“lots of ambience and mood… a distinct feeling of desolation and claustrophobia
… fascinating, and very well produced … Give it a try.”
—Soundtrack Geek

“particularly effective use of his own haunting, guitar-heavy score
… Fessenden could probably pursue a career in music if the challenge of film-making palls”
—Hollywood Reporter

“an impressive debut with an equally impressive score”
—Victoria Advocate

STRAY BULLETS original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Now Available from Lakeshore records

composed and arranged by JACK FESSENDEN
additional composing CHRISTIAN NOLL
producer LARRY FESSENDEN
recorded at UNDERGROUND AUDIO, NYC
engineer, mix and mastering MATT ROCKER
additional engineer WILL WHATLEY

keyboards, guitars, percussion JACK FESSENDEN
bass MARK LERNER
electric guitar CHRISTIAN NOLL
cello ASA SPURLOCK
violin CYRUS SPURLOCK

“Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert
recorded at DUBWAY STUDIO, NYC
engineer and mix RUSSEL CASTIGLIONE
thanks AL HOUGHTON

piano ROGER PELTZMAN
vocals LUCY KATHERINE GHEGRAE

FROM THE COMPOSER

Even after Stray Bullets picture-locked, my biggest creative challenge still lay ahead: composing the score. I had used pieces by Cliff Martinez, Brian Eno, and Philip Glass, among others, as temporary music in my edit to help myself understand what mood I was hoping to evoke with the score I would go on to write.

I worked with Christian Noll, a fellow musician and friend from school, to help get started with developing chord progressions and sounds for the music, and soon felt confident enough to continue on my own and compose the entire feature film’s worth of tracks. We recorded in only 4 days, inviting friends from upstate to come down to play bass, cello, and violin. Asa Spurlock, my co-star in the film, and his younger brother Cyrus made up our string section, and Mark Lerner of Phoenicia, NY offered a unique bass tone that occurs throughout the score. I played most of the other instruments, drums, keyboards and guitar, expanding upon previous ideas and coming up with totally new ones in the moment.

I like to enter the studio with a solid understanding of what is needed and an openness to working spontaneously; I had made crude recordings of several of the main pieces with different parts and instrumentations mapped out, but other themes were less developed, and were discovered and refined in the studio. Never have I handed a musician a sheet of notation; I like to talk with collaborators and get them on the same page and then see what they have to offer, how they respond to my direction. Improvisation, especially with a largely atmospheric and ambient score such as this, is how we found the most memorable sounds. I believe it is in those last minute adjustments and additions that the music can really come into its own.

We mixed the music right there in the studio, Underground Audio on 3rd street next to Hells Angels, and were out of there in the afternoon of the 5th day. Sometimes I question myself before entering into an ordeal like this, fearing that I hadn’t done enough to prepare, but by surrounding myself with like-minded and willing collaborators, meticulously articulating my vision to them and letting them make of it what they will, I was able to shape the material and expand my original themes into the moody score I was looking for.

Jack Fessenden
Jan 2017

TRACK LISTING

Ricochet
Air
Crooks Bridge
Pulse
We Got It Good Here
Crux
Mood
Breakdown
What Took You So Long
Sweeten This
Prey
You’re Next
Pursuit
Stray Bullets
Crashing Down
“Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert

buy on iTunes

Portrait of Zippo, AKA T Whitney Blake, longtime comrade and collaborator to Glass Eye Pix’s Fessenden.
Shot in the East Village early 80s on B&W 16mm and Super8. Edited on a flatbed at NYU.

One of Zippo’s iconic images from his stint as set photographer on Fessenden’s HABIT

so long Zip

GEP pal James Siewert directs a music video for Brooklyn trio, Swoon Lake. Produced by Chris Skotchdopole and Fessenden. Also, check out Siewert’s previous GEP produced videos “Just About Now” and “El Valtrex” 

Read article here…

The Past Inside the Present is now exclusively available on Vimeo’s Staff Pick. Directed by GEP pal James Siewert and produced by Chris Skotchdopole and Fessenden.

Composed of over seven thousand frames of pen and charcoal meticulously drawn over the course of almost two years, The Past Inside the Present is a film which carries the weight of time – both in its subject matter and in the process by which it was made.

Three very promising new talents from the land of horror

‘Stray Bullets’

I wanted to see this movie just because I saw the name Jack Fessenden on its poster as I had a hunch that this Jack might be the son of Larry Fessenden, one of US indie horror’s most important figures since the 1990s.

It was only after I watched the film (and being totally impressed by it) that I searched the Internet for more information about its director, and I can’t even begin to tell you how shocked I was when I found out that Jack was only 16 years old when he made this movie!

Not only did he write and direct it, but he also starred in it (in a pretty important secondary role), edited it, wrote the score, and even played some of the instruments himself.

Clearly a homemade passion project, with dad Larry acting as cinematographer, there’s a lyrical and poetic quality to this crime film, about two  kids stuck with a group of professional thieves who are being hunted after a robbery gone wrong, that gives you a different sensory experience, despite its archetypal ingredients.

It’s what some people might call “elevated genre”, something in the vein of Blue Ruin, and to be able to pull that off at age 16 is quite simply remarkable. I now eagerly await what Jack has got up his sleeve next!

VICTORIA ADVOCATE  Houston, TX

STRAY BULLETS (2017) ‘the crime thriller marks an impressive debut for its 16-year old filmmaker’

STRAY BULLETS (2017)

Jack Fessenden, Asa Spurlock, James Le Gros, John Speredakos, Kevin Corrigan, Robert Burke Warren, Larry Fessenden.

Directed by Jack Fessenden

Upon first impression “Stray Bullets” may lead you to believe that this is a coming-of-age drama focused on two teenage boys. Then it suddenly takes a dark turn towards “Reservoir Dogs” territory while utilizing various techniques reminiscent of those great crime films from the 70’s. The low-budget indie features a cast of bang-up character actors like James LeGros and Kevin Corrigan and while it may be a little rough around the edges it’s still an impressive debut from writer-director and star Jack Fessenden who is only 16-years old.

Inspired by Jeff Nichols’ “Mud” starring Matthew McConaughey, the film takes place in a rural part of the country (here it’s upstate New York) where Ash (Asa Spurlock) and best friend Connor (Jack Fessenden) spend their days performing odd jobs for money and killing time by shooting paintballs. Their lives are about to change when they intersect with three inept criminals (James Le Gros, John Speredakos, Larry Fessenden) on the run after a botched robbery. To complicate matters worse a hitman played by Kevin Corrigan is hot on the criminals’ trail which means the boys will eventually cross paths with the psychotic assassin.

Fessenden displays all the signs of a mature and budding filmmaker to watch. It’s hard to point out the film’s flaws when you consider the director was only 14 when he started working on the project. That being said, I’m not giving Jack a hall pass. The film deserves to be judged on its merits not on the age of its creator and I can truly say this is a first-rate debut worthy of your viewing.

After producing three short films and at the advice of his mother Beck Underwood, a stop-motion animator who also provided the costumes for the movie, Jack decided to shift “Stray Bullets” from another short into his first feature film. I should also point out that Jack’s father, Larry Fessenden, who bleeds out in the backseat of ’74 Dodge Dart through most of the film, is the iconic horror filmmaker behind Wendigo, The Last Winter, Beneath and a handful of indie titles. He also serves as the Director of Photography under his son Jack giving “Stray Bullets” a professional visage, as the experienced filmmaker captures the beauty of upstate New York.

If it wasn’t for modern devices like cell phones that are used by characters in the film, it would be hard to pinpoint the era. The pristine Dodge the thieves travel in and the dilapidated mobile home where most of the action takes place during the second half are two of the many props that give the impression that “Stray Bullets” takes place in the 70’s. Think of this film as the action equivalent of 2009’s “The House of the Devil” which took a similar approach with its visual style. Both films were backed by Larry’s Glass Eye Pix production company.

I like the way the film is cut to show how the laid-back lifestyle of Ash and Connor is about to clash with the violent and bloody criminals who are headed towards the teenage boys. The audience feels like a bunch of amateur meteorologists tracking a storm about to hit a tiny community. Jack does a superior job of building tension especially when the so called “storm” makes landfall and the teenagers find themselves held hostage by the thugs.

There is a slow-motion death scene that takes place in the film reminiscent of Willem Dafoe’s demise in “Platoon.” It will appear over the top to the novice moviegoer but cinephiles will recognize the influence behind such a bold move.

Kudos to Jack Fessenden who receives praise for delivering an impressive debut with an equally impressive score. I’ll be watching this young man’s progress. Show us what you’ve got Jack.

(3 stars)

Stray Bullets opens tonight Saturday February 18 and runs through Wednesday February 22 at Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park in Houston.

The Stakelander (amazon), Stray Bullets (iTunes) and Girlfriend’s Day (Netflix) all streaming now!!!

Now streaming on Netflix.
Directed by Michael Paul Stephenson (American Scream),
produced and starring Bob Odenkirk
and a host of other players including Amber Tamblyn, Natasha Lyonne, Stacy Keach,
and Ed Begley Jr. as the butler
…also  featuring Toby Huss, last seen with Fessenden in In A Valley of Violence