What did I just watch?
We all know and love Sturgill Simpson for his incredible and game changing country music. Seriously, each album he’s released over the years has its own distinct sound, setting him apart from everybody else in the music industry, and it’s impossible to box the guy into one genre… a true artist in every sense of the word.
From pure neotraditional country, to rock, to bluegrass, and more, the guy can do it all.
Unfortunately, after he dropped his impressive 2021 album, The Ballad of Dood & Juanita, he announced that he was officially done making music on his own. Of course, with Sturgill’s incredible improbability, this could be subject to change.
After the release of the album, he announced:
“I don’t want to say I’ll never make another record, but this five-album narrative was really clear when I moved to Nashville. My wife really helped me carve that out, in terms of how to go about the beginning, middle and end for each chapter. But then after that, I am not sure.
I love the studio. I like sleeping in my bed. I like seeing other people succeed. And I really love helping other people succeed—people like Tyler or Margo or Lucette or anybody else who would be willing to work with me.
I can’t think of any other greater way to use the knowledge or experience—or whatever you want to call it—that I’ve gained from the last seven or eight years, then by helping other people who I’m already impressed with make more music that will improve the musical landscape, as opposed to just 20 more Sturgill records.”
I recently found myself on my monthly Sturgill kick, and decided to take a deep dive into the vaults, as I like to find old videos of my favorite artists, before anybody really knew who they were.
And boy, I had no clue the deep dive would lead to this discovery.
It started when I came across this meme from Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Meme (great account for laughs btw) and found this clip of a yougn Stu looking like he’s about to commit an act of domestic terrorism.
I mean, he looks like he’s hanging out in what appears to be a motel bathroom in only his Super Man underwear, armed to the teeth with guns.
Needless to say, the video is a weird one, but as I read the caption, I realized the clip was from Simpson’s acting debut in the indie film Orca Park, from way back in 2011.
Unless you’re a fan of indie cult films, then you’ve probably never heard of this one, so here’s a little run down, according to imdb:
“A high school science teacher and her sixteen year old student, run away together and take refuge behind the doors of a murky motel room in rural Orca Park, Florida.
When an unhinged private investigator shows up and starts asking questions, the lover’s idyllic world plummets into a well of suspicion, jealousy and deceit.”
So, naturally, I had to keep digging, because I just had to see what the rest of this movie was about, and sure enough, there’s a montage of all of Sturgill’s scenes…
And boy, it’s a wild one.
Check it out:
Here’s the full trailer:
Of course Sturgill has gone on to star in a number of movies and shows including the CBS All Access television series One Dollar, Jim Jarmusch’s horror-comedy, The Dead Don’t Die, Queen & Slim, The Hunt, Materna, and the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon.
That movie is set for release in May of 2023.
