MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE: Death Valley Dreams ‘Turn Out Those Eyes’ for ‘Baby Frankenstein’ film shot in NEPA
As the Northeastern Pennsylvania filmmakers behind “Baby Frankenstein” begin screening their comedic drama in film festivals worldwide, they recently turned to Wilkes-Barre indie/alternative rock band Death Valley Dreams to lead the soundtrack with “Turn Out Those Eyes,” a new song with the throwback feel of an ’80s tune complete with a music video that is premiering today exclusively on NEPA Scene.
Formed in 2015, the buzzworthy band features new Cold guitarists Nick Coyle and Johnny Nova, along with bassist Ryan Dougherty and a cameo in this video by drummer Chad Szeliga of Breaking Benjamin, Black Label Society, and Black Star Riders fame. “Turn Out Those Eyes” will be featured in the upcoming movie and is available to download on iTunes and stream on Spotify now.
“We shot the video in an afternoon a few weeks ago with ‘Baby Frankenstein’ director Jon YonKondy. Then I cut it in with a few scenes from the movie. We were going for a rock band on an ’80s soundtrack kind of vibe, like Kenny Loggins’ ‘Danger Zone’ or Dokken’s ‘Dream Warriors,'” Coyle told NEPA Scene with a laugh.
The Berwick musician is known locally for playing in bands like Lifer, The Drama Club, Stardog Champion, and his solo Electracoustica project before he traveled to the West Coast to join the gold-selling alternative rock band Cold last year, with Nova coming on later.
Back home, “Baby Frankenstein” has been in production since 2015 with West Pittston native Jon YonKondy at the helm. Originally from Plains, New York writer and producer Mike Rutkoski reached out to YonKondy on Facebook and asked him to direct his script, leading to an enduring friendship and a quirky, low-budget indie film that challenged everyone involved.
“In the weeks leading to principal photography, I watched in guarded horror as our shooting days dwindled from 17 to finally seven straight. Although it was not ideal, I knew from shooting my first feature in 10 days that it was certainly possible. I knew that creative problem solving on any front usually led to brave, exciting choices if you were flexible enough to roll with the punches and embrace the controlled chaos,” YonKondy explained on the movie’s official website.
“I was fortunate enough to have pieced together a team that was confident in our abilities as a unit to pull off this sweet, funny tale in such a short period. And filming in our home turf of Northeastern PA didn’t hurt either.”
Featuring actors Andre Gower (“The Monster Squad”) and Patrick McCartney (“Elf,” “Saturday Night Live”), the movie will start screening at film festivals all over the world this spring and will be available across multiple platforms later in 2018. Read the synopsis below:
“Baby Frankenstein” is a comedy/drama/horror feature film that tells the story of young Lance (Ian Barling) and his unlikely friendship with a pint-sized, self-aware automaton (Rance Nix).
After Lance stumbles upon this “little dude,” he enlists the help of Truth, the sassy girl-next-door, to protect him from his mom’s batty boyfriend, Ken Glinevich (Patrick McCartney). Glinevich is hell-bent on capturing Baby Frankenstein and claiming the $50,000 reward being offered by the mysterious actual owner of Baby Frankenstein, Dauvin Lundquist (Andre Gower).
Lance finds an unlikely ally in his awkward neighbor, John, who appears to be romantically interested in Lance’s mother, Kim. As the potential captors close in on Lance, Truth, and Baby Frankenstein, Lance must decide what he will risk to preserve Baby Frankenstein’s freedom.
YonKondy, who also wrote and directed the 2016 drama “Susquehanna,” is happy to finally see his years of hard work come to fruition.
“The film you see, besides a bit of B-roll, was what was shot in those seven days. This film has been my life for these past 14 months: writing, producing, production designing, directing, second unit DP-ing, editing, and even doing the graphic design work,” he said.
“I am extremely proud of this little ‘cinematic experiment’ of ours, and I cannot wait until audiences can fall in love with Baby Frankenstein like we all have.”
Watch the “Baby Frankenstein” trailer here:
See NEPA Scene’s photos of the Death Valley Dreams CD release show at the River Street Jazz Cafe back in 2016 here.
