Neutral Nation Appreciation Society

Not really affiliated with the film in any way, but probably of interest to those who are interested in the film - there's a new facebook group called Neutral Nation Appreciation Society.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=50276132587

Check it out.

P.S. - We interviewed Chabot last weekend. Soldiering on!

They Were Right!

Where We're At

Okay, gang, it's been a while but wheels are in motion.

Dave has been busy with On the Lake (and I saw a test screening of it last night - it's real good) but, despite blog appearances to the contrary, all has NOT been quiet on the Neutral Nation movie front. A few weeks back we did an extensive interview with Yarworth, and we've got Chabot lined up soon.

And there has been scanning. Dear god, has there been scanning.

For those of you who have been asking when we're going to do another set of interviews with fans, friends, and associates of the band we're going to schedule one once we finish up some more band interviews to see what areas of Neutral Nation history we need to get commentary and information on.

Skateboarding at Steve's

Ahoy! Check this out...some super8 film from our day with the 'Nation boys in Attleboro. While we talked with Mike, Steve, Stumpy, T-Buck, Steve and Johnny in the Lounge, guys and gals skated above us!

They Were Right!

Photo from Interview Night

Important: Scheduling Interviews

Greetings. I've got an important announcement regarding the production of "It's a Bash":

On the evening of Tuesday, July 29 we're going to be conducting interviews with several people who either have stories to tell about Neutral Nation, the punk scene that surrounded Neutral Nation, or the individual members of Neutral Nation. If you saw them live, if you bought their records, if you knew them, if you were a regular at "The Rocket" or the old Living Room or, heck, even the early days of Club Babyhead then we want to talk to you and we want to talk to you on camera and then put you in the movie.

Don't worry if you don't think you'll be good on camera: most people don't think that. We're just going to record a conversation and edit it in.

Please get in touch, soon (we're going to schedule specific times) - you can email me at kevin.cafferty@DONOTSPAMgmail.com (remove the DONOTSPAM).

Thanks, and please repost.

Out of the Past

We had a meeting earlier this week, and I was able to rifle through some of the archival material the band members have provided us with - handwritten letters from Jello Biafra, old show flyers, old issues of the NicePaper. Some of it I remember and some of it is from before my time - but it was all really cool stuff.

Other things of a more business-like nature were discussed, and we're hammering down schedules. If you have a story to tell about Neutral Nation, if you were a fan, if you just want to talk about what it was like seeing them in times past then please get in touch.

Contact info is at http://www.neutralnationmovie.com.

Tonight I look through some old video footage of Club Babyhead. Hopefully it's not smell-o-vision.

Thank You!

Just a quick update...

My week with Neutral Nation is over. I'm going through a weird depression/withdrawal. With the two shows in the can, we move on now to archival material and interviews with fans. Be on the look out: I'm planning a couple of days when interested NN fans can come and interview with us at our studio in Providence.

So if you've contacted us already, we'll be in touch shortly. And if you haven't, then what the hell are you waiting for?

And check back here...some footage from the shows is coming, along with a trailer. Stay tuned...it's going to be fun.

--David

One Down, One to Go

The first of two Neutral Nation shows this weekend happened last night. On a personal note, it was weird seeing a punk rock show at the old Rocket/Club Babyhead - a place I hadn't been inside since it closed in the 1990's. It still smells the same, which is both comforting and disturbing.

The bands were great, Neutral Nation rocked the house. If you missed this show by some chance, however, DO NOT DESPAIR. There's another Neutral Nation show scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, with special guests and an interview booth set up so you can tell your stories about the band and about the Providence rock scene of yore. There'll also be a mailing list sign-up at the merch table, so if we don't have time to get you on tape we can schedule another time.

See you all tomorrow! It'll be a, uh, bash.

Practice at the Midway Studio #1

With T-Buck in town, the band wastes little time: setting up a "digital" practice and recording session at the Midway Studio.

Re-Post from Neutral Nation: Free Admission to Rock and Roll High School at Club Hell if you come to NN show

Free Admission...to Rock and Roll High School at Club Hell...if you come (and pay) to see Neutral Nation first.


Hell, I'm sure we're going to stick around! (they have drinks there, don't they?)

See y'all Friday Night at Club Hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday All-Ages Show at the Living Room

Another re-post from the Neutral Nation boys:

This Sunday Afternoon, from 2:00 to 8:00 at the Club that we owe it all to, The Living Room!!!!!!
Bring the kids, bring the parents...it's all ages, it's cheap, it's early...and it'll be a freakin' Blast!!!!!!!

Our special guests will be:

The Agents: One of the best bands to ever come out of Little Rhody are back and playing selected shows...you can't miss 'em!

For What It's Worth: Neutral Nation's newest buddies! A Great Band with a Great Attitude.


The FID's: Freakin' Hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Furlong: The artists formerly known as Grade School Crush bring their own brand of metal/punk/rock to the show. They have opened for us in the past at The Living Room and are a fun band to see.


Frenzy of Tongs: Good old fashioned Punk Rock with a sense of humor.

I, for one, can't wait to see these guys!

This show will be filmed for http://www. neutralnationmovie. com
The film crew will be interviewing as many as people as possible, so come to the show with your stories and be ready to have a blast!!!!!!!!!!

God Bless Randy Hein...we miss you my friend!

Reposted from Neutral Nation:

Neutral Nation THIS Friday Night at Clb Hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Show starts at 8:00...and ends early (11:00ish)...no excuses, just go to the show.



The bands:
The Bangovers featuring Duncan Yarworth on Vocals (Dexter's Nephew!!! First time out, let's make 'em welcome!)

For What It's Worth: Freakin' Awesome Punk rock from Providence...they made us all believer's when we played together at Jerky's! You need to see this band!

Two Guys and Another Guy: If you didn't see this band back in the day, now is your chance to see something amazing! Featuring the ultimate showman, Dopey Lopes, Guitar god Johnny Jones (Mother Jefferson, Backwash, Motormags), George Sullivan (Backwash, Mother Jefferson, Suicide Liquors and all around good guy) and Fred Abong (Throwing Muses, Belly, Vicious Circle, FredKendallAbong).

Freakin' Awesome!!!!

Neutral Nation: With Special guests!!!! Original Members Steve Lepper (Big World, Big Nazo and too many other bands to mention) and Johnny Cote (just about every band in RI!!!!) will be jammin' some of our oldest tunes with us!!!

More show details

This comes from Dave Chabot himself:

Both shows confirmed.
June 20th at Club Hell: Neutral Nation, Two Guys and Another Guy (Reunion), For What It's Worth and The Bangovers (Mike's nephew...firs show ever)

June 22nd The Living Room, 2:00-8:00: Neutral Nation, The Agents, The FID's, Acetone, Furlong, Frenzy of Tongs.
--------
We hope to see everyone there - the plan is to interview fans of the band and people who were involved in the scene back then before and after the shows.

Shows announced

Show dates have been announced. Both will be shot for the film. Details forthcoming about opening acts, the scheduling of interviews and whatnot, but I figured this would be good to post as soon as possible:


Friday Night, June 20th at Club Hell

Sunday June 22nd: Afternoon All Ages Punk Rock Show at The Living Room

One Down, a whole lot to go

We shot our first interview on Friday evening. It feels good to finally be getting some stuff on tape. We should be picking up the pace for interviews and start making a lot of headway in April and May. Good Stuff.

Is This Thing On?

Well we are still waiting to begin actual shooting, but that should commence any day now. David is wrapping up his final shoots for On The Lake, and just picked up some new lighting gear that should help us out with the Neutral Nation movie. We have been getting a great response from people so far and have some really good interviews lined up. I also have gotten the final go-ahead to do some Rocket t-shirts to help raise funds for the production. With any luck we should have those available within a month or so. The movie should be fully underway in April, so expect to see more updates. As always, if you know of someone you think would make a good interview please send them our way!

Thanks!
Liam

Neutral Nation

From our Rocky Point archive...Neutral Nation plays the Living Room.

Neutral Nation

A Scanner Darkly

Last night we had our second meeting for the movie and started in on working through the piles of material Mike Yarworth left with us. From what I hear Dave and Stumpy have their boxes of stuff together as well so we have to really get to work on scanning all this stuff. Guy Benoit joined us for the first time. You may know him from when he played with Thee Hydrogen Terrors or Von Ryan's Express, two of my favorite Providence bands. Guy is going to be helping us track down people and interview them within an inch of their lives. I've known Guy for at least a dozen years and have never gotten a chance to work with him on a project before. I'm looking forward to it. We also screened a tape of the band playing at the Living Room in 1989. There was a lot of hair. A LOT. There also appeared to be a second guitarist. He also had hair. Lots of hair.

We have been compiling a mighty list of people we want to talk to. If you have any suggestions we would really love to hear from you. There are a lot of people out there that booked shows, played in bands, or wrote for fanzines that have lots of stories to tell. Email us! admin@neutralnationmovie.com

Website is now up!

Well after a day of tinkering in Photoshop and Rapidweaver we now have an official webpage up for the movie at www.neutralnationmovie.com . Keep an eye on it for updates in the coming weeks.

And we're off!

So last week we had our first meeting for our upcoming documentary about Neutral Nation, the godfathers of Providence punk. We sat down with Mike and Stumpy and our crew at the new Midway Pictures Superoffice and did a lot of bullshitting about the band, the movie, and the evolution of the punk scene in Providence through the 80's and 90's. Good stuff.

A new addition to the Midway Pictures crew this go-round is Kevin Cafferty, who will be editing the film. Kevin and I used to do a radio show in the early 90's and he is the perfect person to put this together. Kevin is also a very entertaining writer, so hopefully I will get him to do some of these blog updates rather than my boring old crap. He also knows the rules of grammar and punctuation, which I sorely lack.

I managed to get a myspace page setup, and a domain registered for the website. Now we just need to start tracking down pictures, flyers, and most importantly people to interview.