i'm starting to feel like i'm working on the set of The Exorcist, fer chrissakes!!

I've spared anyone who might be listening from the series of complicated complexities that have been plaguing my work on this Mott documentary mainly because it's just too damn hard to explain. But, I have to get off of my chest, figuratively and literally. Per chance, someone will be able to feel my pain and we can commiserate. I'll make it a list as a stab at keeping it concise.

1. I accidentally pull the external hard drive off of a very high shelf that renders it (and the Final Cut Express version of the MottDoc that I was using as a reference as I began migrating everything to Final Cut Pro X) useless.

2. Actually before even realizing that 1 happened I simply updated Final Cut Pro X which left it in a state unable to even recognize any of the work I had done on it up until that point. I had even backed it all up two days previous (and feeling very self-congradulatory about it) but the backups weren't recognized.

3. So now I literally have to start from scratch. I was almost up to 60 minutes and I literally have to build it all over again.

Breath.

4. And now, as I type this, FCPX isn't recognizing a whole group of pictures that I had utilized in the first segment of the film. The person whose photographs they were emailed them to me again. They even don't work.

Sigh.

fresh start

I just got the new version of Final Cut Pro and was so impressed that I decided to migrate the Mott Doc to it. as it does not open up files made in previous versions (such as Final Cut Express, as I was previously using) it meant that I had to import the files (video, audio, photos) one at a time. seemingly tedious, but it's giving me the chance to go through what I had done so far and tune it up and go back and fix all of that stuff I told myself I needed to. and this program is INFINITELY easier to edit in than FCE. but, as I had been writing entries more often with the previous version (as I had to wait for it to render every little thing and, hence, had time to do such) I have not shone my face here as of late because of aforementioned efficiency. so, I'm happy. it's a pleasure to edit with FCPX in comparison to FCE, which was a bit of a chore.

David Goodrich mentioned the idea of coordinating the first showing of this documentary with the release of Patrick Sumner's forthcoming book about the KC punk scene in the 80's and a group art show. Possibly involving the Charlotte Street Foundation. We'll see! It's a great idea! Any thoughts?

shout outs

I'm thinking tonight (again) of Chris Batte, interviewer extraordinaire, and his great cameraman (who I am embarrassed not to know the name of right at this moment). Chris is the one who got the Archer Prewitt and Steve Albini interviews done. A friend gave me his name and number because I couldn't afford to go to Chicago myself to do interviews, and that is where Chris Batte, documentarian himself, lived. Well, he was more than happy to help, very gracious with his time, equipment, and talent, and came back with two excellent interviews. They went above and beyond and I am thankful that they were willing to be so generous and helpful. And I would also like to thank Archer and Steve for consenting to do interviews and for being so open and forthcoming. Your interviews are hard to cut anything out of!

Mudhead!!

So, I am editing this documentary basically chronologically, as that is fundamentally how the timeline of it will evolve. And now, I am on the era of Mudhead. That 3-4 year window of unfettered musical creativity that took place in late-80's Kansas City between Mott-ly, Barry Phipps, Lori Tiller, Beth Watson, and Archer Prewitt. And I'm digging it. I loved Mudhead and feel that they were very under-documented and that their horn should be tooted. So, I'm tooting it. Fortunately, I was able to get all of the remaining members of Mudhead to agree to be interviewed. If you wanna see some very grainy beta footage of Mudhead opening for Slint at The Foundry (around '89), see below.

Okay, the render is done...

Mott 101

So Mott was a close friend that I'd known since 1986 or so. I met him during my brief stint at KCAI. I knew he was a mentor when I first met him (and I was really needing one at that point in my life). Throughout our friendship we alternated mentoring each other. He was born with hemophilia. Later became HIV+ no thanks to tainted blood factor (which he had to shoot up). A sculptor. An ACT UP activist. An incredibly bright soul tethered to an incredibly debilitating body. Ended up having both of his legs amputated for different reasons. About two years before he died (which was 4 years ago today) I pitched the idea to him about making a documentary about his life and I think he was fascinated by the idea. But, when the time came to penetrate the veil, he became hesitant. And then he became increasingly hard to get a hold of. And then, after a couple of interviews and no input on his part, I put it on the back burner. About two years later, he died. You can cynically cue up the anthemic music if you want, but it was on that day that I knew that I had to make the documentary. Within the week I was shooting the first footage at his Kansas City memorial and the New Orleans style funeral march that went from YJ's Snack Bar to Tom Deatherage's Late Show gallery (which was one of the most moving things that I've ever participated in). Four years later I have over 40 interviews and tons of stuff that I want to smash together into a reasonably lengthy documentary about my friend Mott.

something to do while i wait for video to render...

Hey! I just wanted to take this time to let you know that I am deep into editing the Mott-ly documentary. So far, it's been both an immense amount of fun and an exercise in serious problem solving (on many various levels simultaneously). Fortunately, they are problems that I am more than willing (and hopefully able) to solve.

To condense someone's life and all the complexity that that encompasses is often intimidating. But a bit of compromise is good exercise in letting go, at the very least. And so, instead of turning this into some Warholian twelve-hour unabridged version of Mott's life, I'm going to do my best to distill it's essence. What a lofty goal! What can I say? I'm an idealist.

I've had so much help putting this together and I can't thank you all enough, either by granting me an interview, scanning some pictures, or digging up old videos. Or even more simply, by encouraging me. That means a lot. I just want to do the man justice and your encouragement helps me to believe that I can accomplish that.