Songwriter Amy Annelle has a strong sense of place
“You ain’t too careful, you don’t look where you’re going,” is a powerful way to start a song. What gave you the idea for “East Texas Son?”
Being blindsided by a volatile person, and you should have seen it coming. The visceral nature of East Texas, the darkness and suddenness and ancient shadows.
You and Annie [Gunn, director/cinematographer] are friends and Montopolis neighbors. How did you decide to work together?
Annie asked me about doing a series of one-shot videos on 35mm film that she and her husband Peter Simonite had talked about making in their Montopolis studio with their musician friends. Many conversations later, the busy-ness of life and the natural flow of things evolved into Annie and I working together on “East Texas Son.”
What was the most local Montopolis moment in the video shoot?
Probably being approached by a guy on a tractor when we were location scouting. He would be very helpful in obtaining permission to film on the site. One of the magical things about Montopolis is the existence of yet undeveloped land. You can really feel the layers of history, see artifacts and remnants from another time, feel the energy even of those who have passed before.