The Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag

Do you remember when punk was young, loud, snotty, and offensive? Could you have ever imagined saying something like that in your lifetime? Or were you convinced that we'd all be obliterated in a nuclear holocaust before anyone could ever utter those words?

This short documentary covers how the band Black Velvet Flag was just on the verge of making a name for themselves in the alternative rock scene in the New York Tri-State area. Jeff Musser, Fred Stesney, Jason Zasky decide to form a lounge band specializing in west-coast punk rock music. Unlike Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, they don't diversify into rap, hard rock, or heavy metal.

Fred Stesney is not only the lead singer, but is a true punk historian (There's two more words you didn't think you'd ever see together!). He knows about every band who broke out of California in 1980, as well as the clubs they played at and the site of Oki Dogs.

It's when they actually start doing a tour of the west coast that things start to fall apart. They rent a Chevy Astro van, become convinced their promoters aren't promoting them, and the fans that they thought would get their music, don't have a clue. One club they wanted to brag about playing in, wouldn't even let them bring the camera in. After this, they refused to play there and it was back to their recording studio. Bob Segar, AC-DC, and Bon Jovi all had songs about the difficulties of concert tours. This rocumentary makes it all too real.

I found out about this band from the first "Go-Kart vs. The Corporate Giant" compilation CD, which has one of their few original songs, "I Shot JFK." As someone who listened to a lot of college radio in the 1990's, you'd think I would've heard them there first. They have other original tunes as well, such as one where they mope about how they miss the days when punks and cops had major street battles on a regular basis.

One of their slogans was "punk is not dead, it's just sleeping." With people arguing over whether or not punk is dead since the death of Sid Vicious, this rocumentary makes you wonder if it is. Even Jello Biafra once said in an interview that perhaps punk should die. Then again, he also stated that the only leader who had any decent advice about Syria was Vladimir Putin, which turned out to be total crap. Either way, this is still a movie that should be seen and a band you ought to listen to.