Brandon Dennison: 0:08

This is Change in the Coalfields. My name is Brandon Dennison. I'm the CEO of Coalfield Development. Really excited this week to have Kadin Tooley with us. Kadin is a filmmaker in the Huntington, West Virginia/Central Appalachian region. And Kadin, I'm really excited to get to know you better today.

Kadin Tooley: 0:25

Brandon, thank you so much for having me on. This is super exciting.

Brandon Dennison: 0:29

So you were born and raised in Appalachia, is that right?

Kadin Tooley: 0:34

I was. Technically, I was born right across the river from Huntington here. But...

Brandon Dennison: 0:41

That's still Appalachia.

Kadin Tooley: 0:42

Right? Right. Right. Yeah. But when I was younger, moved to the St. Albans/Teays Valley, West Virginia area.

Brandon Dennison: 0:49

Gotcha. And which, what were some, what would you say were some formative experiences for you growing up here?

Kadin Tooley: 0:59

Well, my dad is a pastor, and my mom and dad toured in ministry for as long as I could remember. And my dad is now a pastor here in Huntington. So you know, having those deep rooted, essentially being deep rooted in the church, I think, is important in Appalachia, but also important in my life at an early age. And, and they were both creatives, my dad's a musician, as well. So I think being in that world, and having that be normal, will say, you know, definitely affected me in becoming an artist and working in in the arts later.

Brandon Dennison: 1:39

Absolutely. A lot of times, like if I'm outside the region, and someone's never been to Appalachia, I feel like you really can't understand modern Appalachia without talking pretty extensively about the church.

Kadin Tooley: 1:53

Right.

Brandon Dennison: 1:54

So would you travel with your parents, so they would like travel and preach at different churches and play music and stuff?

Kadin Tooley: 1:59

Yeah. So my dad would do worship, and my mom and dad would do drama, and they would like lead conferences and that kind of thing. And I would go with them. You know, as soon as I was a newborn, they would take me on these. So they were at Kentucky Christian University church camps in Appalachian area, so they were all over the place.

Brandon Dennison: 2:21

And so do you play music as well, or what creative bugs sort of worked their way down to you?

Kadin Tooley: 2:27

I did play music, not as much anymore. I played saxophone in the school band, and all the way up into marching band in high school. But music has been a part of my life, you know, for as long as I can remember and, and is, I would say the first love of mine. And, and now I see now all my friends are musicians. So it definitely, definitely wore off on me.

Brandon Dennison: 2:51

So even for, for non-pastor, kids, I think a lot of times in West Virginia, it's not uncommon to like - you have church on Sunday morning, them you sort of go back on Sunday evening. I was a Presbyterian, we didn't quite get as extreme as all this. So tell me if I've got this right. And then like Wednesday night was the church and then there might be like a youth group thing on Friday night. So was that sort of your, was it like this complete immersion type experience?

Kadin Tooley: 3:21

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, I even onto weekends, full weekends for me, like I said, because my parents were traveling, so it became this kind of week long affair into the weekend. But my dad took a position at Gateway Church in St. Albans, so it was a Wednesday night thing they would have, I think Bible studies on Tuesday nights, and of course, church on Sunday. So yeah, it was a week-long thing for sure.

Brandon Dennison: 3:47

So my next question for that, and it's not really a theological question is more just practical. So like, it's not uncommon to have the church be the defining experience for a childhood or an adolescence experience in Appalachia, what are some pluses of that? And what might be some minuses of that? And again, I don't mean theologically, but more just societally, pragmatically, what are some pluses and minuses to that?

Kadin Tooley: 4:15

Yeah, totally. Well, you can, isolate yourself to that world, especially as an artist, can put you in a bubble in maybe a good and a bad way. I think it depends on who you speak to. You know, I think in order to one become stronger in your faith, but also, to just get worldly experience, I think you have to step out of that and be at least open to the idea that you will get challenged. And sometimes Appalachians don't want to be challenged, or quite don't know how to be. So I think, yeah, I think there's good and bad I think you said that right. Like I think maybe there's good and bad things growing up in that world, because there is a certain isolation. Appalachia has a long history of that and being up in the mountains, you know, being isolated. And I think just now, maybe more than ever, it's easier to step out of that when you're younger, you know, and get worldly experience, even without leaving the state.

Brandon Dennison: 5:23

I think you're onto something really interesting about sort of sometimes struggling in Appalachia with being challenged. And I think that lends itself to one, maybe an overt defensiveness, sometimes that we might find in Appalachia. And two, maybe it creates some crisis, when you sort of, you're, you're taught that doubt, or questioning or wrestling, is a sign of weakness. So then when you are, when you maybe leave the area, and maybe this happens virtually now, you're sort of outside Appalachia, however you define that, or outside of a certain kind of Christianity, and it gets challenged, it can create this sort of crisis where it feels like everything falls apart, all of a sudden. It's like - well, if that's not true, then this might not be true. And then all of a sudden, like, panic sets in and at some points, I think I've experienced this, I've seen this and other friends and family, what would you connect with that at all?

Kadin Tooley: 6:35

Yeah, and I mean, like you said, I think that's even outside of Christianity that can be applied to anything like, you know, whether it be politics, whether it be you know, what have you. Yeah, and, you know, taking that in terms of, of the world of filmmaking, it's this idea that it's, it's cheaper here, and it could potentially be easier here. But when you step out of the state, and you say, hey, I want to make a movie in Indiana, or well, you know, wherever you want to make your movie, you can kind of shatter your expectation that - hey, it's a lot more expensive, or it's a lot harder, there's a lot more red tape. And I think that can apply to a lot of other things as well.

Brandon Dennison: 7:15

So we are, we're gonna, we're gonna dive into filmmaking soon. But I want to stay on just sort of what makes Kadin, Kadin for a little bit. So growing up in West Virginia, would you say? Have you seen things in your community get better, get worse, stay the same. What's your observation of West Virginia and Appalachia over the course of your lifetime?

Kadin Tooley: 7:41

Yeah, that's a loaded question. But I think it's because where I'm living now in in Huntington, focusing on Huntington specifically. You know, my dad planted the church there when I was still in middle school in Huntington. So, you know, I've been in this area, like I said, I grew up across the river. And seeing and using Huntington as, as, you know, my focus, seeing Huntington turn around in just the last four to five years that, you know, I was at Marshall. The improvement is night and day, and that's just, you know, even Pullman Square downtown, you can see that. And, you know, I would say that, that not only just development, but also like mindset, and I don't know if that's, you know, maybe that's connecting to what we just talked about being open to new ideas, being open to change even. I think there's improvement overall.

Brandon Dennison: 8:46

That's encouraging. I would agree, I think Huntington is on the right path, and it is a sort of a bright spot that hopefully can be an inspiration to the rest of(the state). Huntington, ifyou look at a map of the ARC, Appalachian Regional Commission, what they define as Appalachia is sort of right in the middle. It's the epicenter, right? And I feel like growing up a lot of - I grew up outside of Huntington, my parents taught at Marshall so I felt connected to Huntington. A lot of people would sort of act embarrassed to be from Huntington. We all knew there's a major drug problem, other issues, dilapidation, yada, yada, and just in the course of our lifetime, that has shifted, I agree. You can feel that shift and it's pretty encouraging.

Kadin Tooley: 9:32

Yeah, Brandon, it's crazy because when I was looking at going to Marshall and I would talk to people about Huntington there was that kind of stigma or like, like you said, almost feeling embarrassed. People would be like, "Oh, wait," I mean, "(the) drug problem there, is that getting any better?" Like that would be the first, the first question. Yeah. And now, it's interesting. Now, you mentioned Huntington in regards to West Virginia and one of the first things people say now is like,"Oh my gosh, there's good food there. They're like, "I've had some really good food there."

Brandon Dennison: 10:04

A much better first reaction.

Kadin Tooley: 10:06

Right. So maybe that's just in itself.

Brandon Dennison: 10:09

Yeah and it's true, too. It's true, too. So how did you get interested in filmmaking? I guess you got the creative bug in your family but specific to filmmaking. What got you into that field?

Kadin Tooley: 10:24

Right. Yeah. Like my dad was a huge movie buff. So he collected tons and tons of movies like physical copies of movies when he was young. When I was growing up, you know, we had cabinets of them. And I've like, I've taken that now I collect movies.

Brandon Dennison: 10:40

Let's, let's let's find out how, I don't actually know how old you are, so are these cabinets full of DVDs? Are these cabinets full of VHS (tapes)?

Kadin Tooley: 10:48

It was DVDs and VHS is and then it slowly evolved to like blu-rays replacing the VHS (tapes) you know. So now I only have, I have blu rays, DVDs, I'm getting back into VHS now. I think that movies as like a, as literature we'll say - there was a, a love for them but also, like these were cherished. Like, these are important. I'm gonna put them on a shelf, I'm going to alphabetize them, you know. And I think that and then also like, I was a huge drawer, like I sketched all the time. So I think like, a combination of like living in that world of movies and loving movies, and then also loving the arts and composition. And I think those things kind of collided when I was trying to choose what I wanted to do and what I liked doing. So I ended up doing photography and falling in love with photography, which inherently is the same thing. You know. So it, yeah, I think, I was in an arts welcoming family, we'll say that. And I think that's super important.

Brandon Dennison: 11:57

What was the first movie you ever made?

Kadin Tooley: 12:00

Oh my gosh. Well, I would steal the, I'd steal the mini DV camera from from my dad. He had a home video camera, so I would steal that and turn it around on myself and say nonsense. But I gotta flip video camera, the one with the flip out USB, you could just plug right into the computer. And I would I would feel my action figures. So I would say that that's probably a poorly voiced-over action figure film maybe it was the first one.

Brandon Dennison: 12:30

That is awesome. What do you write your scripts?

Kadin Tooley: 12:36

So yes, and no. A lot of the times for the larger projects that I've been involved with, I've worked with a writer. So whether I, you know, if it's if it's myself directing, or if it's myself, being director of photography, shooting the film, I work with a writer. So I think a lot of people swear against that, like, you know, like if you, if you want to take a film and you want to make a film that's yours, you need to write it from, from you, you need to like put that onto the page. And, and not that I'm against that but I think like having that person to collaborate with is super important.

Brandon Dennison: 13:14

Well, and I'm not, you're teaching me a lot, just in this one conversation. I've never made a film. But that's not true some of my friends and I in high school made our own homemade version of Days of Thunder. And it was a masterpiece.

Kadin Tooley: 13:29

You have to get me this, I need to see it.

Brandon Dennison: 13:33

But where was I going? Where was I going with that? Oh, I would imagine you can't be like an incredible expert at the visual side of film and an incredible world-class writer both, like maybe that exists, but that would be a pretty rare thing to truly be great at both those things, right?

Kadin Tooley: 13:54

Right. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's rare and there are those individuals that do that, that can can write, direct and pick the camera up and shoot it themselves. But you know, even, even some of the best like Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" like he couldn't write a lick. You know he had to work with writers. But, yeah, I think it's just that the ability to like, take people that you know are talented and put them together and make something great. I think that's, at least that's how I want to do it.

Brandon Dennison: 14:25

So when I was getting ready for today, I saw a different interview you did and feel free to do a plug your is your newest movie is "Exodus 2320."

Kadin Tooley: 14:35

Yes, sir.

Brandon Dennison: 14:36

So I'd love to hear about that. And in the interview, they asked you about it and the first thing you said was, it's an Appalachian film. And so I would love to hear from you like is Appalachian filmography, videography, again, I'm not expert in this, I don't know the right vocabulary, but is that sort of a distinctive field and what makes a film Appalachian?

Kadin Tooley: 14:59

Yeah, that's is a great question. I don't know if I would consider it like a genre. I don't know if Appalachian is a genre. But at least my goal with with Exodus was to have it be soaked in this like Appalachian aesthetic, right? Have it feel Appalachian and, you know, whatever that means, it means something different to everybody. But to me, it felt, you know, small town church, deep in the woods, you know, sunlight kind of peeking through the leaves, having dust kind of like, come up off of gravel roads, like those kinds of visuals. And that feels inherently Appalachian to me. So, you know, my goal was to take like the western genre, which I love, and, and to set that pull that western genre into Appalachia. So you know, make the outlaw a tire thief that worked at a steel mill, and make the protagonists, a small town preacher, son of a preacher, and make the, you know, make this this kind of bounty hunteresque new sheriff that, you know, lives in a small little small town police department, you know. Take these kind of these characters that I saw growing up, and I put them in, in that genre that I love.

Brandon Dennison: 16:23

That sounds great. If that sounds interesting to you the listener, definitely check out "Exodus 2320." Right. What's the next project what's on the horizon for you?

Kadin Tooley: 16:34

Well, there's a lot a lot of stuff in the works, a lot of music videos. So working really closely with a rapper Shelem. He in the Charleston area, but met him at Marshall in Huntington and worked with him. We've done three or four videos now. So we have a project in the works now. And a couple other music videos that I can't quite elaborate on yet, but some cool, some cool stuff in the works. And just wrapped on two different short films too, so those are in post production, should be coming out this year.

Brandon Dennison: 17:09

So your, your, your work, is - you live in Huntington, still - and this is your career you make movies?

Kadin Tooley: 17:20

Yeah, so I'm entirely freelance. Yeah. A lot of times people call me to shoot the movies. So the movies that I"make" or direct are passion projects. So I do a lot of director photography work, a lot of editing work. So yeah.

Brandon Dennison: 17:35

Sort of what I'm getting at, though I think a lot of times at Coalfield Development, we really think of the arts as like an economic development tool. It's not the only tool, there's a lot of them. But I think sometimes we make the mistake, we think of arts as sort of this hobby thing. And sometimes it is that and that's great. But it also can be a huge chunk of an economy and more and more when we think about economic development, community development revitalization. People want to live in places where there's lots of, of great art. And so I think you're a great example of how art and economic development actually go hand in hand.

Kadin Tooley: 18:16

Thank you. Thank you.

Brandon Dennison: 18:19

Do people in the arts industries, is that is that the argument that's made? Would you say artists think of themselves as helping economic development for their communities? Or is it sort of a disconnect?

Kadin Tooley: 18:32

It may depend on the person. I think, at least from my experience in Huntington, there are folks that are very hyper aware that what they're doing is making a difference for the city, you know, or is important for the city. And there's those diehard Huntington versus Charleston people who are like, like, oh, Huntington all the way like best art is being made in Huntington. And they'll attribute that to Marshall or they'll attribute that to certain businesses or or even the layout of the city, you know, being easier to close roads to shoot on it, stuff like that. So yeah, I think I think it probably depends on the person but I think at least I am aware that that this city needs artists. And I think that's that's obvious.

Brandon Dennison: 19:25

And so when you went to Marshall sounds like you had a really good experience there?

Kadin Tooley: 19:29

Yeah, Marshall. Marshall was awesome. In fact, I was the second class to graduate in their video production degree. So they kind of split the production degree between broadcast and film and on the art side, so I was on the art side. And, and yeah, there was one class ahead of me that graduated -some of my great, great friends and then we were the second class to capstone and graduate in that program.

Brandon Dennison: 19:56

Fantastic. And so you feel like you, you got a good...you got the training that you needed to do what you wanted to do.

Kadin Tooley: 20:03

Yeah, I tell people all the time. What made Marshall worth it for me was the networking and the people that I got to meet and the creatives I got to, to interact on the daily with. And I think that like, if anybody's is gonna ask like, should I go to martial for for video production? Like, yeah, because it's going to keep you accountable to make things. You know I was I was accountable to or kept accountable rather to make all the way through my college career.

Brandon Dennison: 20:30

Do you, this is probably an unfair question, but are there like, do you have three films that you think everyone no matter what should watch? So I'm not necessarily saying like the best, your favorite three films, although that would be fine, too. But just some films that for whatever reason, you think it's just crucial that everybody see him?

Kadin Tooley: 20:50

It's important to see wow, that's, that's an interesting question. I get asked what are my favorite movies all the time. But I can geek out for a second.

Brandon Dennison: 21:01

We can start with that too, if you want to ease into it.

Kadin Tooley: 21:04

Sure, sure. Sure. I have some posters on my wall of my two favorites back there,"Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "La La Land." But as far as importance, like if I was to geek out and say like the most perfectly constructed film I've ever seen, as far as like pacing, and technique is probably "The Godfather." That's a cliche to say, but it's a masterpiece, really, and it kind of just defined how movies are made now. It kind of like created this language of how modern movies are made. And I mentioned it earlier, but "2001: A Space Odyssey" is like really hard to watch for some people, and it's really long. But it is kind of a masterpiece in both effects and like story structure. So I think it's worth watching that if you can get through it. But there was a movie recently, this is I guess, would be the third one, called"The Florida Project." It was an 824 film that was released. I think it was 2015, maybe 2016. And it's my favorite movie of all time. So I think it's, it's worth the watch. It's like follows a mom and her daughter living in the projects in Florida, like outside of Disney World. And it's applicable to anyone and the idea that it kind of speaks on this childhood wonder and how you can kind of preserve being a kid and how you can preserve those kind of imaginary worlds that you create when you're a child despite your situation. And I think that can be applied anywhere to anybody and you know, no matter what's going on in your life. Kind of remember that kid in you, remember the kid that you were and kind of use that carelessness or what have you to kind of give yourself a positive outlook at the end. And I think the movie is just gorgeous. And it's worth watching.

Brandon Dennison: 23:03

Yeah. That's I'm gonna check that one out. I have seen "The Godfather" I haven't worked my way through"2001." But maybe maybe I'm inspired to do that. Now.

Kadin Tooley: 23:12

Take it in segments. It's kind of (a lot).

Brandon Dennison: 23:15

Building off of that. What sorts of things do you look to for inspiration? Like as you think about making a film or projects you want to be a part of? What are some things that inspire you or really pique your interest or challenge you?

Kadin Tooley: 23:30

I would say music is number one. And I think that's probably just because I played music and, like I said, a lot of the people I hang out with are musician. But, the first thing working on "Exodus", one of the first things I did before we even had a screenplay was make a playlist of music. And I think despite the lyrics of music, just the feeling that you can get from that right song, you know, the song that sends the, the chills down your spine or whatever. That can open up a world of ideas even easier than, than looking at an image or, or reading something, in my opinion. I think it just speaks directly to us as humans. So music is the go-to for me.

Brandon Dennison: 24:19

So tell us what are some musical influences?

Kadin Tooley: 24:23

Oh my goodness. There's a way at least for"Exodus," it was all like, like, bluegrass music, but then also kind of like Americana Folk music. So like, I love Bruce Springsteen. And then, I never was into Bob Dylan, but like, I appreciate Bob Dylan, you know. But there's a band called The Lumineers that that are amazing storytellers. They make great music, but their lyrics are in the movies in themselves. Yeah, yeah.

Brandon Dennison: 24:53

Yep. Love The Boss and Bob Dylan fan, Bob Dylan fan as well. So what are...can you tell us a little bit about Localization?

Kadin Tooley: 25:04

Yeah. So, Localization is essentially in artist community, right? It's a day in the year that like artists can come and showcase what they've done and showcase the work that they've made. But it's, it's kind of more than that now, because it's inclusive, to filmmakers, to sculptors, to installation artists, to photographers, and musicians. Now, there's, there's live music. So it's kind of yeah, this community of makers. And it's one day a year and it comes in and people put up booths, and people show movies and people play music. So it's, it's exclusive to Huntington right now or at least the Huntington area. And it was started by Lily Dyer, and Heath Holley. And they came to me in regards to the film festival aspect of the of the day. So them two together kind of like had this dream that they could pull artists and showcase the artists and the makers that they love. So it's in the third year now. Third year.

Brandon Dennison: 26:14

It's gonna be(at the) West Edge factory?

Kadin Tooley: 26:16

Yes, October 15, I believe, 15th or 16th, I'll have to check but West Edge factory, yeah, it was it was there last year, it was a huge success. And it's gonna be there again.

Brandon Dennison: 26:31

Yeah, really, really proud to host that, really excited for this year. If you're, if you're in the area, check it out. If you're not in the area, maybe plan to travel in and check it out, too.

Kadin Tooley: 26:41

Oh it's totally worth traveling to because some of the artists that come to the event, like don't sell ever, except for there. So it's like if you like their work or it may be the only time you see their work so.

Brandon Dennison: 26:53

Incredible. And another good example of how the arts do fit into economic development, you know, attracting visitors, generating interest around events. It's important for the whole, for the whole area.

Kadin Tooley: 27:06

Right.

Brandon Dennison: 27:07

So what are what are some big changes, growing up here making Appalachian films, you know, starting to go into college here, having your career here - what are some of the big changes you've noticed in Appalachia over the years? And then what are some big changes you think are, are underway right now? And then what are some big changes that you haven't seen yet, but you still hope to see in the future?

Kadin Tooley: 27:33

So making movies is kind of like all I think about a lot of times, so if I stray into talking in regards to that, I'm sorry.

Brandon Dennison: 27:41

No, it's fine. But in the history of this podcast, we've never had a movie maker. So go to town. It's fascinating. It's great.

Kadin Tooley: 27:50

You know, in terms of you know, since I've been in Huntington or been aware of Huntington, my mom used to take me to the Huntington Museum of Art, and just that is being a catalyst for young people like myself at the time was like, I was probably seven or eight, having an awareness of, of the arts. And I think that is, there's nothing like that. Yeah, at least where I grew up, like Teays Valley, like St. Albans area, there's no museum dedicated to art. And I, in fact, like, if not the only one in the state of I'm not too sure, but I think it is probably the only one of its size and caliber in the state. So that being in proximity to Huntington definitely has influence on artists in this area. And I tell people all the time, like in regards to making movies and people who claim to be filmmakers, just from the the year that I started at Marshall to this current day, like there has been an exponential growth in people who are making things with a camera be that photography or filmmaking. And businesses and just the city in general being open to that - like for example, the Huntington I believe was the 150th celebration for Huntington there was a giant like, like variety-style, film, like variety-style special that was live streamed and filmed with the city's funding. Like the city funded that to happen, and that would not have happened even four years ago, or the city being willing to have something like that happen. So the willingness of the city and the willingness of artists to get out into the city to make things you know, has grown exponentially, like I said. I think Marshall, at least in 2020-2021, has had a big hand in that and, and advocating for filmmakers as artists, and you know, film festivals, advocating for those to happen and for people to come to those and I that's only gonna get better and better as time goes on.

Brandon Dennison: 30:04

We did a program called ArtPlace America. I don't know if you've heard that, like, they fund groups to try and drive this intersection between economic development and the arts and our West Edge factory was the money for that was the application. So they had a review committee and for the final round, come into Huntington to see both the site but they also wanted to see some other art assets in the community. We took him to Huntington Museum of Art. And these are folks that are reviewing applications all over the country. You know, DC, New York, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, and they were just blown away by the caliber of art that's at Huntington Museum. I don't think we who grew up here, I don't think we understood just what, uh, how special of a gem that place really is. So what still needs to change? What there's some good stuff happening? We're encouraged. But what do you still feel impatient about?

Kadin Tooley: 31:03

I would say, first off, I mentioned film festivals. There's one, maybe two in Huntington in the entire year. So one being the 72 Hour Film Festival. So you let filmmakers come in and make a film in 72 hours. So that's cool in itself, but there's a lot of films that have been made that are really important that can't show there because they have to be made, then you know. And then Marshall has a short film festival for their students. And I think they have the International Film Festival they pull in features. So maybe that's three, but there's really no festival in town that that allows filmmakers from out of state to apply, submit their films show their films in this area. So I would say as far as festivals, Huntington films are the ones that are playing. And I think it's important to pull films from elsewhere, pull films from out of state, out of country even and get that exposure and open people's eyes to the things that the world is making, you know.

Brandon Dennison: 32:10

I love that. I love that. Maybe we can make that happen at West Edge one day. Final question that just that sort of popped to mind earlier that I wanted to circle back to so - son of a pastor growing up in Appalachia. What's the best thing about being a pastor's kid? And what's the worst thing about being a pastor's kid?

Kadin Tooley: 32:31

I think I've only got this question one time. I would say best thing is, and this is kind of odd, and maybe don't take it the way it sounds, but the best thing is the connections. Because a lot of people, a lot of people come to church and pastors know pastors and pastors know people, because that's part of their job. So being able to meet people and know people, and especially, you know, with my parents traveling, like just being able to be connected. The network that I have now wouldn't have been possible with that day. So I think that's that's the good thing. The bad thing is the stigma that comes with the pastor's kid, right? And what they can and can't do or what they should and shouldn't do. And you know, I don't know why people are so like up in arms about that. I just, whatever, you know.

Brandon Dennison: 33:25

That's because the the church is just such a central institution of Appalachian culture and American culture, too. But it's in Appalachia, it's heightened, I think. And so it just sort of puts this spotlight on the pastor and their family.

Kadin Tooley: 33:43

Totally.

Brandon Dennison: 33:44

Which probably is not really very fair. But that's what you grew up with. Right?

Kadin Tooley: 33:48

It is, yeah, I got a younger brother. So he's dealing with it too.

Brandon Dennison: 33:51

Gotcha. So two boys.

Kadin Tooley: 33:54

Just the younger brother, Konner, spelled with a K, too. So we're both Ks.

Brandon Dennison: 34:00

Kadin and Konner, and is Konner into filmmaking?

Kadin Tooley: 34:04

He's getting there. Like, he loves movies as much as us, but he's actually, he's actually does hip hop does rap music, and like, has a love for that and love for music. So it's, it's the musical family, right?

Brandon Dennison: 34:18

So our cultural developments mission, we have three key words in the mission statement, which are courage, creativity, and community. We sort of see those things as as one feeds into the other and all three support one another, and I feel like Kadin, you really exemplify those things, the courage to do what you love, to do it with passion to put it out there. The creativity is clear, speaks for itself. But you do it as a part of a community to help and to bring Localization about, pushing the arts community overall, to do more - clearly so loyal to to Huntington and to West Virginia and to Appalachia. So I just appreciate your time. I appreciate everything that you do. I can't wait for Localization and I can't wait to see "Exodus 2320."

Kadin Tooley: 35:06

Brandon, thank you so much - Coalfield, this has been so cool.

Brandon Dennison: 35:09

Awesome. Thanks a lot.

Kadin Tooley: 35:11

Thank you.

Brandon Dennison: 35:14

Change in the coalfields is a podcast created by Coalfield Development at the West Edge factory in Huntington, West Virginia. This episode was hosted by Brandon Dennison, and produced and edited by JJN Multimedia. Become a part of our mission to rebuild the Appalachian economy by going to our website Coalfield-Development.org to make a donation. You can email us anytime at info at Coalfield-Development.org and subscribe to our newsletter for up-to-date information on the podcast. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn by searching for coalfields development. Check back soon for more episodes.