Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
March 1st release of Witness Underground documentary on Patreon
Orlando Podfest: 700+ podcasters
Witness Underground Patreon (patreon.com/WitnessUnderground) :
Patrons, old and new, please reach out to me.
Community monthly meetup - I will implement a monthly Patron only live call to get to know eachother. Expect a few new features and benefits for patrons
The film will come out in March as a soft launch of the finished mastered film. Full-length interviews from Witness Underground documentaries will come out on an elevated tier for extra film features.
Film Update - Witness Underground documentary - in process in February:
5.1 Audio upmix
archival enhancement
song replacement
dialog parametric EQ
Bad ASSociations (open.spotify.com/show/7G5stQjzZi6M0GnYkBJtbA) episode with Chev Clark:
Excellent character driven interviews with great conversationalist and open minded host. Beyond our story telling we get into:
CSA, Blood doctrine is human sacrifice, Shunning, Mental Health, Emotional abuse, Social Control
One of her big goals is to show examples of people who’ve created a life they want after leaving, a path to success. This is a shared mutual goal. I hope you enjoy her episode.
Support the show (patreon.com/WitnessUnderground)
Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly episodes:
bit.ly/WitnessUnderground
Watch now:
WitnessUnderground.com (witnessunderground.com/)
tubitv.com/movies/100018684/witness-underground
vimeo.com/ondemand/witnessunderground
Support:
Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground (patreon.com/WitnessUnderground)
YouTube.com/@WitnessUnderground (youtube.com/@WitnessUnderground)
Reach out directly:
XJWdoc@gmail.com
-Scott
March 1st release of Witness Underground documentary on Patreon
Orlando Podfest: 700+ podcasters
Witness Underground Patreon (patreon.com/WitnessUnderground) :
Patrons, old and new, please reach out to me.
Community monthly meetup - I will implement a monthly Patron only live call to get to know eachother. Expect a few new features and benefits for patrons
The film will come out in March as a soft launch of the finished mastered film. Full-length interviews from Witness Underground documentaries will come out on an elevated tier for extra film features.
Film Update - Witness Underground documentary - in process in February:
5.1 Audio upmix
archival enhancement
song replacement
dialog parametric EQ
Bad ASSociations (open.spotify.com/show/7G5stQjzZi6M0GnYkBJtbA) episode with Chev Clark:
Excellent character driven interviews with great conversationalist and open minded host. Beyond our story telling we get into:
CSA, Blood doctrine is human sacrifice, Shunning, Mental Health, Emotional abuse, Social Control
One of her big goals is to show examples of people who’ve created a life they want after leaving, a path to success. This is a shared mutual goal. I hope you enjoy her episode.
Support the show (patreon.com/WitnessUnderground)
Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly episodes:
bit.ly/WitnessUnderground
Watch now:
WitnessUnderground.com (witnessunderground.com/)
tubitv.com/movies/100018684/witness-underground
vimeo.com/ondemand/witnessunderground
Support:
Patreon.com/WitnessUnderground (patreon.com/WitnessUnderground)
YouTube.com/@WitnessUnderground (youtube.com/@WitnessUnderground)
Reach out directly:
XJWdoc@gmail.com
-Scott





![Christian indie rock record label - Faith Loss & Rock n Roll
Faith loss & Rock n Roll - Christian indie rock record label Rockumentary Witness Underground now streaming.
All links to watch:
Apple TV - Amazon - Tubi TV - YouTube + more...
https://www.WitnessUnderground.com
Watch WITNESS UNDERGROUND with this Full Documentary Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSh1p2dV3s8fgd4ST3VNE835oRFYwa-N2&si=fUoBhWf-BxQBwD0C
Indie alternative rock music spotlight in a leaving christian religion documentary 2024. Music allowed the indoctrinated to think freely while being influenced by an all encompassing belief system.
Within the confines of an elusive cult, a vibrant alternative music community thrived, deprogramming themselves through art. Powerful live performances punctuate tragic losses to beautifully illuminate shunning.
Witness Underground unveils an unexplored music community surviving within a dystopia humanizing the struggle, courage, and artistry of former cult members.
A compelling cult documentary of 2024, chronicling an underground music community influenced by mind control tactics. A gripping tale of escape, surviving shunning, and finding their voices through self-expression.
The only documentary to humanize cult life & survival via self-expression, musicians triumph over trauma from coerced shunning.
Jarring, heartbreaking, infuriating ...Movie score 8/10. [Film Threat]
Advocacy with a megaphone [Bad ASSociation Podcast - Chev Clark]
Witness resilience, escape, & healing through poignant original music.
Shunning beautifully illuminated [Chris Gray - Freestyle Distribution]
Rate and review:
Rotten Tomatoes:
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/witness_underground
Amazon - Boost the algorithm
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CVGPPFZ5
Short Synopsis:
Witness Underground is a feature documentary that reveals the insular DIY artist community that emerged within a high-control faith in Minneapolis. Music, fame, and success are typically forbidden in this religion, which instructs its members to “beware of independent thinking.”
The artists at the heart of the music scene have their faith tested in deeply personal ways. They battle for positive mental health and push the boundaries of their religion’s norms, where leaving often means being banned from interacting with your entire family and social circle for life.
Although severely restricted, they create the record label Nuclear Gopher and produce over 30 albums of earnest and personal music that spans singer/songwriter, riot grrrl, psychedelic rock, pop, EDM, shoegaze, and post-rock. Carefully curated songs and live performances punctuate their stories of friendship, deep loss, and personal growth.
Discover their losses of innocence, friends, and family as they grapple with being outcasts.
Experience their journey from home-brew music videos to grand pop-up festivals over 17 years and 30 albums. Art becomes more than self-expression; it is awakening, healing, and freedom from their trauma. Frequently searing and undeniably confrontational.” [Tone Madison Music Magazine]
An extraordinary narrative of the resilience of the human spirit.
Long Synopsis:
A chilling, yet empowering social impact documentary, Witness Underground highlights the music and defection of doomsday cult members and the consequences of self-expression. A “unique look, with unwavering access, inside the complexities of faith, and the bond forged between artists.” [Amir George, Film and Art Programmer, True/False Film Festival.]
Nuclear Gopher, an underground indie record label, arose within their dystopia as a safe space for a few hundred born-in artists to express themselves. Witness the history of their most prolific underground bands as they navigated in the shadows of a high-control society.
From homebrew music videos to pop-up music festivals these groups created earnest, multi-genre, secular music, as a means of waking up, deprogramming, and processing trauma. Frequently searing and undeniably confrontational [Tone Madison] As outcasts they expose the losses of community, spouses, and family. These artists use their music as more than just an outlet for self-expression but rather as a powerful tool to heal.
#documentary #indierock #indiemusic #atheist #faith #faithjourney #independentfilm #filmmaking #musicproducer #apocalypse #musicdocumentary #doomsday #amazonprime #faithingod #plex #tubitv #ReligiousBeliefs #deconstruction
#protestantchurch #christianreligion #movietrailer #ChristianityExplained #watchtower #FreedomFromReligion #exjw #jw #jworg #apostate #jehovahswitnesses #indielabel #culture #jehovahswitness #deconstructingfaith
#religionandsociety #IGotOut #ChristianFaithJourney #HealingReligiousTrauma #goddebate #religiondebate
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Watch Next: Cult members speak out Rock the Watchtower Cult Awareness Conference - WITNESS UNDERGROUND highlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2tYsA9nIXY
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Christian indie rock record label - Faith Loss & Rock n Roll](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uM7xo2KKv2g/mqdefault.jpg)


![Emotional abuse in religion Family destroyed by cult behavior control - Witness Underground 4/8
Emotional abuse in religion Family destroyed by cult behavior control
[4 of 8]
Stream WITNESS UNDERGROUND on: Apple TV, Amazon, Tubi TV, & YouTube Movies + more...
All global links to watch:
https://WitnessUnderground.com
Or watch the full WITNESS UNDERGROUND Documentary with this playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSh1p2dV3s8fgd4ST3VNE835oRFYwa-N2
Rise & fall of an indie record label, an alternative music scene thriving inside of a high stakes religious group Jehovahs Witnesses.
This powerful segment of Witness Underground delves deep into the emotional and psychological toll of cult behavior control within the Jehovah’s Witness community. Eric and Cindy Elvendahl provide a raw and moving account of the high-stakes punishments and emotional abuse they endured. Cindy recounts her intense study of Jehovahs Witness literature, an experience her brother likened to the movie A Beautiful Mind as the relentless indoctrination began to take a toll on her mental health, leading to confusion and despair.
The clip transitions to a vintage moment from Cindy’s Riot Grrrl-inspired band, Kloey, a vibrant part of the underground music scene that blossomed despite the religion’s oppressive rules. As Kloeys music video begins, the film seamlessly shifts to the present day, featuring a live performance of A Tune You Wrote Me. This cover brings together Cindys husband, Chad Rhiger, and her former bandmates brother, all of whom formed the band HighTV after breaking free from the religion. Their performance embodies the healing power of music and community as they reclaim their identities from the trauma of cult life.
The story then shifts to Ryan Sutter, whose journey of questioning the religions teachings led to devastating personal consequences. When Ryan shared his doubts with his wife, she immediately divorced him, severing their relationship forever. His escape from the religion and the collapse of his marriage converged in a single transformative day, captured poignantly in his song The War is Over. As he drives away, his lyrics provide a fitting soundtrack for this soul-crushing chapter, underscoring the high-stakes decisions, emotional abuse, and family destruction caused by cult behavior control.
This clip weaves themes of families torn apart, healing from cults, and the catharsis of creative expression. Through music, resilience, and storytelling, Witness Underground illuminates the personal cost of high-stakes decisions within a high-control religion while offering a glimmer of hope for those rebuilding their lives.
#jehovahswitnesses #cult #jworg #deconstructingfaith #igotout #recoveringfromreligion #riotgrrrl #musicvideo
#jworguk #documentary #documentaryfilm #documentarymusic #jw #freedocumentary #jworgsitio #jworgusa #abuseofpower #cultdocumentary2024 #christianmovies #atheist #atheism #humanist #humanistdocumentary #jesusmovie
#CultSurvivor #ReligiousTrauma #EmotionalAbuse #FamilyHealing #BreakFree #MentalHealthAwareness #SpiritualAbuse #WomenEmpowerment #HealingJourney #SpeakYourTruth
#ExJW #JehovahsWitnesses #Disfellowshipped #CultRecovery #ShunningSurvivor
#RiotGrrrl #shoegaze #ExJWCommunity #HighControlGroup #ExCultMember #ReligiousFreedom
#UndergroundMusic #Rockumentary #IndieFilm #HealingThroughMusic #DIYMusicScene #RiotGrrrlRevolution #CreativeFreedom #MusicDocumentary #indieartists
#StopShunning #ExposeCults #NoMoreSilence #SupportSurvivors #FaithDeconstruction #AdvocateForChange #TraumaInformed #ReligiousAccountability #EndReligiousAbuse #CultAwareness
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Watch Next: Cult members speak out Rock the Watchtower Cult Awareness Conference - WITNESS UNDERGROUND highlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2tYsA9nIXY
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Emotional abuse in religion Family destroyed by cult behavior control - Witness Underground 4/8](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vCAVomW_Yg8/mqdefault.jpg)

![Musical Genius in 30 Minutes - Witness Underground Podcast shorts
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Cindy Ivy Elvendahl is the musical genius behind many projects including her own music, HighTV. She also did the intro/outro music for Danis podcast. Check out Daniel Martains show Failure To Thriving. Most of the people shes had on so far are either in our documentary Witness Underground or were associated with the community the film is about.
Show host Scott Homan, interviews ex-missionary, chill electronic artist, Valentine Riedman, of the project Blueskys. You can find his albums on Spotify. Search for the album Go Die by Valentine Riedman His song Jealousy made it into the soundtrack for Witness Underground.
Listen:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3uMVVcb5ZsiZUoH08kNmrc?si=81KkkO2hTLeFzef_6zH2OQ
https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandID=253899
As we discuss his JW experience, the music culture, and his eventual dissolution of faith, his journey is punctuated by original music that especially highlights his internal processes and growth through the albums Go Die, Your Old Bones, and I Am Tyrant, all apt titles.
His influences spanned
Modest Mouse, Aphex Twin, Sigur Ros, Fruity Loops, Elliot Smith, Pin Back, M Ward, Jim James, Sufjian Stevens.
I thoroughly enjoyed his music enough to soundtrack our film using his exceptional song Jealousy during the story explanation by Eric Elvendahl about how the Jehovahs Witnesses publicly shame a confession of masturbation. This is easily the funniest moment for me in this episode.
Valentine describes bringing his in-laws to the live screening of Witness Underground in Minneapolis during the SoundUnseen Film + Music Festival and pointing out the soundtrack moment to them while watching live, only to realize that the moment where the song is used is a discussion of the most embarrassing public shaming situation that a Jehovah’s Witness can endure from their leaders.
I hope you enjoy the episode!
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Watch Next: Cult members speak out Rock the Watchtower Cult Awareness Conference - WITNESS UNDERGROUND highlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2tYsA9nIXY
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Musical Genius in 30 Minutes - Witness Underground Podcast shorts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wJLlmGfvzsM/mqdefault.jpg)