PROFILE: Charles Mehling, Streetgang Films

name: Charles Mehling
company: Streetgang Films
job/title: director

First Video: "Whatever Happened To My Rock'N'Roll (Punk Song)" for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Not the elegantly lit and highly stylized version that the English director WIZ did. Rather, the "sloppy American version shot on DV and edited by my next door neighbor who had just gotten Final Cut Pro the day before" version.

Strangest Video: That’s kind of a tough one because I seem to intentionally create disastrous and chaotic situations to distract myself from my own somewhat chaotic and emotionally painful personal life that is in fact a world that I have subliminally created as well. Oh, I’m only joking. Sort of. The one that comes to mind is a video I did for the Brian Jonestown Massacre, "When Jokers Attack." Despite the fact that I played in the band for a couple of years, I agreed to do this impossibly low budget video for a band that really didn’t want one. The basic premise was to capture a classically hedonistic late night Silverlake party in all of its realistically hedonistic glory. With a small crew I shot a scant story line and a cool band performance all at the "Manson-like" home of Anton Newcombe, the bands maniacal singer. We shot through the night and stumbled out of there at dawn as the band piled into a van for a lengthy North American tour. In the morning I got a call from the DP/PA who informed me that in his inebriated state he decided to leave his red hatchback Toyota Corolla, spilling-over with all of our camera equipment, on a desolate street somewhere near Highland Blvd. Needless to say, it got broken into and all of the equipment, as well as the film, was gone. That call was immediately followed by the A&R guy from the band's small label who was wondering how the shoot went and to tell me that they needed to move the deadline for the video forward.  I truly felt sick, scared and hung-over. I took to driving the Los Angeles freeways for no apparent reason. I had no band, no equipment and no money. All I had left of the BJM was that house. I went there and repeatedly rang the doorbell until some cool looking but really out of it girl answered. After much persuading it was agreed that she would be in my video for a $60 bag of cocaine. I still don’t know why, but an acquaintance and rising young DP, Max Goldman, agreed to come over right away with a Panasonic and a couple of lights. Again we shot through the night as this really cool and charismatic girl perched atop a barstool sang all of Anton’s parts perfectly.  I never saw that girl again, but I can’t thank her enough for baring her soul and truly saving my ass. I don’t know if the video is any good but I do think that it suited the bands irreverent style and fucked up folklore perfectly. Max wouldn’t work with me for a few years and the band to this day doesn’t believe that the original film was stolen, but in the end I delivered the video on time. [watch "When Jokers Attack"]

What's Next: Bed.

SHOT: Ava Leigh - Charles Mehling, director

Shot in Cuba...

artist: Ava Leigh
song: "La La La"
label: Virgin UK
director(s): Charles Mehling
production co: Streetgang Films

NEW RELEASE: Amy Winehouse "Rehab"

Since the U.S. release of Amy Winehouse's Gold certified album Back To Black, the singer has gotten a lot of media attention Stateside. Some of that is due to gossip, but much of it comes thanks to "Rehab," a classic, soulful song that actually turns America and Great Britain's gossip-hungry zeitgeist on its head with Winehouse's sexy and confident refusal of Hollywood's finest destination. After all, one can easily imagine Ms. Spears, Lohan, et al grinding their teeth  — or just grinding — whenever "Rehab" comes blasting at a club or out of a car on Sunset Blvd. Director Phil Griffin's video is a subtle yet strong performance piece which shows Winehouse bedecked in her trademark eye shadow as she ponders that fateful trip. But a quick tease of the hair and a couple shots and you know she should be just fine. (review by Kevin Holy) --> watch "Rehab"

Amy Winehouse "Rehab" (Universal Republic)
Phil Griffin, director | Hywit Abate, producer | Bikini Films, production co [note: Griffin now repped in the US by Anonymous Content] | Adam Frisch , DP | James Rose @ NWH, editor

SHOT: Bad Brains - Shavo Odadjian, director

The legendary and influential all-black hardcore band Bad Brains is back. If you're a young'n and have never heard of them — or if you doubt my choice of adjectives  — consider this: Their new comeback album Build A Nation was produced by the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch and the video for "Give Thanks And Praises" was directed by System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian. That is respect.

The photo shows Odadjian and DP Danny Hiele literally putting their heads together as they plan the next move during one of the three days in Portland, OR and the nearby Sasquatch Music Festival.

The video was co-produced by Meiert Avis (with Brett Carlson) through his own Pusher production company.

artist: Bad Brains
song: "Give Thanks And Praises"
label: Megaforce
director(s): Shavo Odadjian
production co: Pusher
rep: Labuda Management

NEW RELEASE: Forro In The Dark f/ David Byrne "Asa Branca"

To some, David Byrne is the Pied Piper of music without boundaries, leading hipsters to such bounties as Tom Ze, Cornershop and so much more. To others, he'll always be the former lead singer of the Talking Heads and they probably curse the day Byrne first heard a Caetano Veloso album. This collaboration with the the Brazilian-via-NYC group Forro In the Dark stands a good chance of pleasing both camps. The song is an interpretation of the Forro standard "Asa Branca" — it's the genre's "Louie Louie" in terms of every band cutting their teeth on it— and this rendition has lots of traditional instrumentation, but it also boasts an English vocal that and melody by Byrne that could have easily fit on a latter day Talking Heads album. It's also worth mentioning that longtime Beck and Tom Waits collaborator Smokey Hormel is the group's guitarist. The video is mostly animated, inserting the core band members into a continually scrolling musical and geographical landscape. --> watch "Asa Branca" (bonus: watch a live version with more info on the song at YouTube)

Forro In The Dark f/ David Byrne  "Asa Branca" (Nublu)
Karina Correa aka Thespecialk! , director | Forward VC, production co

NEW RELEASES: Joss Stone "Tell Me What We're Gonna..."

Some videos just remind me of other videos, and this latest from the lovely Joss Stone and director Sanaa Hamri is a good example. "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now" is a fresh and uplifting summer vid that features the singer walking down the boulevard making googly eyes at the camera — kind of like Jill Scott in "A Long Walk." These scenes are intercut with shots of Stone singing atop a bed of flowers, an image strongly reminiscent of Gwen Stefani's candy scenes in "Luxurious." Follow that with Joss walking to the park for an outdoor concert with Common and I'm struck with Lisa Loeb in "Someone You Should Know." All of this is for a good cause: All of Stone's proceeds from the video's sales at iTunes will support Product Red and its Global Fund. (review by Kevin Holy) --> watch "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now"

Joss Stone feat. Common
"Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now" (Virgin/Capitol)
Sanaa Hamri, director/editor | Gina Leonard, producer | Anonymous Content, production co | Labuda Management, rep |Jim Fealey, DP 

SHOT: Kevin L - Abdul Malik Abbott, director

Veteran video director Abdul Malik Abbott oversaw a shoot in Newark, NJ for gospel artist Kevin L. "Hallelujah Do You Do" will feature cameos by Reverend Al Sharpton and Bishop Jordan.

artist: Kevin L
song: "Halleluliah Do You Do"
label: BK Music
director(s): Abdul Malik Abbott
production co: G.R. Entertainment Group

SHOT: Hurricane Chris - Bernard Gourley, director

artist: Hurricane Chris
song: "A Bay Bay"
label: Polo Grounds/J Records
director(s): Bernard Gourley
production co: Immigrant Film
rep: Yell Productuions

SHOT: Ross Copperman - Frank Borin, director

UK artist Ross Copperman performing on-top of a giant phallus plane named Lucky Lady. Indeed.

artist: Ross Copperman
song: "Found You"
label: RCA (SonyBMG UK)
director(s): Frank Borin
production co: Shadow Screen Productions
rep: Yell Productions

SHOT: Nate James - Ethan Lader, director

On location in Ireland: Director Ethan Lader (center, flexing, of course), manager Anthony Hamer-Hodges to his left (yellow shirt) and artist Nate James to Lader's right (holding the slate) with the rest of the video crew. click pic to expand

artist: Nate James
song: "Kingdom Falls"
label: FroFunk/Universal UK
director(s): Ethan Lader
production co: Oil Factory
rep: RW Media

--> watch "Kingdom Falls"