Clowns for Cannes

"We went to a soundstage in L.A. and got clown makeup put on us," says Shoestring Strap singer/guitarist Dave Lowenstein of his band's appearance in the upcoming film Circus of Life. "We waited around for eight hours, until the end of the day, for them to shoot us dressed as drunk clowns and lip-synching to our song 'If Jesus Was Whiskey (I'd Be a Saved Man).' "

Lowenstein says they landed the movie gig because "Our mandolin player's dad Bert Tenzer is a film and TV producer in L.A. He's been working on this movie since the '60s, when he shot footage with Casey Kasem, [British comedian] Terry Thomas, and the guy who did voice-overs in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. He added some newly shot scenes around 2006 with William Shatner and Doug Llewellyn, of People's Court fame. He needed a song in the movie to symbolize the corrupt youth of today, and what could be a better fit than our tune?"

A clip of the band's appearance in the film is posted on their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/shoestringstrap). Mixed with '60s and '70s footage of L.A. strippers and strip clubs is new footage of William Shatner as a hippie-haired cartoonist pornographer and Shoestring Strap, near unrecognizable under the clown makeup.

"It's been sent off to some film festivals," says Lowenstein, "so who knows where it could take us. We're available to play at Cannes."

Shoestring Strap appears Saturday, August 11, at Hensley's Flying Elephant Pub in Carlsbad, which opened in July and is co-owned by former Flogging Molly accordion player Matt Hensley.