The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale

[John Schuller]

I attended the premiere yesterday. I love well made music documentaries like this. Great interview footage with Buzz, Dale, ex-members, current rotating members, collaborators, associates, friends, relatives, musicians and even Melvin himself. As a Melvins fan since 1987 it was amazing to see their entire career covered in a short period of time - from the beginning in Montesano/Grays Harbor when they were just kids wanting to rock to their current state of making a living playing music as they see fit and completely redefining what it means to be a band in the 21st century. When you look at their career of 33 years condensed into 2 hours it becomes incredibly apparent that there is no other band like them - and no other band that works as hard as they do. While every interview in the film is great and often times funny as Hell, the best interviews seem to come from Buzz and Dale themselves. All in all a great rock and roll documentary that doesn't cover a band burning bright, burning out and rising again - but a band that instead never stops, changes direction at the drop of a hat and defines it's own path. To display just how insane the Melvins are - the film was completed a couple of months ago. Since then, they have brought in yet another new bass player, (Steven McDonald of Redd Kross), completed a US tour with Napalm Death and Melt Banana, released an album under the name Mike and the Melvins (with Mike Kunka of godheadSilo on bass, Kevin Rutmanis on bass, Buzz on bass and Dale on drums) that was started back in 1999, and are getting ready to release an album with SIX bass players throughout it's tracks. Most bands in that time would just develop a good drug habit. Go Melvins!!! In attendance were: Buzz, Dale, Kevin, Jared, Steven, David Yow, Lustmord, Joey Osborne, Mackie, Sheperd Fairy and probably a shit ton of other people I couldn't/didn't see. Great job to Ryan and Bob on this. It did not disappoint - and to be able to squeeze ALL of this into 2 hours and make it THIS good was quite the feat!!!!!

NOW - it is time for all of us Kickstarter backers to be P A T I E N T. There is still much that this film will need to do before it gets in our hands as physical copies. Remember - PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.

[John Schuller]

And it was great to meet DC!

[DC]

And it was great to meet DC!

You're a handsome sumbitch, yes you are. Sorry we couldn't chat more- I was a bit dumbfounded with the amount of influential people in the room. Got a pic with Lustmord, and a very drunken one a bit later with Yow.

Thanks for being a cool and awesome person.

The points you made were spot on- there was no "oh fuck we crashed and burned and then either all died or rose from the ashes," just a singular drive, laser focused dedication to their craft. I'm happy there were no lows- only shifted gears.

Such a good movie.

You're all in for a serious treat.

[meezer]

Thanks guys. DC, stick around this time, eh? 

[DC]

Thanks guys. DC, stick around this time, eh? 

Probably not.

[JUDY]

Such a good movie.

You're all in for a serious treat.

You lucky bastards! I'm so excited!

[Idlehanz]

I'm completely worn out.  I may get some pics posted in a few days.  Today is a couple different flights and I have to go back to work at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

[homeless_dad]

I'm completely worn out.  I may get some pics posted in a few days.  Today is a couple different flights and I have to go back to work at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

There will be a kingdom in Melvins heaven waiting for you on the other side. Thank you for all the hard work. I'm really looking forward to this.

[jules]

I'm completely worn out.  I may get some pics posted in a few days.  Today is a couple different flights and I have to go back to work at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

Does Dawn know?

Congratulations Idle and Bob; glad everyone had a good time at the show!

[joelk]

out of curiosity, what is said regarding the whole "kevin" incident?

I also wonder if this movie touches upon the Lori/drug years at all--I've always wondered if Mark D's claims about Buzz being a junkie were bullshit.

[John Schuller]

out of curiosity, what is said regarding the whole "kevin" incident?

I also wonder if this movie touches upon the Lori/drug years at all--I've always wondered if Mark D's claims about Buzz being a junkie were bullshit.

The Kevin incident was treated very kindly. You could tell it was an emotional subject for them all - and luckily there was eventually a happy ending.

[DC]

This is all opinion , and I may be way, way, waaaay off from the intentions of the filmmakers, the band, and the people involved. I'm just a humble fucknut. Opinion. Not the Word O Christ.

There's some talk of Kevin's "demons."  Kevin is a humble and wonderful  person, who knows he made mistakes.  Not a lot of detail there, because honestly, that's not my or your business . That's about how it can be interpreted. If you want dirt on these guys, look elsewhere, like the early days of this forum, the speculation of people just like you and I who weren't there, or the condemnation from former Melvins.This information swings from "wild speculation" to "looking back at the past and smearing shit on it." There is no room for dalliance in this film, no room for he said, she said, we said, whatever. I know you're interested in this aspect of the band. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't,  too. But if they don't want to talk about it, then you and I have to accept that as a part of the bands life that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

It paints no one, and I mean no one, in a negative light. That's such a refreshing change of pace from every music doc I've ever seen. Someone always has to be the Big Bad Motherfucker. Nobody is a bad guy here.

You and I, everyone else, we don't get to know how everything went down. It's not something we are privvy to. We, you and I, we will never know the inner workings of this band. The doc isn't about that. The doc is about the things this band has done for 30+ years that we are all excited about. You should focus on how good your favorite band is, and don't sweat anything else besides the release of their next single, EP, album, cassette, 8track, or flexi.

Melvins> every other band ever. 414 songs.

[joelk]

Though I see what you mean, I think you're reading a bit too deeply into my question. I don't really care enough about the Melvins (or anyone I don't personally know) to hunt down all the minutiae of their personal lives, nor do I really consider it nosy to have questions about some discrepancies in the narrative they've offered over the years (and by this I mean the Deutrom interview vs. the accounts of the other members). if I never find answers to those questions, that's fine. But I don't place them on any mantle for my worship, so I guess I'm also not too worried about their "privacy" either. It's not as though these issues haven't been brought up by the respective members in the first place.

[meezer]

Um.... am I gonna need to avoid this thread if I can't see this film for another 5 or 6 months? Will there still be one detail I haven't read about by then?

[DC]

I may be reading too deep. I'm kinda loaded.

It's very healthy that you don't place them on a pedestal. I certainly do, which is why I'm such a winkie around them. How do you tell someone they've influenced every riff you've ever written without sounding like a buttface? There's no way to maintain dignity if you're being direct.

Joelk, I don't think I got anywhere near an answer that you wanted.  I respect what you or anyone else has to say about this movie that, well only me and like 2 other people on the board have seen. I want to assure you that it's absolutely what you want as a Melvins fan. No question. You will learn surprising things, beautiful things, things you would never know otherwise.

This movie is Fantastic, and that's my final say.