I took a walk around Squires Castle today and, as always, it felt magical.
The castle and surrounding park and woods are one of my favorite places. Add in a beautiful Fall day and it’s glorious.
Back in 2019, I worked close to the castle, so I often rushed there for lunch to work on my Chuck book (available via ScoutMediabookandmusic/amazon and many other places.) in fact, I wrote the ending of the book there and redid the start of it as well.
But, going way, way, way further back, I was reminded today of another tie I have to Squire’s Castle: in the fall of 1096 (30 years ago!) I started writing a screenplay and the climax was meant to happen at squire’s castle.
The script wasn’t great…I mean, I was a 17 year old kid who had never read a screenplay before, writing in a genre (fantasy/horror) that I knew nothing about, but…to pat myself on the back, I worked hard on it through the fall and almost every waking moment of winter break that year.
As I wrote, I talked to various folks about working on the film. First up was Steve Gnall, who was a year behind me at school. He and his friends had been making short films in the woods and he had experience with makeup and special effects. He actually asked to direct and I was excited, since I had no idea what all went into directing/filming. We transferred the script on a disk (the 90s, am I right?!) to his computer and he and I did some editing. He pointed out some huge mistakes and made vast improvements with an outside eye/experience/common sense, but still I’m sure if I read it, I’d feel embarassed.
The general story idea was that a good natured, aloof rock band guy got mixed up in a fight against an evil entity using a crazed killer as a vessel on Earth and he had to put a stop to it.
Budget? Zero.
I asked a guy named Damien Perry, vocalist/guitarist from Red Giant, to play the main character. I gave him the script and he said he was in, but noticed I spelled his name wrong throughout the entire script…y’see, the main character’s name was Damian…
For the bad guy, I enlisted a former bandmate in Skipline of my brother’s, Mark Hunter. He knew horror films and how to play intense and dark. He jumped on board and came over to Steve’s house for production meetings and offered feedback and a dose of reality to keep us moving forward.
There was a homeless person who showed up throughout the script, who was revealed as a guardian angel at the end. I pitched the idea to a cook that passed me by at a restaurant, Chuck Mosley, who also happened to be an idol of mine. He was curious and open to the idea, though I didn’t know how close to homeless he was at the time, making him leery of portraying that onscreen. I don’t think I talked to him again until September of 1997, but I had forgotten about this meeting and pitch until sifting back through memories of “the movie.” Is it 100% accurate? I’ll admit it’s fuzzy, but we’re going to roll with it, okay?
The killer, Mark, was being influenced and guided by a devil-type evil character, so I approached a man best-known in Cleveland at the time for wearing a devil mask onstage with his band Mushroomhead. Jeffrey Hatrix was super cool and excited about the idea, even if it was a random pitch from a nerdy kid at a concert. He gave me his contact info and I kept my promise not to share it with anyone.
With the main cast in place, I spoke to other folks and to bands about creating music for the film. It was winter now, so no chance of filming for months. I mapped out some locations, Steve showed me some of the crazy cool stuff he could do with fake blood and a manequinn’s head. I tweaked the screenplay more to incorporate what I knew of the actors and toned down some (but not nearly enough) of the action and effects needed to shoot with no resources.
I approached my brother, who lived in Cincinnati to play a role…he said:
Since the part was written with him in mind and the character’s name was Craig, this became the first big blow to my master plan. I did not know any other Craigs.
At school, I was a senior, and my guidance counselor mentioned that after the first semester, I’d have enough credits to graduate early, if I wanted.
I wanted.
My nights were spent working at Wendy’s and a local pizza place that Mark also worked at, so we could talk about the movie while washing dishes in between deliveries…that is, when he wasn’t spraying me with the pressurized water hose.
My days were spent at school, working on the script/locations/props list…and schoolwork? I also fit in the occasional nap.
I kept my headphones on and walkman blasting at all times….1996 soundtrack: ministry filth pig, mr bungle disco volante, mushroomhead superbuick, and any and all faith no more, excluding We Care A Lot, their debut. Why? In the Summer of 1996 I had gone with my parents to San Fransisco and found a copy of the rare CD in a bargain bin, but I didn’t have a CD player until the next Summer.
January was a blur of work and school and concerts and, oh, my car broke down at least 17 times. I graduated at the end of the month. My dad took me to Florida for a few days to celebrate, staying with my cousin, John, who worked at Disney’s animal kingdom at the time.
I had signed up to go to broadcasting school, starting in February, so it was right back to school when I returned, but first…
Mark and Steve wanted to meet to discuss the movie.
They had been talking and had various reasons for not continuing with the project and they were both backing away. I was caught off guard and crushed. I didn’t know how unrealistic my plans were and, again, the script probably was bad… but I had put a lot of time and effort and thought there was a way to make it work.
I started broadcasting school, still working at Wendy’s and the pizza shop, and started interning in a promotions department for a company that ran 3 radio stations. I went to try out for a band, but backed out before singing as nerves got the best of me…really disappointing and stupid of me.
I wrote a few short stories, but kept thinking about that script. I reached out to Steve to get a copy, but he said his computer had crashed and he had lost it. All I had were some handwritten notes and part of an old copy we had printed out. I set it aside and didn’t attempt another screenplay for almost 30 years.
So, here I am, walking around Squires Castle, where good and evil were set to take place in an epic struggle with zero budget, where I was a groomsman at a wedding, where I wrote part of a book about a guy I wanted to play a bum in a movie, where I got lost in the woods once and hiked in circles for hours, where I filmed bits of footage that would appear in a video by The Firmary, where every time I go I say I need to come back more often.
In 1999, my band, Fromanadly played a show with Steve’s band, the Lucky Strikes and Mark’s band, Chimaira…we didn’t discuss the movie, but I like to think they regretted not sticking with it since their music careers were going nowhere 🙂
In 2015/2016/2017 I toured with Chuck as his conga player, recorded with him on the Indoria record You’ll Never Make The Six, recorded conga on his first solo record which was engineered by Matt Wallace at his L.A. studio, and lost my friend to addiction six days after our last concert.
In 2019, I acted in a movie with Jeffrey Hatrix called Dwellers by Drew Fortier. Watching Jeffrey perform his monologue was frightening and amazing, a highlight of dipping into acting.
Damien Perry and I have still not worked together…Wtf?! though he was a guest on a local music internet radio show I hosted for a few years. Also, at once time, there was a sticker for his band The Great Iron Snake and one for my band The Firmary on the toilet at The Foundry Concert Club. I have a photo, but it’s not the correct format for this website, so you’ll just have to see it on my phone when I see you next.
This November 13th 2026, my brother’s old band will reunite for one last hurrah at the Globe Iron. Their first non-post break-up half-planned show since they were a working band in 1995/1996.
I still haven’t found my way since those early days of creative wanderings, but I can say I’ve been involved in a lot of really cool stuff. I don’t think I could write anything as ambitious as that first attempt, but I also know I’m too stubborn to stop trying.
In the meantime, I push forward. I plan. I plot. I sing. I write. I act. Every so often, I return to Squires Castle to allow myself some reflecting on the past.
