Official Film of Record Store Day Will Release Black Friday with Exclusive Vinyl American Noise Volume 1 Featuring Earliest Work of Butch Vig
Check Out Just-Released Clip Featuring Billy Corgan via Rolling Stone
“There’s something holy about it when you get it right. When you get the synchronicity between the gear and your inspiration and your intuition, there’s a lot of magic moments to be had.”—Billy Corgan on Smart Studios
We are thrilled to announce The Smart Studios Story, the official film of Record Story Day, will be heading on a screening tour across the U.S. The powerful yet unpretentious feature traces the roots and rise of independent music in America to an early recording hub of the Midwest underground music scene, Smart Studios – the legendary recording facility founded by Butch Vig and Steve Marker that became a pillar of the alternative rock sound globally. The fall screening tour is the precursor to the November 25th Record Store Day Black Friday release of the DVD and American Noise Volume 1 – a vinyl pressing of iconic tracks recorded at Smart. In addition, a never-before-seen clip has just been released featuring Billy Corgan via Rolling Stone.
American Noise Volume 1, the companion vinyl to the film, is the first of a series. Each vinyl release will include artists featured in the film. Early works by seminal artists Killdozer, Tar Babies and Die Kreuzen are included on the first compilation along with Vig’s first band, Spooner and a variety of Midwest indies whose sound became synonymous with Smart.
If you’ve ever been touched by the music of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, L7, Death Cab For Cutie (among many, many others), you’ve been touched by the music created at Smart Studios. Drawing on in-depth interviews with musicians and producers, never-before-seen archival footage and a powerful soundtrack, The Smart Studios Story tells the story of the pivotal Midwest link to the global rise of Alternative Rock in the 1990’s and the unassuming Madison, Wisconsin recording studio at its center. The post-70’s explosion of independent music in America has many traceable roots, each with a compelling story. This is one of the most significant stories that has never been told until now.
Principal Cast
Butch Vig
Steve Marker
Dave Grohl
Billy Corgan
Shirley Manson
Donita Sparks
Jimmy Chamberlin
Doug “The Duke” Erikson
Chris Walla
Tom Hazelmyer
Tour Dates
9/29: Milwaukee, WI @ Oriental Theatre
10/3: Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop
10/4: Athens, OH @ The Union
10/5: Columbus, OH @ Gateway Film Center
10/6: Chicago, IL @ Brew & View at The Vic
10/7: Detroit, MI @ El Club
10/17: Austin, TX @ The North Door
10/18: Houston, TX @ The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
10/19: New Orleans, LA @ Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center
10/20: Hot Springs, AR @ Low Key Arts
10/22: Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
10/23: Dallas, TX @ The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
10/23: Long Beach, CA @Frida Cinema
10/24: El Paso, TX @ The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
11/11: Boston, MA @ Brattle Theater
11/13: Brooklyn, NY @ St Vitus
11/14: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
11/15: Philadelphia, PA @ MOCCA
11/22: Durham, NC @ Motorco (Tentative)
11/27: Madison, WI @ Sundance at Hilldale
American Noise Volume 1 Track Listing
Side One
1) Appliances – Bob Hope
2) Killdozer – Ed Gein
3) Tar Babies – Wasted Words
4) Die Kreuzen – Holes
5) Cattleprod – Don’t Mind Walking
6) Poop Shovel – One Pass Away
7) Rectal Drip – Naïve Folk Singer
Side Two
1) Ivory Library – Through You
2) Fun With Atoms – Last Cigarette
3) Other Kids – Madtown
4) Spooner – Borderline
5) The Weeds Easy – On The Eye
6) Singing Irishman – Thanks a Million
The Smart Studios Story:
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The Planet Of Sound 