Two years ago, Tony Jillson was asked to contribute music for a short film about Cynthia Elbaum — a friend of his who was killed while covering the Chechen/Russian war in 1994 as a photojournalist.

“The music was well received, but it was recorded with many computer parts,” he recalls. “Some things sound great coming from computer, but I realized some things need the human touch. There are so many nuances and details that are nearly impossible to get by programming.”

While the process of re-recording all of the parts with live performers was more time- and money-consuming than he’d envisioned, Jillson has finally surfaced from his Ratite Studios with For Cynthia — the fully realized, eight-song version of his audio ode to a fallen friend.

“It’s currently available online at my website [birdwaves.com] as well as Turn It Up! in Northampton and Elmer’s Store in Ashfield,” he says. “I’d like to play it live, and think it deserves to be heard that way, so we’ll see. All the musicians involved are up for it, and I’ve applied for some grants to help make it happen, but it’s definitely an uphill battle.”

 

Giving Creedence: In other news, it appears that the man most famous for penning the tune “My Own Prison” may soon end up in one. Creed frontman Scott Stapp has been making Facebook videos in recent weeks chronicling his attempts to press charges against financial institutions he claims robbed him of millions.

At one point during one of the 15-minute video posts (later removed from the band’s Facebook page, but uploaded to Youtube), Stapp reveals that he is broke and living in his car and a Holiday Inn.

According to TMZ.com, Stapp’s soon-to-be ex-wife Jaclyn Stapp recently went to court seeking to place a 60-day psychiatric hold on him. The celeb gossip site went on to report that divorce papers asserted that Stapp is “irrational, incoherent, delusional, psychotic, dangerous and needs to be committed to a mental facility again,” — referring to his 72-hour psych hold last month.

While he’s attempting to crowdsource his new album and book (as of press time, he had acheived only $522 of his $480,000 goal), Stapp has hit the brakes on his social media content creation, stating only, “I’m going to step back and let God control everything from here on in.”

 

Lord, is he busy: Last, but not least, the Valley’s own “Lord” Russell Brooks also checked in to report solo efforts, mood-changing meds and much more.

“I’m working on a new solo album, yes. And it’s more gentle and peaceful than some of my other works,” he revealed. “I have also co-written a play with Jason Mazzotta about Elvis and his experience with LSD. It’s a very funny comedy starring some of the Valley’s most talented musicians and we’re looking for a spring/early summer date on that.”

More immediately, Brooks can be found holding court at Easthampton’s Sonelab Studios on Saturday, Dec. 13, performing for part of the venue’s Cirque du Meat concert. And Dec. 31 at First Night Northampton, he’ll front his Moody Blues tribute band Voice In The Sky.•

Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.