ROCK A BYE DEAD MAN >>>
Over the years, I have seen countless versions of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, from student productions to community theater to national tour companies.
I have never seen a film noir rock opera about a detective and a police officer who are summoned to an old dark house to investigate the murder of a commissioner.
That's the premise of Director Joseph Kephart's rock opera Rock a Bye Dead Man.
Who in the hell do you think you are ... Kephart?
He's a Tacoman with a lifelong passion for art and film. And he's rallied his brother, John Kephart, and friends singer Darryl Small and drummerRich Bundy to form a core group for the project.
In the film, the detective and police offer become entangled in a web of deceit among the guests, and are forced to confront the supernatural presence within the dark manor – while a group of Tacoma musicians rock out the soundtrack. The short film project includes musicians and cast members from Tacoma entities such as bands as The Plastards, The Kim Archer Band, Taist of Iron and Prometheus, as well as actors from local productions of Guys and Dolls, Brigadoon, Hello Dolly and Les Vampyres: Thrice Bitten.
With filming to begin shortly, I juggled a few questions with the four main characters behind the Tacoma film.
WEEKLY VOLCANO: What was the impetus for making the film?
JOE KEPHART: I wanted to do something different. I enjoy juxtaposing different genres, in this case rock opera and film-noir, into something new.
RICH BUNDY: Filmmaking is the ultimate way of telling stories. Putting audio and visuals together.
DARRYL SMALL: And smells.
JOE KEPHART: Smell-o-rama.
SMALL: The farmer plants his seeds, nurtures the tree, waters the tree, for the only joy that farmer is going to get out of his tree is sharing his fruit with the world.
VOLCANO: How did you come upon these characters? Why a musical?
JOE KEPHART: I took the majority of these characters from the classic Hollywood whodunnit - the butler, the maid, the widow.
JOHN KEPHART: So you plagiarized them?
JOE KEPHART: I was inspired by the characters from the Hollywood whodunnit, I should've said. As for why a musical, we consider it to be an "opera" in that it's all singing, no dialogue.
SMALL: A rock opera!
VOLCANO: What was your biggest challenge in making the film ... so far?
JOE KEPHART: Location.
SMALL: Location, location, location!
JOHN KEPHART: In other words, we're having a little trouble finding a house with all the features we're looking for.
VOLCANO: Will you take the band created for this film on tour?
BUNDY: Due to the fact that we have lives and jobs and the sheer number of people involved, it probably would not be possible.
JOE KEPHART: What a downer you are.
BUNDY: The movie would really have to take off, and if someone came along and offered us a large amount of money, then that might be different.
SMALL: We're holding out for the Japan tour.
VOLCANO: Rock a Bye Dead Man live at Budokon.
Rock a Bye Dead Man is the definition of a grass roots endeavor, which requires a lot of fundraising. To learn more about this homegrown project, and to contribute to its Kickstarter, go to www.rockabyedeadman.com.
And keep you eye on the butler.