Rock Documentary
GWAR Announce Premiere of Feature-Length Documentary This Is GWAR
GWAR have announced a new feature-length documentary called This Is GWAR, which will premiere at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The film festival takes takes place September 23rd through 30th. The documentary is a behind-the-scenes glimpse at “the humans who’ve fought to keep [GWAR] alive for over 30 years.” It features interviews with past and present band members — including unseen footage of late GWAR founder Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus) — as well as other artists such a Weird Al Yankovic, Thomas Lennon, Bam Margera, Alex Winter, and more. Bob Gorman, a longtime GWAR performer/associate and the author of the 2015 biography Let There Be GWAR, said of the new documentary: “The story that emerges shows the trials and tribulations of GWAR. The founders of this band deserve credit...
New Documentary Punk the Capital Traces History of Iconic Washington D.C. Hardcore Scene
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-30T21:47:56+00:00“>April 30, 2021 | 5:47pm ET A new documentary tracing the history of the iconic Washington D.C. hardcore-punk scene is set for release. Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement will open in select theaters and via virtual cinema on May 14th, and then arrive on BluRay/DVD on Record Store Day (June 8th). The 88-minute documentary features some of the biggest names from the D.C. scene circa 1976-1983 such as Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Void, Rites of Spring, and more. Among the punk luminaries interviewed are H.R. (Bad Brains), Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi), Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), and others. Punk the Capital is billed as th...
A&E to Premiere Definitive Two-Night KISS Documentary in June
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-28T18:27:50+00:00“>April 28, 2021 | 2:27pm ET The storied career of KISS will be chronicled in a four-hour, two-night documentary dubbed Biography: KISStory airing on A&E in June. Filmed with the full cooperation and participation of KISS co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, the rock doc will feature appearances by a number of notable music luminaries. A description of the documentary from A&E reads: “After 50 years of rocking and rolling all night and partying every day, the #1 Gold Record selling band of all time, KISS, shares their story of success before finally smashing their last guitar and extinguishing the fire-breathing demon.” In addition to Stanley and Si...
Lzzy Hale’s Powerhouse Vocals Highlight Halestorm’s Cover of The Who’s “Long Live Rock”: Stream
Halestorm have covered The Who’s “Long Live Rock” in conjunction with the recently announced documentary of the same name. The rousing rendition is fueled by frontwoman Lzzy Hale’s powerful vocals. The new documentary Long Live Rock … Celebrate the Chaos focuses on the culture surrounding hard rock, with appearances by members of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, Halestorm, and many others. It was filmed at a number of U.S. rock festivals in recent years, and also spotlights fans of the music, as they “commune with their ‘rock families’.” In promotion of the movie, Halestorm have tackled “Long Live Rock”, which was released on The Who’s 1974 rarities collection, Odds & Sods, and also featured during the credits of the legendary UK band’s 1979 documentar...
Serj Tankian on His Film Truth to Power, the Chaos Around Toxicity, and the Time He Feared for His Life
Serj Tankian’s life as an activist and musician is captured in the new documentary, Truth to Power. The just-released film offers a fascinating look at the singer’s journey inside and outside of his multiplatinum rock band System of a Down. Following Tankian’s path from his childhood to to his pre-SOAD band Forever Young to the present day, Truth to Power features testimonials by Serj and his bandmates, along with such associates as producer Rick Rubin and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. The film also uses archival video to tell Tankian’s story of activism, while also touching on the origins and highlights of System of a Down’s career. Interspersed are newly shot scenes that include the singer visiting his old high school in Hollywood and voyaging to Armenia during a revolutio...
Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers Crams 50 Years of Art Pop Into Two Giddy Hours: Sundance 2021 Review
This review is part of our Sundance 2021 coverage. The Pitch: Sparks has been around for just shy of 50 years, and have influenced just about every major pop act since the 1970s –from New Order to Weird Al Yankovic. They’re one of the greatest bands of all time, but you probably haven’t heard of them. That is, of course, unless you’re Edgar Wright, pop culture vagabond and Sparks superfan, who brings his giddy, high-tilt cinematic energy to a two-and-a-half-hour chronicle of two California-born brothers who made it to the top of the pop charts, and have spent the last several decades reinventing themselves with every new album and experimentation. Along the way, he talks to artists and fans who’ve grown up with their work (Jason Schwartzman, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Fred Armisen), and i...
Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, KISS, Judas Priest, and More Star in Rock Camp, The Movie: Watch Trailer
A new documentary feature film titled Rock Camp, The Movie features such music icons as Alice Cooper, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, KISS, Judas Priest, and more. The movie chronicles the journey of four everyday people as they attend Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp has been going on for 25 years, where aspiring musicians get to hang out and jam with legendary musicians. The movie takes viewers on a backstage pass of the camp, offering an inside look at what goes on during a typical experience. Among the rockers featured in the movie are Daltrey (who was a big part of getting Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp off the ground), Cooper, KISS’ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Richie Faulkner, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, ...
Todd Haynes Documentary on The Velvet Underground Lands at Apple TV+
Todd Haynes has found a home for The Velvet Underground, his upcoming documentary about the legendary avant-garde rock band of the same name. According to Variety, Apple TV+ has picked up the film and the worldwide distribution rights that come along with it. The documentary aims to establish The Velvet Underground’s status as a cultural touchstone ripe with contradictions. As such, it will include never-before-seen performances, studio recordings, experimental art, and various films by their one-time manager and longtime supporter Andy Warhol. Surprisingly, The Velvet Underground is the first full-length documentary of Haynes’ career. Over the past three years, the Oscar-nominated director put ample time and care into the feature to make sure it represents the band accurately, going so fa...
The Raconteurs Release New EP and Documentary, Live at Electric Lady: Stream
The Raconteurs have shared a new EP and concert documentary, both called Live at Electric Lady. Stream them below via Spotify and YouTube. As the title implies, this Spotify exclusive was recorded at the iconic Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Built by Jimi Hendrix and legendary acoustician John Storyk in 1970, the studio has hosted some of the most celebrated acts of the last fifty years, including one of Jack White’s other bands, The White Stripes. This release is the first in a Spotify-sponsored series that celebrates Electric Lady’s 50th anniversary. Recorded in September of last year, the nine-track EP leans heavily on The Raconteurs’ 2019 album Help Us Stranger, including “Bored and Razed”, “Help Me Stranger”, “Only Child”, and “Sunday Driver”. The rockers also play a pai...
