Varla Dogwood, LLC formed after a meeting between partners Dale Jackson and Steve Nerangis. Dale had directed an award-winning film called MAXWELL STEIN, and he screened the film at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Wi******er, VA, which is owned by Steve. The two became friends after the screening. Dale went on to create a Roku station called Zom-Bee TV and asked Steve to host a music show called Th
e White Label Lounge. The show was also produced by influential music supervisor Paul DiFranco and filmmaker Andrea Sakellaropolous, and featured co-host and comedian Pete Buchbauer. During filming of the show, Dale and Steve met KIX and Rhino Bucket guitarist Brian Forsythe. Brian invited Steve, Dale and Andrea to film the making of the KIX album "Rock Your Face Off," and that filming led to the feature documentary CAN'T STOP THE SHOW: THE RETURN OF KIX. The film was released on Loud and Proud Records in October of 2016 and reached #1 on the Billboard music DVD charts. Just before the release of the documentary, Varla Dogwood, LLC was formed by filmmkaers Dale Jackson, Steve Nerangis, and partner/legal counsel John Petrolino.
2017 and 2018 will see the release of three new music documentaries from Varla Dogwood Films, including collaborations with filmmaker Andrea Sakellaropoulos and music supervisor Paul DiFranco.
