ABOUT

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 Winchester, VA, which is co-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 The White Label Lounge. The show was also produced by influential music supervisor Paul DiFranco and filmmaker Andrea Kilcup, and featured co-host and comedian Pete Buchbauer.

The White Label Lounge gave the team an opportunity to interview a wide assortment of musicians as significant as Chuck Panozzo (Styx), Oderus Urungus (GWAR), John 5 (Rob Zombie / Motley Crue), Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Carsie Blanton, Peter Iwers (In Flames), The Used, Taime Downe (Faster Pussycat), Chris Jericho (Fozzy), and Jukebox The Ghost.

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 feature included interviews with Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Shannon Larkin (Godsmack/Wrathchild USA), Jeff LaBar (Cinderella), and many others. 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 filmmakers Dale Jackson, Steve Nerangis, and partner/legal counsel/producer John C. Petrolino.

In the decade last decade, Varla Dogwood has produced or co-produced a string of award-winning shorts, as well as another successful feature music documentary titled Hammerjacks: The Rockumentary.