Skum Rocks!
| Skum Rocks! | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Clay Westervelt |
| Produced by | Michael Walker Clay Westervelt |
| Written by | Hart Baur Clay Westervelt |
| Starring |
Kevin Bacon Matthew Broderick Fran Drescher Ron Jeremy |
| Narrated by | Alice Cooper |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
77 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Skum Rocks! is a 2013 independent rockumentary film about Skum, a 1980s rock band with "a near-crippling lack of musical talent." The film is directed by Clay Westervelt, a veteran documentary filmmaker, and features the living members of Skum along with various celebrities commenting on the band. The film is dedicated to Jerry Mann, a former bassist for Skum who died in 2011.
Skum was formed in early 1984 by a group of students at the College of William & Mary. The founding members, Hart Baur, Todd, and Scott Bell, were all on the men's soccer team at William & Mary. Their initial performance consisted of cover versions of contemporary rock songs played at a local Williamsburg bar. None of the initial members of the band had any background in music, though they soon recruited Jon Tarrant, who had studied at the Royal Academy of Music. The band members considered their own music to be of poor quality, but persisted in playing for their own enjoyment. Skum sabotaged some of their own gigs rather than have their lack of talent exposed. For example, they distributed beer at an early show and then called the police, who broke up the gathering before the conclusion of their first song; later, they quit a battle of the bands due to the venue's supposedly poor sound quality.
The band used an improvised road crew by offering beer to homeless people in Williamsburg.
Despite these beginnings, Skum relocated to the Miami area, the home town of Baur, after some its members graduated. The band had a brief life in Miami but split up after the recordings of Lost at the Circus, their debut album, were lost.
Skum Rocks! consists of interviews with band members along with commentary from celebrities, with a format similar to that of the TV series Behind the Music.Kevin Bacon, Matthew Broderick, Fran Drescher, and Ron Jeremy were the top-billed celebrities featured; others included Steve-O, Brooke Hogan, and Phil Donahue. Jon Stewart, who was in the film, was also on the William & Mary soccer team. He graduated in 1984, whereas the original members of Skum graduated between 1985 and 1987. Skum Rocks! was partially funded by Kickstarter.
...
Wikipedia