Sunday, 2 November 2025
This year, I had the pleasure of working with a couple of student directors on short films which had me playing roles in the law enforcement field.
"The Scarlet Card" is a comedy spoof of the 1950's detective "film noir" genre. In it, I played Leutenant Goggins, the by-the-book superior officer to Detective Sullivan, the son of the recently deceased and highly decorated Detective Sullivan senior. My character struggles to find ways to get the young Det. Sullivan, a perpetual man-child who plays with Transformers and paddle balls at his desk, to take his job more seriously. My character theatens to fire him if he doesn't shape up, but when the young detective is approached by a seductive, myselterious woman with an offer he can't refuse, his future is suddenly in jeopardy...
The other law enforcement-themed film I was in was "Having Your Flag Out," another 1950's detective "film noir" production. In this dramatic art film, I play Detective Edwards, whose partner, Detective Jones, is a chain-smoking, hard-drinking slacker who is always on the edge of losing his job - and his sanity. My part in the film is short: Detective Edward accuses Jones of slacking off... again... Afterward, Detective Jones leaves their precinct office and begins a journey of self-discovery in the mean - or, more appropriately, strange - streets of Chicago. (This film was already shown at the 2005 Los Angeles Student Film Festival and was a semi-finalist at the 2024 Blow-Up International Arthouse Filmest!)
Is there a place for me on "NCIS"??? Am I "Chicagp PD" material? I'd like to think so, but you be the judge... Watch both films in the "Viewing Room" page.
Please support independent film makers...
Thursday, 16 October 2025
I received a sneak-peak at a couple of short films that I acted in earlier this year.
"Homesick" tells the story of a mother & adult daughter struggling to rebuilid their relationship after years of estrangement. I play Chuck, the well-meaning step-father who tries his best to keep the peace in his house during the Christmas holiday while nudging his head-strong step-daughter to reconcile with her mother.
"Am I Alive?" tells the story of a paramedic team and their unraveling working relationship: one is a jaded and overworked veteran of the service who has been pushed to the breaking point due to difficulties in his personal life, the other is a young, idealistic recent EMT school graduate who believes that she can affect lasting change in her community. I play Alan, a single father of a teenage son who refuses medical help from the EMT team for chest pain, only to have them return to his home hours later while in the middle of a full-blown cardiac arrest.
Both films will be making the film festival rounds in 2026. I look forward to seeing these on the big screen!
Pleae support independent film makers.
"Homesick" tells the story of a mother & adult daughter struggling to rebuilid their relationship after years of estrangement. I play Chuck, the well-meaning step-father who tries his best to keep the peace in his house during the Christmas holiday while nudging his head-strong step-daughter to reconcile with her mother.
"Am I Alive?" tells the story of a paramedic team and their unraveling working relationship: one is a jaded and overworked veteran of the service who has been pushed to the breaking point due to difficulties in his personal life, the other is a young, idealistic recent EMT school graduate who believes that she can affect lasting change in her community. I play Alan, a single father of a teenage son who refuses medical help from the EMT team for chest pain, only to have them return to his home hours later while in the middle of a full-blown cardiac arrest.
Both films will be making the film festival rounds in 2026. I look forward to seeing these on the big screen!
Pleae support independent film makers.
Thursday, 25 September 2025
If you are in the Seattle, WA area on Saturday, October 4th, you can see the "Middle of Nowhere" music video play at the Diwa Filipino Film Festival of Seattle at the Wing Luke Museum. It will run during a film block starting at 11:00am titled, "Sound Out, Stand Up!," a collection of short films showing "Filipino's special relationship with music."
The "MON" team is very happy to be included in this festival.
This is the event program.
The "MON" team is very happy to be included in this festival.
This is the event program.
Saturday, 13 September 2025 &
Sunday, 14 September 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video played locally in the Chicagoland area at two festivals on the same weekend!
First, it played at the Lake County Film Festival in Greyslake, IL at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts building on the campus of the College of Lake County on Saturday, September 13th. It shared the bill with seven other music-themed short films in a film block titled, "Music Narratives."
First, it played at the Lake County Film Festival in Greyslake, IL at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts building on the campus of the College of Lake County on Saturday, September 13th. It shared the bill with seven other music-themed short films in a film block titled, "Music Narratives."
Then on Sunday, September 14th, "Middle of Nowhere" played at the 2nd annual Oak Park, IL Film Festival at the Madison Street Theatre in my hometown of Oak Park, IL, where it was featured in a film block titled, "Making Good" - a collection of uplifting short films meant to celebrate life's triumphs and the endurance of the human spirit.
And, it was here where "MON" received it's SIXTH nomination for Best Music Video!
We on the "MON" team are, again, grateful and humbled for the honour.
And, it was here where "MON" received it's SIXTH nomination for Best Music Video!
We on the "MON" team are, again, grateful and humbled for the honour.
Saturday, 16 August 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video wins "Best Music Video" honours at the
2025 Portland Under the Stars Film Festival in Portland, OR
!The "Middle of Nowhere" music video CONTINUES to surprise! It was presented with the award for Best Music Video at the Portland Under The Stars Film Festival today in Portland, OR at the McMineman's Mission Theatre. This one caught me completely off guard - I wasn't expecting this... Everyone on the "MON" team are grateful and humbled by this honour. .
Watch the moment here.
Watch the moment here.
Monday, 15 July 2025
The city of Portland & the state of Oregon has been VERY GOOD to the "Middle of Nowhere" music video. It has been selected for inclusion in the inagural "Portland Under the Stars" (PUTS) Film Festival, taking place on Saturday, 16 August 2025 starting at 3:00pm PT at the reknowned McMinamen's Mission Theatre, located at 1624 NW Glisan St, Portland, OR.
"MON" is part of a lineup that will include short films, documentaries, animation, music videos, and more.
And... we picked up our FIFTH nomination for Best Music Video!
Travis, Michael, and the band and I would like thank the voting committee of the PUTS Film Festival for including us in this year's lineup.
Grateful, humbled, and very happy!
"MON" is part of a lineup that will include short films, documentaries, animation, music videos, and more.
And... we picked up our FIFTH nomination for Best Music Video!
Travis, Michael, and the band and I would like thank the voting committee of the PUTS Film Festival for including us in this year's lineup.
Grateful, humbled, and very happy!
Sunday, 29 June 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video wins "Best Music Video" honours at the
2025 Interrobang International Film Festival in Des Moines, IA
."Middle of Nowhere" picked up the "Best Music Video" honour at the 2025 Interrobang Film Festival at the DesMoines Arts Festival in Iowa today!
This is the fourth overall nomination for the music video in this category and its SECOND win (the first being from the Oregon Short Film Festival in April 2025).
We would like to thank everyone on the voting committees at the festival for this wonderful honour!
This is the fourth overall nomination for the music video in this category and its SECOND win (the first being from the Oregon Short Film Festival in April 2025).
We would like to thank everyone on the voting committees at the festival for this wonderful honour!
Sunday, 18 May 2025
My fourth TV commercial ever started airing this past week!
This ad is from Chicago's Regional Transit Authority (RTA), the managing body of the the three commuter systems in the Chicagoland region - the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA - the subway and elevated trains within the city of Chicago), Metra (the suburb-to-city commuter rail) and PACE (the suburb to city bus lines). As the ad says, the RTA is facing a funding shortage from the state of Illinois. If the state doesn't commit to fully funding mass transit, the region will face devistaing service cuts of up to 40%, leading to more crowded trains and buses and longer commute times. This is one in a series of ads encouraging riders to contact their local congress people and voice their support for funding state transit.
This ad is from Chicago's Regional Transit Authority (RTA), the managing body of the the three commuter systems in the Chicagoland region - the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA - the subway and elevated trains within the city of Chicago), Metra (the suburb-to-city commuter rail) and PACE (the suburb to city bus lines). As the ad says, the RTA is facing a funding shortage from the state of Illinois. If the state doesn't commit to fully funding mass transit, the region will face devistaing service cuts of up to 40%, leading to more crowded trains and buses and longer commute times. This is one in a series of ads encouraging riders to contact their local congress people and voice their support for funding state transit.
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video continues to make the film festival rounds!
If you are in the Ruttherford, NJ area on Friday, May 16th, stop by the Williams Center at 15 Sylvan St.,Rutherford, NJ, where the video will be showing at 1:00pm in Cinema #2. IUnfortunately, I will be unable to attend in person, but I am excited, honoured, and grateful to have the video featured in this year's program.
If you are in the Ruttherford, NJ area on Friday, May 16th, stop by the Williams Center at 15 Sylvan St.,Rutherford, NJ, where the video will be showing at 1:00pm in Cinema #2. IUnfortunately, I will be unable to attend in person, but I am excited, honoured, and grateful to have the video featured in this year's program.
Sunday, 27 April 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video wins "Best Music Video" honours at the Spring 2025 Oregon Short Film Festival in Portland, OR!
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Monday, 21 April 2025
Of all of the film festivals that the "Middle of Nowhere" music video has been honoured to be included, THIS is the one I really hoped that would happen!
The Hollywood Theatre is an old-time movie palace in Portland, OR build in 1926 that has been rehabbed over the years and turned into a state-of-the-art, non-profit community movie theatre that shows major motion pictures and smaller, independent films from all around the world. In 2017, The theatre partnered with Portland Internationla Airport (PDX) to create a small, free movie theatre inside the main passenger terminal to provide passengers a space to unwind and watch independent short films by Oregon film makers while waiting for their flights. (Beause I am a former Oregon resident, worked with a Portland-based production company, and shot it entirely in Oregon, "MON" qualified!)
The Hollywood Theatre @ PDX has a revolving program that changes every quarter. "Middle of Nowhere" can now be seen on the big screen starting today with eight other Oregon-made short films FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS! The video has the potential to be seen by thousands of people!...
Here is this quarter's short film lineup.
As a singer/songwriter and actor, this makes me very, very happy! This video is now part of the history of the Hollywood Theatre. My team at Sheilds Films and I created something that now tangibly connects me to the city and state that I STILL love! THIS is plenty of an award for me… This is enough!
I’ll be flying in on Thursday nite for the film maker’s reception on Friday nite….
And then... there’s the Oregon Short Film Festival on Sunday, April 27th, where we're nominated for Best Music Video…
SO GRATFUL AND HAPPY!!!
Thank you to EVERYONE who made this journey possible...
The Hollywood Theatre is an old-time movie palace in Portland, OR build in 1926 that has been rehabbed over the years and turned into a state-of-the-art, non-profit community movie theatre that shows major motion pictures and smaller, independent films from all around the world. In 2017, The theatre partnered with Portland Internationla Airport (PDX) to create a small, free movie theatre inside the main passenger terminal to provide passengers a space to unwind and watch independent short films by Oregon film makers while waiting for their flights. (Beause I am a former Oregon resident, worked with a Portland-based production company, and shot it entirely in Oregon, "MON" qualified!)
The Hollywood Theatre @ PDX has a revolving program that changes every quarter. "Middle of Nowhere" can now be seen on the big screen starting today with eight other Oregon-made short films FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS! The video has the potential to be seen by thousands of people!...
Here is this quarter's short film lineup.
As a singer/songwriter and actor, this makes me very, very happy! This video is now part of the history of the Hollywood Theatre. My team at Sheilds Films and I created something that now tangibly connects me to the city and state that I STILL love! THIS is plenty of an award for me… This is enough!
I’ll be flying in on Thursday nite for the film maker’s reception on Friday nite….
And then... there’s the Oregon Short Film Festival on Sunday, April 27th, where we're nominated for Best Music Video…
SO GRATFUL AND HAPPY!!!
Thank you to EVERYONE who made this journey possible...
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Monday, 14 April 2025
:The next film festival stop for the "Middle of Nowhere" music video will be in Portland, OR for the Oregon Short Film Festival, taking place on Sunday, 27 April 2025 at the Clinton Street Theatre, 2522 SE Clinton St. in Portland, starting at 2:00pm PDT. The video has been nominated for Best Music Video and received an incredible review from the Film Festival Circuit podcast! If you are in the Portland area and want to attend, I'll meet you there!
Click the image above to hear a review of the "Middle of Nowhere" music video from the Film Festival Circuit podcast!
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This is the third nomination for the "Middle of Nowhere" music video in the Best Music Video category at a film festival! The first was at the Oak Park IL Film Festival in September 2024; the second was at the Chicago Film Frenzy film festival in March 2025! Very honoured to be acknowledged this way!
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Friday, 11 April 2025
If you are in the Castle Rock, CO area (an hour south of Denver), you can see the "Middle of Nowhere" music video at the Castle Rock Film Festival happening from tomorrow, Friday, April 11th thru Saturday, April 12th. "MON" will be playing on Saturday during the "Rock the World - Documentaries and Music Videos" block, starting at 7:00pm tomorrow at the Theatre of Dreams, 735 Park St C, Castle Rock, CO.
I am very honoured to be included in this festival!
I am very honoured to be included in this festival!
Sunday, 30 March 2025
And that folks... is a wrap...
Updated 23 March 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video was nominated for "Best Music Video" honours at the 2025 Chicago Film Frenzy Film Festival in Chicago, IL
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video has been nominated for Best Music Video at the Chicago Film Frenzy Film Festival!
We (director, Travis Shields, 2nd camera/editor, Michael Lang, and myself) are very honored to be in this group!
The video will be screened during the festival's music video block on Friday, March 28th between 6:00pm and 7:00pm followed by
a filmmaker's Q&A and an award presentation.
We (director, Travis Shields, 2nd camera/editor, Michael Lang, and myself) are very honored to be in this group!
The video will be screened during the festival's music video block on Friday, March 28th between 6:00pm and 7:00pm followed by
a filmmaker's Q&A and an award presentation.
AND...
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video has been recognized by:
Again , we are honoured and happy to be included!
Updated 10 March 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video has been recognized by:
AND BY...
The virtual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon starts today, Monday, March 10th and goes thru Sunday, March 23rd (geo-limited to Washington state, Oregon, California, and Hawaii only). "Middle of Nowhere" was featured in the virtual shorts program, "Finding Your Path."
Updated 25 February 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video has been recognized by:
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The Chicago Film Frenzy will take place the weekend of March 28th at the Facets Theatre in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbourhood (1517 W. Fullerton)...
Come on out and enjoy a weekend of fine independent films! |
Update 20 January 2025
The "Middle of Nowhere" music video has been recognized by:
"Middle of Nowhere" was nominated for "Best Music Video" and "Best Visual Elements" at the Inaugural Oak Park, IL Film Festival on 14 September 2024.
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"Middle of Nowhere" will be part of the virtual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, starting Monday, March 10th thru Sunday, March 23rd (geo-limited to Washington state, Oregon, California, and Hawaii only).
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Music
HI EVERYBODY!!!
Yes, it's been a while... But the Dennis Fuentes Band has new music for the first time since 2017. And for the first time ever, there are couple of OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEOS! The new single, "Middle of Nowhere," and the "Hard Lesson - EP" are now streaming on:
Yes, it's been a while... But the Dennis Fuentes Band has new music for the first time since 2017. And for the first time ever, there are couple of OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEOS! The new single, "Middle of Nowhere," and the "Hard Lesson - EP" are now streaming on:
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This song is a sunny summertime drive down a country highway with the windows rolled down and the radio cranked up to 10!... Written by Craig Northey (of the Vancouver, BC-based band, the Odds) and singer/songwriters Jason Plumb & Steven Drake (formerly of the Odds), this song was originally recorded by Jason's former band, The Waltons (from Regina, Saskatchewan) in 1998.
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The band gets its twang on in this heartbreak country ballad. The writing & performance recalls the spirits of classic country (Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry") and 1950's Rock & Roll (Ritchie Valens' "Donna"). Band member, Andrew Fraker, turns in a powerful lead guitar performance on this song.
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INTRODUCING TWO NEW MUSIC VIDEOS FROM THE DENNIS FUENTES BAND!
"MIDDLE OF NOWHERE" *** NOW IN 4K! ***
Shot on location at Smith Rock State Park, Trout Creek, and Indian Head Canyon in Central Oregon in the Summer of 2024, this video puts the beauty of the high desert landscape of my former home state on full display. "Middle of Nowhere" is streaming now on YouTube... and may be playing at a film festival near you!
- Official Selection at the 2025 Diwa Filipino Film Festival of Seattle in Seattle, WA, 4 October 2025.
- Official Selection & nominee for Best Music Video at the 2025 Oak Park IL Film Festival in Oak Park, IL, 14 September 2025.
- Official Selection at the 2025 Lake County Film Festival in Grayslake, IL, 13 September 2025.
- Official Selection & Winner of the Best Music Video at the 2025 Portland Under the Stars Film Festival, Portland, OR, 16 August 2025.
- Official Selection & Winner of the Best Music Video at the 2025 Interrobang Film Festival,Des Moines, IA, 27-29 June 2025.
- Official Selection at the Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival (Virtual), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May to June 2025.
- Official Selection at the 2025 Rutherford Film Festival, Rutherford, NJ, 15-17 May 2025
- Official Selection & Winner in the Best Music Video category at the 2025 Oregon Short Film Festival, Portland, OR, 27 April 2025
- Official Selection for the 2025 Spring Hollywood Theatre @ PDX (Portland International Airport) Film Festival, Portland, OR, from 21 April thru mid-July 2025.
- Official Selection at the 2025 Castle Rock Film Festival, Castle Rock, CO, 10-12 April 2025
- Official Selection at the 2025 Nyack International Film Festival, Nyack, NY, 30 March 2025 to 5 April 2025
- Official Selection & Nominee for Best Music Video at the 2025 Chicago Film Frenzy Film Festival, Chicago, Illinois, 28-30 March 2025
- Official Selection for the 2025 DisOrient Asian American Film Festival in Eugene, Oregon, 6-9 March 2025 (Live); 10-23 March 2025 (Virtual)
- Official Selection & Nominee in the Best Music Video & Best Visual Elements categories at the Inaugural Oak Park Illinois Film Festival, Oak Park, IL, September 2024.
"Hard Lesson (The PDX Demo)"
This DIY performance was shot in an AirB&B in the Multnomah Village neighbourhood in Portland, OR in the Summer of 2023 and can be found on the upcoming "Hard Lesson - EP," which is now streaming on some of your favorite streaming services!
Acting
I startd dabbling in acting in 2017. I got cast for the first time in an indie short film as an extra and have since been featured in several other short films, a feature film, four TV/online commercials, three of music videos, and a TV presentation pilot. (I also graduated from The Second City's Acting Program in 2023!) No Oscar-winning performances here - just a regular guy having a LOT of fun playing make-believe with other creative people...
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