Banger Films to Make Soundgarden Documentary
Banger Films(Super Duper Alice Cooper) recently announced plans to film a documentary that covers the career of Seattle grunge innovators Soundgarden. Back in the 80’s and 90’s Soundgarden redefined rock music for a generation to come. The band’s mesmerizing soundscapes and compelling lyrics seduced audiences hungry for originality and this is a subject that Reginald Harkema feels he can really connect with.
The film is set to reunite Harkema with his fellow Canadian Super Duper Alice Cooper co-directors Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, the duo responsible for a slew of heavy metal documentaries, including Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and Rush: Behind the Lighted Stage. Harkema previously worked with the duo as an editor on VH1’s Metal Evolution television series, during which he was first approached to participate on the Cooper doc.
In a recent interview with Bad Feeling Magazine, Co-director Reginald Harkema said that he finds Soundgarden relatable, explaining, “Soundgarden is much closer to my own experience of being a music fan and reconciling these punk rock ideals. For them, it was much more exaggerated, having these punk rock ideals and then dealing with becoming ‘metal rock stars.’ I get that kind of internal struggle more than I do wrestling with free-base cocaine addiction.” “There’s a lot of stuff that they went through, and a lot of stuff that I think we can dig deep underneath, and get back to how they felt emotionally at the time.”
As for the focus, Harkema explained, “We’re going to concentrate on [the ’90s] era mostly. It’ll probably be like 70-75 percent mid-’80s to the breakup, and then catch up on the reunion and present day. We’d like to shoot some big special concert, and maybe use that as the structural spine.”
Harkema says much of the Soundgarden film is still in the planning stages, with things expected to pick up this summer. He added that the fact that drummer Matt Cameron is spending much of his 2014 time with Pearl Jam has provided some challenges, but he did reveal that Cameron would be on hand for some key shows and that the filmmakers would be there for those dates. Some filming is likely to begin this summer, during the band’s tour behind the re-issue of 1994’s Superunknown album, which includes a string of co-headlining dates with Nine Inch Nails.
“There’s a lot of stuff that they went through, and a lot of stuff that they [shrug off], that I think we can dig deep underneath, and get back to how they felt emotionally at the time.”
Stay tuned to http://www.bangerfilms.com/ for info on the upcoming Soundgarden doc.