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In its ongoing effort to bring the undiscovered films of J.X. Williams to the viewing public, The J.X. Williams Archive has teamed up with rock music outfit Spindrift to score "Tecumseh's Curse" (1976), one of the auteur's least known and most significant films.

Mixing the dusty, cinematic soundscapes of old spaghetti-western films with the mind-expanding Psych Rock of modern practitioners like The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre (not to mention drone forefathers The Velvet Underground), L.A.s Spindrift makes music that sounds like what one would hear while tripping in the desert on a vision quest.

The first five minutes of the film are currently available for viewing online with Spindrift's new soundtrack.

The picture is based upon "Tecumseh's Curse," a notorious legend concerning the unnatural death of American Presidents who were elected in years ending in zero. According to the legend, the curse was pronounced originally against General William Henry Harrison after the Shawnee tribes disastrous loss at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1820. In revenge for the killing of his brother Tecumseh, the Indian prophet Tenskwatawa called upon the spirits for the early death of his nemesis. General Harrison became President Harrison and died of pneumonia only a few months into office.

Since that time, every President who was elected in a year ending in zero died in office for over a century:

1860: Abraham Lincoln: Assassination
1880: James Garfield: Assassination
1900: William McKinley: Assassination
1920: Warren G. Harding: Heart Attack
1940: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Cerebral Hemorrage
1960: John F. Kennedy: Assassination

President Ronald Reagan broke the curse in 1980 after Hinckleys foiled assassination attempt.

Produced in 1976, "Tecumseh's Curse" takes place in the near future (1980) and concerns a covert CIA operation to locate a native American witch doctor who can lift the curse off the U.S. Presidency. Though originally marketed as an exploitation vehicle during its short run in regional drive-ins and grindhouses, critics have recently re-evaluated the picture as a provocative critique of Manifest Destiny and a sympathetic portrayal of the native American struggle against U.S. cultural hegemony.
Please consult jxarchive.org and spindriftwest.com for more details soon

Louise Fenton of Vacancy Records has put together a video of the song Ativan / Diazepam from the record Songs from the Ancient Age using old family footage of the worlds fair which had been resting undiscovered in a moldy tomb.

On July 18th, 2008 Indican Pictures released our full length motion picture entitled "The Legend of God's Gun" in theaters and DVD.  It has already recieved a few reviews found here.  The following video is the trailer for the film.

An Interview with Mike Bruce is found here.
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The Preacher turned gunslinger is traveling to the sinful town of Play Diablo seeking revenge for his murdered love...
El Sobero and his Gang are heading to Playa Diablo to decimate the town and kill the sheriff for their own vengeance...
A bounty hunter makes his way across the desert seeking the head of El Sobero and his gang...
There is sure to be a confrontation of Biblical proportions as they all meet in the circle of death.
This is THE LEGEND OF GOD'S GUN.

A statement from the director, Mike Bruce:

The Legend of God's Gun may require some introduction as you most likely have seen nothing quite like it. To describe it in one long-winded sentence I would say it is a rock-n-roll-spaghetti-style-western/glorified music video feature film with a plot. The simplest way to describe it is to call it a rock-n-roll spaghetti western. Although this is not entirely accurate as it was filmed in Southern California as apposed to Italy and has no Italian actors in it and sparsely any "actors" at that. The Legend of God's Gun is inspired by the Spaghetti Western from the '60's and 70's and a rock-n-roll life style, which is not dissimilar from the cowboy of the old west. This film was made entirely by authentic rock-n-roll hipster musicians who have spent many years touring the world and living the hard life of the modern day cowboy.   Just like the films of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci - the heart of this film is the music.   The soundtrack is an original modern take on the musical scores of the spaghetti western, namely Ennio Morricone, which comes mostly from the brilliant musical mind of Kirpatrick Thomas. It is my hope that you will find this film to be a visual/aural feast and nothing short of entertaining. Don't forget to play it loud.

-Mike Bruce December 18, 2006 West Hollywood