Kiski Valley band plays in 'Promised Land'

When Matt Ferrante told his Slant6 bandmate and friend Steve Craven last April that some “movie people” wanted to talk to him about recording a few songs for a film, Craven didn't think much of it.

“I thought it was some ‘B' movie or a college thing,” Craven said.

He set up a meeting at his house in Bethel Township, where he has a full recording studio, and looked out the window when the “movie people” arrived.

He was surprised to see “Promised Land” director Gus Van Sant, who also directed films such as “Milk,” the 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's “Psycho” and “Good Will Hunting,” among 30 other titles. Van Sant also has written and produced several films.

And the director was not alone on Craven's doorstep. He was with “The Office” television star and the film's co-writer John Krasinski, as well as the “Promised Land” sound engineering crew.

“They came in, looked around and were blown away that I have a full-blown recording studio,” Craven said.

From there, the relationship between the band and the Hollywood crew grew.

The four-man band, which recorded three songs for the film and appears in a pivotal scene, consists of Craven, a bass player from Bethel Township; Ferrante, a drummer from Avonmore; Gene Williams, a guitarist from Apollo; and Justin Cook, the main vocalist and guitarist, also of Apollo.

To round out the sound that Van Sant and Krasinski were looking for, Craven's girlfriend, Jennifer Heymers, sang the female vocals in the songs they recorded.

Craven said Slant6 recorded Bruce Springsteen's “Dancing in the Dark,” Bill Monroe Jr.'s “I Saw the Light,” and Miranda Lambert's “Hell on Heels.”

“We stuck to the original but put our own twist on it,” Craven said. “Whatever they needed to be done, we could do. Gene (Williams) played keyboards on ‘Dancing in the Dark,' and he doesn't even play keyboards.”

The band worked with the film director and crew pretty regularly until about June. Part of that work consisted of appearing in a bar scene with Krasinski and actress Frances McDormand.

The bar is hosting an open mic night, and the band is on stage ready to play any song someone wants to sing.

In November, Craven got a call asking for him to send some audio mixing he had done for the film.

Amazing experience

He said overall, the experience has been amazing. Craven would love to see the modern rock and pop band do more film work.

Slant6 has opened for such national acts as Bret Michaels, the Jackals, and Days of New and is popular around the Tri-State area.

“The money's good,” Craven said with a laugh. “And it's a pretty neat experience over all. We were dealing with Hollywood — Van Sant, Matt Damon, Krasinski — they're really down to earth.”

Craven lists a few experiences that stood out to him as somewhat surreal.

The band had lunch with Damon the day they spent on the set, and got to play at the film's wrap party.

Krasinski came to Craven's home studio to practice singing the Springsteen song and was oddly uncomfortable performing.

“He's been in all these movies, and he's actually scared to sing a song,” Craven laughed. “You could see him sweating.”

Craven teased Krasinski about it, and the actor replied he never sang a song in his life.

Craven offered him a beer “to mellow out” and advised him to just go for it with the song.

“He got into it and didn't do bad at all,” Craven said. “Our drummer kept him in time, and then after that, he got it after the second or third time.”

Last night, the band got to attend a private viewing of the film in Pittsburgh.

“It's all been a really cool experience,” Craven said. “They've gone out of their way to make us feel that we're really part of something special.”

Tamara Girardi is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.