The Celtibillies are a band out of Roanoke, Virginia who provided the lion's share of the music heard under many of scenes in the movie. Their brand of Celtic / Appalachian / old time music was the perfect fit for this movie. I first heard The Celtibillies because my sister is married to the banjo player. Both he and my sister also help me with my creative activities by reading and providing notes for my screenplays. I had always said that I wanted to use their music because music in this Celtic / Appalachian tradition is very moving and evocotive.

The Celtibillies also performed at the first screening in Toledo at the Valentine Theatre on November 3, 2001.

The Celtibillies are Jack Hinshelwood on fiddle,guitar and vocals; Becky Barlow on hammered dulcimer, bodhran, bass, egg, keyboards, and vocals; Tim Sauls on banjo, bouzouki, guitar and vocals; and Jeff Hofmann on upright bass.

In the summer of 2003, Celtibillies performed as part of the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington DC. This multi-national event was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and drew folk musicians from all around the world.

Celtibillies can also be heard occasionally on the NPR radio program Thistle and Shamrock hosted by Fiona Ritchie. Click here for a brief mention of Celtibillies in an NPR teaser.

Music for the movie can be heard on their three releases, Come Sing and Dance, Greenwoodside, and The Shoemaker's Child , all available through Zygoat Records via their website www.celtibillies.com and through Amazon.com.

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I learned of the Christian rock group Sanctus Real through our first assistant cameraman, Adam Lane. The young men who make up the group were friends of Adam's and one day he brought me their CD. I listened to it and absolutely loved it. Sanctus Real agreed to allow their music to be a part of the movie and I am forever grateful.

Sanctus Real is Matt Hammitt on vocals, Chris Rohman on Guitars, Mark Graalman on drums, and Steve Goodrum on bass.

The music for the movie was taken from their Nothing to Lose CD on SpinAround Records.

Since completion of the movie, Sanctus Real has gone on to greater success. They have recently been signed by Sparrow Records and have started a national tour.

Check them out at www.sanctusreal.com

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I was introduced to this band by a friend in the advertising business. He lent me their self-titled CD and although I liked the entire disc, I particularly fell in love with two cuts, Real Love and Radio. In the end, I used a total of three tracks from BadMonkey and would have liked to have used more.

In one of those "small world" instances, I learned that the front man for BadMonkey is the brother of a guy I used to do stand-up with, I attended a portion of my high school years with another member and a third member is a guy I met through the company that did our post production sound.

BadMonkey was Rick Neason on lead vocals and guitar, Richard Lange on lead guitar, Jim Foltz on bass and vocals, Dan Schroeder on keyboards and vocals, and Bill Lenhart on drums and percussion.

BadMonkey is no longer performing together but you can find information about The Rick Nease Band at RickNease.com. He continues to make great music and I suggest you check it out.

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Tony Zsigray and I go back a long way. We were pals in high school and roommates for a brief period in college. We remained friends and when I found that I needed incidental music for many of my scenes, Tony was my first choice. He took time off from his elementary school music teaching career to provide all of the incidental music for the movie. I was amazed at how well he was able to capture the essence of the Celtic music and provide a moving soundtrack to In The Company Of Strangers. There are two scenes in particular that I find very moving and it is in good part due to his understated yet sensitive application of music.

Tony can be heard every Sunday as the Musical Director for St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Toledo, Ohio.

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Unfortunately This is Forever was not. This punk band played in the Toledo area for a short time and I met the driving creative force behind this band through Scharren Studios. After much proding, Bobby Fredericks provided me with a CD of some of their work and I discovered a piece that I felt worked well under the initial fight scene.

I am grateful to Bobby and the other members of this now defunct band for their contribution to In The Company Of Strangers.

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