Arts & Life, Film & Television, Music

‘Filmage’ tells Descendents’ tale

If hardcore punk bands in the early ‘80s were told that one of the most influential punk bands for generations to come would include a scrawny science geek sporting specs and a teenage fishing enthusiast, chances are many wouldn’t have believed it.

“Filmage: the Story of Descendents/All” is a music documentary by Deedle Lacour, Matt Riggle, Justin Wilson and James Rayburn that tells the story of how the 1978 Manhattan Beach hardcore punk band, the Descendents, garnered a large following in the music scene.

For the second time, The Long Beach Art Theatre hosted the screening Saturday night. Despite the late show time and rain, the theatre room almost filled up entirely.

With The Descendents’ consistent lineup change throughout the years, viewers got to hear what each member had to say about their experiences and the strong ties the band has to Long Beach.

The Descendents officially formed when Bill Stevenson (drums) heard someone playing bass inside an apartment on Walnut and Ninth Street. Tony Lombardo, a South Bay native who moved to Long Beach to attend Cal State Long Beach, was approached by Stevenson and agreed to play bass for his band. Lombardo was 35 years old while Stevenson, Frank Navetta (guitar), and Milo Aukerman (vocals) were all teenagers.

The film also included notable rock musicians like Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters, Keith Morris from Black Flag, Mark Hoppis from Blink 182, Greg Graffin from Bad Religion and Kevin Lyman, the creator of Warped Tour, among others.

With Aukerman’s song topics ranging from coffee and food to his passion for science and unrequited love, there was a consensus of praise for the band, especially from Grohl.

In the documentary, Grohl said, “None of us were getting laid — he was our spokesman. We were listening to fu–ing hardcore!”
He described Aukerman as the underdog of punk rock who still managed to write songs that resonated with many.

All, another band consisting of the same band members minus Aukerman, was also included in the film. Despite having the same band lineup, it showed how All was constantly being compared to the Descendents and how All would always exist under the shadow of the Descendents.

In fact, the film explained how a doodle of a nerdy Aukerman in high school was used as the the Descendents album artwork for their breakout album, “Milo Goes To School.” The caricature has since been used to represent the band.

Despite their large following, Aukerman’s true passion was always in science and playing in a band merely served as a hobby. The Descendents currently still tour and headline notable festivals, like Travis Barker’s Musink in March. However, much of the band’s touring is structured around Aukerman’s career schedule in biochemistry.

Throughout the film, some fans sung along and bobbed their heads to the quick bass licks and guitar riffs. For avid fans of the music, it was difficult listening to the band’s music without getting up and dancing.

Originally, a screening of the film was shown on August 25. Those interested in seeing the film entered a lottery, and only a few got to see the documentary.

The second screening of “Filmage” allowed some fans to see it for the first time, while others, like CSULB alumnus Jeff Baer, got to experience the film twice.

“I personally wanted to see the film again [because] I feel that sometimes films need to be seen twice to take in the parts you may have missed prior, because you may have been thinking about a part of the film you just saw,” he said.

Baer, who has been involved in the independent music scene for the past 17 years, said part of the reason he enjoyed the documentary was because the Descendents, specifically Auckerman, played an inspirational role in his teens.

“In 1996, I got ‘Everything Sucks’ on tape and it came along with a coffee mug shirt that I probably wore two to three times per week,” Baer said. “I love how Milo pursued his passion in science. There was a time in my life I felt I had to pursue passions that were outside of music and Milo taught me that it was both punk and okay to do that.”

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