Product Description

In 2000 Hen House Studios opened its doors in Venice, CA, announcing they would be recording independent bands for free, well kind of, the recording time was free and in exchange the sessions along with out of the studio encounters would be filmed. CD compilations were made as well as a music doc short for each band which is posted on their frequently visited website. Welcome 2 The Hen House is a collage of the many artists who spent time there. This unique film blends these shorts with animation and super 8 footage to create a fantastical journey through the current independent Los Angeles area music scene. A blend of young, undiscovered talent collides with such legends as Fishbone and Doors’ drummer, John Densmore who frequent the Hen House with various projects. What started out as an experiment evolved into over 8oo hours of footage from the 100+ bands laying eggs at the Hen House. Now, after years of incubation, co-Directors Harlan Steinberger (Hen House creator and chief) and his long time collaborator/editor Tucker Stilley have hatched this documentary feature.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250969 in DVD
• Published on: 2006-01-18
• Released on: 2006-05-13
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Formats: Color, Digital Sound, Full length, NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 84 minutes

From the Actor
Well, when I first came up with this crazy idea to record bands for free I received many interesting responses. Some of my favorites go as follows:

- Doors drummer John Densmore response was, "Ha, ha, ha, ha." Incredibly, as fate would have it, John became one of my biggest supporters. - My eastern guru friend warning was, " Try your best not to get pissed off when a musician starts treating you as if they’re paying you". This did happen several times and because of his warning I was prepared with my deep breathing exercises. - A wise person made an analogy that made me aware of a hurdle that would be there at the onset. She said, " What if you heard of a professional, a doctor for example, who didn’t charge for their services? You would most likely avoid this professional thinking that what they had to offer was some how sub standard." This proved to be right on, but I over came this hurdle once there was enough Hen House recorded music circulating around town that was perceived as professional.

You can imagine what the response was. People were calling all the time for the chance to record. The best part about this for me, other then having the opportunity to hone my chops as a producer, engineer, musician, director etc… was that I got to be a part of a pressure free environment. You see when you remove the money equation out of the creation of art, and therefore the bulk of the pressure, you are left with the most beautiful performances of all.

About the Actor
2005 "Critical Time: Fishbone’s Hen House Sessions" - Director. Distributed by Music Video Distributors. 90 minutes.

2004 "Fatal Charm" – Director. 87 minutes.

2002- My Name Is Shawn Duck – Director, Original music. 15 minutes.

2002- Holidays- Original music, additional camera and sound - Aired on Sundance Channel. 43 Minutes.

1994-Tibor Jankay--The Art of Survival - Director. Distributed by CS Associates and Filmmakers Library. Aired on PBS. 43