Stars fall on band at Smith Mountain Lake

Hollywood is full of stories about movie stars being discovered in some serendipitous fashion – serving drinks at a party, parking cars on the studio lot, working in a drugstore.

Smith Mountain Lake? Not so much.

Nevertheless, something very much in that struck-by-lightning vein happened last year to the Central Virginia country/ country rock band Diamondback. This week, they’re reaping the benefits.

“We were playing at a club at the lake,” recalled lead singer Michelle Motley, “and Sara Elizabeth Timmins and Mike McKay, producer and director for the move ‘Lake Effect,’ were in the place celebrating the birthday of one of the cast members.

“At the end of the night, Mike came up to us and asked if we’d be interested in being part of the film. They needed a band to play in the background for the wine festival scene.”

Serendipity. The thing was, Diamondback wasn’t even supposed to be performing in that club that night.

“Another band had to cancel out, and we were filling in,” Motley said. “I didn’t know who Sara Elizabeth and Mike were, and I didn’t even know they were making a movie down there.”

Probably a good thing, because there were no butterflies. Would McKay have chosen the other band, had it played?We’ll never know.

“We filmed the wine festival scene at Bernard’s Landing couple of nights last October,” Motley said. “It took almost all night, and it was freezing, but it was also a lot of fun. It was fascinating to see how all this was done.”

Diamondback’s appearance in the film, which will debut with a “cast and crew community screening” on Friday, will be something to put in a scrapbook. It is not, however, the best thing to come out of their involvement.

“At some point, we were asked if we had any original songs they could use in the movie,” Motley said, “and we had about 14 of them that a friend of ours had either written or brought back from Nashville. Two of them, ‘Closer Than We’ve Ever Been’ and ‘Stars Are Falling’ will be part of the soundtrack.

Only after “Stars Are Falling” had been chosen did Motley and her husband, guitarist Steven Blevins, realize that one of the co-writers was Byron Hill, a noted Nashville songwriter with connections to high-profile acts like George Strait and Alabama. The sort of songwriter who probably had lawyers on retainer.

“We did a Google search for him,” Motley said, “and thought, ‘Uh, oh.’”

Bad news? Not in this case. Hill graciously allowed them to use the song, became interested in the band’s future, and even promised to send them some other material.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Motley said.

The current incarnation of Diamondback has Motley out front, Blevins and Bo Heatherly on guitar, Billy White on bass and Herb Brown on drums.

Motley, Blevins and Brown started the group 16 years ago, so whatever fortune may result from the “Lake Effect” effect won’t make them an overnight success. Motley said the band may get some song royalties out of the deal (the Rocky Mount band Barefoot West will also be represented) but agreed to appear in the film for free because of the publicity value — “And the chance just to be in a movie.”

And after the Friday screening, Diamondback, Barefoot West and the Lynchburg band Dragonfly will be performing for the cast party.

Who knows might show up?