DYNAMIC ARTIST INTERVIEW | BRANDON LAGANKE | 1.26.12
Comes out of no where. One day you’re living your own little life, doing whatever it is you do, when all of the sudden you get hit. Straight knocked on your rear. Seconds pass. Minutes. Maybe even days and weeks. Whatever point in your time-line when the “hit” occurs, it’s a feeling full of pure wonderment. Because you’re quite positive you have no clue what the hell is happening — and you absolutely love it.
By now you’re probably asking yourself what the hell are they talking about? Inspiration? They talk about that all the time. Love? That cupid cat picks people off every day. Tell me something I don’t know. Hitting the lottery?
We’re talking ideas. Good, bad, great, ideas are in constant communication with our gray matter. And time never factors in the exact moment, but idea rears her unpredictable head anywhere from the bathroom, in that boring ass 3 O’clock meeting, during sex — wherever she sees fit.
For film director Brandon LaGanke, his latest idea is a project born out of one stellar YouTubing session at his work desk. Slacker. He came across a video of Jeff Steinberg performing gospel music. The sentiments that followed after viewing this highly unique character were slight amusement, a strong interest in the underdog, and a clinging curiosity that forced this director to act on his instincts.
We begin our interview when Brandon LaGanke gets “hit,” with the notion of making Jeff Steinberg, the subject of his and Ruben O’Malley’s documentary film, Tiny Giant.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: When did you know you wanted to do a film on Jeff’s life?
BRANDON LAGANKE: Happened immediately. One day I was messing around on YouTube, and I saw this guy singing. After a couple seconds of watching him I noticed he had no arms, something was going on with his legs, and he was definitely disabled in some way. I thought right then that it would be really interesting to do a documentary on him, a film about the underdog making it. I called Jeff up as soon as I was done watching the video.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: Did it take him long to decide if this was something he’d be interested in pursuing?
BRANDON LAGANKE: No, not really.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, across the street from where we interviewed Brandon.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: Tell us about your partners in making this documentary.
BRANDON LAGANKE: Almost as soon as I decided to work on this, I thought of Ruben O’Malley. Ruben’s an old cinematographer friend of mine who lives out in L.A., and when I spoke to him about Jeff and this project, he loved the idea. From there he was in, and shot most of the film. He’s a pretty amazing guy. Then there’s Chris Coots our editor. He’s been vital to all of this, as he’s helped shape this story so much by providing a great outside perspective.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: Awesome. What kind of film did you guys set out to make?
BRANDON LAGANKE: We wanted to make a film about passion through the face of adversity.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: How does the film open?
BRANDON LAGANKE: With Jeff touring in the U.K. Ruben went along with him and Larry Stegner, Jeff’s tour manager, for a week and lived with them on the road. They toured prisons and churches — it was really weird and weary. We started with the tour because Jeff wanted people to know him as a singer/songwriter first, before anything else.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: How did you stay involved while they were overseas?
BRANDON LAGANKE: Of course I wanted to be over there with Ruben during shooting, but I had to work. Ruben and I spoke everyday though. We’d call, email, everything. We spoke every couple hours when he was over there, staying in touch the entire time. It was pretty cool.
“Adventures in Interviewing” Scene from the Chinese joint in Rockefeller center, where part of our interview was conducted.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: What happened when everyone got back from the UK?
BRANDON LAGANKE: That’s when we really got to know who Jeff was. We learned more about him, especially when we started interviewing the rest of his family.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: Without giving too much away, tell us about his upbringing.
BRANDON LAGANKE: He’s from Allentown, PA and grew up in Good Shepard Hospital, a hospital for the disabled. Because of his disability, he didn’t meet his mom until he was 3 years old and didn’t get a chance to grow up with his family. So right off the bat he was never accepted, he was always an outsider.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: What are your thoughts and views on Jeff?
BRANDON LAGANKE: He’s certainly interesting. I feel like Jeff is constantly searching for success. He’s been in a perpetual state of never giving up and part of it comes from is parents, who gave up responsibility of him when he was born. Now he’s this father, this singer who travels all over the world, constantly trying to prove himself, constantly looking for success. Along with that he also wants to be loved and at 61 years old, he’s still out to prove something.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: And in his pursuit of all this, how have the people in his life been effected?
BRANDON LAGANKE: Jeff has sacrificed a lot. He’s been divorced, but now has to worry about and care for people other than himself. He’s never really had any money and asks a lot of people. There’s also conflict with his mother because of being raised at Good Shepard. When he was 18 he told the hospital he had to leave and that he wanted to start singing. But when he took off, he sued his parents for support.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: Are you serious? I’d love to go more into that, but again I know you guys aren’t done yet. Let’s talk about the trailer, you open it with Reverend Jerry Falwell saying, “Jeff is a completed Jew,” what does that even mean?
BRANDON LAGANKE: That he believes in Jesus, but is Jewish. That also adds to the conflict with his parents.
THE SOUL DYNAMIC: I’m sure. Well there seems to be a lot going on here, the final cut will be intriguing for sure. When it’s all said and done though — what do you want people to get out of this film?
BRANDON LAGANKE: That everyone’s entitled to having passion for something. But in Jeff’s case, he’s one who’s always preaching that he’s a masterpiece in progress, I want people wondering will it ever be finished and at what cost.
Tiny Giant is still in production. The final portions of the film were shot during the Christmas of 2011 in North Carolina with the rest of Jeff’s family.
Examining the intricacies of family and individual ambitions are hard enough on there own. Throw in Jeff Steinberg’s circumstance and the result is a gripping human interest story that hooks one from the start. Nonetheless, we look forward to seeing this strong work in progress in it’s final polished state.
Along with directing documentaries, Brandon LaGanke is a music video director currently living in NYC.
Writer/Photographer: Del Toro Alma
