The Cinefamily is proud to be the continuing home of the Don't Knock The Rock music documentary festival! Co-founded by filmmaker Allison Anders and with live music curated by co-founder Tiffany Anders, DKTR is a high-energy festival dedicated to the love, lust and mania of all pop, rock and roots film and music; its films contain quintessential music performances and vintage footage of important artists in their prime. Every night is hosted by returning MC Michael Des Barres, and is packed with entertainment, whether it's with live performances on the Cinefamily stage by the very subjects of the films, DJs spinning at intermission, or Q&As with virtually all the filmmakers! DKTR sponsors include BMI, Amoeba Music, Blood Is The New Black, L.A. Record, Clif Bar, Globe Shoes, Factory 25, The Criterion Collection, Trailers From Hell, Cameron Hughes Wine, Natural Energy Lab, Mutineer Magazine, Groover Recordings and Dawn Wirth Punk Rock Postcards.
Past DKTR highlights include sold-out premiere screenings of MC5: A True Testimonial; Eric Idle’s world premiere of Can’t Buy Me Lunch (a sequel to All You Need Is Cash!); Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways, directed by Runaways bassist Vicki Tischler-Blue; Kurt Voss’s love letter to seminal LA band Gun Club, Ghost On The Highway; the US premiere of Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback, Ava DuVernay's portrait of seminal L.A. hip-hop This Is The Life, and a sneak world premiere of Amazing Grace (about the late Jeff Buckley). Sold-out evening musical performances curated by DKTR Music Director Tiffany Anders have included Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, J Mascis, Built to Spill, Jon Brion, Earthless, Gun Club reunion, Black Heart Procession, Gary Wilson, John Doe, The Fucking Champs and Dead Meadow among others.
7/8 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 The One Man Beatles (U.S. premiere!) plus Emitt Rhodes Tribute Show! (SOLD OUT!!!!)
After his band The Merry-Go-Round hit the Top 40 with the Beatles-esque bubblegum classics "Live" and "You're A Very Lovely Woman" -- and his four brilliant solo albums released in rapid succession -- celebrated singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Emitt Rhodes' output halted almost entirely. Inspired by the haunted radiance of Rhodes' work, four young Italian musicians cross the ocean in search of the answer to "where has he been for 35 years?" Once dubbed "The American Paul McCartney," both for his raw talent and strikingly handsome looks, Rhodes is finally discovered on the same street in Hawthorne where he has lived his whole life, and more questions are raised than answered, and The One Man Beatles emerges as a poetic study of an artist who bridged Merseybeat with West Coast melancholy to create some of the most devastatingly beautiful music to ever come out of Southern California. Co-starring Michael Penn, The Bangles' Vicki and Debbie Peterson, filmmaker Allison Anders, and, of course, Emitt Rhodes! Both an Emitt Rhodes tribute concert and a Q&A with producer Tony Blass will follow the screening -- and Emitt Rhodes, along with Merry-Go-Round drummer Joel Larson, will be in attendance (bring your LPs for autographs!) at our post-show reception on our outdoor patio! Plus, DJ Andrew Sandoval will spin never-before-heard Rhodes tracks before and in-between the evening's events! Dir. Cosimo Messeri, 2009, digital presentation, 60 min.
Watch the trailer for "The One Man Beatles"!
7/15 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 Dogs In Space (brand-new restoration!) shown with We're Livin' On Dog Food Co-presented by Part Time Punks
Dogs In Space - 8:00pm
Unscreened in Los Angeles for ages, Richard Lowenstein's seminal Australian post-punk masterpiece Dogs In Space comes to the Cinefamily in a brand-new HD restoration! Based on Lowenstein's own whirlwind experiences as a young man in the heart of the late '70s Melbourne scene, the film is a dense, chaotic stew of vignettes charting the endless 24/7 partying that takes place in a trashy communal house -- a magical realm in which its wild, impoverished inhabitants do dope, go to shows, play shows, smash TVs, occasionally go to school, and generally live out a gloriously hedonistic life path. In the center of this storm is Sam (played by INXS frontman Michael Hutchence), the charismatic heroin addict whose Zen-like calm fares him well amongst a kingdom's worth of other jokers, junkies and misfits. With a killer soundtrack (featuring Aussie local heroes amongst the likes Iggy Pop and Gang of Four), warm 'n fuzzy period rock show recreations and a fluid, audacious visual style, Dogs In Space is not only an authentic gem begging for rediscovery -- but is also a helluva good time. Part Time Punks main man DJ Michael Stock will be spinning records before and after the films!
Dir. Richard Lowenstein, 1986, Blu-Ray, 104 min.
We're Livin' On Dog Food - 10:00pm
The original rallying cry of punk rock truly was a shot heard 'round the world, as evidenced by its deeply planted roots in even Australian soil! From its auspicious late '70s beginnings, Melbourne's underground post-punk subculture overflowed with talent, ferocity and a willingness to go boldly where no Aussie had gone before -- and We're Livin' On Dog Food, originally intended as just a small Dogs In Space "making-of" doc, is the definitive collection of interviews and vintage footage from this vibrant and unpredictable scene. Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party), the Primitive Calculators, Ollie Olsen, Phillip Brophy and many others proffer their recollections and air their animosities in a tribute to the real-life realm of yesteryear that inspired the world of Dogs In Space. The legendary venue The Crystal Ballroom, Nick Cave's pre-Birthday Party band The Boys Next Door, the drugs, the fashions, the influences and the philosophies of the times are all on proud display alongside never-before-seen interviews with Michael Hutchence from the Dogs In Space set. Vive le "Little Bands"!
Dir. Richard Lowenstein, 2009, Blu-Ray, 94 min.
Watch the trailer for "Dogs In Space"!
Watch the trailer for "We're Livin' On Dog Food"!
Tickets - $10
7/22 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 Krazy Kinks Fanklub Night: Do It Again shown with Mondo Kinks Video Mix!
Small-town newspaper man Geoff Edgers, dreading the approach of his 40th birthday, is a man possessed with an improbable mission: find the still-surviving members of British legends The Kinks, and convince them to reunite. Never mind that he's an American with just one tenuous connection to Kinks leader Ray Davies, and never mind the fact that Ray and his fellow Kink/younger brother Dave Davies don't speak to each other; through sheer willpower, Edgers will find a way to make it all work -- and when his initial mission fails, Edgers turns the film into a meditation on the power of music and his own chance to testify on his love for the band (which is sometimes worn so unabashedly on his sleeve, you almost feel like you shouldn't be privy to it, yet you can't stop watching it). Director Robert Patton-Spruill follows Edgers from Boston to California, from Las Vegas to New York City as Edgers meets with Kinks fans Sting, REM’s Peter Buck, a deliciously irate Paul Weller, Zooey Deschanel and Robyn Hitchcock -- but the highs and lows of Edgers' ravenous obsession is the real centerpiece, and ultimately is way more important, relevant and fascinating than any possible outcome. Geoff Edgers will be here for a Q&A after the screening, DJ Howie Pyro will spin Brit Invasion rarities both before and after the show -- and the evening wraps up with a full curated hour of ridiculously rare Kinks footage, provided by Dr. Charles Beardsley and the Charles Beardsley Archives!
Dir. Robert Patton-Spruill, 2010, HDCAM, 85 min.
Watch the trailer for "Do It Again"!
Tickets - $10
7/29 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 Target Video presents: SoCal Punk Rockers Co-presented by Part Time Punks
In 1977, San Francisco-based artist Joe Rees founded Target Video. Target taped bands in its studio space, in clubs, at parties and on the streets of the world at a time when music television was nonexistent. With a vision and love for underground music and art, Target documented a truly explosive era, and in the process created a massive archive of punk rock performance footage that captured the scene in all its raw clumsiness and exuberance. Joe Rees and Target co-conspirators Jackie Sharp and Jill Hoffman will be in-person at the Cinefamily to present a two-hour program drawing from the seemingly bottomless Target library, focusing this time on an L.A./So Cal-centric program featuring classic footage of local heroes (The Screamers, Black Flag, TSOL) alongside lesser-known-but-equally awesome acts (Nervous Gender, BPeople, The Plugz). This may be your one and only chance to ever see these clips, so this night is not to be missed! Part Time Punks DJ Michael Stock will be spinning records before and after the show!
Watch a clip of L.A. brats The Mau Maus, from Target Video's archives!
Tickets - $10
8/5 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott plus The Secret Animated History of Raymond Scott! Deconstructing Dad... - 8:00pm
One of the true enigmas of 20th-century music, Harry Warnow -- better known to the world of jazz aficionados, record collectors, exotica fiends and electronic music tinkerers as Raymond Scott -- was a highly prolific figure with a career that began in the 1930s swing/big-band era, and continued on through the experimental music age of the 1970s. Practically everyone on Earth can instantly recognize Scott's off-kilter melodies as heard in many of Warner Brothers' cartoons, but few also know that he also invented his own dazzling array of gadget-based musical instruments (as well as other devices like an early fax machine), played a part in busting racism on network radio -- and was the Director of Electronic Music Research and Development for Motown! Stan Warnow, Scott's son and renowned film editor (Woodstock, Hair, and many collaborations with Robert Downey Sr.), leads us on a thorough and revealing tour of Scott's multi-faceted life, while attempting to reconcile the myth of the man with the reality of a father he never fully knew. Stan Warnow will be at the Cinefamily for a Q&A after the film, and DJ Skip Heller will be here to spin Raymond Scott tunes before and after the show!
Dir. Stanley Warnow, 2010, digital presentation, 70 min.
The Secret Animated History of Raymond Scott! - 9:30pm
Raymond Scott's musical legacy is felt not only throughout the classic age of Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes, but also across the animation spectrum. Tonight, after our screening of Deconstructing Dad, join animation historian Jerry Beck as he takes you on a guided tour of Scott's work as heard in such shows as Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons, Duckman, Animaniacs and more!
Watch the trailer for "Deconstructing Dad"!
Tickets - $12/free for members
8/7 @ 2:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 SPECIAL SATURDAY EVENT - Don't Knock The Rock BMI Roundtable: Music in Film, TV and New Media '10
Join us for an intimate discussion of the changing landscape for music rights and new media. Musicians can find out how to get their music into films, TV and new media, and filmmakers can learn how to clear the rights for music for their work. Guests include: Allison Anders (director, Grace Of My Heart, Sugar Town), Tiffany Anders (music supervisor, Kaboom, Douchebag), Carter Armstrong (composer), Michelle Belcher (music supervisor, District 9, The Resident), Jeff Danna (composer, Lakeview Terrace, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus), Michael Des Barres (moderator, musician), Drake Doremus (director, Douchebag), Stephen Kijak (director, Stones In Exile), Howard Parr (music supervisor, "The L Word", Sympathy For Delicious), and Doreen Ringer Ross (BMI)!
Tickets - $7/free for members
8/12 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 Lee Hazlewood Rare Films Bonanza!: Cowboy In Sweden shown with Nancy & Lee In Las Vegas and N.S.V.I.P.'s (Not...So...Very...Important...People) After his unexpected move to Sweden following the biggest success of his music career with Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walkin”, Lee Hazlewood foundered an intense collaborative relationship with local filmmaker/TV producer/artist/poet Torbjörn Axelman, turning out a series of albums and TV specials over a mutually beneficial extended jag. These works are one of the creative highlights of Hazlewood’s career, and are some of the most imaginative music films of anyone’s career. We present three of the rarely-screened fruits of their labor: Cowboy In Sweden, in which Lee poetically introduces various Swedish contemporary pop acts (including the George Baker Selection and their hit “Little Green Bag”), well-matched by Axelman’s subtle symbolism and magical realism; Nancy & Lee In Las Vegas, a vérité backstage account of Lee’s return to the U.S. and reuniting with Nancy Sinatra in Sin City; and finally, N.S.V.I.P.'s, an Axelman TV production with songs composed by Harry Chapin, and sung by Hazlewood and Swedish singer Lill Lindfors. N.S.V.I.P.'s won the Golden Rose prize at the ‘73 Montreaux Television Festival, and from what we’ve been able to see so far, it should be a real treat not just for Hazlewood fans, but also for fans of wild experimental cinema. Suzi Jane Hokum (Lee's collaborator and producer for his record label) will be here at the Cinefamily to share her Hazlewood stories! As well, Lee Hazlewood Industries archivist DJ Hunter Lea will spin tunes before and after the show!
Watch an excerpt from "Cowboy In Sweden"!
Watch an excerpt from "N.S.V.I.P.s"!
Tickets - $12/free for members
8/19 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 An Evening With Thom Andersen (director of Los Angeles Plays Itself), feat. U.S. premiere of Get Out Of The Car!
You might be familiar with Los Angeles Plays Itself, Thom Andersen's moving and mesmerizing study of the history of Los Angeles as told through the history of film, but did you know Andersen has been documenting the soul of the southland since the mid-'60s? Andersen doesn't just see this history -- he hears it as well. Don't Knock The Rock is thrilled to present three of Andersen's L.A.-centric, music-rich films, including the U.S. premiere of Get Out Of The Car, a city symphony in 16mm composed of advertising signs, building facades, fragments of music and conversation, and unmarked sites of vanished cultural landmarks (including El Monte Legion Stadium and Watts' famous Barrelhouse). The film's musical fragments compose an impressionistic survey of popular music made here in Los Angeles across the 20th century, with an emphasis on '50s jazz/R&B and '90s corridos! Also showing is the unusually-named and rarely-screened "-- -------", Andersen's rock 'n roll doc from the mid-'60s, shot on location on the legendary Sunset Strip -- and Olivia's Place, a survey of the diner on Santa Monica's Main Street that inspired The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" (featuring the music of L.A.'s own Big Jay McNeely)! Thom Andersen will both appear at the Cinefamily to intro his films, and to also present a personally-curated collection of other rare music-filled films by Laida Lertxundi, Les BLank & Skip Gerson!
Tickets - $12/free for members
8/26 @ 8:00pm / Series: Don't Knock The Rock 2010 Vince Martin Night: Vagabondo! plus Vince Martin tribute show
Director Todd Kwait takes a first-person look at the wild career of the legendary folk singer Vince Martin! Given his stage name and a cowboy suit by an aggressive Coney Island promoter, Vince quickly rose up the charts with the 1957 AM radio hit "Cindy, Oh Cindy", earning him both popularity and scorn in the strangely competitive world of the Greenwich Village folk scene. His songwriting collaborations with Fred Neil, however, which culminated in the influential '64 album "Tear Down The Walls" (a legendary work that was quickly absorbed by the likes of CSN, Bob Dylan and The Mamas & The Papas), rejuvenated his well-earned cred -- and four decades later, Martin is still giving fantastic performances, nowadays collaborating with the likes of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore! A show-biz romp with one of the last genuine New York City characters, Vagabondo! gives the viewer a seat at the table as Martin's old musical sideman Mark Sebastian (brother of The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian) explores music, women, morality and mortality with the beloved tough-talking folkie. Stick around for a Q&A with director Todd Kwait and Mark Sebastian after the film -- and, Vince Martin will also be here in-person for a discussion, and to sign your autographs! As well, we'll screen the brand-new short film Parallelograms: A Short Film About Linda Perhacs (directed by Jeff McCarty) before the feature!
The One Man Beatles
Dogs In Space
We're Livin' On Dog Food - 10:00pm
Krazy Kinks Fanklub Night:
Target Video presents:
Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott
SPECIAL SATURDAY EVENT - 
Lee Hazlewood Rare Films Bonanza!:
An Evening With Thom Andersen (director of Los Angeles Plays Itself),
Vince Martin Night:
