Indie-Craft Interview #7: Paul Sturtz
Paul Sturtz is one-half the brain power (not counting hundreds of volunteers and a handful of employees) behind the establishment and planning for the Ragtag Cinema and the True/False Film Fest. He, al0ng with fellow founder David Wilson, have brought high-brow film to the unlikeliest of places, AKA the middle of Missouri. Additonally, Paul has dabbled in his own filmaking projects as well as a short stint as a city councilman here in Columbia. Like many of the featured individuals in this series, Paul has his hands in many projects that represent the indie-craft ethic well.
Note: Paul didn’t have a picture for me to use. He asked me to have my child draw his portrait. As is my daughter’s prerogative, she turned down the opportunity to draw Paul’s portrait. So I did the next best thing and drew Paul using Microsoft paint.
Artist rendition of Paul Sturtz’s face.
1. Describe your craft(s).
Helping to organize T/F involves the craft of saying no to a lot of things. Film festivals tend to be self-important, pretentious, empty affairs that are all about congratulating each other about how wonderful everyone is. Based in a small, Midwestern city, we’ve been able to develop our own culture without paying too much attention to what’s “normal.” The atmosphere of Columbia fuels this kind of can-do, grassroots ethos because people here aren’t as cynical about a glut of choices. And the documentary world tends to keep our feet on the ground. Also, our populist, iconoclastic, and sometimes misanthropic tendencies have made us steer clear of some essential trappings such as award ceremonies, red carpet, and stars.
2. What’s the importance or benefit of remaining indie?
I don’t really know what “indie” means anymore. We said this years ago, but we’re pathetically dependent on all sorts of people and institutions. If we can get folks to buy into our vision of the festival, then we’re all for them coming on board as sponsors and partners. Of course, we’d have to think twice about burnishing the reputation of companies like Exxon/Mobil and WalMart and most multi-national corporations that have more allegiance to shareholders than the common good.
3. How does your craft contribute to society?
We provide a platform for nonfiction filmmakers that has integrity. And we demonstrate that a small town can do big things and have fun at the same time.
4. What other indie-craft products inspire you?
I am really inspired by food trucks that have become a sensation in the last few years. I like that they open up a sense of possibility in the city. There have been loads of places that have inspired me such as the Middle East Restaurant in Cambridge, the X-Ray Cafe in Portland, Oregon (formerly the UFO), the Space Gallery in Portland, Maine and the old Red Vic in San Francisco. I really admire the work that the Rabid Hands collective is doing. I like the Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Buster Keaton, “Eagle Rock Rag” by Leadbelly, “Obeah Man” by Exuma, SunRay tempeh, Luna & Larry’s coconut cream, Polina Malikin’s raw sauerkraut. I like the idea of micro-distilleries and butteries. I am playing this song by Brigitte Fontaine constantly. “My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died” by Roger Miller is the greatest song ever. And my son Leo’s drawings the last two weeks have been amazing.
5. What is your dream of success?
To live more and more in an actively creative way. To make silly things just for myself while still working on behalf of the world.
Paul, like previous Indie-Craft subjects, is from Columbia, MO but has a national, even international reach. Check out the other interviews in the series and stay tuned for more.
Session #63: The Beer Moment
Pete Brown charged the beer blogosphere with this month’s session. We have been asked to write about our beer moments, whatever that is. Mr. Brown left it up for interpretation, but it’s not that easy.
Just as there are many kinds of beers and contexts in which we drink beer, there are many different moments for which one finds a love for beer. To only write about one moment would ignore the many others that make beer so enjoyable. There are moments when the anticipation of a rare beer comes to a head, a discovery or epiphany is reached, or a moment in context with something else, only circumstantially connected to beer. All of these moments are valuable to the beer enthusiast.
So, I’ve opted to describe a few of my favorite beer moments. There are more than I can include in this one post, but I’ll pick a few favorites that keep me coming back to beer, particularly of the craft variety. And since I do the whole beer/music thing here, I may even give a musical metaphor for what I’m describing.
Beer Moment #1: Pshh… A bottle opening is maybe the greatest sound I know. It’s akin to dropping the needle on a record. What’s being released is more than some CO2. That single “pshh” is unleashing the anticipation for what’s inside. Especially when a beer has been bottle conditioned, that sound represents magic. The only thing left is to pour the contents once contained by that now-slightly-mangled cap into your glass.
Beer Moment #2: The smell of whole hops or even those wafting from an IPA or DIPA is all the intoxication most hop-heads need. In that moment when we hover our noses just above the glass, we discover citrus fruits, pine needles, even cat pee (and we like it!). This is the smell that turns most beer drinkers into beer thinkers. Who knew that beer could taste or smell this way? It’s the same as that moment the B3 organ enters a song or the silence is broken with the pounding of drums. It cuts the air, destined to destroy your tongue. Even those who don’t care for hops acknowledge its power.
Beer Moment #3: This is one for the beer hunter. There’s that moment when we enter a store, hoping to find what they’ve come so far to obtain. Sometimes, it’s a Tweet or Facebook post that prompts us to drop everything and run to the store. On several occasions, I’ve hit the store in a narrow window in order to score my Hopslam, CBS, or some other rarity only known to a few of us (or so we think). We nervously cradle our bottles to the check-out, pay, and dash to the store, only to stop once securely in our cars to admire our booty. I feel the same rush when I find a record that has long eluded me only to finally become mine when I least expect it.
Beer Moment #4: Sometimes I go to a rock show expecting almost nothing. It may occur during an unknown opener or while a band I came to see but am not so sure about starts to play.Then, it happens. What they’re playing is good, brilliant even. What have I stumbled upon? Does anyone else know about this? The same goes for that one beer I bought on a whim while on vacation or at the local watering hole. That moment of discovery is hard to top.
Beer Moment #5: While released anticipation, hop bombs, the hunt, and discoveries make beer enthusiasm a fun and worthy hobby, it’s hard to beat the moment when we reach pure satisfaction. I’m talking about the cold Oberan chilling your throat on the first hot day of the spring; the time you drank your beer while floating down the river straight from the can, despite beer snobbish pretensions; the warmth of an unholy imperial stout filling your being with booze and sweetness; or the first beer you’re served at happy hour after a long week of work. These are the times when a beer makes you smile. It satisfies like no other indulgence. It’s perfect for every situation, but especially the one you’re in at that moment the beer touches your lips. For me, this also happens when my favorite band hits their stride playing that song or I barely realize I’ve been driving for an hour until one of my prized albums comes to an end, requiring me to search the iPod for another long-player.
Beer fills many moments, but these are five moments I think of often. It reminds us we have souls and feelings. These are moments we feel alive. One doesn’t have to have a beer to have his/her own moments, but I’ve found that it helps. What is your beer moment? Are any of yours like these? Is there something else to fills these moments for you that isn’t beer?
Indie-Craft Interview #5: Jim Galligan
Jim Galligan is the less bear-like half of the Beer and Whiskey Brothers, a semi-popular beer blog that likes to keep things light, aside from their beer and whiskey. The brothers have flirted with a TV series and now Jim writes beery thoughts for one of those awful morning network “news” shows. He’s self-effacing and generally a good guy, plus his favorite brewery is in my backyard (STL).
Jim and his brother Don have made a pretty good go at this beer blogging thing. They actually respond to every comment. It seems their ultimate goal is to sell out, but I just like to refer to that as “making a living doing what you like to do.” It doesn’t lessen the independence or craftiness of their site for me. Wanting to make a living doing what you love is as indie-craft as one can get.
1. Describe your craft(s).
My main craft is creating content, either by writing, designing, making a video, whatever. I like to entertain people and stir things up a bit. I mostly write about craft beer, which is something I love to turn people on to.
2. What’s the importance or benefit of remaining indie?
I find honesty refreshing, especially these days when everyone is afraid they’ll be crucified for saying the wrong thing. Say what’s in your heart, and if it’s wrong, who cares? For me, being “indie” is all about keeping it real. Authenticity is something I cherish.
I’ve found that writing about beer has given me a space where I’m comfortable being 100% honest about what I think, regardless of whether or not anyone else agrees with me. It’s liberating, and I find it has made me more confident sharing my opinions in places where there’s more at stake, like at work.
3. How does your craft contribute to society?
That’s a good question. Most craft brewers are more interested in making something great than getting rich (otherwise they’d work for Budweiser), and by celebrating what they do, I feel that my brother Don and I help whet peoples’ appetites for things that are authentic and special. I know since I’ve gotten into craft beer, I’ve also become much more interested in supporting indie restaurants and local shops, even if they cost more than the chains. I think once you get an appreciation for the good stuff the “little guy” can do, it bleeds into other parts of your life. So in essence we’re saving America – how about that?!
4. What other indie-craft products inspire you?
I like anything that shows how excellent people can be or even that people aren’t perfect. So I guess any product that has a real human element to it – artwork, a great meal, a Pixies song – will catch my interest.
5. What is your dream of success?
My dream of success is making a living doing something I love. I recently got paid for writing about beer for the first time ever – I have a weekly craft beer column for the Today Show’s website – and it was very cool to hold that first check in my hands. It’s far from enough to live on, but it’s a start, and that’s something.
Speaking of checks, I should note that even though I’m getting paid a bit here and there by MSNBC, it hasn’t changed my approach to writing honest stuff from the heart. It HAS impacted my topic selection and the tone of what I write – the sloppy sarcasm we sling on our blog doesn’t play well there – but I’m not out to please anyone more than the truth. I’ve seen you point to Sonic Youth as an indie band that moved to a big label but kept their integrity, and I’d like to think I can pull it off as well, but in a bloggy kind of way. To me “selling out” isn’t about who is writing the checks, it’s about who is pulling the strings.
Well, if there’s a way to sell out, Jim’s doing it the right way. Keep it real, Jimmy.
Indie-Craft Interview #4: Bob Hartzell
Bob Hartzell found me over a year ago, offering me an Archers of Loaf poster he printed back in the nineties. Since those halcyon days of yester-decades, he’s made quite a nice niche for himself in the Midwestern art scene with his Augratin Press. It’s nice to see the posters he creates for shows here, but his other projects are cool as well. Bob agreed to share some thoughts for yet another edition of the Indie-Craft interview series…
1. Describe your craft(s).
I make things. I am mostly a silkscreener but I have been doing more light sculptures now that people are buying them. I also do as much community based work as I can because it is the most rewarding.
2. What’s the importance or benefit of remaining indie?
It helps hold of the eventual moment when I start to suck.
3. How does your craft contribute to society?
I think my community-based work encourages people to do creative things outside self-ordained, artistic environments. Other than that, my craft contributes nothing to society.
4. What other indie-craft products inspire you?
Furniture and Architecture as well as broken things.
5. What is your dream of success?
I am lucky to have done what I have. If it all goes down from here, I should still consider my self fortunate, but I will probably complain anyway.
Indie-Craft Interview #3: Kim Sherman
Kim Sherman is a really busy person. So busy that I thought for sure she’d never get around to this “interview.” Not only did Kim prove me wrong, but she went above and beyond the call of duty by contributing the many interesting bits of information you find below the picture I lifted from her Facebook profile. There’s indie filmmaking and indie rock-making she does, filling every open slot on her calendar. She used to head the music scheduling at True/False before returning this year with both a film to screen (V/H/S) and busking gigs for her band, Jerusalem and the Starbaskets, to fulfill.
Speaking of True/False, it was suggested that Kim was the real story of this year’s fest. How often does someone go from volunteering/working for a major film festival to a contributing filmmaker? This doesn’t even mention Jerusalem and the Starbaskets’ thrilling set at one of the fest’s showcases following a year where the band found some well-deserved acclaim for their album, Dost. In other words, Kim is a big part of the best thing that happens in Middle Missouri.
All of this makes Kim Sherman an ideal subject for the Indie-Craft Interview series…
1. Describe your craft(s).
I am an independent filmmaker and the drummer for Jerusalem and the Starbaskets. My day job is producing for feature films. In independent cinema, this usually involves being pretty hands on in all aspects of the creation of a film. My role and job shape shift a bit, depending on the project and my relationship with the project’s director. For some director’s, I deal more with the practical aspects of the project. Things like hiring cast and crew, working with unions, securing permission for locations. Really, the things no one likes to do on a film set. For other director’s, I work in a more collaborative sense, and help guide the story with them. In either case, I work very hard to make sure the director has everything they need to tell the story, and that they have the space and freedom to insert their voice in that story. If the audience takes something away from the film, hopefully a strong emotional or academic response, and the director feels like people really understand what they were trying to convey, I feel like I did a good job. Though, it helps when the film sells and everyone involved makes money.
2. What’s the importance or benefit of remaining indie?
Choosing Independent Filmmaking was really easy for me, being from the Midwest. I wasn’t exposed to studios, early on, and I never really dreamed of working for a studio. Though, I respect that the industry needs both halves to survive. Some of my favorite films came out of studios. I know that “independent film” meant something different in the 90’s, when that meant a film cost less than $3 million. Now there is a much wider range for independent financing, so films are made for under 10K pretty regularly and with great success. Technology and talent are available in abundance at all levels of that financial spectrum. So for me, the biggest reason for staying in the Independent realm, is simply being able to work on stories that I find interesting, that I feel are important, and that maybe break the rules a bit.
I still want all the world to see my work, and that is certainly easier to achieve in the studio system. But the more overhead a film is associated with, the more money it has to make just to break even. The more money a film has to make, the more creative decisions are made solely on that point. The more a film compromises just to make money, the more contained the vision becomes. Its hard to do something different when you are only thinking about the people that are happy to see the same story over and over again. As a filmmaker and an audience member, I want to see stories that are maybe dirtier, darker, and that challenge the way life is portrayed on television and in theaters.
3. How does your craft contribute to society?
Independent Filmmaking, as I stated, can allow for more freedom of storytelling. The actual filmmaking process has become more accessible to more people, which opens the medium up for interpretations by various cultures. The idea is that independent film and audiences will gravitate towards stories that haven’t been told and recycled a million times over.
Until recently, I had been working mostly in horror films. I was fortunate to work with a few friends that know the genre very deeply, and wanted to see the old conventions given new life. They developed stories with a woman as the central protagonists. The women in these films survive where others would break. I really loved this element. I recognize that Horror is an inherently sexist genre, but I do see more and more audiences growing tired of watching women mercilessly tortured. There is a trend towards women overcoming the demons, serial killers, mutant rapists, and abusive spouses from another planet, and not just because they are pure and virginal. Horror, like sci-fi and other genre work, is a great way to point out the evils of society and hopefully make a path to the solution of these evils.
More recently, I have been involved with dramas that feature women on the verge of falling out of society. Caught between their crimes and the reality of the punishment, I ran towards these stories for their polarizing central characters. This is an idea that had been reserved for male characters, with women playing sidekick and savior. I love being a part of something that provides strong and challenging roles for women.
Beyond just women too, I hope to always work on films that push forward groups that would otherwise be marginalized in film, on and off the screen. Hopefully these stories won’t seem so fringe, in the very near future. In this way, I feel like my craft contributes to society.
4. What other indie-craft products inspire you?
Several times a year, I record and tour with my bandmates, Jeremy Freeze and John Garland, as the drummer for Jerusalem and the Starbaskets. My bandmates are like family, and I very sincerely love the music we make. I’ll sometimes blush when I hear it playing in Uprise or other public spaces, but I really do love listening to our albums always. Jeremy Freeze is one of my favorite songwriters, and I never get sick of listening to his voice and lyrics.
When I work on films, I spend a lot of time on my computer. I have a hard time concentrating if I’m not listening to music. It’s better for my brain than coffee even.
Recently, Jeremy and John contributed music to a film I produced. For me, it was the start of something I have been working up to. I want to combine my two loves, film and music. I am currently co-writing a film with Jeremy, that we are hoping to make late in 2013.
5. What is your dream of success?
I have more immediate goals for success, that include sustainability. It’s hard for people in my profession to balance time and money. It’s especially hard when you work in micro-budget independent films. Long term, I am starting to get back to directing, and it is my hope that I can find a successful balance between directing, producing, and drumming. If I can do this, live comfortably off of the things I have dedicated my life to, and still be there for my friends and community, I will feel like a huge success.
If you get a chance, check out Kim’s work. V/H/S hits On Demand and theaters this fall. Dost is available in exchange for your dollars. And I’m sure Kim has something else up her sleeve in the meantime.
[Full disclosure: Kim is the only person to ever call me a journalist. This can be both good and bad. Make of it what you will.]
Beer and Pavement 
leave a comment