August Newsletter

Greetings, scare-friends! 

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a season for Antler Hill. Neil's launched himself into a TON of new scoring projects all at once: 

• He'll be one of two composers working with the North Carolina team producing the dark fantasy series "Dusk."

 

• After completing the score for the short film "Wrong Girl" this past spring, he's been asked to work on another upcoming short film by the same director. 
• Production has begun on a short film addressing the subject of human trafficking, and Neil will be providing a score for that project. 
• We have an author friend who is putting her short horror story "Anniversary" on the screen, and he'll be scoring that as well. 
• He's also creating a theme song and original tracks for use during event performances by the superhero group "The Ultimate Experience." 
• And that's just the projects that we have the freedom to tell you about!! 

Meanwhile, Jessica is working on some new projects as well. 

• She's building up a stash of knitted goods - fingerless gloves, eyelet scarves, and cat hats - to add to the "artistic endeavors" she brings to the table. Those will make their debut on September 9 at 1Spark in Spartanburg and will be available til the warm weather of 2018 drives away interest. 

• In addition to commissioned pencil portraits, she's also recently started offering "Paint Parties," a more intimate take on the trending paint night venues - she meets parties of 4 or more in homes, churches, or parks for an evening of creativity. At just $25 a person (and discounts are available for larger groups!), these make for affordable, fun, casual get-togethers that leave you with your own masterpiece to take home. All supplies are provided. 
• Most recently, being a licensed massage therapist, she's introduced chair massage to the event table (whenever floor space will afford it) and that's been a big hit! If you've been looking for a massage therapist, Jessica also does table massage out of the home, so send us a message if you're interested. 

With all that's been going on, we're actually grateful that August and September are a slower season this year. (And October's going to be a doozy!!) 

• August 12 - Cape Fear Comic-com 
• August 20 - special appearance with the Dusk team at Charlotte Comic-con 
• August 26 - Zombie Walk 
• September 9 - 1Spark 
• September 10 - FloCon 

We also are taking part in the new series put on by the Chapman Cultural Center - performing live at various outdoor spots in downtown Spartanburg from 5-7:30 on the following nights: 

• August 18
• September 8, 15, & 22 

We've also made some major updates to the webpage to make all of our eclectic offerings easier to discover, so check it out! Don't forget you can order t-shirts and CDs direct from our providers, and let us know if anything else strikes your fancy!

This just in!

We're moving our website from antlerhillMUSIC.com to antlerhillARTS.com.

When we adopted the formal band name earlier this year (formerly known as simply Neil Lee Griffin), our intention was to make the distinction that this is not a one-man-singer-songwriter, this is a team. We are a husband and wife band performing with a full orchestral sound... and there's a lot more to us than just our stage presence.

We hope this change will better reflect our business as a whole, which encompasses not only the performances of the band Antler Hill, but also Neil's skill as a composer, Jessica's drawings/paintings/crafts, and her massage talents. We are Antler Hill, but may it never be said of us that we are a one trick pony!

We'll be making a formal announcement when the new site goes live. Obviously we'll need some time to make changes to the website layout to make room for all the new material, but we wanted to tell you NOW that we've got some exciting changes rolling out soon.

Have a positively scary week, everyone!

A Cool Spring Breeze

It's been a while since I've done any blogging but... it's time for an update! The sun sets on another glorious spring evening in the upstate, the breeze is blowing through the windows, and all is well at the Griffin home.

Kitty Pillow

We've finally found ourselves a couple of weeks off between shows, and we're most grateful for the breather. We took the bikes out last weekend - hit the Swamp Rabbit Trail for a bit of fresh air. Hoping we'll log a few more miles this weekend too. You should totally come with us!!

While we're enjoying the relaxed evenings at home, Neil's in the studio working on a couple of exciting projects - due to be completed this week is his score to the new short film by Third Mind Films called "The Wrong Girl." It's a story we can all relate to - trying our best at all sorts of things and just being wrong for all of them... and the hope of finding our niche where we can make a difference in the world.

Next up for film scoring is "Bound," a film that will address the dark subject matter of human trafficking. This one hasn't been filmed yet but Neil's secured the position of composer and it'll gain him a mention on IMDb!

Our next activities will be a week from now, and it'll be a whirlwind - on Saturday 4/29 we'll be at the Prince of Peace Craft & Gift Fair in Greer from 9-3, then we'll leave from there and drive out to Spartanburg to perform as part of the Spring Fling between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. Then on Sunday we'll be back in Spartanburg at the Chapman Cultural Center between 2 and 4. Please come say hi, hear us play, and check out the creative talents of the artists of the upstate!

Jessica's going to be out of town (and out of the country) over the following two weekends visiting her brother, sister-in-law, and new niece (!!) in Japan, but we'll hit the ground running again when she gets back, starting with a show at Stomping Grounds in Greer from 7-9pm.

That's all for now. Stay tuned and keep positively scary!