Rock Docs

Welcome to the Very Special 100th Episode of Rock Docs!

Today's episode is on "History of the Eagles", a 2013 film about the California rock band, directed by Alison Ellwood.

Our guest today is our pal, American Painter Jake Longstreth, who's in the bands Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures as well as being a co-host of the Internet Radio Show Time Crisis. Our longtime listeners may recall Jake previously joined us to discuss "We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!"

History of the Eagles is, of course, the Godfather of rock docs. It's the ur-text from which this all began.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Check out this cool Treble article on the Talking Heads Live in Rome

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is on "Listening to Kenny G", a 2021 film about the saxophone colossus, directed by Penny Lane.

Our guest today is Franz Nicolay, multi-instrumentalist and composer, who records his own music and also is known from bands such as The Hold Steady. Franz' fascinating new book, Band People, features interviews with musicians who have made a career in the music industry, often outside of the spotlight.

Listening to Kenny G was released under HBO's "Music Box" series, which may no longer be a thing? The G man himself sat for extensive interviews and the film dispassionately explores what makes his music both appealing and controversial to audiences and music fans around the world. It's a rich text, and one could view Kenny as either the hero or villain of the movie.

Plus: Is Kenny G like Phish? Co-host Andy Keatts was unavailable for this episode, so he didn't get a chance to weigh in on this important topic, but we bat it around a bit anyway.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is on "Supersonic", a 2016 film about the trio Oasis, directed by Mat Whitecross

Our guest today is Brendan Dentino, an Oasis superfan who wrote the excellent article "The hope and selfishness of Oasis".

Please also check out "1995: The year Oasis made us want to live forever" on Treble.

Supersonic is a chronicle of the band's rise right up to their triumphant shows at Knebworth in 1996 - and it ends exactly there. Like Liam Gallagher, we are living in an eternal 1996. Along the way, we learn about the benefits of taking a hammer to the head, explore "the Oasis brothers" and their respective personas, and we discuss the time Noel Gallagher popped into a pub in San Diego to watch some footie.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Not Not Jazz", a 2024 film about the trio Medeski Martin & Wood, directed by Jason Miller.

Our guest today is Josh Frisch of the Dad Rocks podcast, which we were on years ago, and now we get to return the favor.

As you'll hear, there was a bit of confusion, as Andy ended up watching a different MMW documentary. But we made it work.

"Not Not Jazz" asks as many questions as it answers - when was it filmed? What happened to the music that was being recorded during the filming of the movie? Why is it coming out now? Is music really its own kind of language, man?

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Instrument", a 1999 film about the D.C. post-hardcore legends Fugazi, directed by Jem Cohen in collaboration with the band.

Check out "Celebrate the Catalog: Fugazi" on treblezine.com

Our guest today is Vish Khanna, the host of the Kreative Kontrol podcast. This is a first for Rock Docs...in prep for this episode, and in recognition of the film's 25th anniversary, Vish got Jem Cohen and all four members of Fugazi together for a rare interview on his show. You can listen to that episode here.

We over at Rock Docs HQ are thrilled to have played any small part in that momentous event. Nonetheless, we managed to keep it together and have a lively conversation with Vish about the band, his history with them, and this incredible film.

Finally, Vish was also nice enough to share his thoughts about his friend, the late Steve Albini, a Rock Docs legend who we never approached about being on the show, to our regret.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple", a 2024 HBO/MAX doc about Little Steven aka Miami Steve aka Silvio Dante aka the Lillehammer guy, directed by Bill Teck.

This doc has almost everything you ever wanted to know about the legendary sideman, front man, and Renaissance man. The man who likes scarves, who loves rock & roll, and who ain't gonna play Sun City.

If you're a fan of almost any subgenre of rock music between approximately 1955-1990, or if you just thought he was fun in The Sopranos, you'll dig this one.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Check out Treble's piece on the Springsteen classic "Born to Run": https://www.treblezine.com/bruce-springsteen-born-to-run-treble-100-no-33/

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.", a 2020 doc about the legendary indie rock power trio, directed by Philipp Reichenheim.

Early in the movie, Dinosaur Jr.'s singer and guitarist says, “I don’t know where people got this idea that it’s supposed to be fun to play music.” Their music is fun to listen to and their shows are a blast, but for a long time these guys took the whole thing very very seriously, and the strain that attitude put on their relationships is a focus of the film.

There's a lot of lot of great music, excellent live footage, and some good talking heads (including a very weird and funny bit from the Pixies' Frank Black). What more do you want? To have fun??

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts   Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man", from 2006, directed by Stephen Kijak.

Our guest today is Zara Hedderman, who listens to albums & writes (mostly) & talks (sometimes) about them in The Quietus, Aquarium Drunkard, Northern Transmissions, RTÉ Arena, and The IMRO Podcast.

The movie is about Scott Walker, who evolved from a 50s & 60s teen idol to an enigmatic avant-garde icon whose music pushed the boundaries of space, time, and sanity. For years, nobody knew much about him. Then this documentary came out and revealed that he was actually kind of a chill dude.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "The Decline of Western Civilization", from 1981, directed by Penelope Spheeris.

Our guest today is Ian Grant of the Jokermen podcast and media empire. This is Ian's second Rock Docs appearance, having previously joined us to discuss "Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 - Both Ends of the Rainbow" with his fellow Jokerman Evan Laffer.

The Decline of Western Civilization is a snapshot of the early days of the LA punk scene featuring legends such as X, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Germs, and Fear, as well as some less-known scene personalities.

X rules, check out our episode about "X: The Unheard Music" with Juliana Hatfield.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is a rare one where the subject is not a specific documentary (although there is some rock doc talk). We're joined by returning guest Steven Hyden to discuss his new book "There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland" and all things Bruce.

Steven previously joined us to review "Pearl Jam Twenty".

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod   Instagram: @RockDocsPod   Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt