File Under: This Looks Awesome.
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) is a documentary film that examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation’s Capital, a scene that can easily be called one of the most influential in recent times. Like the related riot grrrl scene, it highlighted to so many of us that music and politics and social change can and should all influence each other and gave voice to a generation who wanted to change the world.
As the film-makers put it:
“This was a particularly important time in the evolution of punk and independent music, with DC based bands like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Black Market Baby, the Faith, the Slickee Boys, Void, Government Issue, Marginal Man, Dag Nasty, 9353, Gray Matter, Beefeater, Scream, Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Shudder to Think, Nation of Ulysses, Jawbox and others defining the DC aesthetic. Local record labels like Dischord, Fountain of Youth, Teen Beat, and Simple Machines would become standard-bearers for the DIY revolution.”
Created by Writer/Director, Scott Crawford—old school DC scenester + creator of the fanzine, Metrozine—and Director of Photography, Jim Saah—who basically taught himself photography by documenting the punk scene in DC—the film comes with built in cred. It adds to that with interviews from the very people who created this seminal scene and those it impacted, like Dave Grohl.
We lived in DC ages ago, in the wake of this musical, cultural, socio-political scene, and, even to this day, so many waves of gentrification and change for the better and/or worse later, it still very much feeds into the city and its people in a very unique, beautiful, independent way. So I can’t wait to check the film out.
You can see a trailer for it below; scroll down further for screening dates as they’ve been announced.
Salad Days Official Trailer from Scott Crawford on Vimeo.
Scheduled Salad Day Screenings:
February 14 at Top Hat in Missoula, MT (Big Sky Film Festival)
February 15 at Midtown Cinema in Harrisburg, PA
February 21 at Roxie Theatre in San Francisco, CA (West Coast Premiere)
February 25 at SPACE Gallery in Portland, ME
February 27 at Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, WA
February 27 at The Regent in Los Angeles, CA
February 27 at Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle, WA
March 1 at Stage II Cinema in Amesbury, MA
March 2 at Prytania Theatre in New Orleans, LA
March 6 at Circle Cinema in Tulsa, OK
March 6 at UCSD in San Diego, CA
March 8 at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA
March 13 at XOXO B Modern Events Venue in Las Vegas, NV
March 15 at Byrd Theater in Richmond, VA
March 19 at Metro Gallery in Baltimore, MD
March 20 at Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich, RI
March 20 at Ojata Records in Grand Forks, ND
March 22 at Alamo Drafthouse in Houston, TX
March 22 at Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX
March 23 at Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas, TX
March 27 at Hollywood Theater in Portland, OR
March 30 at High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI
April 10 at AS220 in Providence, RI
April 16 at The Local 662 in Tampa, FL
April 17 at Gateway Film Center in Columbus, OH
April 17 at Headliners Music Hall in Louisville, KY
April 17 at FilmBar in Phoenix, AZ
April 17 at IFC in New York, NY
April 18 at BSP Kingston in Kingston, NY
April 18 at The Hollywood Theater Dormont in Pittsburgh, PA
April 23 at Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater in Minneapolis, MN
April 24 at The North Door in Austin, TX
April 24 at Studio C in Lansing, MI
April 25 at The Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, MI
Photo of Guy Picciotto of Fugazi by Jim Sahh.
