One thing is sure about most when it comes to punk rock: you
either get it or you don’t. Fortunately for me I fall somewhere in between but
most people love it or hate it. I can at least appreciate what was being
attempted by punk rock even if I didn’t enjoy all of it. That being said I’m
still not quite sure what to make of The Dicks, even after watching this
documentary.
The Dicks were a band that formed in Austin, TX around 1980,
not a time when their style of music or life was considered accessible by most
people. The punk scene in many cities was the same featuring bands who were
hailed by the locals and unknown to the rest of the world. Those who stuck it
out, like The Dicks, were eventually heard around the world but many were lost to
local history. The band was considered influential to the more hardcore punk
music being conceived but like most bands eventually imploded and broke apart.
THE DICKS FROM TEXAS is a love letter of sorts to the band.
You can tell that the film makers were definite fans of the band and its lead
singer Gary Floyd who is featured in numerous interviews taken over the years.
It include interviews with the rest of the band members as well when available
as well as numerous fans and band followers from their heyday. Each person
interviewed has loving stories to tell of the rowdy days when the band played
any and everywhere that they could, sometimes to receptive crowds and other
times to those more inclined to toss them out. But with each war story a
certain amount of respect needs to be offered to the band for sticking it out
long enough to be remembered while so many bands are long forgotten.
One thing brought up concerning the band and noted on the
back sleeve of the DVD was their refusal to “sell out”. Rather than sign on the
dotted line and become a bigger selling act with a national recording contract
they stuck with more regional record companies. While this may have given them
great street cred it did little to line their pockets with much needed cash or
make their recordings accessible to a larger audience. I’ve often considered
that phrase, “sell out”, to be nothing more than an attack on success. It would
be one thing for a band to sign a contract and then completely alter their
style but just signing and recording under a major label shouldn’t be
considered selling out.
Not only that but many times it’s less about selling out and
more about evolving. Many bands sounds changed when they were able to afford
better equipment or as they developed a stage presence. The fact that they were
making money had little to do with the change in sound.
While the documentary definitely loves the band it doesn’t
serve them well in production values. Most of the film is shot on low grade
video and it shows. Sound is also something that isn’t served well in portions
of the doc either. Pictures of the band’s performances begin to be seen over
and over again. Live performances from the past aren’t up to what can now be
done with a cell phone. Surely someone would have recorded the band using
something other than the worst equipment possible. If so you wouldn’t know it
from this film.
Included on the DVD is 30 minutes of live performances by
the band. As I said it’s not the best quality but for fans of the group it
gives them something to remember the band by.
My son is a die-hard punk music fan. He’d heard of the band
and told me they were worth listening to. He watched this with me and when it
finished even he thought the production values on display made it hard to
watch. He even told me that there were several points while watching that he
almost dozed off. Not a good thing with a movie that only runs 80 minutes. But
while watching I thought that the production of this movie was much like the
punk rock music of the past. It was off the cuff, volatile and made for the
masses without care for perfection or the standards set by others. If you’re a
punk rock artists of any sorts that’s a badge of honor that you wear proudly.
Of course as a consumer you might not find it worth plopping down $14 to own
that work of art.
With movies like THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION and
SALAD DAYS, both exemplary documentaries about the punk rock scene, my
suggestion would be to purchase either or both of those documentaries before
this one. If you’re a major fan of the band you’ll want to have this one in
your collection. If you’re a fan of punk rock music you might want to watch it
for historical reasons. For the rest I would pass it by.
Click here to order.
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