Friday, October 21, 2016

SCARRED BUT SMARTER-LIFE N TIMES OF DRIVIN N CRYIN: FAMILIAR ROCK DOC



With the popularity of MTV coupled with VH1 music fans have had access to the life and times of rock bands from the 70s forward in more detail than we would probably like. At the same time we’re a society that loves to look at an accident as we drive by rather than look away, one that scrambles for the latest scandal found on the checkout lane tabloids and loves to see the rich and famous fall down to our level. Sadly the reality is that many we would think fall into that wealthy category never quite got there no matter how much fame they garnered. Take Drivin’ n Cryin’.

The southern rock band that formed in 1985 was hugely popular on the local circuit but took a while to break out nationally. Now when I say southern rock band don’t misunderstand, this isn’t an Allman Brothers of Molly Hatchet style band. Drivin’ n Cryin’ was straight up rock and roll. But as with most bands a taste of fame led them down some wrong paths and the end result was losing the possible stardom they could have achieved.

Combing music videos with interviews and home footage, director Eric von Haessler puts together a story of a band that began as friends and ended up broken apart by success. The movie presents the story of how they came together, how the central figure of the band was and remains Kevin Kinney and how egos, drugs and the record business can tear apart a band that people love and turn them into something else completely. As I said, it’s a familiar tale but at the same time no two stories of how this combustible mixture results in the story of a band is the same.

My exposure to the band is probably the same as most, their hit single “Fly Me Courageous”. What is really upsetting and anger inducing is to listen to the songs played in this film that make up the rest of their catalog and wondering why no one ever played them on the radio. It makes you regret not having their albums on your shelf or their downloads on your iPod. Watching and listening to this movie might help to change that.

But it’s not just the music that makes this movie work. It’s the people involved in their story, the various band members who have come and gone, their battles in and outside of the studios and more. The creativity that oozes from each and their contributions when combined is a part of the band’s history. The way they got caught up in the whole LA experience of stardom and the effect it had on them both as a band and as individuals. Best of all it’s all told in their own words, in the interviews they all do.

By the end of the movie you’ll find yourself cheering for a comeback for this band. An odd choice of words, comeback, because actually they never left. Kinney still plays with a version of the band, perhaps not in arena settings but to appreciative crowds none the less. He still has the outlet to display is creativity and skill.

This movie isn’t just for fans of the group. It’s for music fans, rock fans and those who enjoy finding out just what goes on behind the scenes. Go in looking for those things and you’ll come away with hope for a band that some say “could have been” but who in reality still are. Let’s hope that they get not just the recognition but the respect they deserve.

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