PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT:
Sheldon Schiffer
Mysterious Pictures
404-697-3540
contact@mysteriouspictures.com
http://www.mysteriouspictures.com/blackvelvetflag
Mysterious Pictures Releases "Black Velvet Flag" Documentary
Atlanta, GA - April 17, 2003 - Eight years in
the making, Mysterious Pictures Productions is releasing the documentary
film "The
Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag," a story about three grown-up
punks who form a lounge act that satirizes popular music of the punk
rock era. The film documents the true story of the band's rise and
fall from fame, showing us how these ex-punks must reconcile the
ideals of their non-conformist early 80's generation with the life
of adults at the end of the 90's.
In 1994, Rolling Stone magazine voted the quirky
lounge act (yes, lounge act), the "Critic's Pick for the Best Unsigned Band." That
same year, Black Velvet Flag was applauded by the Village Voice and
praised by music critics in New York City, where they performed to
both roaring applause and barbarous insults from the hardcore punk
faithful. The group went on to tour the West coast with mixed results,
before disbanding over issues of creativity versus fame.
Filmmaker Sheldon Schiffer followed the band
every step of their journey, and the result is this highly stylized,
digitally composited documentary. According to Schiffer, he was
shooting "on and
off over a period of three years, from '94 to '97, which was the
lifespan of the band." He added, "I shot wrap-up interviews
in late 1999. I did the final interviews after I had begun really
working with the material in post-production. After that, it was
a long and arduous process to get the film down to 86 minutes."
The film shows the experiences of thirty-something
Fred Stesney (singer), Jeff Musser (bass player), and Jason Zasky
(guitarist) as they come together to form a sound so unique, it
almost succeeds. At the beginning of each show, Stesney, (wearing
either a tuxedo or a sexy little tight black dress), would ask
the audience, "Ever
feel like telling the world to f--k off? Well sit back and have a
drink. We're Black Velvet Flag and we're here to entertain you." What
followed was the strangest blend of lounge, punk, and pop you'll
ever hear.
The finished product is a slick combination of live performance
footage, animation, black and white interviews with each band member,
and scanned imagery.
"The Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag" ultimately
asks and answers these burning questions: Why did they do it? How
did their brief brush with fame dissipate and dissolve? Would they
get chicks on the road, or was the band just too old to really
party?
Schiffer describes the film's audience. "It's made for people
who lived through youth culture of some sort or another, and who
found themselves wondering what to do next with their lives." Currently
the The Rise and Fall of Black Velvet Flag is seeking to find that
audience at film festivals worldwide, and through interested international
distribution companies.
Schiffer is a Film professor at Georgia State University and has
directed other films, both documentary and fiction