There is a documentary in the making about Los Angeles indie music scene, which will feature interviews with local bands like The Movies, Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Happy Hollows, Earlimart, The Henry Clay People, Radars to the Sky, Seasons, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Deadly Syndrome, Death to Anders, Division Day, Downtown/Union, Everest, The Health Club, The Hectors, Le Switch, Mezzanine Owls, The Monolators, One Trick Pony, Radar Bros., The Transmissions, as well as local bloggers and radio DJs like Kevin Bronson (Buzzbands LA), Jax (Rock Insider), Kat Corbett (KROQ), Ben “Mouse” McShane (Classical Geek Theatre), Joe Fielder (Radio Free Silver Lake) , Mr. Shovel (Indie 103.1), among many others.
The eastside of Los Angeles (Silver Lake, Echo Park, Eagle Rock, Highland Park) has become the scene to be for musicians, as many venues, studios and independent labels are installed in these neighborhoods, and an impressive number of bands are emerging from these areas.
The documentary, entitled ‘Pass the Music’, was shot over 3 years, from 2008 to 2010, and follows several bands, some just starting out, some ending up their career, documenting how difficult it is for musicians to actually make a living, and to sell enough records to be able to tour.
The film, which started out as a small project with Ryan Maples and Jason Tovar (co-directors/producers) being fans of the Los Angeles music scene, is really a labor of love, as it was entirely funded by them and crew members offering their time. Now the Thrillhouse production still needs help for finishing up and bringing the movie to a professional level. So far they have reached 33% of their fundraising goal.
You can watch the trailer at this address,… and I would watch any trailer that starts with a Manhattan Murder Mystery’s song: