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Such hawks, such hounds - Scenes from the American hard rock underground: DVD

09/11/10  ||  Khlysty

“Such Hawks, Such Hounds” probably has the ambition of documenting hard rock’s evolution from the ‘70s till now. If that’s true, it fails miserably, because it’s impossible to cram so much history into a timeframe of almost 85 minutes. Of course, this doesn’t mean that this documentary, written, produced and directed by Jessica Hundley and John Srebalus, is not good; no, it’s one of the best films my eyes have been afflicted by, because it’s one of the few films that contains important and incisive commentary and remarks from such heavyweights of our beloved music, as Scott “Wino” Winerich, Lori S. (Acid King), Matt Pike (Sleep, High On Fire), Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius (Sleep, OM), Scott Reeder (Obsessed, Kuyss, Unida), Mark Arm (Mudhoney), Billy Anderson (producer extraordinaire), Brant Bjork (Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Che, Brant Bjork and the Bros.), Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley (Thorr’s Hammer, Burning Witch, Goatsnake, Sunn 0))), heads of Southern Lord Records), Jack Endino (also producer extraordinaire), Joe Preston (Thrones, Earth, Melvins, High On Fire), Mario Lalli, Larry Lalli and Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson), Geof O’Keefe (Pentagram), Joe Carducci (co-founder of SST Records), Eddie Glass (Fu Manchu, Nebula), Arik Roper (cover designer extraordinaire), plus a gajillion other people who are directly or in a more indirect way involved into heavy music.

The film tries to follow a historical line, from the early ‘70s and the birth of the heavy, to the ‘80s and how bands like Obsessed and St. Vitus played a vital part in keeping it real in the midst of spandex and hair metal AND mixing it with a good dose of punk, to the ‘90s and the return of the original sounds through “grunge” and “stoner rock” to today and how things are. There are lots of interesting bits and pieces here and there (e.g. we learn the truth about how Sleep recorded “Dopesmoker” and what happened then, how Obsessed were formed, what the hell happened and Pentagram never fully realized their potential for success, and a lot more), but there’s so much information contained here that, sooner or later, the viewer has to decide whether to keep notes, or just continue watching the fucker and grab whatever he can. Some of the less-than-stellar moments of the film come when live clips from bands are inserted, as they seemed to me overlong and not exactly attention-grabbing, at least as far as the way they are presented is concerned. Also, there seems to be a somehow perfunctory presentation on the ‘70s and the ‘80s, with the directors giving much more attention to the ‘90s and the ‘00s.

On the other hand, though, the film contains some of the most wrenching and poignant moments in the history of rockumentaries, when the bands are asked if they make any money from their music and how do they manage to make ends meet. During this part of the film we learn that Wino stays home and watches the kids while his wife is the moneymaker of the family; that Matt Pike, when not being a riff-god, is a construction worker; that, basically, no-one makes any money from their music and everybody has to have a day job to be able to pay for groceries and the rent. To me there’s a sadness there, but also a quiet defiance, like, “hey, we’re broke, but we’ll continue doing the heavy thingy, ‘cause that’s what we wanna do”. Also, there’s a hilarious part about the affinity heavy rock musicians have towards drugs and especially the stinky-weed plus a lot more interesting bits and pieces. So, bottom line is that “Such Hawks, Such Hounds” is a vital film about heavy music and, even though it has some problems, one great watch. So, go buy it, already.

8

  • Written by:
  • John Srebalus
  • Directed by:
  • Jessica Hundley and John Srebalus

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