press
{the consensus of the general critical commentary}
to infinity
through perseverance
20 jan 2010 |
iTooDream
Sometimes it’s not a
matter of how, but when. And even after that it’s not a matter of when,
but for how long? I’m sure if you asked the latter question to Jeff Moonie
Jr., it wouldn't be hard to find an answer, to infinity through
perseverance.
It’s a 2005 summer
night in downtown Charlotte. I’m not afraid to admit it now but frankly it
was my first time being in that specific area, looking up at the gigantic
buildings that make up part of the Charlotte, North Carolina skyline. The
exact location escapes me but most likely somewhere on Tryon, go figure.
It was also the first time I met Jeff the musical artist, the film
writer/producer/editor, the talent.
But unless
you sat down and had a conversation with him you wouldn’t know that there
was more to the boxing fan and collector of every hip hop magazine ever
published or at least it seemed that way to me. I recollect seeing
pictures of the UNC alum’s (go HEELS) family members on his fireplace
mantle and the only word that can come to my mind now is indescribable,
because only he can find the right word or words to describe a delicate,
yet precious pass,
marred by the tragic death of sister,
the lost of his
father,
and deferred dreams. I never asked him to find the words. I didn’t have
too.
The hundreds of
pictures that covered the walls of his creative and musical think tank
up-stairs told even more stories, not to mention the words of
encouragement from friends and followers who at some point in time stopped
by to show their support and undoubtedly inspire productivity.
And that was
just the beginning. While there are constant reminders of the past,
deferred dreams are now becoming his reality. Jeff filmed a critically
acclaimed documentary titled
“Donor”
in which he won top prize at the Asheville Film Festival in 2005 as it
detailed his father’s fight and battle with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
Since then,
the award –winning director, producer, writer, and editor has moved out to
California, continuing to pursue his dreams, while impressing upon his
followers those near and afar. Musically, under the stage name Jeff Lucky,
he recently released an official leak from the upcoming album
Soul Motivation.
In addition, Jeff’s original songs and lyrics were featured in an episode
of CBS’s Cold Case back in November 2009.
In addition
to music, he’s continuing to make an impact through film with his company
Dark Prometheus Films. Says Jeff in a phone interview from California, “I
realized that I couldn’t do one without the other,” in reference to his
passion for continuing work in both music and film. To see more of Jeff’s
work, visit darkprofilms online at
http://www.darkprofilms.com/.
And on that
cool summer evening… that started for me with a drive through the breezy
mountains of Asheville, NC from Tennessee, to meeting up with a few
fraternity brothers exploring downtown of the Queen City, refusing to pay
to enter a night spot where the cover was not in the budget of a grad
student and a couple of undergrads…we waited! Soon after I would first
learn of Jeff’s perseverance as we all pitched in to help sell CD’s of the
well received
Love
Letters the E.P.
out of the front seat of his black Ford Explorer. And it was right then
and there I realized the potential. The same potential Jeff already knew
existed. |
