A Message from the Director

In the Fall of 2000 I had just started college in Boston. One night a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go with him to a concert. On the T ride over it dawned on me to ask what kind of music we were going to see. “Punk,” he said. I was a little thrown; nothing about my friend said “punk” to me. I wondered what was I in for…

We paid $10 at the door and wandered into a room with a bunch of other clean cut teenagers like us. As I stood there watching everyone mill about, what struck me is that it seemed a lot of the people there knew each other personally. I perused the merch table as fans eager to show their support stocked up on DIY t-shirts, CDs, and buttons. The first band came out on stage to set up. They talked to some people in the crowd and went about their business tuning and soundchecking. As they got closer to starting the vibe in the room picked up. We took our places on the left side of the room, right in front of the - barely raised - stage. The crowd condensed around me and I started to get excited.

The band got suited up and introduced themselves so passively that I almost missed it. Then the guitarist hit the opening chord and sent a shockwave through the room. Kids all around me started to jump and sway into one another, like corn kernels inside of a microwave popcorn bag. They moved in waves towards the stage, singing along, extending their fists and shaking them rhythmically to the lyrics. There was pushing and shoving, but when the song ended they smiled and hugged one another. I was bewildered.

Zero pretense, near zero production value. Just electricity, instruments and you. Exactly what playing music for other people is supposed to be. From that moment on I was hooked. I started going to punk shows as often as I could. I was exposed to a world that had been boiling just under the surface - in the basements and VFW halls of places like New Jersey and Long Island - and watched it eventually break out into the mainstream and garner a global audience. Over the last 20 years, the music of these bands has reached millions of people, but the story of how they started has gone largely untold. They changed not only what it meant to be punk, but what it meant to be a “rock-star” by infusing mainstream rock music with the emo sensibility.

After college I moved to Los Angeles and have been working in reality/doc TV for the last nearly 15 years. I decided it’s finally time to use my skills and experience to give these artists and their fans the documentary that they deserve. In the DIY spirit of the scene, I want to do it myself…but I’m gonna need to ask for your help to make it happen. I’ll be launching a Kickstarter for the project in the coming months. Be sure to join our mailing list to stay up to date with our progress and stay involved.

On a personal level, I feel it’s vital to remind kids out there that creating music and playing it for people - even if you’re not a musical prodigy - is a powerful tool of expression, of coping, of gaining self confidence and learning how to connect with others. No matter what you hear on the radio or see on TV, (or more accurately these days) iTunes, Spotify, etc., you can make whatever kind of music lives inside of you. If you work hard and it’s genuine, your music will reach people. That’s a lesson I’m hoping is never forgotten.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Kyle Kilday