Against All Odds

DJ Status Featured in Fairfield County Weekly

2009-01-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

It has been said that the road to success is a long and winding one. Enfield-based emcee Big Stat has seen his fair share of obstacles on his, from the murder of his mother, when he was only 12 years old, to coming to the decision to dissolve Hushh, the duo he spent the past half decade building with his musical partner and best friend, Diadem.

“It wasn’t just a decision I made overnight,” Big Stat says of going solo. “It was difficult, but down in my heart I knew it was the right decision for myself.” He adds, “There’s no beef, but as friends and artists we just went separate ways.”

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HUSHH Interviewed by Billboard Magazine

2008-07-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

H.U.S.HH Appears Live on ABC News Now

2008-05-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

DJ Status and Diadem the Limbless Rapper were joined by Method Man on ABC News Now last week. The guys appeared live on What's The Buzz to talk about the state of the hip-hop genre these days and to promote themselves as artists.

Click here to view the segment.

H.U.S.HH Launches New Web Site

2008-05-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Visit their new home on the web.

H.U.S.HH on SIRIUS

2008-05-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

On May 10th, H.U.S.HH joined DJ Whoo Kid on Shade 45 on SIRIUS Radio.

New Trailer Released

2008-04-30T18:17:00.001-07:00

Front: Georgia Pantazopoulos, Doug Moore
Back: John Iozzo, John Kane, Mark Covino, Gary Monteleone, Ralphie Otero

Last night we debuted our new trailer for the feature length documentary “Against All Odds” at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont at the Burlington College Film Festival. The reaction was fantastic and the night was a great success for us and also many of our friends and crew members who showed off some of their other projects as well. We also were able to arrange having Doug and Gary attend as special guests.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

Brand New Trailer Being Shown Tonight!

2008-04-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

The new trailer for the movie "Against all odds" will be debuted tonight.

Burlington College Film Festival
Higher Ground
1214 Williston Road
So. Burlington, VT 05403

6pm, admission is free.

We will also be showing the music video "Ring The Alarm" directed by our Director of Photography Georgia Pantazopoulos.

H.U.S.HH to appear on SIRIUS Radio May 10th

2008-04-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

DJ Status and Diadem the Limbless Rapper will join DJ Whoo Kid on G-Unit Radio on May 10th. Tune in to SHADE 45 on SIRIUS Radio.

From The Late News Department

2008-04-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

Crew members Georgia Pantazopoulos and Nate Beaman have been recognized for their efforts on other projects.

Both Nate and Georgia worked in the grip department for Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Frozen River. Nate also worked on two other Grand Jury nominated films Sugar and Choke.

You can read about Nate and Georgia here and here.

Georgia is currently working as a best boy grip on the new Martin Scorsese picture Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo.

New Web Home

2008-04-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

You can now find more details about our documentary at dougandgary.com. We will continue to improve the page, but it will have to do for now.

Hey, we aren't curing cancer here.

What is this movie about?

2008-04-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Ring The Alarm: A Comprehensive Guide on How to Blow Up

Hip-Hop needs to be saved. A once significant revolutionary art form that crystallized the struggle of a people and the hope for relief has been beaten to death. The love of art and social commentary has largely been replaced by greed and self-imposed thematic limitations.

Possibly more important than the salvation of the art form, is how that would affect those who perform it, and those that consume it. Who can the genre turn to for inspiration? Two suburban white kids of course.

These guys are more than just your run of the mill posers from well to do families with phony rage and nothing to say. Doug Moore and Gary Monteleone have things to say and they demand to be heard. Forgive them if they lack patience for songs about money, cars, and ho’s. They just can’t relate.

Doug Moore was born without arms and legs, given up to an orphanage and raised in a foster home. Despite his obstacles, Doug learned to fend for himself – more so than many people with a clean bill of health.

Gary Monteleone’s mother was murdered when he was a teenager. He supports himself by working in the roofing business all day long and spending every free moment creating music and trying to make connections on the industry. He often falls asleep at his computer in the early hours of the morning in the middle of the task.

Doug (aka Diadem) and Gary (aka Status) formed a group they call H.U.S.HH (Help Us Save Hip-Hop.) Their goal is to bring hip-hop back to its roots. Conscious music. They rhyme about things that people can relate to – common problems and common desires. H.U.S.HH is about positive outlooks and playing the cards you’re dealt with the intent to win.

How do guys like these make an impact? The industry they love has moved to exclude anyone with a story that is genuine. The style they grew up loving is something of a niche or a novelty these days. Hip-hop was an explosion of originality that took the world by storm in response to a stale music landscape. These days hip-hop is filled with everything but revolutionaries – how can someone with something unique to say be heard?

Doug and Gary work tirelessly to make connections and promote themselves. They are true grassroots artists. They hope that if they work hard enough and endure the lonely nights of half filled shows with no payday, that you will hear them.

Do they have the talent to make it? Will they be taken seriously? Will they stay true to their pledge that the purity of the music is more important than their personal success?

Director of Photography - Pantazopoulos Featured in Seven Days

2008-03-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

Final Cut
Can film-program graduates afford to stay in Vermont?

Georgia Pantazopoulos, a 2007 graduate of Burlington College, currently works as a freelance lighting technician for commercial clients such as Seventh Generation. She finds that the best work strategy for her is to divide time between Burlington and Boston — and between practicality and creativity. “Boston has just exploded with work,” she says. “Part of it is tax incentives, and part is the wake behind Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. That film just hit a ‘gritty street’ nerve or something, because there are seven films scheduled to begin Boston production in February.”

To Pantazopoulos, the two cities can seem more like one. She often finds herself grabbing rental equipment in Massachusetts to augment the increasingly short supply up here. “People know that they can call me, and I’m in a position to grab what they need,” she says. “It’s one of the great things about the filmmaking scene in Burlington. There isn’t this catty unwillingness to help that exists in a lot of other places.”

HUSHH Featured on Radio Blog

2008-02-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

Stat and Dia get some credit for being on their grind.

Hushh illustrated perfectly what true hustle is really all about for an up and coming artist who wants to make it. It’s about jumping in your car and driving for nearly four hours to shows you have no in at just for the opportunity to possibly, maybe, be able to network with somebody. It’s about finding where those popular mainstream artists are performing and making yourself known in a positive way.

Shut This Down Video Released

2007-12-13T11:39:00.001-08:00

Ring The Alarm Director of Photography Georgia Pantazopoulos directed and edited this new music video for H.U.S.hh.

Nate Beaman is Redrock's Featured Filmmaker

2007-11-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

Ring The Alarm camera operator Nate Beaman has been recognized as Redrock's Featured Filmmaker. Nate has done some extensive work on this and other projects we've been involved in, so we know first hand the kind of work he produces. Of course, we hold Nate in the highest regards and are delighted he is receiving the kudos he deserves. According to VCAM:

Nate uses a Redrock-manufactured lens adaptor that allows him to use 35mm prime lenses on his Panasonic HVX200 HD camera. The result is an astoundingly shallow depth of field that accentuates the camera’s already very film-like look. Our congratulations go out to Nate for the recognition.

Nate blogs at Final Cut User.

Who is H.u.s.hh?

2007-11-15T20:03:00.000-08:00

H.u.s.hh is the hip-hop group our documentary focuses on. Their goal is to bring back conscious hip-hop that was more evident in the 80's. Positive themes and relatable lyrics. They probably do a better job of explaining themselves. Here are some relevant myspace links:

The Documentary

The Crew:

H.u.s.hh

Diadem

Status

Six Six

Wild Bill

Dregz

The Filmmakers:

Mark

John

Georgia

Nate

What Is Ring The Alarm?

2007-11-07T15:49:00.001-08:00

Ring The Alarm is a new documentary my partner Mark and I have been working on for nearly a year. I wanted to start a blog to document the entire process, but making the movie itself is hard enough sometimes, but it is better late than never.

For now, I will leave you with the teaser trailer we came up with a few weeks ago. In future entries I will go into depth about the project. More detailed trailers to come!