On This Date, April 2nd in 1981: The Penelope Spheeris-directed Punk Rock Documentary, The Decline Of Western Civilization debuted in Southern California. Capturing the ferocity of the thriving and wildly influential LA and Orange County Punk music scene, Decline featured live performances from Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, Fear, Alice Bag Band, X, Catholic Discipline and The Germs, whose now long-deceased lead singer, Darby Crash graces the movie poster. Many of the film’s live performance scenes were shot at The Fleetwood, a cavernous live music venue near the pier in Redondo Beach, which I believe was formerly home to a Bowling Alley or Skate Rink.
Tag Archives: documentary
Recommended Reading: Don’t Shoot! I’m The Guitar Man, By Buzzy Martin
When I was in High School, our senior class was shown the documentary film Scared Straight, a cautionary tale in which a group of hardened criminals serving life sentences at New Jersey’s Rahway State Prison spend a day terrifying a group of smart ass juvenile offenders in an effort to deter them from pursuing a life of crime. I’m not sure if this film – which probably seems quaint in retrospect – is still part of the curriculum in a day when metal detectors are installed at the entrance of most schools (and I was never in any way what one might consider a delinquent kid) but Scared Straight scared the shit out of me.
Continue reading Recommended Reading: Don’t Shoot! I’m The Guitar Man, By Buzzy Martin
Must See Film: The Other F Word
Three Words: Punk Rock Dads. Without going into any detail at all, just the idea that anyone would make a documentary film about Punk Rock Dads is so golden. I mean, seriously: taking the ultimate anti-authoritarian pop-culture figure and putting him in the position of being the iron-fisted authority in a child’s life is both wildly fascinating and unbelievably hilarious. So, convincing me to check out the new film, The Other F Word, (the “F” standing for Fatherhood) directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins was a total no-brainer. Because, Punk Rock Dads!
Fix: The Ministry Movie
“Just One Fix…”
I don’t imagine that many individuals would disagree with a statement made by Ministry front man Al Jourgensen close to the beginning of Fix – a profoundly gritty and utterly compelling documentary of which he is the primary focus – that the best job to have is one where you’re paid to be yourself. Possibly the single most influential musician of the Industrial music genre and an undeniably notorious and outspoken character, Jourgensen has never “posed” nor compromised for the sake of his art. In fact, he’s pretty much always earned a pay check for the talents involved in just being Al Jourgensen. Fifteen years ago, while Ministry was touring the world in support of the Filth Pig album, Al was a relentless junkie who was equal parts devil and messiah to everyone who entered his orbit. Someone on that tour bus was a filmmaker with a camera. Fix: The Ministry Movie is the resultant documentation of the full immersion into Al’s world of someone who was, essentially, just along for the ride. Most of the journey isn’t very pretty.
Denny Tedesco Presents The Story of The Wrecking Crew
Using a phrase like “The soundtrack of your life” means different things to different people. While I can admit to being a fan of music practically since I was an egg, as far as the role music had in attaching itself to seminal memories, informing my current tastes and shaping the person that I am today, the soundtrack of my life would have to be the music I heard on AM radio stations while growing up in Southern California during the 60s and 70s.
The pop music of that era is unique in many ways, but one facet of its enduring sound is tied in to the fact that so much of that music was recorded by a select group of highly versatile and keenly skilled studio musicians that came to be known informally as The Wrecking Crew. These musicians were constantly brought in for session work by legendary producers, such as Phil Spector and Lou Adler, for their ability to turn in top quality, professional performances in a brief window of time, and their presence on recordings of the era is nearly ubiquitous. To peruse a comprehensive list of Wrecking Crew recordings would likely make your head explode with its vast scope, but a few of the songs you might be familiar with include:
Nancy Sinatra’s “Boots,” Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep Mountain High,” “Indian Reservation” by Paul Revere & The Raiders, “Windy” By the Association, The Mama’s & Papa’s “California Dreaming,” “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers, Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” (Note: Campbell was a staple Wrecking Crew guitarist before embarking on his own successful singing career) “The Beat Goes On” by Sonny & Cher”, “Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds, anything by Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass as well as TV-series-based bands such as The Partridge Family and The Monkees, and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album in its entirety. They were also responsible for creating Phil Spector’s signature “Wall of Sound.”
If you’ve just had to lift your jaw from the floor, please know that these songs barely scratch the surface of the extensive recorded catalog featuring members of The Wrecking Crew. You might think that setting out to create a documentary film about The Wrecking Crew would be a daunting task that no one could possibly be up for; but you would be incorrect. One highly prolific Wrecking Crew guitarist was a guy named Tommy Tedesco, who passed away in 1997. Before he died, however, Tommy’s son Denny began working on this documentary as an homage to his dad. After fifteen years of research, conducting interviews and going through film and photography archives, the film is now complete, though reams of footage remain for additional content. After doing well on the festival circuit, Tedesco has been screening The Wrecking Crew privately in select national markets in order to raise funds for a DVD release. I attended such a screening in Brooklyn on Sunday evening and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this film, and how appealing, worthwhile and valuable this movie is.
As much as the film was a labor of love and obviously a highly personal memoir of Tommy Tedesco and his fellow musicians, The Wrecking Crew is also a riveting piece of musical and cultural history, capturing a time in the music industry and the American lifestyle that will never, ever be duplicated. It is must-see viewing for any music fan. I am not exaggerating when I say that my mind was blown about every five minutes during this film. The movie is also extremely laugh-out-loud funny in parts, as well as being very deeply heartfelt. I had to dab tears away from my eyes more times than I care to admit because so much of it felt personal to me. I can’t imagine others will not have similar reactions. The Wrecking Crew is possibly the best music documentary I’ve ever seen.
While the Wrecking Crew consisted of approximately 20- 30 musicians, Tedesco focuses on a select few – with his dad being a key player, of course – to tell the stories behind the music, including drummers Hal Blaine (widely known as the World’s Most Recorded Drummer) and the late Earl Palmer, Bassist Carol Kaye, Saxophonist Plas Johnson (Think: Pink Panther Theme), Glen Campbell, Pre-stroke Dick Clark, Cher, Brian Wilson and Herb Alpert (known for both his stunning and iconic trumpet compositions as well as for having founded A&M Records) among others who may not be household names, but whose work you will know. I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to final credits. Wrecking Crew!
Denny Tedesco still needs approximately $250,000 in additional funding to pay for the licensing of all this awesome music. I’m sure that a mega-celeb such as Cher – who is interviewed several times in the film – could handle that size of a donation and not even miss the cash. But anyone who would like to see this important film brought to a wide audience can also support the film by attending a screening (suggested donations range from $12 to $30) or visiting the website and making a donation of any amount at This Link. To locate a screening in your area visit this list of upcoming screenings at Wrecking Crew Film Dot Com.