A documentary on local music that was shot in Michigan last year was selected to be screened at the Jaxon Film Fest on Saturday, September 29th at the Carnegie Branch Library in Jackson, MI. Documentaries screened at this location are FREE! More information about the festival can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/events/463828700316820/?ref=ts

I was told that Weekend Warriors II will be screened around 2 pm.

Synopsis:

The music scenes that are scattered across Michigan seem to be lacking the attention they once had. Several people will tell you that the ‘scene is dead’. This, however, is clearly not the case as you will see by this look into several of the music scenes you can find locally in Michigan and Northern Indiana.

The Weekend Warriors local music documentary series is set out to showcase the amazing music that is being made locally, show insight into what it’s like to be in these bands, show the differences in music scenes from different genres and cities, and to get the attention of people, showing them that there is good music being made locally and the only way for it to survive is for you to go to the shows and support the bands and venues. Most of these shows are cheap, ranging from free to $10, with anywhere from 3 to 20 bands on any given show. There are shows being hosted on a weekly basis in several cities performing any genre you can think of.

Weekend Warriors II focuses on genres such as hardcore, punk, metal, screamo, post-rock, pop-punk, indie, noise-rock, and more, spanning from cities like Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Muskegon, Lansing, South Bend, and beyond. This look into the local music scene not only provides you with a long list of bands that are continually playing in your area, but it gives you insights into the scene from the musicians themselves.

Band members explain how they became involved with music, what their (rather realistic) goals are for their bands, what it’s like to be a part of an ever-changing music scene, and how to deal with venues opening and closing. The bands also discuss topics such as whether they would like to stay local or become nationally touring bands and what their thoughts are on all ages vs. age restricted shows.

Some of the bands in this documentary are recently formed, while others have been together for several years. There was a first ever show (Chin Up!) and a [possibly] last show (William Bonney) filmed. The bands have proven that they are willing to play with bands that might not be the same genre, age group, or with the same number of fans; they just want to play their music and enjoy other bands as well.

The bands, music fans, venues, bookers, promoters, and local music zines are working hard to rebuild a music scene that has lost a lot of attention over the years due to the economy, lack of support, genres shifting, and other circumstances. This documentary provides a view into local music that should encourage the spectator to go out and see it in person and help be a part of the process of the rebuilding of live local music.

Music from:
Ackley Kid, analecta, Bars of Gold, Brothers, Chin Up!, Discerned, Dr. Device, Forget The Times, From The Ropes, Ghosts of the Great Lakes, Infinite Design, Jowls, La Dispute, Outrun the Sunlight, The Penguin Collector, Please Promise, The Reptilian, Sleepeater, Tall Tales, Their Teeth Will Be Of Lions, Three Mile Island, TimeLapse, Traitor, William Bonney

Interviews with:
Ackley Kid, analecta, The Ant Hill (Kalamazoo house venue), Bars of Gold, Brothers, Chin Up!, Discerned, Ghosts of the Great Lakes, Infinite Design, Jowls, No Fun House (Kalamazoo house venue), Outrun The Sunlight, Please Promise, The Reptilian,
Sleepeater, Their Teeth Will Be Of Lions, Traitor

*Festival version is 67 minutes. More bands are included in the 88 minute DVD version.

Credits:
Producer/camera/editing/audio mixing: Lisa Bridenstine (The Penguin Collector)

Narration written by: Ken Miller (Three Mile Island) and Zach Elmblad (Three Mile Island)

Narration read by: Ken Miller (TMI), Zach Elmblad (TMI), and Ben Boggs (Sleepeater)

Design and layout by: Joshua Davis (Discerned)

Additional cameras by: Ben Boggs (Sleepeater), Jared Koons (The Penguin Collector), Kasey Chaos, Steven Smeltzer

Live show audio: Jared Koons (TPC) and Lisa Bridenstine (TPC)

More information and links to the bands’ facebook pages are at facebook.com/weekendwarriorsdocumentaries