the new wave of southern rock & soul
Sun King Rising Releases the Short Film, No. 6 Magnolia Avenue.
Based on the Hit Single from His New Album, Signs & Wonders.
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"There is greatness within Signs & Wonders. No one who enjoys Americana-style rock can afford to miss out on what is a true classic of the genre. Accessible from the first note, it repays repeated plays as there is just so much breadth and depth within. Music rarely gets better than this."
Produced and directed by Dante Ludovici, No. 6 Magnolia Avenue is a literal film interpretation of the song's optimistic, uplifting lyric. It is the story of an unknown, down-and-out musician who attains acclaim and stardom after encountering the beautiful "Girl in China Blue" at a bar gig.
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Ludovici's production ably captures all the emotion, pathos, and humor inherent in the recording. Many of the artist's New Castle, Pennsylvania friends and family form the colorful cast of characters.
Sun King Rising is the musical moniker and alter-ego of John Blangero, who lives in Port Isabel, Texas. By night, Blangero is Sun King Rising. By day, he is a world-renowned genetic research scientist and professor at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.
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Meghan Greenwood, a popular Pittsburgh choreographer/dancer, plays his love interest in the film. Ludovici also featured her in his first Sun King Rising film production, "Free Will in China Blue." She has retained her "girl in China Blue" identity in the second production.In addition to the mostly local Newcastle cast, Ludovici also utilizes multiple Newcastle and nearby Poland, Ohio locations to significant effect.
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Blangero wrote the song, and producer Ace Acker completed it with a who's who lineup of Pittsburgh players and singers at David Granati's Maplewood Studio in Ambridge, PA. Granati engineered Sun King Rising's first album, Delta Tales. as well.
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