To: Rev. Beatman & Voodoo Rhythm family, Bern, Switzerland
From: Jesco & Cuz, Boone County, WV, USA
www.youtube.com/globalmojo

Dear Rev,
Sorry the initial project didn't work out as planned, took so long, is the wrong song, and was pretty much in every way a complete drunken fiasco of wild craziness, but we love you & your wicked music, ya sonic motherfucker and hope you like this video anyway ... keep on knockin & rockin in 2010!
TCB,
Cuz & Jesco

www.myspace.com/jescorama3000

Don't Yall Think This Outlaw Business Done Got Out Of Hand?

Jesco's for law and order the way that it should be.
This song's about the night he tore up Nashville, Tennessee.
He's been called a Dancing Outlaw in many a magazine.
So they'd booked him at the Grand Ol Opry with the Black Keys.

Jesco left Boone Co with a posse like you ain't never seen.
He had Jay Hill, Mamie and his girlfriend at the time Beverly.
Nashville wanted Jesco like they thought he should be,
but he did everything but dance that night according to Mamie.

Nashville thought this Jesco business done got out of hand.
What started out to be a joke they just didn't understand.
But standing on that Ryman stage sure felt mighty grand!
Was it the Makers Mark that made Jesco get so rowdy with the band?

Jesco had the whole crowd rockin' then he went into a hellbilly rage,
the promoter started begging Mamie to pull him off the stage,
Mamie said "Why you asking me, I don't work for The Man",
they just pleaded with her and said "Because you're the only one that can!"

Then Jesco decided he wanted more whiskey & some Jack's BBQ,
he started to get buck wild and he started to get loose!
Next thing you know the Dancing Outlaw went and lost his dancin' shoes,
and ended up rockin' out with Hank III at LuLu's singin the Nashville Rebel Blues !
Then they got thrown out of every jukejoint honkytonk on Music Row,
just like the lyrics to some outlaw song by David Alan Coe!

Beverly called Cuzn Wildweed to try and track Jesco's dancing shoes down,
They ended up with The Black Keys and went on tour for 3 more towns,
Then Jesco got into a fight with a cabdriver & smacked his head a time or 3
That's when Mamie said,
"Fuck this! - if we're goin to jail it ain't gonna be in Tennessee!"

Then Jesco said that evil forces were conspiring to plot his doom,
So he decided to give a rockstar exorcism to his motel room,
Luckily, they hit the road before the police came,
Jesco said the "Marker's Mark puttin' a mark on him" was to blame!

Nashville wanted Jesco the way they thought that he should be,
but Jesco decided to givem Jekyll & Hyde instead like his friend Hank III.
Was it singin' through his nose that caused such a rowdy outlaw scene?
That posse from Boone County was somethin' like Nashville had never seen!

****************************************
... in respect & memory of Waylon ....

You're right Hoss, sometimes this outlaw business damn sure gets out of hand!

****************************************
More Jesco & Lonesome Liz jamming & rockin' out!

Jesco & Jay Hill have just recorded Jesco's first CD of
all original music and are getting ready to unleash it live
on the public and rock the world!
New CD and JESCO merch available at 
www.JescoWhite.net

Come rock out with Jesco & Jay ... WBGV STYLE!!!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!

OCTOBER 18TH AT THE EMPTY GLASS IN CHARLESTON-10 PM

OCTOBER 30TH @ 123 PLEASANT STREET IN MORGANTOWN

OCTOBER 31ST @ JC MAXIE'S IN CLARKSBURG

NOVEMBER 15TH @ SHAMROCK'S IN HUNTINGTON 10PM
at the MARSHALL UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING!

This Marshall show is a party you will not want to miss!

Check   www.JescoWhite.net  for more details!

http://www.register-herald.com/features/local_story_193145931.html

July 11, 2008

Jesco White: The Dancing Outlaw — The legend lives on

THE OTHER SIDE: By Jeff Stover
Register-Herald Senior Copy Editor

Editor's note: Since Jesse "Jesco" White's dialect is so unusual, his quotes are written as they were spoken in order to capture the full essence of his personality. It's written this way not to poke fun at Jesco, rather to share his unique way of explaining things to those who will listen. Be aware some content is adult in nature. Reader discretion is advised.

MADISON — Most folks got to know Jesco White from the West Virginia Public Broadcasting series "Different Drummer" in a 1991 documentary titled "The Dancing Outlaw" where he shows off his dancing prowess and talks about his family, Elvis and life in general.

Today's generation also knows him by one of his most famous quotes from the documentary: "I'm tired of eatin' sloppy, slimy eggs," which was directed toward his wife's apparent difficulties with cooking fried eggs. The video clip of this segment is now popular on YouTube.com.

In that medium, his MySpace page, "jescorama3000," which is maintained by a friend, describes him as an "Appalachian Shaman" and the "King of the Wild Mountain Dancers."

But after an interview in his small, but tidy, Madison apartment, it appears that he is all that — and a whole lot more. He's sincere, moody, personable and funny — though sometimes irreverent — but most of all, he's real. He suffers hard times, but has a good bit of fun along the way.

Being taken advantage of and "The Miracle Woman"

He has gathered a loyal following over the years, being named in numerous songs and appearing in plenty of movies and music videos.

Most of the songs, he says, mention him without his permission — and with no compensation. But one of the most recent songs, "Legend of D. Ray White" by Hank Williams III, is about Jesco's father — a famous mountain dancer in his own right. The Hank III song was with his blessing, Jesco said.

He's certainly not shy about his displeasure of others making profits from his name and talents. "Yeah, and I mean it's not goin' nowhere. It just ends up in a big partyin', laughin' time and carryin' on, and that's all that comes out of it. And I'm thinking I'm goin' to go higher and bigger and stuff and it don't go nowhere. It's like a dog chasin' its tail in a circle. I'm back where I started, man, and it hurts me now — I've got beautiful talents to dance and stuff — like the plaques and stuff I made ..."

He creates talented woodburnings, some of which he had made for his recently departed mother, Bertie Mae White, known as "The Miracle Woman," who passed away June 1. He had also created hand-carved canes from native Boone County woods, two of which were for his ailing mother before she died. He said she never used them, just admired them and showed them off to visiting friends. He now has either sold them or has them in a nearby shop for sale, " 'cause I can't stand to look at 'em knowin' my mom's gone — that I made them for her, and she's not here to enjoy 'em. And it makes my depression worser knowin' my hands made them for my mother and she's not here to use 'em," he said with his voice trembling, adding, "but I kept her laughter, though, 'til she died — 'til the end."

By the way, she was called The Miracle Woman by folks who knew her because of the loss, grief and lingering sadness she had to endure while not losing her exceptional sense of humor.

Becoming "famous"

When he made his television debut in the PBS documentary, he explained, "That was really true, everything in it. 'Cept they didn't understand what I was tryin' to produce — somethin' that had my talent in it. And it was like a nightmare in hell to produce somethin' that everybody else wants to take advantage of because you have a lack of education. The only education I've got is what I've learned the hard way.

"What little help I did get, what people did help me with, made it worser instead of better because it wasn't enough to do anything with — just make the problems worser. And I've not been doin' no performin' for a long time — just maybe go out to a beer joint now and then and try to make a few dollars or drink or hang out with friends," he said, sighing, "and it's hard to even do that because of the alcohol killing you that way, so it's just like any way you're turnin' you're screwed."

He does wish someone could do something about folks taking advantage of him, saying, "It's goin' to keep me in depression and misery and angry over it 'cause no one's tryin' to help me — protect me. I should have rights as a legend or citizen or somethin'. Now, I've never made it nowhere and I'm still livin' in a honky-tonk jail," he said, chuckling.

But Jesco carries on.

"I'll make it — All I can say is this cat's a hustler," he laughed.

And, as proclaimed in the documentary, he said, "I'm three people. I can do the talent like, I'm a comedian — I tell dirty jokes. I dance a little bit of the bluegrass music or about anything, as far as that goes, if I've got a good buzz. Then, the other part, I do Elvis songs and stuff. Hey, we have a good time, but it's like they want to drive you crazy with it. And sometimes a person's gotta dry out and rest, man, you know. But they don't believe in that, son, they believe 'rock on down,' you know, 'til they fall, I guess." He then mused, "Who wants to be like a cockroach on hot shots staggerin' through life?"

"The gas prices is gettin' scary"

The Dancing Outlaw also is observant about the troubled economy. "Everything's goin' up," he complained. "The gas prices is gettin' scary."

To illustrate his point about money getting tighter and tighter, he told a story about going to a "value-priced" store recently and not finding what he expected. "I got a loaf a bread. I was gettin' ready to check out and it had a little bit of mold on it. Not very much. I don't know if it was an old loaf they'd forgot to change out or what. I said, 'Damn, man, there's enough mold on here to kill everyone in this store.' I said, 'You could bounce a 30.06 off this slice of bread. I can't eat that.' She said 'Oh, Jesco, I'm so sorry about that. Go back there and get you another loaf.' I said, 'You crazy' I'm gonna go get another damn loaf and it might be greener than this one.' I said, 'I'm outta here. I'll go somewhere else.' She said, 'Now don't be mad; I'll get you a fresh loaf.' She was scared — afraid I was goin' to turn her in to the manager. I said, 'No, I ain't goin' to say nothin, honey; I ain't a rat. But I just can't eat green bread.' "

Jesco's personality "distorder" and MTV

"I'm just a miracle, I guess, from God to live with the anger that I've carried, and depression. But I can't depend on the doctor helpin' me. They can help you, but what's the use to help me, givin' me medicine to treat my personality distorder (disorder) when I'm turned back loose in the damn jungle. I can't control all this and I'm just feelin' the way I do inside and I'm honest about myself. But I do pretty good takin' care of myself," Jesco said.

"I'm 51, but I'm not rich or nothin' like that. I just hustle to get by the best I can. And if I don't do it, man, I'm goin' to have it harder and harder, 'cause it ain't goin' to get no easier if you don't. And they want me to go out tonight a little bit and have a little bit of fun. I hope I don't get 10-foot-tall and bulletproof and then come home as a midget."

The "goin' out" Jesco was referring to was shooting by an independent filmmaker for another documentary called "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia," produced by Storm Taylor, which, he says, is expected to be purchased by MTV for release sometime next year. They've filmed in the Madison area three times in the past few months, documenting the life of Jesco and his family. They even filmed his mom while she was in the hospital before she passed away — something Jesco said he wasn't all too happy about. The crew has followed him and his family to several locations around Madison to film different segments. He said "if the documentary makes it," he'll get paid one time for his parts in the film.

He said in one shoot, he was dancing on the back street behind his apartment. "Then the law pulls up and asks us what we're doin' down here. I told them they're workin' on a documentary down here. He said, 'Well, Jesco, we're goin' to give you 15 more minutes to video, then clean these beer bottles up, and you've got to dance us one.' They turned on the police lights on the car and let me dance a bluegrass song to 'em."

"The King"

Jesco is a huge fan of Elvis Presley and proudly performs his songs at concerts, bars and the like, or when asked — especially when some sort of contribution is offered.

While showing off Elvis art hanging on the walls of his apartment, he pours a glass (jelly jar) of Elvis Presley wine and says, "It's one of my collection wines. It's 5 years old, from California — good grape wine."

Then he tells about gathering Elvis memorabilia — and the loss of most of it when a fire destroyed his "Prenter Holler" home. "They burnt my home down. $50,000 worth of Elvis pictures and stuff. That's the only thing that kept me a goin' and happy was collectin' that stuff 'cause Elvis was my favorite singer." He said that episode sent him into another, deeper bout of depression.

Hank III

These days, his popularity seems to be on the rise again, thanks to the World Wide Web and some parts in various films. Plus, his appearance with Hank Williams III in a music video has caught the attention of more than a few.

He praised the youngest of the Williams clan — an "outlaw" in his own right — and was happy to have a part in the video.

"I met Hank III. He's an awesome friend and a nice person, like we are, you know, as people. But when he's on stage, he's a whole differnt character. He does some of his own stuff, a little bit of his daddy's music — mix it kindly up. He's an awesome entertainer and I've performed with him, too, with the French harp. I said I looked like a giant wood roach. I had that big coat on and hat. — I just done the best I could. I can't even play the harp, I was just playin' it on the way I felt. Just backin' him up and stuff, just for a little bit, and I felt real good about it. It helped because he helped me out a little bit with a little bit of money to get coal and wood with 'cause I lived over there in the holler. And he's just a beautiful person that you could meet as a friend."

He was quick to praise a couple of Hank III's songs in particular. "I love that one he made up about my dad, Way Down in West Virginia. Man, that's a killer song. And I dance to that one he plays too, The Mississippi Mud. It says, 'As I take my shot straight from the jug, I like to do a little dance in the Mississippi mud.' Man, it's right. I just love the music to that, the way he made that song. It is awesome. And that kind, that's got rhythm in it that's not too fast or slow so I can dance to it."

Jesco's family

His father, D. Ray White, a well-known mountain dancer who had appeared in the PBS documentary "Talking Feet," was shot and killed in 1985. His documentary led filmakers to discover Jesco, who says he got his talent from his father and misses him dearly. When Jesco was in his wilder days, he remembers his dad coming to get him from the local courthouse. "He'd always tell us boys, 'Now, buddy, I'm tired of comin' down here and gettin' ya'll outta jail.' He said, 'Now the next time you get out, you get out yourselves. I just ain't got the money to bail you out. Damn, you done broke the bank up gettin' you out,' " Jesco said, laughing.

Jesco's sister Mamie, who's likely best known for her four-wheeling escapades in an old blue Ford pickup truck in the original PBS documentary, is still around and joins Jesco on many of his adventures. "She's wilder now than she's ever been, man," he said. She's been known to break up fights at some of the venues where Jesco has performed. "In big towns that's what they get a thrill out of, man," he said, laughing out loud. "What's bad, I'm just afraid somebody's gonna get killed."

As mentioned before, his mother Bertie Mae, "The Miracle Woman," passed away June 1 after suffering a stroke in mid-May. That was one of the most devastating losses in his life, Jesco said. "I sure loved my mom."

Plus, his wife, Norma Jean, is now suffering several illnesses and has been "moved into a home" in Charleston, he said. Jesco hasn't seen her in a while and reckons he will never see her again. But, he said, she told him to carry on without her. "My wife always told me when it got that bad for me to go on and have my life any way I wanted it and enjoy it. But I'll never take this wedding band off as long as I live — 'til when she passes on. Then, I'll take it off."

A movie idea of his own

Since The Dancing Outlaw has been working around and appearing in movies and television, he said he's finally come up with an idea of his own for a movie about his life (now, don't steal this, folks. Jesco would get mad).

He said, "It's a movie about Charlie Daniels and Hank Jr. They're bounty hunters, right? Like Dog is, that detective on TV? ... this'll be in a western is what I'm thinkin' of. I dreamed this up myself — and they're bounty hunters and Elvis Presley's the sheriff and they're goin' out after Big and Rich for stealin' Jesco's name. And Jesco, since he's a legend and has got a clean record, he can sue them boys and it's the law's job to get his name back that they stoled. — Then I'm goin' to be in the part sittin' on a jackass with a big Mexican hat on that says Git-R-Dun — Warner Brothers movies might buy that."

Be sure to keep an eye out for that to make the big screen.

The future

Jesco has hopes that MTV will, indeed, purchase the documentary and it will be popular. He thinks its airing will lead to more, and better, entertainment career opportunities.

He and his family also appear in Hasil Adkins: My Blue Star, a documentary set to be released this fall, about Hasil "Haze" Adkins, another famous Boone County entertainer.

Plus, you might find him tapping away at a Boone County watering hole on a Saturday night — if he feels like it. He says he does that for his fans. "I don't know what they get out of it. But they sure seem to like it."

And if you're in Madison some day, keep an eye out for Jesco and say hi if you see him. He might just tap out a tune for you — especially if you have a little spare cash.

On the Web

There's plenty more about Jesco, his videos, music and family on the Web. Just search YouTube or Google for "Jesco White" and you'll find plenty to get your fill of the world-famous "Dancing Outlaw."

— Stover is a lifelong resident of Raleigh County and enjoys observing the unique personalities living in southern West Virginia. He is a senior copy editor for Beckley Newspapers, where he has worked for more than 20 years.     E-mail: jstover@register-herald.com

FROM KNOXVILLE'S BLANK MAGAZINE:

The long awaited return of "The Dancing Outlaw"

Jesco White and family will take audiences on emotional roller coaster in "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia" this fall

 

On July 30^th, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a resolution that made "In God We Trust" our nation's official motto.  But that wasn't the only significant event that took place on that warm summer day. 

Not too far from Washington D.C. in a little place called Bandytown, West Virginia, a women gave birth to a boy that would one day change the way people looked at rural Appalachian culture.  That newborn's name was Jesco White. 

It was a great day in American history.

Chances are, if you haven't heard of Jesco White, somebody you know has. 

The legend began nearly two decades ago and its origins, some might say, came completely by coincidence.

It all started when a young man named Julian Nitzberg paid the toll to get into West Virginia in hopes of finding a story for his next documentary. 

He was headed to Boone County, West Virginia, a small coal mining area in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.  His plan was to find and feature a man named Hasil Atkins, a one man punk rock band who was known for his one-of-a-kind live performances.

Little did Nitzberg know that along with his unique documentary about the local musical legend, he would discover and introduce the world to what could easily be described as America's most unlikely hero.

Nitzberg found Atkins and began recording the everyday occurrences of his life. 

While filming an Atkins performance at a local bar, a fight broke out.  The fight went on for a few moments but was eventually broken up.  The person who broke up the scuffle was a young lady named Mamie White.  She noticed the cameras and approached Nitzberg after she cleared the tussle, saying that her family was throwing a birthday party the next day.  She insisted that Nitzberg come to her house and meet her brother Jesco. 

Not really knowing what to expect, Nitzberg accepted Mamie's invitation and showed up at the White property the following day with a camera and an open mind.  What he found was one of the most outrageous, but lovable families the world would ever know. 

Audiences were first introduced to Jesco White in 1991 in a documentary called "The Dancing Outlaw."

The original film featured several members of the White family but focused particularly on Jesco.  He is the oldest son of legendary mountain dancer Donald.(D. Ray) White.  The documentary was a success in nearly every angle of measurement, but it's most affective monologue was that of Jesco explaining his life after his fathers tragic death.  "It's left to me to carry on this perdition," says Jesco as he holds his father's tapdancing shoes in one of the movies most identifying scenes.  

But the legend of Jesco White almost never reached the public. 

Nitsberg returned to Kentucky with some footage of Jesco and the rest of the White family.  Appal shop, the film production workshop that Nitzberg worked for thrived on the culture of Appalachian America. 

But after reviewing the tape, Appal shop representatives said that no one would be interested, and they rejected the idea.  Nitzberg then turned to friend and fellow film maker Jacob Young, and together they constructed one of the most recognized underground documentaries of all time.

No one could ever have predicted the mass underground following that the film would accrue, and to this day, even those involved cannot pinpoint the reason for it's success.

"It's just one of those things," said Storm Taylor, producer of the new White Family feature due out this winter. 

"We are talking about a third generation VCR tape that has somehow traveled through America. 

From mechanics to attorneys, it's made it's way across this country in a way that advertisers would love to figure out." 

Storm Taylor (left) & Jesco White

Taylor's past work in the field includes stints of field production for the popular MTV shows "Jackass" and "Wildboyz." 

When Taylor first saw the documentary, he began questioning what it was in particular that made Jesco so likable despite his rustic way of thinking.  "I wanted to find out the reason why he is famous.  I wanted to know why everyone, myself included, liked him so much.  So I started asking people everywhere.  Around town, on the internet, I talked to tons of people that said, I love Jesco" and then I would ask why and they would say, "I don't know, because he's Jesco!"

"He's become a symbol for this subculture.  He's a hero for hillbillies and outlaws, but it's more than that.  I've yet to put a finger on it."

"Obviously he is a good tap dancer.  But he's not famous because of his dancing.  He's famous because he is what he is." 

Storm Taylor (aka Stormboy) was once a staple in the groundling Old City nightlife back in the 90's.  He started out working at Ella' Guru's, Knoxville's first premiere music showplace.  He then took his passion for music and knowledge of the nightclub industry and helped establish The Underground as one of the south's hottest party scenes of it's time.  As the former resident DJ for Lord Lindsey, The Underground, and The Boiler Room, Taylor has seen many cycles of students, punks, and gothlings come of age before his eyes.  More recently, his personal journey has led him away from the nightlife, and towards another vein of culture all together.  Taylor stays busy these days by producing television shows and hosting The Dirt Poor Comedy Tour (Dirtpoorcomedy.com).

Taylor also created  a TV show called Yokel, an unscripted traveling program that aired on Turner South.  The show and his love for outlaw culture eventually led to his first meeting with Jesco.

"I didn't know what it was...but I wanted to meet him, for years and years and one of the things I wanted to do with the show was have an episode with him." 

When Taylor began to make strides toward an actual meeting with Jesco, who seemed to love the opportunity to share his story in the previous films, he found it far more difficult than he anticipated.

Jesco had been extremely mismanaged in the past.  There were a lot of people who had abused him for his celebrity and gave him bad advice in the years following his initial fame. 

So Taylor took a different approach to Jesco and slowly earned the trust of the family before he ever recorded the first frame. 

"I want to come meet you, I want to help you, if you want us to film we will, if you don't then we won't," Taylor said to Jesco before the two met. 

"I must have been one of the few people, if not the only one that said "If you don't want to film, then we won't worry about it."  Everyone else was saying "We'll do this and this, and we will make you thousands," and I was just wanting to help him," explained Taylor.

It took Taylor a while, but eventually he arranged a meeting after expressing his willingness to help.

"He was reclusive at the time," said Taylor.  "He lived in a small trailer in Peytona, WV with no running water.  His property laid in a holler on the end of a dead end road so he knew if anyone was coming."

"The night I met him it was dark.  We came through a gate that said "Do not enter."  I saw a flashlight come from behind his trailer and I had to take a step back.  It was that powerful."  Taylor then put the long-awaited meeting into further perspective, "I've been in a position in my life where I've met a reasonable number of celebrities.  Never been awe struck.  Never...until I met Jesco White.  Nobody can explain his mystique...I'll never forget that first meeting." 

After shaking the chills of his first Boone county experience, Taylor found Jesco to be as friendly as he had imagined.  "He walked right up to me and said "Hello, my name's Jesco White, would you like a cup of coffee?"  With this hospitable inquiry, Taylor realized that his genuine approach had earned  Jesco's respect.

"I asked him what he needed and before I could even complete the question, he said "Wood and Water." 

At the time, White was using a commercial water hose that ran from a spring, through the mountains to an aluminum bathtub up on a hill, with the water hose hanging out of a tree.

"My crew and I got him some water and split a bunch of wood with him and he knew we weren't there to rip him off."

"I asked him if he ever thought about painting his trailer, and again before I could finish he replied, "Brown with green trim."

After a little remodeling and rearranging, Jesco White and Storm Taylor were old friends.

Storm's production team began to record footage.  

"It's not going to rely on the old one (documentary)," Taylor stated.  "The last thing we wanted to do was to make it an update type thing, or make it a before and after.  We wanted to follow the lives of not just Jesco, but the entire family." 

"The film is about the offspring, the siblings, and the roots of Appalachian dancing," summed Taylor.

"It would be nice to reflect on The Dancing Outlaw with the new film, but ultimately, this has to stand on it's own.  You won't have to see The Dancing Outlaw to enjoy this," Taylor assured. 

"There is a hierarchy of D. Ray and Birty Mae.  When D. Ray was shot, Birty Mae became the matriarch.  Then there's brothers and sisters of course, but we are taking it on down to the nieces and nephews.  We've gone to several states for this thing," said Taylor.

Taylor plans on introducing viewers to the "other side of the family" as well.

"There are actually two clans of White's.  We are taking a crew to Minnesota, where the other sector of the family lives.  They all started in West Virginia, but moved away to get a taste of the outside world."

Taylor's crew even caught up with the infamous Billy Hastings, who shares his side of the stories in true Boone County fashion in the film.

The source for the movie's sometimes intense, sometimes upsetting, but always moving grit comes directly from the relationship that was built beforehand. 

"I've had to throw away everything I learned in film school for this shoot," admitted Taylor. 

"I have grown to love these people, and they trust me as much as they can trust anyone.  I feel like the five year process that we have went through with the White's goes a lot deeper than us making this movie," said Taylor.  "These people are our friends."

The documentary will be called "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia." 

The distribution will be handled by MTV home video, a new branch of the flagship music station, but the interest is held by Viacom.  A release date has yet to be nailed down, but Taylor says the film should be hitting film festivals sometime this fall.     

With big names like MTV and Viacom behind the new White family project, the quality of production has risen to new heights.  For the first time ever, audiences will be able to see Jesco White in HD, something that many fans never dreamed would happen.

"I'm overwhelmed," stated Taylor. 

"Their lifestyles are overwhelming, the amount of footage we have is overwhelming.  We have interviews with senators, people like Hank Williams III, Marty Stuart, and so many others.  We could just show Birty Mae's birthday and it would be an amazing film, so we are extremely lucky to be as overwhelmed as we are.  Everybody knows they are wild.  If we can do something to let everyone know how wonderful they are, I'll be satisfied."

"A lot of people don't hold Jessie up to the level that we do because they don't know anything about him," he continued.  "It's funny to think that twenty years from now, they probably will.  These traditions are fleeting, but ultimately they come back around.  We are going to try to embrace the history of their culture and their surroundings," concluded a tired but anxious Taylor.

"The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia...They are crazy, but you just love them.  I can't wait for people to see the family again."

*******

Special shout-out of thanks to Knoxville DJ Mike Kelly of WDVX for originally hooking Storm up with CuzN Wildweed who arranged Storm's first "holler pass" to Boone County. If not for Mike, none of this may have ever happened. Special thanks also to Red & Grace at WDVX for all the good music!

Jesco, family focus of new film

Independent film crew currently documenting Jesco White family and Appalachia's music heritage

Rumors of a Music Television (MTV) Film Crew shooting a film in Boone County circulated through Madison last week and made their way to the Coal Valley News.

"MTV Home Video is starting a new documentary division," Julien Nitzberg, an independent filmmaker, said, confirming that the reports weren't too far off base.

As an independent filmmaker, Nitzberg and his crew are working to construct a video that will be accepted by MTV Home Video for airing sometime next year.

"Documentaries are like the low-budget stepchild of filmmaking," Nitzberg told the Coal Valley News.

Unlike a film about the Civil War, an event that has come and gone in the history books, documenting the lives of people who are still living takes on a life of its own, at times taking the filmmakers in directions they had not originally considered.

"That's the beauty of documentaries, and we are experiencing that ourselves as we document every generation of this family, following them close to a year," Nitzberg said.

According to Nitzberg, the crew has been filming since November and hopes that the film will be released sometime next year.

"They have the right to air it on any of the networks they own," he said.

Jesco White and his family are the subjects of the proposed documentary. According to Nitzberg, he and other members of his crew have known the White family for many years.

"I've known the family for nearly 20 years at this point. Our producer, Storm Taylor, has known Jesco for five years," he said.

According to Nitzberg, the first member of the White family he met was Mamie White at a music concert in 1989. Nitzberg recalled that a fight broke out during the concert and it was Mamie who broke it up, after which they began talking and she offered to introduce him to her family.

"She told me, 'You just have to meet my brother,'" Nizberg said, remembering that he became fascinated with Jesco's dancing ability.

It was Nitzberg who first filmed Jesco White for the film, The Dancing Outlaw, which garnered national attention and culminated in an appearance by Jesco White on the Roseanne Show. (The film is now available on DVD from www.dancingoutlaw.com  )

"I always loved Jesco and thought he was talented. I thought Dancing Outlaw could have been done, and shown the culture of the dance, better," Nitzberg said.

According to Associate Producer Katie Doering, the people she has spoken with have very strong opinions about the film, Dancing Outlaws.

"Some of the first questions I ask those people are, 'What would you like to see?' and 'How can Dancing Outlaws be done better?'" Doering said.

"Some people appeal to his wildness and others are appeal to him for his mountain culture," Doering said.

"Certainly, there are politics in the culture," Nitzberg said. "What we're trying to do is preserve the mountain dancing," he said.

When asked about the stereotypes of West Virginians, Nitzberg commented, "The people of this area should be proud of their heritage."

"You listen to traditional Irish music and Appalachian music and they are the exact same music. Have you been to Ireland? You go to Ireland for example and drive from town to town and you have a pub in every town that has their own unique music and dance." he said.

"Its basically Irish Stomp," Nitzberg said to describe the style of Jesco's dancing.

The purpose of his documentary is not to give the impression that West Virginians live in shacks, barefoot, without running water.

"I go to peoples' houses and it's hard to find someone who doesn't own a big screen t.v.," he said.

"But that's just it. Why does everyone feel it necessary to listen to the same music, or shop at the same stores at the mall?"

When asked why he believed some people, younger generations in particular, may not take pride in their mountain upbringing, Nitzberg replied, "It's not taught; it's something that's not talked about. It's the same with the people in Louisiana. Similar negative things were said of the Blues at one time. Everything looked down on it, but now people revere it. Without Blues, there wouldn't be the music people listen to today," he said.

"With this documentary we are following all the members of the family, all of the generations… Today, some people may look down on Jesco White and this style of dancing, but generations from now, people will be looking back on this as a lost art and will revere it, " Nitzberg said.

Nitzberg's previous work also includes documentaries for PBS about pollution in the Eastern Kentucky valley area, a project he started at Appal Shop in Kentucky right after college.

Both Nitzberg and Doering currently reside in California, though they have been traveling back-and-forth from their homes in the Hollywood Hills to the Appalachian Mountains to film the documentary.

They're not the only ones traveling long distances for the project. Recently a band, Ponty's Camper, from Kentucky was brought in to play for Jesco in order to film a dancing sequence.

"Jesco's brother has a camper that he used to stay and dance at. It's in the film, Dancing Outlaw, called Ponty's Camper. This band actually named themselves after Jesco's brother and The Dancing Outlaw film. Basically, they watched the movie and started a punk rock band and then stood back a moment and said, 'hey! This is our heritage.' So they started playing [the Appalachian music] again." Nitzberg said.

The documentary film crew is trying to contact all former members of Donald Ray White's (commonly referred to as D. Ray's) Bluegrass Band. If you have stories about musicians or performers of the Appalachian Arts, contact Katie Doering, Associate Producer at kdoering2002@yahoo.com.