon.
Soundtrack
*"Southlander Theme"
*"Illumination Dub" –
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...
, Eddie Ruscha
*"Dr. Fantasm" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Making Out" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Green Room" –
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...
, Jeffery Littleton, Kito Gamble,
Azar Lawrence
Azar Lawrence (born November 3, 1952) is an American jazz saxophonist, known for his contributions as sideman to McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw. Lawrence was the tenor saxophonist Tyner used following John Coltrane's ...
, Richard Grant
*"Speedway Child" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Taste It" – Eddie Ruscha,
Ross Harris
*"End of the Century" (
Jennifer Herrema
Jennifer James Herrema is an American rock music singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and model best known for her work as one half of the rock band Royal Trux.
Career
Herrema formed Royal Trux with her partner Neil Hagerty and lived wi ...
,
Neil Hagerty
Neil Michael Hagerty (born 1965) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for his work in Royal Trux which he formed with his partner Jennifer Herrema, who he lived with in Washington, Virginia.
Hagerty released sever ...
) –
Royal Trux
Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band active from 1987 to 2001, reuniting in 2015 but disbanded once again in 2019. It was founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals).
History
While still a teenager, Hagerty ...
*"Space Kat" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Video City Boy" (C. Borrell, Ross Harris) – DJ Me DJ You
*"A Life Story" – Union 13
*"Rust Drive" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Elemental Blues" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Motherchild Theme" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Zu Zu Dubrider" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Piano Drop" – Ross Harris
*"Puttin' It Down" (
Beck Hansen
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collag ...
) – Beck
*"Seven Equals Five" – A. Spiegelman, B. Reynolds, Bill Dusha
*"Spa" (C. Borrell, Ross Harris) – DJ Me DJ You
*"Lane's World" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Solar Invocation" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Gently Waves" –
Takako Minekawa
is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and writer.
Career
In her childhood, Minekawa acted in film and television. Minekawa's first musical venture was playing in Lolita, a band she formed with several college friends. Afterwards, she perf ...
*"Broken Train" (Beck Hansen) – Beck
*"Confederate Dub" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Alone and Dying" –
Hank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his unique fusion of traditional country music, rockabilly, heavy metal and punk rock. He was the ...
*"Sweetest Decline" – Beth Orton
*"Fatter Cats Bigga Fish" –
The Coup
The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political ...
*"Snowbunny's Serenade" –
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...
*"Motherchild Chase" – Eddie Ruscha
*"Splitsville" – Elliott Smith
Notes:
*Ed Ruscha Jr. is credited as Da Da Munchamonkey in the film.
*"Sweetest Decline" is erroneously listed as "Central Reservation" in the DVD liner notes.
*"Snowbunny's Serenade" is an alternate version of Elliott Smith's song "Bye" (from ''
Figure 8
Figure 8 (figure of 8 in British English) may refer to:
* 8 (number), in Arabic numerals
Entertainment
* ''Figure 8'' (album), a 2000 album by Elliott Smith
* "Figure of Eight" (song), a 1989 song by Paul McCartney
* '' Figure Eight EP'', a ...
''), played on a different keyboard.
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0278044, title=Southlander
2001 films
American independent films
Films about music and musicians
2000s English-language films
2000s American films