Ash Avildsen

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Ash Avildsen
Born (1981-11-05) November 5, 1981 (age 42)
Occupation(s)CEO, film director, screenwriter, film producer
Parents

Ashley Gregory Avildsen (born November 5, 1981) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and the founder and CEO of Sumerian Records and Sumerian Films. [1] The son of director John G. Avildsen, he wrote and directed the film American Satan (2017) and the scripted series Paradise City (2021).

Contents

Sumerian Records

Sumerian Records (currently located in Los Angeles) was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen. Initially, the label was run out of his one-bedroom apartment in Venice Beach, beginning with the bands The Faceless and Stick To Your Guns. Sumerian has since released over 100 albums, expanded their roster to feature a diverse collective of over 40 artists, and in 2016 celebrated their 10-year anniversary as a successful independent label. [2]

Piracy controversy

On March 22, 2011, Avildsen released a video in which he argued against music piracy. [3] This led to some controversy as the video was perceived to be an ad for Born of Osiris' then new record The Discovery . A second point was made of the fact that during the 1990s, Avildsen was active in the software piracy warez scene. He went by the nickname The Krazy Little Punk and from 1995 lead the games release group Release on Rampage (ROR), having gained infamy for repackaging a beta release of Quake and passing it off as the final retail release in a failed attempt to claim as being the first to illegally release the game. [4] Jason Fisher of the heavy metal blog The Gauntlet, and during the 1990s also a member of ROR, responded to the video, claiming that "Ash alone has easily cost companies millions of dollars." He lamented Avildsen's lack of disclosure on the matter. [5] [6]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warez</span> Movies, software or music distributed in violation of copyright

Warez is a common computing and broader cultural term referring to pirated software that is distributed via the Internet. Warez is used most commonly as a noun, a plural form of ware, and is intended to be pronounced like the word wares. The circumvention of copy protection (cracking) is an essential step in generating warez, and based on this common mechanism, the software-focused definition has been extended to include other copyright-protected materials, including movies and games. The global array of warez groups has been referred to as "The Scene", deriving from its earlier description as "the warez scene". Distribution and trade of copyrighted works without payment of fees or royalties generally violates national and international copyright laws and agreements. The term warez covers supported as well as unsupported (abandonware) items, and legal prohibitions governing creation and distribution of warez cover both profit-driven and "enthusiast" generators and distributors of such items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John G. Avildsen</span> American film director

John Guilbert Avildsen was an American film director. He is best known for directing Rocky (1976), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director. He is also renowned for directing the first three films in The Karate Kid franchise (1984–1989). Other films he directed include Joe (1970), Save the Tiger (1973), The Formula (1980), Neighbors (1981), Lean on Me (1989), Rocky V (1990), 8 Seconds (1994), and Inferno (1999).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairlight (group)</span> Swedish demo group

FairLight (FLT) is a warez and demo group initially involved in the Commodore demoscene, and in cracking to illegally release games for free, since 1987. In addition to the C64, FairLight has also migrated towards the Amiga, Super NES and later the PC. FairLight was founded during the Easter holiday in 1987 by Strider and Black Shadow, both ex-members of West Coast Crackers (WCC). This "West Coast" was the west coast of Sweden, so FairLight was initially a Swedish group, which later became internationalized. The name was taken from the Fairlight CMI synthesizer which Strider saw Jean-Michel Jarre use on some of his records.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warez scene</span> Organized network of pirate groups

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumerian Records</span> American record label

Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen. They have signed artists such as Black Veil Brides, Crosses (band), Poppy, Bad Omens, Animals As Leaders, and I See Stars. In early 2022, Sumerian acquired Behemoth Entertainment, a comic book and video game publisher, in order to increase their merchandise options and further expand the brand.

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<i>The Discovery</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Born of Osiris

The Discovery is the second studio album by American progressive metalcore band Born of Osiris. It was released through Sumerian Records on March 22, 2011. It is also the first Born of Osiris record to make use of seven string guitars, and was produced solely by members of the band. Early demo versions of some of the album’s songs were produced and mixed by Misha Mansoor but the final retail release was mixed by Jason Suecof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Biersack</span> American singer

Andrew Dennis Biersack, formerly known as Andy Six, is an American singer. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Black Veil Brides and is its only remaining original member. In 2014, he started a solo music project under the moniker Andy Black and released his debut album, The Shadow Side, in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Bruce</span> English musician

Benjamin Paul Bruce is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of rock band Asking Alexandria and has also performed as a solo artist. Bruce founded the band while he was living in Dubai but the band split and he moved back to the United Kingdom, where he then started the band again under the same name with Danny Worsnop.

<i>American Satan</i> 2017 American supernatural musical thriller film

American Satan is a 2017 American supernatural musical thriller film directed by Ash Avildsen, who also wrote the screenplay with Matty Beckerman. It was released in theaters on Friday October 13, 2017 and stars Andy Biersack, Ben Bruce, Drake Bell, Denise Richards, Malcolm McDowell, Booboo Stewart, and Tori Black. The film marked Larry King's final film role before his death in January 2021. It won an award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2017 Oceanside International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kneel Before Me</span> 2018 dubstep single

"Kneel Before Me" is a song by American DJs Slander and Crankdat, featuring the English rock band Asking Alexandria. It was released on August 9, 2018 by Monstercat and Sumerian Records and was included a week later on the compilation album Monstercat Uncaged, Vol. 5.

<i>American Satan</i> (franchise) Film franchise

The American Satan franchise consists of American supernatural-thrillers centered around a hard rock band; including one limited theatrical movie, a sequel television series, and studio albums released by the faux band from the franchise. The overall plot centers around a fictional band named The Relentless, who make a contract with a nefarious supernatural force in attempts to reach their dreams of fame. Created by Ash Avildsen, the events are based on supposed real-life experiences he's had in the music industry.

<i>Paradise City</i> (TV series) Musical drama series

Paradise City is an American musical drama television series created by Ash Avildsen for Amazon Prime Video. It is a sequel to and continuation American Satan (2017), and second installment in the franchise of the same name. The series premiered on March 25, 2021.

<i>The Illusion of Democracy</i> 2004 studio album by Reflux

The Illusion of Democracy is the only studio album by American progressive metalcore band Reflux. It was released on October 12, 2004, through Prosthetic Records. Live music videos were released for the songs "Above the Pyramid and the Eye" and "Single File to Bliss".

References

  1. Vice.com
  2. Bracelin, Jason (May 18, 2016). "L.A. Metal Label Sumerian Records Has Spent 10 Years "Not F—-in' Selling Out"". LA Weekly . Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  3. Neilstein, Vince (March 23, 2011). "Sumerian Records' Ash Avildsen: "Arrrgh, don't be a pirate!"". MetalSucks . Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  4. Maxwell, Andy (April 12, 2011). "Record Label Boss Is a Former Notorious Warez Scene Pirate". TorrentFreak . Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. Shaw, Zach (April 13, 2011). "Ash Avildsen Vs. The Gauntlet: Round 1 Of The Piracy Brawl". Metal Insider. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  6. Fisher, Jason (April 11, 2011). "Former Pirate Launches Label And Now Against Piracy". The Gauntlet. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. "'American Satan' spin-off reveals relative release date". Alternative Press . April 2, 2019.
  8. "Randy Blythe, Andy Biersack pay tribute to late "Paradise City" co-star Cameron Boyce". July 8, 2019.
  9. "Kellin Quinn joins upcoming 'American Satan' spinoff TV series". Alternative Press . June 19, 2019.