Music Mondays: A Band Called, Death - a great music story.

"Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco..."
...Taken from Drafthouse Films website

 

Hey ya. I’m not sure if I’m the last to catch the scoop of this phenomenal story, but for those who are saying “what, a band called Death,” here goes the story….

Taken from Shelia O’Malley's article on Roger Ebert.com -- http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-band-called-death-2013

"This is the Ramones, but two years earlier." — Questlove of The Roots on Death

In the 1970s, three teenage brothers, David, Dannis and Bobby Hackney, formed a rock 'n roll band called Death. They grew up in Detroit, with loving supportive parents who gave them only one credo: "Back up your brother." Death never got very far, and their story is a fascinating one, told beautifully by Jeff Howlett and Mark Christopher Covino in their new music documentary "A Band Called Death."

David, the visionary, who came up with the band's controversial name, died of lung cancer in 2000. F. Scott Fitzgerald may have been right: there may be no "second acts in American lives," but "A Band Called Death" is a portrait of the good fortune and recognition that can come your way if you just stick around long enough. But it also delves movingly into the bittersweet feelings that come from being a pioneer, someone who is right before it is time. It tells what it's like to withstand a decade of professional rejection, followed by two decades of total silence, and what it's like to endure unimaginable loss.

The brothers loved all kinds of music growing up (their father made them watch The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and each brother said they picked the instruments they wanted to play as they watched that historic broadcast). It was after The Who played Detroit that it became clear to them the sort of band they wanted to be. They loved Alice Cooper and Queen. Death's stuff was loud, fast, and powerful. David's lyrics were evocative, political, and eerily prophetic. But in Motown-dominated Detroit, three African-American brothers playing screaming rock 'n roll (or, as their brother Earl, laughingly called it, "white boy music") was against the grain in every which way. "We were the loudest thing they'd ever seen," says Bobby. Nobody quite knew what to do with them. Radio stations hesitated to play their songs. David was okay with that, saying to his brothers, "Pure rock 'n roll is what they don't play on the radio." This was before the Sex Pistols. This was before punk rock. As Mike Rubin wrote in his 2009 New York Times article about the unknown band from 35 years ago, "Death was punk before punk was punk."

There was also the little problem of the name of the band, a huge turnoff to record executives, producers, and pretty much everyone else. Arista Records offered them a deal, but only if they changed the name. David turned Arista down. Bobby and Dannis were furious; they both were willing to change the name, but David refused, and that was pretty much the end of Death. 

The rejection got to Bobby and Dannis: they were rejected for the name of the band, rejected for the fact that they were black boys playing "white boy music", rejected for the sound of the music itself which didn't "fit" at the time. For 35 years, the master tapes made by United Sound (the Detroit studio which recorded them) sat in an attic collecting dust. Bobby and Dannis moved to Burlington, Vermont, forming a reggae band which had some success, and David stayed in Detroit, writing songs, and drinking too much. One of his brothers says, "He was one of those genius types. The demons get to you."

"A Band Called Death" is a story of the burgeoning punk rock scene, of the exploding DIY energy in the 1970s, but it is also a sweet and touching family story. The filmmakers keep it simple, using floating black-and-white photos of the brothers jamming with their instruments, or, hauntingly, walking through a covered bridge in Vermont. Home movies of the boys playing in an upstairs room at their parents' house shiver with the excitement of their raw energy and self-belief. 
 

I'll stop here... to read the entire article click on the link above. 
 

So, how did Bryan and I hear about this story/band? We were at an after party for PRIDE a couple of weeks ago and two teammates from our kickball league told us about it.  Bryan and I were skeptical at first. The name really does put you off. Also, often when we are in a conversation with people about our love of punk rock music the lines get blurred. Most people think of hard punk rock ...borderline metal and that is all wrong! We like classic punk rock with the 3 cords - music where the drums and bass lead with clear, upbeat vocals. Welp, that's Death!

We watch the documentary last night and IT IS FANTASTIC! I HIGHLY recommend you watch it.. even if you aren't into punk rock or music. It's a heart warming story of a family bond that never dies along with a dream that was destine to come true!

 Definitely click on HERE to check out some more of their story, music and where/how to see the film.

Happy Music Monday!