Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Culley.
Hi Justin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In the spring of 2013, a small group of friends started hanging out regularly and bonded over their love of movies. They would regularly hang out at each others houses and watch various cult films late through the night and into the early morning. In that group of friends were a few musicians who decided to start jamming together occasionally. The more jam sessions that were had, the more serious their intentions became about writing original music. By 2014, MOVIENITE (the name being a nod to the friendship’s origin) was formed. The band originally formed as a 3-piece including: Brookelyn Irby (drums), Brandon Caradine (bass guitar), and Justin Culley (vocals and guitar).
MOVIENITE’s first performance was out-of-town at Union University in Jackson, TN. Some friends at the college wanted to host a dorm show and invited us to to be the opening act. Tighlty crammed into this small dorm room on the second floor was where it all really started for the band. Fast forward to 2025, MOVIENITE is still writing, recording, and playing original music in Memphis, TN. The band has had a few different iterations over the years ranging from 3-6 members. Justin Culley and his spouse Brookelyn Culley are the two original members of the band who are now accompanied by Jeff Leedham (second guitar) and Michael Perez (bass guitar).
MOVIENITE’s first 5 song EP was released in 2017. The band focused on live performances until returning to the studio in 2019. Shortly after the band finished recording with Calvin Lauber at Young Avenue Sound, a virus took the global stage which impacted the entire music scene. It wasn’t until 2022 that the band was able to play music publicly again and could start releasing new music. Since 2022, the band has been able to release 5 new singles and intends to increase the speed at which new music is released. The band currently records with Memphis local sound engineer Matt Qualls at Easly McCain recording. At this time, the band has multiple releases scheduled for 2025 and is incredibly excited to share what they have been working on during these changing times.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Justin: “Playing live music and releasing recordings is truly one of the greatest joys in my life, but like all things there are going to be roadblocks and struggles in the process. Two of the most common struggles for any independent artist are finances and time. The majority of our funding comes straight from our own pockets and we use any money made from merch sales and shows to directly fund our time spent recording in studio. Making a financial profit as an independent artist is a pipe dream, but that is not why we collectively play or write music in the first place. All of our members have their own individual careers and lives to maintain outside of the band, but we all still manage to find the time to meet a few times a month so we can hammer out new tunes. The passion and satisfacion of performing music will always be the main reason MOVIENITE continues to perform.”
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Justin: “MOVIENITE is a band based out of Memphis, TN. Our focus is to perform original material in the greater Memphis area, but we have also been known to perform cover gigs at places such as the Botanic Gardens or a local brewery. We are known as either being one of the local bands you see around town on the weekend or being that group you heard play a DEVO cover at an event on a week night.
The thing that I would personally be most proud of is probably how the band has continued to write and perform music for over a decade now. While we might not be the fastest at releasing new music, we have strived to put out what we consider to be quality work and art that we can personally be proud of.
When thinking about what sets us apart from other groups, the main thing I think about is just how talented and creative our city is as a whole. There are so many great artists/bands in the Memphis area and it honestly just makes me happy to be a part of it all. Memphis has a wide range of sounds that include hardcore, punk, psychadelic, rap, hip-hop, country, singer-song writer, etc…. Our band definitely nestles more into the Indie-Rock genre so we have a slightly different sound than the majority of what you hear in the Memphis area. The one thing that we definitely pride ourselves on as a group is the effort that we put into our Halloween shows. For us, Halloween is what we try to go all out on every year. We put a lot of effort into structuring a great experience with cover songs that appeal to any age demographic. While we definitely play some expected billboard hits, we try to structure our sets around niche Indie songs while occasionally slipping in a hidden gem that only your old-heads would recognize. Seeing someone across the room light up because you played an obscure song from one of their favorite artists 50 years ago is one of coolest parts about what we do.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://movienite.band
- Instagram: @therealmovienite
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MovieNite
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealMovieNite
