Don’t Knock the Rock 2008
Amid all the Marxist theory and analytical nonsense shoved down my throat during my college days as a UCSB film student, I enrolled in a film/music hybrid class taught by independent filmmaker Allison Anders. Little did I know that she would turn out to be the coolest person ever. Aside from teaching a course that included screenings and discussions of Nic Roeg’s Performance (starring Mick Jagger), A Hard Day’s Night and We Jam Econo (a documentary about one of my favorite bands of all time, The Minutemen), Allison had been curating a film and music festival in L.A. called Don’t Knock the Rock.
I eventually bugged her enough to let me volunteer for an evening at the fest the following summer, and it was one of the best nights I’ve ever had in the City of Angels. I think L.A. sucks and I try to avoid it at all costs, but DKTR actually made my trip worthwhile. Aside from it’s excellent line-up of documentaries, original Gun Club members Kid Congo Powers, Terry Graham and Ward Dotson performed a vigorous set of their best tunes with guest vocalist Thalia Zedek, who did an amazing job of channeling the spirit of deceased singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce. Although they hadn’t played together in many years, the show was mind-blowing, and it’s up there with the most memorable concerts I’ve seen.
This was in 2006, and after a two-year hiatus, Don’t Knock the Rock is back in action. There’s no solid schedule as of yet, but the fest is taking a different approach this year, spreading screenings (presumably accompanied by special musical guests) across Thursday nights in July and August, which should give film and music nerds plenty of flexibility to schedule a trip up north. Ms. Anders has an advisory board that reads like a dream team of independent luminaries – among them Sonic Youth, J. Mascis, Peter Fonda, Frances McDormand, Matt Dillon, John Doe, Don Cheadle and much more – so it’s a given that DKTR will come equipped with the goods.
Probable screenings for this year are Howard Berger’s A Life in the Death of Joe Meek, Stephen Kijak’s Scott Walker: 30th Century Man, and John Srebalus’ Such Hawks Such Hounds: Scenes from the American Hard Rock Underground. Keep up with the latest updates by checking in with the DKTR myspace page:
