Without a marching band, it’s not really a parade.
That was the consensus among the filmmakers behind the new feature, “Mayberry Man.” The movie follows the story of an arrogant out-of-towner who is arrested for speeding in a small town, and as punishment, forced to help with the town’s yearly “The Andy Griffith Show”-themed celebration.
As they were planning an integral scene in the movie, they found it increasingly difficult to line up a band to perform in the parade. Disappointingly, they had to consider doing the scene without music.
“We were without a band, and I thought we couldn’t have a parade without some energy, some music,” said Stark Howell, writer and director of “Mayberry Man.”
But a local organizer had one last idea — the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers, a fun-loving jazz band founded by Franklin resident Steve Sutherlin. In the span of a wild few days, the band performed and was filmed for the movie.
The Circle City Sidewalk Stompers will be featured prominently in “Mayberry Man,” which will hopefully be released later this year. Filming of the movie was the first performance the band had done in months due to the pandemic, and the unique gig turned into an emotional reunion for members.
“It was great being back together. We hadn’t gotten to play as one basically since December 2019, so it was special being able to play again,” Sutherlin said. “This has been the highlight of the year 2020 for the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers Clown Band.
“I never, ever thought anything like this would have come about way back when I first started the band. It’s so amazing.”
“Mayberry Man” was a project inspired by family connections and the passions of a fanbase. Howell was a fan of the show and had seen all of the episodes. His father, Hoke Howell, played Dud Wash in two episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show,” and he had seen first-hand how much the show touched people. Hoke Howell used to carry production stills of his time in character in the trunk of his car, so when people recognized him and asked for an autograph, he could do one better and sign a photograph.
So Howell was immersed in “The Andy Griffith Show” world. But he didn’t quite understand the level of fandom the show inspired until he attended a festival dedicated to it. A friend of his, Greg Schell, whose father Ronnie Schell had been a guest performer on the show, suggested he check them out.
“My father used to go to some of these festivals, before he passed away. So I kind of knew about them,” Howell said. “But Greg came back and said that I should go to some of these, and sign autographs for your dad. I thought it was kind of a silly idea — who’d want my autograph? But he said, ‘Oh, you have no idea.'”
Howell was able to get an invitation to the festival, and had a blast over the course of a week.
“For people to be staring at me and asking me questions, it was very surreal — a fish-out-of-water experience,” he said. “I was in the parade, waving to people, and thinking to myself, ‘What am I doing here?'”
A storyboard artist for animation, Howell had written some screenplays and other ideas for film. Reflecting on his experience, he thought there might be a way to capture what he had been through as well as the entire Mayberry ideal.
So Howell created a story. Chris Stone is an arrogant movie star, played by central Indiana-based actor Brett Varvel, and is caught speeding in a small Georgia town. He just happens to be the son of a former actor on “The Andy Griffith Show,” though they had a sour relationship. The judge sentences him to work the town’s Mayberry Fest for one week, meeting fans and signing autographs on behalf of his father.
The story tells of Chris’ transformation and change of heart, brought on by the earnestness of the Mayberry spirit.
“It’s the fanbase that’s the story — that this show is a big part of their lives, still,” Howell said. “Everyone can be a Mayberry person.”
Howell, along with his brother Cort Howell and co-producer Greg Schell, slowly pieced together a cast, tapping former Andy Griffith Show cast members who were still alive, in addition to family members such as Karen Knotts, Don Knotts’ daughter, to commit to the film. They also focused on crowdsourcing funding for the movie.
By the middle of last year, they were ready to go on the film.
For the scene of the big Mayberry Fest, filmmakers traveled to Danville, which hosts a Mayberry in the Midwest Festival. The scene was to feature dozens of extras, the main cast, a parade and a marching band, all filmed over Labor Day weekend in 2020.
Many of the arrangements for filming were handled by Dan Distler, a Greenwood resident who served as Howell’s go-to handler. Distler helped line up the classic cars used in the movie, got extras to serve as the crowds and worked with officials to get permission to film at varying locations.
When searching for a marching band to use, Distler first contacted Danville High School and Cathedral High School, inquiring about their student bands. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic and restrictions on student activities prevented their participation.
Howell assumed that would mean there would be no band. Still, Distler had one more idea. He was aware of the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers from a myriad of other events, and reached out to Sutherlin about performing.
The Circle City Sidewalk Stompers are a 12-person mobile brass band that has been performing in Indiana and around the world since 1976. They have been a staple at Indiana Pacers games, and worked at the Indiana State Fair and with the Indianapolis Colts.
Dressed in colorful clown outfits, the band takes pride in top musicianship of beloved and popular songs, all while providing a festive atmosphere.
When Distler contacted him to be the New Mayberry Hometown Band, just days before filming was supposed to start, Sutherlin was taken aback.
“I told him we’d love to do something like that — it was something we’d never done before. But at the same time, we were looking at 3 1/2 days to put it together,” he said.
Still, Sutherlin said they’d try to make it work. He contacted the band members, seeing if they’d even have enough people to make the performance work. The band was excited, as they had not performed together since before the pandemic, and nearly all signed on. Then Sutherlin called Adam Clutinger, the band’s lead trumpet player and music director.
Though they didn’t have the music they needed yet, Clutinger offered to write the music on his own.
By the next day, he had finished all of the different parts of the music needed, and recorded two sound files to give a sense of what it would sound like.
The filmmaking team loved it.
So on Labor Day, the entire band met in Danville. They had not had a chance to practice the music, so they took time to run through it three or four times before filming was set to start. By the time everything was ready, the band had memorized their parts.
In their wild, colorful outfits, the band played “The Mayberry March” behind an antique fire truck among cheering fans.
The addition was exactly what Howell was looking for.
“They learned that at one night, and got together in the parking lot to practice it a few times. And they knocked it out of the park,” he said. “It really adds to the fun of the whole event.”
With filming finished, “Mayberry Man” is in post-production currently. Howell hopes to find a distribution deal to get it out to people, though it’s still undecided what that will be. They are continuing to raise money to finish aspects of the film, with a crowdsourcing campaign ongoing through Saturday and a fundraiser with the Meridian Street Foundation at the historic Governor’s Mansion in Indianapolis, also set for Saturday.
The event will feature musical performances, including a show by the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers.
“‘The Andy Griffith Show was such as success, and people still love it even today. It’s really neat to be part of something like this,” Sutherlin said. “It was fantastic, and we had such a good time doing something we’d never really done.”
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“Mayberry Man”
What: A film about an arrogant movie star who gets busted for speeding in a small southern town and is sentenced to attend Mayberry Fest, a festival celebrating “The Andy Griffith Show.” Immersed in this modern-day Mayberry, he’s given the opportunity to discover the true meaning of friendship and family.
Local connection: The film features the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers, a mobile brass band founded by Franklin resident Steve Sutherlin. Part of the film was also filmed in Danville.
Support the movie: “Mayberry Man” is in post-production, and filmmakers are hoping to raise additional money to complete the project while they search for a way to distribute it.
A crowdsourcing campaign is going on through May 15. People can donate at supportmayberryman.com/rewards-lpz.
A fundraiser is also planned for 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Mayberry on Meridian is being hosted by the Meridian Street Foundation at the old Governor’s Mansion on North Meridian Street. The event will feature cast members as well as the production team. The Circle City Sidewalk Stompers will also perform.
Tickets are $125 per person, with net proceeds going toward costs associated with finishing the film. More information and admission can be purchased at MayberryOnMeridian.com.
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